Sheryl Julian, the Globe's Food Editor, writes regularly for the Food section.
Devra First is the Globe's food reporter and restaurant critic. Her
reviews appear weekly in Calendar.
Ann Cortissoz is on the staff of the Globe and writes the First Draft beer column for the Food section.
Stephen Meuse writes about wine for the Globe's Food section. His column on
Plonk ($12 and under wines) appears on the last Wednesday of the month.
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« October 22, 2006 - October 28, 2006 |
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| November 5, 2006 - November 11, 2006 »
November 3, 2006
So much angst goes into Thanksgiving --- the cooking times, the seating plans, and whether Aunt Alice will eat oyster stuffing --that it's no wonder more and more Americans seem to be opting to dine out on that day. For years, I've written roundups of restaurants offering turkey and all the trimmings. The first few times, it was a modest list, something for the traveler, the lonely, or the stranded.
But in the last few years, the list has grown long. If there wasn't demand, there wouldn't be a supply, I figure. Although my family happily shares the holiday with friends, some of the chefs' offerings do sound tempting -- and less work than wrestling to get a 20-pound bird into the oven.
Dining in Calendar next Thursday (Nov. 9) will clue readers in on what's planned for some holiday tables Thanksgiving Day.
Posted by Alison Arnett at 06:13 PM
November 3, 2006
Alain Ducasse at the Essex House, which is closing New Year's Eve, is throwing caution to the wind on Thanksgiving Day with its $150-a-head dinner.
If you're in New York and snag a table, you'll be presented with a composed salad of fall beets with green-apple mustard vinaigrette, butternut squash veloute soup garnished with crispy pork belly (this will be poured tableside and accompanied with "preserved fruits bound by aromatic sage ties" -- no joke, I'm quoting the press release here).
Before the bird comes butter-poached lobster with champagne caviar sauce. The turkey is stuffed with foie gras and wild rice. And so on, ending with "sugar pumpkin composition with caramelized pecans" and a tray of little sweets, such as candied chestnuts and chocolate pralines.
Posted by Sheryl Julian at 12:53 PM
November 2, 2006
Not sure what I ate, but my tummy's been rumbling all week. After yesterday's Globe magazine photo shoot -- chilies galore -- and a mad dash to get to a dinner date last night, my husband found this still life on the kitchen counter.
I think Pepto cures all. For five days, I haven't left home without it.
Posted by Sheryl Julian at 06:50 PM
November 1, 2006
I live kind of in the middle of nowhere. It's nice, but I miss takeout! On nights when I don't really have time to cook dinner (like, say, tonight), I sometimes find myself fantasizing about eating cheap, delicious food right out of the container. Then I play this game:
If I could transport five restaurants to my block, which ones would I choose? Not restaurants for a special occasion, but great places to find sustenance every day.
Tonight I would pick:
Oishii (the one in Chestnut Hill)
Cambridge 1
Punjabi Dhaba
Xinh Xinh
Tu Y Yo
Whew, that was difficult. Can't I pick 10? It's a pretty big block.
If you could pick just five restaurants to have on your block, what would they be?
Posted by Devra First at 07:16 PM
November 1, 2006
The endless search for a way to eat, drink, and be merry -- and still be healthy -- goes on. Now a significant study, so startling that it was rushed out early, shows that obese mice are quite healthy, thank you, as long as they ingest lots and lots of red wine extract. "Huge" was the description of the amount.
These mice, unfortunately for them, are getting wine extract, not a nice Pomerol, but it seems to lower the rates of diabetes, liver problems, and other fat-related problems. And they're scampering around, too.
Of course, the researchers from Harvard Medical School and the National Institute on Aging insist, it's too early to say whether overly plump humans would be similarly helped by quaffing a bottle or two of pinot or maybe a South African shiraz. But it does sound more fun than many calorie-restricted regimes. We'll just call it drinking to your health.
Posted by Alison Arnett at 02:49 PM
October 31, 2006
The International Space Station just got a little more French.
A few days ago, Alain Ducasse, he of the many Michelin stars, started sending his cuisine out into the stars. Why? Because astronauts deserve good food, too.
Caponata, roasted quail, celeriac puree, and rice pudding with preserved fruit are among the dishes they'll be sampling. Sounds delicious.
But leave it to the Americans to get all Freedom Fries over the situation.
Apparently when Ducasse announced his extraterrestrial plans way back in 2004, someone decided it was time to kick things up a notch. The folks at the International Space Station got to dig into Emeril Lagasse's food in August, and the requisite Food Network special aired earlier this month.
Bam!
Posted by Devra First at 06:23 PM
October 31, 2006
This little pot, which is made in France, holds about 1 ounce of herbes de Provence -- a particularly nice dried herb blend that combines rosemary, marjoram, savory, thyme and lavendar flowers -- and costs $16.50 at Williams-Sonoma. Other shops, such as Whole Foods, carry the mixture in the bulk section.
Herbes de Provence are used for grilled meats, but I also like to use the mixture on high-oven roasted meats and poultry. Since the herbs are already dried, they don't burn during cooking.
When you're done with the pot, you can refill it with herbes bought in bulk. Or, fill it with sea salt, which is what I do. The pot, by the way, makes a fine host gift.
And if you're good at routing out bargains, stick with me. The little pots, seriously marked down, are often at T.J. Maxx this time of year. Check the pull date before you buy.
Posted by Sheryl Julian at 05:22 PM
October 30, 2006
Today KFC announced that it's switching cooking oils to one with no trans fats. All of its 5,500 US restaurants will make the change by the end of April 2007.
According to the KFC website, products that will then have zero grams of trans fat include: original recipe and extra crispy chicken, crispy strips, wings, boneless wings, popcorn chicken, and potato wedges.
But will the food taste the same? Apparently: According to an Associated Press story, some stores have sneakily made the switch already to see if customers would notice. They didn't. (Subterfuge, yes, but healthy subterfuge. Let's hope they haven't secretly been testing anything else on us.)
Bring on the family-size bucket!
In separate, and weirder, KFC news, the website also informs us that KFC has petitioned the United States Postal Service to create a stamp in Colonel Sanders's honor. If for some reason you'd like to help KFC become stamp-lickin' good, too, sign the petition here.
Posted by Devra First at 07:35 PM
October 30, 2006
Lately, as the nights become chilly, heartier dishes are more welcome. The best of these are the old-fashioned European specialties that were sent to the local baker's on Sunday morning before church, and picked up on the way home. Most kitchens had no ovens, so this was the only way to roast meat for Sunday dinner.
In France, these dishes -- often leg of lamb on a bed of potatoes -- go by the name "boulangere" (baker). Last week, I made roast chickens on the potatoes.
First I used an inexpensive (and slightly dangerous) mandoline called a Feemster's Famous Slicer to cut paper thin rounds of Idahos. I spread them in my large copper paella pan with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper.
The potatoes roasted for half an hour, before I put flattened chickens on top. As the birds cooked, their juices basted the potatoes, and they were too good for words!
The only thing that might have made the dish better would have been the French village baker's wood-fueled oven. Dream on.
Posted by Sheryl Julian at 07:16 PM
October 30, 2006
Last week at Janneen the Marine's weights class, a fellow student brought in Elinor Klivans's excellent "Cupcakes!" for me to look at.
She had eaten a cupcake called "Chocolate-Covered Hi-Hats" at a friend's house and was determined to make them. A chocolate sour cream cup cake is mounded with a soft marshmallow filling, which is coated with semisweet chocolate.
"You've really got to love sugar and chocolate," said my friend.
Then we went into the Globe gym to lift weights.
Posted by Sheryl Julian at 06:41 PM
October 30, 2006
Mystery, intrigue, and a movie director -- what could be more titillating? Bloomberg News reported that a really big white truffle -- 3.1 pounds or 1.4 kilograms -- has been sold at auction in Acqualagna, Italy. But the identity of the buyer is secret, and the dealer, Stefania Tofani, is staying mum.
An Italian daily is speculating that the buyer is director Martin Scorsese, no stranger to mystery and thrillers (re: "The Departed"). Supposedly, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi wanted a local politician to grab the truffle away.
A town spokesman was quoted as saying excellent white truffles go for about 2,000 Euros a kilogram. But this one, the largest found this season, could have fetched 10,000 to 15,000 Euros in an auction bidding contest, the official said.
But then price is no object in a truffle-bidding war.
Posted by Alison Arnett at 05:19 PM
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