You thought I forgot about Forky Friday, didn’t you? I figured as long as I published this post before midnight in Pago Pago, it’s not late. It’s technically still Friday, after all.
Enough idle jibber-jabber. Let’s get to the links!
A Restaurant A Day…
These days, I eat the vast majority of meals at home, but I’ve long been passionate about searching near and far for good places to eat. I’m an admitted gastrotourist—I pick my travel destinations not based on historical significance, art, or culture, but by the prevalence of insanely-great eateries.
High on the list of places I like to visit for the food? New York. Henry just flew back from NYC, and I’ve already quizzed him about every meal he enjoyed while in the city. But vicarious living ain’t enough for me; if I live to be over 100 years old, I want to pull a Harry Rosen and dine out EVERY SINGLE NIGHT at a different hoity-toity restaurant in NYC. (Hat tip to Melicious!)
Pig Love
Oh, bacon. How I love you.
How To Make Friends And Impress People With Food Trivia
Ever have trouble engaging in light, witty cocktail-party banter? Me, too. My social circle prefers NPR to TMZ, so no one ever wants to chat about the Kardashians with me.
But through trial and error, I’ve learned that food trivia is a sure-fire ice-breaker. So if you’re searching for something to discuss that’s more interesting than the weather (but less controversial than politics), turn to Tori Avey’s Did You Know? 10 Surprising Food History Facts.
I, for one, can’t wait for my next opportunity to sprinkle trivia about “mock bananas” made with boiled turnips into casual conversation.
It’s Apple Season!
Speaking of food trivia, here’s a great party trick you can use to impress a crowd: Memorize this list of 20 apple varieties. Then, challenge someone to an apple-variety name-off. You’ll win every time, and hearts will flutter.
Don’t worry. No one will think you’re weird at all.
(Speaking of apples, don’t forget to make some apple chips, too. Here’s a recipe you can use. There’s one in my upcoming cookbook, too!)
A Hunter’s Perspective
Hank Shaw beautifully explains the respect that hunters have for the animals they kill and eat. After reading this piece, you’ll have no doubt about why Hank is an award-winning blogger and one of my favorite food writers.
Top Ten Superfoods
Laura from Ancestralize Me has compiled a list of the best, most nutrient-dense (and frankly, tasty) foods you can eat. Everything on the list is surprisingly budget-friendly, so the next time someone tells you they can’t eat Paleo because it’s so expensive, shove this list in their FACE! (Nicely, of course.)
A Tiny Taste Test
This is what happens when you have a blind taste test between grass fed and corn fed beef. In an NPR office cubicle. Cooked on a teeny-tiny portable grill.
I wonder how many fire codes were violated in the making of this video.
Waste Land
Have you ever had the sneaking suspicion that the expiration dates printed on your food packages didn’t correlate to actual spoilage? Something always bugged me about these dates—it seemed like consumers were being encouraged to throw away food while it was still perfectly fine. But who was responsible for telling us to chuck our food (and go buy more)?
Well, it turns out that the big food companies aren’t just lab-engineering Frankenfoods—they’re concocting “sell by” dates, too:
…the only food product for which date labeling is required is baby food. So that means all those juice, milk, and egg date labels you’ve grown to “trust” are created by the food manufacturers themselves with no uniform or official guidelines.
Check out Food+Tech Connect’s Infographic of the Day, which outlines why it may not make sense to heed the dates printed on your food packaging.
I Am SO Getting This Book
Food. Celebrities. Gossip.
I don’t read many books (that aren’t cookbooks), but From Scratch: Inside The Food Network is one that I won’t put down ’til it’s done. (The Daily Beast offers a quick rundown of some of the juiciness to be found within the pages of this book.) Published just in time for my beach vacation, this book’s going to keep me entertained like no other. I mean, there’s even dish about Sandra Lee’s infamous Kwanzaa Cake.
What could be better?
Recipe Roundup
Last but not least: the recipes I’ve bookmarked from the Interwebs this week!
- Olive Oil Braised Vegetables. Slowly braised in olive oil infused with herbs, anchovies, lemon, and chile flakes, these tender vegetables are packed with umami.
- Simple Chia Pudding. Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia’s everywhere these days, and I’m not talking about the pottery that grows. As Mark Sisson points out, it may not be the superfood that everyone claims it is, but it’s not unhealthy—and it sure makes for a tasty pudding.
- Chocolate Pie. Yes, I said CHOCOLATE PIE. This is a dish by the marvelous Kelly Brozyna, and you can find the recipe in her new cookbook—hitting shelves on October 1! (And if you’re good, Kelly might even let me post the recipe soon!)
Alrighty, gang—I gotta get going. I’m heading off for a week of R&R with the family tomorrow morning, and I still haven’t finished packing. I know, I know…call the WAAAHmbulance.
