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On the Blogs: Doritos Locos Taco, James Beard Awards and Franken-Meat
22 Feb 2012 | 1:00 pm
FN Dish – Food Network Blog
USA TODAY: The marriage of two junk foods: Taco Bell creates taco shells made from Doritos chips.
Miami New Times: South Beach Wine & Food Festival begins tomorrow. Celeb chefs share their favorite spots to eat during their weekend in the sun.
Light Years: “Franken-meat” is grown from a petri dish and it costs $330,000 to make. Could it be the future of the burger?
Wall Street Journal: Hospital chefs are personalizing their menus for patients and reinventing hospital cuisine. Goodbye, plain baked fish; hello, tilapia en papillote.
Delights & Prejudices (JBF Blog): Semifinalists for the prestigious James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards are announced. Spotted on the lists: Michael Chiarello, Scott Conant and Bryan Voltaggio.
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How Wolfgang Puck Prepares for the Governors Ball
22 Feb 2012 | 10:00 am
FN Dish – Food Network Blog
While you’re watching the Oscars, Wolfgang Puck is preparing to feed more than 1,500 Hollywood big shots at the Governors Ball. Here’s his routine.
Believe it or not, Wolfgang isn’t a movie buff — he sees only one or two a year. He got the gig cooking for the Governors Ball 18 years ago because celebs had been heading to his restaurant, Spago, instead of the Academy’s official party. Wolfgang has been cooking for the ball ever since, but he doesn’t think about the menu until about a month and a half before the big day. The classics — mini Kobe burgers, smoked salmon and those famous gold-covered chocolate Oscars — are always on the menu, but for the rest, Wolfgang is a procrastinator. “I work much better under pressure,” he says.
Once he pins down the menu, Wolfgang starts shopping for ingredients. But this isn’t your normal trip to the grocery store. Last year, Wolfgang phoned a fish supplier in Holland to get top-quality Dover sole. If he needs black truffles, he calls his guy in France. “We get the best ingredients and try not to mess them up too much,” he jokes.
As soon as nominees are announced, event planners send out invitations, and soon afterward, the special dietary requests start flooding in. Even though Wolfgang makes several main dishes (including a vegetarian one) and dozens more appetizers, he still has to accommodate picky eaters.
In the days leading up to the Oscars, Wolfgang spends more time in front of the camera than at the stove; his press tour includes as many as 10 interviews in a morning. The number one question he is asked: How do you decide on the menu? “This is like making a song or creating a painting,” he says. “You find inspiration, you decide OK and then you do it.”
An army of 300 cooks prepares the meal; the team includes sous chefs from Wolfgang’s restaurants and students from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles. Some start prepping at 6 a.m., but Wolfgang arrives around 11 a.m. For the past two years, his 17-year-old son, Byron, has helped, as well. “I told him he has to start working more so that, in 20 years, he can take over for me.”
At about 3 p.m., Wolfgang makes an appearance on the red carpet before heading back to the kitchen. And just like all of the other stars in attendance, he dresses to the nines for the event: a bigwig fashion designer makes him a special chef’s jacket for the night.
During the show, Wolfgang and his team watch a live feed. The chefs use the broadcast to time their dishes. They’ve got it down to a science so that hot, plated dinners hit tables just before the guests arrive.
At the end of the night, the kitchen crew packs up the leftover food for Angel Harvest, which delivers it to shelters and soup kitchens. Wolfgang doesn’t relax until it’s all over. “There’s always something that could go wrong,” he says. His last order of business: “I have a nice glass of champagne, and that’s it.”
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Wheatgrass: Is It Worth the Hype?
22 Feb 2012 | 8:00 am
FN Dish – Food Network Blog
Have you tried wheatgrass? Should you?
Consumers are buying trendy products like acai, mangosteen and coconut water like crazy lately. But many folks forget to do their research to find out if they’re going to end up flushing their money down the toilet. Today we’re delving into wheatgrass to tell you if this trendy green plant is worth the buzz.
The History of Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass was made popular by Boston’s Ann Wigmore, who immigrated to the U.S. from Lithuania. She believed that wheatgrass could cure disease from her interpretation of the Bible and from observing dogs and cats feeding off the plant when they became sick. In the early 1980s Wigmore was sued by the Massachusetts Attorney General over claims that her wheatgrass program could decrease or eliminate the need of insulin for diabetics. Although she later retracted the claim, in 1988 she was sued again for claiming that her “energy enzyme soup” cured AIDS. She was finally ordered to stop claiming that she was licensed to treat disease. In 1993, Wigmore died but her ideas on wheatgrass live on.
What is Wheatgrass?
Wheatgrass is the young grass of a wheat plant. It’s also called dog grass, quack grass, witch grass and couchgrass. It grows in temperate climates in Europe and the United States and can grow both indoors or outdoors. Folks can easily grow their own wheatgrass by placing wheat seeds in water and giving it time to grow.
This grass has a bitter, earthy flavor that most folks wince at, especially when they take a “shot” of wheatgrass juice.
Nutrition Info
Two fluid ounces of concentrated wheatgrass juice contain 15 calories, 15% of your daily dose of vitamin C and 20% your daily dose of iron. It also contains vitamin E, calcium and magnesium.
The Hype
Fans of wheatgrass claim that it has numerous health benefits from boosting immunity to detoxifying the body to destroying harmful bacteria in your gut. Other claims include the ability to fight cancer, anemia, diabetes, skin conditions, colon cleansing and joint pain. Much of the hype comes from the fact that wheatgrass is made from 70% chlorophyll, which is more than any other green leafy veggie.
There are few studies on wheatgrass, and the scientific evidence that’s available doesn’t back up any of these health claims. In addition, the American Cancer Society agrees that there’s not enough evidence to support any anti-cancer claims.
Others say that drinking wheatgrass juice is a simple way to get in all your veggies, but a “shot” of this green juice won’t replace all the phytochemicals and diversity of nutrients you’ll get by eating a variety of colorful veggies.
Safety
Although wheatgrass is considered reasonably safe, side effects include nausea, headaches, hives and constipation. Since it’s grown in the soil or water and eaten raw, it can easily be contaminated with bacteria or mold.
Pregnant and nursing women are strongly advised to avoid any form of it. If you have a gluten intolerance or wheat or grass allergy, you should also avoid it.
Bottom Line: Wheatgrass is not a miracle cure for disease nor is it a magic veggie. If you can tolerate its strong grassy taste, then do so occasionally. You’re better off saving your money and investing your taste buds in a diverse selection of delicious fruits and veggies.
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Bringing Up Baby — Simple Scratch Cooking
21 Feb 2012 | 1:00 pm
FN Dish – Food Network Blog
The early days of becoming a new parent felt like a blur. Life was on fast-forward, and faced with sleep deprivation, well, it’s no wonder my memories are far from vivid regarding that “breaking in” period. What I do clearly remember, though, is that by the end of the first month, I craved a home-cooked meal. No kidding — my husband and I ate takeout for the first four weeks as Mom and Dad.
Even ordering the healthiest to-go meals took its toll on me mentally. I missed the scent of onions browning in a skillet and marinara sauce bubbling away on the stovetop. By the time our second daughter was born five years later, I had a better idea of what to expect and easily jumped back into my normal cooking routines.
If you’re wondering about a better way to balance mealtime and motherhood the first time around, you’re in luck. Debbie Koenig, who blogs at Words To Eat By, has a new book out that I wish existed back in 2003, when my brood was just beginning. Full disclosure: Debbie and I are friends, but once you start reading Parents Need to Eat Too: Nap-Friendly Recipes, One-Handed Meals and Time-Saving Kitchen Tricks for New Parents, you’ll see my gushing over her book has nothing to do with friendship. It’s a survival guide of sorts, a cheat sheet to making your own nutrition as high a priority as your new baby’s.
One of my favorite tips, silly as it may sound, is to buy a kitchen timer if you don’t already own one. Right now it may be easy to keep track of what’s in the oven, but once you’ve got a little one who needs changing, napping and feeding of his own, you’ll realize that little “beep, beep” is the difference between a home-cooked meal and a burnt one.
Fast and Easy, New Parent Meal Ideas:
Fish Piccata
Three Bean and Beef Chili
Italian Mixed Salad
Ginger-Soy Marinated Flank Steak
Jennifer Perillo is a recipe developer and food writer living in Brooklyn, N.Y. Her recipes and tips for feeding families homemade meals are a regular feature in Working Mother magazine, where she’s the consulting food editor, as well Relish Magazine, Parenting, Kiwi and her blog, In Jennie’s Kitchen.
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Join Us at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival
21 Feb 2012 | 10:00 am
FN Dish – Food Network Blog
Leave the winter chill behind and take a trip to the tropics (literally) at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. We’ll be at the festival all weekend long chowing down on grub with Food Network stars Rachael Ray, Robert Irvine, Bobby Flay, The Neelys, Michael Symon, Paula Deen and more.
Want to join us? You can find our editors covering the following events throughout the four-day festival.
If you can’t make it to the festival this year, tune into FN Dish for our coverage all weekend long.
Burger Bash hosted by Rachael Ray (Friday, Feb. 24)
Join Rachael Ray and some of your favorite Food Network chefs — Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay and Marc Forgione — for a bash so big it has moved to the trademark white tent behind the Ritz-Carlton. Two-time reigning champ and B Spot owner Michael Symon nabbed the 2011 People’s Choice award with his burger of fried salami, provolone, ShaSha Hot Sauce and pickled onion. Who will the people vote for this year?
Party Impossible hosted by Robert Irvine (Friday, Feb. 24)
Munch on gourmet meats, cheeses, breads, soups, pastries and prepared foods from Miami’s popular Epicure Market. Plus, sip on the hottest new drinks from mixologists at Southern Wine & Spirits while a DJ spins tunes and Robert Irvine cuts it up on the dance floor. (OK, we can’t guarantee he’ll be dancing, but the only way you’ll know is if you go!)
Interactive Dinner hosted by The Neelys (Saturday, Feb. 25)
Get down and dirty with Gina and Pat Neely as they present a Memphis-style cooking lesson. Find out how Food Network’s favorite married couple run successful restaurants, and taste cocktails mixed up by Gina. Expect lots of dancing as urban blues singer Bobby Bryan takes the floor for this very musical dinner.
The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Late Night Bites & Sweets presented by Food Network and Cooking Channel (Saturday, Feb. 25)
Sunny Anderson, Melissa d’Arabian, Anne Burrell, Nadia G., Roger Mooking, Alex Guarnaschelli, Aaron Sanchez and Geoffrey Zakarian share their favorite finger foods and desserts. Try a sweet treat from the Godiva lounge and see what late-night dishes have captured the hearts of Food Network and Cooking Channel talent.
The Flavors of Flay (Saturday, Feb. 25)
This one-of-a-kind event is an ode to Bobby’s many successful restaurants. Join his executive chefs as you sample bold, Southwestern fare from Mesa Grill, American flavors from Bar Americain, classic steakhouse cuts from Bobby Flay Steak and the best buns from the grill at Bobby’s Burger Palace.
BBQ & The Blues hosted by Michael Symon (Saturday, Feb. 25)
Join Thrillist, Iron Chef Michael Symon and some of Miami’s top culinary masterminds for a celebration of delicious meaty goodness. Have a cocktail or two as you rock out to the musical stylings of Diablo Dimes & The Bloodhounds.
Mexican Foods & Tequila with Marcela Valladolid & Mark Oldman (Sunday, Feb. 26)
Travel south of the border with Mexican Made Easy star Marcela Valladolid. Try creations like Spice Rubbed Quail, Citrus & Tequila Ceviche and Chorizo Tequila Clam from her first cookbook Fresh Mexico: 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor. Master Sommelier Mark Oldman is serving up the perfect liquid pairing for this fiesta you don’t want to miss.
Trucks on the Beach: The Official Festival Closing Party (Sunday, Feb. 26)
End the 11th year of the Festival with a food truck bash hosted by Travel Channel’s Andrew Zimmern. Miami’s top mobile eats, like Big Gay Ice Cream, Mac n Soul, The Flying Saucer and Mr. Good Stuff, are the perfect way to try a variety of last bites.
Paula Deen’s Brunch (Sunday, Feb. 26)
Paula Deen has rounded up some of her favorite Southern chefs to prepare the best meals below the Mason-Dixon Line. This buffet-style brunch features food from Five & Ten, Ford’s Filling Station and Ed’s Chowder House, among others. Come with an empty stomach!
