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 Chocolate & Zucchini
Clotilde Dusoulier
  
Sesame Mill: The Gadget You Never Knew You Needed
I introduced it to its new pals, the single-thumb pepper grinder and the callipygian nutmeg shaver, and marveled at how well it matched the color of my couch. Now filled with toasted unhulled sesame seeds, it is my new favorite toy, and I wield it with abandon over grated carrot salads, pea pod soups, and sliced strawberries. When it's empty, I will refill it with a mix of sesame seeds and sea salt to make gomasio. Oh, and if you're of the party-pooping mind that a gadget serving only one purpose is a waste of space, I'll have you know that this one can also be used to grind flaxseed. So there.
Washington Post
Food & Dining
Distillers Betting On 'Boutique' Versions of Hooch
The word "moonshine" conjures bootleggers and fast cars, mobsters and flappers. There's just one question: If it's legal, is it really moonshine? "Boutique moonshine" technically is an oxymoron. By definition, moonshine is corn whiskey made in an unregistered still and sold untaxed. But such parsing is less important to mixologists than the desire to resurrect obscure spirits. First it was absinthe, the long-banned "green fairy" favored by artists such as Van Gogh. Then it was rye, the hick cousin of single-malt Scotch. Next up: moonshine.
Passionate Cook
Johanna Wagner
Mojito Cheesecakes
Of course, I am a bit of a light-weight and drink them very weak, but that doesn't distract from the flavour too much and the pleasure lasts for longer. In fact, this incarnation of mojitos in cheesecake format can do entirely without the alcohol... I found them in an issue of delicious magazine and there's a fabulous line-up of summer recipes by Tom Aikens - sticky pork ribs, tuna teriyaki burgers and for dessert: mojito cheesecake. What a wonderful grown-up menu for a garden party!
Vinography
Alder Yarrow
The Flavors in Wine are Yours Alone
One out of five people may not be able to perceive one of the signature flavors in tens of thousands of wines from around the world from Australian Shiraz, to Central Coast Syrah, to Cotes du Rhone. And some people who are hyper-sensitive to the compound may think some wines with elevated levels of Rotundone taste downright nasty, while the rest of us may just enjoy the spicy qualities of the same wine. Research like this makes me giggle.
Simply Recipes
Elise Bauer
The Finger Test to Check the Doneness of Meat
My mother has been trying to get me to test meat with my finger tips for years, and for years, being somewhat of a scaredy cat (won't it burn my fingers?) I ignored, avoided, ran away from the idea. This really isn't rocket science. The next time you cook a steak, even if you are still planning to rely on a meat thermometer, press on the meat here and there while it cooks, and compare the feeling of the meat with the following finger test. With practice, you will become more confident.
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Splendid Table
American Public Media
Isaac Mizrahi
This week it's a fashionista in the kitchen. We'll talk with designer Isaac Mizrahi, who has some strong opinions about cookbooks and some "issues" with entertaining. His latest book, How to Have Style, will be published in October 2008. For the Sterns it's the cream of the cremas (and pastries) at Crema in Portland, Oregon. Produce maven Russ Parsons talks how to find the ever-elusive great strawberry, Lettie Teague is back with new trends in house wines, we'll play a new round of Stump the Cook with celebrity stump master Christopher Kimball, and Richard Wiles has a shoppers guide to pesticides in produce.
Cooks Illustrated
Current Issue
In This Issue
New York Times
Dining and Wine
What's the Peppery Note in Those Shirazes?
So an excess of rotundone may well be the cause of what the wine writer Jancis Robinson describes as the burned rubber quality in some Rhone syrahs. And it probably contributed to the inedibility of my mashed potatoes. The Band-Aid aftertaste, meanwhile, was one of the unpleasant undertones, from medicinal to manure-like, that are produced in white pepper when peppercorns are fermented. Black pepper is pleasantly aromatic by comparison, with a kind of woody freshness. ...about 20 percent of them could not detect rotundone at all, even at concentrations far above what's found in white pepper. ...maybe all restaurant cooks should be routinely tested for sensitivity to the basic seasonings. We don't want the pepper grinder to fall into the wrong hands.
Traveler's Lunchbox
Melissa Kronenthal
Second-Place Scampi
That tangle of chewy pasta, tangy with wine, slick with olive oil and hiding a treasure trove of langoustines and briny, tightly-curled shrimp in its folds, was not only in a class by itself, but an entire galaxy. It was salty and garlicky and tasted like I would imagine seafood-flavored crack might taste, if they ever invented such a thing. It was nothing extravagant, nothing novel or daring - it was just perfect in every way. I sat there dumbfounded, almost unable to speak, suddenly oblivious to the draft from the door and the roar of the drunk sailors in the room behind us - and, for that matter, my poor sulking husband, whose risotto tasted like chalk by comparison and who has still not forgiven me for talking him into ordering it.
David Lebovitz
David Lebovitz
Chocolate-Dipped Florentines
Sure there's some great French channels, but I'm kinda lazy when I'm eating and prefer the English-language ones, which usually means CNN International. It's not bad, but they often repeat the same story over and over and over again, tweaking it ever-so-slightly each time they report it. (Although one story they haven't reported on, oddly, is their reporter who got caught in Central Park with a knot—and more, in his knickers.) So I often find myself flipping through cookbooks while I eat...
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Smitten Kitchen
Deb Smitten
Jim Lahey's Potato Pizza
Unfortunately, the recipe I'd found on Martha Stewart's site is riddled with errors. The water level would make batter, not dough. It doesn't mention the second bread rise. It seems to think that there is just one tablespoon of chopped onion on more than two feet of pizza, something my many sample slices have clearly shown otherwise. And, it seems to think that you can bake a 1/2-inch thick pizza at 440 degrees for 30 minutes and remove anything other than a burnt cracker.
Orangette
Molly Wizenberg
Western Union
Hello working hard do not have time to write properly so decided to send telegram STOP Also do not have recipe STOP In past week, overcooked asparagus ate salami that tasted funny burned bread decided to eat celery with peanut butter for dinner but found celery molding in crisper drawer STOP Ate olives and cereal instead STOP Do not pity me STOP I like olives and cereal STOP Separately not together STOP And this too shall pass STOP Writing in telegram style is fun STOP Except am tired of typing stop STOP
New York Times Magazine
Style Section
The Way We Eat: The Drench Connection
The tradition of siropiasta, syrup-soaked pastries and cakes, lives on most deliciously, to my mind, in its semolina cakes, which are easy to make and incredibly versatile. Revani and its slightly denser cousin, samali, are made with a mixture of semolina and ground almonds that is drenched just out of the oven in an aromatic syrup. It's the syrup that allows for the most creativity. I've had delicious results with everything from straightforward lemon-sugar to warming cinnamon-clove to sophisticated orange zest and brandy. Rosewater can be added for its seductive perfume, or orange-blossom water to conjure memories of summer nights. Replacing the sugar with honey produces a mellower sweetness.
French Laundry at Home
Carol Blymire
Fava Bean Agnolotti with Curry Emulsion
With all due respect to the ladies of the night, I am a whore for curry. I just love the stuff. I put curry powder in scrambled eggs, creamed spinach, stir-fry dishes, chicken salad, on steamed fish... I think next to tarragon, it's my second-favorite seasoning. I love the scent, the taste, the color, the slight bit of heat and smoke, the way it changes and is augmented by other seasonings and flavors... it's just one of my favorite things in the whole world. Curry is calming, but not boring. It's familiar, yet still slightly exotic.
101 Cookbooks
Heidi Swanson
Orzo Soup Recipe
For those of you unfamiliar with orzo, it is pasta shaped like a chubby grain of rice. It even comes in a whole wheat version, which is what I use. Orzo plays the lead role in this simple soup made with the petite pasta swimming in an egg drop soup style broth that has been boosted with flecks of chard and topped with vibrant, fire-roasted tomatoes. It's finished with an all-important thread of golden olive oil and a flurry of grated cheese. All in all a quick and vibrant bowl of not-too-heavy sustenance.
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