Hot Stuff: Food Blog Round Up
Lucky Carol Ness! The Chronicle Food section scribe is off in Turin, Italy, to update us on a BIG meeting for the Slow Food Movement. Her detailed reporting has always shined (ring the full disclosure bell: yes, we used to intern there, and yes, we have pals there, including our husband). Of particular note is the fact that many Californians--both famous and not so much - are participating. For the record, Dairy Queen at The Ethicurean is interested and green with envy over the Turin happenings. Mmmmkay. We're not sure we agree with Ms. DQ that the Bay Area scene is “as deserted as New York in August.” We'd rather be here, with all the artisan chocolate with tea notes, pumpkins, squash, beets, and cavolo nero popping up. We mean it, we really, really do.
Mary at Alpineberry's nutty (food pun alert “FPA” number one!) post on making a chocolate peanut butter tart had us thinking she is one smart cook. She said, "Peanut butter pastry cream-- a phrase that I have never uttered before tasting this luscious creation but will forever speak with the utmost reverence." We'll go to church if it means we can worship that one, too. She reminded us of the glee we felt this weekend, standing at a party buffet table, opening and goblin-ing a handful of Reese's peanut butter cups. We wish those little PB gems came in dark chocolate, too.
SFist Mary Ladd contributing
In the "we're not sure we want to try it" category, Accidental Hedonist debates the merits of Deep Fried Coke. Yummy doughy batter, meet Coke. Great points, there: dessert is meant to be bad for us. Further, why is including Coke different from other "positively decadent" ingredients in other high and low brow desserts? Wethinks all of Coke's chemicals may be the culprit.
Put down the Coke and think about traditions and how rare and nice it is when family members pass them along. One of our favorite fellow carnivores,
MeatHenge has some good family advice gleaned from his father "more than 30 years ago" to share on how to cure the unsexy problem of garlicky smelling maws. We always like MeatHenge’s handy instructions, pics and wit.
Another witty gent is Garrett at Vanilla Garlic. He wins the prize for this week's weird idea that looks great and has a good explanation, in the form of his Tomato Soup Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. These cupcakes reflect sensible cooking using pantry ingredients at hand, something our Southern based ists had to do in the 1940's and 50's. We feel the tomato soup's (you gotta go with the canned soup, so it feels REAL 1950's style, people!) nutritive value is likely diminished once cooked. Parents may not want to use the cupcakes as a way to get their kiddoodles to eat 5 A Day The Colorful Way. Instead, think of it as an introduction to savory baked goods.
Pizza is not usually a way to get 5 A Day, unless going for healthy veggie options. We end on a pizza note because we started with Turin, Italy, and pizza makes our weekly 1 A Day, the Unhealthy Way. Let's remember one of our first jobs in high school. The glamourous and lucrative role of making and delivering pizzas for Round Table Pizza showed us wassup in the kitchen of a pizza franchise. Though we rarely consume RTP much anymore, we have a smidgen of loyalty to the saucy lessons and memories they gave us (yes, if you are a jerk, you may get anchovy juice "accidentally" spilled all over your pie).
Life Begins at 30 is thinking about Round Table, too. She wants us to head over to the KQED Food Blog Bay Area Bites to chime in our thoughts about their New Pepperoni Artisan Pizza. We wonder: do other people love pepperoni like we do? Is the new RTP product one of the reasons the Turin meeting is so vital to foodies, consumers, farmers, and everyone else? Can it also be a case of a greedy corporation trying to get some of the gourmet dollahs? Does it remind you or Burger King and Rick Bayless? Or is it may be a way of updating their product, to reflect current national cravings? That's a slice of politics we need to chew over.