DIGEST: Washington Post Food section

[hannnah]

Welcome to the Washington Post food section digest for March 17, 2004.

Before we get to the good stuff, congratulations to James Beard Journalism Award nominees Tom Sietsema (Newspaper Restaurant Review or Critique) and Walter Nicholls (Newspaper Feature Writing with Recipes, for "The All-American Pan," published Apr. 2, 2003).

Today's highlights:

Seeing Green: Robert Wolke discusses how to get your vegetables to stay green when cooked, in honor of St. Patrick's Day. He concludes with a small rant on how microwaves do not destroy the nutrients in food, despite what you may have heard.

Mix and Mash: Behold the humble mashed potato in all its glory. Here are some suggestions for additions to dress up your mash and give it some extra zing.

It's a Guy Thing: Apparently the way to a woman's heart is through her stomach. Candy Sagon reviews a new how-to guide for guys who want to woo women with their culinary skills.

The Chocolate Fountain: Welcome to Washington's latest cocktail-party craze: the chocolate fondue fountain. Local fountain vendors are highlighted in the sidebar.

To Do: Wine dinners galore, including the Vernal Equinox dinner at (where else?) Equinox; Passover and Easter dessert clinics by Ann Amernick, plus many other events.

We Just Happened to Overhear... an amusing conversation at a Falls Church chicken emporium.

Dinner in 20 Minutes: Peanut Butter Pasta.

A Spicy Combination: Readers love Penzey's Balti Seasoning.

Today's Tip: How to make blue or pink applesauce for kids without that nasty tasting blue food coloring.

Things Are Just Nuts Around Here: Various varieties of nut butters reviewed.

The Other Montalcino: Brunello di Montalcino is expensive and can be hard to find - why not try Rosso di Montalcino instead?

Tidy Spices: Storage suggestions for scattered spices.

The Weekly Dish: Congratulations to the local Beard Award nominated restaurants and chefs. Four of the five chefs nominated for the Best Chef Mid-Atlantic region--which also includes Philadelphia--come from Washington, DC. Also, a new Mexican restaurant opens on the site of an old one in Georgetown.

Edit to add link to Tom Sietsema's weekly chat.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, March 24, 2004

Today's highlights -

Flavors of Home: When Salvadorans in the DC area, including Zaytinya's head chef Jorge Chicas, want foods from home, they head to a strip mall in Northern Virginia's Arlandria neighborhood. A list of the stores is included in the sidebar.

Buried in Salt - Catalan salt-crust baking. Includes recipes for salt-baked pork loin and whole red snapper.

Understanding Omega-3s: What are omega-3 fatty acids, why are they good for you, and in what foods can you find them?

Scholarship Alert: The DC chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier are giving away up to $12,000 to qualified women in the area pursuing education in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries. Request applications at lesdamesdc@aol.com.

Take Some Time for Tea: Numi teas introduces a new line of beverages - some are good, some are described as "Tang meets Theraflu."

Snubbing Carbs? If you're low-carbing and can't spend enough money on steak, you can always try these anti-carb T-shirts from Neiman Marcus.

Today's Tip: Cilantro and parsley stems are edible - use 'em!

Dinner in 15 Minutes: Shrimp in Cilantro-Yogurt Sauce.

To Do: This week's activities include an Armenian Lenten food festival, Easter cookie decorating, gluten-free cooking, and various wine events.

Book Review: Good Fat, by Fran McCullough. Which fats are good, which are bad, and how to get more of the good ones into your diet. Shouldn't be that hard - chocolate and coconut are considered good. Example recipes are included.

Watercress: What's new in the produce aisle this week. Includes recipes for wilted sesame watercress, and a watercress and walnut salad.

Wine - Kosher for Passover: Michael Franz gets over his fear of Kosher wines (bad Mogen David in college! Bad!) and provides a solid list of excellent, very good, and avoid-at-all-costs selections.

Redefining Food of the 50s: A review of Laura Shapiro's Something From the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America. What drove the creation of convenience foods? Were they as pervasive as we've been led to believe? Shapiro examines the influences on the domestic landscape after World War II.

The Weekly Dish: Chef Jay Comfort is leaving Poste after two years; Thai Coast replaces Donatello's on L Street.

Today's live chat transcript with Tom Sietsema.

Edit to add a link to Michael Franz's biweekly wine chat.

Edited March 24, 2004 by hannnah (log)

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, March 31, 2004

When Good Oil Goes Bad: Robert Wolke's biweekly food science column discusses why oils become rancid, and what you can do to stop them.

Parsley By the Bunch: It's not just for garnish anymore - parsley can be the basis for salads and soups, as well as a tasty addition to other dishes.

The Kid in the Kitchen: A 15-year old food lover dives into the world of the kitchen by apprenticing at Marcel's.

Dad's Chopped Liver: Style section reporter and former Reliable Source Annie Groer reminisces about her dad's chopped liver recipe. It may not have schmaltz, but apparently it's still good.

Market Watch: Horseradish: It's not a radish, and it's significantly less sinus-searing if cooked - learn more about this pungent root.

Whole Grain: Review of Bear Naked Fruit and Nut Granola.

Holy Mole! Review of Chocolate Mayordomo's moles - Negro and Rojo.

You Found How Many Mustards in Your Fridge?! Apparently April 4-10 is National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Week. Who knew?

To Do: Panel discussion on the future of DC-area farm markets at GWU/Mt. Vernon College; wine dinner at Breaux Vineyards, and a fundraiser for Brainfood at Anyu.

Dinner in 25 Minutes: Parchment-poached Cod with Asparagus.

Today's Tip: If you're one of those people who just has to save and reuse resealable plastic bags, try drip-drying them over chopsticks.

The Weekly Dish: New Dupont Circle Greek restaurant Mourayo has a Greek-American chef at the helm.

Wine - Select Cabernets from Napa: The Baby Boom generation of Napa winemakers has produced a dandy crop of Cabernets - see the tasting notes for the latest offerings.

In Celebration of Howard University: A new cookbook includes recipes and history of the university and the community.

Tom's weekly chat.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, April 7, 2004

Formerly Known as Sutton Place: The new CEO of the Sutton Place group wants to return the grocery chain (which includes Hay Day Markets in Connecticut and Balducci's in New York) to its former glory. They're all going to be called Balducci's. We're already discussing it here in the DC forum.

In a related article, Post writers compare Sutton Place/Balducci's prepared dishes with those at the new Wegman's in Sterling.

Organic Salmon? Says Who? Regular old farm-raised salmon scares people, but if you call it "organic" it sells better. Problem is, there's no US standard for "organic" seafood - so what are they selling?

Easier for Easter: An easy-to-pull-together, spring-influenced Easter menu, including recipes for herb-crusted rack of lamb with fresh mint sauce, glazed baby carrots and sugar snap peas, and lemon curd tart with candied almond topping.

The Egg And You: Eggs are chock-full of protein and healthy amino acids. They also contain a relatively high amount of cholesterol. So, do they really cause high cholesterol and heart disease, or are you safe if you eat them in moderation? Dietitian Katherine Tallmadge continues her series of articles on healthy eating. The sidebar lists some of eggs' good qualities.

To Do: Get Emeril to BAM your book at Olsson's in Arlington on the 8th; take a food safety course, learn how to cook low-carb meals, attend a wine tasting at Magruder's on Connecticut Avenue.

We're Listening, Mom: Results of a Parenting/AOL survey reveal that 36 percent of parents can't remember the last time their children tried a new food and liked it, 27 percent of dads are messier eaters than their kids (at least according to moms), and the same percentage of parents have tried to pull a Sandra Lee and pass off precooked foods as their own. Fortunately, it only works 16 percent of the time.

Golly Ghee: Intense buttery goodness in a jar, available at your local grocery store. And, it's lactose, trans-fatty-acid, and salt-free!

Dinner in Minutes: Scallop and Citrus Salad. If you read the recipe, it looks like it might take 5 or 10 minutes, maximum - why there are no minutes in the headline I don't know, but I feel cheated. Bring back the minutes!

Beyond the Baseball Bag: Mixed wasabi and honey-glazed peanuts.

Bright and Snappy: Natural Easter eggs, of the radish variety.

Farmers Market Ahead!: Send in your farmers market listings for publication now - deadline is Friday, April 23.

True Colors: Who needs all that artificial Easter egg dye, when you've got more than enough color hanging around the kitchen? How to make your very own egg dyes out of cabbage, coffee, and cherry juice.

Market Watch - Chervil: No, not gerbil, chervil. This member of the carrot family signals the coming of spring at local farmers' markets, and is good on eggs and salmon.

What Your $12 Refund Can Buy: As tax season looms, Michael Franz discusses good wines you can purchase even if Uncle Sam has just lifted all your disposable income.

Come With an Empty Tank: Where I grew up, the local gas station served "Pizza, Homemade Chili, and Nightcrawlers." In Charlottesville, you can get blood orange martinis and veal carpaccio at the new Fuel Co. Given a choice, I think I'd go with Charlottesville.

The Weekly Dish: Make a reservation at Inn at Little Washington, and expect to be Googled for information they can use to make your evening more special. Exemplary customer service, or stalking? You decide.

Transcript of Tom Sietsema's Chat: highlights include tips from Cafe Atlantico's chef Katsuya Fukushima on how to clean your molcajete, silly restaurant names, and lots of personal questions for Tom. Also, Tom knows who the new New York Times restaurant critic is, but he ain't tellin'. Let the speculation continue!

Transcript of Michael Franz's Grapevine chat: Australia/New Zealand wines, more bargains, and Michael's pathological hatred of limoncello.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, April 14, 2004

Just Add Asparagus: Spring's here (not that you'd know it from going outside), and it's time for asparagus - not just on its own as a side dish, but as an ingredient. Recipes include asparagus and potato salad with mustard vinaigrette; asparagus, shrimp, and spring pea salad; and asparagus and smoked mozzarella toasts. The sidebar provides tips on choosing the best asparagus.

Take the Diet Quiz: Feed your trivia fetish with 20 questions on fad diets through the ages. Answers are provided separately.

That Little Bit of Butter: Robert Wolke explains why butter thickens sauces where other fats won't - and it's not just because butter is a wonderful, magical thing.

Dinner in 15 Minutes: Spring chicken salad. And the minutes are back this week!

Put Spring in Your Sip: Umeshu - Japanese plum wine.

To Do: See Bruce Aidells, Nancy Oakes and Faith Willinger at the Dupont Circle farmers' market on Sunday; eat chocolates on Sunday or fondue on Tuesday for charity; wine dinner at Kinkead's; cooking demos with Giuliano Hazan on Monday and Tuesday.

Chocolate Beats Sex: More weird food data, courtesy of the Food in America poll. 54 percent think chocolate mousse is better than sex, followed by a bacon-topped burger at 19 percent, a 1995 Chateau Haut Brion at 16 percent, and a perfectly ripe plum at 11 percent.

Pack 'Em for the Park: Lightweight but tasty camping convenience foods.

Order the Chuk with Confidence: A field guide to dim sum.

Today's Tip: Use leftover waffle batter to make your own frozen waffles.

Market Watch - Baby Carrots: They're cute, they come in different colors, and they're tasty with a little tarragon.

Revealing a Chef's Secrets: A review of Valenti's Soups, Stews, and One-Pot Meals, by Tom Valenti, chef at 'Cesca and Ouest in New York. The recipes are good, but the foreword's boring and the index is really, really bad.

Three for Now, One for Later: European exchange rates are terrible at the moment, but there are 3 New World reds that might serve as acceptable substitutes. The One for Later is a suggested selection for the cellar or for a nice gift.

One Family's Pho: A Falls Church family opens their own pho restaurant, using their own special recipe.

The Weekly Dish: The former Cities in Adams Morgan is about to become Leftbank - a combination breakfast place, French bistro, and sushi bar. Two Amys is adding a "nibbly menu" - small plates of sausages, cheeses, and "Italian beer nuts," plus more wines by the glass.

Chat with Tom: His thoughts on the new New York Times restaurant critic, the best ____ (there are a lot of those), and where to take your parents when they come to town.

[hannnah]

only 1 day late...

Washington Post Food Section Digest, April 21, 2004

How Low Should You Go? Dietitian Katherine Tallmadge discusses the science behind low-carb diets and makes some suggestions for healthy low-carb dieting.

The Veal You May Not Know: Due to an FDA ban on growth hormone implants in veal calves, the price of veal has gone up and availability has gone down. What other effects is the ban having, and do consumers have to worry about eating veal? These and other questions are addressed here.

This chicken's not roasted, broiled, or fried. It's BROASTED. Good luck finding it, though.: Walter Nicholls takes us on a quest for tasty, succulent "broasted" fried chicken - from the Veterans Administration Cafeteria to the Thurmont Kountry Kitchen to the I-Mart in Hagerstown. Addresses are provided in case you have a hankering for juicy fried chicken.

Thrice is Nice: Cook one big batch of chicken breasts, eat dinner for 3 nights with minimal prep the second two nights, assuming you like eating the same basic food 3 nights in a row.

epiCUReanism: It wasn't originally synonymous with gourmet, but has become so over the years - see how epicureanism and food are related.

Dinner in Minutes: Soba with chicken and spinach. It's up to you to guess how long it should take, as there are no minutes in the headline again. The sidebar explains what soba is for the non-noodle-literate and discusses the different types available.

Today's Tip: Strain those custards and gelatin-based puddings to get out all the little lumpy bits.

Suited To a Tea, Aren't They?: Tea scoops from Harney & Sons of Connecticut.

Eat Generously: Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation's Black Tie/Blue Jean Gala - April 28 at the Marriott Wardman Park. All ticket sales benefit Capital Area Community Food Bank, D.C. Central Kitchen, Community Family Life Services, Food and Friends, and House of Ruth. $125 and $200, available through Taste of the Nation.

Book Report: Remembrance of Things Past - Sixty Years of Writing in Gourmet. A collection of Gourmet articles on Paris, edited by Ruth Reichl.

To Do: More organic cooking at Whole Foods in Tenleytown; Rehoboth Beach Wine and Food Festival; dinner with Ms. Hesser (Amanda that is) and Mr. Latte in Baltimore; various other cooking classes and demos.

Thanks, But No Thanks: The food section gets a lot of samples - including low carb cheese straws that "kind of taste like paste." Mmmm. Paste-y.

Behind Every Recipe: They don't just print this stuff without testing it, you know.

Nutritional Analysis: They also have a spiffy program that figures out the nutritional value of recipes based on the ingredients. Just don't ask them to calculate the net carbs. They seem touchy about that.

Market Watch: This week's fresh-from-the-market goody is sorrel. Includes a recipe for sorrel and chive sauce.

Just Don't Call It Chardonnay: There are plenty of wines made from Chardonnay grapes that don't taste like the ubiquitous oaky California-style Chardonnay. Michael Franz discusses Macons that are made from Chardonnay but have vastly different characters.

The Weekly Dish: Kempton Hotels alumni Jeremy Pollok and Eric "Bernie" Bernstrom open Tonic in Mt. Pleasant.

Cafe Theater: See Eat This New York at Visions and participate in Q&A sessions (plus tastings!) with Nora Pouillon, Jose Andres, Roberto Donna and Ann Cashion.

Tom Sietsema's food chat transcript

Michael Franz's Grapevine chat transcript

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section digest for April 28, 2004.

Yeah, I know it's a week late. Blame Yevgeny Yevtushenko.

Toasts of the Town: Things to do with day-old (or older) bread. Croutons! Fried bread! Breadcrumbs! Bread sauce! Bread pudding! French toast! Melba toast! Bruschetta!

Miso Goes Mainstream: Wonderful savory miso goes well in anything from the traditional miso soup to vinaigrettes, barbecue sauces, and even peanut butter sandwiches. Sidebars include a guide to the different types of miso, a short history of miso, and recipes - miso soup, dashi (soup stock), miso-marinated cod, citrus-miso vinaigrette, wilted greens with miso-tamarind sauce, miso-rice porridge, and miso-peanut butter sandwiches.

Confessions of a Bride: Lunatic decides to make her own wedding cake, despite various disasters and cats with an unusual fondness for royal icing. She even provides helpful tips, in case you too are a lunatic.

Where Creamed Corn's a Welcome Treat: Local diplomatic wives learn about local culture and regional cooking - including crab cakes and the aforementioned creamed corn.

Book Report: A 50th anniversary reissue of MFK Fisher's "The Art of Eating."

USDA's Nutrient Database

Feast Your Eyes: Edible elements of floral arrangements - including artichokes, raspberries, and asparagus.

Food Tip: Adding a couple of layers of newspaper under the paper towels helps to soak up the grease from fried food. Generations of fish and chip shops can't be wrong.

Up Rights: Use standup photo clip holders to hold recipe cards.

Dinner in Minutes - Lamb Chops Vert Pre. No minutes again, but the cooking times are so variable in this week's recipe it'd have to be "Dinner in 22-40 Minutes," which would just be untidy.

Weekly Dish: Tom visits Le Paradou.

Pass the Ginger Salad: Ginger salad recipe from Spices in Cleveland Park.

Let the Fun Begin: "Fun wines" - mostly Australians with aboriginal art on the label such as Yellow Tail - are the latest thing.

Market Watch: Fava beans.

Tom's Weekly Chat: He's never seen Iron Chef. Most of the posters are whining about something - including Lithuanian boiled pig's ears.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, May 5, 2004

Fabio Trabocchi Has His Own Way of Looking at Italian Food: From carpaccio with tofu to tiny goat rib chops to diver scallops with cod and pea puree, the chef at Maestro puts his own spin on Italian regional cuisine - and it's gotten him recognition in the form of a Beard Rising Star nomination.

The Pulverizer: Meet the molcajete - Mexican cooking's answer to the food processor. Sidebars include how to season and clean one, and what to make in one - salsas and guacamole.

Like Mother, Like Daughter: Moms are the most important influence on their children's eating habits - for good and bad.

Elegant Bug Warfare: Garden Incense to drive away the no-see-ums.

Consider the Source: Parmigiano vs. Pecorino - which to use when.

Dinner in 25 Minutes: Pasta with Asparagus and Fried Eggs. And minutes!

Golly Pops: Barley-sugar butterfly lollipops, for bridal or baby shower favors, or maybe just your best Kojak impersonation.

To Do: Clyde's Strawberry Festival and cooking demos galore.

Today's Food Tip: If you don't have a molcajete or a spice grinder, put seeds or spices in a plastic bag and whack them into submission with a meat mallet, rolling pin, or heavy skillet.

Defined: Collywobble: From Merriam Webster's Word of the Day.

Sweet and Pure: Piloncillo sugar from Mexico - for use with your molcajete.

Cookbook Honors: Results of the IACP Cookbook Awards.

The Weekly Dish: Silver Spring's Red Dog Cafe. It's not named after bad beer - there really is a red dog. Also, Poste gets a new chef, Robert Weland, by way of Guastavino in New York.

www.HassleFreeDinners.com: An online subscription service for meals, recipes, and shopping lists.

Nebbiolos Meet Barbaresco: The magical synergy between the Nebbiolo grape and the Barbaresco and Barolo regions in Italy - from those two places the wine is wonderful, from everywhere else it's crap. Michael Franz discusses Barbarescos, and will cover the Barolos in a couple of weeks.

Tom's Chat: Mother's Day brunches, overly perfumed diners, the best pizza sauce, and cicada kebabs.

Grapevine chat: Austrian wines, Spiegelau glassware, various food pairings.

[hannnah]

Behold, the Washington Post Food Section Digest for May 12, 2004

What's Natural? Natural vs. artificial flavors - they all come from a lab. Some of the "natural" flavors are more artificial than you'd think - Robert Wolke discusses some of the processes behind the wonders of modern flavor chemistry.

The Best of Spring In a Soup Bowl: You can have good homemade vegetable soup even if it's hot outside - just choose your veggies wisely and keep the flavors light.

Shelf Awareness: How can you tell how old that bottle of Worcestershire sauce that's been with you through three apartments and two significant others? Just look at the date code. A guide to the differences between sell-by, use-by, expiration, and best-by dates, and a PDF chart of pantry items' approximate shelf life are provided.

Sundays with George: Food Network has caved and put on a low-carb cooking show. Fortunately, it's not terrible.

Dinner in 25 Minutes: Spicy Tomato, Fennel, and Orange Sauce with Seafood. Current minutes count - 5 weeks with, 4 without.

Today's Tip: Wash the wax and other assorted detritus off your fruit before you zest.

Book Report - A Meal Observed, by Andrew Todhunter. Description of a soup-to-nuts dinner at Paris's Taillevent, written by a former apprentice in their kitchen.

Fruit Pureeists Can Appreciate: Jarred fruit purees from a Napa Valley supplier, now available for the home kitchen.

Brush Up: Don't destroy your nicely seasoned carbon steel wok by using a scouring pad - the traditional bamboo wok brush works just fine.

To Do: An Armenian food festival, Italian cooking class, and French wine dinner.

Have Your Pick of the Area's Farmers Markets: The yearly listing of farmers' markets in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Market Watch - Fingerling Potatoes: Boiled, pan-fried, roasted, or grilled, try these irregularly shaped oblongs of potatoey goodness.

Food Staff Credits: The women and men behind the curtain.

Location, Location, Location: This week's wine column is a Q&A - how much is a Chateau de la Riviere, 1982 Fronsac worth, and how does one wade through Texas' esoteric wine shipping regulations?

The Weekly Dish: James Beard Awards wrapup - kudos to Ann Cashion for winning Best Chef/Mid-Atlantic, to Ben's Chili Bowl for being named one of America's Classics, and to Robert Egger of the DC Central Kitchen, named the Beard Foundation's Humanitarian of the Year.

Foraging - Where Rice is Nice: The different kinds of rice at Rice, on 14th St. NW.

Boilerplate: the Nutritional Analysis and Behind Every Recipe blurbs that ran a couple of weeks ago. I sense an impending Food Section FAQ.

Chat with Tom: Help for the lobster-obsessed, fill-in-the-blank poetry, more whining about "Tom-only-reviews-expensive-places," more reader smackdown of same.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section digest for May 18, 2004 - the All eGullet, All The Time edition

(Late again, I know. This time, blame 2 congressmen, an agency administrator, and a nasty stomach virus.)

Here Comes Dinner: A quartet of Springfield families get together to form the "Springfield Moms Against Cooking" coop. Sometimes it works for everyone, sometimes it "reeks." And why don't the dads do any cooking? These recipes apparently didn't reek.

Building a Better Biscuit: They're supposed to be light and fluffy, but sometimes they come out dense and rock-hard. The solution? Watch your leaveners, handle them gently, and cook 'em quick. Leaveners are discussed in the sidebar.

Dandy Greens to Me: Instead of weed and feed, try boil and eat! Dandelion greens can make a tasty salad or savory side. The sidebar explains where to look for them (in your yard, perhaps?), how to gather, and why they're good for you.

Eat Less, Live Longer? The truth about calorie restriction - it may not matter which diet you're on, studies are showing that eating less is good for you. The sidebar includes tips on how to work some of the health benefits of calorie restriction into your everyday routine.

The Indian Wedding Feast, a Modern Marvel: Monica Bhide describes a fantastic week-long wedding feast, starting with a prayer ceremony for the bride (complete with appropriate dinner), traveling through pasta, potatoes, biryanis, breads, to the wedding feast and reception. Discuss it here. Go on, just try and read this without getting hungry.

Dinner in Minutes: Stir-fried Chicken with Red Onion and Basil. Minutes variable, depending on how long you let it sit once it's done. 5 weeks with minutes, 5 without.

Chiffonade: defined.

Book Report: Candy Freak, by Steve Almond. A lifetime love affair with candy and his friends' requests to stop talking about it already produced this sweet book.

She Said It: Notable quotes.

To Do: The week's events.

As If We Needed A Reason: The intrepid Food staff takes one for the team and tries trans-fat-free Triscuits. Verdict? Still crunchy, salty goodness.

Pretty Slick: A crumb and assorted-ick catcher for the bottom of your oven. And it's decorative, too!

Hometownfavorites.com: This Virginia Beach purveyor of childhood comfort foods is now selling through Amazon's Gourmet Food section.

Today's Tip: Nonstick skillets + high heat = bad.

Market Watch - Artichokes: After a pruning job, they're remarkably versatile.

Party Like It's 1996: The '96 vintage European whites were fantastic - and now it's time for the '96 vintage Champagnes.

For Cooks with Special Needs: The eGullet Culinary Institute's course on Cooking with Disabilities is featured. Join in the well-deserved praise here.

The Weekly Dish: Tooth-shatteringly sweet birthday cake at Restaurant Eve, Whitey's in Arlington becomes Tallula.

James Beard Cookbook Winners

No changes in the Nutritional Analysis or Food Staff Credits.

Tom's Chat: Someone's gushing over our very own forum host DonRocks, Tom recommends Zaytinya again several times (as he should!), and there's discussion about Le Paradou and doofus hostesses.

Grapevine chat: More about the fabulous '96 champagnes (and where not to find them - Montgomery County), what to serve with barbeque and cicadas.

[hannnah]

Yes, it's the Washington Post Food Section digest for May 26, 2004 - no eGullet mentions this week, unfortunately.

Slower Lower Delaware: A tour of restaurants in Rehoboth Beach that offer traditional Southern Delaware specialties - including chicken and dumplings, shrimp boils, oyster stew, lima bean soup, and homemade coleslaw. Places mentioned in the article are listed here. The DC/Delmarva Rehoboth Beach thread is available for discussion of these and other restaurants in the area.

Cherries Already: A bumper crop in the Northwest and a warm California spring brings us a bounty of little round fruit.

Dig Right In and Do the Clams: Clams have a reputation for being difficult to cook at home, but it's undeserved. Recipes include grilled clams with sparkling wine and pancetta, pasta with clams, and Vietnamese black bean clams. The sidebar tells you how to buy, store, clean, and steam your choice of clams.

A Tale of Two Fishes: Robert Wolke discusses sardines and anchovies, in cans and fresh, including the eternal question "what IS a sardine, anyway?"

For You, Such a Match: Cherries and salami, salty and sweet all at once.

To Do: Wine dinner at Signatures, plus a twofer of cooking demos by Tosca chef Cesare Lanfranconi.

In Half The Time: The average time spent by a consumer in the grocery store has dropped from 25 to 12 minutes per visit, with a whopping 12 seconds per item average selection time. Clearly, the average shopper does not live near a Wegman's.

Slurp It Up...: Spiffy Cosmopolitan, apple martini and margarita mixers.

...With Panache: Booze-soaked olives for your garnishing pleasure.

Dinner in Minutes: Steak with Olive Relish. Again, too variable to put minutes on, but the current count is 5 weeks with minutes, 6 without.

So Zen: Slightly more durable than paper plates and super-renewable - it's the bamboo plate.

Food Tip: Rest grilled or seared steaks on a cooling rack to keep from having soggy steaks.

Market Watch - Galangal: It looks like ginger, but it's not.

Country Barbecue in Emmitsburg: Chubby's Southern Style Barbeque.

Weekly Dish: A third outpost of the Black's Bar/Addie's empire comes to NW DC, College Park's Mandalay loses its lease but is moving to Silver Spring.

Rethink Pink: Good rosés are your friends, and the 2003s are particularly friendly indeed.

Tom's chat: Citronelle's exec. chef moves on, Zaytinya's cicadas get aggressive, everything's good at Palena, people are still whining about tables at Tosca, and one of the owners of the new Tallula asks for feedback on waitstaff dress and whether "Hi, I'm your server!" is good or bad.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section digest, June 3, 2004

25 Years in the White House: Longtime White House pastry guru Roland Mesnier is retiring in July. From daily meals for the First Families, to showstopping centerpieces and desserts for state dinners and the truly massive holiday gingerbread houses, Mesnier and his staff have produced every sweet served in the White House in the White House. He's also been an influence in the community, helping start the pastry program at L'Academie de Cuisine.

The Gentle Art of Poaching: Poaching's calm, Zenlike sub-boil brings mellow warmth to dishes like poached salmon salad with spring vegetables and poached tarragon chicken. And don't forget the eggs!

So Saturated: The tastiest foods are generally full of saturated fats - but you can still eat them in moderation without endangering your health. The sidebar gives you the numbers on which foods contain the most saturated fats.

Big Flavors, Little Fuss: A review of Ming Tsai's Simply Ming, the companion to his current PBS series. It's well-organized, well-written, simple enough for novice cooks but challenging enough for the more advanced. The review includes recipes for curry-ginger oil, three-vinegar syrup, and black bean-garlic sauce.

Personal Watermelon: Cantaloupe-sized watermelons that don't take up the entire bottom shelf of your fridge.

To Do: Two Greek festivals, Vintage Virginia wine festival, two cooking demos, and the Rammy Awards on Sunday.

Today's Tip: Use a wet, upside-down spatula to get those pesky chicken breasts unstuck.

Dinner in Minutes: Spice-crusted chicken breasts with raita, without minutes. 7 weeks without minutes, 5 with. Variability of the minutes this week depends on whether you're hand-whomping the spices or running them through a grinder.

Abalone et al, au Courant: Check whether different types of fish or shellfish are safe, sustainably fished, or suspect with the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch.

Yes, a Garlic Press: The latest in clove-smashing tools.

Q. What's the surest way to get a beer up two flights of stairs without spilling a drop?: Use the dumbwaiter at Matchbox. And it was already part of the building!

Lemons That Thrive in 400-Degree Heat: The first of a series in which Post food writers share their favorites. This week - roasted lemon salsa.

Market Watch - Tomatillos: They're green, vaguely related to tomatoes, and have that interesting crunch. And they're perfect for the included salsa cruda recipe.

Get Your Hot Bagels at Home: Instead of reheating already-cooked frozen bagels, you can now bake your own - they're preboiled for your convenience.

Do You Believe in Magic?: Nebbiolo + the right kind of soil = the magic of Barolo.

Weekly Dish: The saga of Nectar and the Very Expensive Umbrella, discussed in further detail here.

No changes in the Food Staff Credits or Behind Every Recipe.

Tom's chat: Restaurants where you can feel comfortable dressed to the nines; rhubarb pie with or without strawberries, cupcakes, and more on lawyers with umbrellas and the elk who love them.

Grapevine chat: Discussion of the Supreme Court case on interstate wine shipment, roses, prosecco and cava, and Virginia winery tours.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, June 9, 2004

(catching up from the last 3 weeks)

Piece of Cake. Really - Four DC area pastry chefs work magic on a seven-inch white frosted layer cake from the local grocery store.

The results:

Rita Garruba from Butterfield 9 decorated her cake with chocolate shavings, chopped toffee bits and toasted almonds, along with a little coffee and a strawberry garnish.

Glenn Walden of Stratford University's pastry program created a giant cicada out of chocolate and accessorized it with two chocolate-covered cicadas fresh from his back yard.

B. Keith Ryder, Northern Virginia wedding cake specialist and occasional contributor to eGullet's Pastry forum, added a marbleized chocolate wrap to the outside of the cake to create a well for fresh berries, topped off with some Tootsie Roll roses.

Huw Griffiths of Tabard Inn added his own layer of lemon/white chocolate icing, white chocolate curls, and fresh strawberries to create a seasonal summer dessert.

In the sidebar, the four participants provide tips on how to dress up your own storebought cake - including using non-cake ingredients such as cookies and fruit; toasting coconut and nuts to improve flavor; decorating the sides of the cake; and sprinking colored sugars to create a pastel look.

Cook Until Crisp: What to do with that leftover cooked pasta in the fridge? Create a different dish by refrying the pasta in olive oil until it's crisp. Potential toppings include green olive and lemon relish; artichokes and parmesan; sauteed asparagus; fresh tomatoes and basil; and wilted garlicky greens. The sidebar discusses brown rice pasta - it doesn't taste nearly as bad as the other wheat alternatives, and it works great when crisped.

Chocolate By the Numbers: What those percentages on gourmet chocolate wrappers mean - that's cacao fat plus cacao solids. The higher the number, the darker and bitterer the chocolate.

Dinner in 35 Minutes: Grilled chicken and asparagus salad. Minutes tally: 7 weeks without, 5 with.

www.homefoodsafety.org - Sponsored by the American Dietetic Association and ConAgra Foods, this site discusses lesser known food safety issues such as raw sprouts, how long foods can safely sit at room temperature, and why you really shouldn't eat raw cookie dough even though it's very, very good.

Today's Tip: Keep a bowl handy while peeling and chopping for the ends and discards to save yourself multiple trips to the trash.

Try Them On...: Anton Kozlik's Canadian Mustards - tangy, grainy, and available at markets around the area.

No Glugs: Speed pourers/pour spouts - they're not just for bartenders anymore.

To Do: Wine dinners at 2941 and Tarara Winery, book signing for "Blood and Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel."

Book Report: "Meal By Meal - 365 Daily Meditations for Finding Balance Through Mindful Eating," by Donald Altman. The verdict: parts are treacly, but it's not complete hooey.

AKA: Food names you didn't necessarily know -

Swiss chard = spinach beet

Jicama = Mexican potato

Salsify = oyster plant

Jerusalem artichoke = girasole

Chanterelle = girolle

Arugula = rocket

Allspice = Jamaican pepper

Star fruit = carambola

Lima bean = Madagascar bean

Thanks, But No Thanks: People keep sending the Post staff food, and they keep trying it so we don't have to. This week's installment: SnackWell's CarbWell Cookies. They might be low in carbs, but they're full of trans fats, chemical colors, and artificial sweeteners that may or may not "have a laxative effect." Mmm.

Bargain Summer Whites: From Fume Blanc to Tocai Friulano, and even a Chardonnay - a roundup of reasonably priced whites.

Foraging: Chirashi With a Smile - Korean style spicy chirashi, from Pusan Sushi inside the Super H Mart in Fairfax.

The Weekly Dish: Straits of Malaya is back.

Tom's chat: Diner (and reviewer) pet peeves, how often chefs wash their hands, softshell crabs, and flaming Greek cheese. Opa!

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, June 16, 2004

OJ Gets Squeezed: The orange juice industry has taken a hit from those darn low-carb fanatics, so they're emphasizing the health benefits and working to produce low-carb blends.

Berry Bonanza: Fresh berries are one of the best parts of summer - and they're increasingly being recognized as one of the best sources of antioxidants. The sidebar has suggestions on ways to incorporate more berries into your daily routine for when you get tired of eating them by themselves.

Don't Mess With My Shortcake: Candy Sagon castigates an unnamed Reston pastry chef for presenting a "beige hockey puck" in place of a proper crumbly biscuity shortcake, then provides recipes for the right stuff.

From the Kitchen, a Family Farewell for My Father: A Lebanese extended family comes together to say goodbye to one of its own, by "cooking their grief." A sidebar includes the recipe for roast chicken and hashwe (rice stuffing).

Market Watch - American Ginseng: You can use it in salads, infusions, or various Asian dishes. Just make sure you buy it rather than going foraging in Shenandoah National Park, or you'll get arrested.

Dinner in 40 Minutes: Summer minestrone, with fresh summer vegetables but not a tomato in sight. The weeks-with-minutes are gaining - current count is 7 without, 6 with.

To Do: Wine dinners and outdoor festivals.

Today's Tip: Avoid that ring of goo on the top of the bottle by decanting your dishwashing liquid.

Lemme Do It: A survey of kids shows that they want to cook and want to do more to contribute to family meals.

Book Report - A Man, a Can, a Microwave: 50 Tasty Meals You Can Nuke in No Time: Someone from Men's Health magazine has actually taken the time to outline tips for the classic Dad Dinner of opening random cans from the pantry. It also contains helpful tips about microwave-appropriate containers and oven wattage.

Cheez-It Envy: Another taste test, this time of Cheez-It analogues without hydrogenated oils or artificial colors.

Hot, Aren't They?: An improved spatula design features an increased offset in the handle for more efficient flipping.

From a Guy Who Can Show You a Thing or Two: A recommendation for John Ash's Cooking One on One: Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food From a Master Teacher. Using "flavor makers," techniques, and main ingredients, Ash demonstrates variations on commonly used recipes. A sample recipe for a "Sauce" of Roasted Peppers, Fried Eggs and Bread Crumbs is provided.

Check Your Spice Drawer: Details of the Penzey's paprika recall.

South African Success Story: Michael Franz celebrates his tenth anniversary as wine columnist by choosing the country whose wines have improved most in those 10 years - South Africa. This edition features his picks for "Cape Blend" reds.

Baklava Fit for the Queen: A McLean restaurant features the special baklava recipe that captivated Betty II on a Turkish state visit in 1971.

The Weekly Dish: Details on Osteria Galileo; other chefly comings and goings.

Tom's chat: Matchbox good, Matchbox bad, lumpia, and waiters who stick the check down their pants.

Grapevine chat: Where to find the South African recommendations, which books on wine are best (answer - anything by Jancis Robinson).

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, June 23, 2004

(catching up, slowly but surely...)

Double-Digit Drinks - What's Behind that $15 Martini?: "Luxury" liquors, fresh fruit juices, unusual garnishes, and "image" - why many bars around town are charging $15 and up for their premium mixed drinks.

The Incredible Sweetness of a Sour Cherry Pie: Pie cherries, tart cherries, sour cherries - whatever you call them, they make dandy desserts. Instructions on where to find them, how to freeze them, how to pit them, and what to make with them when you've finished all that (answer: pie and cobbler) are included.

Herb Appeal: Why herbs are, well, herbal - aromatic compounds and essential oils.

When Jacques Arrived: An excerpt from Jacques Pepin's memoir, The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen, on his transition from purely French technique to "American cuisine."

Today's Tip: In the spirit of pie, a suggestion to freeze the flour prior to use to keep the butter from going squishy.

To Do: Beer festival, Argentine national day, and various cooking demos.

Brines Worth Their Salt: Premixed salt and spice blends offer a quick way to brine/marinate your meat.

Pasta Plus: The joys of Israeli couscous - recipe in this week's Market Watch - Mint.

Dinner in Minutes: Tuna, pasta, and lemon. No minutes this week. Running total: 8 without, 6 with.

Quality Egg Time: USDA says it's okay to keep your eggs 4 to 5 weeks past their sell-by date - tests show they're just as good for baking and mayonnaise-making. Keep them in the carton for best odor control and insulation.

Food Fact: "The number of additional daily calories from soda or fruit juice that Americans consume now versus 27 years ago." Unfortunately, they don't tell us what that number is in the online edition. Oops.

Q. What's the best way to keep a bowl of salsa cool in sweltering weather?: A. An ice cube - either real or plastic.

Seriously Easy, with Lots of Extras: A review of Seriously Simple: Easy Recipes for Creative Cooks, by Diane Rossen Worthington. "Easily doable, reliable recipes that really work." And particularly tasty sounding recipes for hoisin-honeyed baby back ribs, Vermont coleslaw, and crostini with mascarpone, fresh berries, and drizzled honey.

And Hardware Helped: Local pastry chefs (and eGulleteers) Steve Klc and Colleen Apte (aka chefette) parlay their culinary talents and some judicious shopping at Home Depot into a win at the 2004 Beaver Creek Culinary Classic wedding cake competition. See pictures of their amazing creation, plus discussion on how they did it, here in the DC forum and also in the Pastry & Baking forum.

Sweet, Sour, Salty, Hot: One dish, all the flavors; Renee Schettler shares one of her favorites, green apple gado gado.

The Weekly Dish: The Caucus Room offers a chance to have a custom menu prepared to go with your special wines - plus a waiver of their normal corkage fee. Discuss it here.

The Point System: Ever wonder what those 100-point uber-wines really taste like? A group of Washingtonians gets to find out at a benefit for CharityWorks and the Maya Angelou Public Charter School.

Euro-Latino Grocery in Arlington: Fresh sardines (when the weather cooperates), Portuguese breads, sausages, and bacalau - all available in Arlington.

Tom's chat: Should you have to pay for dinner if you (literally) choke on it? Is the brunch at 2941 worth the money (yes)? Where around town to watch Euro2004 soccer, and how much to tip at a buffet?

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, June 30, 2004

The Global Grill: Washington-area barbeques are going international - you're just as likely to see a tandoori or a chimichurri as the traditional hickory smoke barbeque sauce. Recipes for promising marinades include adobo, chermoula, chimichurri, mojo, mole, recado, romesco, tandoori, and tikka.

Oh, Let's Dip Again: Dips have taken a hit in recent years, through a combination of double-dipper-phobia and the rise of salsa. They're still tasty, though, and worth bringing back. Recipes include parmesan-lemon dip, Manchurian dip, Vietnamese nuoc cham, and roasted green chili and white bean dip. The sidebar has suggestions for healthy dippables. There's even a dessert dip - mango cream with grilled fruit.

Counting Calcium: Many people cut milk and dairy products out of their diet early on when trying to lose weight - but new studies suggest that impulse is precisely wrong, that milk and dairy products may contribute to weight loss and lowering of body fat percentage. A list of foods containing calcium (and the percentage) is provided.

The Right Bean Means Everything: Beans in Italy are serious business - many villages used to grow their own specific varieties. Now, food historians and activists are trying to rediscover and reestablish these heirloom beans all over Italy.

Dinner in Minutes: Watercress, salami, and goat cheese salad. And no minutes, because it just depends on how long it takes you to chop salami and whisk dressing.

Waffling's Not Necessarily A Bad Thing: More women than men feel guilty about eating ice cream; but we all eat, on average in our lifetimes, the weight of a baby elephant in ice cream - that's one ton.

Today's Tip: No grill brush? Use wadded-up aluminum foil.

To Do: A cooking class for cancer prevention, presented on July 13 and 20 at the P Street Whole Foods.

Ready When You Are: If you can't find fresh avocados and are having a guacamole emergency, consider the frozen Hass avocado halves from Trader Joe's.

Book Report: When Food Was Fun: Calories Didn't Count, Candy Was King, and Mealtime Was Anytime, by Linda Ferrer. A collection of photographs recounting the delights of being a kid and eating food.

Food AKA: This week's edition has alternate names for various fish and crustaceans.

AOL Food: A resource for AOL members that includes over 13,000 recipes from publications like Food and Wine and Cooking Light.

Get Out That Brush: Just because those veggies look clean doesn't mean they're not covered in dirt and bacteria - make sure you wash before you eat.

Market Watch - Radishes: Not those bland red-and-white things in bad premade salads, but nifty seasonal varieties that don't taste a bit like plastic.

The Weekly Dish: The pastry chef from Addie's gets her own spinoff in Garrett Park, and Herndon's SBC Cafe is set to add a new location in Dupont Circle.

Tacos on Wheels: If you have to make a trip to Maryland's MVA, go to the one off Clopper Road in Gaithersburg - the Delgado's Eatery Place taco truck just might make standing in line worth it.

South African Sauvignons: Michael Franz continues his look at South African wines - this week it's Sauvignon Blanc.

Tom's chat: Suggestions for LA and Montreal, how much to tip when you're comped, and what to do with that green and pink stuff that comes with sushi.

Grapevine chat: Gruner Veltliner (Gmork gmork gmork!), touring the Rheingau, touring the Barossa Valley, and more on the South African Sauvignons.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, July 7, 2004

ISO: the perfect fried chicken. While there may not be one perfect Holy Grail of fried chicken, the authors of two recent publications on the subject certainly had a lot of fun trying to find one. We're provided with a basic recipe, cooking tips, a list of chicken emporia all over the country, including local favorites Horace and Dickie's, Flavors Soul Food in Falls Church, and the oft-discussed Pollo Campero. The food staff are also soliciting readers' favorites.

Gas or Charcoal?: Robert Wolke comes down squarely on the side of charcoal - and not just your average briquette, either.

Corn Off the Cob: Instead of boiling, microwaving, or grilling, try roasting corn cut off the cob instead. Recipes include a plain roasted corn with a variety of toppings/dressings/preparations, including basil, lemon vinaigrette, lime, cilantro and black pepper, succotash, warm potato salad, roasted corn and tequila salsa, guacamole with roasted corn, corn and bitter greens in salad or saute, and roasted corn with pumpkin seeds. They also provide tips on how best to separate kernel from cob. And, just in case you were wondering, the average ear of corn contains approximately 800 kernels.

Ingredient - Rose Water: You're familiar with it in lassis and Indian desserts, but it's also good in syrups, frostings, and ice cream. It also makes a dandy face wash.

To Do: A wine tasting class at the Corcoran on Thursday, and the fetchingly named "aphrodisiac bacon dinner" at David Greggory on Saturday.

Dinner in 50 Minutes: Mustard and Beer Chicken. Minutes update: 9 weeks without, 7 with.

Today's Tip: Hot pepper oils are fat-soluble, so whole milk will put out the fire quicker than anything else (except possibly ice cream).

Shopping Cart - Donna Hay Magazine: Australia's answer to Martha Stewart also has her own magazine, to go along with her best-selling cookbooks. "Long on weeknight recipes, short on blather."

Taste Test: Yet again, the Food staff's stomachs have hurled themselves into the breach to try something so we don't have to. This week's entry: frozen soy "ice creams." The verdict: some are ok, but given that their top choice is described as "least offensive," that's not saying much.

HmM&Ms: The Food staff isn't sure about them, but eGulleteers love 'em.

Food Term: The print edition says the word is "dredge," but they left the word out of the online edition. Oops.

Market Watch - Baby Bok Choy: They're cuter, tenderer, and easier to cook than their full-grown sibling - braise, grill, or stir-fry.

Shortbread Love: Another in the staff's favorite recipes series - Bonnie Benwick contributes a recipe for gingered shortbread.

Ice Cream's Always Gone Over Big in Washington: The first recorded mention of ice cream in the 13 Colonies was at a 1744 dinner in Annapolis - and the Washington area has been crazy for ice cream ever since. A recipe for vanilla frozen custard is included.

The Weekly Dish: Aria Trattoria takes over from jordan's, Great American Restaurants (Artie's, Sweetwater Tavern, Carlyle Grand) opens a casual seafood restaurant in Fairfax.

Sunnyside's Burger Barn: Sunnyside Farms, local producers of "Virginia Kobe" beef, have opened a restaurant in Sperryville to showcase their wares. A good number have already visited.

Time to Buy Bordeaux: The last six to nine years of production in Bordeaux has been outstanding - and there are some bargains outside the first-growth chateaux. Also provided is a definition of fifth growth. Specific picks from various price ranges will be featured in future columns.

Tom's Chat: Unscrupulous practices in wines by the glass, where to eat in Vegas, how to make up for cheapskate friends/relatives who stiff on the tip, which restaurants serve half-portions of main courses.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, July 14, 2004

Whose Fault Is Fat?: Dietitian Katherine Tallmadge continues her series on healthy eating, assuring the less-than-skinny that they're fighting against thousands of years of evolution, as well as the overavailability of things we shouldn't eat. Genetics she can't fix, but she does have some helpful suggestions to make the battle against the bulge less trying.

The Coolest Cool Drinks: Ice-cold drinks with Asian ingredients such as ginger, lemongrass, tamarind, Kaffir lime, and matcha green tea are striking a blow against the humid DC weather. Recipes include a Kaffir lime-ginger cooler and simple syrup, an imli (tamarind) cooler, ginger-lemon iced tea, and lemongrass green tea. Also included are some tips on how to figure substitutions between tamarind juice and tamarind pastes and concentrates.

The Pig in My Chinese Box: How can you not read a story that begins with the line "Try wheeling a dead pig in a supermarket cart down Connecticut Avenue and see what it does for crowd clearance." ? Anyway, it's about the surprisingly low-stress experience of roasting a whole pig in a caja China, or Chinese box. Especially if you don't store the pig in the bathtub. The sidebar has info on the company who made the box, plus the recipes for their pig brine and marinade. The Cooking forum is also mulling it over.

Call for Cooking Classes: It's that time again - please send in your cooking class listings to the Food Section staff.

Equipment - Baking Pans with Lids: Not just any lids - these have flowery tops.

Today's Tip: Make it easier to shift chopped herbs or garlic from cutting board to bowl by using a dough scraper.

Book Report - A Slice of Life: Contemporary Writers on Food. This collection includes "smart prose" from Isabel Allende and Susan Sontag, as well as standards from Julia Child and MFK Fisher.

To Do: Sake dinner at Kaz Sushi Bistro.

Dinner in Minutes: Souvlakia. No minutes this week, but given that the prep time may include 8 hours of marinating lamb or chicken, that'd be a lot.

Cooling Pool Pops With a Grown-Up Taste: Yes, it's fruity drinks on a stick, courtesy of the pool bar at the Washington Plaza Hotel.

Feedback on Fried Chicken: Readers follow up on last week's quest for the best fried chicken.

On The Bookshelf - A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen: Easy Seasonal Dishes for Family and Friends, by Jack Bishop. The executive editor of Cooks' Illustrated pens this collection of "lively, creative and relatively easy vegetarian dishes" broken down into seasonal chapters. Sample recipes include chilled curried yellow squash soup with cilantro-lime puree; corn pudding with poblanos and jack cheese; and grilled mozzarella sandwiches with tomato-green olive salad.

The Avocado of Desire: Another staff favorite, the avocado smashwich.

More From South Africa: Best of the non-red blend or Sauvignon Blancs - including Shiraz/Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay.

Bakery with a View: Amphora Bakery opens another branch in Herndon, with a retail shop and viewing area.

Weekly Dish: George Vetsch leaves Circle Bistro; Jaleo cooks up one great honkin' big paella for 500.

Tom's chat: Resolution of last week's overcharged-credit-card saga; cruise food; still more ragging on Buck's Fishing and Camping; the just-about-quarterly argument between people who think they should eat out with their kids and others who think they shouldn't.

Grapevine chat: Zinfandels and Primitivos, wine that tastes like Band-Aids, how to store opened ports; the difference between rose and blush wines; and what to pair with peanut butter.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, July 21, 2004

Not a Crust in Sight: Sometimes the best thing you can do with summer fruits is to keep it simple - or at least use a simple syrup. Includes a recipe for summer fruit salad with a lemon-infused simple syrup, as well as multiple variations on the syrup.

Grilled by Readers: A followup to last week's column on charcoal vs. gas, including a multitude of reader responses.

The Perfect Imperfect Dessert: Pandowdies - like pie, but less fussy, and easier to make than the crumble, grunt, or slump. A recipe for raspberry-peach pandowdy is supplied.

There is Nothing Like a Peach: They may not be native to North America, but they've been a welcome guest at the table since the 1600s. Recipes include peach crisp and peach upside-down cake. The sidebar contains tips on ripening, storage, whether or not to peel, and approximate volumes after slicing.

Picking Up Where Peter Piper Left Off: For your consideration, the versatile roasted bell pepper. Included are instructions for roasting or grilling, and recipes for roasted ratatouille and roasted bell pepper and olive relish.

Call for Cooking Classes: The deadline is August 6.

Dinner in Minutes: Seafood Grill with Sesame Dipping Sauce. Again, too variable for minutes. We're up to 11 weeks without, 7 with.

Diners, Mark Your Calendars: A promo for Restaurant Week. Share your plan of attack here.

Shopping Cart - Riedel Glassware Goes Stemless: Riedel introduces its "O" line. It's crystal, it's the right shape for your wine, and it doesn't have those pesky stems to break off in the dishwasher. Plus, it looks really cool.

Today's Tip: If you want to make preserves but don't want to deal with canning, try refrigerator preserves instead.

Equipment - Skimmers: Asian-style skimmers beat out the traditional slotted spoon.

To Do: Reserve for next week - International Tunes and Wine Festival at Veramar Vineyards in Berryville; cake and wine pairings featuring Cakelove cakes at Best Cellars; Kids' Culinary Camp at Tosca; and the International Cake Exploration Societe Convention at the Washington Hilton (proceeds benefit the Hospital for Sick Children).

Weekly Dish: Delhi Club, and industry insiders' night at Restaurant Eve.

An Appetite for Life: Review of former New York Times restaurant critic Mimi Sheraton's Eating My Words: An Appetite for Life. The book is a memoir of her 50-year career as a writer, consultant, and reviewer.

Grill-Friendly Shiraz: Shirazes from Australia and elsewhere pair well with food from the grill. Picks include Black Opal 2001 Shiraz "Barossa," Geyser Peak Winery 1999 Shiraz Reserve Sonoma County. Wynn's Coonawarra Estate 2001 Shiraz Cabernet Merlot and 2001 Shiraz, Ravenswood 2002 Shiraz Vintners Blend, Jacobs Creek 2001 Reserve Shiraz, and Penfolds 2001 Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz "Barossa."

Food Memory - Heaven Comes With a Cherry on Top: Career foreign service officer Carlos Aranaga reminisces about his first taste of a maraschino cherry.

Tom's Chat: Reasons not to complain about service, how to become a critic, Ashby Inn for sale, why the owner of the Four Seasons in New York is a big doofus, a suspiciously tongue-in-cheek request for recommendations, and the final, definitive word on how to pronounce Tom's last name.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, July 28, 2004

Assemble, Chill And Serve: The ingredients might not be easy to find, but the result is worth the effort. Candy Sagon extols the virtues of the icebox cake, or zebra cake, made from Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers - hopefully not the same ones that have been gathering dust on the top shelf of the cookie aisle. The recipe appears in the sidebar.

Sauce Without The Simmer: Take advantage of summer's plethora of fresh tomatoey goodness with these minimally cooked pasta sauces and salads. Today's Tip is related - how to seed tomatoes easily. And today's Ingredient is baby Roma tomatoes.

Grains of Truth: Why whole grains are really, really good for you. A guide to various grains is included.

Venice's Little Plates: A look at Venetian cichetti - small plate dishes similar to tapas.

Pie Still Rocks Will's World: The comfort food of 2035, as featured in I, Robot? It's still sweet potato pie.

To Do: Farmers market tours and dinners, free ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery.

Defined - Infuse: To extract flavor from an ingredient by steeping it in warm, but not boiling, liquid for a period of time.

Dinner in 55 Minutes: Sort-of-Jerked Chicken. Minutes tally: 10 weeks without, 8 with.

...With Every Meal: Who knew July was National Baked Bean Month? The Food staff, that's who! They've rounded up some fun facts about the humble baked bean.

Final Call for Cooking Classes

Market Watch - Shiso: Also known as beefsteak plant or Japanese basil, this spicy leaf goes well with fish and vegetables or in salads.

Weekly Dish: Poste experiments with the Cocktail du Jour, tomato brunch at the Ritz Carlton downtown.

South African Finish: The conclusion of Michael Franz's series on South African wines. This week: pinotage, merlot, chenin blanc, white blends, and dessert wines.

Welcome to the Club: The Federalist's modern take on the club sandwich - including a fried egg.

Tom's chat: Restaurant Week, private rooms, the difficulties of booking large parties.

Grapevine chat: Live from La Rioja.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, August 4, 2004

Going Whole Hog: The thermodynamics of roasting a whole pig.

Little Mexico Heats Up: A tour of the growing selection of Mexican bakeries, restaurants, and grocery stores in and around Riverdale, Maryland. A list of the myriad options is included in one sidebar, and unusual ingredients from the Riverdale groceries is in the other.

Fig Heaven: Fresh figs are popping up all over - catch them before they're gone. Recipes include ripe figs with yogurt and honey, figs with vin santo and mascarpone, fig and arugula salad, figs in nightgowns, fig crostini, fig ice cream, fig and balsamic vinegar, prosciutto-wrapped figs, honeyed fig preserves, fig cheese plate, buttered figs with manchego tart, and toffeed figs. Whew. Also, there's a small sidebar on the varieties of figs most likely to be found in DC-area markets.

Soy by the Cute Carton: Japan's Kamada Foods produces several different varieties of soy for the US market, including Dashi Soy, Ponzu Soy, Salad Soy, Teien Dashi Soy for tofu, and Sashimi Soy for your favorite bit of raw tuna.

Book Report: The Big Book of Beer - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Greatest Beverage on Earth, by Duane Swierczynski. It's got beer arts and crafts, drinking games and songs, and lots of stuff on the history of beer. Mmmmm, beer.

Today's Tip: How to avoid brain freeze.

Dinner in 20 Minutes: Ancho- and Chipotle-Spiced Anything. Well, not anything anything - it's specific to meat, fish, or shrimp, although tofu would probably work too. Those minutes are catching up - 10 weeks without, 9 with. The featured Ingredients this week are ancho and chipotle chili powders.

To Do: Wine dinners at Vidalia and Equinox, pickling demonstration at Claude Moore Farm in McLean, demo and tasting at Best Cellars.

Sugar Highs: The 29th annual International Cake Exploration Societe (ICES) show and convention lands at the Hilton Washington. Admission to the Sugar Art Gallery is $10; proceeds go to the Hospital for Sick Children.

Shopping Cart - IKEA Answers: Cutting boards that store their own knives, battery-powered milk frothers that won't cost you an arm and a leg.

The Sauce Makes It: Thai miang kam sauce.

Make Them Pay: Ben Giliberti suggests that refusing a bad bottle of wine at a restaurant ought not be so hard - and that restaurants should step up to the plate and pay for the replacement bottle as well as not charging you for the one that was bad. Weigh in here.

Weekly Dish: The owner of Luna Grill and Mimi's American Bistro springs for gym memberships for his staff; Zest moves from Monrovia to Frederick, MD.

Argentine Cool in Georgetown: Isee Icy brings Argentinean gelato to Wisconsin Avenue.

Food Staff Roll Call: No changes.

Tom's chat: Various Restaurant Week kudos and horror stories, buffets worth visiting, best Italian delis, pluses and minuses of valet parking.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, August 11, 2004

Back to the Classics: Many of the preparations we think of as "traditional Greek food" aren't that traditional at all - they're Gallicized versions of the original dishes. A recent movement in Greek cooking aims to revive the original recipes, along with other lesser-known regional dishes. The recipes that are supposed to be included are domata me kopanisti (blue cheese and tomato spread), tzatziki me maratho (yogurt, garlic, cucumber, and fennel dip), garides saganaki (shrimp baked in tomato sauce with feta), domatosalata horiatiki (country tomato salad), and melintzanosalata (eggplant caviar). Unfortunately, there's some sort of bug with the recipe page - I include the link in the hopes they'll fix it (I emailed them about it as well). There's also a discussion of Greek wines, along with pairings for those mystery recipes.

After Atkins: So, you've eliminated all those nasty carb-bearing foods from your diet and dropped some pounds - now, how do you keep them off? The Food section's resident dietitian discusses healthy weight-loss maintenance, as well as tips for integrating carbs back into your diet in a sensible manner.

The Odd Thing About Chicken Breasts: Those who commonly buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts may have noticed that they've started coming 3 to a pack rather than the traditional four. It's not really a conspiracy to make you buy two packages - just a change in the weight of chicken breasts. Fortunately, smaller producers like Bell & Evans, and "smaller" grocery chains such as Wegmans are still doing the traditional four-to-a-package.Some suggestions, as well as a breakdown of which grocery chains are following which packaging philosophy, are included in the sidebar.

Equipment - Chinese Takeout Containers: They're not just for takeout anymore - they make good serving dishes as well.

Dinner in 20 Minutes: Tuna with artichoke and lemon relish. Yay, minutes! Weeks with and without are now tied at 10 each.

Sweet Tart, With Refills: Cleveland Park's Amernick Bakery offers homemade peppermint stick "straws" to use with chilled lemons. They're lemony, they're minty, and they're $1.50 while they last.

Ingredient - Acai: This Amazonian fruit supposedly contains more antioxidants than red wine, and tastes much better with yogurt. There's some discussion of it here.

Today's Tip: Some vegetable dishes taste better when they're not piping hot - try mixing and matching serving temperatures to bring out the best in each dish.

Defined - The "R" and Oysters: It's not that you shouldn't eat them in months without an R, it's just that they're spawning in July and August and thus not as plump and juicy.

To Do: Celebration of the Tomato, with wine and cheese pairings, at the Epicurious Cow in Little Washington; gospel crab feast and buffet at the Voices of Zion of Lomax A.M.E. Zion Church in Alexandria; Austrian wine dinner at Lansdowne Resort.

Burger Fries: There may be other gender-based differences in food preferences, but we all eat pretty much the same fast food.

Market Watch - Sugar Cane: Good in both tropical drinks and as a skewer for grillables, raw sugar cane towers over the rest of the produce aisle.

Thanks, Ina: Another staff favorite - Ina Garten's Shrimp Scampi Linguine.

The UnGazpacho: It doesn't have to be a watery puree of tomato-and-cucumber goo - the gazpacho at Buck's Fishing and Camping sometimes resembles a salad more than a soup. Visit the discussion on this and other summer soups around DC.

The Weekly Dish: Arlington's Kabob Palace sends out runners and reproduces itself - 2 doors away from the original location.

Tom's chat: Musical chefs at area restaurants, the apparent disappearance of Alexandria's Elysium, where to go on weekends and before the Prince concert.

Grapevine chat: Visiting southern Napa Valley, where to find Pol Roger Cuvee Winston Churchill (for when Cristal is just too pedestrian), how the Greek wine pairings were tested, where to find white ports, Sicilian wines, and a red wine for novices that doesn't "smell like feet."

Edit for typoes.

Edited August 12, 2004 by hannnah (log)

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, August 18, 2004

Omelet In a Bag: What do you get when you put two eggs and various fillings in a plastic bag and boil? A spiffy campfire omelet.

Cheese Course: The wonderful world of cheesy microbiology - why blue cheeses don't make you ill even if you're allergic to penicillin, and how aging controls the growth of harmful bacteria.

Extreme Makeovers - Cracking the Lobster: Third in the series in which local chefs are presented with a standard set of fresh and/or prepackaged ingredients and encouraged to get creative. This week's ingredients: fresh corn, packaged slaw mix, and a lobster. The willing victims: Pesce's Tom Meyer, with a soup, salad, and sandwich combo; Yanyu/Spices' Bill Tu and Johnnie Yip and their lobster salad with sunomono dressing; DC Coast/Ceiba/Ten Penh's Jeff Tunks, with a trio of small plates appropriate to his three restaurants; and Legal Sea Foods' Gordon Cameron's summer lobster salad with heirloom tomatoes, summer greens, and Peruvian purple potatoes. Accompanying their menus are tips from the pros and a demo on lobster meat eviction.

A Summer Favorite From Julia's Kitchen: A remembrance of Julia Child, including her recipes for fresh apricot or peach tart, sweet short crust pastry, and apricot glaze.

Book Report - The Secret Life of Lobsters: Lobsters from three angles - the fishermen who catch the lobsters, the scientists who study them, and the lobsters themselves.

Dinner in 15 Minutes: Arugula, watermelon, feta, and shrimp salad. And the minutes are now in the lead - 11 weeks with, 10 without!

Ingredient - Hoja Santa: These heart-shaped, aromatic leaves can be used as a wrap for steamed or grilled foods or as a bed for cheese.

The Ancient Five-Second Rule: There wasn't one - food dropped on the floor in ancient Greece and Rome was considered property of the gods. Eat at your own risk.

Today's Tip: Check the seasoning on cold soups before serving - what tasted perfect hot may come across as bland once it's cooled.

To Do: Wine dinners - one South African, one Tour de France-themed.

Equipment - Chopsticks: Good for fishing things out of hot oil, leveling measuring cups, and whacking the knuckles of unauthorized tasters.

When the Kitchen Takes Its Toll: Women Chefs and Restarateurs are sponsoring a class on preventing repetitive stress and overuse injuries in commercial kitchens.

Weekly Dish: Just when you thought there might be a shortage of Thai restaurants in DC, along comes Regent Thai on 18th St. Also, Halo goes smoke-free.

Corked Off: Followups to Ben Giliberti's recent column on handing out free wine to replace bottles that are corked. Read the opinions of eGulleters here.

Lining Up at Cold Stone: The ice-cream-with-stuff-smashed-in concept comes to Washington, with multiple locations of Cold Stone Creamery. If there's not one near you now, there soon will be. Resistance is futile.

Tom's chat: Krispy Kreme invades Dupont Circle, Ron Reda leaves Dish, we find out what happened to Elysium, recommendations in the Outer Banks, whether or not wait staff should write down orders.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, August 25, 2004

Accept No Substitutes: Is there one magic supplement that will give you all the vitamins and minerals you need without making sure they're a part of your diet? The answer is no - you still have to eat healthy too. Fortunately, unless you're completely vegetable-phobic it's not hard - here are some suggestions on working the suggested 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables into your diet.

Green Beans, Done to Death: It may come as a shock to some, but boiling and shocking green beans doesn't necessarily lead to the true essence of bean flavor. Sometimes the old methods, like slow cooking, really are the best. Recipes include braised green beans with tomato and fennel, garlic-roasted green beans, and sauteed balsamic green beans with caramelized cherry tomatoes.

Fishing For My Supper: A Maryland woman goes to the end of her dock and catches a bounty of piscine goodness.

Stolen Steaks!: DC chefs discuss their favorite dishes of the summer season, what's coming for fall, and the summer's funniest customer stories. Featured are Carole Greenwood of Buck's Fishing and Camping, Todd Gray of Equinox, Robert Wiedmaier of Marcel's, Susan Lindeborg of Majestic Cafe, Peter Pastan of Obelisk and 2 Amys, Mark Furstenburg of Breadline, Geoff Tracy of Chef Geoff's, Gary Fick of Crossing at Casey Jones in LaPlata, Jonathan Krinn of 2941, Kaz Okochi of Kaz Sushi Bistro, Brian McBride of Melrose, John Wabeck of Firefly, Alison Swope of Andale, and Jamison Blankenship of Nectar. You can discuss the article in general here.

On The Bookshelf: Fresh Food Fast: Delicious, Seasonal Vegetarian Meals in Under an Hour by Peter Berley and Melissa Clark. A solid collection of practical vegetarian recipes. Sample recipes include chilled tomato soup with shallots, cucumbers, and corn; black bean and zucchini quesadillas; and watermelon with fleur de sel.

Taste Test: Blue corn chips - the good, the salty, and the might-as-well-be-cardboard.

Ingredient - Noodles: Rice noodles vs. cellophane noodles - which to use when.

Dinner in 30 Minutes: Thai Stir-Fry Noodles. 12 weeks with minutes, 10 without.

Today's Tip: Preheat skillets before adding oil - unless you have a ceramic cooktop that tells you not to.

To Do: Cheese tasting with beer pairings at Whole Foods Tyson's Corner. Mmm, cheese and beer.

A Real Page-Turner: The staff favorites series continues, with a wild blueberry pie adapted from Nova Scotia Cooking.

Weekly Dish: Coming soon - the Mandarin Oriental's flagship restaurant, CityZen, with French Laundry, Spago, and Vidalia alumnus Eric Ziebold. Could be opening as soon as Sept. 15.

A Kind Word About Chardonnay: Not all of them are buttery, oaky, heavy monsters - there are some light, fruity Chardonnays more appropriate for a summer picnic than a heavy winter meal.

Pastries of the Caribbean: Crown Bakery on Georgia Avenue features savory pastries filled with island ingredients like salt cod, callaloo, or spicy ground beef. They also carry sweet pastries and breads made from traditional recipes.

Tom's chat transcript: Upcoming fundraiser for the Jean-Louis Palladin Foundation, where to eat in Vegas, Atlantic City, Long Beach, or Montreal, recommendations for birthdays, anniversaries, and other celebratory occasions, booking for huge parties in Penn Quarter, more strange restaurant behavior, a visit from Post humor columnist Gene Weingarten, suggestions on how to get started as a waiter/sommelier, and the inevitable grousing about splitting the bill equally when you only ordered a salad. Oh, and someone thinks eGullet is mean.

Grapevine chat transcript: More on Chardonnays, how to pluralize Chablis without sounding like Gollum ("what does it want with its Chabliseses?"), what wine to pair with a pig roast, why Stelvin closures (aka screw caps) are a good thing, the pluses and minuses of retsina, which may or may not be flavored with Pine-Sol, and what qualifies as a traditional Democratic or Republican dish in terms of wine pairings.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section digest, September 1, 2004

(second attempt after the %^&&$%! Google search ate the first one. bah.)

Cook Smarter: Emily Kaiser describes the Zen of mise en place. The example recipe, which requires you to get your vegetables in a row, is Frank Ruta's ratatouille. The sidebar has suggestions on what steps to do when.

Peel Better: It's not just for, well, peeling - it can also shred, shave, and sliver everything from carrots to cheese to chocolate. Recipes include sauteed zucchini and summer squash with tomatoes and black olives, shaved carrot and cucumber salad with peanut dressing, and penne with sauteed fennel and sausage.

You Have Questions: Professor Science has answers. Find out whether or how cornstarch dissolves in water, and the difference between palm fruit oil and palm kernel oil, plus which has more saturated fat.

Book Report: Sirio: The Story of My Life and Le Cirque, by Sirio Maccioni and Peter Elliot. Maccioni, with a little help, dishes on his life and the many, many famous people who dined at Le Cirque.

Taste Test: Frozen chicken nuggets. The verdict? Stick with the "natural" brands like Ian's and Bell and Evans.

Today's Tip: Make sure your fridge is keeping the cold things as cold as they're supposed to be with a refrigerator/freezer thermometer.

Dinner in 20 Minutes: Eggs sunny side up with asparagus, pancetta and pecorino romano. The minutes take a decisive lead - 13 weeks with, 10 without.

Shopping Cart: The most excellent Trader Joe's World's Largest Salted Cashews.

To Do: Middle Eastern food festival at Holy Transfiguration Church in McLean, wine dinner at Galileo.

Trade Secrets: Don't be surprised if the kiddies don't eat what's packed in their brown bag lunch - 75% don't eat at least one item, 36% trade at least part of it.

Cooking Up Something New: The Food section's yearly listing of cooking classes, including offerings from eGulleters Monica Bhide, B. Keith Ryder, and Ted Task, as well as demonstration classes at 2941, Citronelle, DC Coast, Equinox, Galileo, and Lebanese Taverna.

Foraging: The Tiny Kitchen That Scored: Two cookbooks by an Alexandria woman have tips on cooking and entertaining even when your kitchen isn't big enough to swing a cat.

Weekly Dish: Grillfish's owner adds a third outlet - the Asian/Mediterranean-themed Merkado; Casa Blanca on Vermont Avenue has more than meets the eye.

Argentina Beats Chile: Ben Giliberti gets back to less controversial subjects in a discussion of Argentinean vs. Chilean wines.

Tom's chat transcript: People who don't read the chat archives; praise for Bistro d'Oc, Curry Club, and Delhi Club; picks in Toronto and New York; someone thinks Tom sounds like Stewie from Family Guy (?!); kudos for Todd Thrasher's innovative drinks at Restaurant Eve.