DIGEST: Washington Post Food section

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section digest, September 8, 2004

Have Your Fill: Eat fewer calories than you burn and you'll lose weight. Sounds simple - so why is it so difficult? In her continuing series on healthy eating, dietitian Katherine Tallmadge discusses ways to make sure you feel full and satisfied without eating extra calories. The sidebar has specific suggestions on ways to increase food volume without increasing calories.

The Caterer Takes a Holiday: Kosher caterer David Dahan had a problem - how to satisfy the multitude of clients who wanted kosher meals for the High Holy Days while keeping the holiday himself. The solution? Dishes that can be cooked well ahead of time and benefit from resting and reheating or from being served at room temperature. Recipes include Moroccan chicken tagine, French lentil salad, and chilled salmon with herb mayonnaise.

At the End, Sweet Apples: The holiday recipes wrap up with a new twist on the traditional apple dessert - apple flan.

There Is a Perfect Mandoline: Some people have them and love them, some people have lopped off bits of finger with them, and some people think they're most commonly found as part of a bluegrass ensemble. Whichever category you fall into, be glad that the Post has road-tested these five so you don't have to. Unsurprisingly, the Oxo wins. Also included are tips and techniques for safer and more effective mandoline use. (Two added tips from bitter experience - use the veggie handle even if you don't think you need it, and make sure you've taken the blades out or covered them before you put the mandoline in the sink to wash. Trust me.)

Equipment - Blender Jar: Oster has created a mini-blender jar for those tasks where you don't need to use the big blender but don't want to mess up your coffee grinder either.

First, There's Ruth Reichl: The Post's Great Cooks and Their Books series returns for another year, kicking off with a lecture and book signing by Ruth Reichl on Sept. 29, followed by an interview and reception with Patrick O'Connell at the Kennedy Center, emceed by Charlie Rose. Also scheduled for the series are Roland Mesnier, Jacques Pepin, and Thomas Keller.

Today's Tip: Make sure you shake that soy or rice milk - up to 90% of the calcium can be left behind in the carton as sludge. Mmm, sludge.

To Do: Area restaurants contribute proceeds toward defeating ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease on Sept. 9; Maryland Seafood Festival at Sandy Point State Park; Crazy about Capsicums Festival in Purcellville, VA; Slavic American Festival at Epiphany of Our Lord Byzantine Catholic Church in Annandale; Culinary Historians of Washington lecture at the GWU/Mount Vernon campus; cigar dinner at Charlie Palmer Steak.

Skins Play by Play: The Ritz-Carlton at Tyson's Corner introduces a potato skins special to run through football season.

Dinner in 20 Minutes: Tomato, corn, and arugula salad. Minutes leap ahead - 14 with, 10 without.

On the Label - Carrageenan: A seaweed-based stabilizer found in many ice creams, soy and rice milks.

The Only Cheese Shop in Town: Del Ray's new temple of cheesy goodness, Cheesetique.

Where Malbec Does Best: Michael Franz continues his look at the symbiosis between particular grapes and particular regions with his look at Argentinean Malbecs.

Weekly Dish: Sweet Mango Cafe is reborn on Georgia Avenue across from the Metro station.

Tom's chat transcript: It's the personal-info-about-Tom edition - Tom hasn't been to Per Se yet but is going next week, and shares a birthday with Michel Richard. Also covered are non-chain restaurants where you can still take your three-year-old, places with good food and minimal or nonexistent decor, various complaints about waitstaff (the ubiquitous "you guys" and "do you want change?") and places with good heirloom tomato dishes.

Grapevine chat transcript: The "Stewie from Family Guy" issue comes up again, but we find out that Michael Franz actually sounds like the Guy With The Voice from NFL Films. Plus, more on Malbecs, baseball, Montepulciano, and what to serve at a wedding.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, September 15, 2004

The Surprise Inside An Asian Pear: Virginia growers YoungSuk and Paul Estabrook are developing their own varieties of Asian pears, as well as raising 14 varieties for local markets. The sidebar discusses varieties available now, as well as how to pick the best Asian pears and how to order pears directly from the Estabrooks.

The Hunt for Little Scarlet: Details on the legendary Wilkin and Sons Tiptree Little Scarlet Preserve, a jarful of hand-picked, small-batch-cooked strawberry goodness. A recipe for sweet omelette is included, but not endorsed by the manufacturer. Accompanying the story is an explanation of why some jars say "conserve" and some say "preserve" - don't worry, the contents are the same either way.

Food 101 - Plastic Rap: Robert Wolke debunks yet another of those well-meaning urban legend emails, this time about dioxin in plastic water bottles.

The Lazy Loaf: Baking guru Rose Levy Beranbaum shares her go-to recipe for a quick, easy, and delicious whole-wheat loaf. She also includes recommendations for flour storage, working with yeast, and handling dough.

Added for the Eye: A paean to Palena's pickles, presented to pretty up the Pickled Martini.

Today's Tip: Use a toothbrush to clean hard-to-reach spots on mushrooms.

Equipment - Splatter Screen: This wire mesh article keeps the kitchen clean by catching spurts of grease from frying foods.

Dinner in 20 Minutes: Spiced skirt steak. The minutes continue to surge ahead - current count is 15 weeks with, 10 without.

Ingredient - Honey: It's not just clover honey in a plastic bear bottle - there are different varieties and flavors to experiment with.

Book Report: How to Keep Kosher: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Jewish Dietary Laws, by Lise Stern. The book provides a thorough, practical, and easy-to-use description of kashrut.

To Do: Greek festival at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church on 16th St; Arts on Foot festival in Penn Quarter; Turkish festival in Freedom Plaza; wine tasting with the Post's Michael Franz sponsored by the Washington Wine Academy.

From Crawfish Etouffee to Cranberry Scones: A review of Coastal Cooking with John Shields: 125 of the Best Recipes from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf Coasts, and Hawaii. Shields' latest book ventures out of the Chesapeake Bay area to collect recipes from coastal areas all over the country. The sample recipe is halibut with herbed fennel sauce and sweet peas.

Weekly Dish: The scoop on the singing waiters at Mimi's American Bistro; Rosh Hashanah meal at Felix.

Reds, Reds, and More Reds: Three moderately priced red selections for fall, plus a discussion of the Cru Bourgeois classification.

Baltimore Cupcake Company: This bright pink building near Fort McHenry supplies everyone's cupcakely needs, as well as cookies and milk.

Tom's chat transcript: He goes to Per Se tomorrow; how restaurants should handle birthday celebrations; complaints about the Olive Garden's all-you-can-eat pasta (?!); where to go if you can't get a reservation at Minibar; scheduling holiday parties; and why Tom's against creme brulee.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, September 22, 2004

Ins and Outs of Sandwich City: Apparently sandwich places are one of the fastest-growing sectors of the restaurant industry - and if you're going to succeed as a sandwich place, you have to have at least one turkey sandwich on the menu. Six local variations on the turkey sandwich are reviewed here: from Subway, Quiznos, Potbelly, Cosi, Corner Bakery, and Panera. An accompanying article discusses things you can do to jazz up sandwiches at home.

The New Focus On Native American Cooking: The varied menu at the Mitsitam Cafe in the new National Museum of the American Indian are just one example of the attempts to preserve and pass on Native American cuisine - including cookbooks and academic symposia.

Fit and Frugal: One of the most common arguments against getting people to try a more nutritious diet is that it's more expensive - but it's actually not. The ongoing series has suggestions for minimizing expense while getting good, healthy foods into your diet.

For the Native Palate: A review of Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions, by Fernando and Marlene Divina. This book's release coincides with the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall - as well as recipes, it includes essays and memoirs from Native American writers, commentaries on the origins and history of the various dishes, and a thorough reference section including glossaries and bibliographies. A sample recipe for quinoa salad is included.

On the Label: Light Tuna: Canned light tuna, which is generally yellowfin, bluefin, or skipjack tuna, tends to contain significantly less mercury than the canned white or albacore.

Book Report: Cooksmart Chicken, Pasta, Wok, Chocolate, Low-Fat or Vegetarian. Half shopping-list, half recipe flashcards, they're portable enough to take along to the store.

To Do: Book signing and wine tasting with John Shields at Best Cellars; Johnny Appleseed Festival at the Mount Pleasant farmers' market; Middle Eastern bazaar at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Church on Alaska Ave.; wine dinners at Taberna del Alabardero and the Four Seasons.

Dinner in 20 Minutes: Chicken and Avocado Salad. The minutes continue on their roll - 16 weeks with, 10 without.

Today's Tip: To keep overstuffed subs from overspilling, excavate some of the bread before filling.

Ingredient - Quinoa: This staple food of the Incas isn't actually a grain - it's the seeds of a leafy plant.

The Strata's Winning Ways: Another staff favorite - the sausage, Gruyere, and onion strata (egg casserole).

Market Watch - Lemon Verbena: Put this tasty herb in vegetables, teas, or desserts before it gets too cold.

Pork With a Distinguished Past: Hemp's Meats in Jefferson, Maryland has been providing bacony goodness, beef, and yummy bits like sweetbreads to locals and Civil War reenactors alike since 1849.

The Case for Ribera: Michael Franz visited the Ribera del Duero region of Spain, and liked what he saw (and drank).

Tom's chat transcript: Someone thinks it's bad to say negative things about restaurants; Tom's take on the James Beard Foundation controversy; many recommendations for spiffy sandwiches; why servers don't always check the back of credit cards; recommendations in Burgundy and British Columbia; Per Se was "grand."

Grapevine chat transcript: More Spanish wine recommendations; what to drink if you like Asti Spumante but want something "classier"; Canadian ice wines.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, September 29, 2004

Suddenly, It's a Guy Thing: Prior to the low-carb diet boom, men were much less likely to admit being on a diet. Now, apparently it's okay because they're eating meat. Despite that, there are noticeable differences between the way men and women diet - and each can learn from the other.

Cooking with Wine: So, is the wine you add to a saute actually releasing water-insoluble flavors into your food, or just adding some wine flavor? A proper scientific test settles the argument.

Warm Up the Salad: Vegetables usually served raw or cold, such as radishes, cucumbers, arugula, and avocado, can also be good when served warm. Sample recipes include simple salad vegetable saute, braised red radishes, lettuce and pea saute, arugula custards, and hot stuffed avocado.

Dinner in 25 Minutes: Spiced Lamb and Cashew Kebabs. 17 weeks with minutes, 10 without.

Made with Fun: A promo for Food Network's "Cook with Your Kids" programming.

Quoted: Various musings on mushrooms.

To Do: More church food festivals; Taste of Bethesda.

Shopping Cart: Good Health Olive Oil Potato Chips. Crunchy, salty, potato-y and remarkably grease-free.

Jewish Foodways: GWU's Judaic Studies program hosts a conference on American Jewish Foodways, 1654-2004.

Today's Tip: How to deal with sprouted garlic.

Search Engine Recipes: Stumped for what to cook? Put in some ingredients and Google up some dinner.

Cook Like the Inn Crowd: A review of Patrick O'Connell's Refined American Cuisine, with sample recipes for Rosti Potatoes with Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Eggs, and Lemon and Black Pepper Risotto.

The Merits of Meritage: Ben Giliberti discusses what Meritage wines are and suggests a couple of examples.

The Weekly Dish: IndeBleu and its swinging couches.

Market Watch - Pluots: Half-plum, half-apricot, available now.

Tea With a View: Experience high tea at Cafe MoZU in the Mandarin Oriental.

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, October 6, 2004

The Sweet, Sad State of Cider: In days gone by, you could find cider at just about every roadside stand in Virginia and Maryland. Now, there are only a few producers left, but many still consider it a necessary sign of fall. The article includes the names of local producers, and an Apple Cider FAQ.

Rich Rounds of Cider, No Less: In an accompanying piece, eGullet's own alacarte discusses another fall treat, apple cider doughnuts. She includes the recipe used by Hearth in New York.

Deep Purple: For those who can't or don't want to drink red wine, Concord grape juice has nearly the same level of antioxidants.

Out of the Ballpark: The wonderful world of mustard, in all its infinite varieties. Mustardy recipes include baked halibut with lemon-caper Dijonnaise and chicken Dijon with vegetables. Sidebars include a guide to mustards and a quiz from the Mount Horeb, Wisconsin Mustard Museum (along with answers).

Magic Act: Another staff favorite recipe - carrot juice chicken.

Dinner in 30 Minutes: Italian Tuna and Rice Salad. Minutes count: 18 with, 10 without.

Shopping Cart: Telescoping, easy to store Tupperware.

More Great Cooks: Demos and lectures by former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier (Oct. 22); Jacques Pepin (Nov. 16) and Thomas Keller (Nov. 17), all at the Four Seasons.

Definition: Blanch - to plunge a food briefly into boiling water.

Today's Tip: For flakier pastry, freeze the butter or shortening until it's hard before adding it to the flour.

To Do: Wine tasting and lecture on cultivation and DNA sequencing at the Koshland Science Museum; Tastes of Georgetown and Great Falls; progressive wine tasting along the Blue Ridge Wineway.

Market Watch - Cipolline: They're not onions, they're grape hyacinth bulbs; good for braising or caramelizing.

Rioja Rebounds: Michael Franz continues his series on Spanish wines with a look at the Rioja region and some recommendations.

The Weekly Dish: The Election 2004 prix-fixe menu at Charlie Palmer Steak; Peter Smith leaves Vidalia.

Sausage Run: The DC area's ethnic markets contain a multitude of wonderful sausage options; check some out on your next shopping trip.

Grapevine chat transcript: More Riojas, restaurants that pair wines with their tasting menus (or work with what you bring 'em).

(No Tom chat this week - he was off being wined and dined and winning awards at the Association of Food Journalists meeting in San Juan. Congratulations to him and Candy Sagon for their awards.)

[hannnah]

Washington Post Food Section Digest, October 13, 2004

Curdle Hurdles: How to keep your cheese sauce from curdling - the scientific way.

Smashing!: The art of cooking with smashed (or at least slightly pummeled) garlic cloves. Recipes include spaghetti with garlic, oil, and hot chili peppers; chicken braised with garlic, mushrooms and thyme; and stir-fried broccoli with spicy black bean sauce. Suggestions for other uses for smashed garlic are in the sidebar.

Casting a Wide Net: Bouillabaisse may be the pinnacle of fishy stewness, but there are other, much easier recipes that bring the fishy goodness to your table. Recipes provided are Ligurian fish stew, Portuguese fish stew with shellfish, Moroccan fish stew, and Brazilian fish stew. A primer on oily vs. non-oily fish tells you which fish to use for which recipe.

Market Watch - Maradol Papaya: They're yellow and much bigger than the regular Hawaiian papaya, but you can use them for the same things.

Dinner in 30 Minutes: Tomatillo chicken tacos. 19 weeks with minutes, 10 without.

Equipment: Switchits - double-ended spatula/pan scrapers.

To Do: Kosher cooking demo, various wine dinners.

Today's Tip: To get superfine sugar without looking all over for it, run regular granulated sugar through the blender.

Book Report: Jiggelo - Inventive Gelatin Shots for Creative Imbibers. Someone wrote a cookbook on how to make Jello shots. And it actually got published. Cool.

Shopping Cart - Scripture Candy: Just what it sounds like.

At the Top: The most commonly bought fish in the U.S.

Screw Tops: Get Used to Them: Ben Giliberti lauds the resurgence of screw caps on wine.

From Russia to Herndon: An outpost of McLean's Russian Gourmet opens in Herndon.

The Weekly Dish: The imminent arrival of Belga Cafe on Capitol Hill.

Tom's chat archive: Chef at Charlie Palmer Steak offers amends to a complainer; Sunday brunches; off nights at Matchbox; where to eat in Ogunquit, Maine.