May 4, 2012 | By Adam Roberts | 0 Comments
As someone who’s starred in “Oliver” twice–as Oliver in 5th grade and Fagan in 7th grade–I know a thing or two about porridge (aka: “gruel”). Rule one: don’t ask for “more” or you’ll be dragged by your ear out into the snow and sold to a mortician. Rule two: it’s best not served from a giant vat in the middle of a workhouse; it tastes much better–in fact it tastes quite terrific–if you follow the following instructions from April Bloomfield’s glorious new cookbook, A Girl and Her Pig.
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May 3, 2012 | By Adam Roberts | 0 Comments
1. Check out the new banner by Lindy Groening. If you have bee allergies, my apologies; there’s an epinephrine autoinjector for you on the bottom right of the page. (Hey: I’ve seen “My Girl.”)
2. Tomorrow begins the 2012 Foodie Photo Scavenger Hunt (with over $3500 in prizes from the CIA). I’m posting the list at 5 PM E.S.T. and you have until Sunday at midnight to complete it. In the meantime, if you’re on Twitter, check out the hashtag #foodiephotohunt. That’ll be important during the hunt for an opportunity to score some bonus points by finding other teams in your area. And if you have any questions, ask them with that hashtag and I’ll be sure to answer them. Now e-mail your friends and find a partner, quick!
May 2, 2012 | By Adam Roberts | 0 Comments
We need to talk about the pancake at Canelé in Atwater Village.
I mean, look at it: it’s totally outrageous. It’s puffed up like a blowfish and it’s filled, almost defiantly, with a Meyer lemon custard. Dusted with powdered sugar and served with a lemon wedge, this pancake puts all other pancakes to shame. Is it a Dutch Baby? A riff on the David Eyre’s pancake? Possibly.
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May 1, 2012 | By Adam Roberts | 0 Comments
There are two kinds of people who cook at home: the first kind chooses an elaborate recipe, buys all of the ingredients, spends hours cooking it, invites friends to eat it, spends hours cleaning it, and takes the rest of the week off. The other kind has long-range vision, makes a large batch of something and uses that batch to feed his or her family for the rest of the week. This kind of home cook–the true home cook–is resourceful, inventive, and frugal without letting that frugality show. And, lately, I’m proud to say, I’m shifting from Column A to Column B. Let me prove it to you with a bag of lentils.
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April 30, 2012 | By Adam Roberts | 0 Comments
After hauling home fresh asparagus and fava beans from the farmer’s market, I stood on a chair and made a loud declaration: “I will not adulterate these beacons of springtime with a convoluted recipe that obfuscates their natural glory!” Getting down from the chair, I thought about my declaration and realized that to live up to my word, I would need to cook the asparagus and fava beans as simply as possible, and serve them up with something special-enough to be memorable but not so special as to shadow the star ingredients: which is how I came up with making fresh pasta.
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April 30, 2012 | By Adam Roberts | 0 Comments
Readers, are you ready for something outrageous? Something unbelievable? Something so over-the-top that you might pinch yourself and wonder if it’s April 1st?
Well have I got news for you! The Culinary Institute of America—the world’s premier culinary college—has agreed to sponsor my first-ever WORLD WIDE Foodie Photo Scavenger Hunt. They’re offering up to the 1st place winning team a FOUR DAY Culinary Boot Camp worth over $3500 (not to mention books and DVDs for the 2nd and 3rd place winners).
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Ways To Follow — Some of you may not realize that, during the day, I'm not just updating my blog. Oh no! I'm also updating my Twitter feed @amateurgourmet with things like this fun gay pirate music video and pictures of what I had for breakfast (a pink orange); then there's my Facebook Page which has a brand new banner designed by Lindy Groening---click here to check it out and LIKE it to get regular updates of all the interesting things I'm linking to, like this article about shrimp worker abuse and this video of Mario Batali's home kitchen. Not to overwhelm you, but there's also my newsletter--subscribe here--that goes out every Monday with all kinds of original content (click here to read the last one). And of course my Pinterest page with all of my recipes laid out quite nicely. Geesh: I sure keep myself busy online! Don't miss out.
April 25, 2012 | By Adam Roberts | 0 Comments
Dear Restaurant Owners,
The jig is up! Do you think I’m a chump? Do you think I don’t see through you and your small plate menus?
You’re trying to get me to spend more money than I want to! Instead of offering up an individual-sized appetizer for $12 to $15 and an entree in the $20 to $30 range, you’re asking me and my tablemates to each order several $12 to $15 dishes—at several restaurants, recently, we were instructed to order “six to seven” of these small plates per person. It’s been years since I got a 1 on my A.P. Calculus exam, but I’m pretty sure that adds up to at least $80 a pop before drinks, dessert, tax and tip. Why don’t you just put a pistol to our heads and demand that we empty our wallets on the table before allowing us to see a menu?
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