This post is sponsored by Wisconsin Cheese which is hosting The 2013 Grilled Cheese Academy Recipe Showdown where you can win a $4,000 Gourmet Kitchenware Package. What really got me excited to participate was the opportunity for me to come up with the best grilled cheese I know how to make. And while I’ve made gourmet grilled cheese on my Gourmet Grilled Cheese night, I’ve never mastered the straightforward all-American grilled cheese. Until now.
…
In January of this year, the good people of Korin, one of the nation’s best knife shops, offered to send me a fancy knife. I stopped them in their tracks. “Good people of Korin!” I said. “I can’t take such a generous gift unless you can offer a similar gift to my readers.” Korin wrote back: “Well try the knife out, see if you like it, and we’ll go from there.”
Fast forward to August: I like the knife. It’s my main knife, I use it all the time. And now I’m giving one away with a little contest….
…
Look at how much fun everyone had!
I have to confess, when I typed up the Scavenger Hunt list last week, I was worried that (a) maybe no one would compete (this was my first year not centering it around a specific city; so the challenges were broader); and (b) that those who DID compete might hate this list and grow to hate me because of how much work was required. But based on the pictures, that’s clearly not the case. I mean, check out these smiling Scavenger Hunters!
…
The Winners of the 2012 Foodie Photo Scavenger Hunt (Sponsored By The CIA)Read More »
On your marks…get set….
Ok, wait! Before you get started scavenger hunting, I need to tell you a few things about the 2012 Foodie Photo Scavenger Hunt. First: choose your partner wisely. Not only will you be spending all weekend with them; if you win, you’ll be cooking together for four days at the CIA. This is not a time to collaborate with a frienemy! Second: please read the rules carefully. I’d hate for you to spend all weekend scavenger hunting only to find that because you ignored a potentially crucial rule you’re disqualified. Then I’d be your frienemy and it’ll be so awkward if we run into each other out at dinner. Ok?
So let’s talk about the rules.
…
You may have thought Oscar’s biggest upset last night was Meryl Streep stealing Viola Davis’s Oscar, but then clearly you weren’t at the Oscar party I attended. Our friends John and Michael invited us a week earlier and asked us to bring a dish that was a pun or play on words based on title or actor (last year, John made “Stanley Two-Cheese Dip”) and I treated the whole thing light-heartedly, polling my followers on Twitter (some good suggestions: “My Week With Maryland Crabs,” “Macarooney Mara”) before settling on the dish you see above, Glenn Cous Cous Salad with Albert Knobs of Feta.
…
Glenn Cous Cous Salad with Albert Knobs of Feta (PLUS: Other 2011 Oscar Dishes)Read More »
Flipping through the pages of the new Serious Eats Book, I’m in total awe. It’s the kind of book that could only be written by a team of passionate, ambitious food folk–the kind of people who care very deeply about issues like “What’s the best pizza in the country?” (#1 on their list: Apizza Scholls in Portland, OR) or “What are the various regional burger styles?” (the list includes smashed burgers, steamed cheeseburgers, cheese-stuffed burgers, and so on). Led by the spirited Ed Levine, the Serious Eats team have assembled a book choc full of great advice on where to eat, how to eat and what to eat (including many brilliant recipes developed by the incomparable J. Kenji Lopez-Alt). Now TWO OF YOU lucky Amateur Gourmet readers are going to receive a free copy of the Serious Eats book. To win, simply put your name, location and favorite local haunt (a Serious Eats-worthy destination) in the comments with a one-sentence description that makes me hungry. Make sure to enter a valid e-mail address too so I can notify you if you win (I’ll post the winners here tomorrow morning in this same post). Good luck!
UPDATE: The contest is over! All of your submissions made me hungry, but the two that made me the hungriest were Angela Shepard’s (pork belly sandwich at Butcher in New Orleans) and Broderick’s (baked farm egg in a bath of celery cream at Miller-Union in Atlanta). Congrats to the winners.
The man, the myth, the legend, Ed Levine–creator of Serious Eats–stopped by my kitchen on Monday to chat with me all about his career; from his book “New York Eats,” to the TV show he hosted with Jeffery Steingarten (and a surprising moderator) to the creation of Serious Eats itself. We also talked about the big Serious Eats sandwich festival coming up on Governor’s Island on July 23rd. There’ll be sandwiches from Torrisi, Locanda Verde, Gramercy Tavern, Salumeria Biellese, Taim Mobile; plus our friends from the Big Gay Ice Cream truck will be there too. Oh and lots of booze. Tickets are $65 each (buy them here) but Ed generously agreed to give away TWO pairs of tickets to Amateur Gourmet readers. So: to win, write a recipe for your favorite sandwich in the comments (make sure to use a valid e-mail address). I’ll pick the two best sandwiches and those folks will each win a pair of tickets to the event. And I’ll be there too, so see you there!
Previous Episodes: Matt Armendariz, Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, Big Girls, Small Kitchen, Emeric Harney & Rachel Wharton.
My friend David Lebovitz wrote a wonderful book about living in Paris called “The Sweet Life” (read my write-up about it here) and now that it’s out in paperback, his publisher has generously agreed to donate THREE copies to readers of The Amateur Gourmet. If you’d like to win a copy, make up a French dish that doesn’t really exist and describe it in the comments. The best three win.
UPDATE: The winners have been chosen! Click below to see them.
…
Food Book Giveaway: David Lebovitz’s “The Sweet Life”Read More »
