April 29, 2005
Just a reminder...
I'll be in Chicago for the Spring 2005 Fancy Foods Show, representing Desert Island Foods.com, so email responses will be close to non-existent between Saturday and Wednesday.
I'll try to blog from Chicago if the technical gods are smiling...
For more information, see this recent post.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 11:36 AM
Yep, I made them...
Back skin peeled, rubbed generously with Survival Spice™, then smoked for 4 hours in hickory and pecan.
So tender you could almost cut them with this.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 11:18 AM
This is crap
For only $14.95, you can get something that doesn't do anything well. Do you really want to handle food with the same tool you just scraped your grill with? I've actually had to use a version of this and it's hard to even turn a steak properly because the round flat end provides no grip and makes it really easy to drop a USDA Prime Porterhouse on the patio, which came close to happening more than once.
And what do you hold your food with as you're slicing it with this little gem? Yep, thought so. A real set of tongs, duh.
Article here, but don't waste your time unless you need a good chuckle.
I'll be featuring tools I actually like here soon, but this one is really a bust.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:02 AM
The Pragmatic Chef™ comments on the new Food Pyramid
Does this mean that the more I exercise, the less I can eat? Screw that.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:45 AM
Spider Bytes- Man!
Via Yahoo News:
When chef Matthew Stevens was bitten by a huge spider he photographed it with his camera phone, presuming friends would never believe the story. It was a decision which may have saved his life.The 23-year-old collapsed soon afterwards and as doctors fought to save him he remembered the picture, which was sent to Bristol Zoo, a report in The Times newspaper said on Wednesday.
Experts at the zoo recognised the creature as Brazilian Wandering Spider -- one of the deadliest spiders in the world -- and doctors were able to adapt their treatment suitably.
Read the whole thing, a picture of a trap door spider (not the phone pic) is in the extended entry, to avoid grossing out spider-phobes...
Continue reading "Spider Bytes- Man!"
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:56 AM
April 28, 2005
Let the first "Food Fight" begin!!!
Okay, "Food Fight™" is a photo and recipe contest. Submit a picture of a dish you've made along with the recipe. Winners get their entry in the "Food Fight™ Hall of Fame" and either Desert Island Foods.com™ products or cool DIF swag.
See your recipe in lights!!! Be a home chef superstar!!! Kill a little time and have fun doing it!!!
Imagination, execution and "drool factor" are the primary judging criteria. If your dish is lavish, fine, but a hot dog can still kick your ass if it's done well. I'm not saying the judges are going to favor recipes using Desert Island Foods.com™ products, but it could break a tie.
Photos must be transmitted via email with the subject line "Food Fight submission", should be no larger than about 500 pixels in any dimension and no more than 200K in size. If any of this tech stuff makes you dizzy, submit it anyway you can and I'll convert it for you if you win.
Recipes should be easy to understand and in this format:
1) Title
2) Your degree of difficulty from 1 (easy) to 5 (hard)
3) Approximate prep and cooking times
4) Full list of ingredients in U.S. units
5) Numbered easy to follow preparation steps.
If your dish is somewhat elaborate, which is great, wherever practical try to provide time-saving hints if someone wants to make your dish in a hurry.
Good luck! Because this is the first contest, the entries won't close until May 12th, so get cooking!
The lawyers make me post this:
Legal Notice:By posting to "Food Fight™", you retain the rights to your pictures and recipes but grant Desert Island Foods™, LLC. and its present and future affiliates or assigns permission to use, publish and reproduce your pictures, recipes and comments in perpetuity.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 11:02 AM
April 27, 2005
Sourdough beats baguette, basically...
From the Bread Baker's Guild website:
April 19, 2005, Pittsburgh, Pa. –America’s top bakers today captured the prestigious Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (World Cup of Baking) in Paris. The World Champion Bread Bakers Guild Team USA 2005 took the gold, followed by the second place French team. The defending world champion Japanese team took third. It was a thrilling victory for Bread Bakers Guild Team USA 2005, which reclaimed the title of World’s Best Bakers at the three-day international event. It was hard-fought and arduous competition with no clear winners early on. Prior to announcing their decision, Coupe du Monde officials noted that the level of competition and quality of product was very high, making their selection extremely difficult. “It was awesome. We had a good day of baking,” said Team Manager Tim Foley of Stevensville, Mich. “This is a victory for the artisan bakers in the U.S. – a victory for the bakers who sweat it out all night in their bakeries.”
The U.S. team beat 11 other countries including France, long considered to produce the best bread in the world. More photos here.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:36 AM
Today is National Prime Rib Day
Who comes up with this stuff, anyway? I doubt it was PETA, but In the never-ending pursuit of knowledge I wasted a good chunk of the morning trying to find out, to no avail.
Does anyone know? Leave your answer or entertaining theory in the comments.
In any case, it sounds good to me. Some prime rib recipes can be found here, here and here. Let me know if you try any of them.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:34 AM
April 26, 2005
Man Pleads Guilty in French Fries Rage
Via Yahoo News:
A Burger King customer who berated the employees when a drive-thru clerk told him the restaurant was out of french fries has been convicted of multiple charges and sentenced to 45 days in jail.Authorities said Gregg Luttman made an obscene gesture at the clerk, cursed staffers and nearly hit an employee with his truck. When police tried to arrest him, Luttman allegedly scuffled with an officer and kicked out the back window of a cruiser.
Oh, brother. Read the whole thing here.
update- link fixed. Thanks, Silvia!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 11:33 AM
Color me skeptical
Would you let this tell you when your fruit is ripe?:
The ripeSense™ sensor works by reacting to the aromas released by the fruit as it ripens. The sensor is initially red and graduates to orange and finally yellow. By matching the colour of the sensor with your eating preferences, you can now accurately choose fruit as ripe as you like it.
This will supposedly keep shoppers from squeezing fruit to the bruising point to see if it's ripe.
Ease up on the bionic fruit grip, folks, a gentle squeeze and a sniff will do it.
Company link here.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:15 AM
Uh, I guess I'll have the fish
This is cool:
The Maldives | 15 April marks the day that the first ever all-glass undersea restaurant in the world opens its doors for business at the Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa. Ithaa* will sit five meters below the waves of the Indian Ocean, surrounded by a vibrant coral reef and encased in clear acrylic offering diners 270-degrees of panoramic underwater views.
Pretty amazing. The whole article is here.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:05 AM
April 25, 2005
Spring 2005 Fancy Foods Show
The Spring 2005 Fancy Foods Show starts in Chicago on May 1. I'll be there representing Desert Island Foods.com, so email responses will be close to non-existent between Saturday and Wednesday.
I'll try to blog from Chicago if the technical gods are smiling...
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:33 AM
April 24, 2005
Ask the Chef
Got a question on food and cooking? Drop me a line and include your name and your city. I'll post answers to questions I think have a wide area of interest to readers.
Posted questions will include the first name and the city of the commenter, unless requested otherwise.
Comments are closed on this thread. Emails only, please.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 6:30 PM
Desert Island Foods.com has a new logo
What do you think?
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 2:39 PM