My last Think Local column in the Philadelphia Weekly came out today. Budget cuts led to the elimination of the second page of food coverage. For this final piece, I explored a local fruit cannery. Click here for the full story.
My Winter Challenge
I recently hatched the idea that I was going to start making pizza. Still a young and impressionable food mind, I’m embarrassingly susceptible to trends publicized in the food magazines that I read.
It didn’t seem like it would be that hard. Get the proper equipment, and start baking. And the capital outlay didn’t seem like so much either: just that heavy stone that hangs out on the bottom of the oven. Read the rest of this entry »
Cooking with Beer
I can attribute much of the success of tonight’s stew to my choice of braising liquids. This was actually the first time I’d attempted a beer braise- the recipe recommended Stout, but after a half-hearted attempt to find a local-crafted brewed stout that I would want to consume the remaining amount of the six-pack, I resolved to braise using the big bottle of Kasteel Brown I had lying around.
Brown, or Donker as it is labeled, isn’t a wimpy beer. Weighing in at 11% abv, Donker wields an undeniable punch. Both the nose and the palate reveal serious stewed fruits: think raisins and prunes. Cooked for several hours as a braise, the liquid was still assertive. But it didn’t overwhelm the stew, Instead, the beer lent its distinctive flavor, while demonstrating that it could be well behaved when guests are around. Read the rest of this entry »
Farm Bounty
Top Row (from left): One World Coffee, raw milk, lardo, bacon. Bottom Row: beef cubes, Pub Cheddar, Cow Pie, Parmesan, Orange Cardamom Sausage Read the rest of this entry »
Big Ups to Bittman
For better or worse, I’m unduly reliant on Mark Bittman’s cooking tomes when I’m in the kitchen. I bought the original How to Cook Everything soon after I graduated college, when I started cooking for myself on a regular basis. 8+ years later, it has pages falling out and food stains in almost every section. That’s a good endorsement, I suppose. These days, with a vegetarian fiance, I’m also making plenty of use of his newer How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Read the rest of this entry »
All Aboard the Burrito Wagon
Big Ten Burrito opened up in Ann Arbor during my second year in grad school, and they quickly became my top burrito choice in town. They offered appropriately large burritos with pretty high quality fillings, a giant step above Panchero’s, whose one selling point was its close proximity to my department during my first year.
Betty’s Speakeasy
November in Food Land takes us to the world of tasty, tasty fudge. Ok, so I stole the adjective directly from the name of this month’s subject: Betty’s Tasty Buttons. That’s laziness on the part of this food writer. Find out about founder Liz Begosh’s move to some fancy new digs. Go to article. (Sorry that Philly Weekly screwed up the formatting.)
Pennsylvania Wine: Not so Bad
My latest story on Penns Woods Winery in Eddystone PA. Like I said in the article, the wines really were surprisingly good. And I don’t mean to damn with faint praise.
Anyone with any ideas on local food producers worth exploring? I’m afraid I’m begining to run low on ideas. Don’t tell my editor, though.
Back?
Provencal Daube (in progress)
Does this mark a return to (semi) regular blogging? Quite possibly– a reconfiguration of my working schedule, with a shift to the 9-5 may clear up precious minutes for more frequent updates. Read the rest of this entry »
