Words, words, I'm so sick of words--E. Doolittle

Seems all us food bloggists have words on the brain this week.  Better than fixating on how long it will be before we'll see a local strawberry, I suppose.  I went on a rant earlier in the week about cutesie usage; the Chicago Trib takes on mispronunciations, which the Guardian then picks up and runs with, doubtless doing something soccerish footballish in the process.

Food Day Roundup: Olympic Robot Cupcakes

Obligatory Olympics-related food story here. [Vancouver Sun]
Another food/Olympics story, this one featuring an awesomely weird-looking beet dish.[Toronto Globe & Mail]
 The New York Times inexplicably runs a Science Tuesday story on Wednesday. (Do you have a better explanation?)
Oh, dear god, no. Magnolia Bakery opens an outpost at Grand Central Terminal (it's not a station, Cupcakes; it's a terminus).

Think...Please!

This is not your grandmother's pasta.  

Bored with the usual spaghetti? Think: crunchy!  

Swap out spaghetti for celery sticks.  Substitute garlic with library paste. 

When I saw that the NY Times had caved in on the use of "swap out" in the same issue in which they used "flaunt" instead of "flout," I knew that the world was going to hell in an even faster handbasket than I had thought possible.  "Substitute with" is equally awful.  There's worse, though.

Second-most annoying is  the breathless, silly "Think."  Thirsty?  Think: Water!  Hungry?  Think: Food!  Whoever came up with that should be allowed to read nothing but  Dick and Jane for the rest of her (and I'll bet my last clove of garlic that it's a her, too) life, because that is the intellectual level of this inane phrase.

And, lastly, "This is not your hoary old ancestor's _____."  Yes, everything that came before was bad.  Filled with glass shards.  Dusty.  Raw.  I even learned from a breathlessVictoria Blashford-Snell (yes, everything in Wodehouse is absolutely true), via the Independent, that ten years ago no one had heard of canapes.  I guess I'm going to have to toss my 1940 edition of James' Beard's H'ors d'Oeuvres and Canapes right out the window and into a puddle.

Think:  Ridiculous.

The Loss of Zucco

My friend Margaret, noted bonne vivante, asked me to post this:
Zucco, the proprietor of one of my absolute favorite restaurants in New York (the aptly named Zucco le French Diner) died suddenly last Saturday, February 13th.  Because this miniscule little gem (it could seat maybe 14 people) was as much about him as it was about the food, its future is uncertain.  What is certain is that he - and his classic, unpretentious French bistro cooking - will be greatly missed.

Food Day Roundup

I came across this Icelandic food blog the other day.  I really like it: informative and full of heart.
The NY Times wants me to care about a restaurant in Arizona.  I don't. They also ran a very odd article about culinary bragging.  Glad I don't travel in those circles.
Struggling Maine dairy farmers go organic with MOOMilk. (via Topix)
OneIndia reports on an Italian chef's CATastrophe.

Bowder, Chisque, Bich?

Sunday night, I thawed out a big container of shrimp stock, thinking it would make a great basis for crab chowder.  When I woke up the next morning, I remembered that one doesn't use stock in chowder. Oops.  How about a bisque?  Well, no.  Most bisques are purees, and I wanted those bits of crab intact.  Could I combine the two?  I would be winging (clawing?) my way through this one.

First, I chopped a couple of carrots, ditto celery, and half a large onion. Into the pot over medium heat with a large chunk of butter.  While they were sweating, I peeled and diced a couple of Russet potatoes.  As soon as the vegetables were soft, in went the potatoes.   Salt, pepper.  Once the potatoes began to soften just a bit, I poured in three cups of shrimp stock, brought it to a boil, then lowered it to a simmer. Looked like I was making vegetable soup.  Not what I had in mind.  Onward.  In 20 minutes or so, the potatoes were completely soft.  I pureed it , right in the pot, with an immersion blender, one of the culinary gods great gifts to home cooks, making sure to leave some of the potato chunks intact.  I added a bit of hot sauce, just enough for piquance, but not for heat.

Once the pot was back on the stove, I poured in 2 cups of half and half, and an 8 ounce container of Maine crab.  (A pound would have been even better.  Next time.)  Brought it to hot, but not boiling. Very important, unless you like a curdled mess.  Now, for the most important step.  Let it cool for as long as you can.  An hour is good, two is better, overnight is best. This helps the crab flavor every slurpful of soup.  Reheat gently, then sprinkle each bowl with Aleppo pepper or paprika.

Yes, reader, it worked.  It was delicious, that bich.

Serves 4-6 as a first course, or 2 as a main, with leftovers.

Friday Videos: I Want Candy!

In honor of Valentine's Day, here are some vintage candy commercials that speak for themselves. Sweet!

Tatties and Neeps, Oh My!

Sorry about the week-long hiatus; I was consumed by computer problems.
Was looking for something else entirely in the Scotsman, when I stumbled upon their truly remarkable food section and was instantly surrounded by haggis.  Well worth a read.

Friday Video: Vintage New York Commercials

Doesn't Santa look suspiciously like Fudgie the Whale?  The Cookie Puss antecedents of the traditional Hannukah cake are all too obvious.


Meet you at Teddy's?  Oh, I wish I could.


I'd rather not think about foods going down the digestive chute, thanks.


What, no skin on my My-T-Fine?

Lucy's Whey

Cheese, I thought I made bad puns...
Anyway (ouch), Lucy's Whey, an East Hampton favorite, recently opened a branch in Chelsea Market.  It's a wee store, specializing in American artisanal cheeses.   I did feel a bit too waited on, which is better than the reverse, I suppose, and the staff is certainly quite generous with both information and tastes.  Chose Rogue Creamery's Smokey Blue, the first-ever smoked blue cheese.  One would think that this would be a clash of flavor titans, but the light nutty smokiness seems to both temper and enliven the tang of the creamy blue.  Also picked up a small bag of shelled black walnuts.  I thought salad, which is really the only thing to eat when the windchill is -2.

Blue cheese and walnuts are a classic combo, but I was disappointed when I tasted the walnuts: they had an odd, funky flavor.  I was expecting an uberwalnut,  and was decidedly underwhelmed.  Bruce suggested that I toast and then candy them. Never having candied anything but grapefruit peel before, I was good to go.   I heated a little grapeseed oil in a pan over medium heat, and tossed in a handful of nuts.  As soon as they started smelling toasty, I stirred in a couple of teaspoons of sugar and stirred some more.  Holy nuts, they were actually candying!  As soon as they started to color (and they will do this very quickly), I dumped them onto a paper plate.

I sliced up about half a jar of Rick's Picks Phat Beets.  Used some of the jar's liquid--with a little chopped shallot and salt and pepper --for the dressing.  Tossed in crumbled blue cheese and candied walnuts.  Toss again so that the blue cheese turns violently pink.   Serve with crusty bread.