SOPHIA MARKOULAKIS
In Season: Figs Figs are sexy. Actually figs are sex. Well, that is, according to Bunny Crumpacker's The Sex Life of Food: When Body and Soul Meet to Eat, who cites... |
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FOODIE PAM
Everyday Japanese with Harumi Japanese food has always seemed a bit out of reach to me; out of reach in my kitchen that is. I enjoy eating it out, but making my own... |
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HEATHER JONES Most Kids have been back in school for a good month or two (depending what part of the country you live in), and I’m sure they are already moaning... |
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HEATHER JONES
The Frugal Foodie: Cooking From the Freezer September is one of my favorite months, for me it marks the beginning of a new year more so than the month of January. I would imagine it has... |
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HEATHER JONES
Chefs' Holidays: David Kinch California has become known as home to some of the best chefs and food visionaries in the world, including Thomas Keller, Alice Waters, and now Chef David Kinch. Chef... |
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FOODIE TALK
Wine tasting, learning and exploring with vintners in Yosemite |
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Written by foodie pam
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Thursday, 05 November 2009 |
 Photo by Chris Andre
As a first time attendee, I was a bit skeptical how exciting two days of wine lectures would be while staying in the middle of one of the most beautiful places on earth. Would nature win over the lectures? It didn't help that during my visit Yosemite was experiencing 70°F weather. As you can imagine some of the 185 attendees took advantage of the weather and missed some of the lectures, but with the mornings free (the first session starts at 1:30pm) I felt the balance was perfect - I could have my wine and hike too.
The lectures vary depending on the presenters - each of the 8 different sessions that run from early November through mid-December has a different group of four vintners presenting. The format remains similar with four lectures, a reception and a gala dinner spread out over two or three days. Wine by the attending vintners, provided as part of the cost of attending, is present throughout including wine tasting at each lecture, wine at the reception and wine at the gala dinner.
Most of the presenters at the sessions are the winemakers at their wineries, which was true for all 4 of the presenters at the session I attended. My session included Rob McNeill of Mumm Napa Estates, Tom Rinaldi of Provenance Vineyards, George Bursick of J Vineyards and Ed Sbragia of Sbragia Family Vineyards presenting with Evan Goldstein of Full Circle Wine Solutions moderating. This group has been doing these events together for 8 or 9 years now and have definitely built a synergy. They've also build a following. They are the best attended session of Vintners' Holidays, no matter if they are first, last or somewhere in between in the series.
 Photo by Chris Andre The lectures are a mixture of wine tasting and wine learning. Some vintners bring barrel samples for the tastings and some bring recent releases. They discuss the wines, wine making, terroirs, wine regulations, and much more. In one session we even got to do a wine sushi pairing, but most sessions do not include food pairings.
 Photo by Chris Andre Some interesting tidbits that were shared during the session I attended include:
- -Mixing sweet wines with heat is going to be a hit
- -When pairing wine with food always taste the wine on its own first, then have the food and taste again to see how it has changed.
- -A wine must contain 75% of a single varietal to be labeled as that varietal
- -A wine must contain 95% of the grapes from a single vineyard to be vineyard designated.
- -Cellar wine at 55-60 degrees
- -and many more.
While the wine is definitely center stage at this event, the people, both those attending and those participating are right up there with top reasons to attend this event. Many people make friends as they attend the series year after year and tend to come back as a group. Chuck and Carol have been attending Vintners' Holidays since the beginning - that's nearly thirty years. Impressive as it is, when you learn that Chuck has visited Yosemite every year since 1926 (minus the years he was serving in World War II), you'll quickly realize Yosemite and the Ahwahnee are special places that bring people back.
And Chuck isn't the only Ahwahnee and Vintners' devotee. Several groups of people at the session had been to 5, 10 and more sessions in the past. Gwen and her husband Richard have been coming to Vintners' Holidays for 20 years. Sometimes they attend on their own and sometimes with a group of friends. Over the years they've become friends not only with other attendees but also with the presenters and members of the Ahwahnee staff. Gwen says they always attend all of the presentations and truly enjoy them, but they come back for the total package - the welcoming feel at the Ahwahnee, the lectures, the wine, the people, the gala dinner, and of course Yosemite itself. I couldn't agree more…
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 November 2009 )
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Written by Heather Jones
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Saturday, 31 October 2009 |
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 I think I can safely say that all of us here at Project Foodie love chocolate - milk, dark, white and everything in between. A great piece of chocolate is like a great glass of wine, complex, soul-satisfying and just plain delicious. This year I have had the great pleasure of hanging out with the folks at Scharffenberger chocolate for some neat events.
Back in July I went to my first ever chocolate tasting sponsored by the well known chocolatier. The event was in celebration of the release of the movie Julie & Julia. There is a scene in the movie where the Julie Powell character, after a particularly grueling day at the office, walks by a Scharffenberger chocolate display and becomes inspired to make a chocolate crème pie that same evening. The chocolate tasting, which was held at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, featured a cooking demonstration by Jacques Pepin, world renowned Chef and great friend of Julia Child. The actual tasting was led by founder and owner John Scharffenberger. The chocolate tasting was not unlike that of a wine tasting. We were instructed to take a small piece of chocolate let it rest on our tongues, and as we tasted we were led in a discussion about the various flavor profiles we might experience. There was talk about cacao percentages, levels of sugar, and the various countries where Scharffenberger acquires his cacao supply. During the demonstration we were also treated to a lunch featuring several savory dishes that featured chocolate as a key ingredient. I left the event far more knowledgeable about chocolate than I ever thought I’d be and with an even finer appreciation for it.  Last month Scharffenberger hosted another event, this time at my alma mater the Institute of Culinary Education, to kick off their Chocolate Adventure Contest with the website Tutti Foodie (no relation to Project Foodie). Between now and January 3, 2010 enter an original recipe featuring Scharffenberger artisan chocolate and one or more of 16 different “Adventure” ingredients for a chance to win $10,000. Some of this year’s adventure ingredients are smoked, sea salt, sumac, and black-eyed peas just to name a few. I wasn’t able to attend the event in September, but I was able to participate via webcast where we were able to interact with Top Chef Masters’ finalist and San Francisco pastry chef Elizabeth Falkner, who made some fantastic desserts featuring adventure ingredients. She's also one of the judges in this year’s contest. So for those of you out there that love chocolate as much as we do, get in the game and show the folks at Scharffenberger that you’ve got what it takes. We plan on interviewing this year’s winner here at Project Foodie. In the meantime, and perhaps for a little inspiration, listed below are a few chocolate recipes made perfectly with Scharffenberger chocolate of course. | | |   | Chocolate Cream Pie | | My Rating: | View: | | More Actions: | | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share | | My Notes: - Private info just for you! | | |
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| | | | | Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles | | My Rating: | View: | | More Actions: | | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share | | My Notes: - Private info just for you! | | |
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| | | | | Roasted Beef Tenderloin With Rosemary, Chocolate And Wine Sauce | | My Rating: | View: | | More Actions: | | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share | | My Notes: - Private info just for you! | | |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 01 November 2009 )
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Halloween Recipes, Party Ideas and More Freakish Foodie Fun |
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Written by foodie pam
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Friday, 23 October 2009 |
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 Halloween is a fun holiday that can be even more fun with some creative cooking. The Halloween tag on Project Foodie has a collection of nearly 80 Halloween recipes ranging from appetizers to desserts. To help you find some of the scariest, I've highlighted some of our favorites at the end of this post. And to help you even more with your Halloween preparations, Heather and I searched the web for some fun, freaky and frightening ways to dish-up Halloween for both the kids and adults.
- The Food Network has a freaky party menu, creepy recipes, pumpkin carving, over-the-top costumes and more ghoulish delights.-Better Homes and Gardens has 22 quick Halloween party food recipes. -Picky Palate's Breadstick Mummy Dogs may not be a foodie taste test favorite but these fun Halloween recipes will definitely get you well on your way to having a freaky Halloween.
- Healthy Eating for Healthy Living has some ghoulish looking treats that will keep you on the healthy side.
-Disney's Family Fun has a neat assembly of 20 spooky Halloween snacks. -Kiwi Magazine has 'do it yourself' Halloween costumes, down under recipes and a collection of spooky books and movies to keep you scared silly this Halloween.  And who says you need kids to enjoy Halloween?
-Hostess Blog serves up some great Halloween cocktails.
-Woman's Day takes it a step further with tips on having a great adults-only Halloween party with elegance. Last, but not least, here are a few of our favorite Halloween picks from the Project Foodie recipe box. They're all tagged with the Halloween tag, so if you don't find what suits your need, check out the other tagged recipes. | | | | | Mini Ghost Cupcakes | |  | My Rating: | View: | | More Actions: | | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share | | My Notes: - Private info just for you! | | |
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| | | | | Owl Cookies | |  | My Rating: | View: | | More Actions: | | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share | | My Notes: - Private info just for you! | | |
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| | | | | Scary Spiders | |  | My Rating: | View: | | More Actions: | | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share | | My Notes: - Private info just for you! | | |
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| | | | | Chocolate Marshmallow-Ghost Cake and Mini Cupcakes | |  | My Rating: | View: | | More Actions: | | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share | | My Notes: - Private info just for you! | | |
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| | | | | Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies | |  | My Rating: | View: | | More Actions: | | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share | | My Notes: - Private info just for you! | | |
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| | | | | Mini Ghost Cupcakes | | | My Rating: | View: | | More Actions: | | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share | | My Notes: - Private info just for you! | | |
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| | | | | Skull Madeleines | |  | My Rating: | View: | | More Actions: | | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share | | My Notes: - Private info just for you! | | |
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| | | | | Chocolate Spiderweb Cookies | |  | My Rating: | View: | | More Actions: | | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share | | My Notes: - Private info just for you! | | |
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Do you know of more freakish foodie fun? Leave a comment or email me (
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) to share your favorites...
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 22 October 2009 )
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Written by Heather Jones
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Sunday, 18 October 2009 |
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 That would be Metropolitan Bakery not the Opera House. But, I have to say that my day there was just as enjoyable as a night at the opera would be.
Metropolitan Bakery was started by former White Dog Pastry Chef James Barrett and his longtime friend and associate Wendy Smith Born. In 1993 they had a vision to bring great artisan bread and pastries to Philadelphia. Today, their vision is alive and well with six retail locations, a presence in many other gourmet markets, specialty stores and an on-line store. Recently, Foodie Pam sampled some of the Metropolitan Bakery's granola and was curious to see if their bread was just as good (it is). Since I only live about 45 minutes south of Philadelphia, I got the honor of checking out the Bakery along with my sister who lives in Philadelphia. Denise (my kid sister) and I started our day at the actual Bakery which also houses their warehouse and corporate offices. We were greeted by the wonderful James Barrett who graciously gave us the grand tour. Everyone we saw seemed to be focused on the job at hand including putting French Baguettes into the oven and preparing seasonal pastries. James also showed us the original starter that he came up with many years ago for the Met's sourdough bread which is still used today. After the tour I had an opportunity to ask James a few questions: Q: What are the bestsellers here at Metropolitan Bakery? A: The French Baguette is our number one and has been for years, coming at a close second is the multi-grain Boule and now the granola/granola bars. Q: What special blends are you working on now? A: At the moment we're mostly sticking to our classics, but we have experimented with seasonal pizzas, whole wheat sourdough, pretzels, and a great gluten-free crispy cornmeal and orange cookie. And, of course, the granola. Q: What is your take on the whole no-knead bread method? A: I think it's a good thing, anything that will get people into the kitchen and making their own bread is a great thing. But, there are a few holes in the original no-knead process. Cook's Illustrated did a great job of deconstructing the no-knead method and perfecting it. We also talked about the importance of the local and sustainable food movement, where I learned that the Metropolitan uses organic and, when available, local ingredients. My conversation with James didn't end there, but after a while I stopped taking notes as I felt like I was having a conversation with a good friend (we're both partial to roast chicken when we cook for ourselves when home alone). As much as Denise and I were enjoying James's company our tour wasn't over just yet. We still had to head over to one of the retail locations to check out the finished product. The Rittenhouse Square location, which reminds me of a classic European bread shop, is where I met Sasha - the Met Bakery Director of Retail Operations. Quiet and soft spoken she was more than happy to share with us her experiences working with the customers and what day-to-day operations are like on the retail end of a bakery. Sasha also discussed the Metropolitan's involvement with the community and local charities. The Rittenhouse location also serves as a CSA pick-up location for one of the local farms.  Sasha would not let Denise and I leave empty handed. We took home with us a loaf of Brioche, a multi-grain Boule, delicious shortbread cookies, a fantastic semolina loaf studded with sesame seeds, Metropolitan's very own homemade Ricotta (James failed to tell me that he'd gotten into the Artisan cheese making business as well), and of course their best selling granola. I wouldn't imagine myself saying this, but that granola was the best I have ever had, it had an incredible homemade quality to it, the perfect balance of sweet with nuts and dried fruit.
Incidentally, I have a trip to Philly scheduled this coming weekend. One of my first stops will be to the Metropolitan Bakery at the Reading Terminal Market to stock-up on more from what I consider the best bakery in Philadelphia.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 18 October 2009 )
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Chefs' Holidays: One step on my path to being a foodie |
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Written by foodie pam
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Friday, 16 October 2009 |
 Chef Jesse Ziff Cool
My Chefs' Holidays trip was a mere 9 months before I started Project Foodie. Looking back I'm a bit amazed at how much I learned and was introduced to at the event. As Chief Foodie here at Project Foodie I get to speak with chefs and try out all kinds of wonderful food, but at the time I attended Chefs' Holidays I don't think I'd ever spoken to a chef before. The easy accessibility of the presenting chefs and the informal atmosphere allowed me to see chefs as humans rather than faces hidden behind a kitchen door or television screen.
Never heard of Chefs' Holidays? It is a series of Chef led cooking classes and demonstrations held over 2-3 day periods in Yosemite National Park each winter. While you might think winter in the Sierra Nevadas is not something to celebrate, the reality is that Yosemite Valley is a bit isolated at a lower elevation so the amount of snow and overall temperatures are not as extreme as you would think, and the whole park is as beautiful in the winter as it is in the summer. Not to mention that in addition to the classes, each session has a "Meet the Chefs" reception, a behind-the-scenes kitchen tour of the Ahwahnee Kitchen, and a five-course Chefs' Holidays Gala Dinner with wine pairings prepared by the headliner chef. This year's event includes 8 sessions between January 10 to February 4, 2010; details can be found here.  Chef Annie Somerville
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Chefs' Holidays, and when I saw the list of presenting chefs I was excited even though I knew I wouldn't be attending. My excitement was because this year's Chefs' Holidays is packed not only with great local San Francisco area chefs but also with chefs from throughout the country including those that have been on Top Chef.
At 25 years old, Chefs' Holidays has certainly come of age. To celebrate we've interviewed some of the presenting chefs to get a feel for what attendees will get to experience at this year's event. Starting today and continuing over the next two weeks we'll share with you some of what the participating chefs had to say, including Top Chef contestant Carla Hall of Alchemy Caterers, David Kinch of Manresa, Christopher Lee of Aureole, and Suzanne Goin of Lucques. Up first is Chef Christopher Lee who will be presenting at the Chefs' Holidays for Session 3 on Sunday January 17, 2010 through Tuesday January 19th.
Chef Christopher Lee went to culinary school at CCA in San Francisco following which he's had an impressive career at a number of big name restaurants. After culinary school, he started as a line cook at the 5th Floor in San Franscisco before moving to New York City were he was also a line cook at Daniel and Jean George. He was then a Sous Chef at Oceana and Chef at the Striped Bass in Philadelphia. Most recently he was the Chef at Gilt and is now the Chef at Aureole both in New York City. As busy as he is, he recently took the time to answer some questions Heather Jones passed his way: Q: When did you decide you wanted a career in food?
A: I decided to go into the food industry at the age of 17 after doing a summer job with a catering company under a Chef that had a C.I.A. background.
Q: What trends in the food world right now have you most excited?
A: I see two trends, one in Spanish Cuisine and the other in Casual Dining making a run. And I see Fine Dining taking a hit and suffering a little.
Q: Could you tell us a few restaurant secrets/tips that home cooks could benefit from?
A: First would be blanching vegetables with proper ice bathing to help keep all the great nutrients in the vegetables themselves. Another would be knowing how to use a blender: Do not over fill the blender to the top. That way, the blender can actually do it job and it will save the motor because it will put less stress on the machine.
Q: When you’re not at your restaurants/businesses where can we find you?
A: Usually I'm at home hanging out with my 10 month old son and wife. Or taking long drives along the shore, or strolling in parks.
Q: You’ve been called the champion of New American cuisine, how would you define New American cuisine?
A: American Cuisine is an evolving style of cooking built on classical French cuisine. It has a focus on American regional ingredients that thrive on seasons. It is a cuisine that allows us to use global flavors.
Q: I live in the Delaware Valley area and I know you spent some time at Striped Bass in Philadelphia. In your opinion, what is the biggest difference between the restaurant scene in Philadelphia versus New York?
A: New York has too much competition, everyone wants to out do the other. In Philly, everyone wanted just to be your friend and enjoy the restaurant community. New Yorkers always think about wants next….
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Last Updated ( Friday, 16 October 2009 )
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Foodie Talk 
