Meet the King of All Cheeses - The Brie Cheese

Meet the King of All Cheeses - The Brie Cheese
(Lee Dobbins)
If you are a true blue cheese-lover through and through, then just saying 'brie' would excite your taste buds. Perhaps you would even salivate. Brie cheese, with its rich history to back it up and a...

Bring the Payne's in Memphis

Bring the Payne's in Memphis

Even in a Southern city like Memphis, there's plenty of variation in the barbeque experience. There are joints for northern rubes, high-class barbeque restaurants, chain barbeque spots and pretty much anything else you can imagine. Clear through all the clutter, though, and you'll soon be craving something else: an authentic barbeque experience. To find that in Memphis, you'll have to go to Payne's.
Payne's is down-home in a way that's hard to even comprehend. It's inside a former garage, and the interior has a few tables, though the huge garage doors remain. They make ribs and smoked sausage, but the real treat is the chopped pork sandwich for $3. It's hand-chopped to order, then piled atop a tiny WonderBread bun with slaw. The slaw is spicy and much closer to relish as most northerners know it. Payne's has no knives, forks, dishes, or straws: only sporks and paper plates. The 'cue itself is tender and on the sweet side, though plenty smoky. However you attempt to eat it, it should be considered one of the best BBQ sandwiches in the nation.
Payne's BBQ [MemhpisDining.com]
[Alexander Basek]
[Photo: Cerifiedfool/Flickr]
Previously: Mustache Maintenance in Memphis, The Elvis Suite, Memphis in May, Memphis and Nashville Music Tourism, NYC Cracks Fattest Top Ten

Meatloaf Stuffed with Spinach and Red Bell Pepper

Meatloaf Stuffed with Spinach and Red Bell Pepper
from Simply Recipes by Elise

We love meat loaf in this house. My father found this recipe in an old issue of Bon Appetit and made it it the other day. It was really quite good, and pretty too (as pretty as meatloaf can be) with the stuffing of red bell peppers and green spinach.

NYC Tourists Get More Neurotic

NYC Tourists Get More Neurotic


Perhaps trying in a meta way to turn NYC tourists into your dime-a-dozen NYC neurotic , the city's tourists have recently been under a barrage of criticisms and nagging from the overbearing press about what not to do. The most recent example comes from AM New York whose front page featured the html-unfriendly hed: They [heart] NYC. Turns out NY has seen more tourists this year than ever before, an approx. 44 million.
Among the exhortations given in the ensuing coverage is the one found above by Chuck Bennett. This, however, is but the most recent onslaught of to don'ts offered. Recently, the NYT's Seth Kugel warned tourists where not to go while Lonely Planet recently advised tourists to mask their maps in classic New York books like Catcher in the Rye.
It's only a matter of time before true New Yorkers will be approached on the street by panicky tourists asking, "Did I do this right? What about this? Is my bag to big? Do my shoes make me look like a tourist?" and on that day, any difference we fancied distinguished us from them, will have been thoroughly and irrevocably erased.
Previously: London in NY, Queen's Hideaway: Wha' Happened?, Pic of the Day: Red Hook Farm, A Royale Pain

Key West -- Island Bike Adventure!

Key West -- Island Bike Adventure!
(D. O. Christian Rieger)
Key West -- Island Bike Adventure! Bring your t-shirt, shorts, sneakers and a camera . . . and take home memories! The Bike Tour of Key West, www.keywestbikeecotour.com, takes guests into the Key W...

What are ten ingredients to always have on hand to cook a good meal?

What are ten ingredients to always have on hand to cook a good meal?
from Megnut by meg@megnut.com (Meg Hourihan)
What are ten (give or take a few) ingredients that are handy to always have on hand to cook a good meal? Looking for suggestions over at Ask.Metafilter.com.

Chicken Marinara

Chicken Marinara
from Simply Recipes by Elise

Chicken pieces coated with Parmesan and bread crumbs, fried and covered with a tomato basil marinara sauce, and topped with melted Mozzarella. My mother made this chicken marinara for dinner tonight and it was fabulous. She uses chicken thighs because they are more flavorful, but you could easily use breasts.

Sausage Brunch Casserole

Sausage Brunch Casserole
from Simply Recipes by Elise
Updated
I think this recipe is based on one from a Jimmy Dean ad. I got it from my friend Heidi, and we've both made it several times for brunch gatherings. If you want you can make it ahead the night before and just put it in the oven for an hour right before you want to serve it. Eggs, Italian sausage, bread, milk, cheddar cheese - yum!
Continue reading...

Dorset Drum English Farmhouse Cheddar igourmet.com

To Construct the Perfect Meal, Imagine a Restaurant Crawl

To Construct the Perfect Meal, Imagine a Restaurant Crawl
from Dining by FRANK BRUNI
Joël Robuchon finally took Manhattan. Mario Batali traded in his rock soundtrack for a piano. The Little Owl made room for a big pork chop, and Will Goldfarb made Room 4 Dessert.

Every Day with Rachael Ray - Tuscan Cacciatore Risotto

Every Day with Rachael Ray - Tuscan Cacciatore Risotto
from Every Day with Rachael Ray
This recipe is featured in the December-January issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray.

Dark chocolate helps fight fatigue

Dark chocolate helps fight fatigue
from Chocolate: See what people are saying right now on Technorati
Dark chocolate beats fatigue, study NutraIngredients 12/20/06 "Eating a small amount of dark chocolate each day can help combat the symptoms of...

Warm and Fuzzy Holiday Wishes

Warm and Fuzzy Holiday Wishes
from Chocolate & Zucchini by clotilde

May your celebrations be joyful, the company lovely, the food delectable, and the gifts few but thoughtful. Joyeuses Fêtes!
[The little guy above is a Petit Choo Farci -- a pun on petit chou (a term of endearment) and chou farci (stuffed cabbage) -- by French-Japanese artist Ketty Sean. I bought it at the gallery/store L'Art de Rien and it now lives at my friend Laurence's apartment.]

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Cycling in Italy Can Be Fun

Cycling in Italy Can Be Fun
from GoArticles Travel Category (Alastair Hamilton)
With the advent of the World Wide Web, it's easier than ever to do research into those vacation spots that you've longed to visit. With the cost of travel these days, it's important that you do as muc...

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Chocolate: See what people are saying right now on Technorati
INGREDIENTS: 2 sticks butter, softened 1 c. firmly packed sugar 1/2 c. granulated sugar 2 eggs 2 tbsp. milk 2 tsp. vanilla 1 3/4 c. flour 1 tsp...

Good Eating: Nouveau Riches
from Dining by Compiled by KRIS ENSMINGER
Today the area around Lincoln Center and the southwestern corner of Central Park is home to some of the city’s most highly regarded restaurants.

CARAMEL-PECAN BUCHE DE NOEL
from Epicurious.com: the World's Greatest Recipe Collection
Recipe from Bon Appétit

Cheddar Melt Chili
from Betty Crocker Recipe of the Day
This ground beef dish gets its heat from three different sources-salsa, beans and chili powder. Hamburger Helper® dinner mix makes it easy.

New Food & Wine Matcher from Natalie MacLean
from Gourmet Food - Cooking, Recipes, Reviews, Entertaining & Travel
With thousands of wines on the market, picking the best wine to go with dinner can be tricky business, even for the experts. Award winning wine-writer Natalie MacLean has...

Menu for Hope III: 3 days left!
from Purple Liquid: a wine and food diary by Catherine Granger
Hunger and malnutrition are still the number one risks to health worldwide. 852 million is the total number of undernourished people worldwide: 815 in developing countries, 28 million in countries in transition and nine million in industrialised countries. Today, one in nearly seven people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life, making hunger and malnutrition the number one risk to health worldwide — greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. The Menu for Hope campaign will be running for three more days so if you're thinking about participating and help UN World Food Programme , there is still a little bit of time but do it soon! So far, we have more than doubled last year's record of $17,000, and have raised over $35,000! Thanks to all of you!

Technorati tags: wine food & drink

Restaurants: Tastes of Russia, but One Without Borders
from Dining by FRANK BRUNI
After a four-year hibernation, the Russian Tea Room stirred to renewed life in early November with a seriously gifted chef, Gary Robins, in charge of the kitchen.

Macarons Maïs Violette
from Chocolate & Zucchini by clotilde

If you are still trying to get your act together about what homemade edible presents to give out this holiday season, I'm here to tell you that you are not alone. I myself have done precisely zilch about it, but that's okay: today is Tuesday, Christmas eve is this Sunday, and that still gives me plenty of time to pick a recipe, buy the ingredients, and get started, right? Right? Thank you.
I would hate to spoil the surprise for the usual recipients of my food gifts, who happen to read this blog every once in a while -- especially just before they see me so they can pretend they read it more faithfully than they probably do --, so I can't tell you exactly what I'll make, but I will gladly point you to a few recipes I'm considering (but haven't tested yet):
~ Jenjen's Maple Brandy Snaps,~ Monica Hayden's Havreflarn, as recommended by Marie,~ Nolwenn's Dried fruit biscotti (in French),~ Pascale's Chocolate caramels (in French),~ Bulle's Guimauves, the French marshmallows (in French).
Add to those twelve gift-worthy favorites from the C&Z archives (a selection you would have received in your mailbox three weeks ago if you were a happy subscriber of my monthly newsletter):
~ Very Ginger Cookies,~ Shortbread, ~ Chocolate and Cacao Nib Cookies,~ Green Tea Cat's Tongues,~ Chocolate-dipped Apricots,~ Dried Pears (which you can chocolate-dip, too),~ Mendiants,~ Florentins,~ Spiced Chocolate Peanut Butter,~ Wine Jelly,~ Almond Lemon Curd,~ Pear and Cacao Nib Jam.
And a bonus recipe, that of the cornmeal macarons* I've come up with a few months ago: I was hoping to create delicate two-bite numbers that would make good teatime companions, preferably with a lightly crunchy crust that would yield into a soft, nubby heart. I tinkered and stirred and trusted my instincts, and I was quite pleased with what I got -- pleased enough to make a few more batches since then (it is such an easy one-bowl, scoop-drop-'n-bake recipe), in different flavor incarnations: violet, citrus zest and pepper, or simply vanilla.
* See here for more on the use of the word "macaron".
~~~
Just as a reminder, you have until Friday to make a donation in our Menu for Hope fundraiser and get a chance to win some of the cool prizes; my sincere thanks to all of you who have already donated with such generosity.

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30 Second Wine Advisor: How long can you keep leftover wine?
from WineLoversPage.com
We run a simple experiment to test the conventional wisdom about keeping wine in an open bottle.

30 Second Wine Advisor: Say "cheese"
from WineLoversPage.com
Playing with my food during a fancy dinner at a NYC culinary temple, I reinforce a theory about matching red and white wines with artisanal cheeses

Wines of The Times: Panned on Screen, Merlot Shrugs and Moves On
from Dining by ERIC ASIMOV
“Sideways” may have done a favor to a wine not much loved.