Al Dente

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

M-Squared: Watch an adorable video of Mark Bittman and his "mini-Minimalist" three-year-old sidekick making Mexican ice pops. [NY Times]

Mmmm.... Doughnuts: I'm very lucky to live two blocks away from Top Pot, easily the best bets for doughnuts in Seattle, but my heart (and stomach) hold a soft spot for New York's amazing Doughnut Plant. [Boston Globe]

Not Your Mother's Clam Dip: Go beyond the junk-food aisle with gourmet upgrades to classic chip-and-dip combos. [Chicago Tribune]

Gourmet Gizmos: Do you really need a stainless steel jalapeño pepper roaster? Emily Dwass test drives some of this summer's silliest cooking gadgets. [LA Times]

Bruni Beat: Two stars ("very good") for Bleecker Street's  Bar Q: "In terms of its variability from one stretch of the menu to another, Bar Q is a riddle, but it's a riddle with a solution: don't pay too much attention to the restaurant’s name, which alludes to barbecue, or to the culinary direction in which that name points you." And steer clear of the Warm Walnut Soup, which "tasted like a mishap involving cookie dough and dishwater." [NY Times]

--BTP

Is that a Lobster in Your Pants?...

Grub Street's crime beat has a strange-but-true report of Raymundo Flores, a line cook at Brooklyn's Junior's restaurant who was arrested over the weekend for attempting to steal 15 frozen lobster tails--by stuffing them in his pants. One frozen lobster tail tucked in your pants, sure, but fifteen--who wasn't going to notice that? Flores lost his job and will now forever be remembered as the guy who tried to smuggle 15 lobsters in his pants. All I can say is the NY Post  would've had a headline field day if he had tried to make off with crabs.

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

The Swifty  Lazar of the Food World: Allen Salkin profiles Lee Schrager, food festival booker extraordinaire. [NY Times]

"The Imperfect Hostess": Denise Martin profiles Padma Lakshmi, who, "despite her bountiful and broad-based food experience, she still struggles with being taken at face value." [LA Times]

Look Out, Cupcakes...: Rebekah Denn offers a nice overview of Seattle's artisan ice cream scene. [Seattle PI]

Seasoned with Sass: Laura Reiley catches up with Paula Deen during a sold-out swing through Tampa. [St. Petersburg Times]

Hugh Did It!: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's brilliant River Cottage Meat Book won Cookbook of the Year at the James Beard Foundation Awards. [James Beard Foundation]

Fit for a King?: Higher prices, increased fuel costs, and overall economic woes are keeping consumer's from celebrating this year's Copper River salmon run. [Seattle Times]

Bruni Beat: Ago, the restaurant in the new Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca, comes in with a no-star rating of "poor." "This restaurant isn't in the hospitality business. It's in the attitude business, projecting an aloofness that permeated all of my meals there, nights of wine and poses for swingers on the make, cougars on the prowl and anyone else who values a sort of facile fabulousness over competent service or a breaded veal Milanese with any discernible meat." A "Poseidon Adventure of wine spills," an hour-delayed reservation, and the worst seat in the house probably didn't help matters. [NY Times]

James Beard Foundation Awards: 2008 Winners

Tonight, in a very humid Manhattan, the bars and restaurants around the city are probably swimming with chefs, food writers, journalists, and well-connected foodies hitting the James Beard Award after-party circuit. Early yesterday I jotted down my personal picks and predictions for the book awards, and was much improved from my 1/14 record with the decidedly more eclectic IACP Awards. This time around I went 8/14 with bonus points for calling Cookbook of the Year, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's brilliant River Cottage Meat Book. We are not the type to brag, but this is the second year in a row (see The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook) where Amazon's Best Cookbook of the Year also took home James Beard's prestigious Cookbook of the Year.

On the chef front, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich won the Outstanding Restaurateur Award for Babbo; Chicago's Grant Achatz (whose battle with tongue cancer was recently profiled in The New Yorker) won Outstanding Chef for Alinea (and whose gorgeous upcoming fall cookbook will surely be on the Beard's short-list next year); Danny Meyer's Gramercy Tavern took home Outstanding Restaurant; and foodie favorite David Chang won Best Chef: New York City.

Book winners featured below. See the complete list of nominees and winners across categories and catch up with official blog coverage.

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

What Do You Like to Eat?: Top Chef's Gail Simmons talks about her favorite restaurants, comfort food favorites, guilty pleasures, and the perfect meal. Hint: it doesn't include root beer ("I despise root beer. It makes my skin crawl.") [Serious Eats]

See Spot Eat: Russ Parsons celebrates the West Coast's spot prawn, with a brief history and recipes. [LA Times]

Break Out the Tux: It's a black-tie affair this Sunday as the winners of the 2008 James Beard Awards, the "Oscars of the food world," will be revealed. Bobby Flay and SATC's Kim Cattrall share hosting duties. [James Beard Foundation]

Your Own Personal Joy of Cooking: Learn how to turn all of your favorite hand-written recipes into a one-of-a-kind family cookbook. [Chicago Tribune]

You've Been Served: What do Daily Show alum Ben Karlin and celebrity chef Mario Batali have in common? One big fat lawsuit over Batali's upcoming cookbook on Spain. [The NY Sun via Grub Street]

Bruni Beat: It's one star ("good") for cozy Greenwich Village eatery, Elettaria. "It's whimsical and adorable and reflects significant investments of money, thought and, yes, hope by its principal owners... But Elettaria doesn;t work as well practically as it does visually." [NY Times]

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

Fun with Knives: It's a bird, it's a plane, it's an adorable little bear carved from a lemon. James Parker works his magic and takes fruit and vegetable carving to a whole new level (radish rose garnishes need not apply).  [NY Times]

Say Cheese(cake)!: Amy Scattergood takes a loving look at the simple pleasure of the iconic cheesecake. [LA Times]

Digital Dish: The Bon Appétit website gets a whole new look with a very modern, user-friendly face-lift. EIC Barbara Fairchild calls the relaunch "redesigned, redefined, and-in my not-so-humble opinion-super-cool and infinitely useful bonappetit.com Web site." [bonappetit.com via doriegreespan.com] 

Into the Woods: Author and forager Katie Letcher Lyle seeks out morels and other "prized fungi" on a Virginia mountain range. [Washington Post]

Future TiVo Alert: No new episodes of Everyday Italian will be filmed (but will continue to air), but the Food Network has announced new mom Giada De Laurentiis' new show, Giada at Home. [Food Network via Food Network Addict]

Kids in the Kitchen: It's much more than PB&J and mac-and-cheese in the new wave of cookbooks for the younger set. [NY Times]

The Bruni Beat: It's two stars ("very good") for Eighty One, a new restaurant which "provides an especially clear example of a kind of culinary preening--call it ego food--that may speak less to the satisfaction of customers than to the self-regard of proprietors, who want you to marvel at the effort-per-bite ratio and the variety of techniques at play." [NY Times]

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

A Family Affair: Russ Parsons explores the next generation of farmers' markets. [LA Times]

Meat Man: After cooking in the kitchen at Pizzeria Mozza, St. Louis native Mark Sanfilippo returns home to follow his passion for creating and curing artisinal salumi. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Pop Secret? Mark Bittman offers some tips on how to microwave popcorn at home in a simple brown bag--no "special bag" required. [Bitten]

Reducing Their Carbon Hoof-print: The journey from farm to table takes place on a horse-and-buggy when you're heading to a Amish produce auction. [Kansas City Star]
 
Bruni Beat: Even with the caveat that you'll probably never be able to score a reservation, it's three bright shiny stars ("excellent") for David Chang's Momofuku Ko.[NY Times]

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

Where to Eat in Liberty City: If exploring the streets of Grand Theft Auto IV's Liberty City leaves you hungry, you can visit the NYC locations that inspired LC's virtual dining spots. [Ed Levine Eats]

Derby Day for Flay: Bobby Flay celebrates Derby Week as this year's official Kentucky Derby party host and grand marshal of the Derby Festival's Pegasus Parade (and offers a recipe for a Kentucky Hot Brown). [The Courier-Journal]

Hot Diggity Dog!: Charles Perry rounds up LA's hot dog scene, from Pink's to Dodger Dogs and everything organic (and not so organic) in between. [LA Times]

Say it Ain't Ko!: The first not-over-the-moon rave review of Momofuku Ko, David Chang's impossible-to-get-into 12-seat restaurant arrives. [Wall St. Journal via Grub Street]

A Chef's Life: Stacy Finz offers a profile of Michael Mina and his "$80-million-a-year empire of 13 restaurants." [San Francisco Chronicle]

Bruni Beat: It's one lone star ("good") for the  Greenwich Village bistro Commerce ("While there's some wonderful food that reflects the talent [Harold Moore] showed and the experience he received at Montrachet and then March, there's also some food that's not cooked or seasoned as it should be, and there’s food that's too fussy, not just for the ambience but also for its own good"). [NY Times]

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

Puddin' on the Ritz: Melissa Clark explores chocolate pudding and the upscale upgrade restaurants have been giving this comfort food classic--"Luscious and sexy, with a haunting bittersweet flavor and a texture like a silk camisole... less family matron than femme fatale." [NY Times]

A Papal Menu: Want to know what Lidia Bastianich cooked for Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to New York? Ed Levine has the menu. [Serious Eats]

Case Closed: It turns out that Elvis Costello's new album, Momofuku, is not a tribute to NYC rock-star chef David Chang, but to Momofuku Ando, the inventor of the Cup Noodle--"Like so many things in this world of wonders, all we had to do to make this record was add water." [VH1 via Grub Street]

See You Next Year: Popular food blogger Molly Wizenberg revealed the title of her debut book, A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, coming out in Spring '09--"When I first started to work on it, I intended to write a cookbook, but what came out was more like a memoir, a collection of 'food stories' and recipes." [Orangette]

Home Entertainment: Marilyn Krause talks with Ina Garten about the evolution of the dinner party. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Cookbook of the Year: Paul Johnson's Fish Forever won Cookbook of the Year at last week's IACP Cookbook Awards. [IACP]

Bruni Beat: It's one star ("good") for Merkato 55, the meatpacking district restaurant with an Africa-inspired menu assembled by Marcus Samuelsson. [NY TImes]

--BTP

IACP Cookbook Awards: 2008 Winners Announced

Last night, at an awards ceremony in New Orleans, the International Association of Culinary Professionals announced their 2008 cookbook award winners. Paul Johnson's Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood took home the top honor, Cookbook of the Year. John Wiley & Sons led the pack with four awards total, with Fish Forever taking Cookbook of the Year and the Single Subject Category.

On Friday morning I printed out the list of the nominees and, Oscar pool-style, checked off the titles I thought would win in each category (with a Cookbook of the Year write-in), put it in a sealed envelope and filed it away to compare and contrast once the IACP picks were revealed. Let's just say, thank goodness I didn't hit the casinos this weekend as my projections were an abysmal one for fourteen. Bring on the Beards!

--BTP

2008 Winners and Finalists

Cookbook of the Year:
Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood by Paul Johnson

American:
Crescent City Cooking: Unforgettable Recipes from Susan Spicer's New Orleans by Susan Spicer and Paula Disbrowe
A Love Affair with Southern Cooking by Jean Anderson
The Pastry Queen Christmas: Big-hearted Holiday Entertaining, Texas Style by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman--Winner!

Bread, Other Baking, and   Sweets:
Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers by Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman--Winner!
Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor by Peter Reinhart
Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

Chefs and Restaurants:
Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges by Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto--Winner!
Pier by Greg Doyle, Grant King, and Katrina Kanetani

Compilations:
Baking Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at the Culinary Institute of America by The Culinary Institute of America and Darra Goldstein
Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Techniques for the Artisan Confectioner by The Culinary Institute of America and Peter P. Greweling--Winner!
Mark Bittman's Quick & Easy Recipes from the New York Times by Mark Bittman

First Book (The Julia Child Award):
Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts: Recipes from Citizen Cake by Elizabeth Falkner
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto--Winner!
Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey by Efisio Farris and Jim Eber

Food Photography and Styling:
Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges by Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist by A.J. Rathbun--Winner!
Rosa's New Mexican Table by Roberto Santibanez

Food Reference/Technical:
Discover Chocolate: The Ultimate Guide to Buying, Tasting, and Enjoying Fine Chocolates by Clay Gordon
Food: The History of Taste by Paul Freedman--Winner!
Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America by Rowan Jacobsen    

General:
Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook by Jacques Pepin
Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You A Better Cook by Jamie Oliver--Winner!
Cooking by James Peterson

Health and Special Diets:
Allergy-Free Cookbook by Alice Sherwood
Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide & Cookbook by Bonnie Sanders Polin and Frances Towner Giedt
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman--Winner!

International:
Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey by Efisio Farris and Jim Eber
The Country Cooking of France by Anne Willan
Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf--Winner!

Literary Food Writing:
Beans: A History by Ken Albala
Julia Child by Laura Shapiro--Winner!
The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy by Sasha Issenberg

Single Subject:
Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood by Paul Johnson--Winner!
The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss
Vegetables: Recipes and Techniques from the World's Premier Culinary College by The Culinary Institute of America

Wine, Beer, or Spirits:
Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist by A.J. Rathbun
IMBIBE! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, A Salute in Stories and Drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar by David Wondrich
The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson--Winner!

Jane Grigson Award (Tie):
Beans: A History by Ken Albala
To Cork or Not to Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science and the Battle for the Wine Bottle by George M. Taber

Design Award:
Egg

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

Break Out the Swear Jar: Breaking news alert: chefs use salty language! [NY Times]

Pepcid Alert: Chicago baseball fans can finally agree on something: giant sandwiches. Wrigley Field introduces the 2-foot-long Italian beef sandwich and look for the Double-Header Dog, a 24-inch hot dog, at U.S. Cellular Field.  [Chicago Sun-Times]

Today's Forecast Calls for a "Meat Wave": Carla Spartos chronicles the "entrail-oriented" carnivores of the NYC dining scene. [NY Post]

In Memoriam: Pop Culture Eats: Eric Zimmer mourns the empty grocery store shelves for these Top 10 Awesome Nostalgic Foods We Want Back. Hi-C's Ghostbusters-themed Ecto-Cooler? Really? [Serious Eats]

Bruni Beat: Frank Bruni visits Adour Alain Ducasse in the St. Regis Hotel and hands out three stars ("excellent"): "This time around he's taking a less flamboyant approach, and he's eager to get out that message, so much so that advance reports on Adour, named for a river in France, made it sound like an embellished wine bar. Right. It's a wine bar the way Lourdes is a roadside shrine, and it proves that even a dressed-down Mr. Ducasse is still a puffed-up anybody else." [NY Times]

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

One Pricey Pig: Rebekah Denn profiles Heath Putnam, the sole US importer of the $25/pound European Mangalitsa (aka "Wooly Pig"), "a small, curly haired, super-fat porker that makes almost no sense for the typical American farmer to raise." (You can watch some very entertaining videos of Putnam's pigs in action on his website.) [Seattle PI]

Simply the Best: Last week Food & Wine revealed their lineup of the Best New Chefs in America. And it's been a very good month for Seattle's Ethan Stowell, who made the list, appeared on the TODAY Show in a hamburger cook-off, and was nominated for a James Beard Award. [Food & Wine]

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a Chef!: Iron Chef fans will recognize the bespectacled Mark Ladner ("Clark Kent in the Kitchen") from Team Batali, but Meredith Bryan puts the spotlight on the executive chef of Del Posto with a terrific profile of "Batali's anti-Batali." [New York Observer via Eater]

Ramp Season: The smelly, wild, and gone-before-you-know it ramp  is one of the first signs of spring (I'm still on the hunt for them in Seattle farmers' markets and produce stalls; I keep getting told either "next week" or "good luck"). The Chicago Sun-Times and Gourmet both take a look at the "it" vegetable of the season. [Chicago Sun-Times, Gourmet]

Emerald Isle Eats: In the April issue of Travel + Leisure, Matt Lee and Ted Lee chronicle the culinary delights of Ireland's County Cork. [Travel + Leisure]

Bruni Beat: It's one star ("good") for Chop Suey, a Times Square restaurant "which mingles Korean and other Asian traditions... an uneven mash of inspiration and clumsiness."

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

Zap to It: Mark Bittman revisits his microwave to see if it serves any serious culinary purpose in his kitchen beyond re-heating leftovers. And Harold McGee explains the science behind that "quirky appliance" ([I]t can cause a mug of hot water to erupt scaldingly, char nuts and breads on the inside, and blow up eggs and butter.") [NY Times]

When Martha Calls: Sometimes Fed-Ex just won't do... especially when Martha Stewart wants to feature your gourmet S'mores cupcakes on her show. When Jennifer Shea, owner of Seattle's Trophy Cupcakes got the call, she bought a last-minute plane ticket and packed her bags with a KitchenAid stand mixer, gourmet chocolate, Madagascar bourbon vanilla, and plenty of pastry bags. [Seattle PI]

Lost in Translation: Alex Koppelman mourns the television decline of Gordon Ramsay, a man "lost beneath his own shtick," especially in the US versions of his terrific UK cooking shows on display on BBC America. [Salon.com via Serious Eats]

Does Gerber Make a Pancetta Flavor?: Congratulations to Food Network star and bestselling cookbook author Giada De Laurentiis and her husband Todd Thompson on the birth of their baby girl, Jade Marie De Laurentiis Thompson. [MSNBC.com]

Bruni Beat: Frank Bruni serves up two stars ("very good") for Mia Dona, a "big hearted new restaurant" where "you'll find pasta dishes so forcefully flavored and generously portioned they could play as well at Carmine's as at Del Posto." [NY Times]

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

Is That a Bullet in My Blackened Catfish?: Legendary Louisiana chef Chef Paul Prudhomme takes "Iron Chef" a whole new level as he was grazed in the arm by a stray .22 caliber bullet  while setting up his cooking tent on the golf course at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The "falling bullet" felt like a bee sting and was fired somewhere within a 1.5-mile radius. "Within five minutes, he was back to doing his thing."  [ESPN.com]

Dollar-Store Dinner Party: Henry Alford takes a Marco Polo approach to exploring the edible delights (and downers) on the shelves in New York's 99-cent stores. "For dessert each night we turned to the slightly wanton charms of the Little Debbie product line, particularly young Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies, whose velvety filling so perfectly captures an imagined marriage between buttercream frosting and Noxzema." [NY Times]

Bee Season: Russ Parsons chronicles Colony Collapse Disorder and how the shrinking honeybee population is affecting California's almond industry.  [LA Times]

Indiana Jones and the Summer Wedding Catered by the Naked Chef:  Rumors are swirling that Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart hope to hire UK celebrity chef Jamie Oliver for their summer nuptials. Let's hope that the monkey brains dinner sequence from Temple of Doom doesn't serve as inspiration for the menu. [Hello Magazine]

Collards and Candied Yams and Cobbler... Oh My!: Food critic Kevin Nance seeks out Southern "down-home deliciousness in the Windy City." [Chicago Sun-Times]

Cookbook Award Season is in Full Swing: Last week the IACP announced their 2008 nominees and on Monday the James Beard Foundation announced their 2008 finalists. Winners will be revealed on June 8. [James Beard Foundation]

Bruni Beat: Frank Bruni revisits the four-year-old West Village restaurant Mas and sticks with two stars ("very good"). "For the most part this isn’t a restaurant for diners with big, blunt appetites. It’s for those who revel in little surprises and unexpected nuances..." [NY Times]

--BTP

James Beard Foundation Awards: 2008 Finalists Announced

Following last Monday's reveal of the 2008 IACP finalists, today the James Beard Foundation announced their nominees for 2008 (along with a snazzy update to their website).  Hailed as "the Oscars of the food world," the Beards honor cookbooks, chefs, journalists, food writers, and food and beverage professionals. Winners will be announced in a black-tie ceremony at Lincoln Center on Sunday, June 8.

Ten Speed Press led the pack with the most IACP nominations and continues their run with the most James Beard nods (6 total, including their Celestial Arts imprint).

Titles Nominated in More Than One Category: The Country Cooking of France (International, Photography)

Total Nominations Per Publisher:

Ten Speed Press: 6
John Wiley & Sons: 5
HarperCollins: 4
Artisan: 3
Penguin Books: 3
Stewart, Tabori & Chang: 3
Chronicle Books: 2
University of California Press: 2
W.W. Norton & Company: 2
Bloomsbury: 1
DK Publishing: 1
Farrar, Straus & Giroux: 1
Flammarion: 1
Kyle Books: 1
Little, Brown & Co.: 1
Scribner: 1

Congratulations to Amazon in-house favorite Junot Díaz (who seems to make almost every book-awards shortlist), who was nominated for the M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award in the Broadcast Media Awards category for his piece "He'll Take El Alto," which ran in last September's Gourmet. He's up against Alan Richman and Francine Prose.

And on the Seattle front, we raise a glass of Veuve to these local nominees:

Tom Douglas (Outstanding Restaurateur)
Canlis (Outstanding Service)
Maria Hines, Tilth (Best Chef: Northwest)
Holly Smith, Cafe Juanita (Best Chef: Northwest)
Ethan Stowell, Union (Best Chef: Northwest)
Jason Wilson, Crush (Best Chef: Northwest)
Maneki (American Classics Award)
Sara Dickerman (Multimedia Writings on Food)

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

Big-Boned Bloggers: Kim Severson weighs on the "Fat Pack," the bloggers, food writers, and chefs who are suddenly discovering what too many pork bellies can do to your own belly (and cholesterol). [NY Times]

I'm Sorry, But We're Completely Booked... Through 2009: Talula's Table, a restaurant in the "flyspeck town" of Kennett Square, PA, proves to be the toughest table to book in all of America. [Conde Nast Portfolio via Eater]

How Much Is that Croissant in the Window?: Karen Gaudette takes a local look at the rising costs of wheat and how it's affecting everyone from Costco to neighborhood bakeries. [Seattle Times]

You Don't Know (Jelly) Beans: Twelve brands of jelly beans are put to the taste test. [The Boston Globe]

Cookbook Award Season Is Here: On Monday, the International Association of Culinary Professionals announced the finalists for their 2008 cookbook awards, and the James Beard Foundation does the same this coming Monday night.

Bruni Beat: It's one lone star ("good") for "the oddly compelling little bistro La Sirène." [NY Times]

--BTP

IACP Cookbook Awards: 2008 Finalists Announced

The cookbook award season is officially on the front burner. Earlier this evening the International Association of Culinary Professionals announced the 2008 finalists for their annual cookbook awards. If the James Beard Awards are the "Oscars of the food world," then that would probably make the IACP awards the gourmet Golden Globes.

As in past years, the  "international" aspect of the IACP awards comes into play with the occasional title that isn't that familiar (or easy to locate) in the States (Pier and Turquoise anyone?). While Ten Speed Press had five featured finalists, I was disappointed that one of my favorite books they published in 2007, David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop didn't make the cut. The same goes for two of my other favorite titles from last last year, David Pasternack's The Young Man and the Sea and Gina DePalma's Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen.

It's always difficult to predict the winners, but when thinking about Cookbook of the Year, I'd start by seriously considering any title nominated in more than one category. Using this less-than-sure-fire method, here are this year's double-nominees: Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges (Chefs and Restaurants, Food Styling and Photography), Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking (Chefs and Restaurants, First Book), Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey by Efisio Farris and Jim Eber (First Book, International), and Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist (Food Photography and Styling; Wine, Beer, or Spirits). The prolific Mark Bittman is also nominated twice, but for two different books: Mark Bittman's Quick & Easy Recipes from the New York Times and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food.

Full disclosure: We are over-the-moon thrilled for Amazon's very own A.J. Rathbun, all-around raconteur and author of the IACP double-nominee, Good Spirits. Congratulations, A.J.! This year's winners will be announced on Friday, April 18 at an awards ceremony in New Orleans, LA.

--BTP

2008 Finalists

American:
Crescent City Cooking: Unforgettable Recipes from Susan Spicer's New Orleans by Susan Spicer and Paula Disbrowe
A Love Affair with Southern Cooking by Jean Anderson
The Pastry Queen Christmas: Big-hearted Holiday Entertaining, Texas Style by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman

Bread, Other Baking, and   Sweets:
Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers by Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman
Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor by Peter Reinhart
Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

Chefs and Restaurants:
Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges by Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto
Pier by Greg Doyle, Grant King, and Katrina Kanetani

Compilations:
Baking Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at the Culinary Institute of America by The Culinary Institute of America and Darra Goldstein
Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Techniques for the Artisan Confectioner by The Culinary Institute of America and Peter P. Greweling
Mark Bittman's Quick & Easy Recipes from the New York Times by Mark Bittman

First Book (The Julia Child Award):
Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts: Recipes from Citizen Cake by Elizabeth Falkner
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto
Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey by Efisio Farris and Jim Eber

Food Photography and Styling:
Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges by Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist by A.J. Rathbun
Rosa's New Mexican Table by Roberto Santibanez

Food Reference/Technical:
Discover Chocolate: The Ultimate Guide to Buying, Tasting, and Enjoying Fine Chocolates by Clay Gordon

Food: The History of Taste by Paul Freedman
Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America by Rowan Jacobsen    

General:
Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook by Jacques Pepin
Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You A Better Cook by Jamie Oliver
Cooking by James Peterson

Health and Special Diets:
Allergy-Free Cookbook by Alice Sherwood
Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide & Cookbook by Bonnie Sanders Polin and Frances Towner Giedt
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman

International:
Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey by Efisio Farris and Jim Eber
The Country Cooking of France by Anne Willan
Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf

Literary Food Writing:
Beans: A History by Ken Albala
Julia Child by Laura Shapiro
The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy by Sasha Issenberg

Single Subject:
Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood by Paul Johnson
The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss
Vegetables: Recipes and Techniques from the World's Premier Culinary College by The Culinary Institute of America

Wine, Beer, or Spirits:
Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist by A.J. Rathbun
IMBIBE! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, A Salute in Stories and Drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar by David Wondrich
The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson  

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

The Maestro of Meat: Russ Parsons profiles the famous Dante-quoting Italian butcher Dario Cecchini, memorably featured in Bill Buford's Heat. [LA Times]

Momofuku Ko: Attack of the Online Reservations: David Chang's tiny new restaurant Momofuko Ko doesn't have a phone, but they do take reservations online (starting at 10AM daily, one week out to the day). On day one their website crashed, but things seem to be back in order (and completely booked).   [Grub Street] 

What's the Deal with the "8"?: Jennifer 8. Lee talks about her debut book, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, and her unique middle name. [The Boston Globe]

Suck It Up: Table manners be damned, restaurant critic Rebekah Denn says it's OK to slurp your soup. [Seattle PI]

TiVo Alert: Top Chef is back tonight to kick off season four in Chicago. [Bravo.com]

Three Stars with One Big Asterisk: Frank Bruni feels "a bit less enthusiastic about a restaurant with so much to recommend" after Fiamma significantly raises its prices just three months after his three-star review. [NY Times]

Bruni Beat: It's two stars ("very good") for Bar Boulud, "which extends the chef Daniel Boulud's trajectory toward ever-more-casual restaurants, mirroring the culture around him." [NY Times]

 --BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

Best Food You'll Probably Never Get a Chance to Eat: If Ruth Reichl's going to blog about David Chang's spanking new 14-seat restaurant, Momofuku Ko, then so is Ed Levine. "The food at Ko is crazy good, ambitious but earthy, and forward-thinking but never silly. It's Chang's food with his shirt tucked in and a jacket, but no tie." [Gourmet, Serious Eats]

Reference Check: The Food Network cans their Dinner: Impossible star Robert Irvine after it turns out that It wasn't just his muscular body that was beefed up, his star-studded CV was as well. [BBC News]

Tiny Dancer... Big Appetite: Rebekah Denn talks with Pacific Northwest Ballet dancer/food blogger Kari Brunson. [Seattle PI]

Dumplings Double Vision: Two takes on Asian dumplings, courtesy of Regina Schrambling and Jane Dorrnbusch. [LA Times, Boston Globe]

Rock the Shack: Danny Meyer's beloved Madison Square Park institution Shake Shack will be spawning, with two outposts due at the Mets' Citi Field ballpark and one at 77th and Columbus on the Upper West Side. [Bloomberg via Grub Street]

Know Your Bay Area Chefs: The Rising Star Chefs of 2008 are profiled. [San Francisco Chronicle]

Bruni Beat: It's a trio of stars ("excellent") for Wylie Dufresne's Mecca for molecular gastronomy, wd-50. "[M]ost of the dishes I tried over the last few months were knockouts, their measured eccentricities in the service of something other than eccentricity itself. These dishes validate the kind of experimentation that culinary pioneers like Mr. Dufresne undertake, and they reflect a thoughtful, mature equilibrium between what’s merely edgy and what’s truly enjoyable." [New York Times]

--BTP

The Calories of March

Right around this time every year any sense of personal "New Year New You" optimism is thrown right out the door with the annual arrival of two events that get my sweet tooth aching: Girl Scout Cookies and new Ben & Jerry's flavors. While Girl Scout Cookies can be ordered in advanced, the search for the new B&J flavors presents more of a hunting-and-gathering challenge as I check the freezer aisle of the supermarkets, pharmacies, and convenience stores in my neighborhood anxious for that first sighting. This year's flavors don't seem as adventurous as year's past. That Cold Stone Creamery standby Cake Batter is the one I'm most eager to sample. What do you think of this year's lineup? Has anyone out there seen (or sampled) these out in the wild?

ONE Cheesecake Brownie: Cheesecake Ice Cream with Cheesecake Brownie Chunks

Imagine Whirled Peace: Caramel & Sweet Cream Ice Creams Swirled with Fudge Peace Signs & Toffee Cookie Pieces

Cake Batter: Yellow Cake Batter Ice Cream with a Chocolate Frosting Swirl

Strawberry Banana: Strawberry Banana Frozen Yogurt with Strawberries and a Strawberry Swirl

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

Road Trip: New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni leaves Manhattan to explore 15 "acclaimed, ambitious, promising or intriguing new restaurants from coast to coast." [New York Times]

Can You Hear Me Now?: The LA Times looks into just how loud is loud when it comes to the noise level at restaurants. [LA Times]

The Day of Pigs: Georgeanne Brennan goes whole hog in a weekend celebration of all things porcine. [San Francisco Chronicle]

Back in the Kitchen: Nancy Leson offers a fascinating profile of the career of Seattle chef Scott Simpson, who went from rising young chef to 469-lb shut-in with Domino's on speed-dial. [Seattle Times]

How Low Can You Go?: In preparation for her upcoming appearance at the Charleston Food + Wine Festival, Ruth Reichl offers some thoughts on Lowcountry cuisine. [Charleston City Paper]

The "Just-Kidding" Defense: Jerry Seinfeld on calling Sneaky Chef author Missy Chase Lapine a "wacko" and mentioning that "many of the three-named people become assassins" during the controversy surrounding his wife's cookbook: I was joking! [New Jersey Star Ledger]

Bruni Beat: It's two stars ("very good") for the West Village's Bar Blanc, "which belongs to a growing brood of establishments whose names suggest scruffier atmospheres and more modest menus than the places actually present." [New York Times]

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

That's Just Offal: When food plays such a vital role in courtship, can carnivores and vegetarians commingle in the kitchen (and in love)? [New York Times]

More Meaty Issues: Relationships can survive food allergies, picky eating, and, yes, carnivores vs. vegetarians. [San Francisco Chronicle]

Adding These to My Bucket List: Seattle faves Salumi (Porchetta) and Paseo (Cuban Meat Sandwich) make the grade as Esquire ranks The Best Sandwiches in America. And that's no typo, the McRib is indeed on the list. [Esquire]

In Local News: All-star omnivore Michael Pollan guest blogs on Omnivoracious, the Amazon book editors' blog. [Omnivoracious.com]

TiVo Alert: In case you missed No Reservations this past Monday, do yourself a favor and track down a replay of Tony's trip to London and Edinburgh where he spends some quality time hunting with Marco Pierre White, eating with Fergus Henderson, consuming all manner of fried delights with mystery writer Ian Rankin, and recording a Shatner-esque spoken-word song with Morcheeba. [Travel Channel]

Bruni Beat: It's one star for the revamped Second Avenue Deli (now located on Third Avenue and East 33rd) as Frank Bruni visits with the "latke-loving" posse of Ed Koch, Nora Ephron, and Laura Shaprio. [New York Times]

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

Knock Three Times: Author Jeff Bell chronicles the myriad issues diners with obsessive-compulsive disorder face when dining out at restaurants. [New York Times]

Chocolate-Dipped Space Needle?: Along with airplanes, coffee, dot-coms, and grunge, Seattle can now claim  fame for their award-winning chocolatiers. [Seattle PI]

TiVo Alert: Matt Lee and Ted Lee, the dynamic duo behind the James Beard and IACP award-winning The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook (also Amazon's Best Cookbook of 2006), make their Food Network debut this Friday night as they stop by "The Queen of Southern Cuisine" Paula Deen's Paula's Party to whip up their signature Chocolate Grits Ice Cream. [Food Network]

Wednesday Morning Quarterbacking: And you thought you were being adventurous with nachos and chili dogs? The Spotted Pig took over La Esquina for a Super Bowl party whose menu will immediately induce a foodie fever dream (a whole pig and a mariachi band!). Music was provided by two "local DJs" (read: Moby and Mark Ronson). [Down  By The Hipster via Grub Street]

Save the Date: You'll flip for flapjacks on Tuesday, February 12 as IHOP celebrates National Pancake Day from 7AM to 10PM with a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes (diners are encouraged to make a donation to local Children's Miracle Network programs) [Seattle PI]

Bruni Beat: It's three stars ("excellent") for New York City landmark Le Cirque. "At Le Cirque you will indeed eat too much food, of a kind that neither your physician nor your local Greenpeace representative would endorse, in a setting of deliberate pompousness, at a sometimes ludicrous expense." [New York Times]

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

"That's like putting your whole mouth right in the dip!": Just in time for this Sunday's Super Bowl parties, the great Harold McGee takes a scientific look at double-dipping and just what's going on at the bottom of the communal bowl. [New York Times]

There's More Than One Way to Eat an Oyster: Russ Parsons (no relation) goes beyond the singular sensation of eating a cold, clean oyster to explore other cooking methods (even microwaved!).  [LA Times]

Would You Like Bacon with That?: Monica Eng sits down for breakfast with Michael Ruhlman. [Chicago Tribune]

Gridiron Eats: Pats or the Giants? Boston or New York? Which city's cuisine reigns supreme? Boston thinks their roast beef and clams take the game; NYC's all about the pizza. [The Boston Globe]

Bruni Beat: New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni shines one star ("good") on the "Beirut by way of Istanbul and Athens and even Barcelona" fare of Ilili in the Flatiron District. [New York Times]

--BTP

It's Tom's Seattle... We Just Eat Here

James Beard Award-winning Seattle chef Tom Douglas is a man whose name is synonymous with Pacific Northwest cuisine. Through five of Seattle's most creative and exciting restaurants, Tom and his wife and business partner, Jackie Cross, have helped define the Seattle food scene. Tom is also the author of three cookbooks, including the award-winning Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen, and oversees a line of specialty food products sold nationwide. I've been lucky enough to get to know Tom since I moved to Seattle in '99 and his Palace Kitchen practically serves as a second home for me. Tom has been kind enough to have me as a regular guest on his weekly radio show to talk about cookbooks, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to interview him about about celebrity chefs, getting your kids involved in the kitchen, bloggers, his undying love of Seattle, and much more. Highlights from our talk are below. You can read the entire interview or listen to a podcast of the interview on Amazon Wire (gentle readers, please note: I was at the peak of a severe cold when we recorded this so I sound a bit like Lauren Bacall).

--BTP

Amazon.com: First of all, how would you define Pacific Northwest cuisine?

Douglas:   That's a cheap question.

Amazon.com: Too easy?

Douglas: [Laughs] Well, I've only been asked it for 25 years now and it's still a hard one to come by. I think it's in the context of a restaurant and for me restaurants are so much more than just their cuisine. I think the Seattle restaurant scene is a really fun--really up and down the Pacific Northwest coast. Portland's the same way... Vancouver. There's a certain sense of approachability. A certain sense of product. A celebration of the amazing bounty that we have here. Pacific Northwest cuisine is really about--kind of the same regionality that every other region has--things that come from here. I think the best way to explain to somebody from "the outside" is to use the salmon explanation.

When you are a chef in New York City or in Florida or in Dallas and you want salmon on your menu tonight you call your fish broker and you order salmon. You have some fresh salmon? Yeah? I'll take some salmon tonight. In Seattle, when you want salmon on your menu you call your fish guy and you say, What kind of salmon do you have tonight? Coho? King? Silvers? Keta? Where was it caught? What river? Campbell River? Yukon River? Copper River? Columbia River? Who caught it? Was it brought up right on the boat? Was it troll-caught? Gill-netted? Pursing caught? How was it bled? Did they bleed it right there on the boat or did they wait till they got to the dock and take it to the dockhouse and then take care of all the fish at one time? Or, as that fish was brought up, did somebody stop, bleed it, and pack its belly with ice and put it in the hold and go back three hours later to the shore and that afternoon put it on an Alaska Airlines jet down to Seattle? Oh, I'll take that one! I'll take that salmon that was King, troll-caught, boat-bled, caught this morning, on a plane this afternoon. That's the fish that I want!

And so, when you talk about Northwest Cuisine, that's the charm of living here and being a chef here. You have those kind of options.

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

And It Didn't Come from Seattle!: The $20,000 cup of coffee has landed in the United States. A San Francisco coffee shop imported the only halogen-powered siphon bar from Japan for "the perfect espresso machine."

Tequila!: It's tequila! tequila! everywhere as Betty Hallock takes a look at the popularity of LA tequila bars and breaks down what's hip to sip.

The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming!: In The Chicago Tribune, Trine Tsouderos chronicles the continuing popularity of British celebrity chefs in the States sharing their country's "culinary renaissance."

And That's the Truth, Ruth: Time Out New York talks with Ruth Reichl about Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie.

Beyond Coupons: With news of a looming Recession everywhere, the Dallas Morning News offers tips to extend your food budget and save on groceries.

That's No Moon... It's a Meatball: Serious Eats shines the sandwich spotlight on Seattle's very own Zagi's and their "king of the meatball sandwiches."

Pulp Friction: The Amateur Gourmet draws a line in the glass when it comes to myriad pulp options in over-the-counter OJ.

Bruni Beat: Restaurant critic Frank Bruni stops by Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill and takes a star with him, leaving them with one ("good"). ("During one dinner the three slivers of chicken in the appetizer tacos were among the most shriveled, desiccated pieces of meat I’ve seen outside a bodega buffet at 3 a.m.")

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News To Go

...In Bed: New York Times reporter Jennifer 8. Lee attempts to solve the riddle of the origins of the fortune cookie (hint: it isn't China). You can read about fortune cookies, chop suey, take-out containers, the dangers of being a bicycle delivery man in New York City, and much more in her book, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food (available March 3).

When Life Gives You Lemons...: The LA Times ticks off 100 Things to Do with a Meyer Lemon--lemon curd, gremolata, pizza, and 97 other great ideas.

Attack of the Clones: The FDA says it's OK to sell food and dairy products from cloned animals.

Gourmet 2.0: Gourmet Magazine relaunched their website today, and now includes access to archival material dating back to 1941. Recipes are still featured on Epicurious.com, but you can watch a video of Marco Pierre White, read a Q&A with Michael Pollan, and revisit the wonderful Edna Lewis essay from the January issue.

But When Will They Take Reservations?: The Seattle Times' Nancy Leson offers up some details on when, where, and what to expect from the "coming soon" Seattle restaurant from famed chef Jerry Traunfeld, who, after 17 years, is leaving The Herbfarm.

Bruni Beat: New York Times food critic Frank Bruni gives two stars ("very good") to the Columbus Circle outpost of Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill.

--BTP

There Will Be Milkshakes

"I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!"

If you've seen Paul Thomas Anderson's new American epic, There Will Be Blood (loosely based on Upton Sinclair's Oil!) you've no doubt left the theater with this brilliant line, delivered maniacally by Daniel Day Lewis as oil baron Daniel Plainview, still ringing in your ears. On the pop-culture front it's promising to enter the lexicon along with "I see dead people," "Say hello to my little friend!" and "It's not personal, it's business." This week New York Magazine's Vulture blog made a plea to save this most excellent (and very bizarre) line from becoming a SportsCenter catchphrase. If anything, we hope the line will inspire more milkshake consumption. Keep in mind that July is National Ice Cream Month. In a cinematic milkshake mash-up, we'd like to bring together the best of both worlds--National Vanilla Milkshake Day (June 21) and National Chocolate Milkshake Day (September 12)--for a serve-anytime-of-year confection that would be just perfect for a movie-inspired menu item on this year's Oscar party circuit. --BTP

Malted Black-and-White Milkshake in the Style of Daniel Plainview
(Adapted from Bobby Flay's Boy Meets Grill)

• 1 pint good-quality vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
• 2 tablespoons of malt powder
• 3 ounces chocolate sauce
• 2-3 ounces bourbon
• Whipped cream (for garnish)
• Shaved bittersweet chocolate (for garnish)
• Cherry (for garnish)

Place ice cream, malt powder, chocolate sauce, and bourbon in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour shake into a tall glass. Garnish with a large dollop of whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and a cherry on top. Serve with an enormous straw.

New Year's with Ina and Patricia

In a Christmas Eve post we shared a holiday message from food writer Patricia Wells along with an exclusive snapshot she shared of her shopping at a Paris outdoor market with fellow cookbook writer and part-time Parisian Dorie Greenspan. Patricia promised a New Year's photo to share with Amazon and this lovely note just landed in our inbox. What exactly is on the menu when two of the food world's favorite women and their husbands get together for a holiday meal? Read on to find out.

--BTP

New Year's is a time for family, so we gathered together a family of friends to celebrate the arrival of 2008, which we all agree will be a special, positive year for all of us. We spent it at our farmhouse in Provence, with Ina and Jeffrey Garten, who arrived on the TGV from Paris with plenty of champagne and chocolates. For the feasts, my husband, Walter, made his spectacular scrambled eggs with fresh black truffles, a remarkable oyster casserole prepared with gigantic fresh oysters from Brittany, and a wedding-cake sort of cheese course: the fat creamy Chaource cheese from Champagne which he cut into three layers and spread with truffle butter and truffles. I dried grapes from our vineyard and prepared a "Vintage 2007 Old Vines" raisin bread, and offered a golden sponge cake made with lemons from our trees, fresh local olive oil, and almonds, and prepared a mixed berry sauce from summer fruit we froze for the occasion. We both have new books coming out  this year--Ina's is Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, out with Clarkson Potter in October, and Walter and I have written our memoirs, We've Always Had Paris... which will be out with Harper Collins in May. We all look forward to seeing many of our readers this year, and wish all health and happiness in 2008.   

--Patricia Wells

Sunday at the Market with Patricia and Dorie

We're very fortunate that Seattle is a freq