Dan Barber

How to Shoot the Holiday Table and Other Food Fun From the Web
Wine

Yummy Links: From Shooting the Holiday Table to Carving Ham

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Baked Kale Chips Recipe
healthy snacks

Snack Attack: Kale Chips

My first experience with kale chips was at Blue Hill New York — the highly respected farm-to-table restaurant owned by James Beard winner, executive chef Dan Barber.
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My first experience with kale chips was at Blue Hill New York — the highly respected farm-to-table restaurant owned by James Beard winner, executive chef Dan Barber. I was in heaven when I tried the first bite: light, crispy, and nutty, with the perfect amount of salt to complement the subtle taste of kale

Last night I was going through Bon Appetit and got super stoked when I saw Dan Barber's recipe for the chips. Try making them for yourself and you'll see what I mean. Besides being a great alternative to potato chips, kale chips make a great party snack or mid-afternoon treat.

Do you have a healthy snack to share? Post it in our Snack Attack community group.

To see the recipe, read more

Northeastern Tomato Blight Caused by Home Gardening
Eco

Northeastern Tomato Blight Caused by Home Gardening

A fast-spreading fungus has ravaged tomato crops across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, wiping out this year's crop and causing the price of heirloom tomatoes to skyrocket by 20 percent.
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A fast-spreading fungus has ravaged tomato crops across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, wiping out this year's crop and causing the price of heirloom tomatoes to skyrocket by 20 percent. But the cause of the pandemic is something that's much more innocent than you might think.

In a recent New York Times column, renowned farm-to-table chef Dan Barber discusses the aggressive disease, known as late blight, that has wiped out 70 percent of this year's heirloom tomato crop. He argues that there are three contributing factors that caused the intense blight. First, a rainy Summer, moderate temperatures, and lots of humidity; second, infected tomato starter plants sold to home growers; and third, the explosion of home gardeners.Ironically, the very community that's engaged in eating locally has set the stage for one of the worst heirloom tomato harvests in history. Barber argues that, despite what Slow Food believers might advocate, future farming must involve nonheirloom plant varieties bred to resist diseases.

The blight isn't limited to new home gardeners; even seasoned pro Martha Stewart has lamented that she lost 70 percent of the 50 different tomato varieties in her garden this year. Have you fallen victim to this year's tomato travesty? What do you think of Barber's argument?

First Couple Faces Criticism For Dining Decisions
Politics

First Couple Faces Criticism For Dining Decisions

The first couple have continued to convey political messages about food with their recent dining choices.
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The first couple have continued to convey political messages about food with their recent dining choices. The Obamas spent Saturday evening in Manhattan, where they dined at James Beard Award-winning chef Dan Barber's restaurant Blue Hill before catching a Broadway show.

Within hours, news sites were awash with commentary on the first couple's romantic dinner. "Is it possible to be too political at mealtime?" the Washington Post posited, noting the couple has adopted a pattern of choosing eateries with strong local ties and sustainable food agendas. The Times' Frank Bruni called the decision "too pat and controlled," portraying the president as overly somber and self-restrained when it comes to enjoying food.

Ironically, the same day the Obamas were chided for overthinking dinner, the Times also criticized the First Lady for not going far enough in her message about food. Writer Amanda Hesser lauded Michelle Obama for bringing attention to the local foods movement, then criticized her for stopping short of promoting cooking. Wrote Hesser: "Terrific local ingredients aren't of much use if people aren't cooking them . . . Just as she highlighted American fashion by wearing the clothes of young designers, she could call attention to cooking by bringing America's talented young chefs to the White House for a food summit meeting."

Shouldn't the Obamas be commended for making educated dining choices? Is the media coming down too hard on the presidential couple? How do you feel about the food selections the Obamas have made thus far?

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Would You Eat at a Restaurant With No Menus?
menus

Would You Eat at a Restaurant With No Menus?

Recently Mouthing Off, Food & Wine's blog, chatted about the menu, or lack thereof, at Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
by partysugar

Recently Mouthing Off, Food & Wine's blog, chatted about the menu, or lack thereof, at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The restaurant of James Beard Award winning chef Dan Barber stopped using menus a year ago. Instead, diners are presented with a list of in-season ingredients. They select either five or eight courses and let the waitstaff know of any off-limits foods. The kitchen has total control over a patron's meal. Considering I'm an adventurous and sometimes indecisive (I want to try everything!) eater, I would love to eat at a menu-free restaurant — especially if the chef is as acclaimed as Barber. How about you?

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Yummy Links: From In-N-Out to Home Brewing
spanish

Yummy Links: From In-N-Out to Home Brewing

Will In-N-Out Burger finally become a national standby?
by partysugar

Announcing the 2009 James Beard Award Winners
celebrity chefs

Announcing the 2009 James Beard Award Winners

While the fashion world turned its eyes to the Met's Costume Institute Gala, the food glitterati had a celebration of their own last night.
by partysugar

While the fashion world turned its eyes to the Met's Costume Institute Gala, the food glitterati had a celebration of their own last night.

The James Beard Awards, the food industry's equivalent to the Oscars, were announced in New York City at an awards ceremony hosted by Stanley Tucci (star of the upcoming Julie and Julia), Emeril Lagasse, and Cat Cora. The festivities celebrated "Women in Food" with a postceremony gala hosted by Lidia Bastianich. Thirty-eight awards were presented, while the Journalism and Broadcast Media Awards were announced the night before at a special dinner.

The top winners were Blue Hill's Dan Barber (Outstanding Chef) and San Francisco's darling Nate Appleman (Rising Star Chef).

View 22 Photos ›

To check out a list of winners and a gallery of images of the chefs in their finest, including Martha Stewart, Ted Allen, and Cat Cora, read more

2009 James Beard Awards Semifinalists Announced
News

2009 James Beard Awards Semifinalists Announced

We're officially in the throes of awards show season — and that isn't limited to the entertainment industry.
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We're officially in the throes of awards show season — and that isn't limited to the entertainment industry. This morning, the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for its 2009 awards. On March 23, the short list of complete nominees will be unveiled, and the honorable achievements — often referred to as the "Oscars of the food world" — will be presented at an awards gala on May 4 at Manhattan's Lincoln Center.

Semifinalist names were announced for the following categories: outstanding restaurateur, outstanding chef, outstanding restaurant, best new restaurant, rising star chef of the year, outstanding pastry chef, outstanding wine service, outstanding wine and spirits professional, outstanding service, and best chef for the following regions: Pacific, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Great Lakes, New York City, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, and South. This list doesn't include a good portion of the other James Beard Foundation's awards, including its cookbooks, newspaper articles, restaurant design, and blog awards, which are yet to be unveiled.

Although there are a number of celebrity chefs (Tom Colicchio, Dan Barber, José Andrés) as well as blockbuster restaurants on the list — Momofuku Ko, Scarpetta, and L20 — I also spotted a bunch of new names. Scan the 19-page list and tell me if any of your favorites have been included. Were any notable ones left off?

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Top Chef Recap 5.8: Down on the Farm
TV

Top Chef Recap 5.8: Down on the Farm

Top Chef was back last night with an entertaining episode that promoted eating local, seasonal, fresh-from-the-farm cuisine.
by partysugar

Top Chef was back last night with an entertaining episode that promoted eating local, seasonal, fresh-from-the-farm cuisine. It was fun to see the cheftestants out of the city. Dan Barber and Top Chef season 3 winner Hung Huynh were the guest judges. To chat about everything that happened and who got kicked off (warning: spoilers ahead), read more