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Definition: John Dory

partysugar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:45:14 -0700

John Dory
You may notice this name from episodes of Hell's Kitchen.

An odd-looking fish found in European seas, the John Dory has a huge, spiny head and long, flat body. The fish's flesh is mildly delicate, and it can be grilled, sauteed, or poached. It's rarely imported into the US, which explains why Ramsay would like to have it on his American restaurants' menus.

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2007 James Beard Award Winners

YumSugar — Tue, 08 May 2007 13:15:12 -0700

Last night the who's who of the food world all came out for the James Beard Foundation Awards. If you're not sure what that is, let me just say that it's sort of like the Oscars of the food world. They give awards to several categories of cookbooks, journalism, chefs, media, and more (including humanitarian & lifetime achievement awards). The "They" is a group of Awards Committees consisting of food-industry professionals. The judges are chosen by the committees and choose the winners by reviewing all entries and voting via secret ballot. Oh and just to be fair, if you're a judge, you can't enter to win in that category.

So now that all the rules and regulations are spelled out let's talk about the winners. The big "star" of the night was David Chang (pictured) of Momofuku in New York who won the award for Rising Star Chef of Year. Also noteworthy was Traci Des Jardins of Rubicon here in San Francisco, she was one of the few female chefs to win anything (she won the Pacific regional award for Best Chef).

For the list of winners and a gallery of folks on the red carpet, including: Martha Stewart, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi with NY's Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Salman Rushdie and Bobby Flay (who was inducted into the Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America), read more

Winners list after the gallery. Check out the James Beard Foundation website for a full list of winners (including nominees).

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RESTAURANT AND CHEF AWARDS

Outstanding Restaurateur Award
Thomas Keller of The French Laundry
Outstanding Chef Award
Michel Richard of Michel Richard Citronelle
Outstanding Restaurant Award
Frontera Grill Chef/Owners: Rick and Deann Bayless
Best New Restaurant
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Rising Star Chef Of The Year
David Chang of Momofuku Noodle Bar
Outstanding Pastry Chef Award
Michael Laskonis of Le Bernardin
Outstanding Wine Service Award
Michel Richard Citronelle - Wine Director: Mark Slater
Outstanding Wine And Spirits Professional Award
Paul Draper of Ridge Vineyards
Outstanding Service Award
Tru Owners: Rick Tramonto, Gale Gand, and Richard Melman

BEST CHEFS IN AMERICA

Best Chef: Great Lakes
Grant Achatz Of Alinea

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
R. J. Cooper III of Vidalia
Frank Ruta of Palena

Best Chef: Midwest
Celina Tio of The American Restaurant

Best Chef: New York City (Five Boroughs)
David Waltuck of Chanterelle

Best Chef: Northeast
Frank Mcclelland of L’espalier
Best Chef: Northwest
John Sundstrom of Lark

Best Chef: Pacific
Traci Des Jardins of Jardinière

Best Chef: Southeast
Scott Peacock of Watershed

Best Chef: Southwest
Nobuo Fukuda of Sea Saw

Best Chef: South
Donald Link of Herbsaint

AMERICA’S CLASSICS

Aunt Carrie’s Owner: Elsie Foy
Brookville Hotel Owners: Mark and Connie Martin
Doe’s Eat Place Owners: The Signa Family
The Pickwick Owner: Christopher Wisocki
Primanti Brothers President: Demetrios Patrinos
Weaver D’s Owner: Dexter Weaver

BOOK AWARDS

Cookbook of the Year
The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook
Matt Lee and Ted Lee
Cookbook Hall of Fame
Moosewood Cookbook
Mollie Katzen
Asian Cooking
Cradle of Flavor
James Oseland
Baking and Desserts
Baking: From My Home to Yours
Dorie Greenspan
Cooking from a Professional Point of View
Grand Livre de Cuisine: Alain Ducasse’s Desserts and Pastries
Alain Ducasse and Frédéric Robert
Entertaining and Special Occasions
The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking and Entertaining
Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison
Food of the Americas
The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook
Matt Lee and Ted Lee
General
Tasty: Get Great Food on the Table Every Day
Roy Finamore
Healthy Focus
Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way
Lorna Sass
International
The Soul of a New Cuisine
Marcus Samuelsson
Reference
What to Eat
Marion Nestle
Single Subject
The Essence of Chocolate
John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg
Wine and Spirits
Romancing the Vine
Alan Tardi
Writing on Food
The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Michael Pollan
Photography
Michael Mina
Photographer: Karl Petzke

HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR

Art Smith

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Barbara Kafka

WHO’S WHO OF FOOD & BEVERAGE IN AMERICA

José Andrés
Jim Clendenen
Bobby Flay
Dorie Greenspan
Michael Pollan

Full list of winners - including nominees

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Let's Dish: Hell's Kitchen 4.11

partysugar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:00:42 -0700

The battle to be Ramsay's executive chef is on! Last night's episode of Hell's Kitchen was an odd mix of bimbos, bloopers, and bad tempers. It was the first time in HK history that contestants taught non-chefs how to cook. It was also the first time the losers had to witness the challenge winner enjoy the prize.

I'll admit I was a little surprised by the outcome of the elimination; were you? To discuss this and more, read more.

Will Jen be her own undoing?
Didn't you want to taste Ramsay's scrumptious-looking lobster pasta?
Where did they find those ~~trashy housewives~~ Hawaiian Tropics models?!
When the models walked in, whose drooling was more disgusting: Bobby's or Petrozza's?
Will Jen ever be a team player?
Who would you have nominated for elimination?
Can you believe Petrozza has made it to the final four?
Wouldn't it be fun if the final two were Christina and Corey?

And now, a few words of wisdom from good old Gordon Ramsay:

On being a great chef [Do you agree?]: That's the essence of becoming a great chef: becoming a great teacher.
On Bobby's burnt Wellingtons: Hey Bobby! What the f*** is that? Bobby yeah, look burnt on the bottom! And you haven't even trimmed the f***ing backs. F***ing wake up please.
On Jen's John Dory: Hello Jen? It's f***ing raw, it's raw yeah? It's raw! It's rubber! It's overcooked! First you undercook it, now you overcook it?!
On the dinner service: We completed the service, but here's the thing, it was too painful. And being the final five I seriously expect more.
On the final five contestants: One of you is going to be my executive chef at the London West Hollywood! [Are they really?]

Photos courtesy of Fox.

You Showed Us Your Cookbooks!

YumSugar — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 08:01:31 -0700

A few weeks ago I asked you to share your favorite cookbook with the rest of us. For PartySugar it's Williams-Sonoma's The Bar Guide by Ray Foley. For me it's Baking Illustrated by the editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine. There were so many great entries (over 20!) and only one duplicate. These books look fascinating and I can't wait to try out some of them. Thanks to everyone who submitted their book!

Entry #1
LA's Sarah Kushner wanted to share Nigella's How To Be A Domestic Goddess. She says it's the one cookbook she uses on a regular basis.

Entry #2
Radarkitty from Livermore, CA wanted to share the book Sweet Gratitude. She choose it because it's all about baking desserts and is a fun illustrated read.

Entry #3
SoCalSugar, who's in Berkeley via San Diego, wrote in to share Christine Ingram's Vegetarian and Vegetable Cooking: The Definitive Encyclopedia of Healthy Vegetarian Food. She believes there's a lot of great variety, including hearty and unique vegetarian meals that omnivores will love too!

Entry #4
Llendril writes in from Peyton Colorado to share Dorie Greenspan's Baking, From My Home To Yours. She loves this book because she believes Greenspan to be a lovely writer who produces even lovelier baking recipes.

Entry #5
Portland based LovaAJN couldn't choose a cookbook, so instead she's decided to take a picture with her favorite pink binder. This binder holds her most cherished recipes, including ones passed down to her from her mom.

Entry #6
Chef Farid Zadi, who's originally from France but is currently based in LA would love to share The Food of Paradise: Exploring Hawaii's Culinary Heritage by Rachel Laudan. He chose this book because it helped him look at food cultures and food history through a new lens or rather multiple lenses.

Entry #7
France-based Jennifer ended up deciding on The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine by John D. Folse. She believes it's beautiful and well researched with over 700 recipes that chart the evolution of cuisine in Louisiana.

For SEVENTEEN additional submissions, please read more

Entry #8
Maryann from Finding La Dolce Vita writes in to tell us about Honey From a Weed by Patience Gray. She chose this book because it contains stories and recipes gathered from the people who live close to the land in Tuscany, Catalonia, The Cyclades, and Apulia.

Entry #9
Jay from Cincinnati, Ohio wants to share both Professional Chef and Baking & Pastry from the CIA. Why? Because those two books are a continual inspiration for
all the "goofy *&^%" he wants to create!

Entry #10
Schianne dropped a line from Virginia to say that the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (which is about 17 years old!) is her favorite because she can count on it to have recipes for the staples as well as fancier dishes.

Entry #11
Good ol' Chubby from Bunrab loves Simple French Food by Richard Olney so much that it's falling apart from use. This old school book without glossy photos contains recipes like onion panade, sorrel tart and turnip gratin that are beyond delish.

Entry #12
Carrie from Minnesota's Twin Cities loves the Betty Crocker New Edition Cookbook because she grew up with it and has become very familiar with the recipes. She's also never had one go wrong!

Entry #13
Lucky entry 13 comes from Nags in Hyderabad, India. Her favorite cookbook is Tarla Dalal's Healthy Subzis. It's the favorite because of the simple and healthy recipes, and because it allows her to mix-n-match.

Entry #14
Half-Baked in Alabama wants to share the Joy of Cooking with us all. She loves it because you can find a recipe for almost anything you want to make.

Entry #15
Sarina writes in from Trinidad to share Vegetarian Express by Nava Atlas and Lillian Kayte. She loves that it contains wonderful tasting vegetarian meals that can be made in 30 minutes or less!

Entry #16
Washington DC based Popgoestheworld would like to share America's Test Kitchen's The New Best Recipe. She believes it has the absolute best recipes for all the classic dishes.

Entry #17
Linda writes all the way from The Netherlands to share Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2. It contains lots of yummy and well-written recipes, but what she really "loooves" are the pictures!

Entry #18
Nahm in Santa Monica, CA would love to share Tommy Tang's Modern Thai Cuisine Cookbook. It's her fave book because most of the recipes are Thai, but not all the way Thai; therefore people who are not used to real Thai cuisine can enjoy them too.

Entry #19
TeamSugar member Rothchild wrote in to also share the Joy of Cooking. She says that it's her go-to whenever she makes something new or uses a new ingredient. She also says that it has never failed her!

Entry #20
Josh writes in from the Bay Area to promote Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher. While this book does not have a recipe for cookies, meatloaf or veggie casserole, it does have a plethora of delicious beer recipes from polka dot pilsner to pumpkin spice beer.

Entry #21
Our very own TeamSugar has fallen in love with Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour. She thinks it's a superb read because not only does he cover the food, but the culture and people that have made it.

Entry #22
Team member tdamji wants to make sure we all know about How It All Vegan by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. She loves it because the recipes are simple and don't require a lot of special ingredients. She belives that it's a great cookbook for vegans and non-vegans alike!

Entry #23
Kiwitist wants to make sure that we all know how much she loves The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. It's her old, beat-up favorite book!

Entry #24
Finally, last but not least, we have YumJimmy who is sharing How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. He uses this book all the time and treats it like a reference. This should give you an idea on how much he uses it: Whenever I ask him about something the answer is usually, "Well Bittman says..."

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