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Iron Chef America Goes to the White House

partysugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:15:28 -0800

Last month Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, and Mario Batali headed to the White House. The chefs filmed a two-hour special of Iron Chef America that will open the upcoming season of Iron Chef on Jan. 3.

First Lady Michelle Obama got in on the fun, challenging the chefs to create a meal for America using only ingredients grown in the White House garden.

According to his Twitter, Flay joins forces with the White House chef Cristeta Comerford to battle Lagasse and Batali. The judges are a trio of females, chef Nigella Lawson, actress Jane Seymour, and swimmer Natalie Coughlin. Longtime host Alton Brown provides his usual enthusiastic commentary.

Over the past year the White House garden has spent plenty of time in the spotlight and I'm excited to get a better look at it on Iron Chef. How about you? Will you tune in?

Yummy Links: From Steering Wheel Tables to Preggatinis

partysugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:50:34 -0700

Just what the world needs! A steering wheel dining table. - Eat Me Daily
Michael Symon has plans to open a burger joint. - Eater
Did the Internet kill Gourmet magazine?- Serious Eats
Ashley talks about her experience on Top Chef. - The Feedbag
Do you have a food blog? Here's how you can celebrate Gourmet. - A Mingling of Tastes
Michael Ruhlman is now excepting your comments and questions. - Chow
Mario Batali describes his ideal last meal. - The Epi-Log
Ben Ali, the founder of Ben's Chili Bowl has passed away. - Grub Street NY
Moms-to-be: check out these non-alcoholic mocktails. - Simply Stated

Mario Batali: Fact or Fiction?

YumSugar — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 05:50:13 -0700

If you thought this week's celebrations were over, think again. Italian food fanatics, today is Molto Mario's birthday!

To honor the celebrated chef, who's turning one year shy of 50, I've put together a quiz to test whether you've got your Mario Batali facts straight.

Here's the drill: I'll make a statement about the New York restaurateur, and you tell me whether it's true or false. Ready? Let's begin!

Mario Batali . . .

Take the quiz

Come Party With Me: Gossip Girl Premiere - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:07:52 -0700

Every Fall, to honor the return of television's most exciting shows, I like to host an informal premiere party. Two years ago I was all about Ugly Betty and last year I celebrated Heroes. This week I'm turning my attention to one of the CW's hottest shows: Gossip Girl. The third season debuts next Monday and I'm having my sister and best friends over for a dinner/watching party.

Since it's a weeknight, the menu is fairly simple. However, the recipes I plan on using are created by acclaimed chefs from New York City. When the girls arrive, I'll have Daniel Boulud's warm Camembert with wild mushroom fricassee ready and waiting.

For the main course, I'll throw together Mario Batali's spaghetti with shrimp and chiles. On the side, I'll serve a simple mixed green salad. For these scrumptious recipes, read more.

Warm Camembert With Wild Mushroom Fricassee
From Daniel Boulud

Ingredients

1/2 cup walnut pieces
One 8-ounce wheel of ripe Camembert in its wooden box, at room temperature
1 tablespoon walnut oil
3/4 pound wild mushrooms, trimmed, caps thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 large sage leaves, minced
Sourdough toasts, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the walnut pieces on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 7 minutes, until lightly browned. Lower the oven temperature to 300°.
Remove the Camembert from the box and unwrap it. Put the cheese back in the bottom half of the box and set it on a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, until soft.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the walnut oil. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 3 minutes longer. Add the shallot and cook until softened, 2 minutes. Stir in the parsley and sage; season with salt and pepper.
Invert the Camembert onto a platter. Stir the walnuts into the mushrooms and spoon over the cheese. Serve with the toasts.

Serves 4.

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Spaghettini With Shrimp
From Mario Batali

Ingredients

2 tablespoons coarse salt, plus more for seasoning
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 fresh Anaheim chiles, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
2 cups dry white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound bay or small gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined
10 ounces spaghettini
1 bunch arugula, washed, spun dry, and chopped into ribbons (2 cups)

Directions

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add about 2 tablespoons salt.
In a 12-inch saute pan, saute the garlic in the olive oil over moderate heat until lightly brown, about 1 minute.
Add the chiles and continue cooking about 30 seconds longer. Add the wine and butter and boil over high heat for 3 minutes.
Add the shrimp, stirring until just cooked, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and remove from heat.
Add the spaghettini to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions, until tender but still al dente.
Drain the pasta and add the spaghettini to the saute pan with the shrimp. Place the saute pan back over medium heat. Stir gently until the spaghettini is coated with sauce, then toss in the arugula. Stir quickly until combined and arugula just wilted, about 30 seconds. Check the seasoning and transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

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Bitter Feast Teaser Leaves Something to Be Desired

YumSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:00:10 -0700

The trailer's out for Bitter Feast, the upcoming comedic thriller featuring Italian food icon Mario Batali. The movie, produced by Joe Maggio, follows a New York chef and culinary authority who avenges a food critic that shot down his restaurant in a review; molto Mario is set to play the role of the owner of the restaurant. To see the short teaser, which begins innocently enough with fiddlehead ferns and cippolini onions but soon turns, well, bitter, keep reading

Mario Batali Set to Light Up the Silver Screen

YumSugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:30:53 -0700

Looks like Padma Lakshmi's not the only food figure to catch the acting bug. Hot off the news that the Top Chef hostess is starring in a sitcom, we've learned that another celebrity chef, Mario Batali, has joined the cast of the upcoming film Bitter Feast.

Bitter Feast, which is being described as a dark comedic thriller, is currently filming in Manhattan and Woodstock, NY. Written and directed by Joe Maggio, the movie stars James LeGros as a New York chef and cooking personality who takes revenge on a food critic who recently crushed his restaurant in a review. Batali will play the owner of the restaurant. The movie is slated for a release this Fall from Magnolia Pictures.

Do you think Molto Mario has the chops to star in a major theatrical production? Would you rather watch Padma in a sitcom - or Mario in a movie?

The Difference Between Bruschetta and Crostini

partysugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:00:20 -0700

At the Food & Wine Classic, not only did Nancy Silverton teach viewers to Microplane garlic, but along with help from Mario Batali, she also discussed the differences between bruschetta and crostini. Both terms are Italian and relate to crispy bread.

Crostini translates to "little toasts" and generally refers to small pieces of bread that are baked. These toasts are then topped with a variety of ingredients like cheese, vegetables, meat, or seafood.

Bruschetta, on the other hand, is a larger piece of bread that is cooked over coals or a grill. Bruschetta can be rubbed with garlic and is traditionally served freshly charred. Like crostini, bruschetta can be topped with a wide range of items. What do you like to top yours with?

Photo by flickr user Jeffrey Beall

Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali Talk Italian Food

partysugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:44:44 -0700

At the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen over the weekend I was lucky enough to attend a demonstration lead by Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali. The duo are the masterminds behind a popular Los Angeles restaurant, Osteria Mozza. Silverton works most nights at the eatery behind the mozzarella bar. Batali, of course, is busy with lots of projects like a new line of tomato sauce and a pizza oven. When he hit the stage he dipped his hand in a pot of boiling pasta water and used it to slick back his hair! The two cooked, joked, and talked Italian cuisine. To find out what they had to say, read more.

To cook like an Italian, Mario insists on spending quality time shopping. "If you get good ingredients and don't really mess around with them, then you're cooking like an Italian."
When looking for ingredients, both Silverton and Batali seek out harder to find Italian specialty items like straticella (a type of fresh cheese), speck (smoked prosciutto), and guanicale (similar to bacon, but made from pork cheeks). Mario shamelessly pointed out that this kind of charcuterie can be purchased from his father's salumeria.

When making pasta, Batali undercooks it by two minutes. "When the box says it cooks in 10-12 minutes, I take it out after 8 minutes of cooking, then cook it for one more minute in the pan."
Like many Italian chefs, Batali said the "most crucial ingredient when making pasta is the starchy pasta water."
Instead of liquid honey, when she can find it, Silverton likes to use whole edible honey comb on cheese plates.
Let the pan do the work. Place meat and fish in a hot pan and leave it there. Don't mess with it, especially if it's fish.
Try making pesto in a mortar and pestle. Silverton, whose a huge fan of pestos, makes a variety including the classic basil, and other more interesting renditions like celery leaf, tomato, and caper pestos. While the elements may change, she makes pesto by hand in a mortar and pestle instead of a food processor. "The difference between male and female cooking is that men like machines and women like to be hands-on."
In Italy, they cook with everything from the head to the tail and from the leaf to the root, so make the most of your ingredients.
Unlike in French cooking, Italians (and Batali) don't worry about emulsifying sauces. Batali likes it when each bite is different and textured.
Lightly dress salads.
Spend the extra dollar on more expensive pasta. It will affect the overall flavor of the dish and is worth it.

The most important thing that Batali and Silverton stressed was that Italians are regionally focused. Each town has its own specific type of local cuisine. To truly cook like an Italian, look to your hometown for ingredients that are local and special to that region.

View 9 Photos ›

Yummy Links: From Frozen Daniel Craig to Tony and Mario

partysugar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:50:23 -0700

Would you eat this Daniel Craig Popsicle? - Eat Me Daily
Are you buying less organic milk? - Serious Eats
Tipping rules for takeout and delivery. - Bon Appétit
Flank steak salad with arugula is hearty and delicious. - Chow
Top Chef season six has wrapped filming in Las Vegas. - Eater SF
Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali talk everything from cupcakes to Food Network. - Grubstreet

Does Mario Have Beef With Gordon Ramsay?

YumSugar — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:15:23 -0800

It seems that Tyler Florence and Andrew Zimmern aren't the only ones to have a public feud. They're in the company of Mario Batali and Gordon Ramsay, who reportedly aren't getting along. According to Page Six, Batali banned the Hell's Kitchen host from entering any of his restaurants after Ramsay began calling him "Fanta Pants" behind his back to make fun of the orange shorts that Batali often sports. The Italian chef told the Guardian, "I've banned him from my restaurants. Ramsay's people call, trying to book tables, and I say no. I won't have him in there." The feud allegedly goes back more than a year, when Batali first dissed Ramsay's food as dull and outdated and declared that the UK chef didn't get New York.

Here's the catch: New York magazine's Grub Street, skeptical of the feud, recently put Batali's claims to the test and discovered that Ramsay isn't exactly getting turned away from Batali's restaurants after all. A magazine intern, posing as an assistant for Ramsay, managed to get reservations for at least three of Batali's restaurants right away.

What do you think of this brouhaha? Are you on Team Mario or Team Gordon? And did Batali really ban Ramsay, or do you simply think this feud is one huge publicity stunt?

Source