YumSugar

How to Prepare For a BBQ Festival

YumSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:50:23 -0700

Over the long weekend, while many of you were hosting barbecues of your own, I headed over to Sparks, NV, for the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off, one of the country's largest outdoor barbecue events. I was more than stoked to chomp down on award-winning ribs all day long, but - given the scope of the festival and its four-hour driving distance from my house - I wanted to maximize my first experience there by being as prepared for the event as Michael Phelps was for the Summer Olympics. If you're planning on heading to a major barbecue festival (or any food extravaganza, for that matter), I've got some tips to share with you.

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Racking Up Ribs at Nevada's Best in the West Cook-Off

YumSugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:50:44 -0700

How much do I love ribs? I'd say that I was probably born with one in my hand, that's how much I love them - and grilling up a distinctive ginger-infused batch of my own recently only heightened my desire to indulge more. I've always had the itch to go to the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off in Sparks, NV. With more than 500,000 visitors and 100 tons of ribs, the six-day, free-admission rib festival is one of the largest outdoor barbecue events in North America. At the last minute, I decided there was no time like the present, and drove square across California and into the smoke. To find out what the event was like, keep reading.

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Cheese Lovers Battle It Out at SF Macaroni Cook-Off

YumSugar — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:00:26 -0700

Call it the daddy of all mac-and-cheese battles: Earlier this month, a new group, SF Food Wars, hosted its first-ever event, a macaroni and cheese cook-off. Twenty contenders - and more than 200 eaters - attended the inaugural event, which benefited the San Francisco Food Bank.

Among the cheesy plates of pasta? Bourbon Duck Cheddar Mac 'n Cheese from Beer and Nosh, The Modern Halitosis Lovers' pungent Makeout Mac, and Milo's Macaroni and Cheese from Team Fromage. KKR and Bike Basket Pies took home the big-ticket prize with their Mac & Cheese Pies, which were filled with blue cheese, spinach, shiitakes, and walnuts.

View more savory sights from the competition after the break.

A Sampling of Tastes From the Tent at SF Chefs

YumSugar — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:30:18 -0700

Whether it's Slow Food Nation or Aspen, one of the highlights of any major food festival is the tasting tent, where attendees have an opportunity to sample sips and bites from restaurants, featured food brands, and wineries. New event SF Chefs. Food. Wine was no exception; since it was the festival's first-ever year, I was eager to see what participating restaurants had to offer. Click through to see what was being sampled.

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Top Dishes From Food & Wine's Best New Chefs

YumSugar — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:50:00 -0700

Every event I attended at the Food & Wine Classic this year was incredible, but my favorite meal at the Classic was the annual Best New Chefs Dinner, bar none. At a gorgeous estate in Aspen, festival-goers had a chance to sample top bites from the 10 sensations who were crowned this year's Best New Chefs. Scope out both the chefs and the dishes that took center stage that night when you keep reading.

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Guess Who Was in Aspen?

YumSugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:50:06 -0700

Aside from the entertaining seminars and enticing offerings at the Grand Tasting, one of the coolest things about the Food & Wine Classic is the fact that you're constantly running into celebrity chefs. Last year, we spotted Padma Lakshmi and got chatty with Rocco Dispirito; this year had its share of celeb chef sightings as well. Just about everybody in the culinary world - from Alex Guarnaschelli to David Chang - was in town. Can you guess which star chefs we spotted around the festival? Find out when you take our quiz!

Question 1 of 5

Guess who signed a fan's shirt right on her back?

YumSugar's Best of the Tasting Tents: Food

YumSugar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:30:15 -0700

The biggest event at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic is the Grand Tasting, which took place five times over the span of three days. Inside several vast tents, attendees could sample a wide variety of food, from Peruvian tiradito to Cypriot soutzouko. As delicious as the offerings tasted, half the fun was eating with my eyes. Keep reading to see my favorite foods of the tasting tents.

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2008's Best Moments at Aspen Food & Wine

YumSugar — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:50:09 -0700

As I mentioned yesterday, Party and I are headed to Aspen this weekend for what is considered the food industry's biggest gathering of the year. Before we report back with inspiring moments and witty words from this year's gustatory fest, I wanted to take a look back at the best that Aspen had to offer last year.

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Dining Among the Redwoods at Sunset's Celebration Weekend

YumSugar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:50:52 -0700

On a recent weekend, I had the opportunity to attend Sunset's Celebration Weekend, an outdoor event dedicated to all things lifestyle, from gardening to home improvement to, of course, food. The festival, which took place under a shining sun at Sunset magazine's headquarters in Menlo Park, CA, featured cooking demos from chefs like Cindy Pawclyn, Jamie Lauren, and Aaron McCargo, Jr.; composting seminars from Sunset editors; wine tastings; and vendors selling fresh greens, molés, and gelato. There was tons of food and drink to sample: I spotted everything from grilled sausages to watermelon beer to the tallest strawberry daiquiris known to man. To transport yourself to this sunny California festival, read more.

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Happy Hour: Castillo de Maetierra Libalis

partysugar — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:15:44 -0700

Last Wednesday, Yum and I found ourselves in a setting that resembled heaven on earth: We were at a Spanish wine tasting with handsome accented pourers and buttery melt-in-your-mouth jamon Iberico. What we could not get enough of was Libalis, a melodic white wine blend from Northern Spain's Valles de Sadacia region. The majority of the grapes are Muscat with a small percentage of lesser-known white varietals, Viura and Malvasia, mixed in.

This refreshing white was incredibly aromatic, slightly sweet, and very floral. It's smooth, silky, and would pair excellently with fish. However, with a flavor that's almost tropical, this well-balanced white is also suited for sipping solo. If you are into tasting exotic wines, definitely seek out a bottle of Libalis.