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Would You Lick a Magazine?

YumSugar — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:15:51 -0800

Food advertising is a funny thing. Unlike perfume ads, which can attack your sense of smell and sight, food ads have long relied on witty text and droolworthy images. That is, until now. In the Feb. 18th issue of People magazine, Welch's is running full page ads for their grape juice. The twist? These ads contain lickable flavor strips. That's right, they're hoping you'll lick the magazine.

The technology comes from a company named First Flavor, and the Peel 'n Taste ads work much like dissolvable breath strips. You tear the ad off, stick it on your tongue, and taste the product. They say that it can't be re-sealed once it's peeled, so you'll be able to know if someone else has licked it or not.

This isn't the first time lickable strips have been placed into magazines, CBS's Cane ran one last fall. However, I'm not sure if they'll catch on. Especially considering that not all strips will contain actual essences of what they're promoting. The Welch's ad does, but other ads in the works do not. So what do you think, would you lick a magazine?

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Food Section Sampler - Nov. 4, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:30:07 -0800

Isaac Mizrahi is now hawking plaid cheesecakes for QVC. - Women's Wear Daily
Did Gourmet magazine die by trying too hard to be all things to all people? - Los Angeles Times
One Brooklynite re-creates the famed St. Louis gooey butter cake. - New York Times
The economy hasn't quelled America's appetite for luxury foods. - San Francisco Chronicle
The science behind how gelatin works. - Boston Globe
Look forward to enjoying new cocktail classics. - Washington Post
Restaurants have a new way to cut back: Re-creating recipes to conserve on ingredients. - Wall Street Journal

Yummy Links: From Vegetarianism to Breakfast

partysugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:15:51 -0700

This week's episode of Top Chef brought to light four myths about vegetarian cooking. - Jezebel
New York City's food bloggers are playing musical chairs. - Grub Street NY
Are these 10 items really the world's scariest foods? - Concierge
Still looking for a cocktail to serve on Halloween? Make full moon punch. - Chow
A roundup of November's Thanksgiving-themed magazines. - Eat Me Daily
Top Chef Masters season two has started filming, so Angelenos be on the lookout for competing chefs. - Eater
Cod with tarragon-anchovy breadcrumbs is a delicious dinner. - Serious Eats
Learn what people around the world are eating for breakfast. - Woman's Day

Bravo Turns to Pastry For Next Top Chef Spinoff

YumSugar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:15:59 -0700

First Top Chef Junior, then Top Chef Masters , Top Chef Wine, and Top Chef, the Magazine. What's next: Top Chef Desserts? Actually, yes. This week, Bravo begins casting calls for a new TC spinoff airing in 2010, Top Chef: Just Desserts. In a move that means year-round Top Chef programming, the show will feature pastry chefs living together and facing off in - you guessed it! - a weekly elimination. No word yet on who the host or judges will be.

Calling pastry "a different skill," Bravo exec Frances Berwick added, "We're finding people really love this franchise, and there seems to be no end to the interest in it." Really? I beg to differ and, like PartySugar, I am tiring of the Top Chef brand - not to mention all the cake competitions that have become so prolific on TV.

What say you? Will you watch Top Chef: Just Desserts?

Photos courtesy of Bravo

Ray Isle on Rosé

partysugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:15:18 -0700

Each month when Food & Wine magazine arrives at my desk, I look forward to reading Ray Isle's latest article. As the deputy wine editor for the glossy, Isle writes interesting wine-related stories, recommends affordable pours, and pairs each of the recipes with an excellent variety. In short, he's incredibly knowledge in the world of wine. What I like best about Ray is his kind approachability: he doesn't have an ounce of wine snob in him. I was lucky enough to sit down with Ray on a warm afternoon at the Classic in Aspen and chat about one of the wine industry's hottest trends: Rosé.

To find out what Ray had to say about the pink wines you should be drinking, read more.

Before we could get started, Ray explained that there are two ways to make Rose. The traditional French method, known as saignée, employs red grapes. The juice soaks in the skins, but before the liquid turns into red wine, it is bled off. This pink juice is turned into Rosé. The second technique makes Rosé by simply mixing already-made red and white wines.

PartySugar: What happened to Rosé? How come it has such a bad rap?
Ray Isle: White zinfandel killed the image of dry Rosés. People didn't like the overly sweet white zin and any pink wine got lumped in with it.

PS: And why are we seeing a renaissance of Rosé now?
RI: Wine education is changing the way people drink wine. More and more people are becoming educated on wine. Before they didn't know that there was a category of really good dry Rosé, but now they do.

PS: Let's talk about the recent debate on Rosé production in Europe. Where do you stand?
RI: While it's typically cheaper for a wine maker to blend them, the quality of wine is inferior. They just don't taste as good as the wines made in the saignée method. I think the classical producers were right to stand up for their tradition.

PS: When shopping for Rosé what should one look for?
RI: First, don't spend more than $20. There are plenty of really great affordable Rosés out there. Look to a classic region like the South of France. The bottles don't have to say how the Rosé is made, so to ensure you get one made with the saignée method, it's best to look to a well-known region. For fruitier and richer Rosés select one from Spain or California. Etude's Pinot Noir Rosé is a great bottle and so is the Clos du Bois Rosé.

PS: Can one pair Rosé with food?
RI: Rosé is quite possibly the most food friendly variety of wine. Because it takes characteristics from both red (the fruit) and white (the acidity and lighter body) varieties, it's very easy to pair with food. Rosés cross both boundaries and can pair with anything from sushi to roast chicken. Remember Rosés are a great outdoor picnic or party wine. Serve it cool, like you would a white wine.

Mandy Moore Makes Gnudi at The Spotted Pig

YumSugar — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:00:48 -0700

In this week's issue of New York magazine, singer, songwriter, and actress Mandy Moore not only discusses her upcoming album and newlywed life, but she also rolls up her sleeves to learn how to make ricotta gnudi and deviled eggs in the kitchen of West Village gastropub The Spotted Pig.

While there, Moore shares the dishes that she grew up on, her goal to throw a dinner party with friends, and her love for the Sham Wow. Although a slideshow of action shots reveal her unfamiliarity with cooking, she admits to enjoying food.

I like eating. I admire people with that talent, you know, someone that can walk in, take ingredients out of the fridge and just sort of whip something up. Or just to innately know, like, how you hard-boil an egg. That's something I would have to Google.

Despite Mandy's lack of kitchen knowledge, there's something endearing about her earnest attempt to make gnudi from scratch. Are you surprised that she's trying to learn how to cook?

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You Are What You Eat: A Study in Consumption

YumSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:00:34 -0700

This month, Good magazine features a collection of narrative images that explores the different ways people address food. "You Are What You Eat," a collection of narrative images by artist Mark Menjivar, divulges the contents of various eaters' refrigerators.

One fridge, stacked haphazardly with various styrofoam takeout containers, reflects the night owl habits of a bartender. Another icebox, stocked mostly with beer, coffee drinks, and a lone plate of leftovers, reflects the eating habits of three college students. Even sadder, another contains nothing but mayonnaise and a black plastic bag - it's the fridge of a street advertiser who makes $432 a month in wages.Menjivar's work reminds us that the food we stock in our refrigerators is as much a footprint of our lives as what we do or how we dress. If I were to publish my own, I would submit the above photo, with the header, "Food Writer | San Francisco, CA | 2-Person Household | Living on soup to get over bronchitis | 2009."

What would yours say? Check out Menjivar's work (below are a few examples) and tell me what you think: are you what you eat?

View 4 Photos ›

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Do You Rip Recipes Out of Magazines?

partysugar — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:50:45 -0800

While some people prefer to save entire magazines, I greatly enjoy ripping recipes out of a glossy. Then, I file the recipes away in my large collection. How about you?

Talking Food With Cookbook Authority Sheila Lukins

YumSugar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:15:00 -0800

Sheila Lukins is one of America's most prolific cookbook authors. More than 25 years ago, she published The Silver Palate Cookbook, which introduced the boomer generation to upscale at-home cuisine. In addition to publishing other blockbuster cookbooks, Lukins has edited the food pages of Parade magazine for over 20 years.

I had a chance to enjoy breakfast with Sheila on a sunny Saturday morning, while she was on tour for Ten, her latest (and seventh!) cookbook. Over coffee, she offered her best tips for home cooks, and talked about the ever-so-controversial seasonality issue. To see more of what she had to say, read more.

YumSugar: Why did you come out with Ten?
Sheila Lukins: My editor [Peter Workman], and I were talking about all the foods we craved. Everybody really has the same favorite foods; we all love noodles, ribs, Italian food. He said, there's a book in that - you could have 10 recipes for each of your favorite foods.

YS: You've got whole chapters dedicated to tomatoes, corn, asparagus. Should home cooks use seasonal vegetables year-round?
SL: I believe in eating seasonally; there's nothing like going to the farmers market and getting Silver Queen corn, but you get certain things year-round these days. It's not like I want to eat hard or yellow strawberries, but . . . certain tomatoes, let them ripen on the counter, and they're okay. I'm not going to say I'm never going to eat [an out-of-season] tomato.

YS: Why do you think your books resonate with people?
SL: The recipes are so clearly written; they are so specific. I make up every recipe, first with a yellow pad at the stove, at home, in my own kitchen - and they work. We go over it and over it and over it. You can't do bad recipes, and then have people spend money on ingredients and get a recipe that doesn't work well. That's so horrible.

YS: What were some of your most memorable moments in the kitchen?
SL: I got almost electrocuted by an eggplant. I wrapped it in aluminum foil and was baking it so I could make baba ghanoush. I opened the foil and got a horrible shock!

YS: What's your advice for the home cook?
SL: Find a couple things you enjoy making. Try them ahead of time, then make them when you're having people over. Don't feel like you have to make every dish in a cookbook. Most people don't; they have their favorites. Read recipes through, and be sure you have your ingredients. Make sure you check your cabinets, and keep things in stock so you don't have to keep shopping from scratch every time you want to cook.

YS: Where are your favorite places to eat out?
SL: In New York, I used to go downtown a lot, but now I go a lot less because there are such good places on the Upper West Side. I love Tom Valenti and his restaurants - that would be Ouest, and a new one, West Branch. Craft is very good for special occasions. Love Balthazar. I always get Chinese food from Shun Lee West, and I get pizza from Patsy's because they deliver, and it's near my house. Because I've lived on the Upper West Side, these are places that are very convenient to me, and also very delicious. We used to have no good food on the Upper West Side. Daniel Boulud just opened Bar Boulud, and I go there a lot.

Photo Courtesy of Francesco Scavullo

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?

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