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Yummy Links: From Top Chef's Finale to Spanish Chorizo

partysugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:50:08 PST

The finale of Top Chef Vegas was recently filmed in Napa Valley. - Eater
The New Yorker get to know Los Angeles restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. - Grub Street NY
Ubuntu, Napa's vegetarian darling of a restaurant, may start serving meat. - SF Foodie
Thirteen individuals who are making waves in the food industry. - Chow
One Houston restaurant critic has dropped his anonymity. - Eat Me Daily
What your beer says about you. - Serious Eats
Spanish chorizo adds a richness and flavor to everything it touches. - The Epi-Log

Photo courtesy of Bravo

An Influential Meal at Ubuntu

YumSugar — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:50:12 PDT

Earlier this year, I made the trip up to Napa, CA, to visit Ubuntu, a restaurant that's garnered national acclaim for a new kind of vegetarian produce-driven cuisine. The food is radical for many reasons, like the fact that executive chef (and Food & Wine Best New Chef) Jeremy Fox grows much of the produce in a biodynamic garden near the restaurant. It's also that the focus of the menu is not so much on the absence of meat as it is on vegetable courses that are so substantial they'll change any notions you may have about vegetarian cuisine. Even my meatatarian boyfriend loved it! To learn more about this transformative meal, read on.

All the News That's Fit to Eat - Feb. 25, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:50:47 PST

Even pizza delivery chains are proclaiming this year to be the worst they've ever seen. - Wall Street Journal
The rib-sticking recipe for this Latvian cabbage pie has traveled around the world. - Boston Globe
Harold McGee answers the question: How much water do you need when cooking pasta? - New York Times
Chef Jeremy Fox of Ubuntu in Napa, CA, is paving the way for vegetarian cuisine. - Washington Post
In a taste test of canned tomatoes, find out which variety came out on top (not San Marzano!). - San Francisco Chronicle
Learn the secrets to making sensationally crunchy vegetable chips at home. - Chicago Tribune
Now that slow cookers have gotten a makeover, they've become instrumental in a new movement. - Los Angeles Times

Source

Possibly the Geekiest Veronica Mars Clip Ever

GeekSugar — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:10:27 PST

Veronica Mars may be over and out, but my girl Kristen Bell keeps on geekin' on with "her" website on geeksugar fave Gossip Girl. And of course, in these days we have YouTube and DVD box sets, so when a show goes off the air, we can keep loving it over and over again, thank the gods. Anyway, watch as two of Veronica Mars' geeks debate the merits of Ubuntu vs. OS X. And you gotta love Veronica's contribution to the conversation!

When to Toss Spices and Other Pantry Basics

Sara Yoo — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 04:10:00 PDT

With warmer weather tickling the air, I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and dig into a little Spring cleaning. Sure, there are ovens to clean and counters to scrub, but one task I'm forcing myself to tackle this season is tidying up my pantry and spice rack and clearing out old and expired items. Today I've rounded up some guidelines on how long to keep basic pantry staples and how to tell when they're ready for the trash (or compost). While these time frames are a general rule of thumb, it's important to use your senses to detect what to keep and what to toss: if anything looks, smells, or tastes strange, it's probably best to get rid of it. So let's get a-cleaning!

Source: Flickr Users Simo ubuntu, JMR_Photography, and alsjhc

James Beard Foundation Announces 2011 Award Finalists

Susannah Chen — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:29:09 PDT

We're one step closer to knowing who'll take home top honors in this year's James Beard Awards - the so-called "Oscars of the food world." Semifinalists were announced a month ago, and they included the likes of Stephanie Izard, Michael Symon, and Suzanne Goin. The awards, which will be newly sponsored by Groupon and hosted by Tom Colicchio, Ming Tsai, and Traci Des Jardins, won't happen until May 9.

To see which of the 29,000 nominations submitted this year have made it to the finals, read more.