Good. Food. Stories.

Tart Crust, No Rolling Pin Necessary

Casey Barber — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:30:56 +0000

I love it when you guys read my mind.

Last week, I put out a request for more “Ask Casey” topics on the GFS Facebook page, and among the responses was a common refrain: “Why am I crap at rolling out pie crusts?” Good thing I had this post in the hopper.

I’ve done pie crust tutorials here (using the Alton Brown roll-out method) and on ReadyMade (using the King Arthur Flour roll-out method), but today, you can put that rolling pin away. You won’t need it. The French and their all-knowing pastry ways have your back with this one, and they call it pâte sucrée.
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Don’t Toss the Pig Skin! Use It For Braciole.

Danielle Oteri — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:24:10 +0000

If there is anything left to contribute to the persistent food trend of nose-to-tail eating, first popularized by British chef Fergus Henderson and then expanded on by countless chefs, writers, and restaurateurs, it is cotenna, or pig skin, from the traditional Southern Italian red sauce.

A huge pot of meatballs and sausages simmering in an inferno of tomatoes, garlic and herbs is the memory that trumps all others in the Italian-American experience. Braciole, rolled-up slices of thinly cut beef layered is also a stock character of Sunday sauce, whether it be the Neapolitan version layered with cheese and parsley, or Sicilian braciole, which are stuffed with raisins. But braciole made from pig skin are hard to come by, despite the luxurious velvety texture they add to tomato sauce.
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The NYC Essentials: Pearl Oyster Bar

Casey Barber — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:28:25 +0000

In the original scroll of On the Road, Kerouac wrote, “whenever Spring comes to NY I can’t stand the suggestions of the land that come blowing over the river from New Jersey and I’ve got to go.” When I feel the ineffable change of seasons in the air, the swell of anticipation as we hang on the cusp of spring, my thoughts turn to Maine. I know that every Memorial Day, as others fire up their grills and crowd the beaches from Sandy Hook to LBI, I’ll be on my way to Bar Harbor with the windows down and hiking boots in the trunk.

Maybe that’s why last week I found myself inexorably pulled into Greenwich Village, my body moving of its own accord, not taking me home to New Jersey as planned but instead boarding a downtown F train to Pearl Oyster Bar.
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Neighborhood Guide: Des Moines

Good. Food. Stories. Contributor — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:46:09 +0000

The idea of leaving New York usually gets overwhelmingly difficult the longer one stays—but luckily, Amy Palanjian made a big move that paid off. Amy, a food editor at Better Homes and Gardens and the author of So Pretty! Crochet, is about to have her first baby in June, but she made time to share the best of her adopted city—Des Moines—with Good. Food. Stories.

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Hole in the Wall Files: Saugy Dogs at the Seaplane Diner

Casey Barber — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:54:45 +0000

Economist Tyler Cowen has been getting a lot of flak for his latest book, An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules for Everyday Foodies, and while I’ll reserve judgment until I read it cover to cover, one of his six rules for dining out—order what sounds least appetizing—has stuck with me. I’ve been following a less-restrictive tenet for years, as a matter of fact. My rule? If you see something weird on a menu, you gotta at least ask what it is.
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The Chicken Kung Powwow

Good. Food. Stories. Contributor — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:51:43 +0000

Today’s contributor, Christina Loccke, is a restaurant guide editor, freelance food writer who blogs at Sexy Mother Foodie, and WSET student who’s trying teach her kindergartener to smell the differences between warm- and cool-climate Chardonnay. She’s also got a gift for picking the best things on the Chinese takeout menu, including Kung Pao chicken.

In Hollywood, predictability is the stuff of Oscars, and it’s no secret that movies follow the same recipe of beats and devices. I imagine this was all cooked up at some dinner hosted by our Founding Moguls. It’s an easy scene to write:

Late night, an exhausted group of executives gather around a bare-wood table strewn with empty boxes of takeout. Sleeves rolled up, wringing hands, unshaved faces, lots of pacing back and forth.
DeMille: (picks up a pair of chopsticks and tosses aside empty containers) Any more Kung Pao chicken?
Warner: (staring off into space, refocuses, food falls from his chopsticks) That’s it!
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Cooking for Fun With the French Laundry’s Help

Casey Barber — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:53:29 +0000

When I ate at the French Laundry almost seven years ago, the thought of making my living as a food writer and photographer hadn’t even flickered into my mind. That’s my excuse. (That and the mid-honeymoon Champagne haze.) But when Danielle needed a food shot to accompany her amore Christian’s post a few weeks ago, I saw a chance to return to my roots. I’d dust off the ol’ French Laundry Cookbook to replicate and photograph the restaurant’s signature “oysters and pearls” dish.
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Jim’s Restaurant: A San-Antonio-Style Diner

Good. Food. Stories. Contributor — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:30:57 +0000

I consider myself an expert on many foods and cultural specialties, but when it comes to Texas, I’ve got to defer to Amber Bracegirdle. Editor of the site Bluebonnets & Brownies (named after the Texas state flower), Amber’s my go-to gal when I need a prickly pear jargarita or just someone to chat about the history of Fritos with me. Today, Amber shares her most beloved San Antonio spot with Good. Food. Stories.

Every time Casey writes about her Pittsburgh favorites, it makes me homesick for my San Antonio haunts—none more so than Jim’s Restaurant.
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The Bar Cart: Negronis and Boulevardiers

Casey Barber — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:33:09 +0000

I drummed my fingers on the bar at Lupa as I waited. I needed a boozy bourbon to start my night, but with what? Tonight neither a Manhattan nor an Old Fashioned would do.

“Do you like Campari?” the bartender asked. Do I ever!

“Well, I’ve got a drink I think you’ll love, but it’s got a really embarrassing name.” Do tell!
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LudoTruck Fried Chicken: Paradise in a Parking Lot

Danielle Oteri — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:42:18 +0000

Regular readers know that Danielle Oteri is a New Yorker through and through. The girl takes no guff and tells it like it is. Who knew a little Los Angeles sunshine and French fried chicken would mellow her out so much?

Who would have guessed that one of the most outstanding meals of my life would come from a truck in Reseda, a gritty suburb of Los Angeles, best known for being the hometown of The Karate Kid? Not me. But given my experiences in LA, it actually makes perfect sense.
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