The Flavor Route

Join Us for a Bed-Stuy Bar Crawl

Nicole — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:55:58 +0000

Get down on winter eating and happy hour drinking at local watering holes, making Bed-Stuy more than just the home of rap legends. Yours Truly, Clay Williams and Alisha Miranda will introduce you to a corner of Bed-Stuy where a number of new bars are popping up featuring craft beers, creative cocktails, and small bites at affordable prices, and unbeatable experiences.

$25 will earn you discounts, deals, and special tastings at selected bars and restaurants, and swag from our sponsors for this event. Purchase tickets here.

Keep an eye out for #BedStuyCrawl contest announcements on:

Myth of the One-Pot Meal

Danielle — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:40:33 +0000

The winter solstice officially introduces the length of nights and shortness of days. Translation: cold nights, cold days. The one pot meal -a fusion of flavors, proteins, vegetables and herbs- is the simplest, quickest approach to warming up the self or family for winter.

Southern Soul Revival: Two Simple Salads

Shannon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:19:35 +0000

>When I am cooking a dinner, I like to start my prep with a salad. That way, I have a light dish to steal bites from while I work on preparing everything else.

Shred the cabbage with a grater, toss it with the apple cider vinegar, and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Wash the carrots thoroughly and shop fine. Toss them in the bowl with the olive oil salt and pepper. Once the cabbage has pickled slightly (at least 40 minutes before serving), combine it in a bowl with the carrots and toss. Serve.

Sarah Jean's Lowcountry Red Rice

Shannon — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:18:02 +0000

browning the onions, peppers and sausage I am starting off the Soul Food Revival series with Red Rice- my Aunt Sara Jean's signature dish and one of our family's most prized recipes. It is innocuous in many Charleston homes but rarely appears in restaurants - it is a taste of 'real' Charleston, if you will. Red Rice is essentially a tomato pilau that might remind you of a simplified Spanish peaella, with sausauge but no seafood. It's rich, satisfying flavors inspire a cultlike following among those who make and eat it. It is a simple one pot dish that you can prep in 10 minutes and leave to it's on devices while you attend to other matters around the house. When it's all said and done, you get a warm bowl of savory goodness that is a snap to make.

Southern Soul Revival: Good Food & Good Times

Shannon — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:16:32 +0000

Photo Credit :: b.vikki vintage

FOOD + A DASH OF FOLKS + SOME TUNES + FALL WEATHER = A DARN GOOD TIME

FALL is the perfect time to gather friends and family to make - and enjoy together - savory, rich, flavor filled meals whose preperation are a warm up for fast approaching holiday feasts.

I am officially designating this Fall as the season for Slammin' Dinner Parties at the Crib. I kicked mine off with a birthday blowout for my BFF Jeanette's birthday. We both have Southern roots, so we decided to create a menu inspired by the old school roadside diners, chicken shacks, and juke joints (speakeasies with food that I would liken to pub fare) that made significant contributions to Southern food's reputation for deliciousness in the popular imagination.

For the next few weeks, I will be posting dishes here that are very simple and require only a few ingredients; many of them are culled from my family's recipes.

Discover: The First Lady of Southern Soul

Shannon — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 22:17:00 +0000

Photo Credit :: Michigan State University Library MuseumWhat Mrs. Fisher Knows About Southern Cooking, Abby Fisher, Women's Co-Op Printing Office, S.F. 1881.

Published in 1881, this seminal work on Southern cooking is among the first cookbooks authored by an African American.

Inspire 11 :: Ricotta stuffed figs with honey and crunch

Danielle — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:56:12 +0000

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first. ~Ernestine Ulmer

photo credits: Danielle Deadwyler

John T Edge, Root Cellars & The Hot Five :: Episode 83

Nicole — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:03:54 +0000

Photo Credit :: Yvonne BoydLast week on Hot Grease, we got prepared for fall with Andrea Chesman author of Recipes from the Root Cellar. Andrea walked us through some fall veggie prep; as well as gave us the inside scoop on the Mother Earth News Fair. Later, Southern food royalty John T. Edge called in to talk about the 2011 Vendy Awards and the rise of street food. The Hot Five made a return with Heather Jones of The Blacker the Berry. Listen to Hot Grease food radio here.

Do you have a favorite street food vendor? Tell us.

Goodbye Zucchini

Nicole — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:42:00 +0000

Summer is officially over. My heart will truly miss strawberries, dining al fresco, strappy sandals and ZUCCHINI. Behold, my photo Ode to Zukes.

Cookbook Inspiration

Blossoms

Crispy Fried

Shredding

Zucchini Pancakes

Serve with dollop of fresh ricotta

What summer fruit or vegetable will you miss?

Inspire 10 :: Good Cooks

Nicole — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:24:15 +0000

Good cooks always have friends, and are seldom abandoned by their spouses or partners -- if that is of any importance to you. ~Nika Hazelton