Good. Food. Stories.

The Game-Changing Pickled Butternut Squash

Casey Barber — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:23:12 +0000

Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. And while I agree with Albert Einstein, Ben Franklin, or whatever anonymous scholar coined the phrase for the most part, I’m finding a few exceptions to the rule when it comes to my ongoing experiments in finding ways to eat foods I hate.
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Too Exhausted to Lift a Fork, Or, What We Ate on Moving Day

Casey Barber — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:45:06 +0000

Though I can’t remember the first meal I made when we moved into this house six years ago, I can remember the first dish we ate here, and the first thing I did with—no, the first thing I did to the oven.
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Neighborhood Guide: West Philadelphia, PA

Rebecca Peters-Golden — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:48:50 +0000

GFS Senior Writer Rebecca Peters-Golden has a lot to share about her ‘hood today, so without further ado….

On one corner of the El Station at 46th and Market is a mural to Philadelphia native Will Smith. Indeed, the opening to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, in which Smith raps, “In West Philadelphia born and raised,” is likely the only association folks outside Philadelphia have with the neighborhood.

Not as posh as Rittenhouse Square, as dignified as Old City, or as embroiled in the great cheesesteak rivalry as South Philly, West Philly is a neighborhood that even many Philadelphians don’t visit often. And it’s a shame, because West Philly is home to some truly excellent eats, from the fancy-pants to the hole-in-the-wall. Take the #34 trolley along Baltimore Ave, and every one of these good food stories are within an easy walk north or south.
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Fried Oysters and Peanut Pie: Sexy Southern at Atlanta’s JCT Kitchen

Casey Barber — Mon, 06 May 2013 12:43:07 +0000

“Ugh, I have to go to Atlanta for work next week and I don’t know what I’m going to eat,” my dad complained.

Dad. Say no more. It’s true that downtown Atlanta is still largely populated by expense-account steakhouses and fine-dining chains, but it’s outside the professional epicenter where things get exciting: throughout the neighborhoods of the sprawling city, from Buckhead’s Holeman & Finch to Decatur’s Cakes & Ale to midtown’s Empire State South to JCT. Kitchen in the Westside Urban Market, Atlanta food is a prime example of a revitalized, modern Southern town.
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The Bar Cart: The Bitter Gimlet

Casey Barber — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:33:58 +0000

For those of you who tuned in for yesterday’s Heritage Radio Network interview, here’s the gimlet recipe I teased on the show. For those who didn’t catch the talk live, click the link and have a listen!

Once I moved past my college-girl preferences for amaretto sours, the gimlet became my drink of choice. More debonair to sip from a martini glass and far less embarrassing to order at swank Chicago bars, it seemed like the thing a chic, professional gal on the town would drink (even if said professional gal was nothing but an impoverished grad student and even if she also copped to a fondness for vanilla vodka mixed with Coke—hey, it sort of tasted like cake! I was 22!)
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Festive Flag Cupcake Toppers + So Pretty! Felt Giveaway

Casey Barber — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:25:50 +0000

Creativity is a funny thing. While I’m completely at home futzing and tweaking away in the kitchen, I often feel all thumbs when attempting almost anything else that could be considered a hobby. It’s not that I don’t want to knit socks for my dining room chairs, or beat Dan at Wii Golf, or learn to play guitar (though thanks to my sister, the ukulele looks like it might stick. Tiny stubby T-Rex fingers can tackle four strings!), it’s that my coordination somehow doesn’t translate. I could write a whole memoir about my humiliating attempts at sports.
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In Defense of the Fancy Restaurant Meal

Casey Barber — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:42:55 +0000

One of the many pleasures of planning your own book tour schedule is that you get to plan your companion meals for each stop. One of the drawbacks is that you’re working with your own budget, not a fancy travel per diem or retainer. (No, book advances don’t cover stuff like this. Not at the rate book advances are going these days. First world problems!) When you know you’ll be eating out regularly, occasionally for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the bargaining game begins. Sometimes mornings of coffee and leftover cookies mean you can eat a big, fancy pizza for lunch. Then a $9 noodle bowl for dinner with your sister. But sometimes you just gotta treat yo self to a full-on fancy chef meal.
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Bringing Home the Bacon: Pig Farming in Maine

Good. Food. Stories. Contributor — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:24:55 +0000

Today’s guest post comes from Richard Lee, a farmer in Knox, Maine, by way of Queens, New York. In 2012, Rich and his girlfriend (who, full disclosure, is also my cousin-in-law) Kate experienced their first season raising and slaughtering pigs. Warning: the following story contains graphic—though riveting—descriptions. Read more of Rich’s stories of farming life on his blog, Breaking Soil.

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Good Morning, Singapore!

Good. Food. Stories. Contributor — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:48:53 +0000

Today’s guest post takes us around the world courtesy of Heather Teoh, founding volunteer and Wonton Web Correspondent of California Food Literacy Center. Understandably proud of her food heritage, she aspires to take local and sustainable ingredients and transform them into Southeast Asian cuisine and other global treats.

If you’re like me, you’re not a morning person. However, if there’s promise of good food, I will gladly jump out of bed like they do in coffee commercials on TV. Thankfully, I live in Singapore, a place that Anthony Bourdain has described as “the city that never stops eating.”
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‘Say No More, Mon Amour’ Petits Fours for Rex Manning Day

Casey Barber — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:19:42 +0000

Today—April 8—has been a hallowed day for many Gen X- and Y-ers since 1995, and most of us have been unaware of it until now. But we mustn’t dwell, not today, because it’s Rex Manning Day!
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