YumSugar

Name That Dish!

YumSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:15:40 -0700

On a recent excursion to offbeat Houston restaurant Feast, I enjoyed a number of traditional British dishes - from Welsh rarebit to bubble and squeak. Pictured below is a dessert that's also a quintessential part of classic English cuisine. Are you familiar with this unusually named pudding?

In Season: Heirloom Tomatoes

YumSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:17:30 -0700

Few things excite a summertime farmers market crowd more than a spread of vividly-hued heirloom tomatoes. Unlike mass-produced tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes are breed with unique characteristics that have been passed down for generations. There are countless varieties that differ in color, shape, and size, as well as maturation times.

They range from the hefty, irregularly shaped, explosively juicy cherokee purple to the tiny, tart, and firm green zebra. Because heirloom tomato cultivars come in early-, mid-, and late-season varieties, pay attention to what's available at your local market that day. Generally speaking, select tomatoes that are firm, heavy for their size, and free of any open cracks or wounds. For ideas on how to cook with them, read more.

Enjoy them the way I do most often, which is simply sliced and drizzled with good olive oil, freshly ground pepper, and flaky sea salt. Or highlight their flavor in a variety of dishes:

Slice super thin and serve carpaccio style with an Asian-inspired drizzle.
Use a grater to crush ripe heirlooms into a classic gazpacho.
Cut a thick midsection out of an heirloom to include in a picnic-perfect caprese-inspired tomato and mozzarella sandwich.
Take advantage of small, intensely-flavored varieties to create an unconventional tomato water martini.
Make a flaky, savory heirloom tomato tart reminiscent of the French countryside.
Toss them in a Calabrian bread salad along with basil and olive oil-packed tuna.

What's your favorite way to use an heirloom tomato?

Let's Dish: What Are Your Favorite Frozen Treats?

YumSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:00:27 -0700

Right before the Fourth, I shed some light on the best foods to make when it's hot outside - including Summer-perfect desserts like frosty mojito cakes and spicy cantaloupe paletas. But my favorite frozen confections are the ones that remind me of my childhood - like red grapes straight out of the freezer and those triangle-shaped Minute Maid push pops (which, sadly, I haven't come across in ages). As for icy cocktails, I can never turn down a subzero piña colada. What are your favorite things to enjoy that are frozen?

Come Party With Me: Bastille Day Lunch - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:50:53 -0700

Nothing gets the conversation rolling at a party like flowing drinks. For a Bastille Day lunch, serve a refreshingly light apéritif-based cocktail, such as the Lillet-basil concoction seen here. Lillet is a French alcoholic drink made from a blend of wine, brandy, fruits, and herbs.

Traditionally it's served over ice, but this recipe makes it more festive by combining it with fresh orange juice, basil, and cucumber spears. When you sit down to eat the Niçoise salad, pour a crisp classic French white. To check out the Lillet cocktail recipe, please read more.

Lillet-Basil Cocktail
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1 cup ice, plus more for serving
1/2 cup Lillet Blanc
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) gin
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
Splash of tonic water
1 cucumber spear, for garnish
1 cinnamon stick, for garnish

Directions

Put ice, Lillet, gin, orange juice, and basil in a cocktail shaker; shake well.
Fill a glass with ice; strain mixture into glass. Add tonic water. Garnish with cucumber spear, cinnamon stick, and basil sprigs.

Makes 1 drink.

Print recipe with images | without images

Che Guevara's Granddaughter Shows Skin For PETA Campaign

YumSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:35:58 -0700

PETA is targeting South America as the market for its latest campaign. The organization's spokesperson? None other than Lydia Guevara, granddaughter of Marxist leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara. In the organization's first-ever South American campaign for vegetarianism, the scantily clad Lydia, a vegetarian, wears nothing but bandoliers of baby carrots and a red beret, in a reference to her grandfather, a revolutionary who contributed to Fidel Castro's rise to leadership in Cuba.

"It very much evokes the tagline of the ad, which is 'Join the vegetarian revolution," said PETA representative Michael McGraw. "It's an homage of sorts to her late grandfather." What do you think of the campaign? Does it get your attention in the right way, or it is too racy and politically charged?

Source