Root Beer Float
It is National Root Beer Float Day- do you know what else a Root Beer Float can be called?
Posts Tagged ‘Foodie’
Oysters in Bacon
If you’re in New York City today, watch out! It’s National Underwear Day! On a more Yummly related note, it’s also National Oyster Day. Try this Recipe of the Day to celebrate!
Penuche Fudge
Penuche fudge is a brown sugar based confection, and our Recipe of the Day.
Rabbit Ragu
It’s National Rabbit Week- try this delicious Recipe of the Day for dinner tonight!
Black Truffle
Hi, my name is Andrew Eichenbaum, and I am a Foodie… I am also the “Mad Scientist”/Analytics Engineer here at Yummly. In a nutshell, I deal with anything on Yummly that is data-driven either directly or in an advisory position, e.g.: recipe suggestions, taste matching, data quality. etc. This means most of my life behind the keyboard is spent trying to turn everything food into something a computer can understand. This gives me a unique position in that almost every day I am able to find out some new tidbits of knowledge buried in our data. Those tidbits are what we turn into the algorithms that help power Yummly. “Defining Delicious” will be a series of posts that bring out specific points or objects of note that I have found in the data.
So, let start with Truffles… Truffles are one of the most prized ingredients for their smoky, savory, and earthy taste. But, at $600 to $700 dollars a pound, it is not an ingredient that many of us can use in much quantity.
This brings us to truffle oil. Most of us use an olive oil-based truffle oil when we want to add the truffle flavor. Yet, most, if not all, of the flavor from truffle oil comes from a derived organic compound, 2,4-Dithiapentane. So, since we are already using a substitute for truffles in our “truffle oil”, why bother spending $20 on a 2 ounce bottle.
Something I came across in my work is that cloves and Worcestershire sauce were used in similar situations as truffles and truffle oil. It lead me to believe that you could substitute one of these for truffles. Being a bit of a skeptic of my own work, I decided to test out my theory by setting up an experiment. I used truffle oil as a control, comparing it to olive oil I had infused with whole cloves, and olive oil with a bit of Worcestershire sauce added.
The results were astounding, in that the clove infused oil had initial taste of truffle oil, while the Worcestershire sauce/oil mixture had the ending taste of truffle oil. And, when we compared an even mixture of the clove and Worcestershire sauce oils, we had something that tasted very much like the truffle oil. Now I won’t claim that this is a perfect substitution that will fool anybody, but the same taste was there, at a fraction of the cost.
You might want to try finding something on Yummly with truffles and playing around.
I recently had the pleasure of touring the back rooms of the Half Moon Bay Brewery courtesy of the head chef, Mark Hamilton. While Mark is genius in his own right as he expertly runs the kitchen, it’s the brewery and resulting output which really impressed me. Or rather, the beer and food pairing which followed our tour.
Mark and Gaston were kind enough to indulge us with a wonderful spread of food and a beer sampler to close out the day. And while I admit I’ve never considered beer in the context of food or desserts I was really impressed with the experience and flavors which came out of the tasting.
A few examples of the pairings we tried:
- Bootlegger’s Brown Ale and sliders or the spicy shrimp.
- Sandy Beach hefeweizen with it’s beautiful brown hue and sweet taste pairs well with an ahi starter or fried calamari. Surprise! It’s also great with the mango cheesecake.
- Mavericks Amber Ale and burgers.
- Pilar Point pale ale is earthy, hoppy and grassy and marries with earthy flavors like those found in mushrooms.
- The stout or porter pairs well with…chocolate.
A bit of online searching reveals a fair amount of interest in the topic of food and beer pairing as an experience and I suspect you’ll start to see more of this as you dine out. If you want to select the ideal beer for your next meal or outing, check out the chart below which was produced by the Brewer’s Association (you’ll look like the expert!) To find the perfect meal, check out Yummly!
Many thanks to Mark, Gaston and staff at the Brewery / Maverick’s Lodge for the tour and a delicious lunch!
I’ve never really met a cheese I didn’t like. I’ll even cop to the occasional burger with American cheese and have been known to eat the stuff from the squirty cans (a long time ago!)
My love of cheese made the prospect of a “cheese social” with 60 other like-minded people, a whole lot of Point Reyes Blue and Redhawk plus wine too hard to pass up. But what to serve alongside that would be unique and stand out? Sigh. The decisions I must make!
I felt like the occasion called for a recipe I’d clipped from a past issue of Gourmet magazine. Chardonnay Gelee (“no, it’s NOT jello”) sounded odd but interesting. The blend of reduced Chardonnay, sugar and star anise turned into a beautiful presentation which paired well with the more assertive types of cheese on display.
Chardonnay gelee.
Chardonnay Gelee
- 1 cup Chardonnay
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 segment star anise (not whole star anise)
- Scant teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-oz envelope)
- 2 tablespoons water
Lightly oil a 1 cup ramekin or bowl. Bring chardonnay, sugar, and star anise to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat to medium and gently boil until mixture is reduced to 1 cup, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over water in a small cup and let soften 1 minute. Stir gelatin into hot Chardonnay mixture until dissolved, then discard star anise. Cool slightly, then pour Chardonnay mixture into ramekin and chill, covered, until set, at least 8 hours.
Dip bottom two thirds of ramekin in a bowl of hot water 20 seconds. Run a sharp paring knife around edge of gelee, then invert ramekin onto a serving plate and, holding ramekin and plate together, firmly shake to unmold gelee.
Pairs well with rich, strong cheese such as aged chevre or Stilton on a thinly sliced baguette.
Recipe courtesy of Gourmet. Adapted from Bistro Le Crillon.
Good selections for pairing.
Who can resist these?
Brasato al Barolo over polenta.
I read someplace recently that “spring is around the corner” and it’s time to think about light food. With this in mind, I promise this will be my last post about comfort food…for a while. In the meantime, I really, really had to publish this recipe because it’s just so tasty.
For starters, this recipe uses simple ingredients with minimal preparation. The only thing you need a little of is time (and yes, thyme, the herb, too!) However, make this on a weekend and then plan to dine on it during the week. Braised beef is one of those dishes which gets better as it sits in your fridge (anywhere from 3-5 days) if you can wait that long to eat it! In short, the recipe is FANTASTIC. I’ve made this twice and the eaters couldn’t stop raving about the flavor (ok I admit, one of those diners was ME.)
Finally, I served the braised beef over quick-cooking polenta which is always a crowd pleaser. And I will admit to using a standard, off the shelf bottle of red wine which didn’t seem to affect or detract from the flavor.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 (3 – 3 ½ lb) boneless chuck roast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ lb sliced pancetta, finely chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 4 (4-6 inch) sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 (6-8 inch) sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups Barolo or other full bodied red wine (Ripasso Valpolicella, Gigondas or Cotes du Rhone)
- 2 cups water
Equipment: 4-5 quart heavy ovenproof pot with lid. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Meanwhile pat meat dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Brown meat in hot oil on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a plate with fork and tongs. Note: if your boneless chuck comes wrapped in butcher’s twine, remove it so that your meat is browned and cooks evenly.
Add pancetta to oil in pot and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until browned and fat is rendered, about 3 minutes. Add onion, carrot and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally until vegetables are softened and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
Add garlic, thyme, and rosemary and sauté, stirring until garlic begins to soften and turn golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add water and bring to a simmer, then return meat along with any juices accumulated on plate to pot. Cover pot with lid and transfer to oven. Braise until meat is very tender, 2 ½ – 3 hours.
Transfer meat to a cutting board. Skim fat from surface of sauce. Boil until sauce is reduced by about one third. Season with salt and serve with the meat.
Cook’s note:
I often run an immersion blender (the Braun version is my personal fave – although difficult to come by these days) through the reduced sauce to smooth it out. This is a preference but not a requirement. Also, while polenta is a great base, egg noodles would work well too.
Recipe courtesy of Epicurious.
I like turkey but like a lot of people I only think about it as a sandwich filled or during the month of November. Last week while perusing the butcher counter I came across a package of turkey legs and figured I’d give them a try (they were priced right: about $7 for two).
When asked how I planned to prepare them I recalled a PBS episode where Jacques Pepin and Julia Child removed the bone and then stuffed the meat with stuffing. I figured “how hard can that be?” Well, it wasn’t hard for me as I gave instructions to a friend who was kind enough to wield the knife. Once prepped (here’s where I step in!) the meat was flattened between plastic wrap, packed with stuffing (Pepperidge Farm is a good option) then tied up (below).
The dish was roasted in a 350 degree oven to temperature and then sliced cross-wise. I served this over the stuffing with a quick gravy (used the mac and cheese white sauce recipe, substituted the milk for turkey stock and minus the cheese) for a fun meal that had my guests raving. Honestly I think it was less to do with the food and more to do with having a “Thanksgiving meal” outside of November.
Either way, it’s a tasty, economical dish to tide you over until the next turkey day!
Stuffing stuffed turkey.
The other day I had a craving for macaroni and cheese – and not the stuff from the blue box. So I used an old recipe for white sauce and threw in some cheese (in this case gruyere, cheddar and parmesan) along with toasted bread crumbs on top. Delish! And fast.
Cheddar, gruyere and parmesan cheese and mac. Yum.
All purpose white sauce
- 2 T. butter or margarine
- 2 T. flour (all purpose)
- 2 cups milk (warmed)
- Salt (to taste)
- White pepper (to taste)
- Ground nutmeg
- Squeeze of lemon
- 10 oz. penne or other noodles
Other additions:
- Garlic (one clove, finely minced)
- Tabasco (just a few shakes)
- 1 T. Dijon mustard
Melt the butter on medium heat. When it bubbles gently, add the flour and stir well to combine. Cook the butter/flour mixture for about 1 – 2 minutes. Add the warmed milk and stir until it thickens. Add salt, pepper. If your sauce is bland, consider the lemon juice, garlic and Tabasco route (basic ingredients I use to “perk” up sauces).
Once your white sauce is made, add the cheese. Stir until melted.
- ½ cup gruyere
- ½ cup cheddar
- ½ cup grated parmesan
Note: you can use all gruyere (instead of the cheddar addition) if you prefer.
Pour over the pasta noodles and stir to combine. Pour into a casserole and top with toasted bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for approx. 30 minutes or until you see the mixture bubble vigorously.