At first, it might seem odd that the owner of one of the most venerable cheese shops in Italy also moonlights as a model. Yet when Fiorenzo Giolito proudly points to an image of himself as Mr. September in a fundraising calendar he organized a few years back, covered only by an apron and a few beloved wheels of cheese, it's hardly a surprise. With a goofy yet tenacious smile, it's easy to see that Giolito isn't your typical cheesemonger. His shop, Giolito Formaggi, just an hour outside of Turin, is proof.
Founded in 1920 by Fiorenzo's grandmother, the Giolito cheese business began as a wholesale cheese reseller. After World War II, her son Francesco took over the business, shifting his attention to selling at the weekly farmers markets throughout the Piedmontese province of Cuneo. Fiorenzo, Francesco's son, got his start in the family business at 20 years old and soon took over from his father, continuing to sell at the weekly markets.
The tiny shop itself is just ten years old, located in the tiny Piedmontese city of Bra, the birthplace of the Slow Food movement and current headquarters for both the local and international chapters of the organization. It's situated on the ground floor of the Giolito family home, and if the cheese aromas alone don't get you in the door, the roaring fireplace will.
Fiorenzo Giolito
Fiorenzo keeps a tight reign on his products. He buys directly from trusted producers and ages the cheeses himself in three small cellars located in the back of the shop. "Most are of Italian origin, with no more then 5-10% coming from other parts of Europe," says cheesemonger Andrea Grisotto.
What's most unique about Giolito is their large selection of Slow Food Italian Presidia cheeses. The Presidia began in 2006 as a means of protecting the biodiversity of small-scale quality products at risk of becoming extinct. There are currently over 200 products in Italy that bare the label, and Giolito's carries six of them.
One in particular is Montebore. Made of cow and sheep's milk, this cheese has a unique three-tiered shape thought to date back to the 15th century, when the cheese was said to be presented at the wedding of Isabella of Aragon, the daughter of the King of Naples, and Gian Galeazzo Sforza, the son of the Duke of Milan. Today just one producer makes the special cheese.
The city's namesake cheese, simply called Bra, is one of the shop's specialties, which Andrea says "is typical and a must for the area." Made from cows' milk, Bra Tenero D.O.P. is young and mild, aged for just two to four months, while Bra Duro D.O.P. has a bit more bite and texture thanks to an additional four months of aging. Fiorenzo singles out a handful of the Duro wheels to make his Bra Stravecchio, an intensified version of the sharp Duro, which is aged for over a year and massaged in olive oil. But Braciuk, meaning "drunken Bra," is his most inventive take on the city's cheese. To make it, younger Tenero wheels are aged for an additional three months in barrels of leftover grape must from surrounding Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Pelaverga vineyards, resulting in an intense, slightly boozy cheese.
Giolito's house-made creations are evidence of Fiorenzo's wit. Manicomio, which is the Italian word for an asylum or madhouse, is an indulgent and addictive blend of mascarpone, sweet blue cheese and a few "secret ingredients." The richness of the mascarpone pairs perfectly with the sharp blue cheese, making it a cheese that would be equally welcome swirled into risotto as it would be slathered on your morning toast with a drizzle of honey. The shop's other wacky invention is called Delirium. A riff on a classic pairing, the crumbly innards of a Stilton wheel are doused with a heavy hand of white Port, absorbing the alcohol and intensifying its flavor.
Though most of the shop's energy goes toward its in-house business, Giolito is also an external consultant for Eataly, choosing products and assisting producers in getting those products on their shelves throughout Italy and Tokyo, New York, and most recently Chicago. Fiorenzo is also one of the cofounders of Cheese, Slow Food's biennial festival held in Bra that brings together the world's best cheeses and their producers.
Visiting Giolito, it's hard not to be convinced that Fiorenzo was brought down to earth by the cheese gods themselves. Giolito Formaggi is a testament to a shop that stands firmly in tradition while remaining innovative, and more importantly, fun.
About the author:Sheela Prakash is currently getting her master's degree in Food Culture and Communications at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy. You can follow her at Cucinetta or on Instagram @sheelamp.
Pizza Hut is working to get onboard the artisanal food train (or at least trying to hitch a lift), with the national launch this Thursday of their new hand-tossed pie, which they claim has a lighter, airier crust. According to the Denver Post, the less publicized but in many ways more telling part of the revamp is the employees' new directive: to be more "authentic". Pizza Hut's CFO Carrie Walsh shared that the workers were encouraged to inject their dough tossing with a little more freedom and that rollers will no longer be used, so that each pie comes out looking deliberately imperfect.
The change didn't come easily—launching this updated crust required the most intense training program by Pizza Hut in over 20 years. According to USA Today, Pizza Hut is so certain the new pizza will be a hit, that they'll pay for any consumer's next pie if they don't like their Hand-Tossed crust. Apparently, Domino's has been passing along the same advice to their employees for its own "Artisan" pies—the push for authenticity (or the appearance thereof) continues as these older chains compete with newer, fast-casual pizza joints. I don't know about you, but I'll probably keep getting my "imperfect, handmade" pies from the places I already know and love, but the change is nevertheless a telling one, indicative of the general direction of the pizza industry.
From attempts at artisanry to attempts artistry, Pizza Hut seems to have teamed up with Pepsi to create one magical pizza, for the express purpose of pleasing Denver Nuggets guard Nate Robinson. The pie features a surprisingly accurate depiction of his face, olive haired and smiling out at the world from within a ring of peppers. In the basketball players own words, #StateOfNate.
helllloooo it's not he paternity leave, it's what it represents. that they probably aren't workaholics and value life as well as work, which leads to less stress, which leads to a longer life!!!
Men who take time off from work to care for their children live longer than other men, sociologist Scott Coltrane writes in The Atlantic. According to a study in Sweden, fathers who took paternity leave in 1978 and 1979 had a 16% decreased death risk by 2001; those who took the longest leaves had the greatest benefits. The study says increased involvement in parenting may reduce some of the detrimental effects of traditional masculinity on men’s health behaviors.
I first read about Next's upcoming Chicago Steakhouse menu on my phone while sitting in a Chicago steakhouse. This should immediately illustrate what differentiates this menu from all of the shapeshifting restaurant's other guises: competition. For the most part, the previous menus created an experience you couldn't find in Chicago. But if there is one genre of restaurant Chicago knows well, it's the steakhouse. What could Next possibly have to say?
Hopefully more than whatever I experienced that one night, which was both mediocre and wildly overpriced. While I've had some genuinely great steaks around the city, I've mostly found the rest of the steakhouse experience to be so frustrating that I often want to stab my eyes out with the oversized steak knives. So you can't blame me for fantasizing about what Grant Achatz and executive chef Dave Beran could do with the staid, boring, and routine steakhouse meal.
Instead of offering a modern interpretation of what a steakhouse could be, Next drew inspiration from the Mad Men era (that's the 50s and 60s for the rest of you). You won't find any deconstructed or overly manipulated dishes on the menu. This is just about pure gluttony and more butter than you could ever dream of. It's the most straightforward Next menu I've tried.
For a whole recap of the meal, click on the slideshow. But if you want to get straight to the steak, plus some additional thoughts I had about the experience, read on.
Next's 30 Day Dry-Aged Ribeye
Let's get through the details first. Next uses a ribeye that has been dry aged for approximately 30 days at Flannery Beef in California. The steak is seasoned solely with salt, poached in butter, and then seared briefly. This cooking method results an interior that is exactly the desired temperature, with a beautiful browned crust, and remarkably little gray in-between the two. (I don't have the exact temperature for the steak, but it's definitely on the medium-rare to rare side.) After resting, the steak is sliced and brought out on a platter. Two diners share one large steak, which would be more than enough if you two ate nothing else, and is almost too much after so many courses.
Of course, the most important question is how the steak stacks up. The only satisfactory answer I have is that I think it's incredible—it's maybe not my absolute favorite in Chicago, but it's definitely in the top three or four. More importantly, there's no other steak around quite like this, making it a truly unique experience. Though it's only aged for 30 days, it has a definite mineral tang and a hint of blue cheese funk, neither of which gets in the way of the beefy base. I would have perhaps liked more of a crust, but that would have come at the expense of the extremely tender interior, which is obviously what the kitchen obsessed over. I was expecting the steak to arrive with some hulking steak knife, but that would have been completely unnecessary when a regular knife does the job with little to no effort.
That also means that it doesn't instantly obliterate every other steak in town. It's just a great steak, cooked carefully and exactly, and served up without any input from the guest. That also means that if any of your personal steak preferences don't align with Next's, you might leave disappointed. For one thing, no one asks you how you'd like the meat cooked. And while the meat isn't quite as spectacularly rare as it looks—at least, I don't think it is—my wife definitely preferred some of the end pieces that had a little more brown.
Steakhouses and Choice
To be fair, everyone should love this vodka Martini.
I suppose the real question is whether it is worth it. Basically, if you have the money, love steak, but always feel let down by the steakhouse experience, go for it. But I can see how this could infuriate others, especially those who love steakhouses just the way they are.
Steakhouses are all about choice. You choose the cut, size, age (sometimes) and temperature. And while sharing is welcome, you only have to do so if you want. Who cares if the cuts are insanely over-sized, or that you'll only be able to finish half it? That steak is yours. But Next's whole business model is about streamlining the ordering process, removing almost all choices. For this menu, that means that there is one cut of steak (a ribeye) that is cooked the same way for everyone. As I mentioned above, two people also share one steak.
If the meal were cheaper than most steakhouse meals, the answer would be simple, but it's probably more expensive. The cost for one ticket was $160, and that's without a wine pairing. That's a lot! Of course, most steakhouses aren't cheap and it's not unreasonable to spend that much, though you'd have to go all out and order multiple bottles of wine.
Honestly, I'm kind of conflicted about the whole thing. I kind of wish I could just order the steak and sides with a big glass of wine and be done. That's certainly enough food. But that's not the point of Next, is it? Plus, many of the early courses were phenomenal, even if I did find the desserts a bit lacking.
So I came away with more questions than answers from my visit, and you probably will too. But at least you get to contemplate the meaning of it all while devouring some genuinely excellent dry aged beef.
A few months ago, software giant SAP announced plans to hire 650 new employees with autism.
Yes, autism—even though people on what’s known as the “autism spectrum” are often seen as unemployable. They typically have trouble interacting with others and tend to engage in repetitive behaviors. Only 15% have full-time jobs.
But this is no charitable gesture on SAP’s part. The company knows that some people with autism have an exceptional ability to focus on the repetitive, detailed work of software testing. The company’s initiative was inspired by the Danish IT firm Specialisterne (“The Specialists”), most of whose staff consultants have some form of diagnosed autism-spectrum disorder. As Torben Sorensen, a former Specialisterne consultant, puts it: “I have an ability to see when something deviates. It kind of leaps to the eye.”
Most companies don’t perceive the value of people with autism—or, for that matter, the value of other people who think or behave differently. Managers are unaware that outliers can create enormous value if they’re placed into environments that maximize their ability to contribute.
Consider the dandelion. Many people see this plant only as a weed. But it’s an excellent source of calcium, potassium, iron, and manganese. It’s full of vitamins A, C, E, K, niacin, and riboflavin. The lecithin in its flower can detoxify the liver, and might help combat Alzheimer’s Disease.
In the context of a pristine lawn, it’s a nuisance. Place it in a different context—as a source of nutrition—and the picture changes completely. Context has a similar impact on employees. If you adjust work conditions appropriately, you can activate people’s hidden talents.
That might mean, for example, establishing workplace environments that enable individual value creation, or focusing training programs on bringing out and developing exceptional abilities, or establishing performance-management systems that de-emphasize conformity and instead focus on removing obstacles to higher performance.
Specialisterne does all those things. So do Passwerk in Belgium, Auticon in Germany, and Apiritech and Semperical in the U.S., which have followed Specialisterne’s example. These organizations structure their workplaces to maximize workers’ comfort and performance. Sorensen, who studied to be a teacher but acknowledges that he wasn’t good at teaching children or making contact with them, says Specialisterne encouraged him to develop his talents: “In another company I might be expected to make small talk and be flexible. Here I can just concentrate on my work without being considered antisocial.”
By bringing out the best in people who think differently, you position your company for greater advantage. That’s because innovation, which is a critical skill for businesses today, is driven by diversity of thought. When you can’t foresee the biggest opportunities and problems coming your way, then your people assets must provide your company with the ability to adapt. This ability arises from employees who see things from new perspectives—people from different backgrounds, and those with different cognitive, developmental, and neurological endowments.
The tech sector is already moving in this direction. Many managers in tech firms have begun implementing a version of the “dandelion principle” out of necessity. If a very talented worker can’t get the dress code right, has trouble with authority, or can’t seem to arrive at the office until 3 in the afternoon, exceptions are sometimes made. The perspectives provided by these “different people” can be very important to innovation-based businesses.
The dandelion principle applies beyond the high-tech sector. It applies, for example, to how we educate people, and how we make judgments and value tradeoffs in our cultures and societies. The world needs all the talent it can get. Human society can’t afford to set aside people who are different. Their perspectives are desperately needed if we are to innovate our way through today’s global challenges.
Talent and the New World of Hiring An HBR Insight Center
In the mood to get your paws on some fancy fromage but not quite sure where to begin? Save yourself the anxiety: It’s already been written in the stars.
Aries (March 21 – April 20)
The energy you invest in pretty much everything you set your mind to often results in grand achievements, especially at work. Your busy, pioneering nature may sometimes lead to careless accidents in the form of cuts and bruises, so use caution when handling fire and metal objects. For your own safety, you clumsy fool, opt for anything that doesn't involve wielding a knife — like string cheese or Babybel. Or try your hand at making your own cheese.
You need order, security, and self-assurance to truly thrive. You generally maintain very secure and stable relationships, but that may be because you're wary of change — you try to avoid chaos and indecision at all costs. Loosen up, bro. Since you're not a big risk-taker, your best bet is a versatile, mild, run-of-the-mill cheese, like cheddar or Havarti, neither of which will send you into a nervous tizzy at first bite.
The multitasker of the zodiac, you find it difficult to tackle just one issue at a time. Adaptable, versatile, and a natural intellectual, there is nothing in life that terrifies you more than boredom, so go for something exciting and exotic from the finest cheese shop in town. Try serra da Estrela, a decadent, tangy raw sheep's cheese from Portugal — famous around the world for its intensity — and let yourself totally lose it (lewes it?) as you savor its fruity, grassy flavors. Buy it here.
Protective and sympathetic, especially when it comes to your friends and family, you are thick-skinned and not easily intimidated. A not-for-the-weak pungent, gooey variety of cheese, like Camembert, parallels the mixture of toughness and softness that constitutes your very character. Any cheese strongly seasoned with garlic and herbs also suits you well.
Richmond, Virginia isn't the first city you might think of for craft cocktails, but if you know where to look, you can find surprisingly great drinks served up in bars full of Southern charm.
When I first moved to Richmond all I knew about the drinking culture was "there's that place that has cheap beer on Mondays" and "look out for the college kids on Friday and Saturday nights." Having lived in Boston for two years and frequented New York's cocktail scene often in that time, it looked like I'd be trading down by moving down to the River City.
Now that I live here, I can think of no better place to find a great drink.
In addition to the craft beer and local wine scene, the cocktail renaissance is hitting the area's restaurants with full force. Don't expect phone booths and secret handshakes to get into your favorite establishments: the atmosphere around here is casual and inviting. Seats are easy to score and the dress code is casual as a rule. Add to that the ridiculous happy hours at some of the places on this list, and, well, I'm here to stay.
Craft Cocktails in a Strip Mall: Toast
Hidden in an otherwise nondescript strip mall in an otherwise culinarily bland part of town, Toast serves up surprisingly great bar food paired with a well-curated if small cocktail menu. I had heard good things about Toast's happy hours (every day, with beers from $2 to $4 and $4 for wine on tap), but couldn't resist trying the cocktails, none of which are discounted during happy hour.
My party ended up trying most of the offerings; each one was well-balanced, from the light, floral, and sparkling Hey Jealousy ($8) to the dark and complex Garibaldi ($9). A hearty serving of sweet potato tots (worth the drive themselves) helped fuel our thirsts. Compared to other similar gastropubs in Richmond, Toast stands out for serving something to sip on for every taste and smart food that rises above your average pub fare.
Toast New American Gastropub: 7007 Three Chopt Road, Richmond, VA, 23226 (map) 804-525-4525; toastrva.com
A Speakeasy to Rival the Best: Saison
Don't let Saison's abbreviated facebook menu put you off—this hole-in-the wall speakeasy boasts drink menus covering the classic cocktail corpus, from several takes on the Old-Fashioned to tangy tiki drinks featuring a laundry-list of rums. I counted over 30 cocktails on the menu. The drinks are prepared with care, but without pomp. Hard shakes, long stirs, and expertly sliced garnishes are in full effect here, but the vibe of the space makes you feel as comfortable ordering a beer and a shot as you would a cocktail.
On one recent visit, I sampled an amaro-forward aperitif sporting a smart cucumber garnish, a tasty mezcal-based spin on a Paloma, and an amazing Negroni served straight off the tap. The food service matches the drinks. You'd think that chicken liver pate would make an unlikely bar snack—until you've tried it, that is. If you're expecting stuffy waitstaff and secret passwords to get into this speakeasy, don't bother. Look instead to stroll through the front door, grab a seat at the bar, and enjoy a great drink.
Saison: 23 West Marshall Street, Richmond, VA, 23220 (map) 804-269-3689; Saison on Facebook
Casual Date Night: Heritage
Heritage is one of those spots that makes you want to pinch yourself. Is it actually possible that every single cocktail they serve is a home run? Can I seriously just walk in here without a reservation, wearing jeans and a t-shirt?
I originally followed bar manager (and co-owner) Mattias Hagglund over to Heritage from Comfort, another well-known and top-notch Richmond eatery. When I visited the new digs for the first time, I was blown away not only by Hagglund's drinks, but also by the quality and originality of the food. Of course, this was in the restaurant's early days, before head chef Joe Sparatta earned the best review ever from Richmond's Times-Dispatch. In line with the seasonal and locavore approach taken in the kitchen, drinks rotate on and off the menu constantly. Many feature local brands and custom-created mixers. Most will cost you just $8 to $10.
I particularly like Heritage as a casual date spot due to its portion sizing. Food comes in "small," "medium," and "large" sizes that encourage sharing between two people. My wife and I frequently visit for nights out and our table quickly fills with charcuterie wedged between steak, cheeses, pork belly, and any number of other delicacies. Despite the feast of food and drinks, it seems like we always manage to walk out spending less than we expected to. The cat may be out of the bag already on Heritage, but that doesn't mean I expect to stop visiting any time soon.
Heritage: 1627 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23220 (map) 804-353-4060; heritagerva.com
Fancy Date Night: Lemaire at the Jefferson Hotel
I'm not one to get dressed up for dinner. I usually enjoy my food better when I'm not being choked out by a tie. But, Lemaire is located within one of Richmond's oldest and grandest landmarks. It's the type of place where men show up for dinner in sports coats and women have the opportunity to show off their finest jewelry without feeling out of place. So I wore nice pants.
According to bar manager Scott Harris, however, the restaurant has no official dress code. In fact, he wants you to drop by for casual drinks, not just special occasions. And it's not just the attire that supports that invitation. Lemaire's happy hour runs every day from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. and offerings include $5 wine, beer for $2 to $4, and a special $5 cocktail every day. A 3-appetizer tasting runs just $20 during happy hour and there's also the option to enjoy a 3-course dinner tasting for $30 between 5 and 6 p.m.
Even without a discount, the cocktail menu offers a terrific value. The Monument and Boulevardier ($12) is a Richmonder's version of the classic Boulevardier that replaces Campari with fruity and complex Byrrh Quinquina. Mr. Grant's Derby ($10) is a simple 3-ingredient drink that manages to be both crisp and complex by marrying fresh lime juice with 12-year-old aged rum. And an artfully presented non-alcoholic Monument Avenue ($6), full of fresh mint, had fellow bar patrons clamoring for a taste. Considering that all the drinks are served in surroundings worthy of a movie set (think three-story marble pillars and centuries-old chandeliers), I might even consider dressing up for a second visit. Or I could just wear jeans.
Richmond is well-known for a strong Saturday and Sunday brunch culture, but few places offer only brunch service. Which is why I had to try Lulu's, a brunch spot that only recently opened up a dinner menu on Friday and Saturday nights. The food was drool-worthy (we tried an Eggs Benedict and a shrimp and grits dish), but the highlight of my morning was discovering the Corpse Reviver #2 ($9) tucked away in an oft-forgot corner of the menu. The drink was carefully made and perfectly balanced—a tasty companion to my endless coffee refills. A brief glance behind the bar revealed a nicely selected collection of spirits that make me look forward to trying Lulu's for dinner and a drink in the future.
Lulu's: 21 North 17th Street, Richmond, VA 23219 (map) 804-343-9771; lulusrichmond.com
About the author:Kevin Liu likes to drink science and study cocktails. Wait, that's backward. Ask him geeky food and booze questions on twitter @kevinkliu. While you're at it, check out his book about cocktail science.
After making the spaghetti squash shrimp pad thai last week I couldn't help but think of other new ways to serve pad thai and with the football playoffs here I guess it was inevitable that I would think of pad thai nachos! The basic idea here was to serve all of the flavours of pad thai on nachos covered with plenty of melted cheese for snacking on while watching the game. I started out with my pad thai sauce of tamarind, fish sauce, sugar and chili sauce for a perfect blend of sour, salty, sweet and spicy and I mixed some shredded chicken into it before sprinkling it onto the tortilla chips. Up next were some basic pad thai vegetables including bean sprouts, carrots and green onions and of course heaps of cheese that was then melted under the broiler. The finishing touches were some chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro. The pad thai flavours work fabulously well in nacho form all covered in ooey gooey melted cheese and these nachos are sure to please at your game day party. (They are even better if you hoard them all to yourself and eat them as a meal, but I wouldn't know anything about that...)
Last year this time, Nancy published a great post featuring 10 fun and funky ways to rethink the gallery wall. Because it's an awesome way to add a big stretch of art to a wall in an affordable way (hello not having to invest in huge art) but because it's something you see in lots of interiors, here are eight more funky ideas to keep your gallery walls fresh in 2014.
Isn’t it good luck to eat pork to ring in the new year? I think it is. I’m game for pork all the time but if it’s gonna make me lucky, give me the pig times one million.
Oh and since I like to make things as trashy as possible, we’re consuming it in pizza form. Because that’s normal.
People. Something is happening.
Something weird.
It seems as if… I’m slightly losing my sweet tooth. I’m distraught and confused and pretty much like WHAT. I’ve been known to have the sweetest teeth ever (comes from my mom’s side) and could survive alone on something of the chocolate variety. But now? Things are… weird.
I made tons of cookies for the holidays and didn’t touch any for nearly a week. And no, it doesn’t have to do with me just being around them too much – heck, I pretty much cook for a living and am around everything all the time. It’s never been this severe in years past. I would wake up, work out, have breakfast and have a cookie. Like clockwork. It’s the holidays after all.
Now? I’m just not interested. I’d rather have eggs and bacon or cheese or toast or, or… or… I just don’t even know me anymore.
Don’t get me wrong: I still want something sweet after dinner and whatnot. It’s just not as prevalent as before and I’m losing it.
Basically, it’s like I kind of have self-control now? Without needing to control it? Maybe this is what’s called GROWING UP. Maybe.
If you’re feeling this pizza like I’m feeling this pizza, you may already have some pork on hand. It’s the type of pizza to make with your leftover pulled pork, but if you’re looking for one to start with, I used this recipe and shredded the heck out of it. The rest of it would be in my freezer so we can chow down over the next few days, because when you eat in food blog time, you eat like at least two weeks ahead. So it’s sort of real life but not really real life. Real life sped up.
I also added a little drizzle of BBQ sauce because pork plus cheddar just seems to cry out for sauce. It’s like a sandwich on a pizza!
A good one.
Pulled Pork Pizza with Maple Leeks, Roasted Garlic and Aged Cheddar
Yield: 1 pizza
Total Time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
dough
1 1/8 cups warm water
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
pizza
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cleaned + trimmed leeks, sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 head roasted garlic
1 cup (leftover) pulled pork
4 ounces fontina cheese, freshly grated
6 ounces aged cheddar cheese, freshly grated
2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, for drizzling
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 2 cups flour and salt, stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and work in the additional 2/3 cup flour, kneading it on a floured surface for a few minutes. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1-1 1/2 hours.
Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Add the leeks, salt and pepper, stirring to coat. Cook untiled softened, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Stir in the maple syrup and cook for another minute. Turn off the heat.
Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of the bulb and mashed them with a fork. Combine them in a bowl with the pulled pork and toss well to coat, until the mashed cloves are evenly distributed.
After the dough has risen, punch it down and place it back on the floured surface. Using a rolling pin or your hands, form it into your desired shape (sometimes I use baking sheets and do rectangles or free form pizzas - this specific dough will yield one pizza large enough to feed about 3-4 people) and place on a baking sheet or pizza peel. Place the towel back over the dough and let sit in the warm place for 10 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (or if you're using a pizza stone or the skillet method, follow these directions). Cover the dough with the fontina cheese, then layer on the leeks and the pork. Add the cheddar on top evenly. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden. Drizzle the pizza with BBQ sauce before or after slicing and serve.
You could also eat this combo on a pretzel roll. Just sayin’.
Another year has come and gone. Once again our families gather to enjoy each other’s presence and to celebrate the season of peace, hope, and joy. Thank you for keeping us company this year, as we’ve experimented in the kitchen, doing our best to create meals worthy of our efforts and yours.
Humans have been opening shelled nuts since ... well, since we used rocks. Most people I know have moved beyond bashing their food with heavy objects, and have moved on to some sort of nutcracker. I have a set that my parents owned, and although the nutcrackers and picks are ancient, they work well. As long as you've got the grip strength.
Some people don't have quite that much power, so a better engineered nutcracker could be a good idea.
The Drosselmeyer nutcracker ($39.95), besides being attractive, also makes the job easier. Something to do with leverage, I'm sure. It easily handled every type of nut I threw into it, from hazelnuts to Brazil nuts to walnuts. The largest of the walnuts didn't fit entirely inside the maw of the cracker, but it got the job done, anyway.
I put this cracker out at Christmas, along with a bowl of nuts, and I got plenty of unsolicited comments about how well the nutcracker was made and how easy it was to use.
I'll admit that $40 is a bit pricey for something that has a single function, but given the fact that I've been using the same nutcrackers my parents owned 50+ years ago, I imagine this would last quite some time as well. The product was supplied for the purpose of a review on Serious Eats; this was previously published on Serious Eats.
Tracy and I are friends because in 2009 we caught each other rolling our eyes at the same thing. At some point during one of the first BlogHer FoodBlog Conferences Rocco DiSpirito was trying to sell us on the merits of frozen risotto reheated into an almost glue-like paste. Rocco was wearing one of those Madonna style Vogue microphones and jogging through the labyrinth of tables being his own frozen risotto hype man. Oh Rocco. Thank you for your enthusiasm for frozen risotto, it was bologna but you made two people friends for life.
I caught Tracy rolling her eyes at Rocco’s fist pump just as I was equally disturbed.
In my memory she says something like, “Want to grab a drink at the bar?” and I respond with a “Race you to the escalator!”. Friends for life!
While my kitchen life is haphazardly piled high, operating near chaos, Tracy’s organization situation is ship-shape. We’re incredibly different. Tracy is organized, loves even numbers, and wears black and white. I’m disorganized, don’t even want to talk about numbers, and dress like Punky Brewster.
Tracy came down from San Francisco to Los Angeles to help me organize my life. She is the only one I’d feel safe revealing the madness of my medicine cabinet to. Good grief. She only judged me a little. Also… I embraced big hair (don’t care). Welcome to the latest Bonkers Awesome episode on ulive!
It’s the weekend! Let’s consider a cocktail. Maybe it’ll inspire you to clean a bookshelf, too! Everyone should have a Tracy in their life. Oh man… for real.
These cocktails are bright, seasonal, and simple. Fresh pink grapefruit, thinly sliced cucumber, spicy ginger beer, and gin! Sweet and fresh meets spicy and gin. It’s everything it should be.
Happy weekend, my friends! Cheers to living!
Oh! The pretty wooden spoon in the above picture can be found here. The paper straws are just a byproduct of food blogging. Apologies all around.
2 to 4 ounces gin, depending on how strong you’d like your cocktail
1 cup fresh pink grapefruit juice
1 cup ginger ale soda
fresh grapefruit wedges
fresh cucumber slices
Divide ice between two tall drinking glasses. Add gin: as much as you’d like depending on how strong you’d like your drink. Divide the grapefruit juice between the two glasses. Top with ginger ale. Garnish with grapefruit wedges and cucumber slices. Throw some straws in there, cheers, drink up!
Chances are, unless you live in one of the tiny corners of the country that's not frozen solid, covered with snow, or generally miserable, ice cream isn't exactly top-of-mind, so you might have missed the latest flavor of the month at Baskin Robbins: Movie Theatre Popcorn.
On the surface, that sounds a bit wacky, but considering corn's natural sweetness, and the fact that corn (and corn meal) be found in sweets ranging from flan to toaster cakes it's really not that much of a stretch. Corn ice cream is also a staple at many Mexican ice cream shops (with cheese or without), so I was fairly certain that Baskin Robbins' take would be somewhere between fairly to very delicious.
It was! But, contrary to the name, BR's "Movie Theatre Popcorn" ice cream contains no popcorn. Other than the corn syrup, there's zero corn in this ice cream at all. What you're really getting is a sweet cream base swirled with a salty caramel ribbon and studded with crunchy, buttered popcorn-flavored rice crisps. It's delicious, but even if you gave me ten tries, I don't think I'd ever guess that it was supposed to resemble movie theatre popcorn.
Instead, it tastes like cereal milk mixed with crisp cereal nuggets with a buttery, candy coating. Break up some of the waffle cone (which has a subtle cinnamon flavor), and it's like inviting some Cinnamon Toast Crunch to the party.
If you're looking for actual buttered popcorn ice cream, you'd be better off making Max's version at home, which has two cups of butter-flavored popcorn in it, but if a cereal-inspired scoop appeals to you, I say go for it, especially if your definition of "breakfast" is flexible.
About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax
Want more of the sweet stuff? Follow us on Twitter @SeriousSweets
This post is sponsored by Hershey’s Spreads. Spread possibilities, y’all.
Last month, Hershey’s asked me to come up with things to pair with their new Hershey’s Spreads. I was very thorough. The trés chic muffin tin you see above includes some of my favorites:
Snyder’s gluten-free pretzel sticks
Mini marshmallows
Stacy’s Pita Chips
Bugles
Brothers-All-Natural freeze-fried bananas
Nature Valley granola bars (especially the Roasted Almond)
Let's say that personal pint of Cherry Garcia you have stashed in the back of the break room freezer feels lighter all of a sudden, and now Glenn from Accounting won't make eye contact. Or maybe you suspect that you have a Chunky Monkey junkie living right under your own roof who assumes that all ice cream in the house is fair game to anyone with a spoon. Or perhaps you just need a tongue-in-cheek gift for that Karamel Sutra fan who never learned to share with others.
For less than six bucks via their online store, you can now safeguard your favorite ice cream flavor with a cleverly engineered working combination lock. No... really.
The Euphori-Lock is a two-piece plastic collar contraption designed to fit standard pint containers. One half slides up over the bottom of the pint. It screws into a top ring outfitted with a three-wheel dial mechanism. Rearrange the digits, and voila—your Phish Food or fro-yo is locked up tighter than Fort Knox, inaccessible to unauthorized midnight-tasters.
I'm not saying I don't trust my wife and daughters. I'm just saying I've become fiercely protective of my Scotchy Scotch Scotch... and they can have a taste when I offer them one. Or when they pry that unlocked pint out of my cold, dead hands.
About the Author: Todd Brock lives the glamorous life of a stay-at-home freelance writer in the suburbs of Atlanta. Besides being paid to eat cheeseburgers for AHT, pizzas for Slice, and desserts for Sweets, he's written and produced over 1,000 hours of television and penned Building Chicken Coops for Dummies. When he grows up, he wants to be either the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys or the drummer for The Gaslight Anthem. Or both.
My wife and I celebrate most major holidays with a potluck affair at my in-laws', and New Year's is no exception. Usually, I spend time crafting the perfect dish to awe our mass of cousins and then relish in their enthusiasm for whatever fatty meat I've cooked up. But this year, we found ourselves in a kitchen-less hotel room in Austin, instead of our usual home-base of Houston, TX.
As I sat over lunch at Hopdoddy with the siblings, we pondered what we could make that would require minimal prep and little-to-no cooking. Our first thought? To take inspiration from the smooth and flavorful green chili queso into which we were enthusiastically dipping our fries. My sister-in-law took to the internet to find a winning recipe, but came up empty-handed. So, saddened but not deterred, we picked our server's brain about their house queso and I began devising a recipe in my head as he dished on their preferred chili choices.
I started to see that it wasn't going to be the easiest thing to quickly throw together, so we didn't end up tackling the dip for the celebration—I filled that role with crackling skinned chicken wings that went as fast as I could fry them—but I knew it was the first thing I wanted to take on for Sauced in the new year.
Getting that Green Chili Flavor
The question of how to make the cheese sauce was never an issue—I've been making Kenji's cheeseburger dip with great success for years, so I planned to use that as my base recipe here. But I did want to figure out how to get the most green chili flavor into the dip, and that required some modifications.
In an ideal world, I would have sought out the much-loved Hatch chili—Hopdoddy said they use Hatches when they can—but seasonality and locality make it a difficult find for most, so I looked to my common stand-in for decent green chili flavor and went with poblanos.
I roasted a couple of poblanos until they were softened, for a heightened fruitiness that would shine through their heat. I wanted their flavor to really permeate the sauce, so I chopped them finely in a food processor and added them to a saucepan with evaporated milk. Once it was heated up, I added in a cornstarch-coated 2:1 mix of mild Monterey Jack and white American cheese to melt. For some added punch, I also roasted a jalapeño and threw it into the mix, and finished the sauce with some cilantro and green onion.
I was after green chili flavor and I got it, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. The jalapeño dominated the more subtle poblanos, drowning them out almost completely. Meanwhile, the Monterey Jack delivered the mellow base that I wanted, but it lacked the silky-smooth texture of previous cheese dips I've made.
Fixing that Green Chili Flavor
I certainly wanted heat in my dip, but jalapeño delivered too much. I started to think of a more predictable and measurable heat source and immediately grabbed the cayenne. As I started to measure it out, I thought I could use this opportunity to also add more depth to the sauce and decided to do a 50/50 mix of cayenne and chipotle powder to add a little smokiness to the spice. I also tossed in some cumin and adjusted the cheese ratio so it was more American-heavy.
This time around, things were looking up—the roasted poblanos gave strong character to the smooth cheese sauce, for a well-rounded and nuanced flavor with hints of smokiness, earthiness, and a final punch of heat on the tail end. The only problem was the dip was too American-cheesy for my taste; switching back to an equal combo of Jack and American fixed that problem right up.
I finally had the cheese sauce I set out to make. Maybe during the few weeks that Hatches actually show up in New York, I'll take another stab at it, but for now, this is a queso I can proudly bring to the family celebrations to come (think SuperBowl).
About the author:Joshua Bousel brings you new, tasty condiment every other Wednesday and a recipe for weekend grilling every other Friday. He also writes about grilling and barbecue on his blog The Meatwave whenever he can be pulled away from his grill.
According to Dr. John Bradshaw, who’s studied felines for over 30 years and wrote the tome Cat Sense, cats tend to think of humans as big, lazy, overgrown fellow cats.
hahahaha cats are so stupid.
love how they’re perceptive enough to judge me for being lazy, but miss, you know, the fact that I’m superior to them in every possible way except for ability to be entertained by yarn.
damn cats. feck outta hea.
'boy, that hairless cat who knows how to dress himself and provide for himself by working a job where he uses a specific set of skills and talent sure is lazy'
haha why is this making me so angry. i want to be like yo cats whatever i don’t care what you think about me.
These fried chicken wings are on virtually every table. [Photographs: Jay Friedman]
With all the great Chinese food in nearby Richmond, British Columbia, it turns out that Cambodian and Vietnamese food might actually be the best find in Vancouver's Chinatown. The locals seem to know it, judging by the lines that form most days at the popular Phnom Penh restaurant. A crowded dining room means you might be sharing a table with strangers, though that turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as it gives you a chance to consult with your neighbors on the 127-item menu.
That said, let me help you narrow your choices. Nearly every group gets the Phnom Penh Deep-Fried Chicken Wings ($8.25 for a small order, $12.95 for a large), and so should you. It's easy to be skeptical, but I assure you that these wings are some of the best in the city. A small order (pictured) yields four large wings, fried with the lightest of batter. The meat remains incredibly moist, and the batter has faint notes of salt, pepper, and sugar (and probably MSG). Fried garlic and green onion are sprinkled in, and you can steal a bit of cilantro for a fresh counterpoint.
The expertly fried chicken is just half of the equation. Accompanying the bird is a unique dipping sauce that's little more than lemon juice laced with black and white pepper. The sauce isn't overpowering, but it punches up the chicken with its peppery, citrusy tang. Taken together, the wings and sauce are simply a perfect combination, cause alone to line up at Phnom Penh.
Filet beef luc lac, upgraded with an egg and fried rice.
To make a full meal, I recommend going off-menu with the Filet Beef Luc Lac on Fried Rice with Egg ($12.95). You'll find Filet Beef Luc Lac on Rice on the menu, and below it the option to add an egg for 45 cents more (a no-brainer), but if you ask nicely, you can get the fried rice upgrade. I like the smokiness that Phnom Penh's seasoned woks impart to the fried rice, and the slightly sweet chunks of Chinese sausage.
The plate comes with a generous portion of beef, cooked soft and tender, with a somewhat thick sauce that's both sweet and savory. It's made, I'm told, partially from oyster, soy, and fish sauces, along with sugar in the marinade. (If you want a fuller impact from sauce, order the filet beef luc lac with white rice.) The runny egg is a no-brainer for adding richness to an already satisfying lunch plate.
About the author: Jay Friedman is a Seattle-based freelance food writer who happens to travel extensively as a sex educator. An avid fan of noodles (some call him "The Mein Man"), he sees sensuality in all foods, and blogs about it at his Gastrolust website. You can follow him on Twitter @jayfriedman.
I totally agree with this - it's one of the strange cultural things about france. they say "pas possible" (not possible) constantly and I find it so negative and annoying -- and vastly different than my american counterparts
Language is the crystallization of thought. But the words we choose do more than just reflect our thought patterns—they shape them. What we say—and how we say it—can deeply affect a company’s culture. To change attitudes and behaviors, it helps to first change the vernacular. To spark innovation, it helps to influence the dialogue around new ideas.
Several years ago, IDEO hosted a visit from Jim Wiltens, an outdoorsman, author, adventure traveler, and speaker, who also teaches a program of his own design for gifted and talented children in Northern California schools. In his programs, Jim emphasizes the power of a positive vocabulary. And he leads by example. You will literally never hear him say, “I can’t.” He uses more constructive versions of that sentiment that emphasize the possible, such as “I could if I…” He actually promises to pay his young students a $100 if they ever catch him saying, “I can’t.”
Think Jim’s approach sounds a bit simplistic for adults? Don’t be too sure. When Cathie Black took over as president of Hearst Magazines, she noticed that negative speech patterns had created an environment hostile to new ideas. One person close to the company reported that the naysaying had become a cynical mantra for the executives. So Black told her senior team that every time they said things like, “We’ve tried that already” or “That will never work,” she would fine them $10. (Note the difference between business executives and teachers: they levy the fine on others, not themselves.) Of course, $10 was a trivial amount for the Hearst managers, but no one wants to be embarrassed in front of his or her colleagues.
After enforcing her rule just a few times, Black effectively wiped those expressions from the office vocabulary. Did the shift to more positive words have a broader effect beyond changing the tone of meetings? During Black’s tenure, Hearst kept its flagship brands like Cosmopolitan healthy through an extremely tough period for the publishing industry and launched new mega-successes like Oprah’s O magazine. Meanwhile, Black rose to become one of the most powerful women in American business.
IDEO’s favorite antidote to negative speech patterns is the phrase “How might we…?” It was introduced to us by Charles Warren, now salesforce.com’s senior vice president of product design, as an optimistic way of seeking out new possibilities in the world. In a matter of weeks, it went viral at our firm and it’s stuck ever since. In three disarmingly simple words, it captures much of our perspective on creative groups. The “how” suggests that improvement is always possible. The only question remaining is how we will find success. The word “might” temporarily lowers the bar a little. It allows us to consider wild or improbable ideas instead of self-editing from the very beginning, giving us more chance of a breakthrough. And the “we” establishes ownership of the challenge, making it clear that not only will it be a group effort, but it will be our group. Anyone who has worked with IDEO in the past decade or participated in OpenIDEO’s social innovation challenges has undoubtedly heard the phrase.
We’re also careful about how we critique ideas. As we explained in this HBR article, our feedback typically starts with “I like…” and moves on to “I wish…”. We refrain from passing judgment with a simple thumbs up or thumbs down. When you open with the positives, then use the first person for suggestions, it signals to everyone that you’re offering your opinion in an effort to help, which makes them more receptive to your ideas.
As adults, we sometimes forget the simple power of words. Try fine-tuning your group’s vocabulary, and see the positive effect it has on your culture.
Winter temperatures call for warming your cockles, and this Old Fashioned variation from Mike Treffehn (head bartender at The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. in Philadelphia) really hits the spot when the mercury dips low. Blending three rums together to maximize the layered flavors, it's a tiki-inspired spin that brings out the best elements of each spirit.
Treffehn said that he "really digs" the combination of Appleton Estate Reserve rum and funky Jamaican Smith and Cross, "partially to tame the Smith and Cross and to bring out the body of the Appleton." Smooth, full-bodied Ron Zacapa 23, says Treffehn, "provides a really, nice rich base that contributes wonderfully to an Old Fashioned." He characterizes it as a drink that uses "a couple of things that harmonize but make great layers together, in a whole-greater-than-the-sum sort of way."
It's a model that can be applied to almost any drink: take your recipe's measure of any spirit, and split it between a few different bottles to add an assortment of complex flavors. "Typically, people feel restricted to using a single base spirit and building a drink around that, when in fact, beautiful things can happen with the splitting of those things," Treffehn explained. "Think about what you like about different bottles, and whether those flavors would play with each other well. If you have a particular spirit that you love, try and think about what you like about it best, and what could either complement or build around it."
In the Three-Rum Old Fashioned, the high-alcohol Smith & Cross (a winter go-to for Treffehn) is warming, while the Appleton mellows out the drink nicely, complemented with hints of chocolate from a dash of mole bitters. When it's blustery outside, this one goes down easy.
About the Author: Lizz Schumer is the author of Buffalo Steel and the editor of The Springville Journal, located near Buffalo, N.Y. She can be found at lizzschumer.com or followed @eschumer.
I am a huge fan of Thai cuisine especially of the spicy peanut sauce which I am guilty of eating by the spoonful. With soup season here I was thinking why not eat it by the spoonful in the form of a soup with all of the flavours of the spicy peanut sauce? I started the soup off with the elements of the peanut sauce including peanut butter, red curry paste, tamarind, sugar and fish sauce for a perfect blend of spicy, sour, sweet and salty. I decided to go with a chicken noodle soup theme so chicken and rice noodles were the next ingredients and since I always enjoy Thai curried pumpkin and sweet potato soups I added a sweet potato to the mix which I pureed to thicken the soup. Up next were some vegetables and a touch of turmeric and finally a garnish of chopped peanuts, cilantro and green onions. I have to say that this is one tasty chicken noodel soup and if you are a fan of peanut sauces then this is the soup for you!
Pizza Hut surprised us today by announcing that they plan to offer their product by the slice, starting this week at two test locations (one in York, Nebraska and another in Pawtucket, Rhode Island). As USA Today has it, the change is part of Pizza Hut's effort to keep up with places like Chipotle-partnerPizzeria Locale, which offer quick, cheap, made-to-order pies.
The new slices should cost between $2 and $3, and take only 3-4 minutes to heat up. They'll be made with a new recipe—a thinner-style more in line with Northeastern pizzas. The test is but one instance of old-school fast food joints scrambling to keep up with the new market— Domino's is already selling by the slice at some of it's newer stores, KFC is testing an upmarket concept called "KFC Eleven," and McDonald's is working on a build-your-own-burger concept.
If we have any Slicer's in York or Pawtucket who test out the new system, let us know how it goes!
During rehearsals, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton found out that they both hated the new Volkswagen Beetle with a passion, and for the scene where Tyler and The Narrator are hitting cars with baseball bats, Pitt and Norton insisted that one of the cars be a Beetle. As Norton explains on the DVD commentary, he hates the car because the Beetle was one of the primary symbols of 60s youth culture and freedom. However, the youth of the 60s had become the corporate bosses of the 90s, and had repackaged the symbol of their own youth, selling it to the youth of another generation as if it didn’t mean anything. Both Norton and Pitt felt that this kind of corporate selling out was exactly what the film was railing against.
Nothing says “taking it to the man” like smashing a car that was a symbol of a generation when you were infant while cashing those big Hollywood $$$ checks.
Also, they have seen this right? One of the prime examples of the man/ad agencies selling the car to the parents of that flower culture.
Meth fans in the Southwest: Do not be misled. Despite what your tweaked brain may be telling you, the blue meth you’re buying was not actually made by Heisenberg or Jesse Pinkman. In fact, it’s likely more dangerous than regular meth.
How dare you taint that lighter fluid, brake fluid, and Hydrochloric acid with DANGEROUS FOOD COLORING. ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US ALL? HASHTAG THANKS OBAMA.
Humans have been opening shelled nuts since ... well, since we used rocks. Most people I know have moved beyond bashing their food with heavy objects, and have moved on to some sort of nutcracker. I have a set that my parents owned, and although the nutcrackers and picks are ancient, they work well. As long as you've got the grip strength.
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