Pacific Merchants Fermentation Crock Giveaway!

Did you read my  reviews of books on pickling and fermentation ? The techniques are easy to master and the ingredients are not expensive, but there are some tools that are particularly helpful. One would be a fermentation crock. I was recently contacted by Pacific Merchants  about their fermenting and storage crocks. Pacific Merchants is a small, family owned and run company in Los Angeles. They carry unique, beautiful and fun to use products from around the world. There are several reasons why their crocks are so good for fermentation. But they can explain that better than I can: The 5 liter crock is tall but actually has a fairly small footprint. It fits nicely in a corner of my pantry. My cool, dark pantry should maintain the ideal temperature for fermenting vegetables, about 65-72 degrees. Once I have fermented the vegetables to my liking (I'll start tasting about a week after fermenting) I can water bath can them or store them in the refrigerator, which will m......

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Mediterranean Cookbook Reviews

I’m just going to say it. I hate it when actresses or country music stars write cookbooks. First of all, I don’t believe they write them, I believe they hire ghost writers and use their celebrity to sell them. But now, I’m going to give you the one exception to this rule and why.  Extra Virgin  is written by the glamorous actress Debi Mazar and her Tuscan husband Gabriele Corcos. Together they cook up a storm on their  quirky food TV shows . Corcos is the real deal. I lived in Tuscany and he cooks just they way I remember. It’s the recipes but also the style of cooking that he captures so well even in the few non-Italian recipes.  This is food I fell in love with when I lived in Italy and am happy to make in my own kitchen. I promise you too will love the ridiculously easy recipes for Pappardelle with Duck Ragu, Shrimp and Zucchini Risotto (made with Carnaroli rice!) Sausage and Beans, Beef Stew with Polenta and the Cod Florentine Style. These are comfort......

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Rick Bayless on Mexican Beer

Rick Bayless is a chef, restaurateur, host of Mexico: One Plate at a Time and a beer enthusiast. He knows a lot about the history of Mexico, Mexican food and drinks. Recently I was fortunate enough to attend a blogger event hosted by Negra Modelo and I had the opportunity to talk with him about  Mexican beer and food pairing and his plans for a microbrewery as well as a bit about the history of beer in Mexico. What styles of beer complement Mexican food?  Rick Bayless: All types of beer complement Mexican food because Mexican food is so varied! On a hot day  Pacifico  with  ceviche  is great.  Negra Modelo  goes well with  barbacoa  which I make with short ribs, slow cooked with red chile sauce.  The reason I like Negra Modelo is because it has a little fruitiness from the hops, the natural sweetness from the barley malt even helps it to pair with richer dishes like  queso fundido . Is it true you're opening......

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Broccoli Crunch Recipe

They say there are no original ideas and sometimes even when I think I've come up with something new, I find a quick search on the internet proves otherwise. While I try to invent my own creative combinations, sometimes I do find my inspiration online, in cookbooks or in restaurants. Recently I was in Las Vegas where I had a couple of very inspiring meals at  Carson Kitchen. The restaurant serves rich small plates including impossibly crunchy chicken skins and meatballs in a luscious creamy foie gras sherry sauce. One of the dishes I knew I would want to try and recreate at home was their “broccoli crunch.” It turns out there are lots of versions of this dish online, although their version was certainly unique. The menu description included sunflower and pumpkin seeds as well as green goddess dressing. The salad also has dried cranberries and a handful of halved grape tomatoes. I decided to substitute tangerines in place of the tomatoes, which aren’t really in season this time......

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