Eat this Word: Lapsang Souchong

by jbfauthor on March 25, 2010

WHAT? Smoky sipper. Enjoyed a cup of lapsang souchong with your afternoon cookie lately? If you’re like most Americans, the chances are slim. Lapsang souchong is a strong black tea with an assertive smoky flavor that has been likened to the taste of single-malt Scotch whiskey and cigars. Real lapsang souchong hails from Mount Wuyi in the Fujian province of China and is quite rare, but the name is often applied to black and oolong tea leaves of indiscriminate origin that have been treated with smoldering pinewood ash. According to legend, the smoking process was discovered by accident in a small village during the Qing dynasty when a group of soldiers took over a tea factory filled with fresh, unprocessed leaves. By the time the townspeople were able to get back into the factory, they didn’t have enough time to dry the leaves before market day, so they used pinewood fires to

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Recipe: Lobster Alhinho

by jbfauthor on March 25, 2010

At the critically acclaimed Aldea, George Mendes serves refined interpretations of the traditional Portuguese dishes that graced his family’s dinner table. One of our favorite upgrades is the garlic and paprika–loaded shrimp alhinho. We asked Mendes for the recipe, and he was kind enough to share this decadent lobster and artichoke version. Hopefully it will earn a spot in your dinner rotation, too.

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Bottom Chef?

by jbfauthor on March 24, 2010

Even after they’ve been exiled from Hell’s Kitchen, asked to pack their knives and go, or simply chopped, chefs who’ve appeared on TV’s reality cooking shows—and lost—are often just as popular as those who have won. We spoke with former cooking competition contestants to find out how their moment in the spotlight, however fleeting, impacted their careers. See what they had to say here.

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News Feed: March 23

by jbfauthor on March 23, 2010

Instead of milk and sugar, try a pinch of salt in your morning espresso. [Khymos] Food & Wine has named their sommeliers of the year. [Food & Wine] In the country that introduced the world to sushi, fish consumption declines. [WSJ]

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