On the Menu: October 4 to October 10

by jbfauthor on October 02, 2009

Here’s what happening at the Beard House next week: Tuesday, October 6, 7:00 P.M. Languedoc Wine Lovers’ Dinner Once best known for producing the table wines that kept French soldiers sated during both world wars, the Languedoc region now yields some of the most exciting wines made today. Sample them alongside an equally intriguing menu prepared by Country alum Doug Psaltis and Languedoc native Cedric Tovar. Wednesday, October 7, 7:00 P.M. Alaskan Luxury Retreat Kirsten Dixon’s trio of luxurious Alaskan resorts are some of the most remote in the world, but the Le Cordon Bleu Paris–trained chef’s cuisine has put them on the map. For this dinner, she and her daughter, pastry chef Mandy Dixon, have created a menu that highlights the best of the region’s

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Eat this Word: Savarin

by jbfauthor on October 02, 2009

WHAT? Literary legacy. “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are,” wrote Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, the famed nineteenth century French food lover and gastronomic writer. What would he have said to one who ate the rum-infused cake that shares his name? A savarin is a yeast dough baked in a ring mold and soaked in rum syrup, the center hole brimming with pastry cream, crème chantilly, or fresh fruit. The dessert is a close relative of the Eastern European baba, which includes dried fruit in the dough and is served without a filling. Some accounts say that Brillat-Savarin himself invented the cake, but the Oxford Companion to Food tells a different story. The tale goes that one of the Julien brothers, from a family of Parisian pastry-makers, set his mind to experimenting with the baba recipe sometime in the 1840s. The result was this rich and tasty dessert, which he named in honor of Brillat-Savarin. WHERE?

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News Feed: October 1

by jbfauthor on October 01, 2009

Could high-quality cider make a comeback? [Slate] David Sax is fighting to save delis [Atlantic] A few American craft brewers are adding rice to their lists of ingredients [LAT] Which produce items contain less pesticides? [Bitten]

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Who's Who: Carolyn O'Neil

by jbfauthor on September 30, 2009

A pioneer of reporting on food and nutrition in the mainstream media, Carolyn O'Neil was inducted into our Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America in 1998. We caught up with her to find out her favorite cookbooks, why she refuses to eat rice pudding, and her elaborate plan for her last meal on earth.

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