Slice of Life is a series on inventive styles of pizza. Some may have toppings you’ve never thought of putting on pizza and a some use crusts that are a little out of the norm.
This is a special video Slice of Life from the Internet cooking show Everyday Gourmet. Enjoy:
For months now we’ve been seeing the promos for the Travel Channel’s newest food-oriented travel show, Food Wars. You know the ones, they usually feature two patrons in a bar arguing over who has the best this or the tastiest that. And of course there are all of those cut-ins of the saucy hostess Camille Ford as she wrangles the combatants into something resembling controlled frenzy.
Food Wars is a concept that is long overdue. So what is that concept? Here’s how the Travel Channel’s site describes it, “There’s a debate brewing across the country, and it’s taking place in Everytown, USA, with legions of loyal fans passionately defending the local eateries and the iconic dishes that make their towns famous. From Detroit’s hot dog war — Lafayette’s vs. American Coney Island’s — to one of the most famous battles in the country — the Philly cheesesteak war between Pat’s and Geno’s — it’s time to end these rivalries once and for all as Travel Channel presents Food Wars.”
Hostess Camille Ford has a sultry look and a sexy tomboy personality that makes you think she’d be fun to knock back shots or watch the game with. And while Ford isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty she has a polished elegance that suggests her star is just beginning to shine. Her dreamy eyes and strong cheek bones give her an exotic look reminiscent of raven haired starlets like Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox.
The premiere of Food Wars is a two-episode event that pits the originator of the Buffalo Hot Wing, Anchor Bar and newcomer Duff’s for the crown as Buffalo’s best hot wing. Following that, Camille heads to Chi-town for a battle for the city’s best Italian Beef Sandwich between Al’s Beef and Mr. Beef. A panelists of locals will serve as judges in the blind taste test that will settle the debate forever.
Food Wars premieres Tuesday, March 9, at 10 E/P on the Travel Channel.
Dear politicians, stop trying to legislate morality. You’re not qualified.
Health study after health study tells us that sugary drinks are one of the primary causes of childhood obesity. There is no refuting this fact. Recently, one study came out and suggested the only way to stop children from consuming so many sugary beverages is to put a tax on them so their parents can no longer afford them?
Would it work? Most likely. Is it right? Not even close, in fact it is criminal. For the record I am against virtually all taxes. I’m tired of having people steal money from me to fund something I have no input over. Besides, the problem is a lot more complex than “sugary drinks are too cheap.”
First off, the phrase “sugary drinks” is not at all accurate. If soft drinks were sweetened with actual sugar there likely wouldn’t be an obesity epidemic in this country. They are sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), a man-made sweetener developed by the chemical company Monsanto. It is a chemical that is far more dangerous than alcohol or marijuana could ever hope to be.
So why is it legal? One word: bribery lobbying. Monsanto and their ilk throw enough money at our government to cure the budget deficit. Why do they spend so much money on bribery lobbying? Because they know their products are lethal. Our politicians know these products are lethal too but they, whether Democrat or Republican, do not care. Politicians only care about power and money.
From the lowliest mayor in the tiniest town all the way to the top our politicians are crooked. They would gladly trade the lives of our children for a few extra green backs. In fact they do it everyday.
So, politicians, if you want soft drinks to cost more do not tax us for your transgressions. How about paying the $7.5 billion in this year’s budget set aside for farm subsidies to the farmers they are intended for. Currently this money only goes to farmers who produce untested genetically modified foods for big multi-national agricultural corporations. In other words farm subsidies do not go to farmers, they go to Monsanto.
In effect what companies like Monsanto are doing is money laundering. They take the $7.5 billion the US government gives them out of our paychecks and they hand it right back to individual politicians in the form of campaign contributions or bribes lobbyist gifts. The politicians pocket that $7.5 billion.
So instead of strapping the American people with yet another tax how about canning the Monsanto moles the President has appointed to run the USDA and FDA (Tom Vilsak, Michael Taylor, Roger Beachy, et al). Oh and maybe follow legitimate scientists recommendations of banning GM foods like HFCS at least until their effects have been studied. Do this and soft drink manufacturers will have to go back to sweetening their beverages with actual sugar, while though still not great, it is far better than HFCS. Not only will the price of soft drinks go up but child obesity go down.
The Irish have been celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day with a giant pot of corned beef and cabbage for centuries. Or have they? If you are Irish-American you may want to sit down before reading on.
The dance style made famous by Michael Flatley is not called Riverdancing. Danny Boy is not an Irish song. They do not drink green beer in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day. Corned beef is not a traditional Irish recipe, it’s Jewish.
The Irish recipe that evolved into corned beef and cabbage here in the States was boiled bacon and cabbage. However, when early 20th century Irish immigrants started Jonesing for a taste of the old country they were shocked to find no collar bacon in their new homeland. Collar bacon differs from what we are used to because it contains less salt and has more of the natural flavor of bacon employing the Wiltshire Cure method.
The Irish do not understand the concept of quitting and soon they stumbled on a phenomenon in the neighborhoods of New York called delicatessens. Within these shops run mostly by Jewish artisans there existed a magical cut of bovine called corned beef, a brine-cured then boiled slab of brisket.
The pungent brine and fat cap resembled the collar bacon enough that New World Irishmen had found a new favorite meal. It’s relative inexpensiveness was also advantageous for an immigrant community that was treated as a social pariah and therefore blocked from upward mobility and higher paying jobs for over half a century.
To make your corned beef from scratch is time consuming as it must be in the brine for several days. However, most super markets have corned beef briskets in their meat departments that are perfectly cured and ready for boiling.
The package will tell you how long to boil them, usually 30 minutes per pound. Simply add chopped cabbage and diced potatoes and carrots during the last half hour of cooking and your corned beef and cabbage are ready. Serve with Irish soda bread for soaking up the pot liqueur. I like to rub my brisket with coarse mustard and sear it on all sides before boiling, but that’s just me.
Left over corned beef is perfect for Reubens put please do not put Thousand Island dressing on them – that’s just gross. Russian Dressing is traditional (if you can find it) or mustard are perfect condiments along with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese. You can use either Jewish rye or pumpernickel but only rye breads will do. You can thank fern bars like Bennigan’s for that whole Thousand Island fiasco.
Once considered a purgatory for foodies, Ireland is now making a bid to supplant France and Italy as Europe’s culinary capital thanks to the likes of talented chef like Darina Allen. If you want to be true to your Irish roots collar bacon is now available in the US. However, if you are going to be true to those roots then you will not drink green beer at a pub but rather go to mass as there is little partying on the Emerald Isle on March 17th. It is a religious holiday.
And now I will leave you with this traditional Irish blessing:
May those who love us, love us.
And those who don’t love us,
May God turn their hearts;
And if He doesn’t turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles,
So we will know them by their limping.
Iron Chef Michael Symon was triumphant in Battle: Prosciutto.
