Posted in anchovies, basil, cream, eating, Genoa, Genovese, herbs, Italian, lunch, mushroom, mushrooms, nuts, Olive Oil, Pasta, pine nuts, Recipe, Recipes, restaurant, sauce, tourism, travel, walnuts on May 10th, 2008
There are a handful of things that have made Genoa famous, amongst them pesto and Christopher Columbus. Interestingly, in all the many, many stories told by Scheherazade (to persuade the emir not to have her killed) in the Arabian Nights, the only European city to be mentioned is Genoa. And, when you visit the city [...]
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Posted in Bastille Day, Carcassonne, culture, eating, Europe, festival, Food Commentary, France, French, french fries, French-ness, fried, grilled, grilling, history, holiday, patriotism, podcast, sandwiches, sausage, street food, summer, tourism, tradition, travel, unhealthy on May 6th, 2008
Download WNF Podcast #2: Sandwich de Merguez A few summers ago we were very fortunate to spend a long vacation traveling through northern Spain and southwestern France. It was our first real vacation alone since Amy and I had met, and was especially well-deserved because we had spent the previous 12 months going through the [...]
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Posted in calamari, Clams, easy, fish, healthy, lemon, Madrid, meal, peppers, Recipe, Recipes, restaurant, rice, soup, Spain, spices, Squid, tomato, vegetarian on May 5th, 2008
On our final day in Madrid, it was pissing down with rain. We spent about 4 hours walking around the Reina Sofia drooling over Picasso’s Guernica (the size of a giant museum wall) and the large amount of Dali and Miro works. We’re not really artsy-fartsy folks, but that museum made me wet myself with [...]
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Posted in asparagus, baking, chicken, dauphinoise, easy, fennel, gravy, hearty, milk, onions, Potato, poultry, Recipe, Recipes, side dish, thyme on May 2nd, 2008
Jeffrey Steingarten famously declares in It Must Have Been Something I Ate that every time he is bored, he roasts a chicken. Calculating that he gets bored approximately once a week, this translates into 52 roast chickens a year and more than one thousand since he began as food critic at Vogue. That’s a lot [...]
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Posted in cheap meal, cheese, crispy, Cuba, Cuban-American, easy, eating, Fast Food, gherkins, ham, lunch, mustard, Pernil, pickles, pork, Puerto Rican, sandwiches, tradition on Apr 17th, 2008
Cuba is synonymous with a few things in everyone’s mind, and whether or not you’re a commie, a weak-willed socialist-sympathizing pinko, or even a right-wing pseudo-fascist, there is much to admire about that politically-isolated island nation. It’s long and storied colonial history, the amazing preservation of its architecture and fleet of intact 1950s Chevrolet, its [...]
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Posted in apples, Asturias, cabrales, cheese, easy, eating, food TV, hazelnuts, healthy, herbs, Jose Andres, nuts, Olive Oil, Recipe, Recipes, salad, side dish, Spain, travel, vinaigrette on Apr 12th, 2008
There are some things that just strike you as being astonishingly simple, yet brilliantly devised. For example, the interface of an iPod- the way you use it – is unbelievably clever in its design. One “wheel” and one button, and that’s it. Everyone – even me – can figure it out in about 8 seconds. [...]
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Posted in adobo, barbecue, chicken, crispy, eating, grilled, grilling, healthy, important details, lemon, oregano, poultry, Puerto Rican, Recipe, Recipes, salt, savory, skin, spices, Steven Raichlen, technique, television show on Apr 4th, 2008
So, rather like the DJ I never was, but always secretly thought I could be if I could just get my hands on 1,000 records, 2 gold Technics 1200s, and 5 years to practice in my bedroom, I’m starting this post, or jam, if you will, by giving a series of shout outs. The first [...]
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Posted in artichoke, cheap meal, cheese, chile, easy, Garlic, Italian, lemon, Mario Batali, meal, Olive Oil, parsley, Recipe, Recipes, vegetables, vegetarian on Mar 29th, 2008
With artichokes on sale for 98 cents each (better than the rabbit we bought the other week!), I just had to pick a few up. For some reason, I only grabbed two thinking I would make an appetizer or a side-dish with them. Well, let me tell you, this slight adaptation of a Mario Batali [...]
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Posted in anchovies, asparagus, braised, broccoli raab, chicken stock, chops, dining, easy, eating, food TV, Garlic, healthy, hearty, Italian, Italian-American, kale, lamb, Meat, mustard, Olive Oil, Potato, quick meal, Recipe, Recipes, salt, sauce, savory, shallots, side dish, television show, vegetables on Mar 20th, 2008
If you’re anything like us then you’ll probably have a couple of dishes that you crave more often than anything else. And, again, if you’re like us, you probably always have the ingredients for such dishes in your pantry in preparation for whenever that craving strikes. These are the dishes that, like a line-cook in [...]
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Posted in advertising, commercial, dining, eating, Fast Food, filthy chain stores, fish, Food Commentary, fried, important details, news, philosophy, public health, restaurant, safety, sandwiches, television show, unhealthy, Wendy's on Mar 18th, 2008
Ok, this post isn’t as timely as I wanted it to be (I actually wrote it about 4 weeks ago), but it got buried under other things. Basically, in a “new” commercial for Wendy’s (you know Wendy’s, right? It’s a fast food joint) they try to tell us that “it’s waaaaaay better than fast food, [...]
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Posted in alcohol, alcoholic drink, appetizer, Asturias, beans, beverage, blood, chops, Chorizo, embarrassment, Europe, fabada, Food Commentary, indulgent meal, lunch, Madrid, morcilla, offal, pigs, pork, sausage, Spain, tapas, tourism, tradition, travel, unhealthy on Mar 7th, 2008
“The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.” – William Blake Have you ever thought, as you sit red-faced, breathing shallowly, “just… one… more… bite”? Have you ever then taken that extra bite and thought to yourself — in your blood-starved brain — “maybe, after all, I could manage another one”? And, finally, [...]
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Posted in Arezzo, Blogroll, Europe, Florence, Italian, Italy, photographs, photography, tourism, tradition, travel, tuscany on Mar 5th, 2008
I’m in need of a pick-me-up. Maybe it’s the winter blues? Maybe it’s because I’ve been packing on more than my normal winter-weather pounds and I’m feeling like a cow? I could possibly need a pick-me-up because my skin hasn’t seen sun in so long it’s beginning to turn blue. I NEED SPRING TO COME [...]
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