Bored with plain water and in need of nonalcoholic liquids to help me get over the post-Aspen cold that's knocked out several F&W editors this week (possibly from late-night parties at 212 House), I stopped by Green Canteen, the first restaurant to become LEED certified in New York. After a fragrant house-made ginger soda and a peanut butter-banana milk shake, I'm on the mend and ready for more drinks. Here are a few I'll make this summer, whether I'm sick or just hot:

Gingery Fuji Apple Soda (above)
Rhubarb Soda
Green Tea Soda
Almond-Tea Milk Shakes
Prune Whip Shakes

My go-to tuna salad, especially in the warmer months, is inspired by a trip to the Maldives where it was an unexpected breakfast dish. To make mashuni (in Maldivian), take canned tuna packed in olive oil, drain it, then chop. Add diced red onion, green chiles, lime juice and fresh shredded coconut (look for unsweetened coconut if buying pre-shredded). Roll it in warm flatbread, like pita or roti or even a tortilla, for a sweet, tangy, spicy wrap. I got up early most mornings during the trip to watch the sun rise, but I think it was the promise of breakfast that really got me out of bed. No matter what was served—pancakes with banana-coconut butter, homemade donuts or fresh papaya and mangosteens—it was the mashuni that I craved. Search F&W for other great tuna salad recipes, like Melissa Rubel's butter bean, tuna and celery salad.

The humble hot dog just got an esteem boost. In a recent New York Times piece, Dan Barry calls out the hot dog's most important moments in American foreign relations history: 1. 1939 England's King George VI eats two hot dogs with President Franklin D. Roosevelt while soliciting American support for the upcoming World War (the NYT's front page headline the next day: "KING TRIES HOT DOG AND ASKS FOR MORE And He Drinks Beer With Them"). 2. 1959 On his jam-packed two-week tour of the U.S. during the Cold War, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev samples a hot dog in Iowa (as well as visiting Hollywood and climbing the Empire State Building). 3. 1999 During President Bill Clinton's meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel and Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat, they, yes, eat hot dogs. "Kosher, of course," writes Barry. To elevate the hot dog even more, we offer these stellar recipes, including crosshatch hot dogs on grilled croissants (pictured) and bacon-wrapped hot dogs with avocado.

It’s raining today in New York City, but that doesn't matter because it’s National Doughnut Day! This morning I stood in line with 30 other people to get a free chocolate-glazed doughnut at my local Dunkin' Donuts (Krispy Kreme is giving them away all day, too), and I might buy a mid-afternoon crème brûlée version from Doughnut Plant (last Friday, I saw three New York City police officers on horseback outside the store—wish I’d taken a picture).

I might even keep the celebration going this weekend by making the Doughnut Holes with Raspberry Jam (pictured) from F&W’s July issue and bringing them to a friend’s potluck on Saturday night.
 
Click here to find more amazing recipes, like Doughnuts in Cardamom Syrup , Spiced Cake Doughnuts and Fluffy Yeast Doughnuts .

Rocker and gentleman farmer-vintner Dave Matthews and his band have just released their first album in four years, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, a tribute to late saxophonist LeRoi Moore, a.k.a. the GrooGrux King. And Big Whiskey? That's a nod to a harmonica-playing peddler in New Orleans's French Quarter who wanted to buy some "big whiskey." Here, whiskey cocktails to toast the band, plus Matthews's two-cheese moussaka with sautéed mushrooms and zucchini (left) and other recipes by his favorite chefs near his farm and winery in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Hot on the heels of F&W’s roundup of America’s best new pizza artisans, GQ magazine’s Alan Richman just released his list of the 25 best pizzas in America. After eating almost 400 pies at over 100 pizzerias in 10 cities, Richman concludes that “great pizzas aren’t made by great ovens; they’re made by great cooks.”

I couldn’t agree with him more. I’ve eaten my share of restaurant pizza but I have to say that my favorite pizza comes, without fail, from one of the greatest cooks I know—my grandmother. The dough is fragrant and yeasty; baked in a battered old pan, it turns crisp yet pleasantly chewy. 

Recently, my grandmother upgraded from supermarket flour to slightly more expensive King Arthur Flour. The rest is intuition. I don’t have that intuition—at least, not yet—but I do have access to some amazing recipes from F&W: 

Mushroom-and-Goat Cheese Béchamel Pizza

Pizza with Charred Cherry Tomatoes and Pesto

Grilled Pizza with Asparagus, Scallions and Fontina

Shrimp-and-Chorizo Pizza with Escarole and Manchego 

John T. Edge's fascinating New York Times piece on the Sriracha chile sauce brand Tuong Ot Sriracha details its humble roots—founder David Tran used to grind the peppers from his brother's farm in Vietnam himself—to its now seemingly ubiquitous appeal. (It's sold at Wal-Mart and can be found in all types of restaurant kitchens, from those of superstar chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and current Best New Chef Bryan Caswell to those of national chains like Applebee's.) Clearly, the article resonates with the F&W online team: Several of us have the bright red bottles at our desks (our web designer Jinny Kim even gave online executive editor Rebecca Bauer a 28-ounce bottle as a gift recently). Here, three great recipes that call for the fiery, garlicky, slightly sweet sauce:

Spicy Sriracha Chicken Wings “We always have a couple of extra bottles at home, because my stepson blows right through the stuff,” says F&W Best New Chef 1998 Michael Symon of the chile paste.

Soy-Glazed Chicken Yakitori Chef Dean Fearing's take on the delicious skewered meats he ate in a yakitori bar in Tokyo has a hint of heat from Sriracha.

Zee Spotted Pig Bloody Mary Anna Vanderzee's Bloody Mary for New York City's Spotted Pig gets extra heat from the chile puree.

Plus, more dishes prepared with Sriracha can be found here.

 

 

 

Anyone who knows me knows that I get headaches. I tried massage and acupuncture without much success. Then I found Dr. Mark Green, a neurologist who runs the headache medicine practice at Columbia University. He’s taught me that a big part of pain management is learning to eat properly to maintain what he calls “constancy of environment” (my body = the environment).

He had two key food-related lessons. The first: Graze. Eating frequent small meals keeps blood-sugar levels constant. For me, that means keeping a supply of fruit-and-nut bars in my handbag, like these cranberry-walnut bars. 

The second lesson: Eat lots of complex carbohydrates, which keep me full longer and also maintain steady blood-sugar levels. That’s translated into hearty salads made with brown rice, wheat berries and barley.

Only recently did I find out that while I’m eating all these fruit-and-nut bars and brown-rice salads, Dr. Green—who is not only a headache genius but also a foodie—is dining his way headache-free all around New York City. He loves seafood at Taverna Kyclades in Astoria, Queens, dim sum at Golden Unicorn in Chinatown and the Latin pollo (rotisserie chicken) spots near Columbia's Medical Center in Washington Heights.

At least some companies are doing well during the recession: According to a recent Financial Times piece, sales of Kraft Mac & Cheese, Jell-O and Kool-Aid are soaring. Here, F&W's stellar takes on Kraft standbys:

Mac & Cheese: Five irresistible versions of mac-and-cheese like one-bite three-cheese mini-macs.

Jell-O: Two sophisticated takes like espresso Jell-O and mojito Jell-O shots with white rum and fresh mint.

Kool-Aid: Eight great punches like the citrusy Puente punch.

 

 

 

We tasted lots of smoky foods for our June roundup—so many, in fact, that they couldn’t all fit in the magazine. Here are three bonus extras, and some delicious ideas for how to serve them.

1. Salvatore Bklyn Smoked Ricotta: About six months ago Betsy Devine and Rachel Mark started smoking their ultra-rich ricotta, made with milk from Hudson Valley Fresh, an upstate New York co-op. Thirty minutes over cherry wood imparts an amazing toasted marshmallow flavor that complements the cheese’s creaminess. Devine and Mark say: “Fold it into pasta with plenty of black pepper and chile pepper or smear it on ciabatta with slices of speck and apples. For dessert, try stirring in a little sugar and use it as a dip for chocolate-covered graham crackers for fire-less s’mores.”

2. Snake River Farms Gourmet Franks: Made from American Wagyu raised outside Boise, Idaho, these dogs spend some time over hickory and alder wood and have an all-natural beef casing. They’re only mildly smoky but have pure beef flavor and a gentle, pleasing spiciness with a super snap. They’d be great grilled, topped with a quick relish.

3. Vanns Smoked Rice: This long-grain white rice, smoked mostly over red and white oak, smells like a fire pit, but when cooked becomes more nuanced and subtle, especially prepared pilaf-style with onions and chicken stock. It would add a fabulous depth to dishes like red beans and rice, jambalaya and gumbo.