Mouthing Off

A mix of mild chiles (poblano, Anaheim) and hot
ones (serrano) gives body and heat to this quick
braise made with boneless pork shoulder.
© Lucy Schaeffer

Food & Wine's senior recipe developer, Grace Parisi, is a Test Kitchen superstar. In this series, she shares some of her favorite recipes to make right now.

It’s rare that I get to develop recipes in the same season in which they’ll appear in the magazine. There’s lots of extrapolating about how great the dish would be if only we had good, seasonal…(tomatoes, corn, berries, peaches…).

Like broccoli, asparagus and zucchini, chiles are pretty good all year round. Of course, they’d be amazing fresh from the farmers’ market, but I'm pretty happy with what I can get at Whole Foods or Fairway. Especially for this delicious braised pork stew. The chiles—poblano, Anaheim and Serrano—are thinly sliced, and they melt into a silky sauce as the pork braises in the liquid. The heat is mild but it does build, so I sometimes stir in canned hominy or just serve it with rice and warm corn tortillas. SEE RECIPE »

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Hearty Stews
F&W Editors' Favorite Pork Recipes

 

With iPhone apps that can translate menus on-the-fly, track a city's most-photographed dishes and even ask the waiter where to find the bathroom, there's no shortage of useful features available to food-loving travelers. But sometimes all you want is a good recommendation for dinner. »

Photo © Stephanie Meyer.

Whether you’re at the game or at home on the couch, this one-pot meal is fantastic football food. I bring this to almost every tailgate I attend. My grandma started making a version of this almost 50 years ago, using kosher hot dogs and her mom’s pea soup recipe. Suffice it to say, it’s changed. Make this soup with your favorite Eastern European sausage (kielbasa, Krakowska or Ukrainian)—they all rock in this soup. Use a mix if you are so inclined. I get my sausage from Kramarczuk’s in Minneapolis, and it’s worth mail ordering some links if you don’t have a good local sausage shop. I will admit that grocery store kielbasa works just fine, but depending on the brand, it can be really fatty and will leave the soup tasting greasy. SEE RECIPE »

See More of Andrew Zimmern’s Kitchen Adventures

Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania; Ariadne Van Zandbergen / Alamy

Here, a look inside the current food dreams of the Top Chef Masters winner and Scandinavian Ethiopian super-chef behind Harlem’s Red Rooster.

1. Peruvian Home-Cooking. One place I haven’t been to yet is Peru. It’s on my list of must-see places and when I go there, I have this fantasy that I’ll meet some local who specializes in making the freshest ceviche and he or she would invite me into their home and show me how it’s really done.

2. Charlie Trotter 2.0. One of the greatest restaurants closed last year, and I would love the chance to go eat at Charlie Trotter’s again. I ate there in 1986 and the fact that it wasn’t in New York wowed me. To eat with the same sensibility and taste as I’ve had in France, but the fact that everyone spoke American—I had to be a part of it and I wish I could revisit his place just one more time.

3. Ethiopian Master Class. When I got married, my wife, Maya, had only one concern at our wedding in Ethiopia: Everyone had to have meat. Little did I realize “everyone” meant her whole village. The taste of kitfo is like nothing else. Kitfo is beef tartare, but it’s not chopped up finely like we’re used to having here—we’re talking about two-inch cubes of raw meat, seasoned with spices and clarified butter and served with ayibe, a mild cheese. I would find that man who taught me how to make kitfo and spend the day learning his tricks.

4. High-Tech Food in Harlem. I would love to eat at a place right here in Harlem where they are employing the latest technological innovations to food. This is something scientists are working on for the future, and I know it sounds wild, but I want to eat printed food. Edible ink that prints food into different shapes—so you can make a scallop look like a chicken nugget, or make carrots into the shape of spaghetti. It would change how we look, think and taste food and I think it would help solve some of the issues we are facing in our health crisis.

5. African Street Food Conference. If you have never been to Stone Town in Zanzibar (Tanzania), it’s definitely a one-of-a-kind place. At night, street food vendors pop up and line the quiet beach, one of the best in the world, and I would love to go to a place where all these street vendors could cook their dishes around me. Like in one room. There you will see and smell such a mix of African, Persian and Indian influences, washed down with a freshly squeezed sugarcane beer.

Related: Marcus Samuelsson Recipes

Almond-Milk Rice Pudding/ © Christina Holmes.

In every F&W issue of 2013, this column will introduce a new pantry item to expand your repertoire.

The health benefits of almonds are myriad and well documented. They’re high in protein, vitamin E, fiber, and minerals such as magnesium, selenium, manganese, zinc, potassium, iron, phosphorus and calcium (commercial almond milks are often fortified with extra calcium). There’s evidence that almond milk helps to lower LDL cholesterol and protect against heart disease. It is relatively low in calories and has zero saturated fats, making it a good choice for maintaining a healthy weight.

I like it because it tastes great and adds richness to lots of dishes. In F&W’s January “Handbook” section, I created a bunch of recipes that use almond milk—some sweet and some savory. Though the substitutions may not be universal, they are pretty wide and varied. On the sweet side, I created a dairy-free Banana-Almond Milk “Soft Serve” ice cream, using almond milk, frozen bananas (already pretty creamy), honey and crystallized ginger, all pureed in a food processor. Then, I topped it with a yummy, Warm Chocolate-Almond Sauce, made very much like a classic ganache, which is just chocolate and cream. But I subbed out the cream with almond milk and a drop of almond extract. Almond milk was also great in place of cow milk in my Almond-Milk Rice Pudding, in which I cooked sushi-rice risotto-style using almond milk and a bit of sugar. Since almonds and cherries are a classic pairing, I topped the pudding with sweet-tart cherry preserves. Divine!

On the savory side, I made a luscious Spicy Cauliflower Puree that’s as good as any mashed potato I’ve ever had, but practically calorie-free (well, not really). I simmered cauliflower in almond milk until soft, then drained and pureed it for a thick, silky mash. This also makes a lovely soup if it’s blended with all of the almond milk. In yet another recipe, Almond-Milk Creamed Spinach, I made a béchamel with almond milk, into which I folded wilted spinach and grated Parmesan (I never said dairy-free, though I suppose you could use soy cheese?), then topped it with panko and marcona almonds and baked it until it was bubbling and golden. Now that’s divine!

Almond milk is also great in place of dairy milk in French toast, bread pudding, mashed potatoes, creamy bisques or curries, ice cream (churned), baked goods and, of course, smoothies and “milk shakes.” Sign into F&W's improved community by following the steps below, and tell us, how do you like to use almond milk?

Cradle of Life © Tina Rupp

Food & Wine editors aren’t necessarily sports experts, as you will see admitted below. So if you’re wondering whether to bet on Baltimore or San Francisco for the Super Bowl on Sunday, don’t ask us. But for an answer to that burning question regarding what to pair with loaded nachos, we’ve got you covered. Here, editors’ game-day-perfect cocktails, wines and beers for serious football food fans. MORE »

© Hector Sanchez

My secret theory about why chicken wings and football go so well together can be demonstrated by a very simple experiment. First, go to the store and buy a chicken. Next, remove its wings. Next, truss its little feet together. Now paint it brown. What does it look like? Exactly: a football. Chickens are footballs, except for the wings. And that’s why when we watch football, we eat chicken wings. 5 perfect beer and wings pairings. »

Imagine eating doughnuts (like these Vanilla-Raised Doughnuts) with shredded pork or dried seaweed! / © David Malosh

For some people, an international trip is a chance to go truly local—to try the fried grasshoppers in Oaxaca, Mexico, or the maggot cheese in Sardinia, Italy. For others, the Burger King across from the hotel is a selling point. Here’s the best of both worlds: Some re-envisioned American fast-food staples, which don’t include any sorts of bugs. 5 crazy fast food items. »

Every Day Carry courtesy of Tim Love.

I’ve often thought about which items I should have on me at all times—essentials like keys and a wallet, of course, but also gizmos like mini flashlights and bottle openers that are needed only occasionally (but oh-so helpful when they are). Turns out there’s a whole community of folks online who have turned this question into a full-time obsession. They’ve dubbed it Every Day Carry (EDC), and on blogs, Tumblrs, forums and elsewhere, users share photos and descriptions of their personal sets of super-practical—sometimes tactical—gear, with the goal of always being ready for just about any situation. In that spirit, we asked chefs, bartenders and baristas for their professional EDCs—the portable tools they need to perform just about any job-related task. Scroll through the following slideshow to see what gear these pros couldn’t imagine living without: Professional Every Day Carry.

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© Jasmin Sun

For the past three months, infamously outspoken lawyer-turned-comedian-turned-streetwear designer and chef-restaurateur Eddie Huang has been traveling through California and Taiwan as the host of Vice TV’s Fresh Off the Boat web series. Tomorrow, he’ll add “author” to his growing list of careers when his memoir, also titled Fresh Off the Boat, goes on sale nationwide. In it, he offers insight into building a brand through non-traditional hiring requirements. His first Craigslist ad, for example, was titled, "Baohaus Hiring Multi-Tasking Nice People Who Listen to Ghostface." Here, Huang talks to F&W about why hip-hop lovers make great restaurant employees but culinary school grads don't always work out. His hiring tips. »