Proving once again that the holiday season seems to start earlier every year, one woman claims to have found Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in her pork chop.
Sue Church stopped by WGHP-TV in High Point, N.C., on Tuesday with a pork chop that she thinks resembles the reindeer made famous by the Johnny Marks song.
What do you think? Is it Rudolph? And have you ever seen an image in your food? Let us know in the comments below.
The hottest dispute at this weekend's Boudin Cookoff in Lafayette, La. may not be who makes the best boudin, but whether the signature Cajun sausage should be eaten with its casing.
"For some people, the way they eat boudin is to bite off the first bite and squeeze out the filling the rest of the way," explains event organizer Bob Carriker, who created the web site The Boudin Link to chronicle his ardor for the spicy, rice-y, pork-based snack. "And some people like to eat the casing as they go."
Carriker polled attendees at last year's cookoff, the first edition of the festival, and discovered the crowd was almost evenly split: Discarding the casing was favored by 117 voters, while 86 boudin fans claimed they liked their casing on.
"This is a raging debate in South Louisiana," Carriker says. "Health care, schmealth care."
As Carriker's lingo suggests, he's not a Louisiana native. He moved there from Washington for a job, and immediately set about acquainting himself with the state's cuisine.
As a relatively recent convert to all things porcine, I'm positively in awe of this pork shot. Without even having any background info on the dish, one can immediately perceive the succulence of the pork, salivate at its melt-in-your-mouth talents and perhaps -- with a photo this enticing -- even hope for a seasoning that does justice to the tenderness of its vessel.
And norecipe.com's Japanese Chashu -- which indicates merely its component of barbecued or roasted pork -- is worthy of the perfection of its meat. Braised in a combination of soy sauce and miso, it undergoes a rather "unorthodox" approach, as Marc brings his version "full circle back to its Chinese roots, [adding] garlic, ginger, and white pepper, which give the meat some character without overwhelming its porky goodness." Prepared en masse, the pork is equally delicious atop a steamy bowl of ramen, pasta, salads and more.
Oktoberfests are ubiquitous this month. For those not interested in the chug-a-thons and oompah bands, check out this list of alternative options.
Dixon Lambtown USA, Dixon, Calif., Oct. 3: Break out the mint jelly! Attendees can participate in such culinary slugfests as the National Lamb Ribs Eating Contest and Barbecue Cook-Off, not to mention a shearing competition and sheepdog trials. For the kiddies, there's Mutton Bustin' -- a buckin' bronco bruising of the woolly kind. The Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival, New York, Oct. 8-11: Hosted by and benefiting the Food Bank for New York City and Share Our Strength, this festival brings the toque and the home cook together. Everyone from sous chefs to casserole queens can attend wine seminars, recipe-creation panels and cooking demonstrations. For the kiddie cook, check out the Kids Get Cooking! series. Your favorite celebrity TV chefs will be there, en masse, including Ming Tsai, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray and Anthony Bourdain, as well as culinary heavyweights such as Sue Torres, Marcus Samuelsson, Odette Fada, Daniel Boulud and David Chang.
In the South, we usually have to take a short break from grilling outdoors come August due to the heat. As soon as slightly cooler temperatures and football season set in, we move back outdoors to the grill.
Thankfully that time is here. Living in a college town -- Athens, Ga. -- it seems we start doing even more entertaining. Sometimes I use this time to experiment with new recipes, but if time does not allow, I have some favorite recipes that are quick but well-liked.
Most people love an Asian-inspired menu and it's certainly more innovative than traditional burgers and hot dogs on game weekends. Shrimp and Mango Summer Rolls are a divine starter and can easily be made vegetarian. My Pineapple and Red Pepper Pork Kebabs are easy enough to make even for a weeknight meal or ahead of time tp be taken them to a tailgate. Get these fall grill recipes after the jump.
Our intrepid pack of testers chomped their way through 50 different franks, hot dogs and wieners in hot pursuit of the top tube steak in all the land. Not a single chicken, turkey or tofu dog made the final cut, while beef and pork reigned supreme.
Our intrepid pack of testers chomped their way through 50 different franks, hot dogs and wieners in hot pursuit of the top tube steak in all the land. Not a single chicken, turkey or tofu dog made the final cut, while beef and pork reigned supreme.
Did your favorite frank lead the pack? Read on.
Nathan Ellis Perkel
20. DIETZ & WATSON NEW YORK BRAND BEEF FRANKS (All Beef, Natural Casing)
The strong casing caused our panel to snap to attention, and the solid, beefy interior makes this a dandy, workaday dog.
Nathan Ellis Perkel
19. SABRETT SKINLESS BEEF FRANKFURTERS (All Beef)
Our panelists were split on the subtly peppery aftertaste, but all sang the praises of the juicy, gently salted initial flavor experience.
Nathan Ellis Perkel
18. COLEMAN NATURAL UNCURED BEEF HOT DOGS (Uncured, All Beef)
All tasters sang the praises of the smoky, bratwurst-like flavor or this firm, un-fancy frank.
Nathan Ellis Perkel
17. HILLSHIRE FARMS LIT'L BEEF FRANKS (All Beef)
These wee wieners pack a lot of meaty, salty flavor into a bitty bite. The size allows for lots of skin crisping, and our panel deemed 'em a 'perfectly respectable cocktail frank.'
Our tasters were in agreement that a pinch more salt would really make this pup pop, but still, the snappy, crunchy skin and juicy inside more than made up for it.
Nathan Ellis Perkel
15. OSCAR MEYER PREMIUM BEEF FRANKS (All Beef)
On the other hand, this one got a teensy bit too silly with the salt shaker, but still nosed ahead with a distinctive smoky sweetness, and a snappy skin that crisps up beautifully over an open flame.
Nathan Ellis Perkel
14. OSCAR MAYER WIENERS (Turkey, Chicken, Pork)
This childhood classic holds its own against the fancier franks, earning raves for its spicy, smoky flavor combo and sturdy casing. Oh, Oscar, we are still in love with you.
Nathan Ellis Perkel
13. BALL PARK BEEF FRANKS (All Beef)
Every single tester waxed wacky over the satisfying juice jolt of this beefy stadium staple. The flavor may not be a grand slam, but it's a solid base hit.
Nathan Ellis Perkel
12. OSCAR MAYER MINI HOT DOGS (All Beef)
This tiny dog has the heart of a champion, fetching maximum intense flavor per square centimeter. As one panelist suggests, 'Wrap some Pillsbury around these, and you've got a party!'
Chorizo tacos at Austin's Arandas #3. Photo: Jessica S. Ralat
A whopping 69 percent of poll respondents told this recent Brooklyn-to-Austin transplant that the Lone Star State's tacos were the best in the nation and relayed some excellent suggestions. We were able to sample some 40 tacos around Austin, setting them against the closest Sunset Park, Brooklyn, counterparts we could find. Here's one taster's subjective opinion. (Austin is growing on him.)
6. Austin's Arandinas (suggested by Slashfoodies Lacey and LP) pork taco vs. Brooklyn's Matamoros cabeza taco: Arandinas' juicy, eminently scarfable pork taco went head-to-head with Matamoros', uh, cow head -- and triumphed. Winner: Arandinas, Austin.
5. Austin's Mi Madre's Restaurant (suggested by Jodi and others) Pork Adobado vs. Brooklyn's Matamoros Enchilada taco: Anticipating a chili steam engine from this red-sauced breakfast taco, we instead found spiceless goop in a flour shell ill-matched to its flurry of onions and avocado slices. The slightly spicy red enchilada taco at Matamoros is still the one we hold dear. Winner: Matamoros, Brooklyn
Southern stew maven Stan Woodward will be rooting for the kettles at Greenwood, S.C.'s annual hash cook-off this week.
Carolina hash, an iconic Southern one-pot meal typically comprising chopped meat, potatoes and seasonings, is meant to be made in a black iron pot. But Woodward says apprehensive legislators and frantic health inspectors have conspired to endanger the open kettle tradition.
"I think it's sliding out from under view quietly," says Woodward, whose documentaries include "Brunswick Stew," "Burgoo," "Joe Gunn's Sheep Stew" and "Carolina Hash." "There used to be hash houses all over South Carolina."
Hash is one of the few dishes that seems to rigidly obey state boundaries: It's rarely found on menus over the South Carolina line. In the Palmetto State, though, the plantation-era concoction is a cherished barbecue accompaniment.
It's hard to miss the dogs at Skeeter's in Wytheville, Va. Photo: Hanna Raskin
Most every American ate a hot dog this July Fourth weekend, but only a small sliver of southern Appalachia is still putting the red in the red, white and blue tradition.
Southwest Virginia's enduring affection for stoplight-red weenies is the subject of Fred Sauceman's new documentary, "Red Hot Dog Digest," which premiered at a Southern Foodways Alliance event last week in Bristol, Tenn. While many cancer-fearing hot-dog makers started shunning red dye in the 1960s and 70s, when the FDA singled out certain dyes for study, Bristol's Valleydale Packers stuck to the (government-approved) recipe that by 1958 was responsible for more than $100 million in gross annual sales.
Bacon is a tasty treat, no doubt. It adds a lot of flavor to everything from your favorite breakfast to gourmet chocolates, and is a perfect match for refried beans.
Enjoying regular bacon once in a while is OK if you have a clean bill of health. I always tell people to check in with their doctor or a nutritionist. Consulting a nutritionist can be a real eye-opener, but can also help you understand exactly how much saturated fat overall you're consuming and how to make healthier changes if you need to.
Like Hollywood, the food world has plenty of storied marriages, some of which hold up better than others. Peanut butter and chocolate? Like Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn. Chocolate and garlic? More like Pam and Tommy Lee.
And pulled pork and mango? Like Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward: love at first sight to last the ages. And this photo, taken by Kevin at Closet Cooking, helps to explain why. These jerked pulled-pork wraps with mango and banana relish look like lusty testaments to this savory-sweet match made in heaven. As scenes from a marriage go, this is an indisputably happy one.
Not Martha set the foodie world on fire -- uh, 378 commenters and a bunch of blogs, at least -- with her BLT-themed, freestanding bacon cups. But they required three hours of effort and resulted in a house full of smoke.
Then Merriment Design came along and introduced a microwave to the process. Voila! Cups large and small whipped up in as little as five fire-free minutes. All they required were a few pieces of kitchen paraphernalia, some paper towels and a whole lot of bacon. Click through for the particulars of how it's done, and be in bacon cups all summer long.
It's so easy fall for a huge slab of pork at the store only to spend the next week trying to eat through the remains. Fortunately, the pig is designed for all-out deliciousness: Its fat can amp up a delicious borscht, its skin can be tucked into Sicilian Rollups or the meat can be transformed into one heck of a split-pea soup.
Split peas, the anti-heartburn pantry staple, have a very long history that extends well beyond Linda Blair's scary pea-soup spray in "The Exorcist." They're also one of the simplest meals out there to throw together. After the jump is a recipe for a super-easy, super-delicious split-pea soup recipe that just might inspire you to pick up a nice roast ham from the butcher more often. This technique delivers a creamy, rich broth and -- topped here with toasted pine nuts -- is a lime-green harbinger of spring.
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