December 2009

Beer bread is one of those things that are so easy to make that people think that there's got to be a trick. It's the easiest bread you'll ever make, and it's so easy that it's one of the things I suggest people who have never baked anything, bake. Plus, it's really fun, and it makes incredible bread. It's enormously fun to see what a particular brew does to the same recipe for bread. Plus, you can add herbs, or dried fruit, or even chocolate, to make the bread a bit special. There really are endless variations.

Read more >

Several months ago I reviewed Thai River, a restaurant that would come to be one of my go-to places places for good Asian food. When some friends and I wandered over there in October and found the doors locked during regular business hours we were a bit concerned. Later the restaurant would sport a "pardon our dust" renovation sign that lingered for well over a month. It looked like one of the best Thai spots in town had come on hard times and closed like so many good neighborhood businesses. Then the location came under new management as Eddie's Pan Asian Restaurant, which also happens to be one of the other best Thai spots in Seattle.

Read more >

In an odd coincidence, both the New Yorker and the New York Times have run stories this month about the psychology of how restaurant menus are designed.  They cover some of the same ground, although the Times' article is much more in depth, and follows a menu designer through the process of redesigning a menu.

A valid (if sad) point raised by the articles is that restaurants were never terribly profitable, and in the last few years, times have gotten very desperate.  Anything a restaurant can do to increase profits, no matter how slim, is worth their consideration.  


Read more >

FruitcakeIf you want to do something a little different this Christmas season - maybe you're an atheist (like me!) or a pagan, or maybe you just feel quirky - why not celebrate Yule instead?  Yuletide is a traditional winter solstice festival, originally a pagan festival that originated in Germany.  It was later incorporated into the Christmas tradition, when everyone suddenly decided (against all evidence and logic) that Christ should take over the December holidays.

The traditional Yule or Saturnalia was all about fertility, and traditional Yule foods reflect that.  Yule festivities typically consist of a ton of food, a celebration of the harvest of the year, and a demonstration of abundance.  

Yule Log


Read more >

If you love hot cocoa but you’d really like to try some hot chocolate this season, it’s the perfect time to make some! It’s surprisingly easy to make if you want to make it at home; of course, you can order it at your favorite restaurant if they serve it as well.

To make a big pot of hot chocolate to share with your friends and family (feel free to adjust if it’s just for the two of you), gather together a cup of sugar, 8 cups of milk, 6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Using a good knife, place the chocolate (squares or a bar form work well) on a cutting board or other safe surface and chop it up into fine pieces. The finer the better—it will melt faster that way—but don’t stress over getting the tiniest pieces possible. Scrape them up and put them into a mixing bowl.

Read more >

2009 was the year of dismaying food safety news, lightened with some truly awful cakes.

1. Bisphenol-A or BPA is turning up everywhere.  Although savvy health conscious foodies have known about BPA for several years now, 2009 is the year when Bisphenol-A's terrible effects first became known to the general public.  Bisphenol-A is the reason why everyone threw away their plastic water bottles in 2009, and invested in sleek aluminum water bottles instead.

(I resisted picking up an aluminum water bottle for most of the year, due mostly to the cost.  I finally bought one a few weeks ago, priced at $2.99 at the discount store in my town.  Not bad!  The only down side to the aluminum bottle is that it seems much more inclined to sweat when I fill it with cold water.)


Read more >

Chex mix seems like it has been a party food staple forever, but in fact it was only invented in 1952, when the recipe began appearing on the back of the box.  Chex mix was almost a diabolical invention in the way that it requires you to purchase three entire boxes of cereal in order to complete the recipe.  But you know that it isn't going to be as good if you don't!  (I have tried making Chex mix with only one kind of Chex.  It did not turn out well.)

Chex mix also occupies an interesting historical niche as being one of many "TV mixes" which were invented in the 1950s for people to eat while watching that newfangled television.  Most of these snacks were brand oriented, as you might expect from the heyday of brand recognition and faith in the corporatized food supply.  (Kix has nutrients!  Cigarettes relax your lungs!)


Read more >