Adam D. Roberts's Blog, page 133

The Taste Test: Water

Remember the movie "Twister"? Well I'm about to follow a bunch of storm chasers (a.k.a. Craig's film school friends) to Cape Cod for Labor Day weekend and we're going to get very, very wet. (In case you haven't heard, there's a hurricane blowing that way.)

In the spirit, then, of wetness here's my latest "Taste Test" for Food2.com. In it, I do a blind taste test and compare tap water, filtered water and bottled water. What kind of water do you drink the most at home? We're filtered water p...

Strange and Exotic Candies from Around The World

It all started with the heart-shaped glass bowl.

My friend Lisa's getting married at the end of the month and, earlier this year, when she registered at Crate and Barrel they gave her that heart-shaped glass bowl you see above. On my birthday, in February, she re-gifted it to me. "Adam, I want you to have this," she said, handing me the box. I unwrapped it eagerly and then stared at it. "What am I supposed to do with this?" I snapped, ungratefully.

"I dunno, fill it with candy!"

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Back to School Banner

I don't know about you, but I think this month's "Back To School" banner is one of Lindy's all-time greats. Can you imagine such a cafeteria? Way better than the ones I remember from my childhood (especially the one where, in 4th grade, I threw out my retainer in a brown paper lunch bag). Thanks to Lindy Groening, once again, for her stellar work and to Justin Dickinson for pushing all the right technical buttons.

A Ratatouille Recipe

It's been more than a month since I made the ratatouille you see in the above photo. I made it for a dinner party where there was lamb (a leg of lamb, actually) and, as many will tell you, ratatouille goes well with lamb. When I wrote my last book, the final chapter "Feast" featured a leg of lamb paired with a ratatouille just like you see above. In fact, it was the exact same recipe as the one you see above, a recipe from Gourmet magazine that now lives on Epicurious.

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The Taste Test: Eggs

With the salmonella outbreak forcing everyone to reconsider where and how they buy their eggs these days, this week's "Taste Test" (my show on Food2.com) involves a simple query: which eggs taste better, conventional, free-range or free-range organic? My methods may be unscientific (and note: I'm paying attention to your comments for my next batch of episodes) but at least you get to spend some time with me as I sample some eggs. What kind of eggs do you buy weekly? I'm heading to the...

Hot Dog Bun French Toast

On a drowsy Saturday morning, you stumble out of bed and look at what you have in the kitchen. You don't have much. There are hot dog buns, there's cream, there are eggs (hopefully untainted by salmonella) and slivered almonds. You scratch your chin, you lift your eyebrow, you hold your monocle closer to your eye. Might you? Might it be possible? Why perhaps it might!

A dish is born: Hot Dog Bun French Toast.

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Cheese of the Month Club

Craig, as you may recall, performed the wedding of our friends Mark & Diana; as a thank-you gift, they got him (& me!) the greatest gift he, a lifelong cheese lover, could possibly imagine: a membership to Murray's Cheese Cheese-of-the-Month Club.

Now, thanks to iPhone video technology, you can share the experience of opening up this month's delivery with us. Click ahead for the cheesy action.

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The Taste Test: Peanut Butter

I'm glad so many of you have been enjoying my Food2 show, "The Taste Test." This week's episode concentrates on peanut butter; something we all love, but few of us examine closely. For this episode I sampled a conventional peanut butter, a natural peanut butter and an organic peanut butter. The results are rather, well, pronounced. I hope I don't offend anyone who grew up in a health food store! What kind of peanut butter do you prefer? Let me know in the comments.

Previous Episodes:

My First Chicago-Style Hot Dog

When you travel, it's difficult to have a perfect first bite.

You arrive at your destination exhausted, famished and cranky, eager to shove the first thing you see down your throat. Which is why my first bite in Paris was an only-slightly-better-than-average eclair, and my first bite in Barcelona was bull intestine. But last week, when I arrived with Lizzie the Photographer to stay with my friends Ben & Andy in Chicago, they took us out for the perfect first bite ever: a Chicago-Style Hot ...

A Scotch Tasting

Downstairs from our apartment, we have two friends who have their own apartments. These friends are Rob (who you've met before) and Ameer (who you've also met). Rob is a cardiologist, Ameer works in advertising. The two of them recently invited Craig and I and several other people to a Scotch tasting at Rob's apartment because, well, they love Scotch.

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