Adam D. Roberts's Blog, page 65

Femivores

Emily Matchar asks a bold question on Salon.com: “Is Michael Pollan A Sexist Pig?” I certainly don’t agree with that assessment, but I think the conversation around it is fascinating. So fascinating, I just got into a whole debate about it with a house guest before hitting publish. Check it out.

Scrambled Eggs with Gruyère, Fried Pita with Olive Tapenade & Tomato Salad

The three elements that made this breakfast come together the way that it did were leftover pita (from the night I made chicken and hummus), leftover olive tapenade (from the night I made 4-hour lamb; the recipe’s in that post), and leftover Gruyere (from that cauliflower gratin). The breakthrough moment was when I decided to fry the pita. I learned how to do this when Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook gave me their recipe for a beet salad at their restaurant Animal; instead of croutons, they fry pita. Turns out that’s a really wonderful thing to know how to do.

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The Food Personality Quiz

In early 2013, scientists and scholars from the Institute Marron Glacé gathered in Montmarte to discuss the creation of a food personally quiz that would help define four different types of food personalities. Sadly, after a bad case of the Norovirus wiped out nearly half the attendees, the other half grew disenchanted with their chosen profession and applied to dental school en mass. Only three graduated, the other two became dental hygienists. The point is that the quiz they had been developing never saw the light of day until one of those dental hygienists e-mailed me recently and asked if I’d like to post the quiz on my website. I said I would. She tried to charge me several hundred dollars; I balked. She agreed to let me use it if I would pay for a teeth whitening. My appointment is scheduled for next Tuesday; in the meantime, here’s the quiz. Hopefully you will find it enlightening.

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Hot Coffee Drink vs. Cold Coffee Drink

There’s a funny website called “Is It Iced Coffee Weather?” that determines, based on your location, whether it’s iced coffee weather. The current prognosis for me is: “No. Try it hot.”

This is a question I’m often asking myself because I enjoy drinking coffee every day, so much so that I drink tea in the morning in order to save my coffee drink for later on when I can get it from a coffee shop. And when I get to the counter I have to decide if I want it hot or cold. Lately, I’ve come up with a good strategy.

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She Really Did It

The Girl Who Ate Everything really ate everything. This link proves it. (And now I’m hungry.)

Sweet Potato Curry

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, a musical can be built around the poetry of Ezra Pound.

Wait, that was a ridiculous line from last week’s Smash (as recapped, hilariously, by Rachel Shukert here). What I meant to say was: I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, it’s worth knowing how to make a curry. I’ve done it with chickpeas, I’ve done it with cauliflower, and today I’ll show you how to do it with a sweet potato.

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Two Dogs Dining

18 million YouTube viewers can’t be wrong.

My Paper Towel Problem

This is hard so I need a second. (Ahem.) Ok, my name is Adam Roberts and I have a problem. It started when I began cooking nine years ago and Sara Moulton said on the TV that you should blot your chicken before it goes into the oven to help the skin crisp up. I’ve been blotting ever since. But not just blotting and not just chicken. Paper towels are a constant in my kitchen–I use them to swipe the counters after cooking something messy, to pat vegetables dry after rinsing them under the sink, to line a mesh strainer when draining yogurt or ricotta–you name it, paper towels can do it. And I’m addicted.

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New York Tips

Hey gang, I’m in New York for 10 days and I’m looking for some new places to check out while I’m here. Where should I go? What should I eat? I’d prefer inexpensive places, but don’t be shy with your suggestions. There’s a good chance something you write in the comments right now will become a post next week…so get to it! And thanks.

Chicken and Hummus Together On A Plate with Pita

When we had guests staying with us last week, and more friends popped over, I found myself making big dinners for everyone and I loved doing it. The idea was to serve up lots of stuff with more stuff on the side (like I did on Taco Night) and the biggest hit of all was this dinner I made of chicken, hummus, Israeli salad, pita and–on the side–that bright green condiment known as schug. People couldn’t get enough of it including me.

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