danapop

My dad’s mom, Grandma Mary, used to drink one beer every July 4. And just that day. If memory serves, I think she said something about it being patriotic to drink a beer out of a can.

So, every year around this time I picture her and that beer. This year, I’ve spruced it up a bit with my version of how a beer should taste–The Shandy. It’s a ginger beer-based cocktail that originated in Britain in the mid 19th century. Which is ironically very un-patriotic of me, but I’m not one to overanalyze my cocktails.

Thankfully this drink, adapted from an old Gourmet magazine recipe, uses mint because my garden is overfilled with it at the moment. It also strays from the ginger-beer, calling for a good pale ale. In any case, this the most refreshing way to watch those fireworks while you ooh and ah.

ingredients
1 cup sugar
3 cups water
four 3-inch strips lemon zest, removed with a vegetable peeler
1 cup fresh lemon juice
2 fresh mint sprigs
chilled beer, I’m partial to Sweetwater 420 extra pale ale

preparation
In a small saucepan bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and stir in zest. Cool sugar syrup to room temperature.

Transfer syrup to a small pitcher and stir in remaining 2 cups water, lemon juice, and mint. Chill lemonade until cold. (make about 4 ½ cups lemonade).

Pour ¼ cup lemonade, or to taste, into each of 4 chilled beer glasses and top off with beer.

Cute little market near my house.

For my job, I’m acutely aware of food trends. I’m not a critic or chef, nor do I work at a culinary publication. However, I do cover restaurant openings a ton. And with that, I get to see what’s popping up before anyone else, so I’ve started to notice patterns. Here are my picks of things I love on today’s menus and the things I wish would disappear. Bad news first…

My man enjoying a Save on Meats burger.

A year ago I wrote about burgers, burgers, everywhere burgers. While I love a good burger (really, I do), I’m a bit over them. In Atlanta alone, it’s gourmet burger city right now, so I can only imagine what the rest of the country is looking like between two buns. Those jazzed up kinds topped with wine-infused ketchup and rock star chefs making them in places not called restaurants or diners, but boutiques. So annoying.

CO-OP farm behind my house.

I’m not really complaining about the farm-to-table food trend here. Honest. I’m just so effing over restaurants patting themselves on the back about serving fresh, quality food that goes from its source to your mouth. I mean isn’t that your job as a chef? To give me the best ingredients in their peak state and serve it? Are we really so far gone in the food industry that just eating non-processed, chemical-free food is to be touted from here to California? Seriously, stop bragging about it.

Using Bella's rosemary salts to make toasted walnuts.

Some things I love right now? Salts. Last year, for an article I was researching and writing, I tried hickory smoked salts, and man alive, they are divine. We put them on everything. I also cannot get enough of the recent salted dessert craze showing up everywhere on menus, like caramel pot de crème with vanilla salt.

Photo Courtesy of The Pickle

I’ve written about food trucks here before, but I failed to mention my first introduction to them. It was an old Airstream called Moya Taco just north of San Francisco. Perfection. We ate there after a long day of travel (my twin sister had us on planes, trains and automobiles, except instead of trains it was a commuter bus with me holding my luggage on my lap for the better part of 2 hours. Sorry tangent, apparently that one left a mark). But, it led us to the magical Sonoma glow that is Healdsburg and just after that we saw the Moya trailer shining like a beacon in the night. On its picnic tables I ate the best burrito ever washed down with a cold, coke classic out of a can. That was my first true introduction to California cuisine. On that note, with food trucks comes the easier accessibility to a variety of ethnic foods. And right now I’m seeing words like bulgogi appearing before me. Thumbs up, absolutely.

Photo Courtesy of 'Real Simple'

Crack Brownies. That’s what we call them at my house. But, when I first stumbled across the recipe in Real Simple a few years ago, they were just called ‘Peanut Butter Cup Brownies.’

Who knew they’d be so addictive, so amazing, and quite possibly the best brownie I’d ever laid my greedy little hands on? Well, they are.

I’ve taken them to tennis matches and watched grown women who live for sportsmanship and love to rattle on about proper manners basically want to knock each other out for the last one. I’ve seen whole trays devoured in one Netflix movie showing. And I’ve witnessed things I cannot even write about (it involves someone with zero patience eating them semi-raw).

Those are stories for another time … right now though, I’m at my sister’s in Toledo taking care of my niece and nephew. They are both giving me a hand in mixing up my next batch of crack.

Wrapped in parchment paper and tied with a pretty ribbon, Crack Brownies make the perfect Mother’s Day gift. Well, at least that’s what my sister is getting from her children since Aunt Dana is the queen of multitasking and combined a kiddo activity into gifts and something she could write about.

*dp notes*

1. Obviously these don’t serve 24 people … not the way we cut them.
2. Do not make the mistake of looking up the calorie/fat content online. You don’t even want to know the answer.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
A.K.A. Crack Brownies

Serves 24
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 50m

Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
kosher salt
8 large peanut butter cups, cut into pieces

Directions
1. Heat oven to 400° F.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate in a pan over low heat.
3. Using a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy. Lower speed and pour in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Mix in the flour and ¼ teaspoon salt. Fold in the peanut butter cups.
4. Scrape into a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bake until the tip of a knife comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

My mother has a set of girlfriend’s she’s known for about 50 years now. The Lindas they’re called, because there’s Linda N. and Linda G., and then my mom, (who’s not a Linda). But, they all met in Oklahoma City, circa 1959 and 1961. I’ve written about them before on these pages–here’s where they were my Madras testers. I don’t think they minded in the slightest.

Linda N. has an absolutely refreshing mint lemonade recipe, which will forever remind me of the first time I drank it, on a mild May day at her cabin in the Colorado mountains while on vacation with my family. It makes me think of old friends and family. Well, and springtime, and something to quench your thirst after weeding around all the mint in the garden.

This particular lemonade, with the hint of mint, also makes me think of this weekend’s Kentucky Derby whose juleps out of silver tumblers will surely be tipped. With a nod to the Derby, and classic things, it seems as good a time as any to bring up the jacket I’m wearing sent to me by Next, out of the UK. This jacket is one of their Classic 5 items for spring. And indeed, to me it’s as classic as old friends, the tradition of the Kentucky Derby, and of course, sipping sweet mint lemonade.

Linda’s note–I was given this recipe in 1966 by my college roommate’s mother and have been serving every summer since. Some people like to mix alcohol with it … but it is good just by itself.

In a saucepan combine 1 ½ of sugar and 2 ½ cups of water to make a simple syrup. Cook for 5 minutes. Cool slightly. Pour this over 1 cup of freshly washed mint leaves and the zest of 1 orange and 2 lemons. Let this steep in the covered saucepan for 2 hours.

Strain the pulp and reserve the sweet mint syrup.

Add the fresh juice of 2 oranges and 6 lemons to the concentrated mint syrup.

At this point you can store in a glass container in the refrigerator for up to one week. As needed, combine in glasses of ice water using the proportions of approximately 1/3 concentrate and 2/3 cups water (or to your own taste). Garnish the glass with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint and serve.

I love collecting cookbooks and I’m a sucker for the gorgeous photos. Here are a few that I really want to add to my collection.

• Food & Wine profiled Su-Mei Yu’s The Elements of Life in last month’s issue and I’m intrigued by the notion of combining Buddhist principles of cooking with the four components for a balanced life-Earth, Wind, Fire and Air.

• Roahl Dahl’s granddaughter can cook. And model, and be a television presenter, and be married to Jamie Cullum … not such a bad life there, Sophie.

• The highly anticipated book by Chef David Chang, published in the fall of 2009, is still on my wish list. While I’m a little late to the Momofuko party, I want this one.

• Thomas Keller’s newest cookbook on his Napa Valley Ad Hoc has a family-style focus that screams entertaining on the menu to me. Plus, I hear his fried chicken is last-meal worthy.

• Because you have to round out the meal with something sweet, I would love to try out some recipes in John Barricelli’s new release based on the delights from his Connecticut bakery.

• And last, but not least, Three Sheets cocktail book rounds out the list … loaded with drinking games, recipes and historical references sure to take you to from just plain annoying to know-it-all at status at your next get-together. The best part, a guy named Zane wrote it.

My husband says that when we go out to eat, more often than not, I’m a better orderer than he is. I’m pretty proud of that. We’re both fairly adventurous eaters (bar a horrific sea scallop sushi experience that had me gagging and spitting a half-chewed wad of nastiness into a linen napkin only to beg my sister to dispose of it in the restaurant bathroom because I couldn’t bear to look at it again). So, aside from raw scallops, we’re good on the “try anything” food front.

Restaurant ordering can be tricky; the only exception for me is in places touting specialties. In my experience, if a place has the gumption to brag about something they do really well, chances are they do. These are the sorts of restaurants where the meals that boast a sign outside like “our chicken is the shit” (true story in Costa Rica-we did eat at a restaurant with that very sign out front and it was the aforementioned, shit).

Recently though I’ve gotten off my menu game and tried things I normally wouldn’t have ordered, but they’ve become the most memorable things about the meal. Making me almost ashamed to keep touting myself as the official best orderer in my house (even though it’s still ringing true).

These could be the family style night out with friends where you’re forced out of your food rut and experience all sorts of goodness at the table that you never would’ve allowed on your plate (I’m talking to you Parish BBQ Shrimp).

My favorite almost-order was an accident (they almost always are) when our waiter screwed my meal up more than once and heard me under my breath trying to convince my husband to order the coconut cake for dessert. My husband’s chocolate obsession won out, but the waiter made good by bringing us both. That cake I write all about here, and let me tell you my memory of its deliciousness has not wavered.

Because those almost-orders, much like life, really are the seven layers of frosting on the heavenly coconut cake.

Photo Courtesy Dessert Truck

With the holiday season behind us sometimes it’s nice just to have a little something made without heavy cream in the form of a casserole dish; something portable. Now seems like as good of a time as any to talk about one of most current food trends … the food cart.

When I was young this just meant an overpriced bomb pop served by some creepy dude that was likely counting back change to kiddos stoned. But, now, as an adult, it means goodness in a portable wrapper-burritos, fish tacos, pizza, falafel, Korean … mmmm burritos.

And I’m not talking fast food, here, but the carts and trucks that are the lifeline to a city. Some of this popularity is in fact what’s in the container, the other, is the score of finding the truck (a Twitter account helps) while they tussle with permitting. Here’s a look at some of the most buzz-worthy trucks cruising the streets beyond the bomb pop.

So here’s to the New Year and a new decade of eating diverse (local) foods. And for all of you readers in cities with the tasty food cart, be sure you post your favorites. Stay hungry my friends, stay hungry.

Photo Courtesy Skillet

BBQ Island

Dessert Truck

Farm 255

Green Truck

Hellava Falafel

Jay Jay’s Good Food Truck

Kogi

Moya Taco * This is rumored to be gone by Chowhound, but i do not have confirmation. I had to list in the hopes that Moya is still alive and kicking; if not, a big tear.

On the Fly

Rickshaw Dumplings

Roli Roti

Skillet

Taquria Star

The Mighty Cone

The Sweets Truck

Photo Courtesy of Real Simple

I adore giving and receiving food as gifts. These days you’d be hard pressed to not find your favorite specialty items online. Here’s a food roundup of sorts, containing what I think are the best edible presents–anyone on your list would be thrilled to gobble up. I’ve tried to include finds from my own travels and discoveries from friends, as well as, fellow writer recommendations. From the best ice cream evah to snack worthy options that would’ve curbed Chris Farley’s hunger … ’tis the season for a full tummy’s worth of gift options.

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Grandma Mary keeping a close watch on four of her grandchildren.

There’s really no polite way to put this, so I’ll just come right out with it–my Grandma Mary (my paternal grandmother) was a terrible cook. Rotten. During my teenage years, my grandparents moved to the same town as us, and that meant holiday dinners at their house. Without fail, the Tuesday or so before Thanksgiving Thursday, my dad would look at his watch and declare, “Well, mom just put the green beans on the burner.” Green bean soup, we called it. And in all honestly, it was the only thing edible on the holiday table.

In her defense, there were a couple of recipes she did exceptionally well, which make me think of her memory whenever I make them. One is for caramel ice cream. It’s taken from a recipe passed down to her by her own mother, Fey, my great-grandmother known as Gram.

You might find it funny to be posting a recipe for ice cream in November. But let me tell you, you’ll think nothing of it when you’ve got a great heaping spoonful of this Salted Caramel Ice Cream sitting on top of a piping hot slice of pecan pie in a couple of weeks. No sir. The salt was my addition, as I think salt and caramel go together like ebony and ivory. Sweet harmony.
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Photograph by Keith Scott Morton for Metropolitan Home

What’s one of the most remodeled rooms in a house and the space that most families gravitate towards? No huge surprise here, the kitchen is the winner, winner, chicken dinner.

From the sleekest barware around, to the ultimate java junkie’s espresso machine splurge, to cooking items for the kiddos – my wish list roundup for the latest and greatest well-stocked dream kitchen.

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I don’t like food & drink reviews. Don’t enjoy reading them, or writing them. It’s all so subjective, I think, unless you have a really remarkable palate. I tend to gravitate towards much bigger picture trend pieces focusing on what the rest of the country is doing. Right now though, there’s a marriage of sorts with those two notions that is happening right in my own backyard.

Dynamic Dish is a restaurant in Atlanta owned and operated by David Sweeney. His philosophy in the kitchen is so on par with this national food movement (see Food, Inc; read Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser’s books, if you haven’t already) where David is taking great care with the ideological food choices he makes not only with his restaurant, but in his life. His story connects everything from the land to the body (and every dot in between).

David only uses what he needs and certainly didn’t open Dynamic Dish as ginormous restaurant complete with a bored hostess standing around wearing a headset handing you a vibrating pager with blinking red lights to inform you your table’s ready. This is a quiet space, serving simple food that allows fresh, local ingredients to be the voice.

I do hope you enjoy my conversation with David as much as I did having it and stick with the length of the interview. I found myself hesitant to censor this piece by shortening it, he speaks so well about so much. We cover everything from the local food moment to the comparison of food as an outfit when used in peak season – sexy! Bon appetit! Oh, I should mention, they (Bon Appetit) know a good thing when they see it too, as they featured Dynamic Dish earlier this year. Here’s to feeding our mind, body, and soul…for many years to come.

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Summer is the season for ice cream. Since I only recently unearthed my old-fashioned ice-cream maker; I thought I’d start slow this year by making a classic ice cream flavor.

But the online recipes I found with herb (lavender and basil) and heat (jalapeno and ginger) additions were really over the top.  I’m a fairly straight-forward gal when it comes to the cream…not totally plain vanilla by any stretch, but a combo of vanilla and chocolate taken up a notch by something crunchy is my number one choice.

This recipe for French Vanilla with Toasted Hazelnuts & Nutella Ice Cream (or as I like to call it, Howdy Hazelnut) is a sort of rip from the Hazelnut Chip served at the almighty Graeter’s (alas, this flavor is no longer on its seasonal menu). It’s a stretch to say my version even comes close to competing with this Cincy institution’s pint, but, it’ll do on a sweaty, summer day when you’re dying for a cone.

Sweet (cold) dreams.
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Just before I started danapop, I was working as a publicist, mostly doing press surrounding restaurant openings. In the course of that work, I discovered a fantastic food blog called Orangette – written by Molly Wizenberg – and it got me…the way she writes about food is extraordinary.

And then, I read Ms. Wizenberg’s (a.k.a. Orangette) book A Homemade Life and found out there were quite a few eerie parallels in our lives. We both lost our fathers suddenly while in our early twenties, both got engaged to the loves of our lives after about a year of dating, twins run in her family as they do in mine (her mother is a twin, I’m a twin), she was raised in Oklahoma City – my parents grew up there and met during high school, married and settled there before my dad joined the Army. It’s sort of uncanny.

So I look at the arrival of Orangette in my life as a turning point; the point where I took the jump. And for that I’ll always be grateful to her – for showing me that it could be as simple as just writing what you want and being true to who you are. I got a chance to interview Molly in between her book tour stops. The Q&A follows…

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Courtesy of Gourmet.com | Photograph by Romulo Yanes

Food trends can take on mythical qualities. They are the place where a child’s simple pop rocks suddenly find themselves serving as a key ingredient in a high-end restaurant’s signature dessert.

While I am not exactly qualified to predict or analyze such trends, I am however, a consumer, and I know what I notice. If 2008 was the year of the pig, the cow is handily pushing it aside to take center stage in 2009. Specifically, the burger… lately, everywhere I turn its burgers, burgers, and more burgers. From gourmet ones made from Kobe beef, to mini versions overtaking appetizer menus (don’t let the word slider fool you) to Padma selling (out) greasy Carl’s Jr. versions.

Now, the hamburger concept isn’t new (it originated in the late 18th century), but the gourmet craze is. Here’s the flipping truth about burgers and the dining outposts that have put them on the trend map. But, chew slowly my friend, as yesterday’s tapas makes way for today’s gastropub.
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Photograph by Greg Nesbit | gregnesbit.com

I’m off to Seattle and Vancouver this week.  My friend, Emily Gold, has graciously agreed to man the danapop post in my absence. I cannot think of anyone more qualified to write this week’s food & drink. You can continue to follow Emily on her blogspot. While you’re there, check out a piece I posted on her site about Atlanta life.

Business resumes as usual next week. And I assure you, I’ll return loaded with stories and posts…bi-annual family vacation…enough said. You can also follow my travels on twitter @ danapops.

xoox,
dp

So Many Teas, So Little Time

Tea has been on my mind lately. Not only because I have a cup nearly every morning and every afternoon, but because it’s one of those food products that has been around for ages yet quietly flies under the radar. Tea is a single-origin product, expressing the terroir of a region. Just as with wine grapes, there is a certain romance at envisioning tea grown on Lover’s Leap Estate, at an altitude of so many feet, lovingly picked by hand, and spread on huge screens to dry beneath the Indian sun. A vision, I know, but surely one you’d want to drink every morning.

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