Food and booze. A good combo, to be sure, though some specific pairings of the two are better than others. The mafia is going to start keeping track of what we feel are stand-out beer/wine/cocktail & food matches. Here are two that pleased my palette in the past month.
Schlafly Coffee Stout and Bananas Foster.
I had this pairing at a Schlafly beer dinner at the Boat House at Forest Park, and I wanted to marry it. Probably not legal to marry a food and beer pairing, but my point is that this is a match made in HEAVEN. The bitter coffee flavor with the sweet caramel banana goodness just totally did it for me. Yum. Try Alton Brown’s Bananas Foster recipe. Or this simple one.
New Belgium Trippel Belgium-style Ale & Aged Manchego Cheese
I took a beer/cheese pairing class through my work conducted bt New Belgium brew-master Lauren Salazar, and this pairing was amazing. Just try it!
Keep your eye on this blog for more Made Matches, and feel free to suggest your favorite drink/food pairings in the comments!
So, apparently, the Shamrock Shakes at McDonald’s have a freaky cult following. I was reading online today about all these people who are SO VERY EXCITED that it’s Shamrock season so that they can get their hands on the cold, minty treat they’ve waited ALL YEAR FOR. However, Shamrocks are not available to everyone everywhere. While they are only around for a limited time (end of February through mid-March), they also seem to be sold in limited areas only.
Serious Eats recently posted about the Shamrock phenomenia and how fanatics are complaining about disappointing beverages this year…particularly not enough mint flavor and not enough mixing of said flavor in. Some are even complaining about the milkshakes being served in clear cups (gasp!), instead of the standard soft drink cups, with whipped cream & a cherry (egads!).
After reading about this all day, I decided to seek out the coveted Shamrock Shake for myself. I had never tried one, and I wanted to see what all the fuss is about. read more…
The other day I teased a friend for his contribution of KFC cole slaw to a potluck populated by food enthusiasts. I did this because this person is known as a staunch advocate for slow food, and because I know that almost everyone who celebrates real ingredients and lambasts processed foods has at least one weak spot, a special comfort food that, despite being against many of their food ethics, reminds them of childhood or is so damn good, they put aside their habits to indulge. We Food Blog Mafia ladies semi-ho’made it up at our sleepover last year, when we made such cream cheese-laden foods as hot wing dip and Philly dip (see Superbowl recipes).
Then there are people who stake their entire career on foods like this, but that’s neither here nor there.
So I’m disclosing a dirty little secret that I’ve been sneaking spoonfuls of for two days straight. Truth be told, it’s not even a childhood favorite, and I could make every component from scratch and probably will at some point, but I know it will probably not be the same. There’s something about Jello vanilla pudding, its eerily-fluorescent yellow glow, it’s tooth-aching sweetness, it’s connection to the elusive Jello Pudding Pops of my youth, that is cathartic, no matter what incantation it takes. Jello pudding permeates this dessert, which is so damn simple I can’t even call it a recipe, although I suggest you make your own whipped cream. This doesn’t touch the banana pudding I had at Monarch last summer on my birthday–really, it’s apples and oranges. But you should make it. The Nilla wafers get all mushy and soft and the bananas trick you into believing it’s remotely healthy. I don’t know about you, but I like a healthy dose of delusion with my sugar-laden treats. Just make sure to brush your teeth afterwards.
Easy Banana Pudding
One large box Jello Instant Pudding
Three cups cold milk
About 2/3 box Nilla Wafer minis (or regular Nilla Wafers, but these are bite sized) (reserve a handful)
Three bananas
One pint whipping cream
1/2 vanilla bean, insides scraped out
granulated sugar to taste
Assembly Instructions (because, let’s be honest, that’s what this is)
- Slice bananas into 1/4″ or so slices
- Alternately layer sliced bananas with Nilla Minis in 8×8 dish (wafers, ‘nanas, wafers, ‘nanas)
- Whisk pudding mix into milk until smooth.
- Before it sets, pour pudding mixture over bananas and wafers.
- Whip whipping cream with sugar and vanilla bean scrapings until stiff peaks form.
- Top banana pudding with whipped cream and reserved wafers, crumbled.
- Chill in fridge until you can’t stand waiting anymore.
- Plan on taking a photo for your blog, but forget because you take a bite.
You can store it in your fridge, but ours doesn’t last long.
The Church of Burger’s second outing was, sadly, not as spiritual as its first. On a rainy, cold Sunday, we were the first patrons of the day at the Central West End’s SubZero Vodka Bar. It’s a (duh) vodka bar that also serves sushi and burgers which you can top with a extremely wide variety of toppings. I inferred that this is their “thing”: highly customized burgers, like Hubert Keller’s Burger Bar.
I’ll be brief about the food: my burger was ordered medium rare, and was delivered medium. While it looked beautiful and was of an acceptable thickness, my cheddar-topped patty lacked any noticeable salt and was pretty dry. The bun, too, was dry, and crumbled midway through the meal. I wonder how it would have fared if I had a specialty burger with lots of toppings? Fries were actually salted, but somewhat limp. Service was friendly and relatively competent, although we had a few long waits for things like the check, expected for a larger party.
But I’d rather not talk about a forgettable burger from a place I’ll probably never visit again. What I’d rather talk about is the Twitter throwdown that happened not long after Church of Burger. To make a long story short, fellow COB members Bill and Andrew both tweeted about the lackluster burger, and Chris Sommers, owner of Pi, took issue with that. read more…
***Cross-posted at South City Confidential
Recently I joined the new Young Professionals board for Safe Connections. If you aren’t familiar with Safe Connections:
As the oldest and largest locally-founded agency serving abused women and teens in the St. Louis region, Safe Connections is essential core of resources and support for survivors of violence. Safe Connections is the only agency providing integrated services for women who have been victimized by domestic violence, sexual assault, rape and/or childhood sexual abuse. (from Safe Connections’ About Us)
Safe Connections provides vital services for women and teens in the area who are survivors of violence, and their work is an area where the need for help is almost always greater than what they can provide. The Young Professionals is a new group formed by Safe Connections to gain volunteers and supporters in the 21-40 age group who can help Safe Connections expand their mission and services.
What does this have to do with food? We’re hosting a happy hour to raise awareness about and gain membership for Safe Connections and our Young Professionals group. This event will be held at Pi in the Central West End on Wednesday, March 3, from 5-7PM. Chris Sommers, who owns Pi, is also a member of the Young Professionals group, and Pi will be offering half-price appetizers and drink specials for those in attendance. You should come. You need no reason to go to Pi and have a cocktail on a Tuesday, and this gives you free reign to claim it as your good deed for the day or week should you see fit. Nothing’s stopping you from ordering a Bucktown while you’re there.
Domestic violence is an issue that does not discriminate based on race, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, or religion. I’d love to see the food community come out to support this cause, and if you could help spread the word, via your own blog or Twitter, you could consider it yet another good deed. Hope to see you all there.
The votes are in, and the first selection for Books, Bites, and Booze is Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table. Wizenberg is a frequent contributor to Bon Appetit and her own blog, Orangette, as well as one of the voices behind the Spilled Milk podcast. She and her husband operate Delancey, a Seattle pizza restaurant.
Let’s start a book club, shall we?
The requirements are this: read the chosen book. Show up at chosen location to eat good food, drink beverages of your choice, and discuss said book. Repeat.
Reasons why you should do this:
1) You might learn something new by reading a book.
2) You need another excuse to go out to eat and drink.
3) You might make a new friend.
4) Readers are leaders.
There are four texts under consideration for the first meeting. Some of these you may have read, but no big deal. THE WORK IS DONE. You just show up, drink a beer, eat some food, and expound your already-developed thoughts. IT’S BETTER THAN BOOK-IT!
Our meeting date/location are TBD, but probably at the end of March to give everyone time to
Are you interested? Vote in the poll below to select the first text, and leave a comment if you want to join.
A couple years ago, when Andrew Zimmern and his Bizarre Foods had become popular, there were several internet memes circulating… lists of what foods you had and had not tried. Of all the lists, the only food I swore I’d never try was balut. Balut, if you don’t know, is a duck egg which has been fertilized, and the chick is partially developed (18 days). It is a popular food in the Philipines, but to me, and most Americans, it was scary. I imagined feathers, and a little beak…. a cute tiny little duckie baby… I can’t eat that!
Apparently I’ve changed a lot in the past year or so. I told a friend at work, who was born in the Philipines, that I wanted to try balut. Well, a couple of days ago, she delivered two of these mythical eggs to me. I contacted the FBM right away… there were 2! Which one of my bitches would be willing to try one with me? And video tape it!! As it turns out, none of them were game. Wussies. So Kelly sweet talked her fiance, Jerad into it. Yup. Jerad and me, we’ll put anything in our mouths.
Hey Jerad! Yer Doin' it wrong!
There was so chatter recently on Twitter between some local chefs about Valentine’s dinner menus. One person asked why lobster seems to be the go-to for Valentine’s Day dinner. Someone else replied that it was because being in a restaurant on Valentine’s Day is like being boiled alive.
I’ve also never understood the fascination with eating lobster on Valentine’s day. Sure, it’s an expensive ingredient, but lobster is fairly brutal to prepare (it does involve murder after all) and a little messy to eat whole (if you steam them, there’s a lot of water that leaks out when you break them apart at the table).
Besides, I’ve never considered going out to eat a “sexy” activity. It’s much more erotic to cook a meal for your lover at home (see my tips for preparing the perfect dinner).
My idea of sexy food is probably much different from most people’s. Strawberries with whipped cream is out; dark chocolate tart with a pretzel crust is in. Red wine is out; a ginger-laced cocktail is in. Seafood of all types is out; bone marrow is in (the innermost part of a body, eating bone marrow is like eating an animal’s soul). read more…
Yaaaay! The Superbowl is this coming Sunday! Football! Rah Rah!! Okay, confession. I am really really not into football. But Superbowl is pretty much a national holiday, and a food holiday at that. To be more specific, Superbowl is a snack food holiday. Party foods!! And we here at the Food Blog Mafia are ALL about parties, even if we’re not all into the fooz-ball (but some of us are…just not me… the one writing the Superbowl post…hrmm…)
Last week, George from St. Louis Magazine contacted the FBM, wanting to use Iron Stef’s bacon kettle corn for a superbowl food segment on a local news sports segment, and asking for other guy-friendly party foods from us. Besides the kettle corn, Annie gave him cheese popcorn, and I clued him into the wondrousness of Rolo pretzels. Here is a video of the segment and the recipes used.
Oh, but we have more. Of course we do!! We like to party. Here are some Party food recipes from the FBM girls, never before posted on our individual blogs!! If we had a Superbowl party, it would pretty much be the best ever 
