In this, the 44th episode of Anglophenia, host Kate Arnell gives us a look at traditional Christmas dinners in other countries. Fancy dining on a roasted reindeer or two? How about a puffin? Veal... dressed in a sauce of tuna and mayonnaise? Hit play and enjoy. Via Laughing Squid
Scott Neumyer, a writer for 22 Words and brilliant dessert engineer, has revolutionarized the pie experience. This is not a cherpumple or a piecaken, which is 3 pies baked into separate layers of a cake, but a true pie turducken.
Neumyer baked five concentric pies. From the outside in, they are apple, cherry, peach, blueberry, and cream cheese. He sealed them inside overlapping pie crusts. After baking and eating the result, he proclaimed it "the greatest pie of all time."
This is not boasting by Neumyer. As William F. Buckley, Jr. said, "It is not a sign of arrogance for the king to rule. That is what he is there for." The turducken of pies is now our king.
Patricia Nascimento is a French woman who lives in southern Portugal. She loves to cook desserts, especially French pastries. She made this beautiful and delicious-looking bread (translation) by carefully blending two doughs flavored and colored with vanilla and cocoa.
First she prepared the cocoa dough, then refrigerated it. She arranged that dough in long cylinders, then arranged those cylinders in the vanilla dough. When she cut across the baked loaf, the result was a leopard skin pattern.
Nascimento recommends eating this bread with Nutella—a notion that I enthusiastically endorse.
-via Messy Nessy Chic
(Photo: Quest Loves Food)
Dominique Ansel is the chef who invented the cronut and the edible cookie shot. If there was a dessert category for the Nobel Prize, Ansel would have won it by now. But he's not one to rest on his laurels. He keeps pushing out into the great beyond to boldly go where no chef has gone before.
Recently, that's meant research into s'more development. Ansel is blowing out the borders of our dessert knowledge with this beauty: the caramel black truffle frozen s'more. It looks amazing!
The Vulgar Chef (content warning: foul language) once again leads us boldly into a new future.
We've seen that Rice Krispie treat batter can be used like an edible form of clay. It can be shaped into a beer cozy or an ice cream cone. I've personally used it as a pizza crust. Now the Vulgar Chef finds a new use for Nature's greatest building material. In a mere 15 minutes of work, he shaped the batter into a taco form, then added ice cream, Reese's Pieces, and chocolate syrup. It's the perfect breakfast food!
(Photo: Vlad Trifa)
Walking by the gourmet and exotic cheese section of the grocery store always gives me pause. If I want to treat myself, I may pick up Port Salut--my favorite. Now the blog When on Earth has presented even more temptations for me to indulge in. Here are unique cheeses from 37 countries around the world, such as Romania's Năsal, which is pictured above. Here's what it tastes like:
Coming from the village of Năsal in Romania, Năsal cheese is hard and reddish on the outside but soft and creamy on the inside. It is recommended to be served with dry red wine and be accompanied with slices of red onion, red grapes, nuts or crackers.
Which cheese on the list do you want to taste first?
Krispy Kreme's iconic glazing machines are a wondrous sight. You can stare and drool at them for hours.
So the company is putting your devoted attention to good use. It modified those drips to form a barcode. You can scan it with your smartphone and pull up a coupon for a dozen free donuts. Read more about this clever promotion at Ad Week.
-via Foodbeast
It's like those sliced cheese-looking objects that are a staple of lunchtime sandwiches. But better! Rocket News 24 informs us that the Japanese company Bourbon sells slices of chocolate which, like slices of cheese, can and should be added to sandwiches. You can also use them to fill crêpes, make s'mores, or slip onto pancakes. They come in packages of 60 with thin plastic dividers between the slices.
But I won't lie to you: I'm just going to eat the entire package in one sitting, slice by slice.
Yolanda Gampp showed us how to make a realistic brain cake for Halloween. Now she’s making a cake in the likeness of the new Star Wars droid, BB-8! How does she make it so round, so smooth, so accurate?
There’s something really nice about the words “modeling chocolate.” I’ll have to check that out. Gampp reveals some baker’s secrets here that we’ve seen in many art cakes, but could never quite figure out. I doubt I will ever make a BB-8 cake, but I’ve learned a lot about how to make a decorated cake look better. There are plenty of links at the YouTube page for more on the various steps. -via Digg
(Photo: Polmard)
The Polmard family of France operates a cattle and beef business that claims to offer the finest beef in the world and that it can will remain fresh for decades.
The family business dates back to 1846. The current operator, Alexandre Polmard, says that his grandfather pioneered a way to freeze beef in such a way that there is no loss of quality over time. The family raises Blonde Aquitaine cattle and keeps them in, by cattle standards, luxurious accommodations. CNN quotes Polmard:
"My family wouldn't dream of raising animals in sheds where they have no space or room to roam," he says.
"Here they are in the open air, living in forests and on parkland. There are shelters they can choose to visit in case it rains or snows. It's really five-star accommodation!"
Polmard says he talks to his animals daily, ensuring their lives are as comfortable and stress-free as possible -- even when it becomes time for them to end.
Increases in a cow's stress levels as it enters an abattoir cause a subsequent spike in levels of glycogen and lactic acid -- and that means a loss of tenderness and, ultimately, flavor.
Polmard is therefore investing a million euros in an abattoir at his farm in which only four cows will be killed per week -- and in a unique setting to keep stress levels to an absolute minimum.
Elite chefs around the world seek out Polmard beef for their restaurants. Chef Fabrice Vulin of Hong Kong presents it in a dinner that costs $700 per person. He has good reason:
As chef Vulin explains, what sets the taste apart is the gentle acidity and a texture like no other -- you barely even need a knife to cut it.
-via Oddity Central
(Photo: Grape)
It's called nishikigoi no sugatazushi, which translates as "multicolored koi-shaped sushi." It's all the rage in Japan--and you can see why! These forms are both beautiful and tasty. My Modern Met tells us that you can get them for about $6.70 a piece at the Nishikizushi sushi shop in Saiki.
The Turducken is the most famous of all three-bird roasts nowadays, and when pics of the triple stuffed carnivore's delight became trendy online people started trying their hand at making the dish just for the bragging rights.
But what meal is complete after the entree, even if it's like three entrees in one? People knew there was something missing from that creatively crammed holiday meal, and they were right- it was missing the piecaken.
They said "you've gotta try it! It's like four or more desserts in one!"
But nobody cared...until they saw pics of that triple layered treat and realized how wonderful it would be to have pumpkin pie, pecan pie, apple pie and moist white cake all in one massive tower of dessert perfection.
No matter how you slice it, the Piecaken is one holiday dessert engineered to delight!
One of the most revealing and enjoyable ways to learn about a locale and its culture is to experience the local dishes firsthand as you simultaneously experience the landscape. The food of any location can tell a story on its own. An often scrumptious story that we dream of revisiting, long after we've traveled on from that point.
This interesting and droolworthy Instagram called @foodintheair was started in 2013 by four sisters from Charlotte, North Carolina. Aptly named, the entries, submitted by individuals from the account's large following, feature delicious dishes held in the air, juxtaposed against views of travel destinations from all over the globe. Sisters Carolyn, Meg, Patty, and Charlotte, who get hundreds of reader-submitted emails per day, select posts based on their “quality, creativity, and composition of the picture.”
See a small sample of entries above and below, and check out @foodintheair and its related account @drinksintheair for more. Some of these food photos are enough to make me want to book the next plane ticket to their corresponding destinations!
Martha's Vineyard
Bodrum, Turkey
Santorini, Greece
Cinnamon Spiced Cafe Latte | Image and Recipe: Dine and Dish
Do you ever wish some mornings that you could have that delicious, fancy caffeinated drink in your hand, the one that the barista in your local coffee shop would whip up, only without having to drive there and pay their inflated prices?
Whether it's just you craving some caffeine, dairy and sugar or you have houseguests joining you in your jones, the linked collection of recipes for holiday lattes are varied and delicious enough to keep you satisfied all winter. A couple even have alcohol in them for a little extra to go with your cozy evening.
Wake up and get all of the recipes here.
White Chocolate Eggnog Latte | Image and Recipe: A Simple Pantry
Toasted Coconut Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Latte | Image and Recipe: Half Baked Harvest
After five days of leftover turkey and dressing, you’re probably starting to crave an orange or banana by now. How about some facts about fruits to whet your appetite even further? Guest host Adriene Hill talks about fruit -a lot- in this week’s mental_floss List Show.
