Blog Posts by Gourmet

Photo: Gourmetby Kemp Minifie, Gourmet Live

Gourmet Live's latest issue, California Dreaming, got me musing about the tremendous influence California has had on American food in the last 40-something years. So I called Zanne Stewart, who was the executive food editor of Gourmet during three of those decades, to get her take on it. When Stewart joined the editorial staff in 1972, the focus was mainly on Europe. "I badgered Jane [Montant, the editor-in-chief], about California restaurants, and she kept brushing me off. Finally, she whirled around one day and said, 'California? Really? Those are the people who invented brunch.'"

See also: Gourmet's Top 10 Timeless Recipes

Despite Montant's withering dismissal of the topic, she did change course, and soon hired Caroline Bates, a former Gourmet staffer and gifted writer, to cover California restaurants on a monthly basis.

Informed by Bates' columns-which didn't just review restaurants, but also reported on emerging environmental issues-other West Coast

Photo by Kemp Minifie

by Kemp Minifie, Gourmet Live

What's up with baby carrots? A recipe I tested recently called for them, but the author advised specifically against the "pre-cut variety." You know the ones. They're dipped by the millions into ranch dressing. As I cruised the produce aisles of my local supermarket, it was clear that baby carrots are very confusing. Here's what I found:

See also: Gourmet's Top 10 Timeless Recipes

Bagged Baby Carrots (top in photo): sometimes called precut or "baby-cut" carrots, they are actually adult carrots, cut into 2-inch sections, and then abraded by machines to peel them. The carrots used have been bred for sweetness, a consistent orange color to the core, and uniform length and thickness. They've dramatically increased the tonnage of carrots consumed in this country.

Baby Carrots or Mini-Carottes (from Southern Specialties, Inc. in Florida, second from the top in photo): Described as hand-peeled carrots, they are about 4-inches long, with about 1 1/2 inches of

Photo by Chris Gentileby Kelly Senyei, Gourmet Live

Farm-to-table fare and eco-friendly decor are all the rage, but right now we're going green-literally. Celebrate the luckiest holiday of the year with five tips for how to entertain with ease this St. Patrick's Day.

See also: Gourmet's Top 10 Timeless Recipes

• Bring the Outdoors In
If you aren't lucky enough to be experiencing spring in all its glory just yet, bring the party indoors while evoking the Irish countryside. Seasonal flowers that will make it look like you splurged-without actually having spent the big bucks-include daisies and Bells of Ireland (also known as Moluccella laevis), tall, lush plants with a bright green color and delicate white blooms. Bells of Ireland are usually used as inexpensive filler flowers, but they make elegant arrangements on their own without being too stuffy or rigid. A tray of wheatgrass also makes a fun base in which to store place cards or parting gifts.

• Sweet as Shandy
Harness your inner mixologist by

Photo: Pampered Chefby Kelly Senyei, Gourmet Live

Whether you're a professional chef or an amateur cook, chances are you have your select go-to items when it comes to kitchen gadgets and gear. Every single nook and cranny of my tiny New York City apartment is packed with everyday and obscure items, from my favorite tongs and Dutch oven to my OCD cutting board and leopard print oven mitts.

Related: The Best Gifts for Food Lovers

Check out my list below for the top five kitchen gadgets I can't live without, and then share your go-to gadgets in the Comments section below!

• Flexible cutting mats: You name it, and I slice and dice it on my colorful array of foldable plastic cutting mats (pictured above). The mats' flexible shape allows for the easy transfer of chopped foods from your countertop to your stock pot, while a variety of colors create contamination-free cutting with specific mats for chicken, fish, veggies, and beef. Best of all, they're dishwasher-safe.

Price: $16 (for a set of three)

Where

Photo by Romulo Yanesby Sarah Angileri, Gourmet Live

After returning from a jazz show in the wee hours of the morning this past weekend, my stomach acted out accordingly, grumbling a disconcerting melodic riff. With a pantry running low, and my energy even lower, I turned to my griddle and my favorite foolproof Cottage Cheese Pancake recipe. I'm not sure this counted as an exceptionally late midnight snack, the earliest breakfast I've ever eaten, or a prelude to shrove Tuesday, but no matter the time of day, pancakes are versatile enough fit the bill and fill the stomach.

See also: The Ethical Salad

Try sweet kernel-speckled Fresh Corn Pancakes served with salsa, sour cream, or guacamole for a zesty, yet comforting dinner. If you like your pancakes with a little crunch and even more spice, Sweet-Potato and Kimchi Pancakes are pan-fried like latkes, but are fragrant and flavorful with a kick from pungent pickled cabbage and Korean chile powder.

For and elegant way to sneak pancakes into your next dinner

Photo by Kelly Senyeiby Kemp Minifie, Gourmet Live

With Oscar Night less than a week away, I know what I'm serving for hearty nibbles: A pile of crostini (little baguette toasts) with different toppings. It fits right into my style of entertaining, which is to give people choices. To make the crostini, cut a baguette crosswise into ¼-inch thick rounds. Brush them with olive oil and bake them at 350°F until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Toppings are endless, but here are five favorites:

Related: 10 Favorite February Recipes from Gourmet

Guacamole
Take a tip from my colleague, Kelly Senyei, who loves guacamole on toasts as much as on tortillas.

Chickpeas with Garlic and Mint
Rinse and drain a can of chickpeas and coarsely mash them in a bowl with a fork. Mix in 1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced and mashed to a paste, then some chopped fresh mint, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. If necessary, loosen spread further with a little warm water.

Manchego Cheese with Quince Paste
It doesn't get much

Photo by Romulo Yanes

By Kemp Minifie, Gourmet Live

It's a funny thing about cinnamon toast. Mention it to co-workers and friends and they go into a reverie about eating it as kids. But ask them how they make it, and they're suddenly flummoxed. That's why we spelled out two ways to approach it in "A Toast to Toast" in the latest Gourmet Comfort Special Edition, available now at newsstands and retailers nationwide. But there are even more variations:

Simplest: Toast bread, spread with butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Our ratio (2 tablespoons sugar to ¼ teaspoon cinnamon) is on the mild side. Feel free to increase the cinnamon to your taste.

Caramel Crunch: Lightly toast bread in toaster, then spread with butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Slide toast onto a baking sheet and broil until bubbling and caramelized.

Related: 10 Favorite February Recipes from Gourmet

Crun-Chewy: Skip toasting the bread. Spread well with butter, sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar, then broil,

Conde Nast Digital StudioGourmet Live

Sugar-what would we do without it? It is the lifeline for every pancake ever tossed; the key to a perfect cake; the reason coffee is palatable first thing in the morning; and the only hope rhubarb ever had of becoming a noteworthy pie. So simple. So valuable, wars have been fought over it. So when Robert Lustig, M.D., a professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco, launched an attack on the white stuff that went viral on YouTube and subsequently reached an even wider audience with Gary Taubes' alarmingly titled "Is Sugar Toxic?" last April in The New York Times Magazine, dessert and sugary drink lovers everywhere took note.

Could sugar single-handedly be to blame for a host of illnesses, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity? Say it ain't so. "It's a question of how much" says Christine Gerbstadt, M.D., R.D., a physician and dietitian in Sarasota, Florida. "If you are physically active and eating sugar in