CHG Best of December 2009

Apologies for the excessive link compilations, folks. We'll return to regular blogging on Monday. In the meantime - it's the best of December 2009. Lots of liveblogging this month, including the Biggest Loser finale and the all-day Food Network marathon, from which the world may never truly recover. And by “the world,” I mean “my lower back.” (Hyuck hyuck hyuck.)Happy reading, everybody, and thank you for making CHG as joyous as it is.DECEMBER'S NEW RECIPESAlmond MilkChicken Fried RiceLighter Baked ZitiMushroom Bhaji (Mushrooms in Tomato Onion Sauce)Red Cabbage with ApplesDECEMBER ARTICLESWe watched Paula, Emeril, Alton, and company for 19-Hour Food Network Running Diary: The Whole Thing and Various Conclusions. Then we blogged about it.First, we got some practice with The Biggest Loser Season...

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Posted in: Links

Ask the Internet: Unused Christmas Food Gifts - What to do?

This week’s Ask the Internet question comes from right here at home, and addresses an issue many of us might be facing in our post-Christmas hazes.Q: Two years ago, I received several bread mixes and a jar of chocolate sauce for Christmas. The breads were baked and eaten within a month, but the sauce still lingers in the bottom of my pantry. What should I do with it? What do YOU do with food-based Christmas gifts you don’t use and/or never intend to?A: While the generosity and thoughtfulness of a food present is wonderful, there are zillions of pepperoni sticks and Jordan almonds that will go uneaten this year. What makes it tougher: many of them (see: chocolate sauce) would be of little use to a food bank.So, readers – what’s your plan for...

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Posted in: Ask the Internet

Falafel with Tahini Sauce: A Recipe for Happiness

This recipe first appeared in July 2007. It's really good. And today on Serious Eats, it's Baked Oatmeal. Also, really good.I dig falafel. The boyfriend digs it even more. If falafel was single and a good kisser, I’d end up dumped and homeless on the street. Heartbroken and forlorn, I’d wander about blindly, cursing the day chickpeas sauntered into my life.But, thank Jeebus, falafel is just a food – a tempting, fatty food that’s normally deep-fried to get its flavor and texture. The challenge then, dear friends, was cutting the ginormous amounts of oil without losing a whit of the taste.After browsing a few falafel recipes (Sara Moulton, AllRecipes, etc.), I finally bogarted a good-looking one from Epicurious, which garnered it from a cookbook...

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Posted in: Mains,Vegan,Vegetarian

10 Best CHG Articles of 2009

Someone (Thank you, person!) nominated CHG for a Homie, given out by the Apartment Therapy folks. It’s a voting-type thing, so if y’all have time, it would be wonderful if you could click on over. (We're in the right column around the middle.) Thank you! Every Wednesday, we at CHG post longer pieces relating to our central thesis of nutritious, inexpensive food. The article topics range from simple how-tos to recipe compilations to extended pondering about food and pop culture. Generally, they’re a good time.Though we took a little break towards the end of the year, 2009 has produced some of our best Wednesday posts yet. (Modesty: it’s what’s for Christmas.) These are my ten favorites, plus a few honorable mentions. If you’ve seen ‘em already,...

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Posted in: Links

Ask the Internet: Do You Return Bad Produce?

“I don't return fruit. Fruit is a gamble. I know that going in.” – SeinfeldStepping away from all the Christmas joy for 47 seconds, I have a fruit and veggie question. Here it is, in fine Ask the Internet fashion:Q: I buy bananas every week. Recently, I got a bad bunch. You couldn’t tell from the outside they were rotten, but once peeled, there was a line of black goo running down each piece of fruit. The whole bunch cost me less than $1.50, so it got chucked. Should I have returned it instead, or is that taking frugality a step too far? This isn’t the first time my local supermarket has sold less-than-spectacular produce, but I don’t want to be regarded as cheap. A: Do you guys agree? Do you return bad produce? If so, what’s your limit? How...

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Posted in: Ask the Internet

Lighter Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage: An Ode to Ma and Dot

Today on Serious Eats: Peppermint Patties - easy, delightful, and dang impressive.My family is about as Italian as most leprechauns. Still, every Christmas night, Ma prepares lasagna and garlic bread for dinner. It’s not an authentic lasagna. She uses grated Polly-O and a jar of mushroom Prego. However, as we are essentially walking Blarney Stones, it’s good and we like it.My Aunt Dot, a lifelong New Yorker and hilarious battleaxe, was well-known for two things: 1) clearing the dinner dishes three minutes before you were done eating (known to this day as “pulling a Dorothy”), and 2) baked ziti. She passed last year, so I’ll never find out how she made it. I can guarantee, though, that I’ll spend my whole life trying to replicate the recipe....

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Posted in: Mains,Meat and Fish,Pasta

19-Hour Food Network Running Diary: The Whole Thing and Various Conclusions

This past Wednesday, I watched an entire broadcast day of the Food Network and blogged about it. Then I slept for 67 straight hours.The experience changed some ways I felt about FN, and reinforced others. For one thing, I always assumed The Powers That Be didn’t pay attention to financial matters, which they clearly do. There weren’t any outrageously expensive dishes all day, and some shows (Throwdown, 30-Minute Meals) made a point of frugality. On the other hand, I thought FN would give a modicum of time to healthy cooking, and it just wasn’t there. Bobby Flay’s fruit marinades were the closest anyone came to nutritionally-minded meals. Granted, it’s Christmas, which tends to highlight baking and various indulgences, but when Paula Deen chops the only pepper of the day, you know we’re in...

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Posted in: Liveblogs

Top 10 Links of the Week: 12/11/09 – 12/17/09

Hey folks! I’m fully recovered from the Food Network marathon, so let’s get to the links. This week, it’s a ton of Christmas, the fall of Big Food (maybe), and BANANARCHY!1) Planet Green: 25 Take-Out Treats You Really Can Make at HomeWould you like to bank money, eat delicious ethnic food, and save the environment at the same time? Make any one of these takeout recipes at home. It’s better for everybody, except maybe the delivery guy.2) Gizmodo: Using Micro S’mores is Akin to Playing GodThis is really real. And "gooeylicious." And for people without hands or muscles, presumably.3) Washington Post: Sometimes a snack isn't just a snack. It's a slippery slope.“A two-year study found that kids eat less junk food when their schools don't provide...

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Posted in: Links