Chef Gaynol

International Food Blogger Conference (IFBC) First Photo

My fellow food bloggers at the Modernist Cuisine reception.  Anyone want to guess how many photos were taken in the two hour time span??  When food geeks get together, there will be photos.  It was a great start to the weekend!

International Food Blogger Conference (IFBC)

I'm off to the International Food Blogger Conference this weekend.  It's being held practically in my backyard and it seemed a good way to find out and bring you all the latest news in the food and blogging world.  My weekend is starting on Thursday with a reception at the Modernist Cuisine Cooking Lab.  Dr. Nathan Myhrvoid (former Microsoft CTO) and a team of food scientists (how do you get to be a food scientist? I really have to find someone to ask)  have been working on a six volume set of books that explain the science and technology behind modern cooking. Modernist Cuisine: the Art and Science of Cooking is due this fall.

Ammonia Burgers, Yum!

I am so not lovin' this.  Did you ever hear something or get an email that was so outrageous you think to yourself, "That cannot possibly be true." Such was my reaction when my DE (Designated Eater) told me he thought he heard something about ammonia being in McDonald's hamburgers.  Sounded urban legendy to me.  Turns out it's true.

Wright County Egg Recall Due to Salmonella Contamination

All right people you know the drill.  There have been confirmed cases of Salmonella relating to shell eggs distributed by Wright County.  Eggs were sold to food wholesalers and distributed nationwide.  Here are the brand names affected; Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps. Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026, 1413 and 1946. Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P-1946 223.

For the full FDA press release go here.

Check your eggs and let's be careful out there.

Spur Gastropub

  

 

We stopped in to visit Spur Gastropub for the first time a couple weeks ago.  It was one of those rare, warm Seattle days which resulted in me being slightly sun burnt and really sweaty. In an effort to show off my new pedicure, I'd made a disastrous shoe choice for schlepping through the city.  My resulting mood can only be described as nuclear. Woe unto the poor restaurant that displeased me tonight.  

We walked into the small building and were immediately greeted by an amazingly thin woman who whisked us to our table and quickly provided us with water and cocktail menus.  My imminent meltdown was averted. 

 We started our evening with a couple of drinks.  I had an Empress, which was a refreshing mix of Jamaican rum, grapefruit and st. germain.  One of the things that made this drink so wonderful was it arrived at the table chilled.  It felt like liquid ice slipping down my overheated throat.

Next to arrive was a small, white ramekin of crunchy bites.  We were chomping away trying to figure out what we were eating when my PIC  (partner in crime) said, "they taste like corn."  Our server called these "fancy-pants corn nuts."  They start out by blanching white hominy and then they're fried and coated in seasoning.  The final product is a crunchy, corny blast with just enough salt so the nuts taste seasoned but not overly salty.