Arts Food Videos

One crop that could never grow in Southern California is the cranberry. They literally need a flood to grow. In this week's show, meet a cranberry farmer and find out what a bog is. Plus how farming can help veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan heal the wounds of war. And hear how one guy considers bacon a weapon of mass destruction.

CHIC202: The Buffalo Guys Buffalo is one of the most flavorful and nutritious foods you can consume. I talk with Ken Klemm on what is great about buffalo. He s one of the buffalo guys. He is very knowledgeable about everything buffalo. He s a true Western gentlemen.

CHIC202: The Buffalo Guys Buffalo is one of the most flavorful and nutritious foods you can consume. I talk with Ken Klemm on what is great about buffalo. He s one of the buffalo guys. He is very knowledgeable about everything buffalo. He s a true Western gentlemen.

Med. density garnet colour. Med. intensity nose of cranberry, green pepper, and graphite. Dry, med. body, med. tannin. Cranberry, green pepper, pencil lead, and olives. Med. length. Good quality. Drink now.

A tequila drink with triple sec, bitters and fruit punch. It's no margarita, it's fruitier and a bit more sweet perhaps. Fruit Punch isn't just for kids anymore!

We're creating a coconut rum style cocktail twice... and doing a flavor comparison between a cruzan coconut rum and the malibu coconut rum. Which is better?

Have you ever been enjoying a nice pastrami sandwich and thought to yourself, "This is good, but I really wish it had some bones in it." Well, this recipe was an attempt to solve that age-old desire. I've taken a spice rub traditionally used on a beef brisket to make pastrami, and applied it to America's favorite appetizer, chicken wings. This resulted in a pretty nice chicken wing recipe, which tasted nothing like pastrami. I guess I'm asking for trouble calling it "Pastrami Wings." If your palette is set for some rich, fatty, smoky pastrami, you will be disappointed. As I joke in the video, a chicken ain't a cow, and no chicken wing will ever taste like real pastrami. Having said that, so what? They're just chicken wings. Perfect for this time of year, since for sports fans this is the ultimate sweet spot on the calendar. You can watch baseball, football, basketball (I wish the Bay Area had a team), hockey (Go Sharks!), golf, and several other minor sports (like college football). What better way to veg on the couch for 14 hours, than with a plate of chicken wings that don't taste like pastrami? Honey, can you grab me another beer? My fingers are all greasy. Enjoy! Ingredients: 1 tbsp vegetable oil 2 1/2 pounds chicken wing sections 2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper 1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander 1 tbsp smoked paprika pinch of cayenne, optional 2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste 2 tsp flour *serve with Russian dressing as a dip Note: I thought these were fairly mild, and would actually increase the spice amounts next time. If you experiment, please let me know the results!

The recent post which featured Denise from ChezUs' beautiful dark chocolate macarons with bittersweet ancho chili ganache reminded my wife Michele that it'd been a while since she'd whipped up a batch of her famous chili chocolate cookies. These dense, dark, and dangerously addictive cookies feature a dose of black pepper and cayenne, which to some may seem like an odd addition. But one taste and you'll understand the method to this madness. Just like adding a pinch of salt to dessert recipes makes them even sweeter and more delicious, the addition of pepper in this cookie really makes the chocolate even more chocolaty. The cookies aren't really "spicy," but you can definitely tell something strange and wonderful is happening. I'm terrible with keeping my secret ingredients, secret. As soon as someone says, "Hey, what's in these?" I spill the beans. However, if you're one of those sadistic cooks that loves tormenting your foodie friends by not telling them what that certain something is, then this recipe is for you, since the spices are very hard to identify. A couple notes about the recipe ingredients below. I use kosher salt for just about everything, but I always have to remind myself that it has a much flakier, larger grain, so 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt is really like 1/4 teaspoon of fine table salt. The measurement below is for fine salt, so double it if you also use flake-style kosher salt. Also, Michele decided to reverse the chocolate blend in the original recipe by using 2 parts unsweetened chocolate to 1 part bittersweet. If you like really sweet cookies use 2 parts bittersweet to 1 part unsweetened. If you're not sure, make 4 or 5 batches and experiment with different combinations. You really can’t practice too much when it comes to these strange, but spectacular cookies. Enjoy! Ingredients: 1/2 cup dried currants 2 tablespoons Kahlua 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 2 room temperature eggs 3/4 cup sugar 2 tsp vanilla 1 cup chocolate chips Note: Special thanks to Sigve Hoel who gifted me a sweet new set of OXO mixing bowls! He saw them on my Amazon Wish List (in the sidebar in case you're wondering). Thanks Sigve! We LOVE them.

Veggie lasagna is a tricky product to put out--especially when it comes out of the freezer aisle. If you add too much good nutritious veggies, you run the risk of it tasting more like a warm salad than a dense slice of heaven. If you add too little then you will be questioning why bother adding anything in there to begin with! Personally, that's why I favor meat lasagnas and why it's going to take a superior veggie lasagna to get my taste buds watering. And then we have this James Foods Spinach Artichoke Lasagna: a higher priced meal with a high-end looking box. How does it taste? The Frozen Food Master tells you.

The ocean-tini looks like it could become the next classic cocktail. It's got the perfect simple ingredient list with good taste and sexy appeal. A perfect cocktail to go into the recipe books as a classic.

ReMARKable Palate #220: Innovative Japanese Cuisine This week, I go from Maui to New York City as we speak with 2 restaurateurs about their modern Asian style eateries. First, I chat with Chef DK Kodama of Sansei and other restaurants all over the state of Hawaii about his modern Pacific Rim style cuisine, and his support for local farmers in the state of Hawaii. I then speak with James Du, co-owner of Akai Lounge on New York’s Upper West Side, which is doing it’s part to offer innovative sushi and interpretations of Japanese classics. Theme Song: Go Fish , by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network. ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com I travelled to Hawaii as part of The “So Much More Hawaii” Press tour sponsored by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, and my travel expenses were paid for by the HTA. My meal at Akai lounge was a complimentary tasting menu. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The lentil soup special is a solid choice. We met up with Chicago Foodies Josh and Crystal early on a Monday night to check out Mana Food Bar. Like many neighborhood spots, Mana doesn t take reservations, so we wanted to be sure to get a seat. We ordered a hefty portion of the completely vegetarian menu, chatting about food as it vanished from our plates. But did it hit the spot? Listen in and find out. (17.5 M) Show Notes: 00:00 01:15 On being beloved and vegetarian 01:16 03:07 A menu that s all over the board 03:08 06:17 The cold dishes: pickles, salads, 09:07 Handling a lot of food in a tight space 09:08 10:19 Tastes hit ya with a hammer or gave ya nothing 10:20 11:26 Main dish hits and misses 11:27 12:55 On feeling like a virtuous veggie lover 12:56 14:28 The White Castle sliders 15:36 Bi bim Bop 17:02 Lemon tart. And you call that chocolate? 17:03 19:02 Ratings s Ratings Tammy s Ratings Food Quality 3 3 Value 3 3 Service 3 3 Ambiance 3 3 Overall 5 5 Price per person: $50 Related reviews: Blind Faith Cafe Chicago Diner Green Zebra Karyn s Cooked Online buzz about Mana Food Bar: Chicago Foodies Yoga Chicago What do you think of Mana Food Bar? Let us know on Twitter: @chicagobites. The bi bim bop was fresh but not standout.

From "Cooking On The Block" a weekly cooking show featuring Chef Ellie Espo www.chefellieespo.com

From "Cooking On The Block" a weekly cooking show featuring Chef Ellie Espo www.chefellieespo.com

From "Cooking On The Block" a weekly cooking show featuring Chef Ellie Espo www.chefellieespo.com