Intelligent Ovens "Dinners placed in the refrigerated appliance before going to work are done at the time you arrive home.İPlans change?İNot a problem! Use your cellular phone, or log-on to the internet with your computer, and tell your oven!"

White chocolate defined "From now on, products called white chocolate must include cocoa butter, milk solids, milk fat and sweeteners such as sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. The goal is to eliminate consumers' confusion and prevent impostors from using cheaper ingredients such as vegetable fat instead of cocoa butter. "

Trans Fat Now Listed With Saturated Fat and Cholesterol on the Nutrition Facts Label

Multinational moves in the food and beverage industry

Squeaky clean? Not even close. NYT article on germs and home kitchens. "In one test he did, raw chicken juices were spread on samples of used wood and plastic cutting boards. Both boards were washed in hot soapy water and dried, then knives were used to simulate cutting vegetables for a salad. No bacteria appeared on the knives cut on wood, but there were plenty on the knives used on a plastic board."

Fun with monkey celebrates Groundhog's Day by making cookies "in an effort to make this holiday a little more exciting, i have started the tradition of baking groundhog's day cookies and giving them to my friends. i am sure in a year or two everyone will be joining in and giving all their family and friends gifts, sweets and cards. There will be annual groundhog's day dances and traditional groundhog's day fireworks displays will light up the sky worldwide. "

I'll be in NY in a few weeks, and I might be getting up to the Met, if so I'll have to see the Chocolate, Coffee, Tea untensil exhibit.

This is actually a leftover meal from some orange and ginger braised country style pork ribs. (Here's good visual explanation of pork cuts) The leftover meat was pulled off with a fork (traditonal pulled pork would be much more ripped up than appears in this shot) and sauteed in some carmelized onions, then some good barbeque sauce was added. In this case it was Country Bob's. Then the meat was spooned into rolls and popped into a hot oven for 5 minutes. The rolls are homemade but that's another post. Here's the orange ginger recipe though-

3-4 lb package of country style pork ribs
3 oranges
1 can of pineapple bits, with juice
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup of mirin
1/2 cup of orange juice
4 dried chili peppers, thai if you can get them
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 cloves
6-7 black cardamom pods, cracked
1 T ginger, grated
1 tsp nutmeg
salt

The ribs could probably use some marinating time, but since these braise for so long, I don't bother. I brown the pork, and put in a big broiling pan, just covering the meat with the liquid ingredients, including the pineapple and juice. Add some water is you need to. I microplaned the zest of the oranges, then peeled, pitted and adding them to the pan. All of the other ingredients were added and it went into a 325 F oven for around an hour and 15 minutes, then the pork was flipped over and cooked for another hour and 15 minutes. The pan liquid was skimmed of some fat, put in a pan and simmered with some cream for a finished sauce.

A winter soup shouldn't be wimpy, it should have body to warm and satisfy. This split pea-barley soup takes an afternoon, but is worth it. Ham hocks, potatoes and just the right amount of spicy heat is the key to an truly fulfilling soup.

1 lb green split peas
1 cup of barley
8 cups of water
2 lbs of ham hocks (preferably with as much meat as possible)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 onions, diced
2 cups of chopped celery, with tops
2 cups of carrots, chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp cayenne pepper
four medium potatoes, quartered
salt and pepper
a big ass pot

Rinse and sort the peas and barley, add to the water, and bring to a boil. Then turn off the heat and let sit for 1/2 hour while you prep the other ingredients. You could add the ham hocks now if you want, but score them first. I would have preferred to use a ham bone, with lots of meat left on it for this soup, but smoked ham hocks are cheap, and add the flavor you're looking for.

After the peas and barley have soaked for a bit, throw in everything but the potatoes and simmer for an hour, skimming off the foam once in awhile, then throw in the potatoes and simmer for another hour.

Pull out the ham hocks, putting whatever meat is on them back into the pot. With a piece of good bread, a bowl of this stuff is an entire meal.

Greyston Bakery: Let 'Em Eat Cake "How did a bakery in Yonkers, N.Y. -- a small, slightly disheveled city next door to the Bronx -- end up not only making cakes for the rich and famous, but also supporting the poor and disenfranchised?"

International Church of Pie "Abandon your hateful, evil gods, and embrace the Pie, who rules all with a gentle hand and a nice graham cracker crust. "

Effects of garlic bread on family interaction "Serving garlic bread at dinner enhanced the quality of family interactions. This has potential application in promoting and maintaining shared family experiences, thus stabilizing the family unit, and also may have utility as an adjunct to family therapy." From the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, who are looking for research volunteers, but you must "like to eat either pickles and/or ice cream".

lunch "i write about my lunch. you write about your lunch. we read about other people's lunch."

A Martian Cookbook How to bake a cake on Mars in the low atmospheric pressure. You'll have to do the math yourself though.

Atkins World An article from Fortune on how the diet trend is effecting food business "...hotshot pastry chef Gale Gand unveils her latest Splenda creations, which include an orange-vanilla panna cotta and chocolate-peanut butter cookies. "Splenda is like a new language that came into my life," she raves, explaining that it has allowed her to make tasty desserts for the low-calorie crowd at her Chicago restaurant, whose clientele includes Oprah Winfrey. If Oprah can send a book's sales to the moon, imagine what she could do for Splenda."

Createameal calorie calculator for McDonald's CalorieKing also has calculators for Subway, Barbeques, or Pizza Hut.

Refrigerated food theory behind Crohn's rise "Common bacteria that survive in chilled food could cause the disease whose rise in the second half of the 20th century has puzzled doctors."

A very comprehensive article on salting - To salt or not to salt from the Capitol Blog's Cook's Corner.

Sweet Potatoes Deserve Better Read the comments for even more knowledge about them.

More good food blogs I need to add to the list.

Frost Street "The culinary adventures of a New York City lawyer." Has an excellent recent post on foie gras.

NYC Eats If there was a prize for 'Blog most likely to make you hungry', this photoblog would win.

On My Plate "Adventures in eating my way across the world"

chez pim "opinionated about food, among other things"

i was just really very hungry "why do you write about hunger, and not about wars or love?"

super eggplant "Another blog about knitting, sewing, baking, and other stuff"

somethingfoodrelated

green cutting board vegetarian community blog

sam d'iabolico

Lonesome Bob Cajones' Chili Blog

Paul's Hot Nuts. Stop snickering.

The Art of War (as it applies to hosting a potluck)

Alton is ranting again, this time about mad cows, and cheap versus value. I feel like copying and pasting everything he's said in the last two posts, so just go read them.

Never Trust a Skirt An Oak Park blogger posts about relationships, betrayal, and a heart-breaking break-up.