Gastronomic Fight Club

What is Sous Vide

2010-02-06T17:23:00.002-06:00

Sous vide (pronounced sue�veed) is French for "under vacuum". In culinary terms, sous vide is a cooking method in which food is vacuum sealed then immersed in a water bath and cooked at a very precise and consistent temperature.

Sounds simple, but there's much more to it than that. This is not meant to be a definitive guide to sous vide. Instead, this is meant to be a brief introduction along with some links to help you find more authoritative resources on the web, in print and elsewhere (including right here in Omaha!). This is also the first part of a series of articles we'll be doing on sous vide over the next week.

To start off, we interviewed Dario Schicke, of Dario's Brasserie [Omaha, NE], and asked him to explain sous vide and the training he received. Then he gave us some demonstrations in preparing food for cooking sous vide, as well as texture modification and flavor injection using the vacuum chamber. We also left a SousVide Supreme� with him for several days to get an experienced chef's opinion of the product. Our review and his thoughts on that will be posted later.

An explanation of sous vide cooking

A conversation with Dario Schicke, Chef/Owner of Dario's Brasserie in Omaha, NE, about sous vide cooking. We discuss what sous vide is, what it's uses are, the training he received and the viability of the method for the home cook.

Beef Tenderloin Cooked in the Sous Vide Supreme

Dario Schicke, Chef/Owner of Dario's Brasserie [Omaha, NE], walks us through cooking beef tenderloin sous vide, while helping us test out the SousVide Supreme.

Compressed Watermelon

Dario Schicke, from Dario's Brasserie (Omaha, NE), demonstrates compressed watermelon in a vacuum chamber.

Flavor Injecting Under Pressure

Dario Schicke, from Dario's Brasserie [Omaha, NE], demonstrates texture modification and flavor injection by infusing apple juice and Calvados apple brandy into sliced Asian apple pears, using a high pressure vacuum chamber for some beautiful and flavorful results.

I'll leave you with two interesting quotes about sous vide, then some resources.

Thomas Keller, Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide, on the benefits of sous vide: "For one, it's a new toy and we all love new toys. And two, sous vide definitely goes beyond cooking in a bag. It's used for precise, � la minute cooking. When you order a steak medium, that's the temperature in the very center, but the outside is cooked well done and the next layer is medium-well, et cetera. But with sous vide, that piece of meat is medium from edge to edge. Before now, few people have had a short rib rare."

Eric Ziebold on the down sides of sous vide: "Sous vide takes craft away from cooking. You know it'll be a perfect medium-rare every time. You don't want to lose that emotional contact with food�like when you smell duck fat cooking, that does something for us.

Right now, we have turbot cooked sous vide and then brushed with preserved lemon. But we'll never have everything cooked sous vide. Just like we wouldn't have everything grilled..."

RELATED LINKS:
Sous-vide on Wikipedia
A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking by Douglas Baldwin
Sous Vide: Recipes, Techniques & Equipment on eGullet

Sous Vide, SousVide Supreme, Molecular Gastronomy, Texture Modification, Flavor Injecting, Dario Schicke, Dario's Brasserie, Omaha, Nebraska, Food, GFC

GFC Re-Launch Announcement

2010-02-03T16:12:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned about a month ago, Gastronomic Fight Club is looking for food writers to join our team. But there's more too it than that.

Due to various forces, we'll be doing a complete site redesign. This will mean more frequent content, a better layout to find said content and hopefully the creation of some guides and resources to help you find the gastronomic best of the best the world has to offer.

Unfortunately that means things might get *really* quiet around here for a bit (about 1-2 months). But we don't want to lose our valued readers who keep coming back week after week. So to help you stay informed, we've created a mailing list to notify you when we come back online. When our re-design is complete, we'll send out an email to everyone on the list to invite them to check out the new site. So if you want to be part of that list, just fill out this form. It will only be used for this notification, then the email addresses will be discarded.

Now just because posts will be slow, doesn't mean things will be completely quiet. We have several product reviews in the pipe that will be published before the re-launch including a brownie pan bake off! Also, if you're on Facebook, you can join our very active Gastronomic Fight Club Facebook Fanpage to feed your foodie community needs.

Finally, to do all of this, I'm going to need some help. If you're a designer, PHP programmer, or WordPress guru (yes, we're moving off of Blogger) who wants to help, then please contact us. Due to one of the previous mentioned forces, we have to have all this work completed by mid-March, so the clock is ticking!

Thank you,
Gastronomic Fight Club

Best-ter-est of Omaha Restaurants Award Winners - 2009

2010-01-08T12:04:00.010-06:00

We've closed the polls and tallied the votes. Once again a lot of great local restaurants took many top spots, while national and regional chains didn't fare as well in most categories. Several categories had big changes, several where very dispersed in votes and the new categories this year, especially the broad categories towards the end, were fascinating to see (I love the Most Overrated category).

Voter turn out was not what we were hoping it would be, but that's a bit of a dilemma. We don't publicize much beyond our readers in order to keep the results of a higher quality. Finding really good food requires us to lean on those who are really passionate about food. We figure if you heard about this poll through our limited promotion and felt moved enough to vote, then you were a true foodie. This was always meant to be a poll for foodies, by foodies, so thank you to all the foodies who voted. We hope you enjoy the results as much as we did.

Some quick notes about our notes. By some categories, you might see a [NOTE] in brackets that gives you some insight into that category beyond the winners ranks. For those, we urge you to take a look at the raw data to get a peek at all the votes. You'll also see the same kind of notes by individual restaurants. This is to give you an idea of how things have changed since last year and/or key you into decisive wins.

Best-ter-est of Omaha 2009^TM

Best American Bistro in Omaha [All Local]

Mark's Bistro
Brunette's Bistro
Ryan's Bistro

Best Appetizers in Omaha [Big Changes]

Espana (Tie ~ 2nd) [NEW]
Jams (Tie ~ 2nd)
Kona Grill (Tie ~ 2nd) [NEW]
Urban Wine Co. (Tie ~ 2nd) [NEW]

Best Bagels in Omaha

Bruegger's Bagels
Bagel Bin [+1]
Panera Bread [-1]

Best Bar-B-Que in Omaha

Hartland BBQ [+1]
Amarillo Barbecue
Famous Dave's

Best Breakfast in Omaha [Big Changes; All Local]

Lisa's Radial Cafe [+2]
Dixie Quick's [-1]
11-Worth Cafe

Best Buffet in Omaha

China Buffet
India Garden (Tie ~ 2nd)
Valentino's (Tie ~ 2nd)
No such thing/I don't Know (Tie ~ 2nd) [-1]

Best Burrito in Omaha

Alvarados [+1]
Chipotle
Qdoba

Best Chinese Restaurant in Omaha [Big Changes; All Local]

J. C. Mandarin [NEW]
China Buffet (Tie ~ 2nd) [NEW]
China Road (Tie ~ 2nd)
New Gold Mountain (Tie ~ 3rd) [NEW]
O Dining (Tie ~ 3rd) [-2]
Rice Bowl (Tie ~ 3rd)

Best Coffee Shop in Omaha

Scooter's Coffeehouse
Crane Coffee
Blue Line Coffee (Tie ~ 3rd) [-2]
13th Street Coffee Co (Tie ~ 3rd) [NEW]

Best Desserts in Omaha

WheatFields [Large Margin]
Cheesecake Factory [NEW]
Farm House Cafe and Bakery [NEW]

Best Family Restaurant in Omaha

Petrow's [+1]
Millard Roadhouse [-1]
Red Robin [NEW]

Best French Fries in Omaha [All Local?]

Dario's Brasserie (Tie ~ 1st)
Runza (Tie ~ 1st)
Bronco's

Best French Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Le Voltaire
Dario's Brasserie
La Buvette (Tie ~ 3rd) [NEW]
The French Cafe (Tie ~ 3rd)

Best Fried Chicken in Omaha [Big Changes; All Local]

Jack & Mary's
Chi Town Chicken (Tie ~ 2nd) [NEW]
Millard Roadhouse(Tie ~ 2nd)
Time Out Foods (Tie ~ 2nd) [NEW]

Best Greek Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

The Greek Islands
Katie's
Jim & Jennie's Greek Village

Best Hamburgers in Omaha [All Local]

Dinker's
Stella's
Louie M's Burger Lust [NEW]

Best Hot Wings in Omaha

Buffalo Wild Wings
Crescent Moon Ale House
Choo-Choo Bar & Grill (Tie ~ 3rd)
Wing Stop (Tie ~ 3rd)

Best Indian Restaurant in Omaha [Contentious Category; All Local]

Jaipur
Mother India [NEW]
India Garden
NOTE: Though there were clear vote winners, this was still a highly divided category.

Best Italian Restaurant in Omaha [Big Changes; All Local]

Lo Sole Mio [Large Margin]
Nicola's in the Market (Tie ~ 2nd) [NEW]
Pasta Amore (Tie ~ 2nd) [NEW]
Bianco

Best Japanese Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Sushi Japan
Sakura Bana [+1]
Hiro [-1]
Blue Sushi Sake Grill

Best Korean in Omaha [Low Vote Count; All Local]

Han Kuk Kwan
Korea King
Korean Food Restaurant

Best Mexican Restaurant in Omaha [Contentious Category; Big Changes; All Local]

Guaca Maya
Alvarados (Tie ~ 2nd) [-1]
Roja (Tie ~ 2nd)
Fernando's

Best Onion Rings in Omaha [No Clear Winner]

Gorat's (Tie ~ 1st)
Jams (Tie ~ 1st)
Mama's Pizza (Tie ~ 1st)
Petrow's(Tie ~ 1st)
Runza (Tie ~ 1st)

Best Pasta in Omaha [Big Changes; All Local]

Lo Sole Mio [Large Margin]
Pasta Amore [+1]
Bianco Ristorante Italiano (Tie ~ 3rd) [NEW]
Malara's Italian Restaurant (Tie ~ 3rd) [NEW]

Best Pizza in Omaha [Contentious Category; All Local]

La Casa Pizzeria [+3]
Zio's Pizzeria [-1]
Frank's Pizzeria (Tie ~ 3rd)
Mama's Pizza (Tie ~ 3rd)

Best Sandwiches in Omaha

Jimmy John's
Worker's Take-Out [NEW]
Jason's Deli [-1]

Best Seafood in Omaha

Shucks/Absolutely Fresh [Landslide]
Blue Sushi Sake Grill [NEW]
Bonefish Grill (Tie ~ 3rd)
Charlie's on the Lake (Tie ~ 3rd)

Best Soup in Omaha

Panera Bread[+1]
Upstream Brewing Co. (Tie ~ 1st)
Bread Oven (Tie ~ 2nd) [NEW]
Granite City Brewery (Tie ~ 2nd) [NEW]
Saigon (Tie ~ 2nd) [NEW]

Best Steak House in Omaha [Contentious Category]

Drover
Mahogany Prime Steakhouse
Sullivan's Steakhouse
NOTE: Though there were clear vote winners, this was still a highly divided category.

Best Sunday Brunch in Omaha

Dixie Quick's
Granite City
Mcfoster's Natural Kind Cafe

Best Sushi Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Blue Sushi Sake Grill ^** [+1;Large Margin]
Sakura Bana Japanese Restaurant [NEW]
Sushi Japan
Hiro [-2]

Best Thai Restaurant in Omaha [Contentious Category; All Local]

Thai Spice
Thai Kitchen
Bangkok Cuisine (Tie ~ 3rd)
Taste of Thailand (Tie ~ 3rd)

Best Restaurant in Omaha for a Business Lunch

Charleston's (Tie ~ 1st)
M's Pub (Tie ~ 1st)
Jams (Tie ~ 2nd)
Ryan's Bistro (Tie ~ 2nd)

Best Restaurant in Omaha for a First Date [All Local]

La Buvette (Tie ~ 1st)
M's Pub (Tie ~ 1st)
Mark's Bistro (Tie ~ 2nd)
O Dining (Tie ~ 2nd)
Stokes (Tie ~ 2nd)
Vivace (Tie ~ 2nd)

Most Romantic Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

V Mertz
Boiler Room
Flatiron Cafe

Most Overrated Restaurant in Omaha

Blue Sushi Sake Grill (Tie ~ 1st)
Cheesecake Factory (Tie ~ 1st)
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse (Tie ~ 2nd)
The French Cafe (Tie ~ 2nd)

Most Underrated Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Nicola's in the Market (Tie ~ 1st)
Alvarados (Tie ~ 1st)
Dixie Quick's

Best New Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Boiler Room
Mother India
Flavors India

Best Chef in Omaha [Low Vote Count]

Jennifer Coco @ Flatiron Cafe (Tie ~ 1st)
Paul Kulik @ The Boiler Room (Tie ~ 1st)

Best Restaurant in Omaha

Boiler Room
Flatiron Cafe
Blue Sushi Sake Grill
Spezia

NOTES AND COMMENTS: Since the form fields were free form, we tried to interpret the results as best we could (e.g. We might count Radial Cafe towards Lisa's Radial Cafe). If you'd like to double check our work, feel free to look at the raw data. No member of the GFC team voted. Since this was such a small sample size and some of the categories were so close, some of the results would be different if our votes were counted.

Best-ter-est of Omaha 2010^TM

Of course we plan to do this again next year, so please leave comments below with your thoughts about what you like and don't like about the categories, results, promotion, etc.... We would like to include some "Best Dish" categories, but I think the votes would be so unique that we wouldn't have a clear winner for any category. I'm very open to ideas around this. Here are a couple of examples that came out in the voting.

Big Horn Mountain BBQ: Beef Brisket
Upstream: Smoked Gouda & Blonde Ale Soup (x3)
Upstream: Tomato Basil
Mai Thai: Tom Yum Gai Soup
McFoster's Natural Kind: Roast Tomato Soup
Jaipur: Mulligatawny Soup
Grisanti's: Tomato Tortellini Soup
McFoster's Natural Kind: Sweet Potato Fries
Taste: Sweet Potato Fries
Smashburger: Smashfries (w/ Garlic and Rosemary)
Barrett's Barleycorn: Kitchen Sink Burger
Dinker's: Haystack Burger
Ethnic Sandwich Shop: The Irish Coned Beef Sandwich
Hiro: Husker Roll
Chinatown: Veggie Fried Rice
Whole Foods: Creme Brulee French Toast
Dixie Quick's: Oatmeal & Ice Cream
Mark's Bistro: Bread Pudding
Dario's: Banana and Brown Sugar Ice Cream

Closing Thoughts

For the most part, I'm very pleased with the results and I think they are a good representation of the Omaha food scene and the spots that foodies tend to favor. Next year we might try to clean up some of the categories, or at least define them better. I'd like to find a way to get restaurants like Peru, Mucho Gusto nominated for something, but it, like many other restaurants, don't fit well into any of our current categories really. One thing that I noticed while looking at the results is that there are some great opportunities for restaurants to step up and fill some voids. Categories that were dominated by chains or just plain didn't have many votes would be a good place to start. So if you had been planing on opening a Korean soup-and-sandwich shop or a breakfast spot offering a burrito-on-a-bagel, you might have something going for you.

On a personal note, while looking at the results, I realized the need for us to cover the Omaha restaurant scene more. Though I've been to well over half of the places on this list, we've reviewed just a fraction of them. Maybe you can help us with that problem.

On a related note, we'd like to send out window clings to all of the restaurants you see above. If you make window clings or know someone who does, contact us. If you're a person who would like to help us design our decal, contact us. If you are a business owner who would like to offer something to the winners (such as Joe Frost from Elify who will be offering free online strategy consultations), contact us. If you just want to contact us, contact us :-)

Best of Omaha, Omaha Restaurants, Omaha, Restaurants, Best Of, Awards, Best Of 2009,Food,GFC

WANTED: Food Writers in Omaha, NE

2010-01-06T14:42:00.001-06:00

"Mark Kurlansky: Choice Cuts" by several_bees

So it's a new year, and with that new ambitions and a renewed focus. And some clarity. Here's what's become clear: I need your help.

I've always wanted this site to be a collaborative effort, but I haven't aggressively sought out contributors in the past. That is going to change a bit this year. I am very aware that I don't have the ability to dine at and review nearly as many restaurants as I'd like, let alone cover the many other interesting food topics that I'd like. That is where I'm hoping some of you come in.

If you have an interest in food writing, please contact me with your areas of interest (e.g. Restaurant Reviews, Cooking/Recipes, Eating Local/Sustainable, Chef Interviews, etc...) and preferably a sample of your writing. No English Literary degrees required, just a passion for food. Hopefully we can find some great additions to our team.

Here's to a great new year at Gastronomic Fight Club. *cheers*

RELATED LINKS:
Food Writer: Mark Kurlansky

Omaha, Food Writers, Food, GFC

Menu for Hope 6 - American Wagyu Beef by Morgan Ranch

2009-12-14T07:43:00.004-06:00

Most of our long time readers by now are familiar with our end of the year fund raising efforts for Menu for Hope. For those not familiar, let me briefly explain.

At the end of each year, food bloggers across the globe have united to run a world wide raffle to raise money for charity. The UN World Food Programme has always been the beneficiary of this charity drive. That has not changed this year, however, we will be supporting a new initiative called Purchase for Progress (P4P).

P4P enables smallholder and low-income farmers to supply food to WFP�s global operation. P4P helps farmers improves farming practices and puts more cash directly into their pockets in return for their crops. This will also help buoy local economy by creating jobs and income locally. We food bloggers understand the importance of buying locally and supporting our local farms, P4P helps do the same for farmers in low income countries around the world.

Cool! How can I help?

For each $10 you donate, you will get one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. At the end of the campaign (December 14-25), the raffle tickets are drawn and the results announced on Chez Pim.

Like what kind of items?

How about dinner in New York with New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov? A dinner for two with wine pairing at Manresa? A wine vacation at Meadowood Resort in Napa? A custom made Japanese chef's knife? Dinner for 8 at Momofuku Ss�m Bar? Lighting kits for the photography nerds? These have all been items raffled off in the past. You'll be able to check out this year's bid item list on Chez Pim. They are divided into regions by blogger, but you can bid on items from any region. Or you can save yourself some time and just put all of your raffle tickets towards our great bid items.

Morgan Ranch - Gourmet American Wagyu/Kobe Beef

Once again, Morgan Ranch has been generous enough to provide us with amazing prize packages. Morgan Ranch has been breeding Wagyu in Burwell, Nebraska since the early 1990's using genetic stock acquired directly from Japan. One of the first Wagyu breeders in the United States, Morgan Ranch was also one of the few to pass stringent genetic, management and production requirements for shipping the prized beef back to Japan. Morgan Ranch remains one of the largest producers of Wagyu beef in the country.

So a special thanks goes out to Morgan Ranch for providing us with, not one, but two different Wagyu Beef bid items to be raffled off.

Morgan Ranch American Wagyu Coulettes

Taken from the sirloin, this French cut gives the Wagyu (American Kobe) Steak an exceptionally soft and sweet flavor. Since the Morgan Wagyu coulette steak is bit leaner in its makeup, its subtle, pleasant flavor makes it great for serving either carved as medallions or whole as a Chateaubriand. You'll receive 2 coulettes.

$125 value** BID ITEM CODE: UE28

Morgan Ranch American Wagyu Family BBQ Collection

This combination is perfect for a family barbecue. With 5 lbs. of ground beef, 4 sirloin steaks, and a pound of kabobs, adults and children alike will all find a favorite dish among this collection. It's a perfect way to become familiar with Wagyu (American Kobe) Beef.

$125 value** BID ITEM CODE: UE29

**Includes free 2nd day shipping within the continental US.

How Do I Donate and Enter the Menu for Hope Raffle?

Here's what you need to do:
1. Choose a bid item or bid items of your choice from our Menu for Hope main bid item list.
2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.
3. Please specify which bid item you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per bid item, and please use the bid item code.
Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02 - 2xEU01, 3xEU02.
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

Check back on Chez Pim on Monday, January 18 for the results of the raffle.

Good luck and thank you in advance to all who donate. Happy holidays to all!

BID ITEMS LISTS:
Europe (hosted by David Lebovitz)
Asia Pacific (hosted by Ed of Tomatom)
USA: East Coast (hosted by Helen of Tartelette)
USA: West Coast (hosted by Shauna of Gluten Free Girl)
Canada (hosted by Tara of Seven Spoons)
Wine prizes (hosted by Alder at Vinography)

Donate: At the Menu for Hope 6 donation site on firstgiving.com.

RELATED LINKS:
Sponsors: Thanks to Morgan Ranch for supplying us with some great gourmet wagyu beef to give away.
Taste Magazine Takes a Look at Morgan Ranch's Wagyu Beef and Falls in Love!
Wall Street Journal Puts Morgan Ranch Wagyu To The (Taste) Test.
HOW TO: Wagyu Beef Cooking tips
Help the Omaha Food Bank

Menu for Hope, Morgan Ranch, Wagyu Beef, Steaks, American Kobe Beef, Nebraska, Burwell, Midwest, Chez Pim, Menu for Hope 6, Charity, Menu for Hope VI, Food, GFC

Vote in the 2009 Best-ter-est of Omaha Restaurant Awards!

2009-11-20T15:09:00.001-06:00

Last year we launched our annual Best-ter-est of Omaha^TM awards with results that were better than almost anything we could hope for. Hopefully that list has helped you find some cool new places to try. But a year has past and it's time to crown some new winners. A chance for real foodies to stand up and be heard, hopefully creating the authoritative source for finding good food in Omaha.

Voting will stay open until Midnight, December 31st, 2009. The results will be announced shortly there after.

Submit your authority here.
2009 Best-ter-est of Omaha voting ballot

Need to refresh your memory? Review our list of Omaha Restaurants.

Oh, and while you're at it, why not submit some ideas to the 100 Things to Eat in Nebraska Before You Die list!

RELATED LINKS:
2008 Best-ter-est of Omaha^TM Awards
Best of Omaha, Omaha, Restaurants, Awards,Best-ter-est of Omaha,Best Restaurants, Best Omaha Restaurants,Food,GFC

Master Sommelier Introductory Course - Midwest Location

2009-11-03T21:26:00.000-06:00

When I found out that Jesse Becker was going to be offering part of the Master Sommelier curriculum here in Omaha, I was excited and intrigued. I asked him to share some of the details about the course so there would be more awareness for those who might be interested. Here is the information he had to share.

Gastronomic Fight Club has invited me to share the details of the Master Sommelier Introductory Sommelier Course, the first ever offered in Nebraska, being held at the Omaha Hilton hotel on November 11th and 12th. The course is intended for hospitality professionals, but is excellent training for anyone involved in the retail and wholesale wine trade. Even if you aren't in the wine trade, consumers will also benefit greatly from this course, because it places emphasis on improving tasting skills, and the lectures will thoroughly cover all the major wine-producing regions in the world.

Joining me are Wayne Belding, MS of Boulder, Colorado and Ron Edwards, MS of Charlevoix, Michigan. Wayne and Ron represent two of the top educators in our organization and have a true wealth of information and experience. I always look forward to teaching with them because I learn from them as well.

The Master Sommelier Introductory Sommelier Course is the first tier of education and testing conducted by the Court of Master Sommeliers. Candidates receive intensive instruction on product knowledge, beverage service, and blind tasting. We intend to provide hospitality professionals with well-rounded beverage expertise at the most rigorous standards.

The two-day educational course will include lectures on viticulture, vinification, and all of the world�s major wine-producing regions. Additional lectures will cover the production method of spirits and sake, proper wine service, social skills, wine legislation, and food and wine pairing.

Students will be trained extensively in blind tasting, a wine tasting skill that enables you to recognize typical characteristics of wines and to detect basic faults. This is the method we use to assess candidates for the Certified, Advanced, and Master exams.

At the end of the two-day educational course, candidates take a multiple-choice theory examination for which a passing grade of 60% is required. The Introductory Sommelier Course is a prerequisite for the Certified Sommelier Exam.

Please follow the link below for registration:
https://mastersommeliers.org/pages/application.jsp
Thank you and I look forward to seeing you in Omaha.
Jesse Becker, MS

Wine, Jesse Becker, Master Sommelier, Master Sommelier Introductory Course, Certified Sommelier Exam,Food,GFC

RECIPE: Award Winning Gnocchi Poutine

2009-10-31T21:06:00.006-05:00

Recently Chef Jessica Joyce of Confluence Bistro (which closed Dec. 31st, 2009) in Bellevue NE won the Comfort Food Classic challenge for the ultimate potato dish. With a special thanks to chef Joyce, here's the recipe for her award winning dish. If you make this, take pictures and share them with us on our Facebook Fan page.

Gnocchi Poutine

Ingredients for Gnocchi

2 pounds russet potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 pound ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 healthy pinch of salt
1 healthy pinch of ground tellicherry pepper

Directions

Roast the whole potatoes until they are soft (about 45 minutes). While still warm, peel and pass through food mill.Fold potatoes into cheeses, 2/3 of the flour, salt and pepper. Place on clean flat surface.Make well in center of potato mixture. Place eggs in center of well and using a fork, stir into flour and potatoes, just like making normal pasta. Once egg is mixed in, bring dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed. Knead gently another 4 minutes until ball is dry to touch.Roll baseball-sized ball of dough into 3/4-inch diameter dowels and cut dowels into 1-inch long pieces. Cut � inch uniform pieces with a bench scraper until dowel is finished. Press the center of the � pieces with the tip of your pinky finger (allows the gravy to pool). Drop these pieces into boiling water and cook until they float (about 1 minute). Meanwhile, continue with remaining dough, forming dowels, cutting into 1-inch pieces and imprinting with finger. As gnocchi float to top of boiling water, remove them to ice bath. Continue until all have been cooled off. Let sit several minutes in bath and drain from ice and water. Toss with 1/2 cup canola oil and store covered in refrigerator up to 48 hours until ready to serve.

Finishing Ingredients

Duck fat
Truffle oil
Demi-glace
(we used both lamb and beef bones for the competition dish)
Cheese Curds � Thank you Branched Oak Farm!
(look for fresh curds with a good squeak, first 12 hours)
Malt vinegar reduction
(reduce malt vinegar over medium heat until syrup consistency)
Heirloom tomato emulsion
(puree tomatoes in blender with salt, pepper, sugar and apple cider vinegar, strain into bowl. Slowly add oil to the tomato mixture and egg while mixing with an immersion blender)

Finishing Directions

Add a teaspoon of duck fat to a warm sautee pan. Place a serving of gnocchi in pan and cook until brown on both sides. Place in bowl and toss in truffle oil, add hot demi, fresh curds and continue to toss until the curds soften slightly.Place poutine on plate. Add an ounce or so of demi-glace. Garnish with malt vinegar reduction and heirloom tomato emulsion. You can always sub the reduction and emulsion for straight up ketchup and malt vinegar.RELATED LINKS:Gourmet Mac-n-Cheese RecipeOther Recipes on GFCRecipe, Poutine, Gnocchi, Jessica Joyce, Comfort Food Classic, Omaha, Confluence Bistro, Bellevue, Nebraska, Award Winning Recipe, Food, GFC

INTERVIEW: Chef Jessica Joyce - Confluence Bistro

2009-10-25T15:29:00.002-05:00

Chef Jessica Joyce, of Confluence Bistro (which closed Dec 31st, 2009) in Bellevue, NE, recently won the Comfort Food Classic challenge. This year's challenge was to create a gourmet potato dish. Chef Joyce won with a Gnocchi poutin. She has agreed to share her winning recipe with us which we'll be publishing later this week, but first we wanted to share our interview with her. Enjoy.

20-ish Questions with Jessica Joyce

You won with potatoes; What should the next Comfort Food Classic Challenge be?
Ice cream or soup! When I am feeling the need for comfort I lean one way or the other.

Had you made your winning dish before? Can you tell us more about your background with the dish?
Yes and No, I had made all of the components before but had never combined them. I�m an expert on eating poutine and try to grab a bite every time I am home. My favorite poutine comes from Johnny�s Fish and Chips on High Street in Sutton Ontario. The chips are huge-- skin on, the sauce is thick and as dark as molasses, the curds are perfect and every table has a full bottle of malt vinegar and ketchup!

Did you cook growing up? What inspired you to become a chef?
I took classes in high school and held jobs in restaurants since the age of 15. The yearning to know how to make everything really pushed me into the direction of formal training

Where did you gain your experience and training (Schools, jobs, etc)?
3 influences have had a major impact on how and why I cook the way that I do today.

1)The Institute for the Culinary Arts equipped me with a wide range of tools and skills, professional development and established a significant culinary community.

2)Travelling and experiencing food opened my eyes and my palate. Being exposed to eateries all over the world ultimately helped me to develop my culinary preferences and style.

3)Darwin Bistro, the team, the success and the expertise and guidance from Executive Chef Paul Urban fulfilled a dream and really showed me where I wanted to be.

Do you have any interesting/amusing kitchen incidents that you're willing to share?
I once got my hand stuck inside a can of truffle shavings and had to twist it out (slicing my hand in the meantime). I was so embarrassed, why I didn�t use a spatula I�ll never know! I guess I really wanted those truffles.

Who do you consider your mentor(s)?
Chef Paul Urban is the first person I call whenever I have a question.

Chef Kathleen Koesters, she was my first Chef in culinary school and she instilled values that I�ll never forget.

What is your philosophy on food and dining?
Taste everything. Don�t forget to enjoy it.

What advice would you give to aspiring young chefs?
Don�t forget the basics, check your ego at the door and seek out a restaurant that has a Chef who is willing to mentor you. A great mentor is invaluable.

What are your favorite dining spots and/or dishes in the city? Why?
Shucks because of their clam chowder. My mom would often make a gallon or so of clam chowder in a giant gray pot, 9 out of 10 times the pot never even left the burner. My brother, sister and I would eat 2-4 bowls each until that pot was empty. I guess their clam chowder reminds me of home. I am happy there.

What cities/restaurants/chefs have you always wanted to try food from?
El Bulli in Catalonia Spain. I became interested in their techniques in 2003 and have been really curious ever since. I simply just want to experience it.

Favorite kitchen tools or gadgets (besides your knives) and why?
Spoons!?! I use way too many during a shift just tasting tasting tasting. Every time I adjust I reach for a spoon and I taste.

Your 3 favorite knives in your bag (Brand, style, size, etc)?
8" Global cooks knife because it was my first knife and it fits my hand the best.
10" Shun cooks knife.
6" Wusthof carving.

Favorite or new food/spices/cuisines/techniques you're incorporating into your dishes at the moment?
Different vinegars/acids. They can really brighten a dish.

Any suppliers you'd like to give a shout out to because their product just blows you away?
Plum Creek Farm chicken, Branched Oak Farm cheeses and Rotella's for their delicious wheat berry bread.

What food/dish/whatever will never make it on your menu? Why?
Angel hair pasta because it makes me gag! Oh, and stuffed green peppers, for the same reason!

What trends do you see emerging in the restaurant industry now (nationally and/or locally)?
I�ve seen a really big jump back toward local and going green. It makes me happy to see. However, I�ve noticed that consumers need some time to adjust to the higher prices, especially in this economy.

Do you read food blogs or forums? If so, which ones?
I mainly read gastronomic fight club and chowhound. I�ll often search for local products, see what is in season in Nebraska and check out other chef�s/restaurants/clubs on facebook.

What function do you feel these sites play in the food world?
They extend the culinary community and allow cooks to access information after hours, which is important in our field.

What are your thoughts on the Food Television Network?
After an exhausting day the food network provides us with a somewhat reiterative form of educational entertainment. Although often, it is simply there as a default channel.

When at home, what do you like to eat? Do you do the cooking?
If I am at home and just cooking something for myself I will reach for vegemite with peanut butter on whole grain toast. It is the best but I have to pace myself because it is difficult to get vegemite in the states so I have to consider how much I have left and when I�ll be getting my next supply. I love it and eat it often.

What might surprise people to find in your fridge or cupboards?
Way too many sweets! My roommate, Amy Ewing is a Pastry Chef and she�s always filling up the fridge with icing or icing related goodness. Also, my other roommate just made a killer tater tot casserole that we�ve been enjoying, with the addition of hot sauce!

Best piece of advice you would give a novice or home enthusiast?
Encouraging group cooking is a good way to keep things positive. The internet is a great tool as are books but there is nothing better than sharing ideas and food face to face with friends. Seriously, find some friends to experience food with. My boyfriend and I host "Top Chef Wednesdays" where everyone contributes, we eat, we watch Top Chef together and we talk about cooking.

Jessica Joyce, Interview, Confluence Bistro, Omaha, Comfort Food Classic, Ted E. Bear Hollow, Food Competition, GFC

Dine Out Against Hunger 2009 - Oct 13, Tuesday

2009-10-07T05:50:00.002-05:00

Dine Out Against Hunger
Tuesday, October 13

Each of these restaurants have agreed to donate 10% of the day's proceeds on Tuesday, October 13th, to The Food Bank. Be sure to mention that you applaud the restaurant's support of The Food Bank!

Dine Out Against Hunger 2009 Participating Omaha Restaurants

Don't forget, you can also help the Omaha Food Bank by
Buying the 2010 Savings Sidekick Omaha Coupon Book

Dine Out Against Hunger, Omaha, Omaha Food Bank, Restaurants, Charity, 2009, Food, GFC

Halloween Cake Recipes: Pumpkin, Dirt and more!

2009-10-01T22:58:00.003-05:00

October is here! Which means it's time to start thinking about what fun Halloween treats to create for those parties you'll be invited to (or hosting!). I've only recently started getting more creative with my holidays since I've had my daughter, but I've realized that I probably should have started long before that. It's really kind of fun.

So far, I've made filled cupcakes, dirt cake, a decorated Halloween cake, and a 3D pumpkin cake - all Halloween themed. As I started making these treats, I discovered that you can make anything holiday themed as long as you had some imagination and some food coloring.

Filled Cupcakes

The first thing I'll talk about is the easiest. Filled cupcakes. Who doesn't remember eating Hostess cupcakes? You peel the chocolate frosting off the top and then split the cake in half to reveal the fluffy white creme filling. Yum. Now it's awesome if you have the time to make both the frosting and the cake from scratch, but I'm a working mother of a 2 year old with a life outside the kitchen. Needlessly to say, I do not make my cake or frosting from scratch often and if I do, it's only for my family, not work functions. If you've read any of my previous posts about cake though, you'll know that I whole heartedly defend the usage of boxed cakes. Enough of that.

You can use any flavor cake and frosting that you like. I have used yellow cakes with vanilla frosting and chocolate frosting or chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. It's really up to you and what you feel you want to make. Although I haven't tried it, I imagine that lemon cake with vanilla, chocolate, or lemon frosting would be really good too.

You really can't get any simpler than this. Put the cupcakes in the oven, while they're baking, make the filling. Once the cupcakes are done, take them out and when they are only slightly warm, fill your cupcakes by inserting pastry bag/cake decorator fitted with a large round tip. Squeeze until the top of the cake puffs out a little. Then take it out and frost once the cake is completely cool. DONE. Here is the recipe for the filling.

Cupcake Creme Filling
INGREDIENTS:
1/3 c. Evaporated Milk
1/2 c. Granulated Sugar
2/3 c. Crisco
1/4 t. Salt
1 Tbs. Vanilla
1 Tbs. Water
1/2 c. Powdered Sugar
a few drops of food coloring to color creme as desired

INSTRUCTIONS: In a mixing bowl, put milk, granulated sugar, Crisco, salt and vanilla. Beat for 10 minutes. Then add water and powder sugar: beat until fluffy.

YEILD: Makes enough for 3 dozen.

There are some tricks to filling them that I will mention and hopefully save you some heart ache.

If you are using a zipper lock bag as a pastry bag to put the filling in, you'll have to squeeze harder or hold the bag in a fashion that the bottom of the bag barely moves. Otherwise you won't get enough frosting in.
Make sure you keep an eye on the top of the cupcake to watch it puff up. If it starts to crack, you may have too much creme inside.
If you don't want to go through the time of making cupcakes, you can make your cake in a 9x13 pan and then randomly inject the creme filling all over the cake and then frost the entire thing. It's a great surprise in the plain old generic office cakes everyone sees so often.
You can easily split the recipe after it's been made and dye them in separate bowls so you have different colors.

Dirt Cake

The dirt cake and the decorated cake are just slightly harder, but not by much. For the dirt cake, all you have to do is follow the recipe, dye the cream cheese mixture orange, layer it in a 9x13 pan, and finish it off with some spooky candies like Peep ghosts, pumpkin shaped Mellowcremes, and Nilla wafers (write RIP on one half and stick it in the dirt cake for a tombstone). You can get really fancy and pipe vines off of the pumpkins for vines.

Dirt Cake Recipes

-OR-
AllRecipes.com Dirt Cake Recipe

Orange Halloween Polka-Dot Cake

The decorated cake is a fun way to get some kudos from your friends with minimal effort. Make two 8" layer cakes and trim them so they're fairly flat. Place the first cake with the cut side up on your serving platter and frost the middle with the frosting of your choice dyed orange. (I've been playing around with a butter cream frosting recipe that I really like.) Place the second layer of cake cut side down on top of the frosted half and make sure it's flat on the top and straight vertically. Frost the rest of the cake with orange frosting and make it as flat as you can on all sides. Using a piping bag with a star tip, pipe a border at the base of the cake. Change the tip to a small round tip and pipe dots that are equally spaced all around the cake. Next, all you have to do is collect the compliments

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING RECIPE

1 1/2 cups shortening
1/2 cup butter
8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons regular vanilla extract
6 fluid ounces heavy cream

1. Beat the shortening and butter together until it looks fluffy.
2. Add sugar and continue to cream until it's mixed well.
3. Add salt, vanilla, and cream, mix until blended.
4. Beat at high speed until the frosting is fluffy. About 5-10 minutes.
5. Add gel food coloring if desired.

3D Pumpkin Cake

If you are feeling a little craftier, you can try a 3D cake. I made one for my team last year and they loved it and I couldn't believe how easy it was. Bake two bundt cakes and 2 cupcakes using two cake mixes. Just fill a cupcake mold 3/4 of the way and pour the rest of the batter into the bundt pan. Once the cakes are cool you can start frosting the cake. Place one of the bundt cakes with the rounded part down on your serving dish and frost the top of it (the flat part only). This will be the middle of your finished cake so you can take this opportunity to dye your frosting a different color or get really creative with a filling.

After the top is frosted, place the other bundt cake on top with the flat side facing down. If there are decorative lines on the outside of your bundt cake, now would be a good time to line them up. It's not an extremely necessary step, but it will make your cake look better depending on your frosting skills.

The next step is to frost the top of the two layer cake with orange frosting. You don't have to go all the way down on the outside, but make sure you get the inside of the hole a bit. Next you'll drop one of the cupcakes (if you used a paper liner for the cupcakes, you need to take them off first before using them in your cake) into the hole with the top facing up and frost the top of the cupcake with orange frosting. Turn the second cupcake upside down and place it on top of the already frosted cupcake. This is your pumpkin stump, so you'll want to frost it green. Be careful that it doesn't shift too much while you're frosting. If it does move a lot, you can use 3 or 4 toothpicks to hold them together. Carefully frost the rest of the pumpkin with orange frosting and pipe on the jack o' lantern face of your choice with black frosting and you're done!

Halloween, Cakes, Cooking, Recipes, Halloween Treats, Hostess, Cupcakes, Food, GFC

Peru, Mucho Gusto - Omaha NE - Review

2009-09-15T15:30:00.005-05:00

"Peru, Much Gusto? Are you sure you read it right? A Peruvian restaurant in Omaha?"

Those were basically the words I used when my co-worker told me a Peruvian restaurant opened in Omaha. It just really caught me off guard. I'm not sure why. I mean we have an Ethiopian restaurant which I was sure was going to be the last cuisine to make it's debut here. But my curiosity was peaked to say the least. Sure enough, within a week we were on our way to try and find the place (thanks in part to an online Entertainment book coupon).

When we got there, the interior looked like most small locally owned ethnic restaurants. It was sparsely decorated with that kind of "temporary residence" kind of look. It's not really a concern to foodies, but I had to mention it.

Before this meal, I'd only been to one other Peruvian restaurant, La Furia Chalaca in Oakland, CA. Therefore I am far from an expert on Peruvian cuisine, but given that the chef/owner Raul Atencio is from Peru, I think it's a safe bet to assume the food is fairly authentic. Though they try to source everything locally, the fish and some of the spices are flown in from Peru when a good substitute cannot be found.

We started off with the Papa Rellena. Cooked mashed potatoes are formed around seasoned beef, eggs, raisins and Peruvian spices, then deep fried and served with a spicy salsa criolla. Being a potato dish, and a fried one at that, I enjoyed this dish. My wife did not. It was too spicy for her palette - a reoccurring theme throughout the meal.

We also got an order of Yucca Frita (Fried Yucca) that was served with a creamy garlic "Mojo" (I think?) sauce. The yucca was a little hit and miss. Some of them seemed under done in the middle requiring some water to get them down. The outsides were pretty much all hit. I ended up eating a couple like corn on the cob to get those crisp outsides and tender fluffy insides together. And the garlic sauce was all miss, at least for us. We were told this stuff is like ketchup in Peru and people put it on almost anything.

For our entrees, we asked our waitress for guidance. She ended up recommending some of the dishes we were considering anyway, so we ordered the Lomo Saltado and the Ceviche De Pescado. They were out of the Seco De Carne Con Frijoles (beef cooked with Inca corn beer) that I wanted to try.

Lomo Saltado is a dish we had before. It's pieces of ribeye sauteed with onions, tomatoes and french fries, served with steamed rice in case the fries aren't enough carbs for you. It's a little odd to see the fries basically stir fried with the beef then doused with a broth, but it's actually a good dish. The seasonings give the dish a little kick, but as I said, that's the norm. Unfortunately the beef wasn't as tender as I'd expect ribeye to be. It might have something to do with how it's prepared as it has almost a steamed appearance.

If you're bothered by the spice in the Lomo Saltado, stay far away from the cevice. The bountiful fish on your plate certainly won't leave you hungry - if you can finish it all. I was unsuccessful at that task. The fish is marinated in lime juice and Peruvian chilies. This made it really spicy and really acidic. It was very enjoyable, but palette fatigue set in about half way through.

As we finished we had a chance to talk to owner Mimi Atencio. She and her entire staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Service can often be a problem with places just starting out, but it didn't seem to be an issue here. In talking to her, we learned they have live music on Friday and Saturday nights. We also learned, after inquiring about the Asian influence on the menu, that Peru had a large population of Chinese and Japanese immigrants. Much like Hawaiian food, Peruvian food has adopted many of their ingredients and techniques. I'll have to try the fried rice next time.

Rating: 82+

Peru, Mucho Gusto
77th & L St. (Ralston)

7755 L St. (Map)
Ralston, NE 68127
Phone: (402) 932-0049
Email: Peru.Muchogusto@hotmail.com

HOURS:
Open daily from 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
CLOSED MONDAYS

RELATED LINKS:
Chef Chat: Myriam Atencio from Peru, Mucho Gusto

Peru Mucho Gusto, Omaha, Nebraska, Restaurant Review, Peruvian Cuisine, Food, GFC

Omaha Coupon Book helping the Omaha Food Bank

2009-09-10T13:55:00.004-05:00

In June we mentioned that The Omaha Food Bank was to become the primary beneficiary of our charitable efforts at Gastronomic Fight Club. This is the first step towards that mission. We have partnered with the Savings Sidekick Omaha Coupon Book to make the Omaha Food Bank one of the available charities on their site that can benefit from sales of the discount books. When selected as the donation recipient the Omaha Food Bank will receive *at least* $10 from your $20 purchase. When purchased through the link below, they will get $11! And of course you get the benefit of not only helping the Omaha Food Bank, but you will also get those nifty BOGO coupons to a good number of Omaha restaurants.

Help the Omaha Food Bank
Buy the 2010 Savings Sidekick Omaha Coupon Book

We thank you for helping us support the Omaha Food Bank. If you have other ideas of how everyone can help, please submit your ideas in the comments below.

Omaha Food Bank, Omaha Coupons, Restaurant Coupons, Savings Sidekick,Food,GFC

MAP: 100 things to eat in Iowa before you die

2009-08-10T08:50:00.004-05:00

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I stumbled upon this list just recently. It was compiled by The Des Moines Register back in 2006. It's a great list, but unless you're really familiar with Iowa, it's really just entertaining reading since you wouldn't know where half the places are located. So we decided to create a map of all 100 places - that way you can attempt all of the food on your own. Or if you're not quite up to that, you can see someone attempt the list at Roadfood Digest.

And of course we have to start a Nebraska version of this Midwestern foodies' bucket list to compliment the Iowa list. So tell us what, where and why (and when if applicable) are the 100 things to eat in Nebraska before you die.

Entry Form: 100 things to eat in Nebraska before you die

100 things to eat in Iowa before you die

___ 1. Taco Pizza, Happy Joe's, locations across Iowa

___ 2. Sweet corn, Sweet Corn Festival, Adel

___ 3. BBQ Ribs, Claxon's Smokehouse & Grill, Altoona

___ 4. Sauerkraut Salad, Colony Inn Restaurant, Amana

___ 5. Rhubarb wine, Ackerman Winery, Amana

___ 6. Schild Brau Amber, Millstream Brewery, Amana Colonies

___ 7. Sauerbraten (beef marinated in a sweet and sour sauce, made with spices and Amana wines) with potato dumplings, Ronneburg Restaurant, Amana

___ 8. Saucy Southerner Sandwich, Hickory Park, Ames

___ 9. Chicken Tequila Fettuccine (Chicken, onions, peppers and tequila-soy cream sauce on spinach fettuccine), Aunt Maude's, Ames

___ 10. Denver-Style Crust Pizza, The Great Plains Sauce and Dough Co., Ames

___ 11. Gyro, The Gyro Guy outdoor cart, Campustown, Ames

___ 12. Margarita, O'Malley & McGees, Ames

___ 13. Fresh Beer-Battered Onion Rings, The Redwood Steakhouse, Anita

___ 14. Angel Cream Coconut Cake, Peppercorn Pantry Tea Room, Aplington

___ 15. Nutty Bar, Arnolds Park Amusement Park, Arnolds Park

___ 16. Prime Rib, The Feedlot Steakhouse, Atlantic

___ 17. Homemade fudge, The Mean Street Grill, Atlantic

___ 18. Spaghetti Soup and Red Raspberry Pie, Breitbach's Country Dining, Balltown

___ 19. Sink Cookies, Granny Annie's Bakery & Cafe, Cedar Falls

___ 20. Raspberry Coffee Cake, Barn Happy, Cedar Falls

___ 21. Kolaches, Sykora Bakery, Cedar Rapids

___ 22. Cabbage Rolls (ground beef with rice wrapped in a cabbage leaf with a tangy tomato sauce) with potato or bread dumplings, Zindricks Czech Restaurant, Cedar Rapids

___ 23. Pork Ribs, Al & Irene's, Cedar Rapids

___ 24. Onion Rings, J Bruners steak restaurant, Clarinda

___ 25. Black Dirt Cake (cream-cheese frosting layered between ground Oreo cookies), That Place Restaurant, Conrad

___ 26. Garst Farm sides: Corn Casserole, Four-Way Bean Dish and Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage, Garst Farm Resorts, Coon Rapids

___ 27. Hot Fudge Sundae, served with a pitcher of fudge on the side, Lagomarcino's, Davenport

___ 28. Pond-Raised Catfish with Western Baked Potato, The Enchanted Inn, Davenport

___ 29. Regular (pepperoni and sausage) or Around-The-Garden Pizza, Mabe's Pizza & Restaurant, Decorah

___ 30. Breakfast buffet with made-to-order omelets, homemade waffles, biscuits and gravy, and pastries, Cronk's Restaurant & Lounge, Denison

___ 31. Burritos Jimador (cheese-sauce topped burritos stuffed with steak, cheese and lettuce), El Jimador, Denison

___ 32. Bone-in Delmonico, 801 Steak & Chop House, Des Moines

___ 33. Margherita or Sausage Pizza, Chuck's Italian-American Restaurant, Des Moines

___ 34. Peach Ice Cream, Bauder's, Des Moines

___ 35. Chicken Spiedini, Tursi's Latin King Restaurant, Des Moines

___ 36. Corn dog, Campbell's Concessions, Iowa State Fair, Des Moines

___ 37. Chocolate Bonbon, Chocolaterie Stam, Des Moines/Windsor Heights/West Des Moines

___ 38. Tom Ka Kai, Thai Flavors, Des Moines

___ 39. Steak taco, Tasty Tacos, Des Moines

___ 40. Hot Sausage Sandwich (made with Graziano's sausage), Norwood Inn, Des Moines

___ 41. Trappistine Creamy Caramels, Trappistine Nuns of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey Monastery, Dubuque

___ 42. Bison Tenderloin, Pepper Sprout Midwest Cuisine, Dubuque

___ 43. Caramel Apple, Betty Jane Candies, Dubuque

___ 44. Gunderburger, The Irish Shanti, Elgin

___ 45. Stuffed Pork Loin, The Danish Inn, Elk Horn

___ 46. Crepes, La Petit Paris, Fairfield

___ 47. Vegetarian Salad Bar, Maharishi University of Management cafeteria, Fairfield

___ 48. Sunday Vegetarian Breakfast Buffet, Everybody's, Fairfield

___ 49. Wood-Fired Pizza, Revelations Cafe & Bookstore, Fairfield

___ 50. Semmel (a dense German roll, baked fresh daily), The Bistro at the Gortz Haus, Grimes

___ 51. Chicken Walnut Salad, served on Wednesdays at Kelcy's, Grinnell

___ 52. Cream-Filled Coney, (doughnut with cream filling, shaped like a hot dog), Danish Maid Bakery, Grinnell

___ 53. Homemade Triple Berry Pie, Picket Fence Caf�, Guttenberg

___ 54. Cherry Pie, Crouse Cafe, Indianola

___ 55. Spicy Yam Pate, Red Avocado, Iowa City

___ 56. Green Papaya Salad, Thai Spice Restaurant, Iowa City

___ 57. Brie Beast Sandwich (Niman Ranch roast beef, brie cheese, roasted sweet peppers, lettuce and tomato on farm bread), New Pioneer Co-Op, Iowa City and Coralville

___ 58. Tuscan Tomato Soup, Bread Garden Bakery & Cafe, Iowa City

___ 59. Vegetarian Falafel Sandwich, Oasis Falafel, Iowa City

___ 60. Smoke Trout Pate (served with stone-ground wheat crackers), Linn Street Cafe, Iowa City

___ 61. BBQ Chicken, Camp David, Iowa Falls

___ 62. Fried Chicken with homemade bread, mashed potatoes and gravy, The Red Barn Bistro, Keosauqua

___ 63. Bob Dog (natural-casing wiener topped with loose meat), Bob's Drive-In, Le Mars

___ 64. Tenderloin Tips (cubes of tenderloin beef sauteed with mushroom, white wine and oregano in a white wine and garlic-butter sauce) Somebody's Grille & Bar, Manilla

___ 65. Tortellini Carbonara (tortellini with homemade Alfredo sauce, bacon and green onions), Phat Daddy's, Marengo

___ 66. Half-pound burger, Marquette Bar & Cafe, Marquette

___ 67. Maid-Rite, Taylor's Maid-Rite, Marshalltown

___ 68. Mile-High Lemon Meringue Pie, Stone's Restaurant, Marshalltown

___ 69. Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie, Twisted Chicken, McGregor

___ 70. 16-ounce Ribeye (heart-cut, bacon-wrapped), Rube's Steaks, Montour and Waukee

___ 71. Homegrown Muscatine Melons, late July until first frost, The Good Earth Restaurant, Muscatine

___ 72. Seven Seas Seafood Soup, Guadalajara, Muscatine

___ 73. Grilled Sirloin Meatloaf (Wood-fire grilled meatloaf served on Texas toast with BBQ sauce, topped with mashed potatoes and onion straws), The Button Factory Woodfire Grille, Muscatine

___ 74. Blue Cheese, Maytag Dairy Farm, Newton

___ 75. Bratwurst, Woudstra Meat Market, Orange City

___ 76. Loaded Hash Browns, Otho Pub, Otho

___ 77. Loose meat sandwich, Canteen Lunch in the Alley, Ottumwa

___ 78. Dutch letters, Jaarsma Bakery, Pella

___ 79. Cast-Iron Seared Filet with a Blue Cheese Crostini, Carmelized Mushrooms and a Maple-Bourbon Demi-glaze, David's Milwaukee Diner, Perry

___ 80. Fajitas, Sabor Latino, Postville

___ 81. Hamburger Buns, Postville Bakery, Postville

___ 82. Broasted Chicken, Red Rooster, Postville

___ 83. Pita and Falafel, Kosher Community Restaurant, Postville

___ 84. Country Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Creamed Vegetables, first Sunday of the month, Elks Club, Shenandoah

___ 85. Tuna Sushi, Fuji Bay Japanese Restaurant, Sioux City

___ 86. Onion Peels, Tastee In and Out, Sioux City

___ 87. Pork Tenderloin, St. Olaf Tavern, St. Olaf

___ 88. Fruit-of-the-Forest Pie (fruits in season), Susie's Kitchen, Stanton

___ 89. Swedish Meatball Soup, Boz Wellz Pub & Eaterie, Storm Lake

___ 90. Caramel Truffles, Kristi's Kandies & Heirlooms, Storm Lake

___ 91. New York Strip Steak, The Embers, Storm Lake

___ 92. Raspberry Pork Tenderloin (Grilled pork tenderloin with a raspberry sauce), The Cottage on Broad, Story City

___ 93. Dutch Salad, Coffee Cup Cafe, Sully

___ 94. Steak DeBurgo, Sam & Gabe's Italian Bistro, Urbandale

___ 95. Cinnamon Roll, Iowa Machine Shed, Urbandale

___ 96. Prime Rib Twister (Grilled prime rib with Cajun seasoning topped with grilled mushrooms, onions and grilled shrimp), AK Corral Steakhouse & Lounge, Ute

___ 97. Muskie Burger, Muskie Lounge, Ventura

___ 98. Black Forest Cake, Martin's Brandenburg, Waverly

___ 99. Chocolate malt, Wilton Candy Kitchen, Wilton

___ 100. Apple Dumpling, Iowa 80 truck stop, Walcott

RELATED LINKS:
An Item-by-Item map of the Iowa list
MAP: 100 things to eat in Iowa before you die

A City-by-City map of the Iowa list
Food To Eat In Iowa Before You Die

Thanks to RoadFood.com for a great site that helped us create this map.

100 things to eat in Iowa before you die, 100 things to eat in Iowa before you die, Iowa, Nebraska, Travel, Road Trip, Best of, Food, GFC

Where's the best Mexican food in Omaha

2009-07-31T10:33:00.005-05:00

I am constantly amazed at how often this question comes up. Omaha has a surprising number of good Mexican restaurants, but most of the one's that seem to get recommended are not "the Best Of". If someone tells you the best Mexican restaurant in Omaha has several locations, they probably don't get out enough. The same would go for any location West of 60th street, save a couple a unique places like Rivera's. In general, it is really hard to go wrong with any of the Mexican restaurants on 24th street between L Street and Q Street. There are also a couple of restaurants in Q Street between 30th and 36th that are pretty good. Beyond those, Nettie's, Howard's, Riveria's and Guaca Maya are all solid choices.

The winners of our 2008 "Best-ter-est of Omaha" awards were Alvarados, El Aguila, Guaca Maya and La Mesa, but honestly, I think a lot of people (including myself) haven't fully explored the South Omaha area. Without doing so, I don't think one can declare a "Best Mexican Restaurant" in Omaha, only recommend what's been the best they've found so far.

With that said, I'll be updating this map with the places that I've tried, or have heard from trusted sources, that are some of the restaurants in Omaha to find truly great authentic Mexican cuisine (though I reserve the right to include any Latin American restaurants).

Map of the Best Mexican Cuisine in Omaha

I also encourage everyone to share your favorite spots. I'll use those recommendations as my TODO list when trying to decide where to eat next.

Omaha, Mexican Food, Best Of, Mexican Restaurants, Maps, Food, GFC

The Best Adjustable Spice Rack

2009-07-18T15:23:00.003-05:00

Check Out My Spice Rack

With title apologizes to "Mama Spice". It's an inaccurate title anyway. It should be "Check Out the Spice Rack I Want, But Can't Seem to Locate".

So here is the rack. It's the one in the upper left that I'm looking for. Pretty basic, kind of obvious, yet I have never seen one in the US.

I have looked up and down the internet for something even remotely close to what I'm looking for. There is a HUGE selection of spice racks available, but none that fit my needs.

So all of you manufacturers of spice racks out there, listen up as I spout some design logic for a wall mountable spice rack with a focus on something that could be mounted on the inside of a cabinet door.

It's impossible to create something that is going to fit everyone's needs. The best you can hope for is to create a flexible system to fit most people's needs. Usually with flexibility comes complexity and/or a lack of stability. Luckily there are few technical requirements for a spice rack, so a flexible system won't become overly complex or unstable. So let's build the ultimate adjustable, inside-the cabinet-door spice rack.

The first requirement of a wall mountable spice rack is for it to be adjustable. What I mean by that is after I install it and put holes in my cabinet door, I don't want to ever have to do that again. If we can avoid holes all together, even better. The point is, I might adjust the shelves in my cabinet, and I'll want to adjust the shelves on the spice rack accordingly. The easiest why I can see doing that is a vertical rail system or a peg-board like system.

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Next up, handling different cabinet sizes. Not everyone has 4 foot cabinet doors. Since cabinet doors vary in height and width, different options should be made available. The easiest way I can see doing this is to actually sell the baskets and rails separately. Have 2 foot cabinets? Buy the 18 inch rails. Then buy the number of baskets that make sense for your situation. Only buy those squat spice containers? You could probably get away with more baskets per rail set. Along the same lines, producing baskets of varying wall heights and/or depths would be a good idea. To keep the spices from bouncing all around and falling out when I close the door a little too hard, make sure the connection between the baskets and rails is snug.

Okay, that's really all I have. Like I said, it's not really too complicated, yet it's nothing I've really ever seen before. Here's what I like about the rack linked to above:

It has two rails you fasten to your cabinet doors with just 4 screws
You can easily move the baskets up and down without needing to drill new holes in your doors
The baskets are large without being so large that the spices will flop around
The front wall of the baskets is high enough to keep tall containers in
I can keep the spices in the containers I purchased them in

Maybe not perfect, but pretty close. The biggest problem with this particular rack is that it would cost me $50 just to ship it to the US! So this is my open plea to OXO, The Container Store and all of you other kitchen gadget companies - build this spicerack please.

Spice Rack, Help,OXO,Food,GFC

New Omaha Food Bloggers - Q3 2009

2009-07-10T08:30:00.006-05:00

As more foodies start blogging and existing food bloggers move to Omaha, our list of Omaha Food Bloggers continues to grow. I'll be updating the list occasionally as we find these new blogs. We also have one subtraction since Greg Bullard has moved to Austin, TX. Greg is still doing some reviews of Omaha restaurants, so keep an eye out for those. Now check out our latest additions:

Omaha Food Bloggers

Tweet it out for #FollowFriday

Omaha, Food, Bloggers, Omaha Food Bloggers Blog Roll, FollowFriday, GFC

Omaha Food Bank - O! What a Duck Race 2009

2009-06-12T09:19:00.003-05:00

We've decided to make The Omaha Food Bank the primary beneficiary of our charitable efforts at Gastronomic Fight Club. We hope to share more information about that in the coming months. Right now, however, everyone can help the Food Bank with their largest fundraiser of the year which is just starting to ramp up this weekend.

The Omaha Food Bank's 2nd Annual
"O! What a Duck Race!"

July 25, 2009
Adopt a Duck ~ Feed the Hungry

Over 50,000 ducks will be dropped into the lake at Heartland of America Park and will race for a quarter mile until one duck is the Grand Prize Winner of a Nissan Versa! And one lucky duck will have a chance to win One Million Dollars!

The day will start with FREE family-friendly activities for all ages, great food, live music, and will culminate in the racing of the derby ducks for a grand prize of the Nissan Versa!

Date: July 25, 2009
Where: Heartland of America Park
Schedule: Stay tuned for race day details!

Grand Prize: Nissan Versa
Sponsored by: Nissan of Omaha

Funds raised benefit The Food Bank and the thousands of people struggling to put food on the table for their families.

Adopt a Duck

$5 "Just Quacky" (1)
1 Duck Adoption

$25 "Six Quack" (6)
Adopt 5 Ducks, Get 1 Free

$40 "Sack of Quacks" (10)
Adopt 8 Ducks, Get 2 Free

$100 "Max Quacks" (25)
Adopt 20 Ducks, Get 5 Free

Get more information on adopting ducks for "O! What a Duck Race!".

Why Adopt a Duck?

All proceeds go to the Omaha Food Bank to support their many local programs. The food bank has set a goal of getting 50,000 derby ducks adopted for this fund raiser. The derby ducks will be dropped into the lake and the first six to cross the finish line will be the winners. The Grand Prize is a 2009 Nissan Versa, with an Alaskan Cruise and family membership to Prairie Life Fitness also among the prizes.

More importantly, consider the benefits provided by your donation.

What does "Adopting a Duck" Really Mean?

$5 spent adopting ducks feeds a family of four for 1 day.
$25 spent adopting ducks feeds a family of four for 1 week
$100 spent adopting ducks feeds a family of four for 1 month.

The Food Bank is more than a faceless building or a lifeless warehouse. The Food Bank is a lifeline to children, families and senior citizens...and they are The Food Bank. In the past few years, they have distributed between 5 and 7 million pounds of food to over 360 member agencies in eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa. In addition to the food distribution, The Food Bank supports four direct programs:

* The Senior Outreach Program
* The Food for Kids BackPack Program
* Kids Cafe
* Mobile Pantry

A huge thanks to everyone who is able to help with this effort.

Omaha Food Bank,O What a Duck Race, Charity, Omaha, Food Bank, Nissan of Omaha, Food,GFC

Kobe Beef Hamburger Recipes

2009-06-08T07:37:00.010-05:00

Father's day is upon us and we're full on into grilling season. So what to give dear old dad? Last year we wrote a Guide to Gifts for the Foodie Father. This year, for some reason, I've only had one thing on my mind - Wagyu Beef. So that's what I think you should get pops for Father's Day.

Plan B's "Famous Wagyu Beef Burger".
Photo by greatlettuce. Licensed under CC 2.0

Wagyu beef is also known as American Kobe Beef for the breed of cattle from which it's produced. Typically in the US the Wagyu you'll find is actually a mixed breed of Wagyu and Angus. It's prized for it's high fat content marbled throughout the meat beyond that of USDA prime. The US and Japan have their own grading scales for this prized beef. USDA prime would score at most a 5 or 6 on the 12 point beef marbling scale (BMS). The other scale ranges from C1 to A5. The highest rated A5 BMS 12 Kobe beef is: mostly white with flecks of pink meat, is $1,200 a pound and takes 4 to 6 weeks for delivery in the United States.

We won't be cooking with that. And to tell the truth, it would be a waste to make burgers from such a rare selection of meat. Instead, we recommend finding a local supplier who can provide a better value for something not so insanely marbled. There are several Wagyu beef suppliers in the Midwest, including Morgan Ranch in Burwell, Nebraska.

Morgan Ranch supplied us with a generous donation to raise money in support of the Menu for Hope IV in 2007 and the Menu for Hope V in 2008. We encourage you to check them out. As a bonus, Dan Morgan frequently makes trips to Omaha, so if you call them up, you might be able to arrange a pick up of your order while he's here to avoid paying shipping charges.

In preparing for this article, I emailed Dan at Morgan Ranch to get some recommendations for prepping and cooking Wagyu. Most of his suggestions will be obvious to foodies such as don't get in the way of the product by masking the flavors with lots of herbs or rubs. Also, try to let the meat get as close to room temperature as possible before cooking. At this temp the meat is ready to cook and relaxes as compared to shrinking up and condensing. Remember, the melting point of the fat and lipids in Wagyu is much lower when compared to your standard beef. The one tip that surprised me a little was his recommendation to sprinkle some sugar on leaner cuts, such as sirloin and ground beef. This brings out the sweetness in the meat and also creates a glaze on the meat. Great idea.

With that, I don't really have a recipe for Kobe Burgers. I'm kind of a purist and think that salt, pepper (and a little sugar) is all you really need. Get some nice toasted buns and you're good to go. Maybe get a little fancy with some caramelized onions, garlic aoili, crisp bitter lettuce greens, heirloom tomatoes and toasted brioche.

But that's probably not what you wanted to hear, so I've gathered up some recipes, but I also encourage you to leave your own recipe in the comment section below. To get your mind churning, check out these recipes from famous chefs around the world.

Kobe Burger Recipes

Kobe burger from chef Michael Mina of Stonehill Tavern

I'm sure Michael Mina has about a dozen kobe burger recipes from his about a dozen other restaurants. But this one sounds excellent. A decedent Kobe burger with truffle brioche buns, pickled onions, oven-dried tomatoes, truffle aioli. Recipe for Stonehill Tavern Kobe burger

Kobe Bleu Cheese Mini-Burgers with Cipollini Onions in Balsamic Reduction by Robert Irvine

From "The Catwalk Chef" episode of Dinner: Impossible. I've seen several recipes call for Bleu Cheese, but I'd be afraid it would over power the burger. Could be good though. Recipe for Kobe Bleu Cheese Mini-Burgers

DB Burger by Daniel Boulud from DB Bistro Moderne

This burger has become famous. Some argue this burger started the gourmet burger craze that started several years back. "The DB Burger is composed of an exterior of ground sirloin with a filling of boned short ribs braised in red wine, foie gras, black truffle and a mirepoix of root vegetables. The homemade bun is topped with toasted parmesan and layered with fresh horseradish mayonnaise, tomato confit, fresh tomato and fris�e lettuce." At about $27, this was one of the most expensive burgers on the market when it was introduced. Recipe for the DB Burger by Daniel Boulud

Chef Carol Wallack's Wagyu Burger of Sola

This was one of the entries in the Amstel Light Burger Bash hosted by Rachel Ray. I thought this was unique since it was served on a pretzel roll with cambazola cheese. Recipe for Carol Wallack's Wagyu Burger

Mini Prime Burgers with Remoulade and Aged Cheddar Cheese by Wolfgang Puck

A pretty basic burger actually that relies on a Remoulade Sauce to bring some major flavor to the party. Like a refined slider. Recipe for Mini Prime Burgers with Remoulade and Aged Cheddar Cheese by Wolfgang Puck

Wagyu Burger from chef Justin North at Plan B in Australia

An entry from down under. This is one of the most unusual recipes as it calls for Madeira, pickled beetroot, and a binding filler of an egg with breadcrumbs. No judgment here though. It was good enough that someone wrote to Australian Gourmet Traveller to ask them to obtain the recipe. Recipe for the Wagyu Burger at Plan B in Australia

Hamburger Cookbooks

I couldn't find recipes online for these last two, but they are both a little iconic, so I felt I should include them.

Burger Bar: Build Your Own Ultimate Burgers by Hubert Keller

Daniel Boulud may have started the expensive burger trend, but Hubert Keller has seemed to have trumped all efforts at least for the moment - well, kind of. The FleurBurger 5000 is really only $75, but if you want to do it up right, you order it how it was intended to be ordered, for $5,000 with a bottle of 1990 Chateau P�trus. The burger itself is, of course, a Kobe beef burger, served with truffles and foie gras and topped with a smoked onion and walnut bun. Sounds pretty darn tasty to me. There is a more economical version of the FleurBurger 5000 in Keller's Burger Bar book. Buy the Burger Bar: Build Your Own Ultimate Burgers cookbook by Hubert Keller

Bistro Laurent Tourondel: New American Bistro Cooking

One of the first upscale burger joints, BLT Burger paved the way for many other restaurants to charge $10 or more for every burger on their menu. Laurent Tourondel also helped re-popularize the American Bistro with restaurants like BLT Burger. Buy the Bistro Laurent Tourondel: New American Bistro Cooking cookbook by Laurent Tourondel

If you're still looking for more inspiration, check out this Burger Bonaza article and the other most expensive burgers in the world.

And don't forget to share with us your ideas, recipes and results!

Kobe Burger, Recipes, Wagyu Burger, Hamburger, Recipe, Stonehill Tavern, Michael Mina, Robert Irvine, Dinner Impossible, Daniel Boulud, DB Burger, DB Bistro Moderne, Carol Wallack, Sola, Wolfgang Puck, Justin North, Plan B, Wagyu Beef, Morgan Ranch, Kobe Beef, Bistro Laurent Tourondel, Laurent Tourondel, New American Bistro Cooking, Hubert Keller, Build Your Own Ultimate Burgers, FleurBurger 5000, Wagyu, Burgers, Kobe, Food, GFC

REVIEW: ThermoWorks Splash Proof Thermapen

2009-05-30T22:55:00.006-05:00

It looks like someone at ThermoWorks saw my Review of the Original ThermoWorks Super-Fast Thermapen and liked what I had to say. They offered to send me their newest model ahead of it's official release date (June 1st, 2009). Um, hell yes, bring it on.

Introducing the all new and improved, been in design for 2 years...

ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen thermocouple thermometer

Yeah, they could have picked a smaller, catchier name.

So I'm not going to rehash all the things I loved about the Original Thermapen. I'll let you read that review first to get up to speed. Go ahead - I'll wait. Alright, now that you're back, let's talk about what's been improved, what's been messed up and what flaws were never addressed in this new design.

First let's go over what Thermoworks considers to be the highlights of their new Splash-Proof Thermapen:

3-second readings!
Improved accuracy and durability
Water-resistant design
Biomaster anti-bacterial additive
�F to �C reconfigurable
0.1� resolution full range to 572�F
Auto on/off�no buttons!
1,500 hour battery life

If you're interested in the nitty-gritty spec details, you can check out their website. I'll cover what I think is important.

We'll start with the name. I wouldn't have felt the need to seal the case and make it splash proof until a couple of weeks ago when my mother was hand washing dishes and washed my original Thermapen. It came out fine, but I'd have been less worried if the case was sealed. It's still not meant to be submerged, but it's a good start. Now if they made it dishwasher safe, that would be really cool.

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Speed and accuracy are next on my cool improvements list. This thing is even faster and more accurate than the original. It's usually in the ballpark in under 1 second and will have a pretty accurate reading in about 3 seconds. And by accurate, I mean within �0.7�F with the digital display now showing the temperature measured in 0.1� increments, so you'll know if that 64�C for your perfect molecular gastronomy inspired soft boiled egg is really 63.6�C or 64.4�C. These are actually my favorite improvements.

Jumping back to the splash proof design, let me point out what's changed. There is now a rubber seal merging the front and back of the Thermapen. This seal makes rotating the pen into the "ON" position seem stiff at first, but I've read this should only impact new thermometers. The new case design has also made it almost impossible to stand the device upright. I have mixed feelings about this, but I don't think it will be something that will bother me at all in a couple of weeks.

The area around the digital display has also changed. The screen is now flush with the Biomaster anti-bacterial molding to prevent grime build up; it is also slightly larger and has been moved to the left. This makes the numbers a little easier to read, but I think it lacks the contrast that the original screen had, which makes it a little harder to read.

The opening for the battery compartment has also been re-designed. The new battery, which is expected to last 15 times longer than the original, sits in a round compartment on the back with a tethered cover. Unfortunately I think the plastic latches are too thin since mine either arrived with one of the latches broken or it broke soon after arrival. I'm sure ThermoWorks would address the issue if I sent it back to them, but still a spot for improvement. ***UPDATE*** ThermoWorks called me on the Monday after I posted this. They are sending me a new unit with a return shipment label so I can send the original back to them. I've heard from others they have great customer service; I'll concur.

Inside that battery compartment are a series of tiny switches. These switches allow you to customize some of the behaviors of your Thermapen. Are you like the folks at Cook's Illustrated and would prefer the unit to not automatically turn off? Just flip a switch. Want readings in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit? Flip a switch. Nice options to have, but I like the defaults.

Amazon.com Widgets

The unit is still expensive, but again, there's really nothing else close on the market. The new Splashproof Thermapen is about $20 more than the original super-fast Thermapen. Is it worth it? Well if you have the original, I think there's no need to upgrade unless you work at Sea World or something. But what about those who don't have either? Is it worth the extra money to get the newer design? I guess it depends on what you plan on using it for. For me, the quicker I can get a ballpark temp, the better. And at this price point, an extra $20 doesn't seem like a whole lot more.

So I still highly recommend either of these Thermapens, I just can't flatly recommend one over the other. I've given them both the same score based on functionality and price. Now if I could get them to send me an Infrared Thermometer to review...

Rating: 90

RELATED LINKS:
REVIEW: The Original ThermoWorks Super-fast Thermapen Thermometer
BUY: The Original Super-Fast Thermapen from Amazon
BUY: The Original Super-Fast Thermapen from ThermoWorks
BUY: The New Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen from ThermoWorks

Thermapen, Father's Day, Gifts, Kitchen Thermometers, Guide, Product Review, Thermoworks,Reviews,Food,GFC

Join the Omaha Foodies Discussions

2009-05-19T12:24:00.005-05:00

A bit of house keeping here. I've never been a big fan of the Blogger comment system, so recently I moved the GFC comments to Disqus. Why do you as a reader care? Well ideally you wouldn't. However, there is a little bit of a learning curve with this new interface. In particular the login system.

You can still leave anonymous comments on this blog, however, there are several advantages to logging into the comment system, but the options are a little confusing.

First, you can login to Disqus, which will attach your comment to your Disqus profile. The advantage of that is you can securely use any OpenID login, such as your Google, Yahoo or Hotmail account. You can visit their site for examples of other advantages.

Another option, and the one that swayed my hand in picking a new system, is to login with your Facebook credentials. This is going to become far more common on a ton of sites over the coming year. What's cool about this option is when you leave a comment, you have the ability to also post something to your Facebook stream to share it with your friends. Considering our Facebook fan page now has over 200 fans, chances are you have friends who are also GFC fans and they are interested in what you have to say.

The final option is probably courtesy of Ashton and Oprah. Yes, Twitter is now a login option. The benefit of this is you can tweet your reply by just clicking a check box.

So now you know how to login. Next you should probably read the existing comments.

We now have the ability to sort comments by time or popularity. You can "Like" comments, which is used for the popularity sorting. You can subscribe to an RSS feed for a particular article or for the entire blog (Unfortunately we lost the ability to subscribe to an article's comment via email, but I'm told that feature is on it's way). And our favorite new feature - comments are now threaded, so you can reply directly to another commenter. We're really stoked about this because we hope it will encourage more discussion within our community. This is a great way to get to know other foodies in the area.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below :-) Or email us.

Omaha, Foodies,Food,GFC

Sage Bistro - Spring 2009

2009-04-23T23:59:00.002-05:00

We had a great time meeting everyone at Sage Bistro on the 16th. I just wanted to say Thank You to all of those who were able to attend and to the staff at the Institute for the Culinary Arts for making our event very enjoyable. We'll be having more events like this in the future, so keep your eyes peeled or subscribe to our email updates to keep informed. Of course you could always suggest a foodie gathering yourself if you're interested in doing something sooner rather than later.

Thanks again to everyone.

RELATED LINKS:
Sage Advice 2: The Aftermath @ What Greg Eats

Foodies of Omaha, Sage Bistro, Institute for the Culinary Arts, Metro Community College,Food,GFC

Eat Like a Human - Grow Your Own

2009-04-22T16:22:00.005-05:00

The following is a guest post from Brian Smith. Brian and his wife Kelly operate Black Sheep Farms, a chemical-free family farm near Bennington. He is a speaker and writer on the topic of local food, and he has a minor food addiction. You can read more of his writings at Food & Spirit Magazine

On the eve of Earth Day, I am reminded of how food connects us to the Earth and makes us human. It's currently in vogue to "eat local," shop at farmers markets and join a co-op or Community Supported Agriculture group. I understand the importance of these movements. I decided to become a farmer after volunteering at a farmers market and reading many books focused on modern food issues.

It's okay to eat for political reasons. But what about flavor and experience?

Many chefs will tell you that the main reason they buy food from local growers is flavor. It's not because they feel their money should support a small business, a local business or a friend. It's not because they want to reduce pollution from transportation. More than anyone else, chefs love to eat. They love to play with flavors and experience the full range of intensity. No chef likes a rock-hard-plain-old-red tomato from Mexico in February. But they love ripe Cherokee Purples and fresh greens picked four hours ago. Taste.

The experience of producing your own food changes the dynamics of eating. If you've ever made bread, you are much more conscious of its quality while you eat it. You understand the work that went into producing the final product, so details pop out more. Crust. Crumb. Moisture. That lump of undercooked dough in the middle. The more you cook, the more you understand about the kitchen.

Combine food politics, flavor and experience and grow your own. Forget your black-thumb fears and those pre-started plants from the hardware store. Do it from seed. That sense of wonder you experienced sprouting a bean as a kindergartner never diminishes. People have been tending to plants for thousands of years, so I have confidence you can do it.

Try growing something small, like corn salad (also called mache or rapunzel). You can do it in a pot by a sunny window. Make a shallow row, drop in the seeds, cover them and add water. Wait.

There are no excuses. A packet of heirloom veggie seeds costs less than $3. When more people get involved in their own food, environmental issues will start to make more sense. By touching food at all stages, we can understand how it affects us on physical, mental and environmental levels. We can see how much it means to be a part of Nature. Plus, you will eat better foods than you can buy, and there's no reason to overthink that.

Earth Day, Eating Local, Localvore, Brian Smith, Black Sheep Farms, Omaha, Food, GFC

S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2009

2009-04-20T14:40:00.008-05:00

Restaurant magazine has just released the 2009 list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. The awards were based on 4,185 votes cast by 837 restaurant critics, chefs, restaurateurs and other qualified restaurant experts. You can see more about the voting process on the website.

Ferran Adria�s culinary mecca, El Bulli, and Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant once again top the list.

Michelin 3-star restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, owned by the Hell's Kitchen chef, failed to make the top 100 which is surprising since it was 13th on the list last year.

Thomas Keller's flagship restaurant dropped 7 notches to #12 and was beat out by it's New York cousin, Per Se, which took 6th place.

Grant Achatz from Chicago breaks into the top 10 with Alinea. Manresa squeaked in at #93. The United States had 8 restaurants in the top 50 and 12 restaurants in the top 100. Not bad when you consider this list of compiled of the greatest restaurants in the world and is bound to have a slight European bend. This can probably best be seen in the fact that Les Creations de Narisawa was the first Japanese restaurant to make the list, yet Japan racked up an insanely high number of Michelin stared restaurants last year.

More insight to come. Keep checking back. In the mean time, here are the top 50 restaurants in the World.

1 El Bulli, Spain (=)
2 The Fat Duck, U.K. (=)
3 Noma, Denmark (+7)
4 Mugaritz, Spain (=)
5 El Celler de Can Roca, Spain (+21)
6 Per Se, U.S. (=)
7 Bras, France (=)
8 Arzak, Spain (=)
9 Pierre Gagnaire, France (-6)
10 Alinea, U.S. (+11)
11 L�Astrance, France (=)
12 The French Laundry U.S. (-7)
13 Osteria Francescana, Italy (New Entry)
14 St. John, U.K. (+2)
15 Le Bernardin, U.S. (+5)
16 Restaurant de l�Hotel de Ville, Switzerland (+11)
17 Tetsuya�s, Australia (-8)
18 L�Atelier de Joel Robuchon, France (-4)
19 Jean Georges, U.S. (-2)
20 Les Creations de Narisawa, Japan (New Entry)
21 Chez Dominique, Finland (+18)
22 Ristorante Cracco, Italy (+21)
23 Die Schwarzwaldstube, Germany (+12)
24 D.O.M., Brazil (+16)
25 Vendome, Germany (+9)
26 Hof van Cleve, Belgium (+2)
27 Masa, U.S., (Re-entry)
28 Gambero Rosso, Italy (-16)
29 Oud Sluis, Netherlands (+13)
30 Steirereck, Austria (New Entry)
31 Momofuku Ssam Bar, U.S. (New Entry)
32 Oaxen Skaergaardskrog, Sweden (+16)
33 Martin Berasategui, Spain (-4)
34 Nobu U.K. (-4)
35 Mirazur, France (New Entry)
36 Hakkasan, U.K. (-17)
37 Le Quartier Francais, South Africa (+13)
38 La Colombe, South Africa (Re-entry)
39 Asador Etxebarri, Spain (+5)
40 Le Chateaubriand, France (New Entry)
41 Daniel, U.S. (=) - Make a reservation
42 Combal Zero, Italy (Re-entry)
43 Le Louis XV, France (-28)
44 Tantris, Germany (+3)
45 Iggy�s, Singapore (New Entry)
46 Quay, Australia (New Entry)
47 Les Ambassadeurs, France (-2)
48 Dal Pescatore, Italy (-25)
49 Le Calandre, Italy (-13)
50 Mathias Dahlgren, Sweden (New Entry)

Rounding out the top 100 restaurants in the world:
51 Zuma, China
52 Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, U.K.
53 Spondi, Greece
54 L�Arpege, France
55 L�Atelier de Joel Robuchon, China
56 Hibiscus, U.K.
57 Aqua, Germany
58 Le Gavroche, U.K.
59 Chez Panisse, U.S.
60 Les Amis, Singapore
61 El Poblet, Spain
62 Maison Pic, France
63 Cafe Pushkin, Russia
64 Le Meurice, France
65 Bukhara, India
66 Varvari, Russia
67 Schauenstein, Germany
68 RyuGin, Japan
69 La Maison Troisgros, France
70 Wasabi, India
71 The River Cafe, U.K.
72 Enoteca Pinchiorri, Italy
73 Le Cinq, France
74 Allegro, Czech Republic
75 Quintessence, Japan
76 Restaurant Dieter Mueller, Germany
77 Geranium, Denmark
78 Caprice, China
79 Jardines, South Africa
80 Amador, Germany
81 Biko, Mexico
82 L�Atelier de Joel Robuchon U.S
83 Fasano, Brazil
84 Mozaic, Bali
85 Obauer, Austria
86 Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee, France
87 L�Ambroisie, France
88 Maison Boulud, China
89 De Librije, Netherlands
90 Babbo, U.S.
91 Maze, U.K.
92 Zuma, U.K.
93 Manresa, U.S.
94 Pier, Australia
95 De Karmeliet, Belgium
96 Aubergine, South Africa
97 Bo Innovation, China
98 Rust en Vrede, South Africa
99 Del Posto U.S.
100 Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire, UAE

Special Recognition Awards

Reader's Choice:
Chef's Choice: Noma, Denmark
Breakthrough Restaurant: Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jo�l Robuchon (details)

The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants

List of Restaurant's 1-50
List of Restaurant's 51-100
Best Restaurant in The Americas: Per Se (USA)
Best Restaurant in Australia: Tetsuya's (AUS)
Best Restaurant in Asia: Les Creations de Narisawa (Japan)
Best Restaurant in Africa & Middle East: Le Quartier Francais (South Africa)
Best Restaurant in South America: D.O.M. (Brazil)

RELATED LINKS:
The International Agenda for Great Cooking
-By Ferran Adria, Heston Blumenthal, Thomas Keller and Harold McGee

World's 50 Best Restaurants,El Bulli,French Laundry,Fat Duck,Alinea, Jo�l Robuchon, Thomas Keller, 2009, London, Spain, US, S.Pellegrino, Food, GFC

Petition to Help Bring Trader Joe's to Omaha, NE

2009-04-10T09:24:00.008-05:00

As we reported before, you can help bring Trader Joe's to Omaha by filling out a location request form on the Trader Joe's website. However, it appears things might be moving further along if this petition is a sign of anything.

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Help Bring Trader Joe's to Omaha, Nebraska

We've begun a petition that will be sent to the gentleman in charge of real estate acquisition for Trader Joe's to show him that we are serious about our request that they locate a TJ's in Omaha.

You do NOT need to give your email address or donate to the petition site. You can place mail@email.com in the email address slot. Thank you in advance.

Petition to Help Bring Trader Joe's to Omaha, NE

You can also join the Bring Trader Joe's to Omaha, Nebraska group on Facebook for further updates. While you're there, be sure to join the GFC fan page too if you haven't already.

TRADER JOE'S, PETITION, OMAHA, DUNDEE,FOOD,GFC

Gastronomic Fight Club

What is Sous Vide

An explanation of sous vide cooking

Beef Tenderloin Cooked in the Sous Vide Supreme

Compressed Watermelon

Flavor Injecting Under Pressure

GFC Re-Launch Announcement

Best-ter-est of Omaha Restaurants Award Winners - 2009

Best-ter-est of Omaha 2009TM

Best American Bistro in Omaha [All Local]

Best Appetizers in Omaha [Big Changes]

Best Bagels in Omaha

Best Bar-B-Que in Omaha

Best Breakfast in Omaha [Big Changes; All Local]

Best Buffet in Omaha

Best Burrito in Omaha

Best Chinese Restaurant in Omaha [Big Changes; All Local]

Best Coffee Shop in Omaha

Best Desserts in Omaha

Best Family Restaurant in Omaha

Best French Fries in Omaha [All Local?]

Best French Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Best Fried Chicken in Omaha [Big Changes; All Local]

Best Greek Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Best Hamburgers in Omaha [All Local]

Best Hot Wings in Omaha

Best Indian Restaurant in Omaha [Contentious Category; All Local]

Best Italian Restaurant in Omaha [Big Changes; All Local]

Best Japanese Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Best Korean in Omaha [Low Vote Count; All Local]

Best Mexican Restaurant in Omaha [Contentious Category; Big Changes; All Local]

Best Onion Rings in Omaha [No Clear Winner]

Best Pasta in Omaha [Big Changes; All Local]

Best Pizza in Omaha [Contentious Category; All Local]

Best Sandwiches in Omaha

Best Seafood in Omaha

Best Soup in Omaha

Best Steak House in Omaha [Contentious Category]

Best Sunday Brunch in Omaha

Best Sushi Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Best Thai Restaurant in Omaha [Contentious Category; All Local]

Best Restaurant in Omaha for a Business Lunch

Best Restaurant in Omaha for a First Date [All Local]

Most Romantic Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Most Overrated Restaurant in Omaha

Most Underrated Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Best New Restaurant in Omaha [All Local]

Best Chef in Omaha [Low Vote Count]

Best Restaurant in Omaha

Best-ter-est of Omaha 2010TM

Closing Thoughts

WANTED: Food Writers in Omaha, NE

Menu for Hope 6 - American Wagyu Beef by Morgan Ranch

Cool! How can I help?

Like what kind of items?

Morgan Ranch - Gourmet American Wagyu/Kobe Beef

Morgan Ranch American Wagyu Coulettes

Morgan Ranch American Wagyu Family BBQ Collection

How Do I Donate and Enter the Menu for Hope Raffle?

Vote in the 2009 Best-ter-est of Omaha Restaurant Awards!

Master Sommelier Introductory Course - Midwest Location

RECIPE: Award Winning Gnocchi Poutine

Gnocchi Poutine

Ingredients for Gnocchi

Directions

Finishing Ingredients

Finishing Directions

INTERVIEW: Chef Jessica Joyce - Confluence Bistro

20-ish Questions with Jessica Joyce

Dine Out Against Hunger 2009 - Oct 13, Tuesday

Dine Out Against Hunger 2009 Participating Omaha Restaurants

Halloween Cake Recipes: Pumpkin, Dirt and more!

Filled Cupcakes

Cupcake Creme Filling

Dirt Cake

Dirt Cake Recipes

Orange Halloween Polka-Dot Cake

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING RECIPE

3D Pumpkin Cake

Peru, Mucho Gusto - Omaha NE - Review

Best-ter-est of Omaha 2009^TM

Best-ter-est of Omaha 2010^TM

Help the Omaha Food Bank
Buy the 2010 Savings Sidekick Omaha Coupon Book

The Omaha Food Bank's 2nd Annual
"O! What a Duck Race!"

July 25, 2009
Adopt a Duck ~ Feed the Hungry