Edible Rock

The executive chef and owner from one of my favorite restaurants, WD-50, talks about flavor combinations, and where he gets his inspirations. The flavorist conversations: Wylie Dufresne – Salon.com.

Please, good Chinese people, the fate of the top predator in the ocean food chain is in your hands. Shark fins are worthless and tasteless – Why You Shouldn’t Eat Shark Fin – The Atlantic Food Channel.

Sous vide combines the gentle, steady heat of poaching and an airtight seal, as in traditional methods of cooking in clay. “The food literally stews in its own juices: no air, no water, no evaporation,” said Wesley Genovart, the chef at Degustation.

via A Chef’s Fine Art, Now Available in Homes Near You – NYTimes.com.

From Bloomberg.com.

Get recipes for Roast Duck, Pan-Roasted Duck Breasts With Cranberry Coulis, Canard Au Vin and Duck Potatoes

via Duck: Famously Fatty, Simply Delicious : NPR.

Lindsey Bareham masterclass: gravadlax recipe | Recipes – Times Online.

These videos from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) include quick lessons on different types of cheeses (washed-rind, bloomy-rind, etc), plus tips for storing cheese and recipes. Via Turn Comfort Food Into Comfort Cuisine. Just Add Fromage!.

This article from Saveur explains the differences between wet-curing and dry-curing hams. A Simple Science – Saveur.com.

Researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University recruited 303 adults and invited them to have a dinner with lots of different restaurant menu options.

via Diners eat fewer calories when menu lists entrees’ contents.

Top picks for the decade’s best New Jersey eats | New Jersey Entertainment – Dining – - Dining – NJ.com.

Oysters are following the trajectory of micro-beers, where consumers are starting to become educated about different oyster varieties and tastes. The 50 best foods in the world and where to eat them | Life and style | The Observer .

Food Flags: Pick Your Favorite! (SLIDESHOW) from The Huffington Post.

Do you use a  coffee grinder to make rice flour for tempura?  How about a panini press to make (two) butterflied Cornish hen in 12 minutes?  If not, you are missing out on great kitchen hacks from the patron saint of ediblerock.com, Alton Brown.  Alton is all about making food taste good through simple techniques.  So instead of buying blueberries in December that were shipped in from Chile, just freeze some local ones in June with liquid nitrogen.  Okay, don’t do that one, but there are plenty of other good tips:  Alton Brown: Safe and Scary Kitchen Hacks – alton brown – Gizmodo.

From the always-enlightening Marion Nestle.  Who says business wants government to leave them alone?  Sugar: What I Didn’t Say on Colbert – The Atlantic Food Channel.

Plague strikes French oysters – Telegraph.

I will never willingly ask for Chocolate Thunder from Down Under – 7 Restaurant Dishes That Are Too Embarrassing To Order By Name.

A recent study out of the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill cites what animal studies have hinted at for years: MSG (aka monosodium glutamate) could be a factor in weight gain.

via The Surprising Ingredient Causing Weight Gain on Yahoo! Health.

A severe outbreak of late blight fungus in tomatoes is sweeping through farms and gardens in the Northeast.

via Northeast Tomato and Potato Crops Damaged – NYTimes.com.

As any Marylander will tell you, the secret of great fried chicken is the Old Bay seasoning: Annals of Fried Chicken: The Momofuku Secret Is Old Bay — Grub Street: New York Magazine’s Food and Restaurant Blog.