Heading Home from Club Sandwich

Just a quick note to say I'll be flying back to San Francisco today after a fun, and quite delicious three days in New York City. I'll be back in the office tomorrow and I'll try and catch-up on the comments and emails ("try" being the key word). The Hellmann's Club Sandwich event went very well, and I learned a couple cool tricks from Iron Chef Bobby Flay, which I can't wait to share. Stay tuned!

Hello from New York City – The Sandwich Capital of the World!

I just arrived in New York City to take part in a very exciting campaign called, "Club Sandwich." Hellmann's invited me, along with eight other food bloggers, to be brand ambassadors, and we'll be sharing our favorite recipes, construction tips, and other sandwich-related esoterica.

The campaign officially kicks-off on Monday, and will feature a demonstration by Bobby Flay. I don't think it's going to be a sandwich "throwdown," but nevertheless, I will have to make my own creation in front of the Iron Chef. Should be a lot of fun! Stay tuned for more information, and I invite you to follow along with me on Twitter. The event hashtag is #clubsandwich. Enjoy!

This post was created in connection with my appointment as an Ambassador in Hellmann’s Club Sandwich Program. Visit www.facebook.com/Hellmanns to share how you build the perfect sandwich.

Coming Soon: Asparagus Souffle

You could see this later tonight, but it's more likely this lovely asparagus souffle will make its Food Wishes debut tomorrow. Things are a little hectic around here as I'm getting ready for a short, but exciting trip to New York City, where I'll be making sandwiches with Bobby Flay. Hang tight for more details on that, and stay tuned for this!

Coming Soon: Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

Nominations are Open for Saveur's Best Food Blog Awards!

As many of you know, Food Wishes won Saveur Magazine's 1st Annual Best Food Blog Award for Most Innovative Video Content. Well, nominations are now open for this year's awards in case you want to help Chef John retain the crown.

To nominate Food Wishes, simply go to the official 2nd Annual Best Food Blog Awards page, and enter the required site info. I've included a little guide video that I posted for my YouTube viewers today. As always, thank you for all the amazing support!

Update: Some of you are asking if it has to be a nomination for the video category only. No! You can nominated me in whatever category you see fit. Thanks!

I've Been Hacked! Please Help Me Find and Kill Those Responsible

"Hacker" by Luiso

Okay, just kidding, I don't mean killed, but maybe hurt badly, or at least tied to a chair and forced to watch Hell's Kitchen. Someone has used my foodwishes@yahoo.com email address to send a whole bunch of spam, some of which you may have received.

As much as I'd like to help you get a great deal on Viagra and/or mail-order brides from Thailand, I had nothing to do with these emails, and have taken measures to insure this doesn’t happen again.

Speaking of which, besides changing my mail account password(s), should I be doing anything else? Sorry, and thanks!

A Few Random Scenes from my All-Clad Demo at Macy's

I feel pretty good these days when I get two new recipe videos posted in a week, and I was hoping to sneak in a third one today, but due to tax preparation, the opening of baseball season, spring fever, and other forces beyond my control, you'll have to settle for this. Here's a little glimpse into the duck sous vide demo I did for All-Clad at Macy's in San Francisco. This is dedicated to all of you loyal, but possibly-misguided souls who keep emailing me, telling me I need to have my own show. Enjoy!

A very special thanks to Lenny Ferreira, from Chezus.com, who filmed this segment! Also, a big thanks to Megan, from Macy's, and Earl from All-Clad for taking such good care of me, and to everyone who came down to watch!

An Early Spring Lunch

Today for lunch, Michele fried some sweet Italian sausage and served them on toasted, garlic-rubbed bread. Next to it was an ordinary green salad, made extraordinary with her kumquat and blood orange dressing. It was a perfect early spring lunch.

Random Food Porn: Creamy Beef and Duck Fried Rice

This is not a tease for an upcoming fried rice video. As magnificent a meal as it was, this was simply the result of using up some leftover Thai takeout. However, this is a little tease for an upcoming crème fraiche video. A chef I used to work for would mix sour cream and herbs into leftover rice pilaf, and bake it in a casserole to create a new side dish. I believe that's what possessed me to add the dollop at the end. Enjoy and stay tuned!

Coming Soon: Pickles and Cream

Well, the rain finally broke and I was able to dust off the old grill and film the pickled grilled pickles video I teased after the Kingsford University trip. To the right of those you'll see a jar of homemade Crème Fraîche, inspired by comments on our handmade butter post. Stay tuned!

Coming Soon: Spicy Crab Bisque

Summer Tomato Live!

My good friend, Darya Pino, who publishes the blog Summer Tomato has just launched a live, interactive nutrition class called "Summer Tomato Live." This episodic online classroom will focus on discussing a variety of reader-selected food and health topics.

You'll have the chance to ask questions and get answers from Darya in real time. I almost never recommend or promote things here that actually cost money, but knowing all that Darya has to offer, I think that the $3.99 per month subscription fee is a great deal.

While I don’t use as much of Darya's advice as I probably should, I really enjoy her blog, as well as her delivery. It's not the typical sanctimonious blather you get on some healthy-lifestyle websites.

If you want to check it out, here are the links to Episode 1 and Episode 2.

By the way, if you're interested in signing up, today is the last day to claim a couple free gifts from Foodzie and Zürsun Heirloom Beans, who sponsored the first 2 episodes. For more information on Summer Tomato Live, here is her official sign-up page. Enjoy!

Heading Home from Kingsford University

Michele and I will be heading back to San Francisco tomorrow morning after a very educational few days at Kingsford University, in Las Vegas. I'll have a full recap of all the interesting new grilling trends we learned from Chris Lilly, as well as some great new video recipes (including an incredible technique for pickling grilled vegetables). Stay tuned!

Leaving for Las Vegas to Attend Classes at Kingsford U

Photo (c) Grilling.com

Michele and I are heading to Las Vegas for some post-graduate studies at Kingsford University. Some of you may remember our first KU experience (you can see our class picture below), which I immortalized in the blog post, "Learning the Easy Way at Kingsford University."

It was such a great time, so we jumped at the chance to attend another event. This time we're at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a NASCAR-themed weekend of barbecue-related fun in the sun. 

I know nothing about NASCAR, at all, but from what I hear we'll probably be drinking beer out of cans and chewing tobacco, so I'm really looking forward to that. As far as the food goes, world champion pitmaster and all-around cool dude, Chris Lilly, will be in charge of the cue’d cuisine (which means it will totally rock). 

If you'd like, you can follow along with all the smoky, high-speed adventures on my Twitter page, and be sure to stay tuned for the official recap when we return. Vroom!

Kingsford University Class of 2009

A Fried Plantain Tease and a New Video Recipe Friend

Inspired by my recent trip to Miami, I will be posting a brand new video tomorrow for fried sweet plantains. In the meantime, to whet your appetite I've posted a video below from my new friend, Lillian, from the blog Lillian's Test Kitchen, making ripe plantains three different ways. I've just discovered Lillian's work and really like her style and delivery. Don't be surprised if you see more of her here on Food Wishes. Enjoy!

Click here to see Lillian's original blog post, where you find the recipes and ingredient amounts!

Popping Off About the Oscars Tonight

Photo by Flickr User TimShoesUntied

I'm finishing up my last day of work here at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, and fly back to snowy San Francisco tomorrow. This means I will miss the Oscars, which upsets me about as much as missing a dentist appointment, but had I been around I would have done some kind of special Oscar party snack, probably based around popcorn.

So instead you'll have to suffer though this little collection of popcorn-based content from YouTube. The song, "Popcorn," was the first "favorite song" I ever remember having, and below you get to see Will Ferrell dance to it. We also has a spicy popcorn by Pedro Ceja; a Parmesan Popcorn & Chocolate-Covered Cornflakes snack duo from Amy Blogs Chow; and finally, a super-slow-mo of a kernel of popcorn popping, just because. Enjoy!

Will Ferrell Dances to the Popcorn Song

Spicy Popcorn by Pedro Ceja

Amy Blogs Chow: Parmesan Popcorn & Chocolate-Covered Cornflakes

Popcorn Kernel in Slow Motion

Hello From South Beach!

Just wanted to do a quick hello from the 10th Annual South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Today was the first of three days in the Grand Tasting tent, where I'm serving as Chef Ambassador for Tonnino Tuna.

Here I am standing in front of our table just moments before the gates opened and we were three-deep in hungry foodies eager to taste this great tuna. The fish was sampled very simply with "flavor enhancers" in front of each different variety. The consensus was, as I knew it would be, that the tuna was awesome.

Anyway, stay tuned for more foodie fun soon, including a brand new video recipe I shot before I left. Thanks!

Heading to South Beach to be a Tonnino Tuna Ambassador!

Well, that's one blog title I couldn't have anticipated writing, but that's exactly what's happening tonight as I board a red-eye for Miami. 

As many of you know, I won the Tonnino Tuna Chef Challenge recipe video contest, and one of the prizes was getting to serve as their Chef Ambassador for the year. As part of my duties, I'll be representing them at the 10th Annual South Beach Wine & Food Festival.

Pictured here is an "Upside-Down" Tonnino Jalapeño Tuna Taco Bite that I created to celebrate the event. Recipe cards will be available at the Tonnino booth at the Grand Tasting, but I've posted the written recipe below, just in case you're looking for a cool app for your upcoming Oscars party. Enjoy!

Note: I've finished the sweet and sour pork video, and will be posting that tomorrow, so stay tuned! Also, be sure to follow along with me on Twitter for my bite-by-bite coverage of the #sobewff, as we refer to it in the tweets.

"Upside-Down" Tonnino Jalapeño Tuna Taco Bites

Makes about 24

1 small jicama (about 1 1/2 lbs), peeled

1 jar (6.7-oz) Tonnino Tuna Fillets with Jalapeno in Olive Oil

2 tablespoon diced roasted red pepper, or pimento

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 teaspoon ground dried chipotle

1/4 cup crushed corn nuts, or as needed

Using a sharp knife, trim the peeled jicama into a cylindrical shape, about 2-inches in diameter. Using a vegetable slicer, or knife, slice the jicama into about 24 "chips" (about 1/8-inch thick).

Drain the tuna (saving the oil for a salad dressing), and add to a small mixing bowl. Pick out the pieces of jalapeño that came with the tuna, and dice fine. Add back to the bowl. Add the red pepper, cilantro, and chipotle. Mix with a fork until combined. Divide the tuna mixture onto the jicama chips, and top with the crushed corn nuts.

Coming Soon: Pork Tenderloin Times Two

I'm getting things ready for my flight to Miami tomorrow, where I'll be attending the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. I'll have much more on that tomorrow, but the good news is I'm almost done editing a couple terrific new video recipes. One features my much lighter take on sweet and sour pork, and the other a very sexy concoction inspired by, believe it or not, chocolate covered cherries. Stay tuned!

Follow Me, Foodie, Over to Follow Me Foodie

During the video panel discussion I participated in at the 2010 Foodbuzz Blogger Festival, I offered to showcase videos created by any of the young, budding video bloggers in attendance. One such blogger is the lovely and talented, Mijune, from Follow Me Foodie.

Of course when I made my offer, I should have been clearer that I didn't really want videos whose quality and production value were better than mine, but it's too late now. A promise is a promise. Here are Mijune's first two videos – an introduction to her new format, and a review of YEW Restaurant & Bar at The Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver, BC.

By the way, the second video illustrates why I could never do video reviews. Once you feed me, any semblance of journalistic integrity dissolves like a pinch of salt in a free bowl of soup. Enjoy!