Canon T1i HD Video Test: Crabcakes Sneak Preview

Huckleberry Jam – Possibly in HD!

I finally got a new camera! A beautiful Canon T1i (thanks for the advice Danielle!). I've been dying to improve the still photography on the blog, as well as have something that can take decent low-light plate shots with when I'm in restaurants.

When I got home from the store I went immediately to YouTube to get some tutorials for using it. Thankfully there were lots of photographers who had posted videos on what all the buttons do (so many buttons), as well as some pretty good SLR photography basics.

It was during this initial research that I discovered something wonderful and unexpected. My new camera apparently has a really nice HD video feature! Bonus. So this quick and sticky video recipe for huckleberry jam was basically done as a test to see how much better the quality would be.

In addition to not really knowing how to make jam (I just winged it from memory of one I made like 15 years ago), I have very little experience with HD anything. Some folks on YouTube already commented on the video, regarding how to save the video in iMovie to take advantage of the higher resolution. I saved it at 640 x 480, but have been told I need to save it at 1280 x 720.

I know I also have to change the movie settings to letterbox to match the camera's video dimensions. If any of you former A/V clubbers want to chime in with recommendations for using this camera for HD video, I'd love to hear it! Thanks and enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 quart berries
4 cups sugar
1/2 lemon
1 box pectin powder (1.75 oz)

* You should refer to the box directions for best results. I was more interested in the camera, and so I just made this from memory. It tastes great, but at the time of this posting it hadn't chilled long enough to analyze the firmness, or lack there of.

What is Up?

I wanted to do a brief post today to get you up to date on all the newest developments, and also to give you a heads-up on my plans for the holidays.

I Guess They'll Let Anyone Write a Cookbook!

If you follow me on Twitter you probably know, but I'm officially announcing here on the blog that I've signed an agreement with Parragon Publishing to do a cookbook!

If everything goes as planned, it will eventually be four cookbooks , all focusing on American food (or at least what I consider American food).

I can’t give any firm dates or titles yet, but you will be the first to know. In addition to the regular distribution channels, I'll be able to sell them here for a special discount price, only available to my loyal Food Wishes fans. Stay tuned for more info in the coming months.

The Open Sky Project

I was contacted recently by an ecommerce start-up call Open Sky, and asked if I would be interested in being a "Shopkeeper" for their Home & Garden category. Their mission statement is "to connect consumers to experts and the products they love and use." Since I get so many emails about what products I use and recommend, I decided to go for it.

My Open Sky store is just getting started, and they only have a few products sourced so far, but eventually you will be able to find a wide range of my favorite kitchen and cooking-related products. By the way, the shopkeepers are given a share of the revenue, but NOT paid to endorse specific products.

One reason I decided to get involved was the company's founder is John Caplan, who was one of the founders of About.com. They've also signed on some very high-profile foodies including one of my blogger role models, Michael Ruhlman. Stay tuned!

Now Warming Up in the Bullpen…

My mother Pauline is having some work done to her shoulder in a few weeks, so I'll be traveling to New York to help her out, and steal more of her recipes. I keep telling her she is too old to become the first female short reliever for the Yankees, but she just won't listen. She thinks this surgery will add at least 5 mph to her fastball, and who am I to argue.

SFQ and a Very Special Surprise Package

I will make the official announcement on Cyber Monday, but this year's "please send me some money because I'm going broke doing free videos" holiday gift offering will include a sneak preview of my wife Michele's soon to be famous San Francisco-style barbecue sauce, SFQ. The package will also include a small wooden bonus gift that will be sure to cause a "stir" (literally, that's your clue).

Last year many of you supported the site by forking over your hard earned cash and purchased the Food Wish Favorites Vol. 1 DVD, containing 12 recipe videos that you could have watched for free online. I hope we can expect the same fantastic effort this year. It makes a huge difference. Stay tuned!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

If you've been following the blog for a while you know things always slow down a little bit around the holidays. That will certainly be the case this year, especially with the unexpected travel back east, the cookbook project, gift package sales, and all the other normal holiday distractions. So, if you see a few days go by in between posts, do not be alarmed! I'm fine. Just really busy. Enjoy!

Red Curry Butternut Squash – When it Comes to Side Dishes, the Food Gods Hate a Coward

As you decide on what to include in your fabulous array of vegetable side dishes for the upcoming holiday feasts, keep one thing in mind. No guts, no glory. For some reason, normally adventurous cooks when faced with a house full of hungry relatives, play scared.

It's probably driven by the desire to want everyone to enjoy everything (you know that's impossible, right?). Serving something too exotic just doesn't seem prudent. I take a different approach. Since these holiday meals are one of the rare times we get to serve multiple side dishes, I think it's the perfect occasion for springing a surprise or two.

This lovely red curry butternut squash certainly fits the bill. Sweet, spicy, and mysterious – this turkey-friendly side dish won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for those at the table that let it work its magic, it promises to be one of their favorite parts of the meal.

Like I said, there are plenty of other side dishes on hand, so even if the worse case scenario happens and everyone from little Billy to Grandma Jean agrees this is the worst squash dish ever, so what? There are seven more sides to pick up the slack. Besides, after the third bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau who's really going to care?

If you've never worked with red curry before, be careful. It's really spicy, and you can always add more as it cooks. To be safe, you can even cut my measurements in half for the spices and then adjust. I hope you give this interesting butternut squash side dish a try. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
3-4 pounds butternut squash, peeled cut in 1-inch cubes
1 bunch green onions
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp red curry powder (I used McCormick)
1 tsp red curry paste (I used Taste of Thai)
2 tbsps tomato paste
1 can coconut milk
1 rounded tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce (or sub to-taste with soy sauce or salt)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
*adjust for salt and heat before serving

Do You Feel Lucky? Well, Do You? Carnation Evaporated Milk's Loaded Potato Potluck Favorite

I'm not sure how popular potluck dinners are these days. You don't hear the term as often as you used to. Maybe it's our litigious society… "Hey, your baked beans made me sick, you own me one billion dollars," or maybe it's just not called a potluck anymore.

Potluck was kind of an odd name, implying that you would be damn lucky to get anything edible. Well, this loaded potato casserole recipe from Carnation Evaporated Milk would certainly improve everyone's odds of getting at least one thing that was delicious.

Who doesn't like a loaded potato? I mean, besides people that don't eat cheese and/or bacon. This super simple, but ultra satisfying retro American classic is sure to make your fellow potluckers smile.

Since this video was sponsored by Carnation, I followed their original recipe pretty much exactly, but this type of casserole screams out for personal customization, so feel free to jazz it up as you see fit. Enjoy!

A Message from the Sponsor:

It's that time of year when we’re all looking for a little more inspiration in the kitchen. You’ll find plenty of that in this Holiday Recipe Guide from Carnation Evaporated Milk, sponsor of this post.

One delicious idea is to substitute Carnation Evaporated Milk for regular milk in your go to recipes. It makes all kinds of dishes richer and creamier.

Get your Holiday Recipe Guide as a downloadable PDF or by email.



Ingredients:
8 medium potatoes (about 2 1/2 to 3 lb. total), peeled and cut into equal chunks
1 cup Carnation evaporated milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups (8-oz. pkg.) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided
sliced green onions (optional)

Cheese Blintzes and My Empire State of Mind

There's nothing you can’t do, now you're in New York.
These streets will make you feel brand new, the lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York.
– Lyrics from Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z, Rapper and Trophy Husband

There are certain recipes that change the way you think about food – for me, cheese blintzes is one of them. I was raised on the traditional American suburban breakfast repertoire of pop-tarts, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., so when I was told these odd looking cheese-filled bundles sitting on the dark pool of fruit sauce were "breakfast," it took a few moments to register such a thing was possible.

In addition to helping me realize there was a whole new world of breakfast options out there, cheese blintzes also fed my fascination with New York City. My father grew up in New York, but the small town in which he married my mother and started his family was about as far removed from the City as you could get.

His colorful stories (many of which were true) about growing up in New York City often included mentions of strange and exotic foods from his childhood. I loved these stories, and fell in love with New York through them.

On the occasions when I would get to taste things like knishes, lox, pastrami, and blintzes, it was more than just something to eat; it was a visceral connection to another place.

Ukrainian immigrants (John senior was half Ukrainian) brought these wonderful cheese-filled crepes to New York City, and the Big Apple is now considered the blintz capital of the world (Photo (c) Flickr user kennymatic).

As you watch this video recipe, it may seem a little complicated, but while it does have several steps, they're fairly simple and so worth the effort. This video was shot for About.com during my trip to NYC a couple months ago, so when you click on the video below, you'll be taken to the recipe page there.

Cheese blintzes are a perfect special occasion breakfast or brunch dish, and can be made up ahead of time and finished at the last minute. I hope you give them a try. Thanks Dad. Enjoy!

Learning the Easy Way at Kingsford University

This past week, Michele and I spent three wonderful days at something called Kingsford University. "KU," as it's called in charcoal-related academia, is an event sponsored by Kingsford Charcoal in which food writers and bloggers are brought together to learn all about how charcoal is made, watch demos on the finer points of grilling and barbecuing, and of course enjoy lots of great food and wine.

I'm happy to report we all passed with flying colors (although a few of the other bloggers paid some nerds to do their homework). We even received a diploma! After I finish this post I'm going to start looking into some grad school options.

The master of ceremonies was world champion pitmaster Chris Lilly. Chris is vice president of the legendary Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama, and Kingsford Charcoal spokesperson. He was really fun to listen to, and I learned quite a bit. I've sprinkled in a few videos of Chris below, so you can get a little taste of what we enjoyed.

The trip began Tuesday evening. After checking into the beautiful Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, we headed out to dinner and introductions at Pican in Oakland. We met our fellow bloggers (a complete list of attendees with links to their blogs will be added to the bottom of this post as soon as available!), Kingsford reps, and other dignitaries, and enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by Chef Dean Dupuis.

Dinner began with a perfectly crispy fried chicken appetizer (now that's the way to start a meal!). I was even asked to demo my now famous chicken wing de-boning technique. I assume they were mocking me, but I did it anyway. Will this chicken wing trick become my "Freebird?" (FYI - that was a vague, dated Lynyrd Skynyrd reference)

I enjoyed a nice piece of grilled Loch Duarte salmon with root veggie puree and smoky savory cabbage. Michele had the southern classic, shrimp and grits. Everything was great, and as we ate we chatted with our fellow foodies – discussing the differences between food blogging and food writing, and how it's been years since any of us has actually had a hot meal.

At these affairs, no one eats until the pictures are taken, lots of pictures, at every conceivable angle and composition. This shouldn't be taken as a complaint – it's a very small price to pay for the great food and even better company.

The next morning we headed to the Clorox Technical Center in Pleasanton, CA to learn all about charcoal briquets. I'll be honest, of all the things I'd always wanted to learn more about, charcoal briquets wasn't one of them. But I was honestly fascinated by the process, and what could have been a long morning went by quickly.

Like most wannabe backyard grill masters, I already use Kingsford charcoal and really didn't need any convincing it was superior. My own anecdotal evidence the few times I've had to use the bargain brands showed that this stuff is clearly better, but I didn't know why. Now I do.

We watched them make a batch from scratch, and also got to see this really cool room were they do hundreds of burn tests a day. They were really excited to show off a newly designed, "ultra briquet" that promises even better performance despite being lighter and more eco-friendly.

We were not allowed to take photos inside the labs where they showed us the secret proprietary methods with which Kingsford charcoal is made and tested, but outside we did see live comparison demos and testing verses the alternative brands. It wasn't even close. Give or take a few minutes, their briquets lit twice as fast, were ready in half the time, and lasted twice as long. Class dismissed.

After lunch we headed up to the gorgeous Hotel Healdsburg, located in the middle of Sonoma's beautiful wine country. The remainder of KU was held at the Seghesio Family Vineyards and hosted by Peter Seghesio and the rest of his amazing family. The family has been making wine in the area for four generations, and to be able to enjoy their wine during the next two days of classes and demos was a great treat.

We attended a special dinner prepared by Chef Jon Helquist, formerly of the venerable Chez Panisse, in the winery's beautiful Redwood Room. The food was classic northern California fare – fresh, local, seasonal food simply prepared and served family style.

The highlights included Chris Lilly's barbecued pineapple sweet ribs, grilled Tuscan-style game hens, locally foraged wild mushrooms, and charcoal grilled fingerling potatoes with salsa rustica. Chef Jon's offerings were paired with an array of Seghesio's highly regarded Zinfindels.

That evening Chris Lilly showed us his famous low and slow method for cooking pork shoulder (see video). In between his many tips and tricks, we were treated to some very entertaining war stories from the championship barbecue circuit. A live band and s'mores cooked over small fire pits brought the evening to a sweet and smoky end. By the way, this is a man clearly willing to suffer for his art, as he had to get out of a warm bed and come back at 3 AM to tend the fire!

Chris Lilly's Low and Slow Barbecued Pork Butt



Note: this video shot with an iPhone in the dark.


The next day we enjoyed the fruits of Chris' late night labor with what was probably the tastiest and most succulent pork butt I've ever had. After being pulled and chopped, the moist, smoky meat was turned into slaw-topped sliders. Speaking of fruits, they were served with chili-rubbed skewers of grilled banana, pineapple, and persimmon. I thought this was an ingenious and inspired pairing.

After lunch we participated in two hands-on demos. We got to blend our own Zinfandel varietal with the help of Pete Seghesio and his talented team, and yes, it was as fun and interesting as it sounds!

We also formulated our own custom dry-rub spice mix. Chris Lilly showed us a great 4-step process for making a spice rub, which I will explore in more detail in an upcoming article for my American Foods site.

Kingsford University came to a delicious and interactive end as we made and grilled our own pizzas over charcoal. After Chris demo'd an insanely tasty Asian-influenced spicy shrimp pizza (see video), we headed around to the back of Seghesio's wine cellar where a long line of kettle grills waited for us with already glowing charcoal topped with pizza stones.

Chris Lilly's Charcoal Grilled Spicy Shrimp Pizza



After everyone had made a pizza (or three), into the wine cellar we went to share our offerings with each other. The meal was made complete with an impressive array of salads and side dishes from Chef Jon's kitchen, as well as more of Seghesio's delicious wine. What a special way to end a very memorable experience.

Special thanks to Chris Lilly and everyone at Kingsford Charcoal! Who knew learning about charcoal and grilling could be so fun and delicious? I'd also like to extend a very special thanks to the Seghesio family for being such gracious and generous hosts!

You can find a lot more information at the Kingsford Barbecue Facebook page. Enjoy!

Read other recaps on Kingsford University by these very talented bloggers:
The Bachelor Guy
Use Real Butter
Food Woolf
Pork, Knife, and Spoon

Kingsford University Class of 2009!