In case you didn't already know, garlic is a superfood.
And according to this health blog entry in the New York Times, scientists have started to unlock the reasons why. One of their findings? To maximize garlic's health benefits, wait 15 minutes after you crush it to cook it.
Who knew?
I love it when you guys come out of the woodwork on a food topic. I don't think I've seen such a healthy response since the wings discussion back during the summertime.
It's a good thing I picked up a turkey sub from Subway for lunch on my way to work this afternoon (I'm working an odd shift today) or my stomach would have been grumbling something fierce by the time I finished approving your comments.
A few of your mentions don't surprise me at all. Firehouse, Jimmy V's, the Brambleton Deli, The New Yorker. The NY is right near my house, so I'm quite familiar with the delights of their mountains of meat. Good choice there. Just don't forget your cash!
I'm surprised to hear about On the Rise and Grace's, though. I know On the Rise has terrific bread, but I always forget about their lunch offerings. I'm going to have to stop in there and see what they've got to offer for subs. Grace's is another spot I'll have to try. Although when you think about it, most excellent pizza joints can also put together a pretty decent sub.
Technically speaking, I suppose a cheesesteak qualifies as a sub, too. And several pizza places have cheesesteaks that are to die for. I'm thinking of New York Pizza when I write this, but Cucci's is also terrific.
If you're like me, you've got a hankering for a sub after all this sub talk. So if you pick one up somewhere this weekend, try to remember to snap a picture of it before you dig in and send it to me at lindsey.nair@roanoke.com. Maybe we can put together a gallery of good-looking subs that will help us decide which restaurant puts together the prettiest one.
Either that or it will just make us hungry again.
Subs, grinders, hoagies, heroes, torpedoes, po' boys, bombers -- whatever you call them, sometimes a big, fat sub is just what the doctor ordered.
Just about every American-style restaurant has some kind of submarine sandwich on the menu and fast food sub shops are on every corner. And bad subs might be even easier to find than good ones.
If you're like me, you can't go Christmas shopping without finding at least a half-dozen "toys" you want to buy for yourself. Most of my wish list, of course, includes kitchen gadgets or food items.
Fortunately, I can satisfy my urge to buy those things by getting them for the other foodies in my family. If you still need to buy a gift for someone like that or you're looking for gift ideas for yourself, check out these nifty products I found online.
If you've got any other ideas or would like to tell us what you wish Santa would bring for your kitchen, do tell!
A new Mexican grill is open downtown in the former Green Dolphin Grille location, just in time to fill the gap left behind when Red Coyote packed up and moved out of the market building.
No word yet on whether the food at Alejandro's is as tasty as it sounds on the menu. But since I have always suspected that I was Mexican in a past life (due to my addiction to that cuisine) it won't be long before I'm heading there for lunch.
Alejandro's is clean and simply decorated inside. I stopped there for a to-go menu today and was accompanied by my friend Pete, who lived in Mexico for 10 months. His verdict: looks very authentic.
From the looks of the menu, the grill is going to serve a lot of the same dishes available in other Mexican restaurants around town. But they also have a salsa bar in the restaurant and nine different meat choices for tacos, burritos, tortas and tostadas.
Well, Thanksgiving is over and my 16-pound turkey has already been reduced to a big pot of stock that's waiting at home in the fridge rignt now.
But when I walk in the door today and smell that rich odor of turkey still hanging in the air, I'm not sure turkey soup will sound very appetizing.
Not that this year's Thanksgiving bird didn't earn a rave response from my guests. I bought it from Weathertop Farm in Floyd County and I don't believe I'll ever buy another store-bought bird. My Dad said it might've been the best turkey he's ever eaten. Now there's a compliment!
I brined mine overnight in a brown sugar and kosher salt brine, then stuffed it with celery, onions, carrots, apples and bay leaves and sprinkled the top with rosemary and pepper. In a roasting bag, it took less than three hours to reach 165 degrees.
But no matter how delicious it was, after a couple plates of leftovers and a turkey sandwich or two, my appetite for turkey is waning. At least I haven't resorted to making turkey waffles like Sally Forth in yesterday's comics.
In an effort to put an exciting twist on the last bit of turkey in my fridge, I believe I'll try out the Thai Chicken Noodle Soup recipe that ran with last week's column. A little hot sauce, some cilantro, some rice noodles and voila! Maybe we can power through the last scraps of the little bird.
In case you missed that recipe, here it is again. And if you're looking for another tasty way to transform the last of your turkey, keep an eye on the video player below for a casserole demonstration that should appear within the day.
By the time some of you read this, I'll be baking my Thanksgiving pies and lowering my turkey into the brine.
But the most important part of this holiday isn't the delicious dishes we'll prepare (although that's important; don't get me wrong). It's sitting down at the table with the people we love and knowing how lucky we are to have the many things that others are not fortunate enough to have.
On that note, I want to thank all of my blog readers for making the Fridge Magnet such a fun part of every day at work. I am thankful for each one of you.
Since I'll be away the rest of this week, I want to leave you all with a special treat. Web producer Meg Martin has built a player for all of the food videos I've created. There, you can watch my wings video, a funny chili pepper video, a story about Foggy Ridge hard cider and the pomegranate demonstration.
Perhaps it will give each of you an excuse to escape the family or just burn a little time while relaxing at home.
Also, by early next week, a new video will appear on the player featuring yours truly preparing a casserole with leftover turkey. It's a delicious casserole and I urge you all to try it out. If you have any other ideas for food videos, feel free to make suggestions.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I have so much food and beverage news to share today that I thought I would lump it all together in one huge smorgasbord of a blog entry.
In this entry, you will find:
* A recipe for naan that you can make at home (at the request of blog reader Jay).
* A guide to beers that make perfect accompaniments to Thanksgiving dinner.
* A link to this week's E-Cast, The Roanoke Times' new entertainment Web cast, with an appearance by yours truly, who will wrestle with a pomegranate and drink some bubbly.
* A couple of extra soup recipes, as promised.
First up, the E-Cast. If you have not yet checked out this new endeavor by the crazy folks here at The RT, here's a peek at this week's version.
You'll see that the last item is me demonstrating the proper way to open a pomegranate. I've lately been obsessed with the sweet, beautiful seeds of the pomegranate. They are delicious as an addition to a garden salad, over ice cream, in a fruit salad, on cold cereal or just right out of hand. The way they pop in your mouth reminds me of a sweet version of caviar. In this video, I demonstrate a very easy and attractive holiday cocktail. Check it out.
Indian food is one of the most-craved ethnic cuisines, and every time I end up at an Indian restaurant, I have to fight hard to avoid ordering my very favorite dish, malai kofta.
Malai kofta are vegetable dumplings served in a rich, spicy, creamy sauce. The sauce is either very similar to or identical to korma, a nutty, cream-based gravy.
But Indian food can be very time-consuming to make from scratch. It can also be quite expensive, considering that several of the standard spices, like saffron, cardamom and curry, are among the pricier ones you can buy.
Imagine my delight, then, when I was shopping at World Market in D.C. recently and came across some delicious jarred Indian sauces, including korma and tikka masala. The sauces are made by Shere Khan, an England-based restaurant. They sold for $5 per jar at my favorite store on earth (can we get a World Market here?).
