www.roanoke.com

Chroniclebooks.com

I absolutely adore the title of this new book by Anita Chu, "Field Guide to Candy." I can't help but picture someone with the binoculars out, spying on a marzipan pear perched on a tree branch. Or a herd of gum drops slowly making their way across an empty field. Or a school of Swedish fish flitting in clear waters.

OK, so I spent way too much time as a kid flipping through the Audubon guides to plants, trees, birds and insects. Candy is oh-so-much tastier than insects, so flipping through this field guide to candy is even more delightful. And it's out just in time, folks. Because what better time of year for accurately identifying and making candy than the holiday season?

I know I'm probably freaking out those of you who hate any mention of Christmas before Halloween. Or before Thanksgiving, for that matter. I'm usually like that myself, but I just can't help but get excited about the cooking possibilities. Just the other night I read "About fudge" in "Joy of Cooking." Getting my mind in the right place.

I want to share a recipe from "Field Guide to Candy," but since it is a little early for winter holiday ideas, how about a recipe that'll be perfect for fall: candy apples! I know my co-worker and author of the Happy Wag blog, Nona Nelson, will appreciate this one. She was just craving candy apples the other day.

Chu offers up some great tips about candy making in this book. I'm not very adept at candy making, so I may invest in a candy thermometer. But she says if you don't have a candy thermometer, you can use the old-fashioned "cold water method," which involves dropping a drop of your hot sugar syrup into a bowl of cold water. What happens next determines the stage of your candy. Read on:

Read more »

Just a quick note this morning to tell you about two great food and drink deals I recently stumbled across in my social flutterings:

1. TGIFridays has one of the best happy hours I've found in Roanoke recently. Every weekday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., all of their appetizers are half price and they have some extremely affordable drink specials. I think domestic drafts are $2, and they have mixed drink specials, too. We had some Jack Daniels chicken strips for about $5 and a three-for-all sampler for about $6.50.

2. Awful Arthur's in downtown Roanoke has a new bar menu that's available during happy hour and after kitchen hours. It offers some great deals on their appetizers - most are about $4.95. This includes a slider sampler that comes with two sliders (your choice of crab cake, burger or tuna) and a pile of fries. You can get two crab cakes, two burgers, or any combination of the three. Howard and I recently shared this appetizer and found it to be delicious and filling. Great value for the money.

If you know of any other great deals, please share them!

Foodnetwork.com

I wrote that headline in honor of ZZ Top's upcoming concert in Roanoke this Friday. But I did not decide to make cube steak this past Sunday just so I could write that headline -- I swear!

Still, when faced with the prospect of pan-fried cube steak with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes, I think my husband has to restrain himself from doing the cube steak boogie right in the middle of the kitchen. Wow, given the real meaning of the ZZ Top song, I think I'm digging a very deep hole here.

Moving right along, just what IS cube steak? For those who do not know, it is an otherwise tough cut of beef (usually from the top or bottom round) that has been run through a tenderizer a couple of times to make it edible. The result is that bumpy, hamburger-like texture. But it is NOT hamburger, and even if it does look a bit like hamburger and you have run out of gravy, that does not make it okay to put ketchup on the leftovers (I'm talking to you, husband).

If you've never tried making cube steak, now's a great time to do it. The weather is getting cooler and comfort food is back, baby. Also, cube steak is very affordable. We got two dinners out of one $5 package of the stuff. So pick up a package, along with some potatoes and gravy fixins, and get ready to do the cube steak boogie.

Here's how I made my cube steak:

Read more »

I've been saying for 5 or 10 years now that if I had the money to start my own business in downtown Roanoke, it wouldn't be a restaurant. It would be a gourmet grocery store - something like a Tinnell's Finer Foods in South Roanoke, except bigger and with even more selection.

Of course, 10 years ago (and maybe even 5 years ago), we probably wouldn't have had the customer base in downtown Roanoke to make a go of it. Now that so many people are moving into revitalized downtown buildings, it's the best time ever for an endeavor like this. So I was excited (and a little jealous) when I read Jenny Kincaid Boone's story in the Business section of The Roanoke Times this morning about four investors who hope to open just such a store on Church Avenue.

Just two years ago, you couldn't even find a convenience store in downtown Roanoke. Now we have two. But the problem has remained that besides the farmers market, there's no place to buy groceries. I don't think this store will be a boon to just downtown residents; I can't tell you how many times I've wished I could run downtown on my way home and pick up some household staple I needed or some dinner fixings I wanted so I wouldn't have to go to the grocery store. Downtown workers will undoubtedly find this very convenient, but the store owners are going to have to stay open late enough to serve the customers who don't get off work until 5 or 6 p.m., maybe later.

According to Jenny's story, the project is in the very early stages. They're going to have to do a lot of remodeling and then find folks who want to rent from them and open shops. I hope they can keep the dream alive, and I also hope they don't spend so much time thinking about the health club and the food court that they lose sight of what we really need downtown: Groceries!

What would you like to see in a downtown grocery store? And would you shop there?

This week, I've received word that TWO fellows with local connections are finalists in national cooking competitions! Katsuko "Katz" Sandifer, who up until recently was a kitchen manager at The Casino Club at The Homestead in Warm Springs, is one of four finalists in the professional category of Ocean Spray's recipe contest. His dish is Asian Shrimp and Scallops with Ginger Cranberry Syrup. Patrick Maggi, owner of Blues BBQ in downtown Roanoke, is one of 10 finalists in the American Pizza Championship. His winning creation is a Prosciutto Pear Pizza, a sweet and savory combination of poached pears, prosciutto and Gorgonzola cheese.

Katsuko Sandifer

Katz was born in Japan but his family moved to America when he was about 13 and he went to high school in Chapel Hill, N.C. He received an Associate's Degree from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute. He says he worked at The Homestead for about five years, starting as an intern and moving his way up to a kitchen manager. He recently quit and moved to Rhode Island to finish up his culinary degree at Johnson & Wales University. He would like to eventually be a teacher at a culinary school.

Read more »

Meadow Creek Dairy in Galax has brought home another award from the American Cheese Society competition, an annual, nationwide contest that is in its 26th year.

This year, the dairy's best-selling cheese, Grayson, placed second in the Washed Rind Cheese Category. Just what is a washed rind cheese, you are probably asking? Well, these are cheeses that are literally washed down, usually with a saltwater brine but sometimes with such liquids as beer, brandy, or wine, on a regular basis throughout the aging process.

Keeping the surface of the cheese wheels wet allows a beneficial bacteria called b-linens, or brevibacterium linens, to multiply across that surface. But since I am no expert, here's more information from the American Cheese Society:

“Washed rind” is used to describe those cheeses that are surface-ripened by washing the cheese throughout the ripening/aging process with brine, beer, wine, brandy, or a mixture of ingredients, which encourages the growth of bacteria. The exterior rind of washed rind cheeses may vary from bright orange to brown, with flavor and aroma profiles that are quite pungent, yet the interior of these cheeses is most often semi-soft and, sometimes, very creamy. Washed rind cheeses may be made from both pasteurized and raw milk, depending on the style of the cheese and the cheesemaker producing them. Cheeses in this category include some tomme-style cheeses, triple-crème, and semi-soft cheeses, similar to Epoisses, Livarot and Taleggio.

Read more »

The Roanoke Times/File

Paul Edward Corne, better known in these parts as Capt'n Paul of Capt'n Paul's Seafood, died Sunday in Spartanburg, S.C. He was 53.

I never had much of a chance to know Capt'n Paul, but I've heard many stories over the years about his fun, zany personality. According to a wonderful profile of Paul written in 2000 by my late friend and predecessor on the food beat, Nancy Gleiner, the Captain was born with seawater coursing through his veins. After graduating from Cave Spring High School and attending college, Corne went straight to Hampton to learn commercial fishing from his grandparents.

He ended up spending most of his fishing career up north, off the waters of Massachusetts and New Jersey. After returning to Roanoke in 1990 and working as a contractor for 8 years, he opened his own seafood shop. He prided himself on the fact that his shop didn't smell fishy. He told Nancy that fish should smell sweet.

My colleague, Jenny Boone, is working on a news obituary about Corne for tomorrow's newspaper. But one story you probably won't see in the obit has to do with the friendship that developed between Corne and Gleiner, probably as a result of the stories she wrote about him. After Nancy fell ill with cancer, she went on an extremely healthy diet. That was her main weapon against the cancer, and it worked for a long time. But it wasn't cheap.

When she told Capt'n Paul why she needed to buy so much expensive, wild caught salmon, he gave it to her at a very deep discount. Clearly there was a big heart in the man.

If you have any memories or stories about Capt'n Paul, I'd love to hear them.

Are you "amused?" There's one bad hint.

This word quiz was published the other day in the Kansas City Star. It's based on culinary terms that get tossed around on Top Chef. I had so much fun doing it that I pulled it off the wire to share with you guys. I'm going to be a trickster and wait to publish the answers tomorrow. I trust no one to cheat! And if you are serious about the quiz, you may not want to read comments on this post until you have done it. Some of them may give certain answers away.

25 FANCY FOOD WORDS USED ON 'TOP CHEF'

(Do You Know What They Mean?)

See how many of these food words you can correctly match with their definitions. See definitions below!

1. Ganache (GAHN-ahsh)

2. Ceviche (seh-VEE-chay)

3. Risotto (rih-SO-toh)

4. Carpaccio (kahr-PAH-chee-oh)

5. Hamachi (hah-MAH-chee)

6. Remoulade (ray-muh-LAHD)

7. Chiffonade (shihf-uh-NAHD)

8. Panna cotta (PAHN-nah KOH-tah)

Read more »

Guest blog entry by Heather Froeschl

What has two donut-hole-reminiscent O's and ranks third in the nation as a donut loving city? Roanoke! Following behind Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH, Roanokers eat more donuts per capita than people in any other U.S. city. Our favorite flavor? Glazed.

Who says? (Some other cities might be quite jealous of this title, and challenge us as writers here on The Fridge Magnet.) The facts stand that market research showed our high numbers based on donuts bought in grocery stores. So, that doesn't even count our trips to donut shops, even if it is worth the trip, or stops for some other crispy donut treats.  

Looking for a day to celebrate our new title? June 5th is National Donut Day. Pick up a dozen or so for your co-workers and share the joy. In observation of the "holiday," participating Dunkin Donuts throughout the country will give every customer a free doughnut of their choice with the purchase of any beverage, limit one per customer. Call your local Dunkin Donuts first to see if your trip will be especially worth it. Krispy Kreme stores are also giving away a free doughnut to customers on June 5.

Hostess Donuts serves up the following dough ring facts:

Hostess produces over 2 billion donuts per year including all of the brand’s varieties.  That’s enough Hostess Donuts to wrap around the Earth three times.  

The origins of the beloved round cake with a hole in the middle is heavily debated with some sources giving sweet credit to Dutch settlers who are thought to have brought donut making techniques from Holland.  

Hostess uses over 10 million pounds of powdered sugar a year and 10 million pounds of chocolate a year making Hostess Donuts.  

The creation of the donut’s “hole” is thought to have been the solution to the dilemma that appeared to plague early donut makers - having an undercooked center when the cakes were removed from the fryer.

Think you know your donut facts now? Check out this quiz: http://www.lamars.com/donutday/index.html 

Watching your carb intake and thinking you'll have to refrain from this day of sugary goodness? Go for the hole instead of the whole doughnut, or donut, however you choose spell it. My theory on donut holes is this: it does not exist, therefore, eating it will not count. What is a donut hole but the hole inside a donut?  Well, it was also a coffee shop where I was a manager up in Vermont, but the spelling got me there since it was The Whole Donut. Regardless, I am wise in the way of fried dough. Trust me.

(I'm just filling in today for Lindsey.)

Allrecipes.com

I've never made a quiche before this weekend, but I have made pies and frittatas, so how hard could it be? Not hard at all, especially with the help of my friend, the little dough boy who makes my pie crust for me.

My mother loves quiche, and since she came over for lunch yesterday on her way home from my sister's house, I chose a recipe for spinach quiche with feta cheese and mushrooms. It was a big hit and was just enough for lunch with a side of fruit salad. Hubby and I ate another slice for dinner last night with a cup of soup.

This recipe calls for sauteeing the onions and garlic, then adding mushrooms and spinach, and finally stirring in the cheeses so they begin to melt into the other ingredients before you spread all of the filling in the pie shell. Then just top with beaten eggs and pop in the oven. I made a few small adaptations, which I will note with the recipe below.

Oh, and I tested my aluminum pie crust shield on this quiche and I'm in love. I will never again have to painstakingly cover the edges of my pie crust with little strips of aluminum foil, then burn my hand taking it off halfway through the cooking process! Find one here or at kitchen stores.

Read more »