Cassoulet Marocaine (and a recap of the Greenmarket Benefit Cassoulet Cook-Off)

I’ve been having a love affair with beans lately. This may have happened by default, with so few fresh muses in season to cook with, or else a newfound appreciation simply gained on its own merit: beans are infinitely versatile, used in every cuisine, hearty, and nutritious. They are the main ingredient in comfort foods of so many cultures, like the French cassoulet. But beans also have a stigma attached to them, especially in our meat-loving culture — that of … Read More

Greenmarket Cassoulet Cook-Off is January 16th

posted in: Cook-Offs, NYC Events | 11

Soak those dry beans! It’s almost time for the second annual Cassoulet Cook-Off at Jimmy’s No. 43, a fundraiser for the Greenmarket of CENYC. Last year, a handful of cold cash was given to the nonprofit organization that feeds so many home cooks and chefs alike throughout the city. (Very cold, I might add, as it was also held in January.) This year, we’re hoping to raise even more, to show our appreciation for the folks who run the show, … Read More

The Brooklyn Cheese Experiment: A Recap, and Ricotta

“I’m not really a cheese person,” I told Nick Suarez a month or so ago, when he mentioned that the next Brooklyn Food Experiment would be based on cheese. That might be a problem, we nodded. And it’s been my lifelong Achilles’ heel as a foodie. Pungent blue cheese makes my face contort as I strain to complete the task of getting it down. Fluid, stinky cheese like Camembert can stay out of my range. I’ll blame it on my … Read More

The Great Hot Dog Cook-Off ’09

Is anyone surprised that the Great Hot Dog Cook-Off, which had raised $1,000 last year for charity with a sold-out crowd of 120, would quadruple its success this time around? Not I! And guessing from the way this year’s event sold out well in advance, it could have been even “greater.” The sizzle of competition gets hotter by the minute. Sizzle is an excellent word for the action last Saturday at Clinton Hill craft brewery Kelso, where the 4th annual … Read More

The Brooklyn Beer Experiment: Success!

posted in: Cook-Offs, Events | 16

So we all knew that Brooklyn knows how to cook… off. But what of home beer brewing? Turns out that these are some mean streets for that trade, too. And we wouldn’t have known it if it hadn’t been for the Brooklyn Beer Experiment, the brainchild of two of my favorite cook-off fanatics, Nick and Theo. Joining forces, these once-rivals from many a local cook-off (just look at their resumes) decided to host a joint beer and food competition. Unlike … Read More

Oh My Guacness

Yesterday I certainly got my greens judging the 2009 Guactacular Invitational, though they were none the unsaturated fatty type. I can’t say how much I ate of the goopy goodness, but in attendance, more than 300 made it to the Bell House in Gowanus for the first-ever cook-off event.