Epiventures

Those lovable hippies over at Fab Ferments had me at Kimchi. You know about kimchi, right? It’s any one of numerous traditional Korean pickled dishes made of vegetables with varied seasonings. This one is hot Korean sauerkraut and is spicy, tart and adds a surprising depth of flavor to pork, beef, rice and even egg dishes.

Cincinnati’s own Fab Ferments uses ancient preservation techniques to naturally ferment small batches of it for three to five weeks in stonewear crocks. And unlike a lot of mass produced varieties, theirs doesn’t rely on vinegar or sugar to start fermentation.

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Until recently, my latest memory of absinthe was watching my peers drink from a bootleg bottle of it in college. After passing it around the room a few times, several of them would claim vivid hallucinations of fairies and green monsters.

At the time, absinthe was widely considered illegal in the United States and its consumption was enjoyed only by the daring or the unwise. One of its components (wormwood, grand wormwood or artemisia absinthium) was said to drive people insane and it became known in the drinking underground as the devil’s drink. So, now that I have a bottle of my own in the house, I sort of feel like a renegade.

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When waking up like your heads been up against a board, it’s important to evaluate the prior evening’s decision making. Was anything broken? No. Were inappropriate arguments had or embarrassing confessions made? Maybe. Was the beer at least worth it all? Definitely.

As my head pulsates in aching waves of pain, I slowly recount the events that led to my destruction. It was a sunny, cool evening and the end of a long week. I wanted to take advantage of our growing collection of quality stout beers.

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I’ve just recovered from a bout of Cryptosporidiosis. No, even worse, I’ve just healed from a terrible dose of Clostridium Perfringens Gastroenteritis. Wait, I can do better than that. My vision has just repaired after a very serious case of Botulism where I also experienced difficulty speaking and swallowing.

At least, these are the diseases I imagine having to recuperate from as I listen to my Safety and Sanitation instructor carry on about foodborne illness.

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I’m almost afraid to admit this, dear reader, but I cooked another recipe out of Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc. I’m not sure if was the beautiful, glossy picture of the beef stew that convinced me to spend 8 hours in the kitchen or the fact that I, inexplicably, have a vendetta against myself.

Either way, there I was, apron and all — determined to make the best, most lavish, most drawn-out stew on the entire face of the planet. Will you lose all faith in me if I tell you something?

It did not go well.

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If you’re not familiar with Peppadew peppers, you should be. They’re piquanté peppers from South Africa’s northern provinces and are unlike any other pepper on the market — sweet with a spicy finish. And thanks to places like Dean’s Mediterranean Imports at Findlay Market and Whole Foods, you can get them without a problem.

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In late December, Domino’s Pizza unveiled the television component of their brave “Pizza Turnaround” campaign. Have you seen it? Filmed in documentary style, the tv spot shows Domino’s employees absorbing negative feedback from real-life focus groups. “Domino’s pizza crust, to me, is like cardboard,” one customers says.

“You can either use negative comments to get you down or you can use them to excite you and energize your process … we did the latter,” says President, Patrick Doyle. And so began an 18-month-long pizza reinvention process where every aspect of the pizza recipe was changed — from the crust to the sauce.

“Give us another try,” they said. So I did.

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Are you on a diet? So is Busken’s famous yellow smiley cookie. They’re calling it the Skinny Cookie and while it’s the same weight as the original, it has 42% less fat and 18% fewer calories.

The best news is that not a bit of flavor is compromised. Busken is using a “new-to-market shortening” that makes the skinny variety just as delectable as the original. And you have to admit, it’s new, slender shape is pretty cute and perfect for dunking into a tall glass of milk.

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Cincinnati’s convenient proximity to Kentucky — where 95% of the world’s bourbon is distilled and aged — gives us an edge when it comes to buying the really good stuff. Experts from Cork ‘N Bottle and The Party Source are able to travel to surrounding Kentucky distilleries and hand select single barrel bourbons (that would otherwise not be single barrel) for our tasting pleasure.

Featured below are two worthy Kentucky bourbons from Cork ‘N Bottle that are worth checking out. One is a great value and the other is pure luxury…

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I wish I could tell you that I have always liked olives. Or that, wisely, I have always appreciated their pungency and slippery texture. But in fact, I used to hide from them at cocktail parties. I once broke into a cold sweat at Nectar when faced with a small plate of this tart little fruit.

Of course, as an avid eater, I couldn’t avoid them forever. This was especially true after I married a Greek and was repeatedly confronted with a plate of the Kalamata variety at every family dinner. Eventually, I learned to love ‘em and today am proud to say that I am a full fledged olive collector.

Thanks to the modern, high end grocery store, sampling different olives in Cincinnati has never been easier…

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If you have a freakishly fast metabolism or genetically tiny thighs, forget it. If you have ample time to grocery shop and cook healthy meals every day, pay no mind. But if you’re like most modern Americans, your diet attempts have led you on a winding path and you have (gasp!) even tried to sustain yourself on boxed diet food.

The truth is, boxed meals are never going to be our first choice. But they make portion control effortless and some of them stand out from the rest. Here are a few tips on how to eat them without losing your mind…

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I’m really a coffee drinker at heart. I like it’s bold punch in the nose in the morning when I’m barely awake. But lately I’ve been getting into tea. And my favorite way to drink it is out of the Tetsubin teapot from Joyce Chen. It’s culturally significant, visually stunning and, frankly, it’s a workhorse.

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It’s actually called General Tso’s Vegan Chicken and it’s one of my favorite food discoveries in the city. The purveyor of this dish is almost as shocking as the meatless recipe itself. Beside the chicken salad and slices of pizza in the Prepared Foods Section at Whole Foods, Genaral Tso’s Vegan Chicken sits humbly waiting for your approval.

Oh, and don’t be set back by the word “vegan” in the name. Limiting yourself here would be a shame. This recipe isn’t about sacrifice or restriction, it’s about the idea that anything is possible with the right preparation.

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One of the perks of having a husband who works around the clock as an anesthesiology resident is that he has become rather obsessed with coffee. Which means that every morning I have the laborious task of deciding if I want espresso, french press coffee, drip coffee or Italian coffee.

I like them all but some of my best Sunday mornings have entailed drinking a piping hot cup of Italian coffee. It has a strong, concentrated flavor, somewhere between drip and espresso. It’s simple, cheap and let’s face it — kind of glamorous.

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Slow down, I tell myself. Between my obligations and my passions, sometimes I feel like I’m hurling through life without ever stopping to take it all in. So last night, I made it a point to stop rushing, demanding, seeking, and pushing.

I turned dinner into a deliberately slow, late-night 3 course meal. No schedule, no timing. I just decided that in between courses I would prepare the next one. We’d pull up our stools to the counter and eat right in the kitchen. Slow and easy.

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Each December, I run around town buying gifts for everyone in my life. And every January I have to breath into a paper bag after reviewing my credit card statement.

But receiving is another story. Getting stuff just makes me feel … good. I can’t think of any reason whatsoever that I would need to take a Valium after unwrapping a completely free, tailored-to-me gift.

Which is why I think we should learn to embrace the pleasure and joy of taking.

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What makes up a great working kitchen? I actually bought my house in Columbia Tusculum from the General Manager of BOCA, and as you might suspect, he hooked me up with a pretty sweet kitchen. Its not that it’s expensive, it’s just that this guy had a really great sense of design and since he obviously cooked a lot at home, he installed some smart amenities.

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Christmas Eve

When my family arrived for Christmas Eve, I filled their hungry bellies with white bean soup, lobster on top of french lentils with a tomato cream sauce and beef tenderloin with tomato risotto.

In retrospect, a three course meal was probably overboard. I could have probably been a better hostess if I had not been so obsessed with the idea of individually plating and serving every single course. Also, the soup was a little bland and I undercooked the beef tenderloin. Like, it was rare all the way through. Whoops!

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Whether you are a gourmet cook or you need to shop for one this holiday season, you can never go wrong with kitchen gadgets. This is a list of my favorite 10 kitchen gadgets in 2009. Find many of these products right here in Cincinnati. George Clooney sold separately.

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We may get funny looks from friends and loved ones when we put these specialty items on our holiday wish list, but we do it anyway. We do it because we believe that somehow, there’s always a better bite ahead. The following is a list of my top 10 favorite gourmet gifts for under $60.

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