Molly Aronica reports in from New York where she is the restaurant editor for the popular blog, The Daily Meal.  I'm determined to find out during our discussion what it takes to put together a comprehensive blog post on a daily basis.  Also, Molly was kind enough to put together a list of her favorite casual New York dining spots recently for some friends of mine.  She'll share those recommendations, in case you're planning a trip to the Big Apple.

Warning:  Eat before you tune in!

It is with the utmost concern that I begin this blog post with the above admonition.  Over the years, I have issued this same counsel many times, and always with a valid reason.  After all, every Great Taste listener is important to me. 

For over four months in San Francisco, our own Heli Claire Witherspoon has been learning the ancient art of turning flour into delicacies that captivate the eyes and taste buds.  We'll explore with Heli and her friend, Alden Hockett, the rigors of the baker's craft, what critical pieces of information they've picked up, and get some tips on baking at home.

In the second half of the show, Molly Aronica reports in from New York where she is the restaurant editor for the popular blog, The Daily Meal.  I'm determined to find out during our discussion what it takes to put together a comprehensive blog post on a daily basis.  Also, Molly was kind enough to put together a list of her favorite casual New York dining spots recently for some friends of mine.  She'll share those recommendations, in case you're planning a trip to the Big Apple.

As always, food in the studio for those lucky folks who stop by.  Streamers, you can listen here to the most delicious 60 minutes on the radio.

Don't you just love serendipitous moments?  I'm sitting at the counter facing the kitchen at Pago in Salt Lake City, and getting ready to enjoy a meal fixed by Phelix Gardner, one of my favorite chefs.  A couple walks in and is seated next to me.  Since I'm such a shy guy, I start talking to them immediately.  If they have in mind a romantic night out, my take is they should have asked to sit at a table for two.  Anyway, we make some small talk.  Phelix comes over with my first plate-two pieces of grilled bread, two cheeses, one jam and one marmalade.  "The jam and marmalade were made by the couple sitting next to you," he says with a grin.

Now, our conversation really begins in earnest, and it gains traction after I taste their creations.  John and Casee Francis are artists.  Interestingly, not just in the kitchen, but as landscape gardeners, and John is a four-time National Old-Time Fiddle Contest Champion. 

I wish we had more than an hour because there is a lot going on during this week's most delicious 60 minutes on the radio.  So tune in and hang on as we explore the culinary world.  After all, what are we really other than prisoners of taste?

Molly Aronica, the restaurant editor for The Daily Meal, is recovered from her bout with food poisoning (all in the line of duty).  She's got the inside dish on "GREEN" restaurants in time for the upcoming Earth Day celebration on April 22.

We're going to take a light-hearted approach to food on this week's show, but there is a somewhat hidden agenda.  Authors Bill and Claire Wurtzel know breakfast foods can be tasty and healthy.  No need for junk.  For 50 years, Bill has created breakfasts for his wife to enjoy out of almost anything you can put on a plate-eggs, oatmeal, carrots, toast, fruits and more.  Playing with your food takes on a new meaning browsing through Funny Food.  It's a whimsical ode to creativity on a plate, and is a guide to making fun meals that a kid of any age can enjoy.

In the second half of the show, Molly Aronica of The Daily Meal, joins us for her monthly look at the food scene.  We'll explore how the massive amount of information on The Daily Meal site is compiled because it's quite an undertaking.  Also, she'll give us an inside look at the greenest restaurants in America so we are culinarily aware in anticipation of the annual Earth Day celebration set for April 22.

GREAT TASTE is live in the studio, Wednesday, April 11.  Come on by or catch the stream at www.kruufm.com. [Click on "Read more" below to continue.]

"If only there was a prosthetic for grief."

Beth Howard serves up some pieces of her life in the KRUU studio Wednesday night.   She'll read from and discuss her new book, Making Piece-A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie.

Beth's writing style is very direct, sometimes raw, and emotionally grabbing.  It's a riveting read of her intimate journey springing from a short, life-changing, telephone call. The call was from a medical examiner who told her, "Your husband is deceased."  This stark sentence  delivered in a "serious, official, no emotion, detached" manner leads her on a rollercoaster ride of self-discovery.

The third Wednesday of every month is when the Great Taste spotlight shines on the culinary students from Indian Hills.  The passion for their craft radiated by these young people literally explodes off of them.  Want to be inspired?  Tune in.  I always leave the studio full of energy and excitement after hanging around with them for an hour.  It will make you a better cook once you catch some of what they bring to the kitchen.

(Now, for what's cooking.  That's going to be a surprise.  All I will say is that what Curt Goudey said on the last Indian Hills show that he was going to fix, well, that's what he's making.  Will I taste it?  I can't tell you at this point.  Better listen to find out.  Nick Adams is going to bring something a bit more tame.  Whew!) Click Read more below to continue...

It was a delicious experience being in Salt Lake City last week. I had excellent meals at the Copper Onion and Pago. More about those meals on the show.

I love chocolate so it was a treat to enjoy in SLC a brief Chocolate 101 session at Tony Caputo's Market and Deli. This "must" destination fine food shop downtown has its own cheese cave, an in-house salame maker, and a overwhelming number (more than 300) of cacao bean products including three types of rich chocolate drinks that should come with some type of government warning label.

The devil lurking behind these temptations is one of this week's guests, Matt Caputo. Here's how one website described him. "Matt Caputo is one of the world's most discerning connoisseur of fine chocolate bars. The award winning chocolate tasting classes he teaches at Tony Caputo's Market & Deli are highly recommended by many media outlets, chefs and even numerous international chocolate experts. His in-depth research is not limited to books and the internet, he has traveled the globe to meet and learn from the most respected chocolate makers in the world."

GREAT TASTE's 60 minutes of delicious radio is action-packed this week.  In the first half-hour, Graham Meriwether, producer, cinematographer, and director of the documentary, American Meat, joins us in the studio along with Jan Swinton, Local Food Coordinator for Hometown Harvest of SE Iowa.  We'll discuss the positive changes in our animal husbandry system as seen through the farmer's depicted in the movie, and the evolving local landscape. 

Also, Nick Wallace of Wallace Farms, will join us by phone.  Nick and his family have been raising animals sustainably for decades.  Since 2004 he has run the operation, which includes working with other like-minded producers to supply organic meats through a "Farm Club" delivery system.

The Daily Meal's Molly Aronica joins us in the second part of the show.  This week on that site she posted 101 Best Restaurants in America for 2012.  We'll get an inside look on how that list was compiled, plus learn what it takes to put together a daily blog on "all things food & drink."

And, our resident chef, Liz Peralta, will join us.  I really don't know what plans she has for our "live" food segment this week.  She's keeping that information to herself.  I'm ok with that; she's the studio kitchen boss. [To continue, click on "Read more' below.]

"It is, I feel, our apparent reluctance to recognize the interrelated nature of the problems and therefore the solutions, that lies at the heart of our predicament and certainly on our ability to determine the future of food."
— HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales

The highlight address at "The Future of Food" conference on May 4, 2011 at Georgetown University was given by HRH the Prince of Wales.  Among food activists Prince Charles is a well-known organic farmer who has advocated sustainable practices for many years.  His address, which challenged the belief that industrial agriculture and large agribusiness are necessary to feed the world's ever-growing population, was published last week by Rodale Press.  The Prince's Speech:  On the Future of Food is a rallying call to not only advocates of sustainability, but also presents a vision that recognizes "the wider and important social and economic parameters-how we can feed a global population approaching 9 billion people and still safeguard public health, keep jobs, and protect our environment."

Our guest, Robert P. Martin, Senior Policy Advisor-Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, was one of the "Future of Food" event organizers.  He has been a key player in getting The Prince's Speech published so its ideas can be shared with the general public.  Please join us on Great Taste for a discussion of the critical food issues that effect every single one of us now and future generations.  You can view some excerpts from the Georgetown conference here.

Valentine's Day is over folks.  Sorry if you missed it, but we cannot look back.  Next up, St. Patrick's Day.  I know it's not for a month, but we have to take advantage of opportunities when they are presented, so when the Indian Hills culinary gang said they were preparing Irish specialties this week it sounded like a great show idea.  The crew, lead by their inspiring chef, Gordon Rader (pictured), will teach us how to make Irish soda bread, corned beef and cabbage soup, and a Baileys Irish Cream cake.  The crew's coordinator, Curt Goudey, promises a bit of Irish food history, too.  (See recipe ingredients below)

After a two-week road adventure, the Great Taste crew is back in the studio with a live show this week.  This Wednesday it's the monthly Indian Hills Culinary student invasion, plus the director of the IHCC program, Chef Gordon Rader, is bringing a very special guest.   Get ready for dessert whipped up in the studio by Chef Julian Arranz of award-winning father and son pastry team extraordinaire Raul and Julian Arranz from Valladolid, Spain.  Julian is at Indian Hills for a month working with the students as part of a culinary educational exchnange.  In addition, he has been meeting with area high school students, and conducting classes at the Des Moines Area Community College (DMAC). You can take a look at Chef Julian’s work on his website using the following link.

"Kombucha flavored soda alternatives pose threat to Coca-Cola and Pepsi."  Well, I think this story is only in an early phase of development, but if you sometimes have a craving for a bubbly beverage that goes well with popcorn, look no further than Shaktea Kombucha.  For the most part, I have my soda (or pop depending on where you grew up) attachment licked, but I have to admit that last year I went on a Mexican Coke binge for several weeks.  A number of pounds later (that exact number will remain confidential), and well-caffeinated, I broke off the relationship. Now, with Shaktea in my life I have no need to rekindle it.

The last Great Taste show of the year provides a look back at 2011 from two very different perspectives.  First, we'll speak with Danielle Nierenberg, director of the Nourishing the Planet project.  Nierenberg is a well-known expert on sustainability and livestock.  The project she oversees, "...assesses the state of agricultural innovations—from cropping methods to irrigation technology to agricultural policy—with an emphasis on sustainability, diversity, and ecosystem health, as well as productivity. The project aims to both inform global efforts to eradicate hunger and raise the profile of these efforts.

We are cooking LIVE in the studio TONIGHT!

Terrific show on tap with the Indian Hills Culinary students.  We're making latkes, Mexican hot chocolate, and there will be some cookies and more. 

Happy Holidays to All!

Opening a restaurant at any time is an expensive proposition.  When money is in tight supply as in today's marketplace, it becomes even more of a challenge.  In a November 8 article, "To Raise Cash, Restaurants Turn to the Crowd," New York Times writer, Glenn Collins , reported on a number of creative ways restaurateurs are finding funds while avoiding the common path of taking on big investors.  The popular web funding platform, Kickstarter, is one avenue, relatives might respond to a plea to make a dream happen, and other community-based approaches that include loans and memberships have been tried or are in the works. 

Our show this week deserves a critical listen by anyone concerned with the future of the food we grow and consume. 

We'll talk with the Executive Director of Slow Food International, Paolo Di Croce, who is also the President of the Committee for Terra Madre.  Terra Madre is the arm of the international Slow Food organization comprised of an "...extensive network of people working towards the creation of a good, clean and fair model of food production and consumption. Joined together in food communities, the network brings together sustainable farmers, fishers and food producers with cooks, teachers involved with school garden and canteen projects, academics, researchers and experts, students and other youth." 

Thanksgiving comes once a year.  Too bad there is always such a mess that's created during the furious preparation for that quintessential "eating" holiday.  All that cooking and baking takes plenty of measuring cups, bowls, the Cuisinart and other items. The good news is all the deliciousness that comes out of that mess.  

Truth is cooking always means cleaning. Good cooks clean as much as possible as they move from one step of preparing a meal to the next.  The results are the cooking area is less cluttered, prep goes quicker, and the final cleanup is less grueling.  Or if you are lucky to live in a multi-person household, perhaps "kitchen rules" work in your favor?  If you cook, you don't have to clean.  I love that one.  Unfortunately, it doesn't always hold up.

I'm always thinking about food which is why this little excerpt from author A. A. Milne is one of my favorite quotes:  "'When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,' said Piglet at last, 'what's the first thing you say to yourself?'
"'What's for breakfast?' said Pooh.  'What do you say, Piglet?'
"'I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?' said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.  "It's the same thing," he said.

-A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh (1926)

Our guest on this week's show, Matt Bardin, is the co-president of HighFiveLabs. His company creates "apps" those fascinating bits of software that help perform daily miracles on your smart phone and tablet.  HighFive has done Honeydo, the searchable To Do list, Smart:Vocab, a tool for expanding vocabulary and performing well on standardized tests, and Mario Cooks, one of the best cooking apps available.  The app contains over 60 recipes and five hours of video so you feel like Mario is your personal culinary instructor.  (I feel better about having the app Mario instruct me, rather than the Mario portrayed in Bill Buford's book, Heat.)  Mario Cooks is very easy to use and provides many extras including a guide to Italian wines and cheeses. I'm very much looking forward to learning from Matt how the development of the app took place.

We've got some Mexican treats planned for the tasty part of the show.  I suppose it should have been Italian.  Oh well.  Come by if you are in the neighborhood and can forgive us our trespasses.

Inspiring is the essence of our show this week.  We'll talk to two people committed to making our country a better place through educating and introducing practical programs involving healthy food and food nutrition into public and private school systems.  Please tune in to find out about this tremendous organization that evolved from the international organization, Slow Food.

The ability to prepare a quick meal is not only a measure of kitchen skill and comfort, but many times comes down to what ingredients do you have in the fridge and pantry.  If you want to make a quick soup or coax flavors from veggies sautéing on top of the stove, then a court bouillon can help make that happen. "Court bouillon" or "briefly boiled liquid," is a mixture of water, salt, wine or vinegar, and vegetable aromatics, cooked together for 30-60 minutes...," according to Harold McGee, the author of On Food and Cooking.  One English reference from 1685 mentions a "courbolion" and this same type of liquid with basically identical ingredients has been used in French cooking for several centuries. 

Most of us are familiar with bouillon cubes, but court bouillon is much different.  It's simple to prepare and the culinary crew from Indian Hills will provide the instructions plus fix  some broccoli amandine using the liquid.

How about this for a gig?  Travel around the USA interviewing chefs about their favorite foods, tools, music, etc. and sharing staff meals with the owners, chefs, and the rest of the restaurant's crew in preparation for writing a book that includes recipes for those dishes.  That's what Marissa Guggiana did and her latest cookbook, Off the Menu-Staff Meals from America's Top Restaurants, is the result.

The book showcases her visits to 51 restaurants through more than 80 recipes.  Each restaurant is profiled along with its owners and chefs.  One of the most interesting sections in each profile is the Escoffier Questionnaire.  "The Escoffier Questionnaire," Marissa wrote, "was inspired by my conversations with chefs from across the United States... Like the more famous–currently–Proust Questionnaire, the questions are designed to elicit short responses that are long on meaning."

We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to meet amazing people regularly because of the Great Taste radio program.  Through solar-powered KRUU we get to bring those folks into your home or car or wherever you may happen to pick up the stream.

 Right from the beginning of our conversation with our guest this week, Lucy Lean, Kathy and I felt like we had met a kindred spirit on many levels.  Lucy is a mother, wife, farmer's daughter, former editor of edible Los Angeles, blogger, photographer, a food judge for the Gordon Ramsay Fox hit TV show Masterchef, and the author of Made in America:  Our Best Chefs Reinvent Comfort Food.  The book features 100 recipes from chefs located all over the country and with varying cultural backgrounds.  The diversity of personalities and Lucy's vision of adapting 20th century regional comfort food recipes to today's ingredients and techniques makes for an engaging read and amazing recipes.

Award-winning author Jessica Theroux kicks off our show this week.  Jessica was on the show last year talking about her book, Cooking with Italian Grandmothers.  In May the book won the coveted International Association of Culinary Professionals 2010 Judge's Choice Award.

It's been a couple of months since I started incorporating more raw foods into my diet as a result of our vegan/raw challenge on Great Taste. I'm definitely not on the "this is amazing and you have to do it" bandwagon for raw foods, but I have noticed significant and positive ongoing beneifits from the adjustments I made. 

Breakfast turned out to be the focal point for me.  My routine went from eggs, toast, cheese, and other standard American fare to fruit smoothies or whole fruits and manna bread.  That switch has meant less cravings, elimination of snacking before lunch and more mental clarity.  Because of those results and a determination to eat lighter and add a raw element at lunch and dinner I've also lost some excess body baggage.

Garlicpalooza returns to the Fairfield Farmer's Market, Saturday, September 3 as the focal point for the annual Hometown Harvest fundraiser. Tanya Webster, the event coordinator, and Kim Keller from Hometown Harvest are our in-studio guests for the first half hour.

Some of the dishes you might experience at Garlicpalooza (made almost entirely with local produce) feature garlic from roasted to raw on bruschetta, and in a marinara sauce.  Kathy and I are making a gazpacho with an infused garlic/mint olive oil plus look for salsa, a garlic potato soup and much more. Plus, there will be lots of speakers so don't miss it.

We move to the West Coast for the second half of the hour to visit with Kacie Ioparto, the energy behind She Sells Seaweed.  Kacie recently moved from harvesting seaweed on the coast of Maine to Mendocino where she's learning about new varieties of the vitamin-rich plants.  What she said about her current swimming hole resonated with me:

"Each time I move to a new place it is song and work that make me feel at home. There are a few women that help us dry our seaweed who also love to sing. You’ll be happy to know that your seaweed is serenaded as it is thoroughly inspected and hung to dry."

I knew it was a sign that Great Taste is right in tune with what's happening in America when I read an article in the NYT Monday entitled, "Preaching a Healthy Diet in the Deep-Fried Delta."  It seems that the National Baptist Convention is planning to have "health ambassadors" in every member church by September 2012.  Some churches have even established "No Fry" zones in their kitchens.  Frankly, this is great news as it's critical that organizations with influence on family life take an aggressive approach to educating their public about eating well.

Our guest this week, David Lee Sheng Tin, is a health coach and lifestyle consultant. who has developed the Blissfully Fit course.  He asserts that, "Bliss is a state of complete joy and/or happiness.  When you are blissful you feel contentment and serenity.  For Bliss to be maintained 24/7 a state of mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being has to be present."

Kathy and I are back in the studio this week with a "live" show.  I've been on the road enjoying meals in Las Vegas, Chicago, and Philadelphia.  One thing I finally realized is that I would make a very poor food critic.  A food critic does visit a restaurant several times (or should) before putting into print what, in some markets, determines a spot's success or eventual boarding up.  After and between those visits there are numerous other establishments that have to be subjected to the scribe's palate.  It's a never-ending story of moving on and not going back until it's time to do another review.