Slashfood

• Comfort Food Makeovers, Cookbook of the Day
  

  Filed under: Books, Brought to you by the letter D, Comfort Food, Light Food

  Who is making a resolution to eat healthier this year? If you are, Comfort Food Makeovers: Healthy Alternatives to Your Favorite Homestyle Dishes is a good place to find some better-for-you food ideas. Elaine Magee is the "recipe doctor" for WebMD. In other words, she is the one who makes over all the high fat, unhealthy favorites that users ask about into healthier, lighter versions that are just as flavorful.

  The primary techniques that the book uses are using lower fat ingredients (low fat milk, light sour cream, etc) and simply eliminating some...
  




• F is for Fairtrade, G is for Game and Grilling: The Observer on the ABCs of food
  

  Filed under: British Isles, Newspapers, Brought to you by the letter D

  When we did our decidedly inspired D day yesterday, we hadn't yet seen Nigel Slater's occasional series on the ABCs of food. He's in the middle of the alphabet, now, and is hitting the highlights between "F" and "L." Here's a rundown:

  • F is for the Fairtrade mark and fish, especially fresh sustainable and (yes) Fairtrade fish.
  • F is for farmer's markets.
  • G is for game and grilling - Nigel suggests a stew of pigeon and rabbit with bacon, rough red wine and button mushrooms.
  • I is for Internet shopping and Italy - "our second gastronomic home."
  • J is for...
    
  
  
  
  • D is for Decadent Danish
    

    Filed under: Brought to you by the letter D, Comfort Food

    
    I ate my Danish for D-day but didn't get a chance to write about it. Now, I do.

    This Danish is... literally... six inches across. It's the most decadent thing for breakfast within a good 17-mile radius, scented with cinnamon and butter, dotted with crumb topping crumbles, sparkling with icing and swirled with raspberry jam. These delectable pastries, in a variety of flavors and many studded with whole blueberries or sliced local peaches, are baked fresh every day by Bowers Bakery in Portland. Just wait until you see the height of this ultra-yummy pastry.
    

    Continue reading D is for Decadent Danish

    Magazines, Newspapers, On the Blogs, Brought to you by the letter D, Comfort Food

    It's not our fault. It's evolution, man. When the days are short and the weather is cold, all we want to do is snuggle into our comfiest chair with a blanket, a steamy mug of hot chocolate, and maybe a nice slice of meatloaf or macaroni and cheese. Followed up by (naturally) chocolate layer cake with extra coffee ice cream.

    But the magazines, the newspapers, heck, even the blogs, all they say is eat right! Lose weight! Get out of the house! And most importantly, lose that comfy...
    

  
  
  
  • D is for Diddy Riese: Dollar for an Ice Cream Sandwich
    

    Filed under: Snacks, West Coast, Restaurants, Vegetarian, Dairy, Fruit, Baking, Raves & Reviews, Brought to you by the letter D

    The place blows all business logic out the window.

    Diddy Riese is a decently sized ice cream and cookie shop in a very high rent spot - Westwood Village. It is open until very late. There are at least four people working behind the counter at any one time. High rent, long operations, labor costs - and yet, Diddy Riese is able to sell two cookies slapped around a scoop of ice cream as a sadnwich for one...
    

  
  
  
  • Ingredient Spotlight: Dill
    

    Filed under: The History of..., Did you know?, Brought to you by the letter D, Spices

    Dill is a member of the parsley family and was originally found throughout the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia, though now it is grown all over the world, in places from California to Australia. The leaves and the seeds are edible and used as spices, flavoring everything from fish to pickles. Dill has a flavor that is a mixture between onion and caraway, but is quite unique. The flavor is most widely used in German, Russian and Scandinavian recipes, as well as being a favorite ingredient in pickling liquids.

    Dill weed is the common term for the leaves of...
    

  
  
  
  • Give Us a D! And You Sure Did
    

    Filed under: Site Announcements, Brought to you by the letter D

    We asked for it, and boy did we get it! Thanks to all of y'all delightful Slashfood readers and your delicious contributions to our theme day today! Here's the first 10 of what you guys are eating...with more to come later this evening, we're sure!

    Alanna takes us on a Veggie Venture by making a salad with just about the only vegetable that I can think of that starts with D - Daikon and Pepper Salad.

    Mental Masala gives us the grand tour through dal, the Indian term that refers to all lentils and beans. Marc shows us how to prepare dal in general.

    Who knew you could bake brownies...
    

  
  
  
  • D is for Dave Lieberman
    

    Filed under: Recipes, Books, Television/Film, Brought to you by the letter D

    When it comes to TV cooks, people seem to either love or hate Rachael Ray, love or hate Emeril Lagasse, and love or hate Sandra Lee. But I don't know anyone who would even think of hating Dave Lieberman.

    Lieberman is the young cook who had his own cable show (Campus Cuisine) while in college at Yale. He was then featured in a New York Times article by Amanda Hesser, and that led to his being signed to the Food Network, where he hosts Eat This. I picked up his book Young and Hungry: More Than 100 Recipes For Cooking Fresh...
    

  
  
  
  • D is for Drambuie
    

    Filed under: British Isles, Brought to you by the letter D, Spirits

    Perhaps Scotland's most famous liqueur, Drambuie is based on scotch whiskey, usually 15-17 year old malts that are blended with heather honey essence and, as is usual with most such liqueurs, a "secret" herbal infusion.

    Playing on the rich Scottish heritage, it is said that Bonny Prince Charlie himself handed the recipe to one Captain MacKinnon of Strathaird in 1746 in gratitude for his support during the Jacobite rebellion.

    Commercial production didn't start until 1906 by a descendant - Malcolm MacKinnon. The name is taken from the Gaelic phrase "an dram buidheach" that translates as "the drink that satisfied."

    More recent range extensions include...
    

  
  
  
  • D is for Dhaba: Something like an Indian Truck Stop
    

    Filed under: Lunch, Dinner, Snacks, West Coast, Restaurants, Vegetarian, Grains, Vegetables, Dairy, Fish, Poultry, Cheese, South Asia, Raves & Reviews, Eggs, Condiments, Brought to you by the letter D

    

    A dhaba, I learned last fall when working together with a few Indian co-workers, is a small, local restaurant, found off the side of the highways throughout India. Dhabas are typically open 24 hours a day, are usually located near fuel pumps, and besides serving food, they also have places to take a nap. In essence, it's an...