As this is the last Front Burner column of 2013 I decided it would be a good time to look back at some of my favorite food-related discoveries of the year. Some of these I’ve written about before,and not all of them are new, but they are the books, tools, foods (and drinks) and websites I found myself going to again and again and again.
COOKBOOKS
Vegetables Please: The More Vegetables, Less Meat Cookbook by Carolyn Humphries
Eats: Enjoy All the Seconds - 135 Colourful Recipes to Savour & Save by Mary Rolph Lamontagne
Indian Cooking Unfolded by Raghavan Iyer
The American Craft Beer Cookbook by John Holl
Handmade Bread by Dan Lepard
Winter Cocktails by Mariadel Mar Sacasa
Fresh Food Nation: Simple, Seasonal Recipes from America’s Farmers by Martha Holmberg
The New Food Lover’s Companion (fifth edition) by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst
TOOLS
Ici Batter Whisk (a heavy-duty, silicone-coated whisk ideal for thick batters)
Trudeau’s Kitchen and Grill Gloves (heat-resistant gloves large enough for adult hands)
Trudeau’s Bottle Opener and Cap Catcher (a bottle opener atop a canister for catching the caps)
The Lid Pocket (slips on to the side of a slow cooker to provide a drip-free place to hold the slow cooker’s lid)
Twiztt Cut, Cook & Serve skillet set
Kyocera Ceramic knives (despite a horrendous kitchen mishap involving my left index finger, these lightweight knives with their ultra-sharp blades remain my absolute favorites)
FOOD AND DRINK
Unrefined coconut oil
Raimondo Winery Blood Orange olive oil
Heinz Jalapeno Ketchup
Ground Aleppo chile pepper (a friend picked some of this up for me at Penzeys in Memphis)
Hunt’s Spicy Red Pepper Tomatoes
Pecan wood bacon (Hormel makes a good one)
Hiland Dairy Jalapeno Fiesta Dip (available occasionally at Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market)
Leinenkugel Orange Shandy beer
Apothic Dark red wine blend (a limited release; look for it next fall)
Diamond Bear Strawberry Blonde Ale (limited release)
Rock Town Distillery Hickory Smoked Arkansas Whiskey
OTHER READING
food52.com
whatkatieate.com
500px.com
Food, Pages 33 on 12/25/2013