Food Trends for 2014

20 Dec 2013 159 Comments

by scolgin in Food, Humor Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Looking back on the fickle food winds of the past year, while such red hot trends from years past as organ meats, food trucks, bacon confections, pop-up restaurants, red velvet cake/cupcake/ice cream, gold leaf on food, foam and so forth begin their long and inevitable slide into cliché, I wonder what will become trendy in the coming year.

Hungry foraging guy, probably in Portland

Hungry foraging guy, probably in Portland

Here are some of my predictions:

• 70s/80s Food
The music is back, so why not the food? We’ve seen the comfort foods of the 50s and 60s — fried chicken, mac and cheese, meatloaf — get their glowing due in the contemporary foodie renaissance. So isn’t it time for the return of the sun-dried tomato and the re-introduction of radicchio? Quiche and blackened catfish, anyone? More

Up Popped a Restaurant

03 Sep 2013 15 Comments

by scolgin in Eating Out, Recipes, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories) Tags: , , , , , , , ,

In cooking, as in many things in life, it’s all a matter of scale.

The chefs — (l to r) your humble author and pals, Ernie and Peri

The chefs — (l to r) your humble author and pals, Ernie and Peri

“That’s not enough gazpacho for 60 people!” my wife declared, alarmed, as I walked through the kitchen with a gallon bag a quarter full of soup. “I have another bag,” I said.

“It’s still not enough!” More

An Intimate Dinner for 60

30 Aug 2013 7 Comments

by scolgin in Eating Out, Food, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories) Tags: , , , , , ,

Who would’ve guessed finding a good loaf of pumpernickel could be such a challenge!

I do a number of fundraising dinners, usually for my kids’ schools. It’s something I’m good at that I can contribute, the dinners bring in a lot of money for the schools, and they make a lot of people happy. But I had never done one quite this large before.

Heirloom tomatoes for gazpacho and green zebra risotto

Heirloom tomatoes for gazpacho and green zebra risotto

Let me establish one thing: I am not a caterer. I don’t have all that caterer stuff, I dislike buffets, I don’t like not having creative control over every single dish. I typically do fancy dinners for anywhere from four to 16 or 18 people. More