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Who makes the best vanilla ice cream? In the hot summer months, walking down the ice cream aisle of a supermarket can make your head spin -- so many flavors and varieties to choose from. Slashfood decided to help you narrow those possibilities down. We took the most simple flavor -- vanilla -- and put it to the test. Did you know that vanilla ice cream is the most popular flavor of choice? In fact, "30% of Americans prefer vanilla over any other flavor," John Harrison, Edy's flavor guru, says.
We gathered 16 different brands from local supermarkets in New York and New Jersey (most brands are available nationwide), and rated them on a scale of one to five for creaminess and vanilla bean flavor. After the editors did a round of testing themselves, we decided to organize a blind taste test with our co-workers here at AOL. More than 20 people showed up to determine which vanillas were the best -- and which ones were deemed the worst.
In the end, we came up with two winners for the best -- the editors chose one and the testers chose another -- and one for the overall worst (we were all in agreement there).

 

Driver from www.salshfood.com

EVEN the best white-meat chicken has two main drawbacks, both stemming from its low fat content: it’s not particularly flavorful, and it dries out as you cook it. Grilling helps with the first problem by contributing smoky flavor and a nicely browned exterior, but unfortunately it makes the dryness problem even worse.

This problem is typically addressed by bathing the meat in an oil-based marinade before grilling, the idea being that this tenderizes the meat and seals in or even adds moisture. But not only does it take time, it also doesn’t work: the meat absorbs none of that fat, and the olive-oil coating simply contributes to flare-ups and the likelihood of burning. (Ironically, chicken skin is often removed, but it is a better “marinating” agent than anything else.)

The simplest way to keep breast meat moist and make it flavorful is to put fat and flavor inside — to stuff it. At its simplest, this means cutting a slit in bone-in chicken breasts and spreading a little butter or drizzling a little olive in the incision, an undemanding task that improves the meat’s flavor and texture immensely. When you mix the butter with fresh tarragon, basil, chives, roasted garlic or whatever other flavoring you like, you upgrade the results significantly.

But bone-in breasts aren’t the best vehicles for a substantial stuffing because you can’t fit much filling in a slit. If, however, you start with boneless breasts (or tenders, or cutlets or whatever you call them), and pound them to an even thickness, you can treat them as a wrapper for heftier fillings.

To pound, lay the meat between two sheets of plastic wrap, then whack at it with a mallet, rolling pin or the bottom of a heavy skillet until it is about a quarter-inch thick. If you’re not interested in a fancy presentation, just pound the chicken until it’s moderately thin. Then fold it over the stuffing of your choice the way you would fold a tortilla over taco fillings, and secure it with a skewer. I love using olive tapenade as a stuffing; it packs a salty punch and contains plenty of fat to keep the meat moist.

For something a little fancier, pound the chicken as thin as you can manage and try a take on negimaki, the Japanese dish of thinly sliced beef rolled around scallions.

Briefly cook the scallions in soy sauce and mirin before wrapping the chicken around them. Then baste the chicken with more sauce while it’s cooking, so the salty-sweet glaze permeates the chicken from both inside and out.

It takes a little time to pound and roll up chicken cutlets, but not nearly as much time as marinating, and the results are not only more functional but also far more interesting.

 

Driver from www.nytimes.com

This is Beverly Hills?, I wondered, oh so many years ago when a friend took me to lunch in a sweet little house with a fireplace on South Beverly Drive. Chez Mimi later moved to Santa Monica, and Urth Caffé now dispenses soy lattes and iced green tea from that rose-covered cottage. Back then (and now), South Beverly Drive didn't seem fancy at all, more like a small-town Main Street where you'd find shops selling nightgowns and one-piece swimming suits, baseball cards and birthday gifts. Remember, though, Celestino Drago got his start here with his first restaurant, Celestino. And former Rustic Canyon chef Samir Mohajer chose the neighborhood for his first Cabbage Patch restaurant. Chin Chin still gets the crowds, and California Pizza Kitchen too.

Though a newsstand sells papers from all over the world, South Beverly Drive is definitely not the Beverly Hills of Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, Prada or Fred Leighton, where the stars borrow their diamonds for the Oscars. This is everyday Beverly Hills, where kids come to spend their allowances on ice cream or pizza, housewives meet for coffee at Peet's and teenagers from Beverly Hills High hang out. The blocks between Wilshire and Olympic boulevards are filled with coffee shops and family restaurants with sidewalk tables out front. It's Beverly Hills minus Paris Hilton and the paparazzi and about as unglamorous as you can get this close to the 90210 ZIP Code.

A new restaurant from the Hillstone Restaurant Group behind Houston's, Gulfstream and R+D, though, comes close to bridging the gap. South Beverly Grill is a polished take on straight-ahead American fare. But instead of just another Houston's, this new restaurant concept is slightly more upscale and designed to look more expensive than the prices would warrant. The design firm Assembledge+ has taken on the old Hamburger Hamlet space and transformed it into a darkly handsome restaurant and the adjoining Honor Bar. (The design recently won an award from the American Institute of Architects.)

South Beverly Grill's menu is a concise and well-edited compilation of familiar dishes dressed up for dining out. And because the adjoining Honor Bar features live music that leaks through an open doorway into the restaurant, a night out at South Beverly Grill feels as if you've actually gone somewhere. The restaurant has a sense of place that most chain restaurants don't provide. There's no problem taking your parents or your grandparents here. It will instantly feel familiar. Who doesn't like shrimp Louie, chopped salad or prime rib?

Deviled eggs are creamy and sharp, though laced with too much sweet pickle to make me want to order them again. Fried oysters, big ones, are golden and crunchy. "More fried food?" groans a friend who'd just come back from a road trip to Atlanta. But once she tastes these plump beauties, set on a little spinach and garnished with a dab of mustard sauce, she wants to get another order.

Ahi tuna tartare, cubes of raw sushi-grade tuna tossed in a classic vinaigrette and served with a stack of thin toasts and a fan of avocado, is a real bargain at this price, considering the amount of tuna. This, and most of the appetizers can easily be shared. There's an excellent chopped salad, a heap of cherry tomatoes, slivered carrots, peas and ribbons of Savoy cabbage garnished with a deviled egg.

This is California, so they have the salad thing covered. Shrimp Louie made with Mexican white shrimp is crossed with a cherry tomato salad to arrive at "Shrimp tomato Louie." Less dressing, please, and this could be the best of both worlds. And I don't quite get the salad of arugula with crispy fried chicken livers and gobs of creamy goat cheese in a rather sweet dressing. Is the goat cheese supposed to seduce people into downing a chicken liver? Lose the cheese, and this would be a better dish.

From the looks of the other tables, it's clear the grilled artichoke, imported from Houston's menu as a special, is a bestseller. The artichokes are tender and cooked through with a nice char at the edges, though they're slicked with a touch too much olive oil.

Need salt? Pepper? Anything at all? The almost unbelievably nice waiters are right there.

The hosts are always delighted to see you. Take a stool at the bar and watch the game, join a significant other in a two-seater booth or opt for one of the bigger booths. The lighting is on the table, not in your eyes. It's a relaxing sort of place, where no one has to gallop through a meal, unless speed is specifically requested.

At South Beverly Grill, regulars already have staked a claim to this or that table or booth. The people at the table behind us one night felt so much at home, the guys leapt up and shouted when the flat-screen monitor behind the bar showed their team hitting a home run. One guy was even waving a barbecued rib.

This is that rare restaurant where the main courses are actually better than the starters.

For prime rib enthusiasts, the standing rib roast at $28 is a beautiful rosy piece of beef that comes with a baked potato with all the fixings — sour cream, scallions and nubs of real bacon piled high on the halved potato. And that makes dinner. Lamb sirloin is not the thin slice I've encountered most places but a hefty 2-inch piece of meat. When I order mine medium-rare, the server comes back to say that because it's cooked sous-vide and then finished off on the grill, the chef serves it just under medium. It's firm yet tender, with grainy texture and deep lamb flavor enhanced by a slight char from the mesquite grill. It comes with sautéed spinach leaves and mashed potatoes and the lamb's natural juices.

Burger or French dip sandwich? I'd go with the French dip, finely sliced prime rib piled onto a soft bun, with its own "dip" of natural juices and another bowl of horseradish cream. At $18, it is quite a bit more expensive than Cole's or Philippe's but the quality of the beef is better. The cheeseburger is a neat package, a thick juicy beef patty on a soft yellow bun, all the fixings already in place, the tomato, the lettuce and some sweet pickles in there too.

The exception, sad to say, is the barbecued ribs slathered in a hot sweet mustard sauce. The ribs are very soft, maybe boiled first and then finished on the grill. They certainly don't taste smoked.

As for desserts, share, share, share. They're huge. From Houston's comes the apple crumble with plenty of walnut-studded streusel, thinly sliced apples and, to gild the lily with sticky sweetness, a caramel sauce. The best, though, is the strawberry shortcake, triangles of flaky poppyseed shortcake covered with juicy strawberries and lots of whipped cream.

South Beverly Grill does middle-of-the-road American food pretty well. The ingredients are good, the execution generally right on, but with the tendency to overdress and over-sauce things. Portions are generous but not quite Cheesecake Factory-size. This is a classier operation. Well-run and responsive to guests, South Beverly Grill has eliminated most of the negative elements associated with a chain restaurant. The food may be predictable, but that's the point. Never underestimate the power of the familiar.

 

Driver from www.latimes.com

Mango coconut upside-down cake

Total time: About 1 1/2 hours

Servings: 8 to 10

Note: If baking in a springform pan, place a baking sheet on a rack near the bottom of the oven to catch any syrup that might drip.

3 firm, ripe mangoes (preferably Haitian)

3 tablespoons butter, plus 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature, divided

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

2 cups (8.5 ounces) flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 1/4 cups coconut milk

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Peel the mangoes. Holding each mango upright, cut away the flesh from both sides of the pit in broad lengthwise slices. Cut those slices again, lengthwise, into three-fourths-inch-thick pieces. Each mango should yield 6 to 8 pieces. Set aside.

2. In a large 10- to 12-inch skillet, preferably cast iron, melt the 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat; then add the brown sugar, stirring until melted, smooth and incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat. If you are baking your cake in the skillet, spread the sugar mixture to the edges and set the pan aside to cool. If you are baking your cake in a springform pan, spread the melted sugar into a 9-inch round springform pan (line the base of the pan with parchment paper, to about one-half inch up the sides of the pan). After the caramel mixture has cooled, arrange the mango slices tightly side-by-side in a radiating circle in the pan, so that the surface of the pan is entirely covered. Scatter any remaining mango on top of the first layer in a small second layer. (The fruit will cook down considerably in the oven, so you will want to be generous with it.)

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the remaining one-half cup butter until pale. Add sugar and continue mixing until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time; mix well to combine. Stir in the vanilla and coconut flakes.

4. In another large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom and allspice. Stir with a fork to incorporate. Then, working in batches and alternating with the coconut milk, mix the dry ingredients into the egg mixture: Begin by adding a bit of the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, then add a bit of the coconut milk and stir until just combined, and so on, until all the ingredients are incorporated.

5. Spoon and spread the batter into the pan so that the mangoes are evenly covered. Bake the cake until it is springy and golden and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes (a springform cake will require additional time).

6. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, if using a skillet, place a large plate over the top and carefully flip the pan so that the cake inverts onto the plate with the mango on top. (If using a springform pan, place a plate over the top of the pan, flip the pan over, release the spring mold, and peel back the parchment.) The cake will be best on the day that it is made. Serve it slightly warm or at room temperature.

Each of 10 servings: 458 calories; 5 grams protein; 62 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 23 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 76 mg. cholesterol; 40 grams sugar; 240 mg. sodium.

 

Driver from www.latimes.com

Sour cream waffles

Total time: About 40 minutes

Servings: Makes 6 to 8 servings

Note: Adapted from the 1943 edition of "Joy of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer.

1 cup cake flour

11/2 teaspoons baking powder

Dash salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 eggs, separated

2 cups sour cream

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and baking soda.

2. In a small bowl, mix the egg yolks and sour cream until smooth and whisk them into the dry ingredients.

3. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Stir approximately one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Bake according to manufacturer's instructions for your waffle maker. Serve immediately; they will soften on standing.

Each of 16 waffles: 108 calories; 3 grams protein; 8 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 7 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 52 mg. cholesterol; 162 mg. sodium.

 

Driver from www.latimes.com

Apple walnut kugel

Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Servings: 8 to 10

Note: Roll the pasta as thinly as possible before cutting it into noodles. Allow to dry overnight before using.

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1/2 cup cider

1/2 cup currants

2 large tart apples, such as Granny Smith, Braeburn or Gala

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons mascarpone

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for cooking the pasta

1/2 recipe basic pappardelle pasta, rolled, cut and dried

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.

2. Meanwhile, in a sauté pan over medium heat, toast the walnuts until fragrant and slightly darkened, stirring frequently, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, bring the cider to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the currants. Allow the currants to rehydrate until plump, about 15 minutes.

4. While the currants are softening, core and peel the apples. Thinly slice the apples lengthwise, and toss with the lemon juice in a medium bowl. Set aside.

5. Make the custard base: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Whisk in the mascarpone, then the milk, lemon zest, vanilla, one-half teaspoon cinnamon and one-fourth teaspoon salt until well-combined. Set aside.

6. Cook the pasta in the boiling water just until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and allow to cool slightly in a colander. Add the pasta to the custard base, tossing gently to coat the noodles. Stir in the walnuts, currants (and remaining cider) and apples (with any remaining lemon juice).

7. Place the kugel mixture in a deep-dish pie pan or in a 12-by-9-inch baking dish.

8. Combine the brown sugar, nutmeg, allspice and remaining cinnamon in a small bowl. Drizzle the mixture over the kugel.

9. Bake the kugel until set and golden on top, 50 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack, then serve immediately.

Each of 10 servings: 285 calories; 7 grams protein; 40 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 12 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 110 mg. cholesterol; 104 mg. sodium.

 

Driver from www.latimes.com

THROUGHOUT the world, lobster is commonly considered the height of elegance: it’s often the priciest thing on the menu in restaurants, served on fancy platters with lots of fanfare.

But in many parts of the Northeast, lobster is a casual favorite, no fancier than steamed mussels or fried clams. Steamed or boiled or mixed with mayonnaise for lobster rolls, there is nothing elegant about it.

Yet grilled lobster falls somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, and that’s only because the grilling itself presents challenges. Grilling lobster is not like grilling a steak, because the animal is alive in your kitchen. And this freaks many people out.

If it doesn’t bother you, put the critter on a table and cut it in half lengthwise. Then start grilling. 

But there is an easier way: boil the lobster for two minutes, just until it turns red (for four or five minutes if it weighs more than a pound and a half). The point here is to kill the lobster. Afterward, plunge it in ice water, then keep it cool until you’re ready to cook.

If you really don’t want to put a live creature into a pot, many fishmongers or supermarkets will do this for you. When the lobster has gone through the first stage of cooking, cut it in half: Start at the head, right between the eyes, and make one long cut until you can split the lobster in half and separate it.

There’s no need to remove any organs; just put the lobster, cut side up to start, on a hot grill for a few minutes. Turn it and continue cooking until the meat is opaque and firm to the touch: that’s it.

You can serve grilled lobster with melted butter if you’d like, but I find that lots of lemon and some salt and pepper are really all it needs: elegant, but casual.

 

Driver from www.nytimes.com

Dear Dave and Christine: With flavors combining a homemade Creole seasoning blend and rich brown roux, this jambalaya packs a nice depth of flavor with a little added kick. Finish the dish with a little andouille sausage and fresh seafood, then toss in some pasta right before serving for a rich, hearty one-dish meal.

[howto]King's Fish House seafood jambalaya linguine

Total time: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Servings: 8 to 10

Note: Adapted from King's Fish House

Creole seasoning

1 tablespoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder

Place all of the spices in a mixing bowl and whisk to blend together thoroughly. Store the spice blend in a closed container until needed. This makes about 21/2 tablespoons Creole seasoning.

Gumbo base

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

3/4 cup flour

1/2 red bell pepper, diced into 1/4-inch pieces

1/2 green bell pepper, diced into 1/4-inch pieces

1/2 celery stalk, diced into 1/4-inch pieces

5 cups vegetable broth

11/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning

11/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves

1/2 bay leaf

11/4 teaspoons gumbo filé powder

11/4 teaspoons minced garlic

1. Melt the butter in a large heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour slowly to form a roux. Cook, stirring frequently until the roux darkens to a deep caramel color, and watch that the roux does not burn on the bottom. Stir in the bell peppers and celery and cook for 30 seconds, then slowly add the vegetable broth, whisking until fully incorporated.

2. Stir in the Creole seasoning, salt, black pepper, crushed chile, chili powder, thyme leaves, bay leaf, filé powder and garlic. Simmer gently over low heat for 45 minutes to develop the flavor, stirring and scraping the bottom to prevent burning, and skimming any fat that rises to the surface. Remove from heat. This makes about 41/2 cups base; the base can be made ahead of time and refrigerated at this point.

Jambalaya

11/2 pounds linguine

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

11/2 cups julienned onion

11/2 cups julienned bell peppers (red and green mix)

 

2 tablespoons minced garlic

3/4 pound firm-fleshed white fish fillet, cut into pieces

30 medium (26- to 30-count per pound) shrimp, cleaned, tail-on

3/4 pound Andouille sausage, sliced thinly on the bias

2 tablespoons Creole seasoning

11/2 teaspoons kosher salt

11/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

41/2 cups Gumbo base

11/2 cups prepared marinara sauce

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook to al dente according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and shock with ice water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

2. Heat a large heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the onions, bell peppers and garlic and cook briefly. Add the fish, shrimp and Andouille sausage and stir until the shrimp is cooked halfway through, about 3 minutes.

3. Stir in the Creole seasoning, salt and black pepper. Add the gumbo base and marinara sauce to the pan and bring to a simmer.

4. Remove from heat and stir in the linguine noodles. Toss and plate. Garnish with a sprinkling of parsley and serve.

Each of 8 to 10 servings: 595 calories; 28 grams protein; 71 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 22 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 94 mg. cholesterol; 8 grams sugar; 843 mg. sodium

 

Driver from www.latimes.com

To call this creamy, cinnamon-specked beverage simply a "nut milk" is an understatement -- it's clearly not something to be wasted on a bowl of cereal. In fact, on her blog, Always Order Dessert, milk(shake) maker and photographer Alejandra writes, "It's lusciously creamy and tastes kind of like an amazing nutty milkshake, except that it's actually healthy."

When served in a wine glass and punctuated with two perfect pecans, this non-dairy "milk" -- which also contains honey, coconut milk, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt and sugar -- certainly gives cashew milk (or soy or almond milk, for that matter) a run for its money, even if it does take eight hours to make. We can think of only one thing that would make it more appetizing -- a shot of Kahlua!

 

 

Driver from www.slashfood.com

 

Here's a question for all you Freakonomic's fans out there: what do this week's stultifying heat indexes across much of the country have to do with the price of pork bellies?

If you answered that both are at or near record highs, then you get a gold star (you deserve something if you know the price of pork bellies). But you get two gold stars if you answered something along the lines of what was reported in Monday's Wall Street Journal...

On the list of foods that immediately conjure the taste of summer -- strawberries, peaches, watermelon, etc -- bacon is probably about as far down on the list as pumpkin pie. But, when the mercury is knocking on 95 and you want to get out of the kitchen as fast a possible, what do you turn to? A good old B.L.T.

The rest of the answer is straight out of Econ 101: the basic law of supply and demand. Americans' demand for bacon surges in the summer, hence driving up the price of pork bellies, from which bacon is made. But this year, the price of pork bellies is setting records -- Monday's price was $1.35 a pound, 53 percent higher than a year ago.

Why? Because hog farmers responded to the recession during the past couple years by reducing the size of their herds. To come full circle with the heat-hog connection, pigs take longer to reach their market weight when the weather is hot.

So if you want cheaper bacon, you might consider driving less. After all, the carbon emissions from your car contribute to global warming, global warming raises the temperatures, and apparently, pigs lose their appetite in the heat.

Now that's some freaky Freakonomics.

 

Driver from www.slashfood.com