Enthusiastic and adventurous cook and eater, Keith Dixon, had to make some changes in his kitchen habits after the birth of daughter, Gracie.  Keith's culinary and parenting odyssey is chronicled in Cooking for Gracie:  The Making of a Parent from Scratch.  There are plenty of trying and triumphant moments in this memoir of the evolution of a couple from when Gracie makes her first appearance five weeks premature to the end of her first year, plus scattered throughout Keith shares recipes, including the one found at the end of this blog post. We'll talk with Keith, a New York Times writer and novelist, about some of the memories that he chronicles in the book.  Also, we'll find out how life (and cooking) have changed since the addition of another child.

Molly Aronica, Restaurant Editor for The Daily Meal joins us in the second half of the show.  Molly and the staff of the popular internet site have their pulse on the food world.  I'm very excited to announce that she has agreed to do a regular monthly stint on Great Taste, and bring our listeners the top culinary news and trends from around the globe.  Check out the following links for some of the stories we're going to feature on the show:

http://www.thedailymeal.com/50-most-powerful-food-folk-america
http://www.thedailymeal.com/decade-super-bowl-food-bets
http://www.thedailymeal.com/americas-best-wings
http://www.thedailymeal.com/super-bowl-xlvi-50-reasons-eat-drink-party
http://www.thedailymeal.com/diy-chicken-wings

Resident chef Liz Peralta will add her kitchen sense to all the conversations.  Also, Curt Goudy, one of the Indian Hills culinary students, will introduce a new KRUU program called Quick Bites.  Whew, I think that's about it.  Drop on by or drop into the show via the web on our live stream beginning at 7:00 pm central time. 

You can catch all the excitement from previous Great Taste shows by checking out  the KRUU archives.  Each show is available to listen to or download.  Be sure to share them with your friends, and have some fun kitchen adventures.

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. 

It's been a very interesting two weeks for me as I started the Challenge a little earlier than our Great Taste listeners.  Those of you who tuned in for the introductory show a couple of weeks back know how skeptical I was.  Several times I said there was no way I could stand drinking my breakfast (smoothies) every morning.  I needed something substantial that I could chew.  OK, I don't.  What a revelation.  I love the smoothies.  They make me feel alert.  My need to snack has been tamed.  I can happily say I was wrong.  Now, does that mean I've been converted to vegan/raw foods?  No, but I do plan to continue integrating a lot more raw food into my daily diet.   For my physiology, it seems to work.  That's all I can really say plus I like the clean flavors (and I've lost some weight). 

I would be very interested to hear from all our Vegan/Raw Challenge participants.  What did you do, learn, experience?  Let us know by sending an email to:  greattaste@kruufm.com.

12 Indian Hills Culinary students along with the director of the program, Chef Gordon Rader, returned this week from two weeks in Spain.  They spent the mornings learning Spanish, cooked all afternoon and enjoyed excursions to wineries, restaurants, and farms while basking in an atmosphere overflowing with the red carpet treatment.  They are all going to crowd into the studio and give us the chance for some vicarious thrills while relating some of the trip's significant happenings on this week's GREAT TASTE.

The program they participated in is part of a larger cultural and educational exchange created by Rader and his Spanish counterpart, Fernando Perez of Escuela do la Cocina International in conjunction with the Univ. of Valladolid, University of Salamanca and the Royal Academy of Gastronomy of Spain.  One objective of the program is to have year-round classes for high school and college students, farmers, producers, and anyone involved in the world of food.   These classes would be held in both Spain and the states.

We've been talking about doing a two week vegan/raw food challenge for months, and now it's time.  We've assembled a great team to help those of us who are going to need a lot of hand-holding (#1 on that list is your show host), otherwise we'll be reaching for the cheese among other foods .  Check out their credentials below, and join us on Wednesday for all the details of how you can participate in this great Great Taste event.

By the way, it's going to be easy and fun.  No stress.  The first week will consist of a vegan diet transitioning to a raw diet in the second week of the challenge.  Many menus and recipes will be provided, but you will need a few things:

Blender
Food Processor
Your own copy or borrow from a friend the following books:
Ani's Raw Food Essentials by Ani Phyo
Veganamicon by Moskowitz and Romero
Both books are available in electronic editions

Another delicious show is set for this week's version of Great Taste.  Barbara Yeager joins us in the studio.  Normally, she resides in Boulder, Colorado where she's engaged in creating all organic raw cacao bites with names like Heart Throb, Cosmic Mint, and Naked.   Her Life Openings chocolates are made without dairy, soy or gluten and sweetened with a low glycemic agave.

We have an amazing show lined up for you this week.  Our first guest Taggart Siegel is the director of Queen of the Sun:  What Are the Bees Telling Us?  Taggart was the acclaimed director behind the recent documentary The Real Dirt on Farmer John which told the true story of John Peterson, a farmer near Chicago who through a series of misfortunes ended up developing a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that serves 1200 families.  

Saturday, June 18 Fairfield turns red, green and white as we celebrate the best of Italia during the All Things Italian Street Festival.  On Great Taste we honor the food heritage of Italy with a little in-studio cooking done by our resident Sicilian, Kathy DuBois.  Also, we'll tell you about the pastas we'll be making at the At Home Store on Saturday afternoon.  Dick Deangelis, the godfather of the affair, will drop by to fill us in on all the festival details including the dishes that will be available on the piazza.

Micro-brews are continuing to expand their niche in the beer end of beverages.  We have an interesting micro-brewery almost on our doorstep-Peace Tree Brewing Company in Knoxville.  With luck we'll talk to the brewmaster (if his son's little league team loses on Tuesday we're on for sure, if they win there is another game on Wednesday so we have to hope his mobile signal works from the ballpark) and get the crazy story of how with a little smoke and mirrors the company was created and is putting out some delicious brews.

DON'T MISS THIS SHOW!

Kathy and I taped an interview with Marion Nestle.  The hour is packed with timely information as we discussed the current outbreak of E. coli in Germany, MyPlate, and a host of other issues.  If you are not familiar with Marion, check out her bio (from her website) below.  She has been an outspoken voice in the area of food politics for many years and plays a key role in the "food revolution" along with Michael Pollan, Eric Shlosser, Alice Waters, Fairfield's own Francis Thicke, and many others.

Her blog can be found here.

It's almost impossible to pass by any location that features magazines without being bombarded by stories about the latest and greatest dietary triumphs.  From "Seaweed-eating Grandmother loses 175 pounds-Gives Birth to Triplets at 65," to "You can Stay Slim, Smart, and Supple eating 5000 calories/Day," we are obsessed with different types of consumptive behaviors.  With all the attention on food and diet it's even possible to conclude that the information available is easily understood and consumers can make intelligent choices without any problems.  Unfortunately, that doesn't play out in reality since the United States has one of the highest obesity rates in the world among industrialized nations and close to 25% of children and teenagers in this country are either overweight or obese.

Crème brûlée is one dessert I can never pass up when it appears on a menu at a great spot.  The velvety feel of the custard provides a sensual treat for my mouth while the crunch of a perfectly caramelized sugar top adds that fun extra textural dimension.  I think a simple infused vanilla bean flavor is my favorite.  That's, of course, if all the elements come together properly.  There's a lot that can turn the dish into something not quite special, which is why it's always fun to continue the search for the perfect rendition.  Little did I think that journey might add a new chapter in the GREAT TASTE kitchen in our KRUU studio.

We're going somewhere we've never dared venture before on this week's show-Taiwan.  I don't know how you feel, but my normal thinking about Asian restaurants is "I must be missing something."  So many of them serve the same food found on menus that look almost exactly the same, and read like they all came from the same copy machine.  Rumors always abound, from those in the know, that the best Asian food is only a language barrier away in many spots.  I know that to be true, sort of.  Many years ago, my wife and I walked into a spot in San Francisco I had carefully researched prior to beginning our trip.  The place was huge and completely filled.  We were the only Caucasians, the menu was not in any language I could read, and no one admitted that they spoke English.  I said "vegetarian" to our waiter and we had an amazingly satisfying, delicious and unknown meal.  In January I was in the Philly suburbs and spotted a place while cruising online that purported to serve "real" regional Chinese specialties if you ordered off the non-English part

I met this week's guest, Andrew Pitz, several weeks ago at Wheatsfield, the co-op in Ames.  Andrew was promoting his Sawmill Hollow Family Farm's two varieties of aronia berry wine.  Immediately, I was struck by his passion for not only the little purple berry that is packed with high concentrations of anti-oxidants, but his ideas about land stewardship, natural healing, and the importance of sharing that knowledge to enrich both people and planet. While I listened, I tasted the wines which were very pleasing and will especially appeal to folks who don't like the tannic quality inherent in many grape wines.