Anson Mills Carolina Gold Rice Needs No Adjectives

[This is post #031 towards #100DaysOfFoodBlogging, our goal to do 100 posts in 100 days as part of The 100 Day Project.]

No adjectives are required, nor would any do this rice any justice. Just go to the link below, buy some rice, and experience it for yourself.

Anson Mills Carolina Gold Rice

Use this recipe: Classic Separate-Grain Carolina Gold Rice

PS: Thanks, Glenn Roberts.

PPS: I’m not messing around.

Anson Mills Carolina Gold Rice | getinmymouf.com

This shot also features pages from Chef Sean Brock’s book, ‘Heritage’.

Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. Just try the freaking rice! Wait, is “freaking” an adjective?

#100DaysOfFoodBlogging, Reviews

Feed Your Eyes: ‘Chef’s Table’ on Netflix

[This is post #030 towards #100DaysOfFoodBlogging, our goal to do 100 posts in 100 days as part of The 100 Day Project.]

Now that most of your favorite network shows are wrapping up (some of them FOREVER), you’ll have a ton of television viewing time to spare over the next few months. Before you go insane and reach decision paralysis when deciding what to watch next, I ask you to look no further than your Netflix account.

In what has accurately been called the “the anti-cooking show,” Chef’s Table is more than worthy of consuming your new found spare time.

Brought to life by Jiro Dreams of Sushi director, David Gelb, the first season spans six episodes, each telling the story of a different world class chef. And although these aren’t necessarily household names or celebrity chefs as defined by current culture, their impact on food and even the world likely reaches further than a line of cookware and 10 seasons on Food Network ever could.

You get to know the chefs intimately and they truly are the stars of the show, each uniquely their own character, while also sharing a similar passion.

But that’s not to say that the food isn’t beautiful, because it is. You can easily mistake the series for an art documentary. In a good way.

Most culinary shows are filled with so much gluttonous food porn, you end up feeling like you need a cold shower to cleanse yourself of the residual butter, sugar, and bacon fat. Chef’s Table, however, is much more satisfying, as you’re left with an emotional connection to each chef.

Or as Gelb put it best in this Grubstreet interview: “Emotional food porn!”

#100DaysOfFoodBlogging, Holiday

5 Essential Ingredients for a Mother’s Day Tea Party

[This is post #029 towards #100DaysOfFoodBlogging, our goal to do 100 posts in 100 days as part of The 100 Day Project.]

It seemed like just yesterday that we were inexperienced tea party hosts. We had no clue where to begin and yet today we are certified Tea Party-ologists.

Actually, we just kind of guessed at what would make for a fun party based on blogs, movies, books, and Tina’s trip to London. The real secret is that there’s no secret and as long as you have good food, family, friends, and at least one dog everyone will have a great time. However, that seems like a cop out for a post, so here are 5 Essential Ingredients for a Mother’s Day Tea Party.

1. Tea. If you forget the tea, then it’s just a regular party and your guests will become hostile, as they were expecting tea. Make sure you have more than one type and serve some hot, some cold. Everyone wins.

2. Scones. We used this Barefoot Contessa recipe as a base for making cheddar dill savory scones and strawberry scones. I’m still not entirely sure how they’re different than biscuits, but since this is a tea party, biscuits are actually cookies. Get it? Good.

3. Clotted Cream. Never had it before? Neither did most of our family, yet we easily finished off a jar. Here’s your mission: Find some, put it on a scone with jam, eat, then repeat 30 times or until you pass out.

4. Sandwiches. In order to balance out all of the scones and clotted cream you’ll be eating, make sure to throw in some tiny sandwiches like chicken salad, egg salad, and/or cream cheese & olive tapenade. Guys out there might not be comfortable eating tiny sandwiches, but there is a nice perk. Come closer. Okay. Before the party starts, you’ll be hungry, but technically you shouldn’t be eating yet because not all of the guests will have arrived. Luckily, the sandwiches are tiny enough that you can usually eat one in less than two bites without a plate or napkin. No evidence and your hunger pangs will be calmed.

5. Moms. It’s Mother’s Day, come on! They’re almost as important as the tea. Almost.

Bonus: Our last post, Mother’s Day Coconut Macaroons aka My Mom is Addicted to Coconut, discussed my (as the title would indicate) mother’s love of coconut and all things tropical. Completely unaware of that post my mom brought these tropical Jello bowls to the party:

Too perfect.

Happy Mother’s Day!

#100DaysOfFoodBlogging, Recipes

Mother’s Day Coconut Macaroons aka My Mom is Addicted to Coconut

[This is post #028 towards #100DaysOfFoodBlogging, our goal to do 100 posts in 100 days as part of The 100 Day Project.]

I think if we search deep within ourselves we all boil down to one specific food that defines us as a person.

And sometimes the search doesn’t even have to be that deep. For example, my mom is obsessed with coconut. See, didn’t even have to think about it.

If there’s a dish with coconut in it on a menu, my mother will find it. Then she will order it, eat it, and talk about how much she loved it until going back to get it again (most likely within a week).

Her perfect meal would likely consist of a virgin piña colada, coconut fried shrimp, coconut cake, and coconut macaroons. Yeah, two desserts. That’s how she rolls. Well, technically she rolls in a white Nissan…but it’s the same color as coconut flesh.

You’d think that the coconut obsession would be a reminder of some tropical upbringing or vacations to the Caribbean, but since she didn’t grow up on an island or vacation in the Caribbean, that ain’t the case. In fact, she’s never even been on a plane.

So, I believe the addiction to all things coconut is her way of bringing the island home. Because not flying has never stopped her from finding ways to experience a tropical lifestyle. Case in point: For over a decade, my parents’ room had a tropical theme. Tina and I spent about 27 hours on a 300,000 piece tropical landscape puzzle for them to hang on the wall, but we only made it about 1/4 of the way through it. It was the last puzzle I’ve ever taken part in.

It’s a nice reminder that you don’t have to take flight to travel; all you really need is a kitchen and a good recipe. We’ll never be able to force her on an airplane (and I’ve tried) to take her to the caribbean, but we can certainly make her coconut macaroons for Mother’s Day.

These macaroons are pure coconut. Nothing less, nothing more. And they taste like paradise.

Coconut Macaroons

For the photos above, we used Alton Brown’s Toasty Coconut Macaroons minus the “toasty,” i.e., we didn’t toast our coconut beforehand. Nonetheless, they were still delicious. And speaking of delicious, Ina Garten’s Coconut Macaroon recipe is pretty much perfection. And, here’s a video of Ina making them, too. Thanks, Ina and Alton!

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

Get in my Mouf

Food Stories

Anson Mills Carolina Gold Rice Needs No Adjectives

Feed Your Eyes: ‘Chef’s Table’ on Netflix

5 Essential Ingredients for a Mother’s Day Tea Party

Mother’s Day Coconut Macaroons aka My Mom is Addicted to Coconut