Daily Olive

Upcoming September & October Food Festivals

Here's some upcoming food events from around the country--

• Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off  |  September 1-5, 2005  |  Victorian Sq., Sparks, NV
• National Buffalo Wing Festival  |  September 2-4, 2005  |  Buffalo, NYUSA
• Taste of Cleveland  |  September 2-5, 2005  |  Cleveland, OH
• Chowderfest  |  October 1-2, 2005  |  Beach Haven, NJ

via Jessica's Biscuit Newsletter

Silicone Basting Brush - No more loose hairs

If you're tired of those loose hairs coming off your basting brush, try a silicone brush.  We recently bought a set and love them.  I don't worry any more about leaving loose bristles on my barbeque while brushing on my marinade.  Another advantage--these brushes are heat resistant to 600 degrees.

ISI 15-in. Orka Silicone Basting Brush (pictured) available thru Cooking.com

Autographed Chef Cookbooks

Sur la Table's website offers a great collection of autographed chef books from authors like Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray, Ina Garten, Lidia Bastianich, Jamie Oliver, Thomas Keller, Jacques Pepin, and more.  A great gift for food lovers.

Autographed Chef Cookbooks available from Sur la Table.

Rising Dessert Trends from Top Restaurants

From a survey of 350 executive pastry chefs, Star Chefs found out about some of the recent trends in desserts around the country.  From chocolate (of course!) to drinkable desserts to Asian and Latin influences, you'll find out what's being created by top pastry chefs today.

Read Pastry on the Curve: The Latest Trends in Desserts via StarChefs.com

2003 Shaping Up to Be a Vintage Year for Port

A couple months ago over dinner with friends, we started our dessert course with a few rounds of port.  With luck, we were in the company of experienced port drinkers and their selections have opened our palates to the wonderful world of port.  Now, we look out for any information to learn more about port wines and here's a few links to get started with.

• 2003 Vintage Ports to Save - More Ports in a Storm via StarChefs.com
• The Origins of Port via TheWineMan.com
• Port Wine via Wikipedia

Read more in All Things Wine

Amazing Latte Art

Months ago I saw the baristas at my local Urth Cafe make these fascinating floral designs in the latte foam of my cappucinos.  Ever since then, I wondered that there must be some name for this art.  I just found out by accident today--it's called "latte art"!  Here's some great links to see the beauty of the latte art form.

• Collection of latte art images via Flickr
• A "how to" at Latte Art 101
• Latte Art Guide via coffeegeek.com
• Enter $1000 Latte Art Competition at Coffee Fest Seattle, October 28-30 2005
• How-to video "Caffe Latte Art"

Latte Pour photo courtesy of tonx.

Read More:  Espresso & Coffee  |  Chocolate

Diary of a Culinary School Student

I read once that if you want to become a cook, work in a restaurant kitchen first.  Probably as a dishwasher to see what it's really like.  Makes sense.  Or another way is to read a cooking school student's diary.

Well, fellow blogger Sera F writes about her first year in cooking school on her ongoing blog, Culinary School Diary.

Read More:  Cooking Schools

Gourmet Chocolate Market Growing

The gourmet chocolate market has mostly been the realm of smaller chocolate  makers who have mushroomed from just 250 manufacturers to over 1000 today.  With such a demand, the market has become big enough to attract the attention of the big boys.  Watch out here comes Hershey, Mars, and Godiva with recent moves to get their piece of the gourmet chocolate pie.

Read "Chocolate makers target consumers' sweet spot" via USAToday

Read More:  Chocolate  |  All Things Wine

Must Have Cookbooks for the Season

Time Magazine suggests their must-have cookbooks for the season with these three books--

• GRAND LIVRE DE CUISINE Alain Ducasse's culinary encyclopedia is now available in English
• RECIPES FROM A VERY SMALL ISLAND Celebrates the food of Maine's Isle au Haut
• SUSANNA FOO FRESH INSPIRATION Fuses Asian ingredients with Western techniques

via Time Magazine

Are You Using Enough Salt in Your Cooking?

Professional chef and writer, Emily Kaiser, raises some good points about when and how much salt to use when cooking on her website.  Her points certainly help us in using salt a bit more boldly in our cooking.  She quotes Thomas Keller of The French Laundry and Per Se, "Salt is the new olive oil."

Read "Chefs who salt early if not often" via The Food Section