THE CHEF FROM HELL

Every week, we skim the cyber soup to find the top food related blog posts for your reading pleasure!

In the course of setting up the food blog directory on this site (The Chef From Hell Food Blog Directory), I've come across many food blogs I'd never read before.  One of these is The Great American Cooking Project which is a food blog with a historical and American cultural theme.  This week there was a great post on Slow Cooked Rice Pudding and a few other items of interest that I'm sure you'd enjoy.  The writing here is lively and engaging and the whole site is a hoot so stop on over and check it out!

Another new blog I've been reading lately is Farm Girl Fare written by a gal out on a 20 acre farm in Missouri.  At this site, you'll find wonderful writing and photos that capture the rhythms of daily farm life as well as some great recipes.  One of the recipes I enjoyed this past week was Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip.  Mmmm!  Swiss Chard is one of my personal favorites.  If you want to spend a little down-time in the country, head on over to this charming blog.

If you're looking for another flavorful item for your Thanksgiving menu, The Passionate Cook posted a dandy recipe for Spicy Pear Chutney that features an array of flavors.  This here chutney looks like it could find a place at my holiday table in a heartbeat.  Yes indeed.

Speaking of flavors from the fall season, the Red Kitchen captures the mood with a post titled Autumn Eats.  The post is a picture of a dessert that involves strands of chestnut puree atop a crispy tart---sounds (and looks) dang good to me!  This blog funtions as a photo journal of food and features many pictures which bring the food to life in a veritable feast for the eyes.

The wacky duo over at the Crash Test Kitchen blog had a recent two part post on making trifle called Tickety-Boo Tipsy Trifle.  These bloggers specialize in doing podcasts of their kitchen adventures.  Lots of enthusiastic cooking going on here and folks that's what cooking should be!

One of my favorite European blogs is The Greasy Spoon.  The writing in this blog is by an English chef and is very defined and articulate--many a novice cook can pick up useful techniques here.  This week, The Greasy Spoon did a great post on that English classic, Fish & Chips which captures the essence of this dish.  Years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting London and can still remember the fish & chips I had there; the light texture of the fish highlighted by several splashes of a tangy malt vinegar.

For a recipe that's a little off the beaten path, check out Smoky Date Beef Ribs on the Habeas Brulee blog.  Great use of an unusal ingredient---date molasses!  The writing here is always filled with energy and enthusiasm for the food at hand.  Some of the recent posts include such marvelous recipes as Pumpkin Seed Cocoa Nib Brittle and Almond Buttermilk Biscuits.  This blog definitely opens the reader's eyes to the infinite possibilities of food in general.

The Gastronomy blog had a great post that gives us more info on the current climate of embitterment going on between the chefs, restaurants and food bloggers that's titled Do Chefs Hate Food BlogS?  There seems to be several forces at work in this issue.  Some celebrity chefs like Mario Batali have condemned food blogging in general (you remember Mario, don'cha---I think he invented food or something like that...) and on the other side you have a cadre of bloggers who are simply trying to be controversial and make a name for themselves ("Gee Mom, don'cha know who I am?  I'm the Matt Drudge of the Food Blog world!") and so it goes.

Until next time, I'll keep skimming the cyber soup!