- Log On and Check Out the New Gourmet.com
- Chef Marco Pierre White in Ocho Rios, Jamaica
- Gourmet Travels: Oregon’s Willamette Valley
- Two Gourmet Entertains Menus: Chef Farid Zadi’s Algerian Meal; Casual Sunday Dinner
- Kitchen Notebook: Pastry Chef François Payard’s Chocolate Meringue Mousse Cake for Valentine’s Day
- Seasonal Kitchen: Sweet Winter Fruit Desserts
- John T. Edge Profiles Wendell Berry of Kentucky
- Colman Andrews at the Hotel Empordà in Catalonia
- The Sterns Eat Chili in Topeka, Kansas
- Restaurants: Boston; London; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; and Washington, D.C.
- Artist Mary Ellen Carroll in Houston
- Drinks: Corks
- The Last Touch: Waffle and Pancake Recipes
In “White Hot” (page 82), Monica Eng, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, travels to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, with Britain’s original bad-boy chef Marco Pierre White, the first British chef ever to be awarded three Michelin stars. In 1998, White famously quit cooking altogether, but Eng finds him behind the stove reinventing himself in Jamaica, with plans for a Marco Pierre White restaurant to open later this year at the Royal Plantation Resort. “The Details” (page 86) recommends where to eat in Ocho Rios.
In “Land Rush” (page 100), James Conaway, the author of Napa and The Far Side of Eden, visits Oregon’s famous Willamette Valley, an agricultural region with a rich wine history and great rustic beauty, known for some of the world’s best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Conaway writes about the local wineries and whether they can thrive alongside future upscale hotels, and about the conflict over commercial projects in the middle of farmland. “The Details” (page 106) recommends where to stay and eat, as well as recent wine releases from the valley.
Gourmet Entertains includes two menus: “The Spice Is Right” (page 88), in which French-born chef Farid Zadi’s Algerian cooking reflects his country’s history as a crossroads for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, with recipes for: Shrimp Charmoula; Algerian Flatbread; Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Spiced Pine Nuts; Braised Turnips with Poppy-Seed Bread Crumbs; Fennel and Carrot Slaw with Olive Dressing; Orange-Scented Beignets; Clementines in Ginger Syrup; and Mint Tea. In “Sunday Supper” (page 108), Gourmet food editor Ian Knauer creates a casual dinner menu with crowd-pleasing dishes including: Meatloaf; Scalloped Potatoes; Carrots and Brussels Sprouts; Big Green Salad; and Devil Dog Cake.
Kitchen Notebook (page 123) features a demonstration by acclaimed pastry chef François Payard, with his surprising tips for whisking up a Chocolate Meringue Mousse Cake for Valentine’s Day.
In Seasonal Kitchen: “Sweet Solace” (page 116), Gourmet test kitchen director Ruth Cousineau creates sweet winter fruit desserts: Banana Chocolate Walnut Cake; Orange Tapioca Pudding; Prunes in Wine with Toasted-Almond Cookies; Pear Maple Johnnycake; Apple Cobbler; and Pineapple Galette.
In “The Prophet” (page 70), John T. Edge profiles Wendell Berry, a man who has been preaching the now-popular gospel of local eating since 1960. Berry is the author of the farm-focused compendium The Art of the Commonplace, poetry, and other works.
In Menu: “Homage to Catalonia” (page 26), Colman Andrews returns to the restaurant at Hotel Empordà, on the main route from France to Barcelona, and finds that more than 40 years after chef Josep Mercader first began using innovative techniques to redefine the region’s cuisine there, the establishment is still at the culinary cutting edge. Andrews eats at the hotel, where Mercader’s son-in-law, Jaume Subirós, who now carries the torch, is serving both Mercader-inspired dishes and his own creative cuisine. In Roadfood: “A Little Chili in Kansas” (page 30), Jane and Michael Stern travel to Porubsky’s Grocery, in Topeka, Kansas, an out-of-the-way place and a destination for committed chiliheads, to eat a version of chili they have never had before: a meaty concoction garnished with chopped pickles. Restaurant News (page 32) features the restaurants that Gourmet is talking about this month in: Boston; London; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; and Washington, D.C.
In Women & Design: “Think Again” (page 64), Stephen Henderson writes about New York City–based conceptual artist and chef Mary Ellen Carroll—who exhibits her work at galleries around the world and also crafts gastronomic performance pieces—and her latest project, the kitchen sink. Carroll’s inspiration grew out of her plan to “rotate” a house in Houston. The Kohler Company, in Wisconsin, intrigued by the conceptual nature of her work, invited her to take part in its Arts/Industry program. Her inside-out approach to the house in Texas inspired her to make a kitchen sink using the Styrofoam packing material from a classic sink as a mold.
In Drinks: “Put a New Cork in It” (page 40), Gourmet drinks editor James Rodewald checks out corking seminars hosted by Penfolds, the revered Australian winemaker, where wine owners can take their older bottles to a re-corking clinic to have the wine assessed—opened, tasted, and even re-capsuled—on the spot.
The Last Touch: “Batter Up!” (page 132) features waffle and pancake recipes: Rice Waffles; Cardamom Sour-Cream Waffles; Orange Chocolate Chip Pancakes; and Whole-Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes.
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