tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-237834262011-11-15T11:19:53.904-05:00Life is too short to eat undelicious food.Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.comBlogger3081100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-73605315084570776172011-05-16T21:53:00.000-04:002011-05-16T21:53:00.991-04:00

Had a single NY strip steak -- grass-fed, from Ron Gargasz farm, via McGinnis Sisters -- and some Point Reyes bleu cheese. So chose to make a steak salad. It was, I can say with confidence, a good decision -- even if the picture from my Droid doesn't quite live up to that description. Nothing too fancy about this. Arugula was the green. Thinly sliced some red onion, lightly carmelized. Sauteed

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-75943232591505994322011-05-06T21:09:00.001-04:002011-05-06T21:09:00.219-04:00

I know very little about Perez Hilton. From what I have seen, he seemed a little... off, somebody who desperately wanted to be famous. And he succeeded in garnering some fame. And now, it seems, he's putting it to good use. A warning, though, some graphic images in this video. It ain't pretty. But then again, that's the point.

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-52388849560252037052011-05-03T23:50:00.001-04:002011-05-03T23:50:00.186-04:00

Busy days, and busy nights, I suppose. Little time for superfluous things, like blogging, but some really interesting items for your consumption: First, help the fine folks at Legume get a beautiful kitchen. Kick them $5 or $10, eh? Next, uh, that "fresh tilapia" you just ordered? Yeah, good chance it was previously frozen and came from China (where who knows what they fed the thing). A must

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-61303322194006171252011-04-13T22:14:00.004-04:002011-04-16T09:18:36.099-04:00

What are "naturally cut" fries? Are they sliced with organic knives or something? UPDATE: Well, thanks to Melanie Warner's indispensable "Food Fight" blog, we know now that "natural cut" pretty much means the skins are on. But not too much else is "natural" about these fries.

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-5181293198023809122011-04-08T18:52:00.002-04:002011-04-08T18:52:00.082-04:00

I have noticed that a number of local farms from which I get meat use the same processor, Cunningham Meats in Indiana, Pa. One could only hope that Cunningham is anything like Larry's Custom Meats in New York. This is just an excellent video. More than worth 10 minutes of your time. CADE (Part 2): The Good Slaughter: A Proud Meat Cutter Shares His Processing Floor from SkeeterNYC on Vimeo.

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-28015832551914037062011-04-01T22:55:00.001-04:002011-04-01T22:55:00.128-04:00

Back to the political. Mark Bittman talks, very eloquently IMO, about priorities and budget cuts. I might also add that those who are the most vocal about the need to cut spending and singling out food stamp programs and the like as the means of doing it (while voting against closing tax loopholes for corporations) also allege to be "pro-life."

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-18963042590596715582011-03-30T21:55:00.004-04:002011-03-31T09:44:47.244-04:00

Two items that revolve around actual cooking -- for a change -- caught my eye. First, an article in the New York Times by John Willoughby about braising meats and whether searing said meats prior to adding liquid and other bit and pieces to the braising pot is a must for producing "rich flavor." This searing step, particularly if you're braising a lot of meat, can be time consuming and messy,

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-31590767251964309082011-03-29T22:10:00.000-04:002011-03-29T22:10:00.205-04:00

... to my previous post. The Daily ShowTags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-67963072548679601892011-03-25T20:57:00.000-04:002011-03-25T12:35:12.632-04:00

Lots to discuss, read, ingest (intellectually, that is). And I'll start with the title to this digest (and remind my tens of readers of the "comments are my own" dislcaimer). Business rules. Corporations, big banks. They count. The rest of the lot (that being the vast majority of this country), not so much. To wit, USDA secretary Tom Vilsack has acquiesced on the co-existence idea of genetically

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-55879269286550970482011-03-14T22:16:00.000-04:002011-03-14T22:16:00.205-04:00

Finally made it to Toast Kitchen & Wine Bar this weekend. An enjoyable meal. The shrimp & grits lived up its billing. My wife's rib eye (really just 3 slices of one) was quite fantastic. Maybe a five-spice based rub? My tempura wild-striped bass was good. Kind of an odd dish, paired with creamed greens, a dilled orzo, and some (delectable) horseradish infused tomato thing I'd liken to a chutney,

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-43020734028321387152011-03-12T10:59:00.000-05:002011-03-12T10:59:48.532-05:00

My phone camera doesn't do it justice. Roasted pork tenderloin, mozzarella, arugula, roasted red pepper mayo, on ciabatta. Seriously good sandwich and one of the best use of leftovers I've ever come up with.

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-6578350783754413652011-03-11T21:05:00.005-05:002011-03-12T11:01:14.258-05:00

Short and sweet, but very important items to highlight here. First, a writer who is doing amazing work at the moment is Maryn McKenna, whose book Superbug I hope to read fairly soon. McKenna has a great post on Wired about the link between antibiotic use in farm animals meant for human consumption and antibiotic resistance in humans. It's about a study showing that.... Chickens, chicken meat

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-1356099886267832082011-03-09T21:50:00.004-05:002011-03-10T09:07:04.466-05:00

Well, that might be overstepping things a bit, but good to see Costco taking positive steps on what is really an extremely important issue, one that most people know little about: the depleting ocean stocks of a growing number of fish. Under pressure from environmentalists, the retail giant Costco has said it would immediately halt the sale of a dozen fish species widely considered to be

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-30390649343214534272011-03-09T21:10:00.005-05:002011-03-10T08:54:47.668-05:00

Yes, another mini-siesta from food blogging comes to an end. Life, it's busy, you know. And I'm actually trying to finish an actual fiction book, which is no small feat these days! In any case, to the (partial) subject of the post: Eggs. In  particular, eggs for dinner, which is a weekly occurrence in our house. While occasionally it's an omelet, or in the spring and summer often a frittata, for

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-63007830247651370932011-02-24T23:39:00.000-05:002011-02-24T23:39:29.302-05:00

Hi, there... Just a quick comment on your ever-present "man up" series of commercials. I've seen some really stupid beer gimmicks in my day. The "sour beer face," the bottle that changes color when it's at its optimal temperature (whatever the f@#$ that is!), the vortex bottle (oh, wait, isn't that yours too?). But this "man up" thing is just, well, really really really ... moronic. In no way,

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-39360247552014537442011-02-05T07:55:00.000-05:002011-02-05T07:55:33.595-05:00

Love this recipe for pork & ricotta meatballs. Made it last night -- using 2 lbs of ground pork from Heilman's Hogwash Farm, the best pork around -- for dinner tonight. The recipe is fairly straightforward and I generally follow it. A few recommendations, though, to make the process easier. First, if you have a convection oven, I'd recommend using the convection setting for these. On our old

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-16925275986170798142011-02-04T17:15:00.000-05:002011-02-04T17:15:00.933-05:00

WQED gives a little love (heck, practically a commercial!) to Salt of the Earth on a recent episode of "Pittsburgh 360." The segment starts around the 17:15 mark. That Chris Fenimore dude must be a regular at Salt, as it appears regulars prefer to call it, because the one time I was there, so was he.

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-62327033101098227842011-02-03T18:12:00.000-05:002011-02-03T18:12:00.655-05:00

I have so many food-related things to blog about that I don't even know where to begin. Guess that's what happens when you don't post for a while. It's the kind of situation that's just begging for a digest. Off we go: For those who are into food policy and other food industry type stuff, the Food Fight blog on bnet.com is a must read. Just discovered it a few weeks ago and have really been

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-49432380223061808962011-01-10T18:57:00.000-05:002011-01-10T18:57:12.813-05:00

That's what these minions make me do (h/t Jhon)...

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-11018685196765638272011-01-04T17:38:00.001-05:002011-01-04T17:38:00.387-05:00

Just thought this was too darned perty not to snap a photo! Gotta love those purple potatoes. These particular ingredients are destined for a frittata with some prosciutto.

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-59626217411639108942010-12-22T22:15:00.000-05:002010-12-22T22:15:00.458-05:00

This may be my last post of the year. I know all tens of my readers will be terribly disappointed. And it's a digest, but an excellent one, I assure you. It's broken down into two categories. The first is... Things that really matter The first being, the food safety bill, which, somehow -- despite the fact that it does not involve giving very rich people more ways to pay less taxes and over the

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-63131900066524022982010-12-17T21:53:00.001-05:002010-12-17T21:53:00.071-05:00

This is just really, really cool. Deer hunters in Pennsylvania are expected to donate about 100,000 pounds of venison to help meet the surging demand from the state's food banks. Hunters will shoot about 300,000 deer during the two-week hunting season that began on November 29. Some of their haul will be given to Hunters Sharing the Harvest, a program run by the state's agriculture

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-32590874614930294542010-12-15T22:03:00.000-05:002010-12-15T22:03:00.255-05:00

Returning once again to politics and policy. This time: hunger in America. It's a serious concern and a growing problem, including in our own area: Almost 100,000 more Pennsylvania households were receiving supplemental nutrition assistance, or food stamps, this October than last October, from 698,678 to 795,554, said Michael Race, spokesman for the state Department of Public Welfare. In

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-19289914096817462042010-12-08T17:30:00.000-05:002010-12-08T17:30:01.069-05:00

As odious as it can be -- and it gets worse every day -- some times you have to participate in the political process, beyond just voting. This is one of those times. The details are below, via the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. The action item: calling your elected officials. Alert from NSAC: Action Alert December 8, 2010 Local and Regional Food at Risk Call Your Representative

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-79995750201846685832010-12-07T21:24:00.004-05:002010-12-09T09:02:25.296-05:00

The long-awaited and much-hyped Salt of the Earth -- well, long-awaited and much-hyped in certain circles of food-obsessed freaks like myself -- opened several months back. Since its opening, Salt has received some exceedingly glowing reviews from the official food media, and on the various nonofficial outlets, it's also been described (mostly) with adjectives that suggest the people really liked

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-17600605214507846212010-11-24T21:24:00.001-05:002010-11-24T21:24:00.619-05:00

Dear Thanksgiving Deities.... Oh how I wish I had time to make what reads like a delectable pie for Thanksgiving day. Perhaps for Christmas, then. Amen.

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-44563113676786549552010-11-16T22:29:00.000-05:002010-11-16T22:29:36.275-05:00

A digest is the lazy blogger's way out. And I'm feeling waaaaayyyy lazy. So, let's jump in with...A meat rating system in grocery stores? Yes, and Whole Foods will be the initial testing ground. Developed by the Global Animal Partnership, a nonprofit group made up of farmers, scientists, retailers, sustainability experts and animal welfare advocates, the rating system aims to address growing

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-53174904800531466112010-11-15T21:28:00.002-05:002010-11-15T21:28:00.124-05:00

Seriously, I may be a "foochebag"! This is not good!

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-22784519462723878552010-11-12T21:43:00.000-05:002010-11-12T21:43:00.350-05:00

Perhaps Mrs. Annoying Scratchy Voice presumed that the people making this "recipe" would be so altered that some sort of instructions would actually be required? Please be sure to read the first comment (h/t to somebody on Twitter for bringing my attention to it.).

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-61908442658767211352010-11-03T21:31:00.001-04:002010-11-05T08:42:45.949-04:00

The last day of CSA 2010 at Harvest Valley Farms. Could have taken a picture of my CSA crate, but these guys are cuter. As for the red peppers, also courtesy of Harvest Valley Farms, the other night I made a really quick and delicious roasted red pepper soup. It's a stripped down version of a recipe from the Inn at Little Washington, a Washington, D.C. landmark.  Roasted Red Pepper Soup Half an

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-75707381114651542602010-11-01T20:58:00.000-04:002010-11-01T20:58:00.267-04:00

My system for selecting awardees of this prestigious designation is extremely complicated. To sum it up for the lay person, though, it can be most simply described thusly: I see commercial for fast food product + Estimation of caloric load + Extent of face contortion caused by considering extent of likely GI disruption that would follow from ingestion of said product If the sum of this

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-87964405014708831022010-10-21T21:38:00.000-04:002010-10-21T21:38:03.347-04:00

If you've got a few hours to kill and like to cook, you might want to (and I hope to) watch the Harvard lecture series on the science of cooking. On the other hand, if you like somewhat brooding, but always interesting songs, then take 5 minutes to watch the alternative "video" -- if that's what you want to call it -- of "Terrible Love," a good tune from The National's most recent album.

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-75835566687387195382010-10-19T21:52:00.000-04:002010-10-19T21:52:00.066-04:00

As a run-of-the-mill citizen who cares about the food I eat and with some understanding of and interest in the policies that affect how and what I eat, the Farm Bill has always struck me as this massively important piece of legislation that gets almost no attention outside of the world of those who actively support sustainable farming and those, like many members of Congress, who take pleasure in

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-42715744387150982252010-10-19T21:37:00.000-04:002010-10-19T21:37:00.340-04:00

I may have pimped this before, but it's worth pimping again. This being a recipe for pork meatball banh mi, those delightful Vietnamese sandwiches -- a term that really doesn't do them justice, but neither do "hoagie" or "sub," the connotations of which just can't live up to the glory that is a proper banh mi -- about which I regularly dream and always lust. This recipe needs no doctoring. But,

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-64648909162725001632010-10-14T21:43:00.002-04:002010-10-15T07:47:25.932-04:00

My recent shot at fiction has been greatly improved, thanks to a good friend, and editor extraordinaire, Grant Martin. Of particular note, he caught a terribly egregious and embarrassing error with regard to some musical history cited in the story. See, all of those hours spent listening to music have their value! So,  yes, now you have to read the whole thing over again.... Don't make me beg!

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-43247451790006407532010-10-03T21:59:00.002-04:002010-11-10T12:20:37.974-05:00

Made two pretty tasty items this weekend. First, on Saturday, roasted some hot dogs over a fire and topped them with some quick-pickled cabbage, which included: About 2 cups finely shredded cabbage Half cup of shredded carrot 1 thinly sliced red jalapeno 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar good pinch of salt tablespoon of sugar Diced avocado Whisked the last 3 ingredients together 'til sugar was

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-71436306977404638322010-10-01T20:42:00.000-04:002010-10-01T20:42:00.676-04:00

I love the "digest" thing. Whoever came up with this little blogging feature is a genius. This one will be down and dirty. Let's start with a well-done article from AOL News on test for different, potentially dangerous strains of E. coli in meat. Who even know AOL was still around? I recommend taking the time to read this. Even wonder about school lunches in France? Well, me neither, but why is

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-72816623016380145362010-09-26T09:25:00.000-04:002010-09-26T09:25:52.722-04:00

That is, my favorite Italian side, AS Roma, finally gets a win under the belt this season, against the hated Inter Milan. The appropriate announcer jubilation follows...

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-60712770324485765452010-09-24T21:21:00.001-04:002010-09-24T21:21:00.242-04:00

In terms of our country's (ever-increasing) girth, that is: The United States is the fattest nation among 33 countries with advanced economies, according to a report out today from an international think tank. Two-thirds of people in this country are overweight or obese; about a third of adults — more than 72 million — are obese, which is roughly 30 pounds over a healthy weight. If, like me

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-58208686846378240452010-09-10T23:18:00.015-04:002010-11-03T13:19:09.589-04:00

I've been working on this -- in bits and pieces -- for months. Not the best way to write a short story, but you do what you can when you can, you know? I'm not a fiction writer. Some might argue I'm not much of a nonfiction writer! It's sort of a spoof of myself, at least my habits in the kitchen, and it borrows a good bit -- tiny details here and there -- from my own life. It's got some bad

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-44712042828271771072010-09-08T21:16:00.002-04:002010-09-08T22:06:00.348-04:00

Maybe this explains why, recently, my wife and I were awoken at the typically silent hour of 1:00 a.m. by a freakishly loud buzzing noise trailing this way and that across our bedroom. Last year, the insects called brown marmorated stink bugs were a nuisance. This year, they are a serious threat to fruit orchards, and experts are not sure how destructive they might become. The ubiquitous

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-45478756682990837612010-08-30T22:21:00.000-04:002010-08-30T22:21:10.629-04:00

Hunting for mushrooms in dangerous places, some times in the middle of the night is, shockingly, not a good idea! A bountiful Italian mushroom season has turned deadly, claiming the lives of at least 18 people in recent weeks. According to Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, mushroom seekers have been so relentless in their pursuit of their favorite fungi, they have been abandoning safety

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-42264246149623649122010-08-21T09:45:00.001-04:002010-08-21T09:47:58.460-04:00

Before I get to the local stuff, a quick update on the massive egg recall. Short and sweet: big surprise, the "farm" from which the 380 billion recalled, salmonella-tainted eggs originated -- the ones that to this point have sickened at least 1,300 people -- is run by a guy who is a habitual offender of numerous regulations that ensure food safety, prevent pollution, etc. Jack DeCoster is one

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-35554670341926720642010-08-19T21:50:00.004-04:002010-08-19T21:50:00.643-04:00

I love mussels. We don't make them enough at home. Considering how easy they are, that's truly a shame. But I learned something important about how to properly eat mussels yesterday. Thought I would share, so that you, too, can avoid being accused of poor mussel etiquette. The Post article includes a few recipes for mussels, and Serious Eats has a really interesting recipe (that also

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-61572998888819522732010-08-18T21:20:00.000-04:002010-08-18T21:20:00.298-04:00

By now I'm sure most people have heard about the recall of a bunch of salmonella-tainted eggs -- 380 million of them! As Bill Marler, enemy #1 of the raw milk folks, explains, the folks behind the recall have, well, a shaky history. It doesn't seem fathomable, does it? Yet another reason to try to get your eggs from local farms that you trust. Best eggs I've had have actually come from Miller's

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-70821660001640642632010-08-13T21:58:00.000-04:002010-08-13T21:58:00.084-04:00

I know there are those who continue to deny man-induced climate change, either because 1) they are politicians who receive copious amounts of money from the industries who are responsible for much of the polluting that is causing climate change, or 2) they are so deeply committed to their partisan political beliefs that they couldn't possibly admit Al "I invented the Internet (but never

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-27130606187857017272010-08-04T21:58:00.001-04:002010-08-05T10:36:13.895-04:00

All the news that's fit to print! Or that I think is interesting but that I'm too lazy to write in detail about. Beginning with... Gut Bugs, or, bacteria in yer' tummy and other parts of the GI system. There are a trillion bacteria in your tummy, and they are very important for your overall health. The kind of bacteria you have in your tummy, explains science writer/blogger Ed Yong, depends

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-34818549760503371432010-08-01T09:20:00.000-04:002010-08-01T09:20:23.086-04:00

... or is it Play Doh?

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-12650592102926911582010-07-26T21:51:00.003-04:002010-07-27T08:48:14.350-04:00

It's the time of year. All sorts of fresh produce from our CSA and our own garden, which is flourishing under the excellent management of this eater's better half (that doesn't sound quite right, but I presume you get the gist!). There's been quite a bit of zucchini involved, which is good, because we've had a lot to use. First there was the zucchini linguini. If you, like me, will be making

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-31873956893883841782010-07-22T21:42:00.002-04:002010-07-22T21:42:00.040-04:00

Mark Bittman has a suggestion for you... I plan on making this very soon, but am thinking I might add a layer of bread crumbs and Parmesan about halfway up, also include some red onion, maybe something with a little heat. One suspects there are a thousand permutations...

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-13034068638907312932010-07-19T21:51:00.001-04:002010-07-19T21:51:00.432-04:00

I've been a terrible, bad, inconsiderate food blogger. There's been so much noteworthy food news: national level policy news, like the FDA delving into the overuse of antibiotics in animal feed on factory farms, and local news, like PASA's upcoming grass-fed beef cook off in Latrobe and Franktuary going mobile with a lunch truck in the Strip District. (Follow these grass-fed hot dog maestros on

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-10771918686883592702010-06-14T21:19:00.000-04:002010-06-14T21:19:00.750-04:00

My son started summer camp today. Great place: pool, fishing pond, basketball court, football field, obstacle course in the woods. By Wednesday or Thursday of a given week he's exhausted. This is a much different -- although a lot more intense, you might say -- type of summer camp: After Mr. Shaw’s demonstration, Chris Wayne, 25, who works for Greenmarket developing new farmers, was the first

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-50719243123764150782010-06-09T21:56:00.012-04:002010-06-09T21:56:00.090-04:00

It's been far too long since there's been a Fast Food Abomination of the Week. And that's a shame, because surely the KFC "Double Down" fell into this category. Heck, it may be an all-time champ! But, perhaps, just as deserving are the new "fire-grilled ribs" from Burger King. The very idea of ribs at a fast-food restaurant is enough to make even those from the most hearty of stock cringe. But

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-7197678536078681612010-06-07T21:12:00.000-04:002010-06-07T21:12:00.238-04:00

... that I have read in a while comes from Serious Eats. Well, well, well. It must certainly be very important, you might say. The Topic, you might, then, inquire? I will tell you -- right now, in fact! It is: Cleaning Mushrooms! This is a task -- the proper method for carrying it out that is -- that has bedeviled my thoughts for some time now. It has caused me great angst, forced me to

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-13603253633741330742010-05-31T21:22:00.003-04:002010-05-31T21:30:32.540-04:00

This is a great article from Michael Moss in the New York Times on the food industry's long and rugged fight to fend off having to reduce salt in its products. And, remarkably, what sticks out to me most -- more even than the almost obscene reliance of the food industry on sodium to make their food and the tobacco-industry like divert and delay tactics -- are these two statistics: The food

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-84882918204316312222010-05-27T21:28:00.003-04:002010-05-28T09:36:01.000-04:00

About three weeks ago it was pork chops in a brown sugar/chocolate/chipotle rub. Two weeks ago it was lamb, kabob-style, marinated overnight in a yogurt mixture, basted with an olive oil/lemon juice/oregano "vinaigrette" I guess you might say, as it cooked on the grill. About a week later it was a burger, grilled, topped with some sauteed wild mushrooms and a sunny side-up egg. Last night it was

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-86009383764528045982010-05-19T21:49:00.003-04:002010-05-20T07:59:59.046-04:00

I think we make a pretty mean pizza in the Fillippelli household. The crust, courtesy of  my wife, has a good balance of flavor and chew, and whether it's a simple pie with just a little sauce, some Moroccan olives and freshly grated pecorino or something bit more adventurous with radicchio, fontina, and walnuts, the final product is always delicious and satisfying. But there's always room for

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-63977761494124418042010-05-19T21:23:00.000-04:002010-05-19T21:23:00.297-04:00

Our back patio is kind of a nice place to hang out. It's got herbs all around it. A butterfly bush that, once it blooms, attracts, among other things, butterflies and the ultra-cool hummingbird clearwing. But it's just plain-ol' cement. No brick, no fancy patio furniture, although it does have a Gargoyle to guard it from evil spirits... or at least rabbits and other hungry critters that might

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-56357633179364797812010-05-14T20:30:00.001-04:002010-05-14T20:30:00.327-04:00

That picture is just a killer. I really do miss the flavors and pleasure (and slurping) of a big bowl of pho. Makes me realize that I really need to finally make it to Tram's Kitchen in Lawrenceville.

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-60411376509857903972010-05-13T21:18:00.005-04:002010-05-20T08:02:05.184-04:00

I've been meaning to do a post on this truly gut-churning -- as in, make we want to vomit for a minimum of 3 hours -- letter from several senators to USDA secretary Vilsack in which they whine about the "Know Your Farmer" program, but haven't had time to do it justice. And it's just been holding me back. So, I'll just leave it to other, more professional types to do the job for me. First, a good

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-25512854525188923672010-04-22T20:15:00.000-04:002010-04-22T20:31:08.434-04:00

Was out of town for 4-5 days covering a cancer research conference (doing stuff like this).Things are slowly returning to normal. Had a really good dinner last night that is perfect for a weeknight. It's one of our standards, Thai-style chicken, to which I added a spicy-Asian slaw.For the chicken, you can do most of the work the night before: make the marinade, toss it with the chicken, and

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-43331850058706230382010-04-15T21:43:00.001-04:002010-04-15T21:43:00.595-04:00

So, if, like me, you:Love your CSAReally enjoy farm markets like Farmers @ Firehouse in the StripLike your small farmers and trust them more than the huge agri-corporations that produce/control something like 95+ percent of the food in this countryAre a little terrified by the number of massive food recalls due to scary thingies in said foodFeel a need every once in a while to be proactive

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-75805074991514430692010-04-14T21:35:00.001-04:002010-04-15T09:53:54.864-04:00

And I really don't understand this soap comparison, but it's apparently a fairly common perception of cilantro, writes the always excellent Harold McGee in the New York Times. I suppose a "soapy" smell or taste is better than a buggy one, a comparison that was apparently somewhat common at one time.Modern cilantrophobes tend to describe the offending flavor as soapy rather than buggy. I don’t

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-43107498450640740122010-04-12T21:33:00.004-04:002010-04-13T10:37:09.463-04:00

Two totally unrelated things, but I don't really care.First, if you're a Michael Pollan fan, you can find a cache of his talks and interviews here.Second, as I tweeted just a few minutes ago: Batali, Dogfish Head, restaurants, rooftop brewery. Wow! To be more specific, though...The first floor of the building at 200 5th Avenue will house Eataly, an epic Italian specialty foods market and multiple

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-31977816692195350932010-04-09T18:29:00.001-04:002010-04-09T18:29:00.239-04:00

Oh, just kidding about that voting stuff. I mean, somebody went and just posed the simple question on the Chowhound Pennsylvania board: what are the city's best food blogs?Now, I realize that LBoN, despite its huge number of readers (tee hee), may not be the most popular Pittsburgh food blog, but I'd like to think that it's somewhat... unique. Do other Pittsburgh food blogs have:giant chocolate

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-74028143397153777342010-04-02T19:04:00.002-04:002010-04-06T16:41:46.250-04:00

Rarely has the WSJ graced the electronic tableau of LBoN, but, hey, despite , IMHO, the failings of the op-ed page, its reporters still produce some good stuff -- most of it is just usually behind a firewall!The paper had an article on raw milk the other day. I have read some about this subject, but haven't written much about it here. It's an emotional issue, as a look at the comments following

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-35072055343437279562010-03-31T22:03:00.003-04:002010-03-31T22:18:12.758-04:00

Well, at least hide it from the kids! Yes, that's right, my wife -- smart, beautiful, sophisticated, and, most importantly, purchaser of raffle tickets for the 30-pound giant chocolate bunny, Eddie, from our favorite chocolatier, Edward Marc.And darn it all if she didn't win the thing! And it's not just a 30-pound milk chocolate bunny. It's also an assortment of about 30 truffles (at least!).So a

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-49516777859545117862010-03-26T19:45:00.000-04:002010-03-26T19:45:00.824-04:00

In honor of the beautiful days hopefully ahead with the arrival of spring, a great song from one my favorite bands, the ridiculously unheralded Elbow.

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-76706781848653365672010-03-23T20:56:00.003-04:002010-03-23T21:09:31.532-04:00

That's what can be said about Blanche Lincoln, the Democratic senator from Arkansas. This post on the Great Orange Satan explains it all in pretty succinct fashion. It's full of things that should disgust most decent people, and it ends with this kicker:She proposes a slightly modest increase in funding for school lunch programs (half of what the Obama administration has proposed) and pays for it

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-63841820501082650052010-03-21T21:59:00.004-04:002010-04-01T08:20:43.255-04:00

In a state of disappointment following the Pitt loss in the big dance. Flipping through the channels as I go through some bills while enjoying a drink. My question: Is there anybody who thinks Guy Fieri is funny or entertaining or anything other than really freaking annoying?As for that drink... this is for fans of the bitter. I am not sure what made me first try Campari, but it is now one of my

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-13529876622597344832010-03-19T21:34:00.009-04:002010-03-19T22:35:51.974-04:00

Shwooooo.... That's me taking a deep breath that Pitt got through the first round of the Big Dance, with relative ease. So now just sipping on an Old Fashion and enjoying a really bangin' game between New Mexico State and Michigan State, and catching up on a few bloggie type things...Beginning with, this really, really, really great talk by Dan Barber, the well-known chef, writer, and uber local

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-49805136226081101372010-03-12T19:02:00.001-05:002010-03-14T15:36:56.176-04:00

The National is one of my favorite bands. They are probably not everybody's cup o' Chai, but I dig 'em. Their last album, Boxer, while it got a lot of critical praise, was not nearly as good as its predecessor, Alligator.Their new album doesn't drop 'til May, but they previewed it earlier this week on Jimmy Fallon. I recommend giving it at least 'til the 2:00 minute mark or so...

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-28049236971430629442010-03-11T22:16:00.006-05:002010-03-16T08:04:10.311-04:00

Bring on the junk food taxes (combined with more subsidies to help lower the price of healthy food!). Yeah, that's right, pure, unadulterated "nanny state," baby.This is a good follow up to a study I mentioned the other day. That study found that increasing the price of junk food was a more effective means of improving people's food choices than bringing down the price of healthy food. Now a new

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-58188909078928645012010-03-09T21:56:00.001-05:002010-03-14T15:40:23.197-04:00

A tip of the ol' Intertubes hat to yumpittsburgh for pointing me to an article in The Atlantic suggesting that Walmart could actually help to support small farms.In the grocery section of the Raynham [Walmart] supercenter, 45 minutes south of Boston, I had trouble believing I was in a Walmart. The very reasonable-looking produce, most of it loose and nicely organized, was in black plastic bins (

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-69149595486697105732010-03-09T21:27:00.001-05:002010-03-14T15:41:27.663-04:00

Some good tips from a post on Serious Eats for either sauteing or searing. I think I've gotten better at doing both.Actually, the other night I did both: seared two grass-fed filets on the stove top in a cast-iron pan (that had preheated in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes), finishing them in the same 400-degree oven for about 8 minutes.Then, while the meat rested on the countertop, loosely

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-88373637958184669312010-03-02T21:27:00.003-05:002010-03-02T21:44:52.817-05:00

A collection of items, I'm overdue for a post and yet I'm feeling lazy. Know what that means? It's a rapid-fire Scrapin'...First, meet the 64,000-mile taco.Next, a good, quick, and mostly healthy recipe: fish teriyaki with sweet-and-sour cucumbers.Speaking of Asian food, let me give another shout out to Yama Sushi in the northern 'burbs of Pittsburgh. Good food and great service, particularly if

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-2997463878162943392010-02-13T08:47:00.006-05:002010-02-19T14:38:38.491-05:00

It's taken as somewhat gospel in certain circles that reducing meat consumption in the U.S. and globally would be a good thing for reducing waist lines, the impact of climate change, etc. And, based on my limited understanding of these various issues, that seems logical and I generally agree.But I found this news story from the journal Science to be quite interesting.Although cutting back on meat

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-6499883620849717102010-02-11T20:54:00.001-05:002010-02-12T14:02:07.201-05:00

A few interesting things happening out there. To begin with...CBS News actually does a good job reporting on the extreme overuse of antibiotics on factory farm animals. It was a two-part series, part 1, on the situation in the U.S., here and part 2, which covers the situation in Denmark, where this practice is now banned, here.Although, it's hard not to gag a little when, Katie Couric, back in

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-52390729467348438472010-02-09T21:51:00.004-05:002010-02-11T15:47:09.206-05:00

Caffe Davio, on East Carson Street on the South Side, is small, warm, and comforting. And it's BYOB. Great qualities for any restaurant.And from there the overall experience is fair to good. The service, generally speaking, was adequate, but could be better with some small changes.The most important part, the food, generally speaking, was good. For some people, this is the kind of place they

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-3320524520134311802010-02-09T21:01:00.004-05:002010-02-09T21:47:45.621-05:00

Warning: This will be a serious rant. Now then...First, the Good:First Lady Michelle Obama is launching this initiative to combat childhood obesity - common sense things, like getting more nutritious foods in schools, getting kids to exercise more, getting important nutrition facts placed more prominently on labels, efforts to make healthier foods more affordable and accessible. Not sure how all

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-26253059985034731922010-01-28T21:51:00.000-05:002010-01-28T21:51:00.557-05:00

Michael Pollan was on yesterday. I have it on my DVR. But for those who aren't on Twitter and didn't get the 30 or so "tweets" about the show, here it is (or at least part of it).

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-37313061517305081302010-01-22T23:31:00.001-05:002010-01-23T17:18:57.903-05:00

You here it over and over and over again. Here, for example:From [Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant's] point of view, the company is working on the side of angels, helping to create commodity crops to feed today’s population and the 2 billion more people who might occupy the planet by 2030.This argument, simply put, is crap. Because here -- via Josh Viertel, who heads up Slow Food USA, quoting Eric Holt

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-66728787164696271012010-01-20T17:33:00.005-05:002010-01-20T19:55:01.360-05:00

I love soup. You can have it with a sandwich, a salad, some good bread. And usually you can make a delicious soup without too much effort. At least that's the case with this soup. It's from one of our workhorse cookbooks, Soup: A Way of Life, by Barbara Kafka.For those with a busy schedule, this soup can easily be made the night before you're planning on eating it, even while you do other things,

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-70875801218320648352010-01-19T21:41:00.000-05:002010-01-19T21:41:00.215-05:00

It's a clear choice. It's like a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Peewee Herman. It has to be the Taco Bell "Drive-Thru Diet."So Christine Daugherty replaced her "usual fast food" with some of the choices from the Bell's drive-thru diet, which is 7 items under 9 grams of fat, and between 150-340 calories, according to the screen shot at around 30 seconds in.The marketing around diet and weight

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-57488889021902714212010-01-19T21:21:00.000-05:002010-01-19T21:21:00.115-05:00

Lovely. Really it is.Huntington Meat Packing Inc., a Montebello, Calif. establishment, is recalling approximately 864,000 pounds of beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The recall includes some beef produced just in the last few weeks, and from a two-month period

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-41300058126257326572010-01-15T19:15:00.007-05:002010-01-20T19:56:55.892-05:00

I try to keep my professional life separate from my (poorly read) blogging activities. But I recently wrote something as part of my work that was really really interesting, to me at least, and has to do with food... well, at least potentially it does.For some background, obesity has now been pretty strongly linked to cancer, with the upper estimate put at 100,000 cases of cancer annually linked

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-6214575885733030632010-01-13T22:35:00.004-05:002010-01-14T14:56:10.646-05:00

Something to consider from the International Journal of Biological Sciences, from a study in which rats were regularly fed 3 different kinds of genetically modified corn products:Our analysis clearly reveals for the 3 GMOs new side effects linked with GM maize consumption, which were sex- and often dose-dependent. Effects were mostly associated with the kidney and liver, the dietary detoxifying

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-72261184177969488392010-01-12T21:02:00.001-05:002010-01-13T09:06:27.995-05:00

Well, kinda "vegetarian," in that I'm slowly reading a much-hyped book that makes the case for vegetarianism at the moment, but more on that soon.First, some local restaurant news, both from the fine pages of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.To begin with, I'm a little late on this, but the Penn Brewery's sneak peek was apparently a rousing success. From a third-party, I understand that there was a

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-57430782939372710782010-01-06T17:38:00.003-05:002010-01-06T17:39:29.815-05:00

Send it in, Gilbert!!Need to get me a #5 jersey!!

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-83982977818553492392010-01-02T09:44:00.005-05:002010-01-03T21:16:01.808-05:00

Needed an appetizer for my brother-in-law's house on NYE. Wanted something new. Saw this recipe for potato pancakes topped with smoked salmon and a creme fraiche sauce on the front page of the Food & Wine Web site.I skipped the caviar. Perhaps caviar makes the dish something else entirely. I didn't miss it. At all. It was quite good, even with making the pancakes a bit ahead of time and

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-2152728880912955802009-12-31T16:51:00.002-05:002010-01-02T09:43:11.504-05:00

It's hard not to feel like a broken record. Keep reading and writing about these same issues over and over and over again. But that's because they are so important, and they bear repeating.And it seems, miraculously, that those in a position to help to improve the situation on a more global scale -- that is, members of Congress and in the federal and state agencies that oversee areas like

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-34607438065289561512009-12-23T21:13:00.000-05:002009-12-23T21:13:00.068-05:00

It's my firm belief that everybody is a hypocrite. We all say one thing and do another at times. The most important point about the universality of hypocrisy is the extent and severity of it with respect to each individual.And as this article drives home, Rep. Michelle Bachmann (Bats@#$t Insane-Minn.) has the high dishonor of being among the hypocritical elite. Rep. Bachmann profits from a family

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-89035321864695011372009-12-21T20:59:00.001-05:002009-12-22T09:02:45.159-05:00

Tom Pastorius has offered a cordial invitation to the public to partake in the first batch of Penn Pilsner of "the new era" at Penn Brewery.Details:Wednesday, Dec. 304:00 - 9:00 p.m.Penn Brewery800 Vinial St.Da' North SidePastorius has said he'd like to expand their offerings a bit, possibly offering some "American-style" beers. I'm not sure what that means, exactly. I hope it doesn't mean

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-36201025094013392972009-12-11T22:32:00.004-05:002009-12-15T12:00:38.302-05:00

I'm pretty much addicted to Twitter, although I am not a "Watching '30 Rock' & Tracy Morgan is freakin' hilarious" kind of tweeter. I tweet mostly to learn about and share information/news on cancer research and food policy issues.I was alerted to much of the content of this digest via Twitter. For example...Why is this not a surprise?In the past three years, the government has provided the

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-14197235066794546392009-11-30T21:10:00.000-05:002009-11-30T21:11:41.182-05:00

I still love the Muppets...

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-40449069864420856692009-11-18T22:13:00.004-05:002009-11-18T22:45:26.379-05:00

Two things that should have made it into the previous "digest" posting. Both somewhat sciencey. The latter probably more pressing than the former. The latter has also convinced me to stop eating bluefin tuna.First, scientists from the Scripps Research Institute perform a cool animal model study -- that is, they did some experiments in rats -- and showed that their brains responded to a steady

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-45616712562220107342009-11-17T15:15:00.014-05:002009-12-15T12:01:13.059-05:00

So yet again I am vowing to make more of what we eat from scratch, beginning with pasta. To this point, I had only done a single experiment with our pasta maker, a consequence of laziness and reticence, the latter owing to the trouble I encountered the first time making an acceptable dough.So, in the return adventure to fresh pasta, lasagna noodles were to be the output. Should I use the "well"

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-54828032473045593952009-11-16T21:44:00.004-05:002009-12-15T12:01:58.891-05:00

Gina DePalma's posts on Serious Eats are invaluable. Best known as the pastry chef at Molto Mario's world-famous Babbo, DePalma is in Italy doing research for a cookbook and writing up the occasional delicious recipe.I printed out this Bollito di Manzo recipe some time ago. Now, with fall in full swing, some perfect grass-fed beef cuts for it in our freezer (short ribs), and most of the

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-52175364510113321372009-11-13T23:00:00.001-05:002009-12-15T12:02:31.911-05:00

From the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition... FOOD SAFETY ACTION ALERT!November 12, 2009MAKE A CALL TO PROTECT FAMILY FARMS,LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURECALL SENATOR CASEY THIS WEEK! The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will take up S. 510, the Senate version of major food safety legislation already approved by the House of

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23783426.post-55142434447602398242009-11-12T21:25:00.000-05:002009-11-12T21:25:00.375-05:00

The title of this post is somewhat of a misnomer. Sure, the large version of the new Quiznos Double Cheese Cheesesteak has 1,400 calories and nearly 3000 mg of sodium -- meaning that, in a single greasy swoop, it provides nearly three-quarters of recommended daily calorie intake and 50 percent surplus of daily recommended sodium intake -- which more than qualifies for it this prestigious

Fillippelli the Eaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889841458170110920noreply@blogger.com1