Japanese food magazines

Japanese food magazines have always been an inspiration to me. Although I woefully cannot may read one word, their graphics are always inspiring, cool and linear, and they always make me see food in a new light.

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In New York, you can spend a fun half day picking up Japanese products, food stuffs, as well as supping on great Ramen at Mitsuwa, New Jersey, (they even have a shuttle bus that will take you there from Manhattan). Or elsewhere, you can order their cookbooks and food magazines online, (single copies or subscriptions)>> from here.

Salt Lick Ribs, Brisket and Sausage (from Texas to New York)

My good friend Jen Smith called me last Saturday, she told me I must come to Timshell Rivers' place. She said Timshell, (a native Texan) had had a craving for Texas BBQ, and so had Fedexed a bunch of ribs, brisket and sausage from the famous Salt Lick BBQ from Driftwood, Austin, up to New York, and we had to come and help her eat it. Help her eat Salt Lick BBQ? I'll be right there. What she didn't mention was that Timshell is an Interior Designer of note, an awesome cook, a generous host, and her place is eclectic and fun.

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With thanks to Jen Smith.

INTERIOR DESIGNER, TIMSHELL RIVERS: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Timshell-Rivers-Studio/114344405309002

(Photographs: Dimity Jones)

Cherries

Nothing says beauty, in all it's simplicity like the gorgeous work of Andrea Gentl's.

Here is a shot of the Sour Cherries, she found at New Amsterdam Market, from the Hudson Valley.

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Check out Andrea's new blog here: http://www.hungryghostfoodandtravel.com/

And her work (Gentl & Hyers) here: http://www.edgereps.com/

For info on New Amsterdam Market press here.

Cool, Chocolate Chip Cookie Icebox cake

Firstly, I want to wish everyone an amazing July 4th weekend! Where ever you are... whoever you are with. I hope you are eating, drinking, incredible things, with people you love—family and friends.

We shot this story, over 2 months ago. Elizabeth Colling concepted 4 recipes from one cookie dough base, and they were all great. But the one we loved the best was the baked cookies layered up into a cake with lots of mascarpone in between. You can pick up the whole story in the current July Issue of Martha Stewart Living, which is on newsstands right now. It also includes a recipe for a gorgeous tart that uses cookies crushed into a crust (instead of the usual Graham crackers, so smart!) and then a rich chocolate ganache is poured over the top. Delicious!

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THE COOKIE DOUGH STORY: Was shot by Iain Bagwell. Concept and styling by Elizabeth Colling. Props: Tanya Graff. (Art Direction: Dimity Jones)

HAPPY 4TH!

Panna Cotta with Cinnamon Tomato 'Jam'

On the 27th of June, each year, it is my great pleasure to cook dinner for 20 friends. While the main course for tonight is still undecided, for dessert, at least, I'll be using the Panna Cotta recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago, as a base, but shifting it up slightly, by adding at touch of maple syrup and some orange zest. I'll be serving the Panna Cotta, too, with a tomato-type 'jam', by first poaching the tomatoes, (pictured above) then boiling them down in a mixture of sugar, water and cinnamon. (Cinnamon you say, and tomatoes? I'll let you know what my friends say!) More shots, and recipes of the evening to come!

PANNA COTTA with CINNAMON TOMATO 'JAM'

FOR THE PANNA COTTA: Put 6 tablespoons of water into a heavy base saucepan. Stir in 4 teaspoons of unflavored powdered gelatin. It’s not much water, so this almost looks like a small paste. Add to this 3 3/4 cups of heavy cream, and a teaspoon of salt. Put the heat on to low-medium and stir until the gelatin dissolves. In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 cups of plain natural yogurt (not Greek), 3/4 cup of honey or maple syrup, 1 teaspoon of pure almond extract, and the zest of one whole orange. then whisk in the warm cream mixture. Pour into glass jam jars, or small dessert bowls and leave to set in the fridge overnight, or for at least 8 hours. FOR THE TOMATOES: take 5 organic tomatoes and criss cross their bottoms and quickly blanch them in boiling water. Drain on a paper town and Peel off skin. Chop roughly and set aside. Put one cup of sugar and one cup of water in a saucepan and stir on low heat until the sugar dissolves. Place the chopped tomatoes into the sugary mixture and boil down, until most of the water has evaporated and the consistency is jammy. Pour into a jar, cover and refrigerate too. TO SERVE: Bring the Panna Cotta out of the fridge, divide up tomatoes and place on top of each of the small glass jars of Panna cotta.

Serves 20, as a accompaniment dessert. (My dear friend Claire is making her Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake to go with it).

(Pic Dimity Jones)

Quick Prep Monday, for a decadent dinner Tuesday

SEARED DUCK BREAST with buttery LENTIL RICE, DRIED SWEET DATES, GRILLED EGGPLANT and FRESH MINT: This dish is best served just warm, on any Summer evening.

I love duck. Decadent, fatty, and frankly—delicious. This past, punishing, Winter, I picked up a single Moulard breast from the Hudson Valley Duck Farm at the New Amsterdam market and froze it. And then I slept, stiffly, for what felt like one million years, until I woke up with piqued interest, to a lump, in my freezer, that was straddling a large bag of shredded parsnips and a taunt beige Jameson pie, and I realized I had duck breast that needed cooking, and promptly. I am not one, even in the dead of Summer, to shy away from roasting, I find it comforting. It reminds me of home.

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SUNDAY: Bring unidentified lump, (aka Duck Breast) out of the freezer and into the fridge, to defrost. (Or head to the New Amsterdam Market and pick up a fresh one)

MONDAY: Bring duck breast out of fridge to room temperature. Put about a tablespoon of Whole Fennel Seeds into a shallow pan and gently toast, till a heady aniseed perfume rises. Do not burn, or brown. Pat the raw Duck Breast both sides, very liberally with the toasted Whole Fennel Seeds, Kosher Salt and Cracked Pepper. Sear the breast in a little Olive Oil on very hot cast iron skillet, until the skin is a rich, golden color. The breast will still be not cooked through inside. Place the seared breast in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes. Rest. Slice, (Taste!), and cover with cling wrap and place back in the fridge. Reserve duck fat, that also may have fennel seeds in it, from the cast iron skillet.

TUESDAY: Place about 2 cups of water in a saucepan (that has a lid). Bring the water to the boil. Add a heavy glug of Olive Oil, (at least 3 tablespoons) 1 good tablespoon of Salt, 1 cup of Jasmin Rice, and about a quarter cup of dried Brown Lentils. The rice/lentils needs to come up half way to the top of the water. (The secret to great tasting rice is to put the Olive Oil, and the Salt, into the boiling water as you cook the Rice). Leave the rice/lentils to boil until the water is evaporated down. Stir occasionally. (There will be a little muddy residue from the Lentils, I like that, but you can skim it off if you wish) When the water is nearly evaporated, it's started spitting at you, and you're afraid it will burn. Stir once, turn off the heat, and secure the lid tightly for 12 minutes. Meanwhile, slice a small Eggplant in half and quickly sear it in the duck fat from yesterday on the cast iron skillet till charred on the outside and soft in the middle. Don't burn. (The Duck fat will still have the Salt and Pepper and Fennel Seeds from the duck which will just enhance the flavor of the Eggplant) Season while hot. Slice and set aside. After 12 minutes check the rice, the lentils should be steamed soft. If not, put the lid back on and leave for another couple of minutes. Put the hot rice/lentil mixture into a bowl and add the sliced duck from the fridge, the hot grilled sliced eggplant, a good generous handful of sliced dried dates, and a large handful of chopped fresh Mint. Season again with Salt and Pepper. Mix loosely.

NOTE: The hot rice/lentil mixture and the grilled Eggplant will heat through the other ingredients, so the dish will be warmed through, but not hot. Cooking the duck further, would lose some of lovely Medium/Rare ness and could make the breast tough. I'd serve this salad on a hot June night, even for a crowd.

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Kym Apotus-Pontius from the amazing little store; Blue Angel Wines (tucked neatly near the 2nd stop on the L train) would pair this salad with something acid-y -to cut through the fatty Duck. She recommends the Rive Gauche, Chinon Rosé. This is a hardier Rosé from the Loire Valley, and is made from Cabernet Franc so it has a really nice mineral-y tone, with great acidity, but had the earthiness of tobacco mixed with a little bit of a spice. The acid will balance out the fatty duck, and the mineral will hold up the other flavors. It's about $17 and it's at her store now.

Street Food. (Literally)

STREET FOOD (ON THE STREET) Justin Walker, Kaitlyn DuRoss and myself, hit the streets of Greenpoint last week to shoot street food. I wanted to bring bold, beautiful street food, back to it's roots. Where else? The street. The rawness of a gutter, a speckled sidewalk, a hydrant, maybe, or what about a pedestrian crossing? I love the use of Justin's negative space in this shot. The big green wall is so beautiful, and the random newspaper? Like the best things in life; simply just happened to be there.

DELICIOUS STREET FOOD: 6 TACO'S from the CALEXICO FOOD TRUCK: BAJA FISH: Cod, Slaw, Mango and Chipotle sauce. POLLO VERDE: Slow cooked Chicken in a tangy Tomatillo sauce, pickled Jalapenos, Cotija Cheese. CARNE ASADA: Marinated skirt Steak, Avocado salsa, Pico de gallo. CHIPOTLE PORK: Slow cooked Pulled Pork, pickled Red Onions, Crema. CHORIZO: Mexican Sausage, roasted Potato, Cotija Cheese. FRIJOLES NEGROS: Black beans, Guacamole, roasted Tomato Salsa, Cortija Cheese, Chipotle sauce.

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STREET FOOD (ON the STREET) Photograph: Justin Walker. Concept/Art Direction: Dimity Jones. Shot in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Watermelon with Oysters?

Pick up the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. (July Issue), on newsstands right now to get this recipe for Watermelon Lemon and Pepper Granita. Cool, delicious Summer oyster 'slushy'.

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Photograph by Pernille Pedersen, Food styling/concept: Kris Kurek, Props: Carla Gonzalez-Hart (Art Direction: Dimity Jones)

Shaved Rhubarb Salad

SHAVED RHUBARB SALAD with WATERCRESS and DRIED BLACK CURRANTS

Rhubarb as a salad?

Shift up this crimson stalk from it's safe ubiquitous role in homely cobblers and traditional crisps. I used a technique inspired by wonderful food stylist Kris Kurek, who made a dish so beautifully, by simply shaving whole Asparagus into playful ribbons, and then pairing it with buttery noodles. Try shaving your Rhubarb!

There are only a couple of weeks left for Rhubarb at the Farmer's market, so enjoy the tart pucker of these stringy stalks, tempered with peppery watercress, sweetened with black currants, and then a dash of sunflower seeds, thrown in, last minute, just for crunch. The dressing is a sticky Rice Vinegar/Honey. I'd serve this salad with a chargrilled moist fatty Salmon.

METHOD: Shave 3 stalks of Rhubarb with a standard vegetable peeler into a bowl. Add fresh Watercress leaves, Dried Black Currants and Sunflower seeds. Mix. Into a jar, put 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil, 1 tablespoon of Rice Vinegar or Sherry Vinegar, 1 tablespoon of rich Honey. Sea Salt and freshly cracked Pepper. Dress salad to taste.

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Photograph: Squire Fox, Props: Tara Marino. (Food styling/concept: Dimity Jones)

Snack inventiveness; Fruit leather from Marlow and Sons

My father used to roll white bread up into a ball, when we were children, and use it as a pencil eraser. We thought we were very clever.

These days my inventiveness seems to be limited to nailing the correct aisle in the Supermarket to be able to do a mad (and usually Midnight) dash for snacks. Snacks for home, or snacks for the school lunchbox... (That empty, gaping box that's not even close to be inventive. Not that, again! Why Raisins? But Sophia-Belle gets pudding!)

Then I spy this, at Marlow and Sons. Their Strawberry and Rhubarb fruit leather. A little wrangling (thanks Kate!) and I'm going back and forth with the amazing head pastry chef over there, Avery Wittkamp, who parts with her method. The leather is tight and very chewy with a tart sherbet tang. It has whole slivers of Rhubarb imbedded in it, and it's not overly sweet. If you're like me, and always wondering; how I can bring costs down, make more things from scratch, purchase less processed foods and have the chance to control the amount of sweetener I use, then this one's for you.

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STRAWBERRY and RHUBARB FRUIT LEATHER from MARLOW AND SONS With thanks to Avery Wittkamp

Firstly, cook the Rhubarb down with Honey (Avery uses Lancaster Honey) this is where you can control your desired sweetness. Add Strawberries to taste. You can add 50/50 Strawberries/Rhubarb if you wish. Puree. Just keep tasting it until you get the balance you want. The goal here is to make a yummy puree and go from there. Nothing too exact. It should look like a smoothie. Too thin, and you won't get the leathery texture you need. Spread on the silicone sheets for the Dehydrator (Yes, you need to use a Dehydrator. Sorry. Avery advises that she tried it once, in her oven at home, and it was meant to be a simple at-home project, but it turned into a huge mess. Also, most home oven's can't get as low in temperature as you will need to to make this work. Dehydrators range from around $40) Spread with a spatula. Thickness is important. Too thin, and it may have some splotchy holes. Too thick, and it will take too long to dry and be hard to roll up. 1/4 inch is good. Try to keep the edges thicker than the middle, because as it cooks it tends to pool in the center. Dehydrators will advise of correct fruit leather setting, but it's usually 135 F, for 6-8 hours.

NOTES: Any Summer berries will puree nicely; Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries. Even Autumn Pears or Apples (after they have been poached) would work really nicely too. Basicly, anything that you can puree and sweeten should work well. Once done, try using cookie cutters to cut out the fruit leather into various animal or fun shapes. Or just an upside down tuna can can make great circles. Inventive tips to liven up a kids lunch box.

(But can the fruit leather roll up and erase? I'm not sure. But my Dad will know...)

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(pic Dimity Jones)

Lemonade

"Wishing I was 10 again, so I could be your friend again" —BRANDI CARLILE

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In the depths of February we're longing for warm days and then suddenly, mother nature clicks her fingers, the curtain goes up (where did Spring go?) and it's Summer! Today was 96 degrees! I shot this picture a year ago, possibly two, but I feel like it's timeless. It's my son, with his friend Indivi, and they're making lemonade. A discarded flip flop, dirty feet, grimy- but determined hands, and the ground as a makeshift work bench. Happy Summer!

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TO MAKE BASIC AMERICAN LEMONADE: Take 6 fresh lemons and squeeze them into a jug. Add 1 cup of sugar and 6 cups of water. Stir. Add ice cubes if you wish. Enjoy.

Cool, calming, Panna Cotta

NEW YORK, MAY 21, RAPTURE:

At the last night, of the end of the world, Maggie Ruggiero came over to make custard.

But it wasn't any old custard. No, because this was Maggie. Maggie could boil, soiled bath water, that had previously housed Ukrainian weightlifters, and it would still taste sublime.

The week before, my dentist, not one to mince words, had advised me that I needed surgery, or I would lose my right front tooth. (A good look, maybe, in some parts of the country, but not so good, here in New York) He noted I will be swollen and bruised for a couple of days, then casually issued the clanger: I was not allowed to bite into anything for 6 weeks. Not BITE INTO ANYTHING for 6! Weeks!

The last day at the end of the world, was also made unsettling by someone trying to jump, right in front of me, off the Williamsburg Bridge. My apartment looks somewhat towards the bridge so it was impossible to avoid what was unfolding. A sad story. A father, it turned out, upset over childcare. As the Police men closed in either side of him, he leaned back, and let go.

I first caught sight of the man, on the J train, on my way home. The 'J' travels from Manhattan over the Williamsburg bridge to Marcy Avenue. The train stopped, right in front of where he was clinging to the wire and we locked eyes. I don't know what I was expecting, but I startled by how bug-eyed, yet frankly how nice looking he was. New York, after all, has a tendency to coddle, embrace or forgive it's very good-looking. (Elevate them, even) What was this very nice looking man, in his late 30's doing clinging to chicken wire, on the wrong side of the Williamsburg bridge? I guess I assumed that to be in this position he would need to look withered, worn or defeated, even, with visual signs of decay, maybe like a week old peach that has begun to show outer blemishes, or even the odd bruise. But there was nothing I could see.

If you stir the cream slowly, over low heat, the gelatin will dissolve. But if you put the flame too high, unless you add sugar, you'll upset it, making it scald. Then you'll need to throw it out, and start again.

As the Police moved in, closer, towards the man, he inched himself further away, warning them not to come near. The Police had an inflatable stunt cushion on the ground, 80 feet below him. When he saw them position the cushion underneath him, he'd moved further along the small thin ledge, so he still had, frighteningly, a clear path straight down to the concrete below.

I, meanwhile, was pondering my 'not-bite-into-anything' situation, and counting down the hours, desperately, till Maggie would arrive and make her cooling custard. My dentist actually had recommended I only eat cottage cheese, junior baby foods and certain kinds of Bulgarian slow-swimming fish, and if one more person told me smugly, again, how satisfying a flax seed smoothie could be, I'd slap them.

"What's that man doing on the bridge?" Asked my son.

"Fishing" I said. Without even thinking.

I pretended to trace the petals of an imaginary flower around a mole that has been on my arm for as long as I can remember and mindlessly tipped a whole Peking Duck, into the blender.

Finally, after about 3 or more hours, the guy on the bridge screamed "Tell my mother, I love her!" and let go. The Police men perched either side deftly grabbed him and pulled him back through a hole to the other side. It happened very quickly and before we knew it, the man was briskly carted off. The traffic flowed again, swiftly, quickly, like a Dick Tracy video.

Photo's that appeared later in the press revealed that contrary to what I saw, he wasn't particular, or ridicuously good looking, at all. He was well... just... fine. He looked beaten and deflated and all those things one would expect, sadly, when you decide to take your own life. I wondered what I had seen up there, when the train had stopped.

I inspected my mouth. My tooth was saved. My dentist had done a sterling job. I waited for Maggie, who would make the perfect version of soft-food tonight, on the day the world was meant to end. Her Panna Cotta with Lemon-Thyme Peaches. And her peaches? No blemishes that I could detect. Well at least not at first glance.

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PANNA COTTA with LEMON-THYME PEACHES by Maggie Ruggiero

Soft and cooling. The cream and almond essence and honey, offset the tart tanginess of natural yogurt. A perfect post-surgery medicine.

Put 2 tablespoons of water into a heavy base saucepan. Stir in 1 1/4 teaspoons of unflavored powdered gelatin. It's not much water, so this almost looks like a small paste. Add to this 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream, and a heavy pinch of salt. Put the heat on to low-medium and stir until the gelatin dissolves. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup of plain natural yogurt (not Greek), 1/4 cup of honey, 1/8 teaspoon of pure almond extract, then whisk in the warm cream mixture. Pour into glass jam jars, or small dessert bowls and leave to set in the fridge overnight, or for at least 8 hours. For the Peaches, finely chop 1 1/2 tablespoons of Lemon Thyme and mix with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Toss this through 3 sliced Peaches. Let it macerate, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. To serve, bring the Panna Cotta out of the fridge, and sit until it gets to room temperature. Place macerated peaches on top and add additional honey, if desired. Serves 4.

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This recipe was adapted from the now defunct Gourmet Magazine. (RIP) Check out Maggie Ruggiero's fabulous work by checking here

Panna Cotta with Lemon-Thyme Peaches photographed by Ben Baker

Whole Smoked Heritage Pig, on Pancakes.

WHOLE SMOKED PIG, drenched in MAPLE SYRUP and BUTTER with FLECKS of cracked SEA SALT on a SILVER DOLLAR PANCAKE.

WHOLE SMOKED PORK with BASIL, fresh STRAWBERRY and BLACK PEPPER GASTRIQUE, on a SILVER DOLLAR PANCAKE. (Does it work? OH YEAH)

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FATTY CUE served these wonderful morsels at their Pig and Pork 'festival' this past Memorial Day weekend. (I call it a festival, because luscious melt-in-the-mouth smoked pulled pig, on sweet pancakes, is really something to celebrate!)

Accompanied by delicious Smoked Beer from BEER TABLE. (NOTE: We drank an Emilesse Rauchbier. It is an interpretation of a German style Beer, but brewed in the Netherlands. The smokey flavor and aroma comes from the addition of Smoked Malt in the brewing process)

Neon Brights!

Give an unexpected jolt to plain cutlery, by spray painting it in ultra-brilliant hues.

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We shot this on one of those cold Wintery days. One of those days where the sky looks as grey at 9am, as it will be at 2. Food stylist Adrienne Anderson, tossed a bunch of ingredients together (Radicchio, Apples and Roasted Beets) and we couldn't stop eating it, sneaking bites of the radicchio, stealing chunks of the warm vinegary apple, even on set. Even after everyone's hands had been poking around in it.

Adrienne's in Europe right now, and happily out of contact, so instead of giving you the recipe we shot (above) which is what I intended to do, I thought I'd give you a couple of links to recipes I found online that are similar, but more Summery, and totally delicious. All will would work as side dish to anything you might grill this weekend. A nice shift up from regular Coleslaw.

In the meantime, let's hope Adrienne emerges from foraging in France, blissful and rested.

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IN ADRIENNE'S ABSENCE; SIMILAR, BUT MORE SUMMERY: I'd eat these salads right now with succulent, slightly charred, baby lamb chops dipped in a well-drawn bath of Chimichurri.

>RED AND NAPA CABBAGE SALAD WITH BRAEBURN APPLES AND SPICED PECANS: Tap here to go to the original recipe from Bon Appétit

>RED CABBAGE SALAD WITH CRISP APPLES AND SPICED PECANS: Tap here to go to the same recipe but without the Napa cabbage, on Serious Eats:

>And since I'm on a roll... and always a fan of Jamie Oliver. Tap here to go to Jamie's site, for a more wintery coleslaw, should you live in a part of the world where it's actually, still, quite grey...

WHERE EVER YOU ARE, HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

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NEON STORY: Concept and props: Artist and stylist: Heather Chontos. Photograph: David Malosh. Food styling: Adrienne Anderson. (Art direction: Dimity Jones)

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Sentiments. Exchanged on a rainy day.

This morning I sent this, to photographer Maura McEvoy: "Today I will blow the soft steam off a scalding hot spoon and while away the hours..."

She then scribbled her own thought, formed in wooden letters onto the kitchen table and sent this picture (below), straight back to me. Snapped randomly with her iphone.

Words. Exchanged in different mediums, sent on a rainy day.

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I love it when I get to work with Maura McEvoy. She is Queen of the in-between shot. When you work with her she takes random, beautiful shots that aren't even on the call sheet. She just gets in there, deftly and unobtrusively, creating beauty, from the unexpected. Check out her website here. And her beautiful food shots here.

Best Fried Chicken (Taste-off)

(PIC ABOVE: Start with a blank slate...)

The task was to set up a test. Me, and my fat ladies would scatter, to 6 separate geographic points across NY to pick up the best, most coveted fried chicken, at exactly the same time. Then, rendezvous back at my place for a taste-testing. The idea was to taste them all at once, so this way we could do our comparison directly. Bite from one... put it down. Bite from another. "No, that crust really did taste better, let me go back and try that again." Rather than taste each, consecutively, over several hours, or even several days. (Let's face it, I can barely remember my first name some days, let alone chicken I tasted two days ago.)

How did we decide on which ones to test? Through hard scientific facts and research, that's how. A friend of a friend, who had gotten hammered at the old Black Betty the other night, noted (albeit from the floor) that the chicken was Darn Good. A photographer from the deep South, who'd spent maybe 60, or 70 minutes in New York, only, on a quick stop-over, claimed that the Brooklyn Bowl Fried Chicken was the crunchiest there was.

It was also based on location. If you look at the places we compiled, this might seem a very Williamsburg-based test, and you would be right. We wanted to include Amy Ruth's or Charles Gabriel, both in Harlem, but because of the distance to my apartment from there, the quality of the chicken would have been severely compromised. (Same with Peaches Hothouse, in Bed Sty, which was also on our wish list.)

I wore my Army fatigues. I was on a mission. We split up. Synchronized our watches. Knotted cab fare neatly, tightly, into the outer reaches of crisply ironed handkerchiefs, something a small child might do, in hopeful fashion, when they were intent on running away. We set out.

To make it work, we had to be at our designated food places, our orders in, and ready to leave with hot luscious chicken, on the dot of 6.30pm. No later. That would give each of us 10 minutes to get to my place. Maybe 8, if we sprinted. (or found a Cab that would actually take us to Brooklyn). There, a hot oven was waiting to blast all the chickens, together, for 5 minutes if need be, a precaution in case any of the chicken happened to sit longer than the others on the trip back. Was it a perfect situation? Not nearly. But with a compass, a hot/cold insulation pack, lunch money and comfortable shoes, it was the best we could do.

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THE RULES OF JUDGING: Were Side dishes important to the test? Not really. When a chicken came with Sides, we definitely tried them, and they were delicious. (Especially the biscuits from The Commodore, and the Mac -n- Cheese from Pie's n Thighs—which uses Frank's RedHot sauce) And when a chicken came accompanied by sauce (hot sauce or honey, for instance) we applied them. But this was a test for fried chicken and so we wanted to just focus on the bird itself.

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THE FRIED CHICKEN WE TASTED:

BROOKLYN BOWL (Blue Ribbon; Eric and Bruce Bromberg) The Cajun-spiced chicken is soaked in Egg Whites. Secret ingredient: Matzoh-Meal coating.

PIES -N- THIGHS (Carolyn Bane and Erika Geldzahler) Their Murray's chicken sits for 24 hr, in a brine of salt/sugar, with paprika, cayenne and black pepper. No buttermilk dips. Then they fry their chicken in Canola Oil.

THE COMMODORE (Stephen Tanner) Apparently he brine's his chicken in Salt and Sugar, let's it sit, then puts it in Flour, then fries it. But there's also a rumor that he mixes Seltzer in with his Flour, which would explain the light crispy crust.

DIRTY BIRD (Joseph Ciriello) An Amish bird in a 2-part soak: 24 hr brining (where the secret weapon is Dijon Mustard), as well as a Buttermilk bath.

HILL COUNTRY CHICKEN (Elizabeth Karmel) Hill Country offers two kinds of fried chicken. The Classic and Mama El's. One has skin, one is without. We tried them both.

POPEYES (The wild card) A friend suggested we add this mass-market competitor, based on the theory that the best chicken was possibly just ordinary fast food fried chicken. Popeye's brine their chicken for 12 hrs. That's not exactly 24. But then again, it is fast food fried chicken.

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THE CRITERIA WE TESTED FOR: 1) Crunch and crispness. 2) Moistness and juiciness of the meat. 3) Flavor, how well seasoned, and overall taste.

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HOW THEY STACKED UP: BROOKLYN BOWL: The Cayenne on the skin of this bird makes for a super flavorful, not-too-spicy kick. The Maztzoh-meal makes the skin texture finer, making the oil-to-grain ration smaller, thus giving the chicken a fantastic crunch.

PIES -N- THIGHS: The group didn't fall madly in love with the breast meat portion from the fried chicken box, but gave props to the much heralded thighs, which were moist, crunchy and the seasoning was right on.

THE COMMODORE: The lightest in color of all the chicken. We didn't think the seasoning was as flavorful as Pies n Thighs', but in terms of the skin, we loved the waves of ridiculously crunchy curls.

DIRTY BIRD: This is a darker bird. Most of our group thought the skin was not as crispy as the others, but everyone agreed the overall flavor of the skin (and the chicken) was really fantastic.

HILL COUNTRY CHICKEN: Has two styles: Skin on and skin off. We tried them both. We were a tad confused as to why someone would take the skin off a fried chicken. (Kind of like those cats that naturally don't have fur, they're probably just as great as regular cats, better even! But well, it seems we like our chicken, and our cats, with a warm outer layer) In the skin's place was a coating of crumbs. Much like a schnitzel. "The Classic", though, with skin-on was better. It's skin was seasoned much sweeter than all the other chickens we tasted, and was a hit with one of our tasters from Georgia, who likes her chicken salty, and sweet.

POPEYES: Was perfectly pleasant. The crunch, the taste, were perfectly... well, just... fine. How to say this eloquently? It wasn't bad, at all. In fact it seemed like someone, had spent a lot of time making sure it hit all the notes. It just didn't move us.

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AND THE WINNERS WERE:

CRISPNESS AND CRUNCHINESS > The Commodore (We could not get past the ridiculously crispy crust)

MOISTNESS AND JUICINESS > Pies -n- Thighs (The thighs were succulent)

FLAVOR, HOW WELL SEASONED, TASTE OVERALL > Brooklyn Bowl (The Cajun flavor that penetrates into it's crunchy skin is right on) > Dirty Bird (It's brine with Dijon Mustard makes for a tasty bite)

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OVERALL WINNER: When we tallied up the scores, the fried chicken that hit all the notes, most consistently, and was most authentic to a classic Southern style chicken was... (drum roll...)

PIES -N-THIGHS!

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Thanks to all who contributed time and energy to hard eating (a little hard drinking!) and a little fast sprinting. So, who's up for burgers?

Soup Art

Sometimes we play with our food.

SOUPS FROM LEFT: Moroccan Carrot, Celeriac, Tomato with fresh Melon, and Purée of English Pea.

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Hanging with Justin. Photograph: Justin Walker

(Art direction/food/concept: Dimity Jones)

Fava Bean Soup

FAVA BEAN SOUP Farm-stand Find is one of my favorite pages in Martha Stewart Living. It profiles an ingredient you can find right now at the Greenmarket and shows you what to do with it after you carry it home, proudly, yourself a little sun-kissed from the open market, happily cash poor, but slightly bewildered that you purchased how much? of a vegetable that you've never heard of, let alone cooked. The page gives you 3 options to do with your local product other than stare at it, fondly, but idly, wondering what on earth to make with it.

On the day we shot this, we couldn't decide whether to shave the Parmesan (which is in the recipe) on top, for the final shot, or remove it. In the end, the big pools of green alone, were startlingly graphic and everyone's favorite. Pick up the recipe in the (May) current issue, on newsstands now.

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Photograph by Raymond Hom, Food styling/concept: Sarah Carey, Props: Carla Gonzalez-Hart (Art Direction: Dimity Jones)

(Note; This post was updated on 10/28 to include the link to the recipe; find it here)

slow-roasted strawberries

While most of us are still on the brink of true Spring warmth, seize the last of the still-too-chilly days, by taking a classic Summer ingredient, but treating it like typical Winter fair. (Thereby bridging the seasons). Let's roast! Especially while it's still cool enough outside, to comfortably turn on the oven inside.

NOTE: The sophisticated sweet perfume that will permeate your kitchen from slow-roasting these simple fruits is frankly sublime.

SLOW-ROASTED FRESH STRAWBERRIES: Put 4 tablespoons of Brown Sugar, 1 tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar and a good pinch of Salt in a bowl and mix it all together with a spoon. Then put 1 punnet (1 lb/16 oz) of fresh strawberries into the bowl, that have been washed, dried, and had their green tops cut off (You may also cut the very large strawberries in half, so that all strawberries being roasted are of similar size). Mix the strawberries well through the sugary/vinegar mixture. Then scatter them all over a non-stick baking tray or non-stick roasting pan and cook low and slow at 250, for 1-2 hours. Check occasionally as you roast. After one hour the strawberries should be hot and starting to melt, but still holding their shape. Serve hot, straight out of the oven with Mascarpone, Devonshire clotted cream or even just regular heavy pouring cream will work out fine. You can even sprinkle a few tiny splashes of Cointreau over the top, or rip up some fresh mint leaves and scatter them over the strawberries as well. (Optional)

NOTE: Ideal for Mother's Day or a brunch with friends. Serve with a glasses of crisp Prosecco. (And maybe some really good french toast with almond fig butter on the side)

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Photo: Squire Fox. (Food/Art direction/Concept: Dimity Jones)

Dirt, Death and Dough

The night before I meet Jim Lahey (from Sullivan Street Bakery) I do my homework. I go to his restaurant, Co., and eat the Fennel and Coppa pie, which has a deep nuttiness of nose-to-tail roasted fennel on a layer of béchamel. Then I eat the famous 'Popeye'. The crust is salty, crispy, chewy with a blistering underside. The grassy aroma of the charred spinach topping greets you before the pizza even gets to the table. I fall, and then fold into the arms of it's three cheeses that melt into a runny, hot, river and then, even though I'm quite full at this point, I order, just for good measure, (sigh, homework!) a slice of sticky creamy caramel banana Banoffee Pie. I mean, one can't be too careful.

Jim's personal assistant, Liz, and Brendan his sous chef, are coincidentally there too. Brendan has visited Australia once, and loved it so much, he had pictures of 2 Platypuses, tattooed, neatly, on either side of his chest. (He loved Australia so much he made it permanent! And not once, but twice!) There's a man who looks like a lanky European tennis player in the corner. "See that table?" Says Liz. "The whole first cookbook was shot there"

But not today. Today they're shooting the second book and it's being shot at Jim's place above his bakery. And I'm here, and I'm sipping Pellegrino. I've gatecrashed the shoot of his next cookbook because my friend Squire Fox is shooting it. I weigh in a bit, but I don't want to interrupt. I want the camera to focus on the scars on Jim's arms acquired from the too hot oven, I want to see a spray of flour on his pants and shirt, I want to push away the props completely, and just get the camera in there, forget everything else, focus on the dough, the fabulously simple and highly documented no-knead dough, and he does. Jim Lahey likens his dough to a dead body. Limp, no longer breathing, collapsing under it's own weight. He notices a tiny bit that is frayed. "That's not good, I need to cut that bit off" He notes.

It's true; I admit it, I tend to kill things. Plants particulary. Succulents, even hardy Cactus. (And a goldfish as well, that turned belly-up, for no reason, and who's name I can't quite remember) My friends joke that it's a shocking relief that my gorgeous son is happy, smiling and well... still living. Engaging, high energy and enigmatic. Jim Lahey is now showing me his rooftop garden, where it looks like he doesn't get to kill very much. We spy a Holiday Inn Express going up next door. He frowns, then shrugs, like he's accepted that change is somewhat inevitable. Everything changes, he says 'I'm changing' he says. And he is, noting a girlfriend who's delivering his third baby in less than a month. He applies bone meal to his strawberries. He tells me he likes to get his hands into the dirt. It's warm, it's comforting, I'm strangely attracted to the bone meal. To maximize space, Jim's growing plants out of the side (as well as the top) of his planters, which is brilliant. I want to stay here. Curl up here. Roll myself up in his pie dough, slather me with olive oil, salt me (leave me for a good 12 hours, or more)

We head back in to start shooting, and I spy a quote scribbled on the cupboard door.

"Always be kind to others. Do not jump to false conclusions"

I love it. I want to live by it. I might get it tattooed on my butt. (Together with a Platypus. What the hell)

Like the versions of 'Marc Jacobs' that have mushroomed all over the top end of Bleeker Street. Lahey's bread pops up all over, but it's not always his. You can say what you like about the Catskills water and it minerals and it's effect on the New York City bread dough, and what that does to the dough of his competitors, but in the end, its his hands that make the difference. He knows how to shape dough. (and sometimes shape dough into very obvious genetalia... feminine... masculine... circumsized, but hey, that's another story) It's his hands that make it work. You can copy his recipe, do it at home, (and you should) and it will taste freaking great, but its never going to taste incredible. Why? Because frankly, he didn't make it.

If my Great Great Grandfather, who got deported on a giant vessel from England to Australia for stealing a mere loaf of bread, was around today, Jim's delicious loaves would have been in trouble. But then again, if he'd stolen one of Jim's, it would have made the hellish trip worthwhile.

STECCA with SUN-DRIED TOMATO and 2 CHEESE SPREAD with ARUGULA:

Stecca are small baguettes, punctuated with tomatoes, green olives, and garlic that I picked up from Jim's bakery after the shoot. I spread them with a mixture of 10 sun-dried tomatoes, about 2+ tablespoons of ricotta, 1 tablespoon of feta and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Which I put in a food processor and blended. Then I spread the mixture on the stecca and added a thick wad of peppery arugula. This is a great quick dinner idea (you can also add avocado, and mayo if you wish). No need to add salt though, at any stage, because the Stecca has a super flavorful crust of glazed olive oil hit with fresh sea salt, and the feta rounds it out (salt wise) nicely. I also tried these weighted down in a cast iron skillet (like a pressed sandwich) fried in a little walnut oil and that was delicious too.

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Click here for info on SULLIVAN STREET BAKERY.

For info on Co. Jim's Pizza joint, Click here.

To watch a video of Jim making one of his loaves with Mark Bittman, click here.

To get the recipe for Jim's no-knead bread, click here.