The Feed: February 6, 2013

The Feed is my weekly round up of interesting food-related stories from newspapers, magazines, blogs and websites.

The Daily Meal: “Fading Favorites: 11 Dishes Disappearing From Menus,” by Dan Myers. Hamburgers, Caesar salad and tiramisu may seem ubiquitous today, but someday they may be history, swept under the rug by changing tastes or necessity. Myers’ story examines 11 such dishes that were once mainstays but now rarely appear on menus, such as Beef Stroganoff, Crab Louie and Trout Almondine (although I will note that Poste is serving Grouper Almondine on its Restaurant Week menu). The accompanying slideshow gives a brief take on each dish.

New York Times: “Winter’s Balm: A Bubbling Pot of Polenta,” by David Tanis. City Kitchen explores the classic Italian cornmeal dish with some tips on how to make it right, a basic recipe and a couple variations.

Washington Post: “Better bread starts with a sponge,” by Marcy Goldman. Not to trot out my West Coast snootiness (because us West Coasters are really snooty about very few things), but I’ve never had good sourdough bread on the East Coast. And I love a good sourdough bread. Goldman offers a possible way to enjoy the delicious yeasty sourness of hot, fresh loaf by making it yourself with a “sponge” base. She includes several recipes, including a basic French Bread.

Drinking in America: “Drink Your Box Of Chocolate On Valentine’s Day.”
It’s not too early to be thinking about Valentine’s Day. Drinking in America offers some cocktail ideas for the lovers’ holiday, including the Caramel Kiss Cocktail, made with chocolate vodka and caramel liqueur—something I’d like to get my hands on.

Leite’s Culinaria: “Ketchup: A Manifesto,” by Casey Barber. Barber writes a rather impassioned ode to ketchup, the quintessentially American sweet and tangy tomato condiment. She offers a strong defense in favor of traditional Heinz ketchup over “high-end” imitators. That said, while I do agree that Heinz makes the best ketchup, I don’t agree with her putting down Simply Heinz, since its sugar-based recipe is probably more traditional than the “standard” version, which I assume wasn’t always made with HFCS.