The Feed: August 20, 2014

This week's tomato issue of the Washington Post Food section includes the annual Top Tomato contest, featuring a great selection of recipes, plus other tomato-themed stories. Dig in below.

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

Washington Post: “Top Tomato 2014: A Most Intriguing Bunch of Recipes, Topped by Rabbit Ragu,” by Bonnie S. Benwick.
The Post’s Food section announces the results of this year’s tomato recipe contest, which includes a finalist-recipe by yours truly for a gazpacho-inspired cocktail I call “Tipsy Gazpacho.” Top Tomato honors go to Karin Schultz of Arlington, Va., who created a hearty, flavorful Rabbit Ragu with Roasted Tomatoes that I would love to try.

Washington Post: “Canning Class: Peachy Tomato Salsa,” by Cathy Barrow.
Because I’d just featured a peach-and-tomato salad on my site the previous day, Barrow’s recipe for Peachy Tomato Salsa caught my eye. It’s a bit of work, but the flavor combination, enhanced with lime, coriander and chilies, sounds like a real winner.

Washington Post: “Spirits: A bloody mary needs tomatoes, but do they have to be fresh?” by M. Carrie Allan.
Carrie Allan’s columns frequently make me laugh, and this one on bloody marys is no exception. I love how she describes her “inner grumpy old man” that despises year-round tomatoes (you know, the mealy tasteless kind you can get at the grocery store any time of year—yes, I share this same inner grumpy old man on this subject). She also pits my favorite Portland bartender, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, against one of the DC area’s top bartenders, Todd Thrasher, in an argument over fresh vs. canned tomato juice.

Eater: “Why Are New York City's Biggest Restaurateurs Heading to Washington, DC?” by Hillary Dixler.
I was excited when it was announced that Daniel Boulud would be opening a DBGB in D.C. Then I was even more thrilled to learn that David Chang is opening a Momofuku restaurant and Milk Bar here. So, what’s behind this apparent influx of New York culinary talent in the nation’s capital? A number of factors, according to Dixler’s article, which basically comes to the conclusion that when it comes to food, D.C.’s a hot place to be right now.

Eater: “The 53 Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings Fall 2014,” by Hillary Dixler.
Speaking of forthcoming restaurants, here’s Eater’s list of the 53 most anticipated ones opening this fall across the country.

NPR: “Seeking Proof For Why We Feel Terrible After Too Many Drinks.”
Hangovers feel awful because of dehydration, right? Perhaps, although in his book Proof: The Science of Booze, Adam Rogers offers an alternative explanation, the focus of this short preview piece.

NHPR: “Pathogen Hits N.H. Basil, Putting Pesto In Peril,” by Michael Samuels.
Did basil suddenly disappear from your farmers market? If you live in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic, it may have been hit by downy mildew, a pathogen that affects basil, especially sweet basil. It’s spread by air-borne spores. So far, the basil on my balcony seems fine—and I live in Washington, D.C, far south of this report in New Hamsphire. But apparently my farmers market, which grows its basil in Pennsylvania, has been affected.

New York Times: “Corn Risotto,” by Emily Weinstein.
I made a corn risotto a couple years that I loved, but I’m intrigued by this version that folds whipped cream in at the end, which Weinstein says adds richness without heft.