The Power of Chocolate

Engineers at Public Service of New Hampshire, the state’s largest electric utility, have successfully tested using a mixture of coal and cocoa-bean shells to generate electricity.

Chicken Fried Gefilte Fish

Here's something new for Passover: deep-fried gefilte fish is popular among Jews in the U.K.

Towards a More Tweetable Bruni

An online petition seeks to draft New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni into the Twitter universe.

As Tariffs Loom, Retailers Hoard Specialties

Cheese shops are stocking up on roquefort, chocolatiers are hoarding chocolates, and even Ikea is stockpiling lingonberries in the face of looming tariff hikes on gourmet products from Europe.

Test Kitchen: Suzanne Goin's Creamsicle Floats

If there was one thing that stood out for me from the New York Times' recent battle of the budget dinner parties, it was the creamsicle floats which Julia Moskin made for her dessert.

The recipe, which comes from L.A. chef Suzanne Goin, is barely that -- just a combination of three ingredients: vanilla ice cream, fresh tangerine juice, and seltzer.

I loved the way the tart flavor of the tangerine juice was offset by the creamy vanilla ice cream (store-bought in my re-creation, though the recipe calls for homemade).

The complete recipe (which serves 6) is available online at the Times website.

To make a single serving, add one scoop of vanilla ice cream to a glass with approximately 1/2 cup fresh tangerine juice (about the juice of two tangerines) and top with seltzer (be careful, it foams up). Serve with a straw and a spoon.

The recipe got me thinking about other juice/ice cream combinations that might make for delicious floats. If you have any suggestions, leave a comment below.

Rosé Wars: French to Ban Blends

The latest shot fired in the war over how rosé wines should be produced: French agriculture minister Michel Barnier says that France will ban rosé made from mixing white and red wine even if the EU agrees to allow the practice.

Virtual Gardening with the Obamas

Can't get enough of the White House Kitchen Garden? Fast Company points to the vegetable garden-planning website plangarden.com, which has created a virtual version online.

twe⋅ci⋅pes

twe⋅ci⋅pes (noun): Extremely abbreviated recipes, published via Twitter, that provide cooking instructions in no more than 140 characters.

The Observer reports:

"There is a growing trend for people, including some leading chefs, to create micro-recipes - a single paragraph that tells users how to make an entire starter, main course or dessert - then transmit them via Twitter."

The concept is the basis for Twecipe, a new service and upcoming iPhone app that provides recipes via Twitter in response to queries with lists of ingredients.

See also: @twecipe, @twixologist, @cookbook, @tinyrecipes, and @gracepiper.

No Wine for NY Supermarkets

New York State lawmakers have dropped Governor Paterson's proposal to allow beer and wine to be sold in supermarkets.

Insights on Food Blog Advertising

Ten things food bloggers should consider when choosing an ad network.