Green Options

There are always sooooooo many events going on during the week of Earth Day, which is technically on Wednesday, Aprill 22nd, it’s hard to know which to choose. But at least there’s a searchable database that contains what appears to be a complete listing – there are 49 events within 25 miles of my 90401 zip code.

A few look particularly interesting, like the Soyjoy-sponsored Battle of the Chefs: Eco-cuisine. Each chef is charged with creating three different soy-based dishes on site, with the winner scooping up a $15,000 prize package (wanna bet there’s a lot of soy products in it?) There’s even a celebrity judge (Julianna Moore) – it is LA after all – to taste the well-known chefs’ concoctions. The best news is that you can to, if you go to the event on the 22nd.

Forget President-Elect Obama’s cabinet, what’s on his table?

There’s lots of talk about Obama’s pick for White House Chef. Here’s an overview of who’s on the short list, plus who should be on the list. Think you’re the one? Find out how to let us know.

So, who’s might be cooking?
You can scratch Rick Bayless off the short list for White House Chef despite speculation by the New York Daily News and that Bayless’ restaurant, Topolobampo, is an Obama favorite. The two remaining names being bandied about include Art Smith, former Oprah chef and Daniel Young, who was the personal chef to Carmelo Anthony of the NBA.

Art Smith’s central theme is posted on his web site, “the sharing of a meal is a common, anticipated ritual that reunites us with loved ones and brings a sense of balance to our lives.”

Find how out to “apply” for the job after the jump …

We all know the joys of dining out, feasting on flavorful fare, consuming creative cuisine and devouring decadent desserts, ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ at the tantalizing tastes that whisk us from the doldrums of everyday life to some epicurean plane of existence.

But what if you could create those culinary masterpieces at home?

Thanks to Divya Gugnani, you can.

This Harvard educated Venture Capitalist-Turned-Chef is the prolific powerhouse behind Behind the Burner.com, a cooking wonderland dedicated to bringing savory secrets of fine food preparation from renowned restaurants around the world to your table, one gourmet recipe at a time.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Divya and learning more about the brains, the bites and the business.  And she’s as talented in the board room as she is in the kitchen, with an infectious energy and passion that, like the food she and her chefs prepare, leave you yearning for more.

This will be the first in a series of posts featuring Behind the Burner chefs, organic cooking ideas and special offers for the Eat. Drink. Better. readers, so be sure to check back each week for the latest in edible enjoyment.

We northern Midwesterners tend to be humble cooks. Too often we don’t view our everyday fare as anything special. As a born and bred Midwestern gal, I sometimes fall in line with my peers and lust over hip California cuisine, Big Apple restaurant trends or Food Network designer chefs. The greens may seem greener over the border, which unfortunately results in us under-appreciating how good we have it in the land of cheese, wild rice and rhubarb.

But I’m forever reformed and now proudly flaunt my Midwest roots after bonding with The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook: Local Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes. A new release from Renewing the Countryside, a Minnesota-based non-profit organization that champions the positive stories of rural revitalization, this photography rich book is a love song for local food. Through narrating the stories of 31 of Minnesota’s chefs and restaurants, the Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook offers 100 recipes that celebrate locally grown, organic and sustainable cookery.