Hodgepodge

Am I the only one left unimpressed by Duff Goldman’s giant cupcake? I finally saw a picture of the treat, and based on the work I see every week on Ace of Cakes, I expected more from the bake master. The event, on the other hand, was a smash hit. Congrats to all involved.

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According to a press release that made its way to my inbox, “An endangered, rare Sumatran plant that has been patiently waiting to bloom for 15 years has started to show a flower bud and may soon send a perfume odor of rotting flesh. The Amorphophallus titanum, also known as the Corpse Flower from the smell it omits during bloom, will hopefully be in bloom in a about a week at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in Saint Paul, MN.”

The flower weighs approximately twenty-five pounds, and when it does bloom, it will stink of rotting flesh for roughly forty-eight hours. Why does this sound interesting to me? Well, given the fact that this has only happened a handful of times on our continent in the last 100 years, you might want to check it out. Go to the conservatory’s website for more info.

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The New Yorker's epic profiler, Larissa MacFarquhar, wrote a profile of David Chang last week. The Momofuku maven is up for a big Beard award this year, and his restaurants in NYC are packed. His food is fantastic, and Ed Levine chimed in here. Here is a take from Eater.

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Kim Severson is calling a tight group of food bloggers, journalists, and chefs the Fat Pack.

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The infallible vicar of God on earth, the new Pope, is making his first trip to New York, and who is his chef? Lidia Bastianich, of course. 

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Culinate has a great piece on eating insects. I I have to say that I have seen more on this subject in the last three months than in the last three years combined. Alternative foods are a big issue, and obviously I have a soft spot in my heart for this subject.

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Several weeks ago, I blogged about a new legal label, “Naturally Raised."  I am pretty sure it won't mean much more than "Certified Organic" and will cost farmers the same exorbitant amount of money to get cleared. That being said, the Des Moines Register has a pretty good take on the subject. 

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And in more meat news, here is one you should read, especially if you want to impress your foodie friends at the next dinner party. The notion that growth hormones are beneficial for farming economics is nothing new, but it is still sickening to read something so achingly detached from my reality.

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In more meat news . . . it just doesn’t stop!  This post comes from The Jew & the Carrot and covers quite a few interesting points about who owns the majority of the beef production system in our country. Three companies own 70 percent of the beef. Seriously!

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And yes, even more meat news! I'm sure you remember the story about the exploding meatpacking plant. Well, it’s time to call in the hazmat teams.

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And finally, here's a really good article by the great Molly O'Neill about the history of food journalism.

Comments

[Jeff D]

Andrew, the true questions about the flower are these:

Can we eat it?
Does it taste good?

[noodleman]

Have to laugh at the reference to eating insects. I know you have a, uh, love for them, Andrew. My close-encounter happened in 1990 when I transited Tokyo on my to a new job in Singapore. Younger bro lived in Japan and his wife's family were rice farmers in a northern prefecture. I hopped the train at the airport and, three hours later, arrived in late evening darkness at their local train station. Mother Ushiki was apologetic about not having anything substantial to eat on-hand but she did have some .... candied grasshoppers. Having already been a 7-year resident of Japan years before, I'd eaten some new and interesting things but had never had grasshopper before. I did eat them, and enjoyed them, and would have them again.

[griffin]

hello, just wanted to say what an honest and refreshing person you are andrew! i don't think i would eat most of the stuff you eat on bizarre foods, yet i can't get enough of it!

i was wondering, is there a way to get your autograph? please let me know if i can send you a note in the mail or something...my wife and i would just love it.

thanks and keep up the great work

[imadoll33]

I second your comment on the giant cupcake, color me unimpressed. When I got there I thought the cupcake that was displayed was a miniature model of the real thing they would bring out later. I was oh so very disappointed once I realized that was what all the fuss was over. I trecked all the way to the MOA for something that was the size of a normal cake. Plus having to put up with that hack Sandra Lee was more annoyance then it was worth. I found it hilarious when they tried to weigh the cake on a digital scale only to realize they wouldn't be able to read the display if the cake was on top of it! It was great that they were able to raise all that money, but I was hoping for more cupcake.

[Karen]

I saw that cupcake in person and was left thinking, "That's it?" It looked like a 1st grader frosted that thing. And it did not look remotely appetizing. Very disappointing. However, the treats from the bake sale were quite delicious