It has been quite a while since my last post. The culinary team has had a crazy year here at Homebase and this is the first real break we have had. So I will give you the low down on what we have been doing. First of all I am happy to say that Emeril’s 20-40-60 book hit the shelves this week. This is such a great book geared to those of us who love food but don’t always have time to spend the whole day in the kitchen. We have also spent this year working on Emeril Green, Chef Emeril’s show on Planet Green. This show ties in closely with Emeril’s third book Farm to Fork. Both of these projects have been close to my heart bringing together my dedication to ecological issues as well as my passion for fresh, local and sustainable cuisine. Farm to Fork will be out next March!

I am looking forward to writing about the farmer’s markets in and around New Orleans as well as my own little garden. As well as providing a little insight as far as what goes on in our test kitchen in New Orleans.

 

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Picture 1 from 5:

You’ve heard all of the hype of cooking with seasonal and local ingredients. And there are reasons for it: it’s healthier, eco-friendly and it reconnects people with, not only their food and planet, but each other. I like to cook; otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing what I do. And I only want to offer myself and others the best – needless to say, I’m a believer. Read more »

Hello Everyone!

My name is Angela Sagabaen and I work as a culinary writer for the Culinary Department here at Emeril’s Homebase. The Culinary Department helps Chef Emeril with recipe development and testing; it’s a fun and unique job and there’s always something new to learn and experience  (not to mention eat).

I’m going to start blogging on the site regularly and I just wanted to introduce myself! I hope to bring you interesting information about food, New Orleans and maybe a tidbit or two on life.

I’m originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and lived in NYC preceding New Orleans. I have been a NOLA resident for 2 years now and would love to show you the city through my eyes. So, nice to meet you and I hope to take you along a fascinating journey.

~Angela

In case you were wondering, this is what I look like.

On Saturday, several Martha Stewart/Emeril Lagasse colleagues and I embarked on a New York Pizza Crawl. One day and 6 pizzerias — all in the search for the best slices in NYC!

 

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Picture 27 from 27: The ambiance at Patsy's was very loud -- lots of little tykes running around. The tomato and sausage slice was decent but it's not worth an evening trek to Harlem. You're better off going to your neighborhood pizzeria. However, the rest of Patsy's dinner menu looked great -- I'd go back there for a nice Italian dinner.

 

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Picture 1 from 11: Chef having fun with the food

In case you didn’t know, Emeril’s newest cookbook, Emeril 20-40-60, will be available in stores Oct. 7th!  It’s a book dedicated to the time sensitive cook.  With Emeril 20-40-60 a healthy, delicious, and affordable meal is still possible - it’s gourmet cooking for today’s crazed and budget conscious family.  I thought it would be nice to show some behind the scenes photos from the shoot.  Enjoy!

Emeril 20-40-60 is available for PRE-ORDER NOW!

Ever wanted to be able to create your own doughnut?  Well now you can!  Here’s a fun online tool from Dunkin’ Donuts to help you design and share your dream doughnut.

As mentioned earlier, a group from Emeril’s and Martha Stewart Living has been hosting monthly cooking competitions. The first was a chili cook-off, the second was called, ” Your Signature Dish,” and the most recent was a taco cook-off. The events are a raging success, and at each cook-off, there are more competitors with increasingly creative dishes. The Taco Cook-Off entries included: Tuna Sashimi Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa, Korean Short Rib Tacos, Grilled Swordfish Tacos, Pork Tacos with Roasted Pineapple-Habanero Chile Salsa, Grilled Cod Tacos, Chicken Tacos, and a “Bahn Mexicano” Taco (Vietnamese Slow-Cooked Pork with Sriracha Mayo). Fancy, right?

The way the cook-off works is that the event and theme are announced a few weeks ahead of time and all guests are invited to bring a dish to compete. At the cook-off, the food is served, along with drinks and snacks–like a typical dinner party, but at the end of the buffet-style meals, guests vote for their favorite dish.

When the Taco Cook-Off results were tallied, there was a tie for first place: TJ’s Tuna Sashimi Tacos, and Tim’s Bahn Mexicano Tacos were the favorites, and Brian’s Grilled Swordfish Tacos came in second.

Regardless of winning or losing (which is something a good loser would say) the event was a great time and it was exciting to be a part of competition full of adventurous cooks. And while the winning tacos were amazing, I think that a re-count would reveal the Cod Tacos as #1.

Homemade hard taco shells for TJ’s winning Tuna Sashimi Tacos

Tony’s Braised Short Rib Tacos

Tim’s winning Bahn Mexicano Tacos

The pork for Alison’s Pork Tacos

Tequila, the Official Beverage of the Taco Cook-Off

As a kid, I grew up eating Hubig’s Pies, as did my parents and my parent’s parents.  I got a major craving for them after reading this story from the New Orleans magazine The Gambit.  Now that I live in New York City, it’s difficult for me to get my hands on this tasty treat, but luckily I have a good friend who did me a huge favor and sent me these (minus the one apple pie I couldn’t wait to eat):

Check out this great video by writer Katie Van Syckle and director Bob Weisz on how Hubig’s Pies are made:

I’ve been on a wee bit of a sushi bender.  My pal Ann took notice of the situation and brought over this set of sushi roll soaps.  I went looking for them on line and found a site that sells, sushi soaps, pillows, bandaids and even a sushi fragrance.  By the way, no detail is missed, the sushi roll soaps smell like ginger and they’re vegan.

When I saw this on an iPhone application, I had a sudden epiphany!  Being a pastry chef can be really hard work.  Now I understand why…