Andrew Zimmern

Bizarre Foods in the Kitchen: Mac and Cheese from Andrew Zimmern on Vimeo.

Andrew shares one of his favorite comfort food recipes. Watch the video, then click here for the recipe. 

Pizza does a body good? Best news I’ve heard in awhile!

Move over salt and pepper! The United States is clamoring for spicier, bolder flavors.

Why vending machines suck!

Swiss chard is exploding at your local farmer’s market. It looks like spinach, has the bitter taste of a beet, and is chockfull of nutrients and vitamins to your diet....but what do you do with it? Here are two recipes to get creative with.

Just Hungry Recipes: Chard

Simply Recipes: Chard

Food and rock n' roll have become a pop culture PB & J-- two completely different items obviously made for each other. Celebrity chefs are apparently the new rock stars (Batali, Puck, Colicchio); rock stars are delving into the food scene (did you see the Foo Fighters/the Bravery on Top Chef?). Well, guess what? Your favorite music and food got married at Lollapalooza 2010. 

I bought my $90 one-day Friday pass long ago. The line-up included some of my favorite bands of the moment: Big Pink, Devo, the New Pornographers, Dirty Projectors, Black Keys, Hot Chip and Lady Gaga. Yes, I opted for Gaga over the Strokes. Tough choice; I was pleased with my decision to go with the spectacle (see Gaga's Poker Face performance here... tame compared to everything else she did). 

But had I not liked the bands, I'd have been satisfied by the food alone. Lolla's Chow Town offered a culinary mixed tape I'd gladly blast in my car. Round of applause for Chef Graham Elliot Bowles, the festival's first Culinary Director, who brought in the city's best chefs and restaurants, both newbies and quintessential standards.

I am but a wee woman and can only eat so much in one sitting. So considering that, here were my faves:

Everything from Graham Elliot was delicious. The watermelon gazpacho was spicy and refreshing, I'm fairly certain the truffle/parm popcorn was laced with crack, and even with over a year's worth of hype, the lobster corndog was not oversold!

Ever wonder about the meat you're eating?  Marissa Guggiana is a writer and food activist who's traveled the country looking into the lives of some of America's best butchers.  She writes about the rivival of butchery, as well as the challenges and issues facing the U.S. meat industry.   

AndrewZimmern.com: What inspired you to get involved in the meat industry?

MarissaGuggiana: My family has been in the meat business for four generations and so I have meat in my blood, so to speak. My father gave me the reins to Sonoma Direct and I quickly learned that I had the infrastructure to change our local food system. We are a federally-inspected meat plant, which is an enormously important piece of a local food economy, as it sits smack in the middle of the food chain. In many ways, I am the communicator and intermediary in the meat world, turning carcass into cuts, taking livestock and creating food. I have the lucky job of working with ranchers, chefs, butchers and consumers.

AZ.com: Butchery has become a rediscovered culinary art. What do you think brought about this change? How is butchery different today than it was 50 years ago?

Getting a little tired of ice cream this summer?  The L.A. Times posted some creative no-bake recipes that will definitely help you keep your cool.

Taco Talk
Experimenting with new taco fillings can be really fun and you don’t always have to use the traditional ground beef, chicken and pork fillings. In fact, read how one couple was inspired by LA's Kogi Korean BBQ truck to start their own business. They created their own version of the Korean taco.

Have you tried any new taco fillings? 

Sunny is one of the newest additions to Food Network's popular "In the Kitchen" weekend block with her series, Cooking for Real. Combining her approach to classic comfort foods along with her passion for unique flavors inspired by her many travels, Sunny offers real food for real life. 

AndrewZimmern.com: You're a self proclaimed Army brat, and later served in the United States Air Force. How did life in the military shape your perception of food?

SunnyAnderson: I owe my palate to my parents and my military journey. As a child, moving around to different regions and countries almost every year was tough socially, but when talking about food, It was heaven!! My parents were foodies before the term was even coined, so as soon as we knew the next place we were to move to, all they did was research on the local foods, trends and language, really so we could order at a restaurant. No "how do I get to the train station" lessons, but more of the "I'd like to order another one" phrases. Then all I did as an adult when I joined the Air Force is to continue the foodie journey around the world.



AZ.com: You've lived and traveled all over the world-- which country or city do you find the most inspiring?

Check out this slide show on Serious Eats.  It makes me think of the many trips my family and I take to the Minnesota State Fair every year in August. One thing I love about our fair is that everything is fried and on a stick!

Your team might be losing, but your stomach won't be!
Looks like some major-league baseball parks are drawing in fans by offering all-you-can-eat concessions. The buffets can vary in price and food, but fans are definitely getting a bang for their buck. You have to wonder how good buffet grub can be at a ballpark. Would you eat this way at the stadium?

Andrew Miller is the president and founder of Café Imports, a boutique green coffee importing company based in Minneapolis MN.  He earned a B.A. from the University of Minnesota and logged twenty years of restaurant experience before launching an importing business in 1993.  The Café Imports team is now sourcing and selling some of the world’s finest coffees and working with some of the nation’s best roasters in hopes of increasing the livelihoods of the people in coffee.  Their mission is to increase livelihoods and decrease our impact on the earth through education.

 

AndrewZimmern.com: What or who inspired you to start Café Imports and what has been the hardest part of running a small business?   

AndrewMiller: In 1993 I was working at D'amico Cucina in downtown Mpls. A friend /co-worker Jose Vido, was from a coffee farming community in Brazil and his dad was a coffee farmer. Caribou was just opening up and Specialty coffee was coming to the Midwest. Vido was getting samples of his fathers coffee to show to roasters in town and I started helping him. The coffee was good and roasters liked it so we launched ourselves in to this business.  The hardest part of running a small coffee business is probably the people. This industry, like the restaurant business is full of passionate and eccentric people that don't fit in to the normal business world so balancing passion with practical realities of business is tough. 

AZ.com: Climate change has really put a damper on the coffee industry in the last year. How is Café Imports dealing with the rising price of coffee beans?

Braised Rabbit in Red WIne with Chimmichurri from Andrew Zimmern on Vimeo.

Believe it or not, cooking rabbit is easier than you think. Here's a favorite recipe of mine, inspired by my last trip to Argentina: A tender rabbit braised in red wine and served with a chimichurri sauce. 

My Sunday afternoon event at the NYC Wine and Food Fest has dozens of famous food carts participating, and over the last few years I have undertaken a rigorous study of street fare around the world. So imagine my surprise when some chef friends of mine from Vegas turned me on to the MUV BOX! This thing opens in minute and turns into a restaurant. Watch the video and prepare to be amazed! Who is going to get one first? This is UNBELIEVEABLE.