The Rake Magazine

Gaelic mythology tells of a hero known for his amazing perception. As a young lad, he was ordered by his master to cook a magical salmon which would impart all the world's knowledge to its eater. During preparation, the young hero burned his finger on the fish. Quickly putting the sore finger in his mouth, he unknowingly swallowed a scale from the salmon skin, passing some of the fish's power onto him.

I can't say I'm smarter from the salmon I ate last night, but I am happier. There is some great salmon out there right now, Alaskan King (aka Chinook) and Copper River Sockeye are two of my favorites.

For the first time last week, I had some ivory King Salmon. The white fleshed fish is a bit of a prize, you won't know it's an ivory fish until you cut into it. I first ate it sashimi style: sliced and raw, the pale flesh carried a slightly rosy hue and was unbelievably soft and delicate. I also had it simply broiled with a dusting of seasoning: the firm yet flaky flesh was luminous and the flavor was so subtle, so cleanly oceanic.

last night's dinner

(the hub's 40th birthday)
herbed bamboo rice
zucchini/asparagus with leeks and basil
ciabatta
Alaskan King salmon
... When buying filets, ask for the bones and the skin to be removed. Treating the fish simply is best, in my mind. And I also like it medium to medium rare. I set the filets on a rimmed baking sheet and brushed them with olive oil, Maldon sea salt and a little black pepper. In a pre-heated 425 oven, the two 8oz. pieces sat for about 20 minutes and came out perfectly medium.

I liked Rick Nelson's Taste 50 in the Strib the other day...but I want to add a few more.

The breads from Rustica Bakery in Mpls are something I think about often. Craving a crusty baguette with a fluffy, airy center or a dense pugliese with purpose right now.

The U of M Arboretum is responsible for the Honeycrisp apple, bringing in Michael Pollan as a speaker, and pioneering hardy wine grapes. Check out their summer programs for kids which teach them about growing food, and the new Summerhouse which provides a place to buy their tasty wares.

Town Hall Brewery are the unsung meisters of beer. They consistently put out award winning beers that challenge the average drinker. Their growler program is genius and their seasonally available Retreating Darkness (made with local Peace Coffee) is the only way to suffer being a Northerner.

The slab of Nueske's smoked bacon as a side dish at Manny's Steakhouse. Yeah, it's not really good for you, but man is it gooooood.

Sue Zelickson. More than just chatting on the radio and writing about restuarants, Sue Selickson is a force in the food world: she has worked hard to feed hungry kids, she has inspired and supported countless women in the culinary fields, and best yet, she shows no signs of stopping.

Voodoo Doughnut, that's who.

Not only is this possibly the coolest doughnut shop on the planet, it's a lesson.

It's a lesson about quitting your job and finding your life ... about putting out a great and attention grabbing product ... about having fun.

Do you have a voodoo dougnut in you?

Just some things to chew on ...

Yesterday I caught a slip of the Today show in which Matt and two lady doctors sat and chatted about which "healthy" foods might or might not be reeeealy evil in disguise. They singled out some fish (swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel, shark) to avoid because of high mercury. When asked if eating it in moderation was ok, the she-doc advised avoiding it all-together (that way people won't eat it as often).

The issue: Why must we be treated like idiots? Do we need to be preached an extreme point of view just so that we are scared into listening, some of the time? And she was so comfortable with that ethos that she didn't even try to hide it. It's a bit of an overstatement anyway, yeah? How many times per week do you eat swordfish? How many times a month have you eaten shark? When was the last time you cooked king mackerel on your own? If you're speaking to the general audience of the Today show, it's a good bet that telling them to eat in moderation will fit the bill. No one's going to get mercury poisoning from their occaisional fish taco.

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The restaurant industry is the second largest employer in the nation, behind only the government. That means that at one point or another in our lives, most of us have been members of the food/bev/hospitality world. How was it for you? Was it a spectacular spectacular job or did you get faux kicked in pre-shift like at Mr. Chow in NYC? Check out the Bruni blog on which the comments are deliciously whiny.

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Hershey's has sagely grabbed on to the gourmet chocolate trend. First they bought Scharffen Berger and now they've launched allchocolate. It's a smart and sexy adult site with good information that's free of simpy puns and cliches about women and chocolate. I hate those.

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I rarely leave any wine in the bottle, but sometimes I do. While out of town, I wasn't going to bring my bottle back to my hotel, but the server put it in a wine doggy bag which sealed it up quite nicely. Great idea.

Food & Wine has launched a Chowhound meets MySpace kinda thingy called Food & Wine Across America.

Does it feel like they're using locals to ferret out story ideas?

Well, check it out ... there's an interactive map and everything!