To all our readers, writers and chefs in the kitchen, a very Happy New Year from us at Public Radio Kitchen to YOU!

May your 2011 be filled with good health, good company, and extraordinarily good food and drink.

See you in the  New Year!

Photo: ***Yuna***/Flickr

LOCAL BITES

Hungover Host
Have some house guests this New Year’s? The Cook’s Den posted some post-celebration brunch tips from celebrity chef Anne Burrell that will help those who won’t be looking so fresh-faced in the kitchen New Year’s Day. She recommends preparing easy-to-prep dishes so you can get a head start the day before. Every little bit helps.

Tastiest of 2010
The Globe announced its top 10 picks for the Most Memorable Dishes of 2010. #1 on the list? The house-made sausage at 5 Corner’s Kitchen in Marblehead. However, Grub Street Boston felt there was something missing: the $18 burger at Craigie on Main, which they once deemed the “Angelina Jolie of the Boston burger world.”

Surf is Served
Snow and sleet doesn’t mean the end of fish dinners. Chef Daniel Bruce of Rowes Wharf Sea Grille will be serving up the catch of the day Monday nights for their new tasting series. He’ll use his culinary imagination to whip up a seafood sampling based on what came off the boat that day. That plus a specialty beverage costs $20, and is available from 5:30 to 7pm at the bar. Call the restaurant at (617) 856-7744 to see what’s in the kitchen that evening.

Cookin’ and Drummin’
The familiar Bob Sargent of Flora in Arlington is up to more than cooking these days–he’s also breaking out the drums for Flora’s 15th birthday! Starting January 20th, Flora will host a monthly “Third Thursday Night Music Series” throughout 2011 with hors d’oeuvres, dancing, and live music. This month: British pop band The Rolling Who plus Sargent on drums. The $5 cover charge benefits Arlington Food Pantry. Continue reading →

The French 75 at Drink (Photo: Susanna Bolle)

While a champagne toast may be the traditional way to greet the the new year, that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative with a festive cocktail or homemade punch as you celebrate the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. We asked the bartenders who we’ve featured in our Meet Your Bartender series this past year for some of their favorite winter cocktails, punches, and nogs so you can ring out the old and ring in the new with style. 

We’ll start with Misty Kalkofen of Drink, who will be featured in next week’s Meet Your Bartender post. Continue reading →

Photo: Michael Piazza, courtesy of Edible Boston

If you haven’t yet read “The Modern Butcher Shop” in this season’s edition of Edible Boston, you’re in for a treat. Actually, a ‘primer’ is more like it.

Genevieve Rajewski devotes the gut of the article to describing the competing challenges today’s butchers face in bringing quality meats, in a variety of cuts, to their customers. What about offering meat from local, humanely-treated animals without causing sticker shock? As Genevieve describes it, it’s not easy. But that is slowly changing thanks to dedicated local butchers.

The article also includes a super edifying glossary of meat terms. What’s the difference, for example, between meat labeled “natural” versus “prime” (there’s a huge difference, in fact) and “grass-fed” versus “pasture-raised”? I thought I knew. Now I know better. Finally, the article lists five butcher shops from Cambridge to Worcester which offer local and/or heritage meat and poultry if you’re interested in buying such meat and not getting it directly from a farm.

Go ahead. Sink your teeth in.

P.S. Genevieve also blogs at Wicked Tasty Harvest.

Photo: Jonathon Alsop

Wondering what to cook and play for your New Years party?  Whether you’re going intimate or big-time-crowd-busters, check out these recommendations from Here & Now resident chef Kathy Gunst and pop culture critic Renee Graham. 

Visit HERE for more info. (recipes included)

Puffed-up Holland turkey. (photo: Trish Umbrell)

Aaah, December 27th. One of the quiet, low-profile days between Christmas and New Year’s when you can do whatever you please, even if it’s not much. I love this week. But if you are looking for something to do, still low-key, I’ve got an idea. Head to Natick for a farm visit and walk in the woods.

Recently, I did just that, riding out to the suburbs on a clear, chilly day last month to learn about the Natick Community Organic Farm(NCOF) and follow the trail of the naturally-raised turkeys that had just left de-plumed, frozen and more or less tucked under the arms of contented, repeat patrons fixed on their Thanksgiving meal. Trish Umbrell, whom you’ll meet in a moment, likened the farm’s annual turkey pick-up day to a Running of the Brides, turkey-style. In other words, controlled chaos. But with more men and frozen birds. Trish says her worst memory of the day was being “bum-rushed by grown turkeys.” The experience was “formative.” Then she added, “I’m still here.”

The day I visited, all was calm at the farm. Beyond tales of the turkeys and NCOF’s husbandry of them, what I got from the visit was much, much more than I anticipated. The farm feels like family, even to the newcomer. This has everything to do with the small group of dedicated, kind folk who run it. Continue reading →

A meat pie from KO (Courtesy Photo)

KO Catering and Pies is, in the words of co-owner Sam Jackson “the first, and only, therefore the best, and then the worst, Australian place in New England.”  Radio Boston’s Sacha Pfeiffer decided to visit KO after reading Boston Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham’s take on the South Boston eatery. For Abraham, it was like tasting a piece of home.

While Abraham can’t deny her affection for her adopted hometown of Boston, she admits that “you’ll always be bound to the place where you grew up, too. Sometimes its pull can hurt pretty badly. And all you want is to taste the food you grew up with.  Sometimes all you want is a meat pie.”

Friday on Radio Boston, we visit KO and take a bite (ok, a few bites) of some serious pies with Yvonne Abraham at our side.  But it goes beyond the meat (and vegetarian) pies; we explore the way food can magically transport us, to places and memories long past.

Listen to the audio HERE.

sherrieg/Flickr

LOCAL BITES

Thank You. Love, Jody Adams
As a special thank you, Rialto in Cambridge has invited all those in the hotel or restaurant biz to join them TONIGHT from 10pm-1am to enjoy complimentary nibbles from chef Jody Adams and well-deserved cocktails from the cash bar. For more details, check out the Facebook invitation, or call (617) 661-5050.

Sunday Funday
Fondue Sundays are back at Beacon Hill Bistro from 5:30-10pm. The pots, priced at $26 a piece, are in addition to the regular fare, and come with the usual fondue goodies, like potatoes, pickled veggies, and bread from Iggy’s. Reservations are a must, so call (617) 723-7575.

‘Tis the Season to Be Naughty
The holidays are a time to indulge, so post-Christmas dinner binge, treat yourself once again at a  complimentary tasting at Kickass Cupcakes December 27th from 4-7pm. They’ll be whipping up some festive miniature cupcakes like The Bubbly (vanilla cake, champagne-infused strawberry center, and champagne icing). Mmmmm. Continue reading →

Andy Husbands (Courtesy Photo)

Attention all feast-preparers, holiday gastronomes, foodie extraordinaires. Andy Husbands, the chef/owner of Tremont 647 (which celebrates its 14th anniversary this year) will be on Radio Boston today between 3-4pm to take your questions. He’ll have a few of his favorite dishes on-hand and he’ll be sharing some serious holiday-survival tips. Let me tell you, I did the pre-interview and I’m impressed.

You can tweet your questions to @radioboston and @pubradiokitchen or just comment below. We’ll be taking calls at: 1.800.423.8255.

Don’t miss it. For real.

Here’s a peek at some of the recipes we’ll be tasting.

(Click HERE for the PDF of the recipes)

-Andy’s Chilled The Grilled Shrimp Cocktail
-Minted Brussel Sprouts
-Chocolate Pudding Cake

Eve Fox (Courtesy Photo)

Anastacia Marx de Salcedo of Slow Food Boston told us what foodies don’t want this holiday season. But what about the gifts people dream about? 

Eve Fox, the fantastic blogger behind The Garden of Eating Blog, recently relocated back to the Northeast and, luckily, she didn’t leave her Berkeley-bred gift-giving guide behind. It’s one of my favorites, and this year there are three installments. First, Fox goes through her favorite books for foodies, next comes gadgets, and finally–food! (naturally).

Take a look and feel free to add your own suggestions.   We could all use some foodie wisdom this time of year.

The Garden of Eating Gift Guide

Part I: For Book Lovers
Part II: Gadgets, Gear, and Gee-Gaws
Part III: Food Glorious Food