Garden & Gun gets taste of Charlotte

If you haven't encountered the excellent Charleston-based magazine Garden & Gun (yes, Trad, that's the name), you might want to make a point of tracking down the October/November issue:

Not only does it focus on great food finds all over the South, but Southern food expert John T Edge took a close look at food here in the Queen City. Edge came through for several days earlier in the summer and I was one of his guides for a couple of mealtimes. The boy moves fast. It took several of us, including Tom Hanchett, to keep up with his dining schedule. The article includes King's Kitchen, Brook's Sandwich House, Halcyon, Reids, Harvest Moon and a bunch of other places.

The final article is a thoughtful picture of cuisine as it exists right here, right now. And speaking of pictures, yes, that's me, in my kitchen with the red cabinets. Photographer Squire Fox (yes, Trad, that's his real name) was very kind and only used the flattering lens, as promised.

They keep most of the current issue off the web site until the print issue has been out for a while, so you'll need to look for it on news stands for the time being. Otherwise, the web site is www.gardenandgun.com.

Cool cooking video of the week: Garlic

OK, this trick for how to peel garlic in less than 10 seconds in the Saveur test kitchen left me with a few questions:

How strong do you have to be to whack apart an entire head of what looks like elephant garlic with one hand? Are all the cloves in the bowl really peeled? It's hard to tell. And does it really work better with giant steel bowls?

On the other hand, even if it doesn't work, it certainly makes a very cool sound. If we all try it tonight, maybe we'll make beautiful music together. I'll give it a try this weekend and report back.

Best food picture ever

I'm not ashamed to give praise where it's due: Food staff at the New York Times, that's just a classic.

The picture is the work of photographer Tony Cenicola. The story it illustrates isn't a slouch in the interesting department, either: Sarah DiGregorio's article on chefs who are cooking chicken skin, including Sean Brock at Husk and McCardy's in Charleston. (I'll be in Charleston next week, and already had Brock's buttermilk-marinated, deep-fried chicken skin on my list.)

You can read the Times chicken skin story here. You can read some of the background on how Cenicola got the picture here. Or you can just admire that picture. Up there.

Bravo, Times People. Nicely played.

We have a cookbook winner

Robin W. Williams is the winner of "From Our Grandmothers' Kitchens: A Treasury of Lost Recipes Too Good to Forget," from the editors of Cook's Country magazine.

Thanks, everyone.

Do you know your food trends?

For the Southern Women's Show last week, I came up with a 20-question quiz about what's in the food trends (and what isn't). Want to play along? Don't take it too seriously - trends are really anyone's guess.

And to make it more fun, here's the prize: A copy of the new book "From Our Grandmother's Kitchen," from the editors of Cook's Country magazine. It's the perfect trend anecdote, a collection of recipes "too good to forget." To enter the random drawing, send your name and mailing address to me at kpurvis@charlotteobserver.com. Deadline: Monday morning.

OK, here's the quiz, based on a variety of sources predicting the 2011 food trends.

1. True or false: Oprah Winfrey, Mario Batali and Rachael Ray celebrate Meatless Friday.

(False: They celebrate Meatless Monday. Meatless Friday has been a tradition in the Catholic church for hundreds of years.)

2. True or false: All the buzz is about Urban Bee Keeping as the latest trend.

(True. There are hives on the roof at the Ritz Carlton and the Dunhill uptown, and in yards in Myers Park.)

3. To save calories, people are getting dessert plates with with several forks for celebrate the trend of Dessert Sharing.

(False: Germophobia and foodborne illness outbreaks have made people cautious about sharing.)

4. The latest spin in cocktail culture is Smoking Your Drink.

(True: Smoked mint juleps and smoked bourbon have both made appearances this year.)

5. How about drinking your smoke?

(True: Hookah bars are catching on.)

6. What trend does this describe: Handing over $12 to $15 on a plate of food from the back of moving van.

(FOOD TRUCK CULTURE.)

7. Is chocolate-covered bacon a trend?

(Nope. In the food-trend world, chocolate bacon is considered over.)

8. Cupcakes are the hottest thing in bite-size desserts.

(False. In 2011, Amazon.com listed eight books on macarons, the little French pastries, and only four on cupcakes. )

9. The hottest thing in fried chicken is Korean fried chicken.

(True. It's part of a trend toward ethnic comfort food.)

10. Moonshine is the latest thing in artisan liquors.

(Crazy, but true.)

11. Really tall wedding cakes are in fashion.

(False: Wedding cakes are getting simpler or they’re getting replaced with interactive things like cheesecake bars, pie spreads or, yes, candy tables.)

12. Which is not a trend: Artisan hot dogs, artisan grits or artisan tofu.

(It's a trick question: They’re all trends.)

13. Canning is back.

(True. As part of the movement toward local food, it's been big for the last several summers. )

14. The latest hot candy flavor is jalapeno M&Ms.

(False. We hope. But doesn't it sound real?)

15. The trend in baking is sweet and savory versions of . . .

(Pie. Pie is very big this year.)

16. "Hyper-local" is the new phrase for very excited small children growing their own food.

(False. Hyper-local actually means food with no middleman between the food and the plate, such as chef-owned farms or restaurants with gardens.)

17. When pigs fly: The latest thing on appetizer menus is pig wings.

(True. They're a specialty cut, and you can get them at places like The Diamond in Charlotte.)

18. Vegetarians don’t eat meat, pesco-ovo vegetarians eat fish and eggs, and flexitarians eat what?

(Anything: Flexitarians mix up vegan, vegetarian and carnivore eating styles, depending on the time of day, the day of the week or how they feel.)

19. It’s the latest thing in getting really close to the table: Chefs are weaving their own tablecloths.

(False. Although I have seen this once, that's not enough to declare it a trend.)

20. As a backlash against cyber space and technology that is changing too quickly, people are subscribing to print newspapers.

(True. But only in my dreams.)

Wilco wants you to help with local food

Chicago band Wilco is supporting the latest Farmer Foodshare Challenge. Farmer Foodshare is a program that started in the Triangle to get donations of money or fresh food to use for community efforts to feed the hungry.

Starting Sept. 24, Wilco will challenge shoppers at 10 markets, including the Atherton Mill and Market in Charlotte, 2104 South Blvd., to donate money to support Farmer Foodshare.

Unfortunately, Wilco won't actually be at the market in Charlotte: They're playing the Raleigh Amphitheatre on Sept. 27, the same day they're releasing a new album, "The Whole Love." But if you donate to Farmer Foodshare at Atherton on Sept. 24, you get a free Wilco tote bag. The market organizers are hoping you'll fill the bag with food and drop it off at the Farmer Foodshare Donation Station at the front of the market. Wilco will donate proceeds from the sale of show posters to Farmer Food Share.

So far, the Atherton Market has 500 pounds of fresh food for Friendship Trays and the Dilworth Soup Kitchen. With the Wilco promotion, the market hopes to double that.

In other Atherton market news, Savory Spice Shop, a franchise based in the Denver, Colo., area, plans to open in the market in November. Savory Spice Shop, which also has a location in Raleigh, carries more than 400 freshly ground herbs and spices, 140 hand-blended seasonings, organic selections and gift sets.

The Atherton Mill and Market, in the former Charlotte Trolley Barn in the Historic South End, near South Boulevard and Tremont, is open 3-7 p.m. Tuesdays, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays.

One Great Tailgate Salad

The weather cools off, the Panthers heat up. And tailgate food starts to feel like something worth getting excited about.

I was flipping through Fine Cooking magazine's special issue on tailgate recipes while the Panthers were playing (early in the game, when it looked like it was going to be a much better season) when I noticed an interesting salad. It mixes snow peas, baby peas, green onions and a big pile of shiitake mushrooms with a little bit of pasta.

No, it's not a traditional mayonnaisey pasta salad. But maybe the Panthers will shake things up this year, too.

Sesame, Snow Pea and Shiitake Pasta Salad

From Fine Cooking magazine. Serves 8.

1/2 pound (8 ounces) dried rolled, tubular pasta, such as cavatelli or strozzapreti
1/2 cup frozen baby peas
40 fresh snow peas (4 to 5 ounces), trimmed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
1/2 pound (about 3 cups) fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and cut in 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
Freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions (white and green parts)
2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and place a colander in the sink. Add the pasta and cook until barely done, about 1 minute less than the time on the package. Add the green peas and cook 30 seconds. Add the snow peas, stir and immediately drain the vegetables and pasta in the colander. Rinse with cool water. Drain well, toss with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, shiitake slices, garlic, ginger, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are opaque and the mushrooms have released their juice, 3 to 4 minutes. (Don't let the vegetables brown.)

Remove the pan from the heat, transfer the vegetables and juices to a small bowl and cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil with the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar. Combine the cooled pasta and vegetables, green onions and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (if using). Toss with the dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve at room temperature, sprinkled with remaining sesame seeds (if using).