Category: Cooking, Food & Wine

Getting delayed may not be the hell it used to be, airport dining has come a long way, so here are some of the best airport restaurants in the world.

A recent report shows that a four-day week increases productivity while reducing staff burnout. Ok for offices, but could it work for the restaurant industry?

Take your pick from these three recipes for eggnog cake: a triple-layer cake complete with rich eggnog buttercream, an eggnog cream cake and eggnog cupcakes.

What are eels? From Angulas to Zambezi, 26 facts and figures about eel fish, its culinary uses, nutritional values and much more.

The most EPIC appetizer board ever! With an assortment of cheeses, figs, nuts, and pomegranate, this is the must-have holiday recipe!

Guys, this is THE holiday appetizer you all need.

I’m serious.

It’s beautiful, it’s festive, and it has four of my favorite cheeses – brie, manchego, provolone and Pepper Jack.

Not to mention, this will be the easiest appetizer you will have to assemble during the holidays. Because guess what? There is absolutely no cooking involved here.

Simply slice your cheeses, spread your crackers, crack open your pomegranate, and garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs for that holiday touch.

To finish it off, pour the wine.

Done.

The post Holiday Cheese Board appeared first on Damn Delicious.

Can a glass of wine a day really keep the doctor away? A new study published this month in the scientific journal Addiction says it might. Researchers from Harvard University, Italy’s Mediterranean Neurological Institute and the University of Molise investigated the relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of hospitalization, and found that those who consumed roughly one drink per day endured fewer hospital visits compared with those who drank more and those who did not drink at all.

Using data from the Moli-sani cohort study, researchers gathered information on the drinking habits of 20,682 men and women 35 years old or older living in the Molise region of Italy, and tracked their hospital admissions records for a period of about six years. Subjects were categorized by their status as drinkers —lifetime abstainer, former drinker, occasional drinker (someone who drinks less than 2.5 drinks per month) or current drinker (someone who drinks more frequently). They were also categorized by the grams of alcohol they consumed per day during the year before enrolling in the study—1 to 12 grams per day, 12.1 to 24 grams, 24.1 to 48 grams and more than 48 grams. (U.S. health authorities state that a typical glass of wine contains roughly 14 grams of alcohol).

Over the course of the study, nearly 13,000 hospitalizations were recorded. Those who drank 1 to 12 grams of alcohol per day had the lowest rate of hospital visits. And compared with lifetime abstainers and former drinkers, those in this roughly-one-drink-per-day category not only had a lower rate of hospitalization for all causes, but also for cardiovascular disease specifically.

The population studied adds an intriguing twist to the research. “We investigated the relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of hospitalization in a large prospective population-based cohort of adults, living in a central-southern region of Italy, with Mediterranean dietary traditions,” Dr. Simona Costanzo, the study’s corresponding author, told Wine Spectator. A Mediterranean diet includes moderate wine consumption (among other healthy foods) and has been shown to have many health benefits. Before this study, there has been very little research looking specifically at alcohol consumption among those who follow the Mediterranean diet.

Of course, the study is not without its caveats: “Although low-moderate, non-binging alcohol consumption reduces the chance to be hospitalized, we do not recommend that adult lifetime abstainers begin drinking for health reasons only,” said Costanzo. She also warned that those in the heavy drinking category (more than about four drinks per day) were shown to have a significantly higher risk of going to the hospital, especially for alcohol-related diseases and cancer. (The risk was even greater if the heavy drinker was also a smoker.)

“However, this research reaffirms that there is no scientific evidence for demonizing alcohol,” Costanzo said. “As a component of the Mediterranean diet, including a friendly social lifestyle, alcohol in moderation does not turn out to be a negative factor.”

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If you’re headed to the Italian mountains this winter, be sure to book ahead to enjoy some world class refined dining in these Michelin restaurants.

About 70 miles north of Los Angeles is Ojai, Calif., a city in a scenic valley setting with a charming downtown area. Ojai Valley Inn & Spa has been one of the city’s top resorts since 1923, and its Olivella restaurant has held Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence for more than a decade. Olivella takes its connection to the region very seriously, sourcing ingredients from nearby farms, orchards, ranches and waters through its “valley-to-table” program. Chef Andrew Foskey blends inspiration from Italian cuisine with local ingredients. The result is a menu of Italian staples with a distinct Californian twist, like bison carpaccio with pine nut and a frutti di mare with uni and almond crumb.

With its most recent renovation in 2015, the resort created what is now the trophy piece of the restaurant: the Olivella Wine Room. The impressive private-dining space holds about 500 of the restaurant’s 10,000 bottles in temperature-controlled, glass-enclosed units lining the walls. Managed by wine director Melissa Lamb, the 850-label list features standouts from California—with special attention paid to its closest wine region, the Central Coast—as well as France and Italy. While the list is expensive overall, each there are picks for under $100 from all three countries, and there are two pages of half-bottle selections. For guests seeking a deeper understanding of the labels on their list, Olivella regularly hosts winemaker dinners with prominent producers like Dom Pérignon and Opus One.

An Israeli start-up has produced the world’s first ‘slaughter-free’ steak: a lab-grown piece of steak. Would you try it?

A lucky diner in New York found a naturally-occurring pearl in his mouth when he ordered his usual: a pan roast fish stew containing six oysters.