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Monday, November 19, 2012

Generation Foodie

Generation Foodie

 

Our Changing Epicurean Nation

This Sunday join us for our annual "Food Show" in which we celebrate all things epicurean! 

We'll also have a bountiful selection of recipes for items featured on the show, as well as other holiday favorites from the chefs of Cooking Light and Saveur.

The abundance of food on cable TV and social media is changing not just what and how we eat, but how much we obsess about dining

COVER STORY: 
We've become a nation of food critics, where what we eat has taken on a level of importance - an obsession, some say. Correspondent Lee Cowan, a self-described "non-foodie," finds himself in the kitchen of one of the original celebrity chefs, Wolfgang Puck, at his Beverly Hills restaurant Spago.
"Today, people really know about food," said Puck. "They read about food, they see it on television, they know what good quality is." And according to Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold, good food is where you find it - from fancy French restaurants to food trucks and farmers' markets. Young people are caught up in the feeding frenzy, too, using social media to dish about their latest dish. "Food really is the new rock," Gen Y blogger Krista Simmons tells Cowan.

Chef Wolfgang Puck talks with Lee Cowan at his Beverly Hills restaurant, Spago. 
SEE VIDEO BELOW

(CBS News)

(CBS News) Millions of Americans appear to be caught up in a feeding frenzy. They're not just cooking food and eating food - they're TALKING food, almost non-stop . . . barely pausing to take a bite. Our Cover Story is reported now by Lee Cowan:
 
When celebrated chef Wolfgang Puck renovated his famous Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills. there was a buzz I didn't quite get.
Don't get me wrong. I love a good restaurant - but I'm by no means a Foodie. In fact, I clam up when I'm expected to talk about food in any intelligent manner beyond "Mmmmmm."

Chef Puck endured my lack of food sophistication with a smile, as he tried to explain why everyone ELSE, it seems, is talking about, blogging about, even Instagramming their food.
"Today, people really know about food," he said. "They read about food, they see it on television, they know what good quality is. All of a sudden now, food and wine has become one of the premiere conversation pieces."

And the reason has little to do with what's in your refrigerator. He says it's your cable box where it all changed. "Television made such a big impact of the way we eat in America today. I mean, it has changed the whole climate of eating totally, and for the better."
When Julia Child took to the airwaves, it seemed cooking shows appealed more to the golf and opera crowd.
Now, food is cool - even edgy.
It's as much about pop culture as popovers - a frenzy driven by social media.

Everybody, Puck says, is now a restaurant critic. "So if you mess up a meal today, you can see maybe 200, 300 people know it already before I go to sleep, because this guy or this woman Tweeted to all their friends."
"Do you think we're becoming a bit food obsessed?" Cowan asked.
"Oh, absolutely!" he laughed.
Krista Simmons is a freelance writer and food blogger - part of the Food Mafia, as she calls it - who sought out a hipster coffee hangout in the industrial section of Los Angeles to chat.
"I feel like foodie-ism has hit a critical mass in the past five, ten years," she told Cowan. "It's been said many times, but I'll say it again, food really is the new rock." And the new groupies are Foodies like her.

The food landscape of today, she explains, is as much about social experience as it is sustenance.
"When you come into a place and you know the story behind whatever it is you're eating and you know the story behind the chef and you're in this really kind of cool space and you get to chit-chat with people around you, it really is about an experience and a feeling, more than an actual thing itself," Simmons said.

That seems especially true of young Generaiton Y-ers, whose social lives increasingly revolve around eating out over anything else.
"I will probably spend $150 on a tasting menu before I'd go and spend $150 on the Rolling Stones reunion tour," said Simmons. "And I'm not alone in that sentiment. Actually, I really love the Stones, I shouldn't say that!"
OK, eating out comes before ALMOST anything else.
Either way, what makes the perfect dish can still be a bit mysterious - much like the people who spend their lives in search of that secret for a living.
"I think the more people think about what they're eating, the better," said Jonathan Gold, food critic for the L.A. Times. He says he needs to keep his anonymity so he doesn't get preferential treatment by chefs.

His bylines are Bible for some. He's the first and only food critic to win a Pulitzer Prize. And what he's noticed more than anything in the last few years is, good food is where you find it.
"I think that there is a recognition that the best food isn't necessarily what you're going to get at the white tablecloth restaurant," Gold said.
Case in point: Food trucks that have driven into the hearts of foodies everywhere (if you've got a Twitter account to find them).
Farmer's markets are as crowded as they've ever been, driven in part by the First Lady, who's made her Vegetable Garden as recognizable as the Rose Garden.

Even the WAY we eat has changed. The days of one big entrée, says Puck, have gone the way of the Appletini.
"I think people are so much more adventurous, especially the younger people," Puck said. "You know, they are more adventurous. They want different flavors, a lot of excitement and different bites to eat, instead of having one big plate."
Whatever your food passion, I've learned this: Like chatting about the newest iPhone or the latest YouTube sensation, if you're not at least conversant about food these days, you'll find yourself eating dessert alone.

 For more info:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57550948/generation-foodie-our-changing-epicurean-nation/

For more information about the dining room collection and the tabletop products featured on the Food Show, visit:


YOGURT:
The richness - and riches - of Yogurt
The popularity of Greek-style and Icelandic-style yogurts is changing the culture of yogurt consumption in the U.S. (CBS News)

From the trendy streets of New York City to supermarkets across America, the hot new thing is actually thousand years of old: Yogurt. Greek yogurt, to be precise. But why the culture shift? Join Serena Altschul and get a taste for yourself. .
 For more info:

CANDY:  
Goo Goo Clusters
We Americans love our candy bars, and from Hershey's to Milky Ways to Snickers and the rest everyone has a childhood favorite. But if you grew up in the South your favorite might be less familiar to the rest of the country: the Goo Goo Cluster. Made exclusively in Nashville, Tennessee since 1912, the Goo Goo Cluster is a regional favorite which has the distinction of being America's first "combination" candy bar--combining peanuts, marshmallow nougat, chocolate and caramel. As they celebrate the 100th birthday of their hometown favorite, correspondent Anna Werner visits with the people of Nashville for a mouth-watering look at an American original.
For more info:

MARIJUANA:  
The Dope on Cannabis Cuisine

Marijuana has become a key ingredient in the recipes of Denver chef Scott Durrah, who prepares edible medical marijuana dishes. (CBS News)

When the people of Colorado voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use earlier this month, it sparked a culinary revolution among people who like to cook with cannabis. Barry Petersen takes a look at (but not a taste of) marijuana as a cook's newest "secret ingredient."
For more info:

DOGS

Why Gourmet Food is going to the Dogs

Advocates of the growing raw food movement are preparing artisanal dishes for pets
 It used to be there was pet food as opposed to people food. No more! Artisanal food is going to the dogs (and cats as well). There's a new trend among pet owners: Feeding their animal friends human-grade food, which in many cases is raw.
Raw-food advocates say it gives pets food that is closer to what they were born to eat. But there are some who question whether a raw-food diet is safe. 

Correspondent Rita Braver introduces us to a woman who takes food directly from farm to food-bowl, and sees a company where everyone (people and pets alike) join in to sample the menu.
For more info:
OUR MAN IN PARIS: 

David Turecamo digs into the latest craze in French dining: Gourmet hamburgers. 
The French - noted for fine dining and culinary excellence - are putting a new spin on the American hamburger. (CBS News)
 For more info:   

NUMBERS: Expiration dates
They're on most every food label, and seem quite official and self-explanatory. But just who makes up expiration dates, and how reliable are they? Erin Moriarty checks them out and makes both a savory AND unsavory discovery.

New York City school teacher Janet Kalish who fed up with seeing supermarkets toss out good food, so she has retrieved much produce from store dumpsters. (CBS News)
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(CBS News) Many of us end up throwing out food we think is past its prime - a habit that provides Food For Thought according to Tracy Smith:

Even in a down economy, Americans find food cheap and plentiful enough to waste $165B worth each year
Rescuing wasted food to fight hunger
It's been estimated that 40 percent of the food produced in this country goes uneaten. Correspondent Tracy Smith goes on a tour of the trash.
For more info:



Geometry and Pasta

People may think more about the taste of pasta than its shape. Architects and chefs, however, find much beauty in the design of different pastas. Faith Salie reports.

NOODLES:   The geometry of pasta - Faith Salie reports.
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John Goodman's News Orleans

Correspondent Michelle Miller sits down with actor John Goodman at his favorite restaurant, Commander's Palace in New Orleans, to talk about food, movies and life.
Best known for his role as Dan Conner, Roseanne Barr's husband on her hit TV show, Goodman has played memorable roles in more than a hundred movies and TV shows over the years. This year has been as busy as any: He has critically acclaimed parts in "Argo" and "Flight," both generating lots of Oscar buzz. And he's in Clint Eastwood's "Trouble With the Curve," and the voice of Mr. Prenderghast in the animated zombie comedy "ParaNorman."
A self-described workaholic, Goodman tells Miller that it's only in the last five years - since he 's been sober - that he's beginning to look around and enjoy the important things in life, including the many beautiful things around him in his adopted city.
For more info:

BILL GEIST:  Steak
The billboards lure you for hundreds of miles: "FREE 72-ounce steak (if you eat the steak, baked potato, roll, 3 shrimp and salad in less than an hour)." And by the time you reach the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, you're hungry enough to eat a cow.
But can you eat four-and-a-half pounds of sirloin while the clock counts down 60 minutes? 
Join Bill Geist at the table.
For more info:

SPIRITS: Gin

Rebecca Jarvis raises a glass and gives us a history lesson on gin.
For more info:

MENUS: Food pairings
Martha Teichner reports.

GELATO: A feast for the eyes
Italian gelaterias may master this gastronomic art, but the gelato revolution as made in America. Allen Pizzey reports.
 
WEB EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Mo Rocca gets lessons in etiquette from Mr. Manners (Video)
Should you use a cell phone in a restaurant? What is the proper way to eat a lobster? And is there an acceptable way to share a liquid dessert? Mo Rocca gets the lowdown on dining etiquette from William Norwich, columnist for Vogue Magazine's "Modern Manners," at New York City's Tocqueville
.
For more info:

RECAP: November 11

 











2012 "Food Issue" recipe index


Links for recipes of the many dishes 
featured on "Sunday Morning"!

Click on the links below for holiday recipes, including many dishes featured on this year's Food Issue!

Beverages:
Entrees:
Sides:
Extras:
Desserts:
For more recipes:
  1. cookinglight.com 
  2. saveur.com 
  3. CBSNews.com special section: Food and Wine 
  4. Blog: "What's Cooking"

 

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