Fat Cat Chef

I hesitate to even plug this, but I'm trying to be relatively objective:

Dweezil and Lisa travel to NYC (which is quite close to the Fat Cat Cooking Bunker).

Looks like a caterer is going to do the heavy lifting again. When are we going to see these two get creative? Dweezil's tomato sauce didn't exactly blaze any new culinary trails (and why use beef bullion? if you want a stock flavor, why not splash in some homemade chicken broth?).

Oh well, we're holding out some hope that we'll learn something tonight...

:: The Fat Cat Skinny ::
The Amateur Gourmet is the witty food diary of a newbie home cook. You’ll find Adam's passion for cooking – and his off-the-wall culinary excursions – contagious. Updated often, it's worth a daily visit.
:: :: :: ::

Do you remember when you fell in love with cooking? How you threw yourself into your new-found hobby: buying cookbooks and kitchen gadgets, watching TV shows, scampering through the aisles of your local (and painfully overpriced) gourmet food joint...

Well, a new wide-eyed Fat Kitten has joined the food blog fold. The Amateur Gourmet chronicles the cooking and eating exploits of Adam, a third-year law student who lives in Atlanta.

Armed with a digital camera and witty commentary, The Amateur Gourmet takes you on a never-ending quest for all things delicious. From quirky fruit to eating in Atlanta, Adam proves that whether you're a new cook or a seasoned vet, you can throw together really tasty meals… and have fun doing it.

Within four weeks of launching his food blog, Adam made a splash by creating Janet Jackson Breast Cupcakes, eventually ending up with some impressive face time on CNN.

Its greatest asset, though, is Adam’s enthusiasm for food... a passion we Fat Cats wish more people would discover. And for a budding lawyer, Adam is a great writer.

Make sure you tune in tonight as Dweezil and Lisa throw a birthday party for Dweezil's sister.

Chef Fred Eric from the Airstream Diner drops by to help move things along.

The March/April issue of Cook's Illustrated arrived in my mailbox last night, and there was a pleasant surprise on the front cover:

"Meet Christopher Kimball at a book signing and discussion at Barnes & Nobles 66th and Broadway, Thursday April 1st, 7pm. For details see cooksillustrated.com".

Sweet. Fat Cat Monica and I saw Chris at the Park Ave Borders in NYC last fall when he was promoting The Kitchen Detective.

Unfortunately I couldn't find any info at cooksillustrated.com. I even went over to America's Test Kitchen, but didn't find anything there either.

The B&N website does have details though. Chris will be promotiong Baking Illustrated. Must admit I haven't laid oven mitts on it yet, but I'm sure it's a great tool for us home cooks.

So if you're in the tri-state area, make plans to visit the Lincoln Center B&N (66th & Broadway) on April 1st at 7pm.

Chris is a great guy and you'll walk away with at least a couple of cooking tips, not to mention an autographed copy of his book.

-- Get the Skinny --
If you don't have a subscription to Cook's Illustrated, try their free issue offer. You'll be hooked: this is by far the best way to stay sharp in the kitchen.

It's loaded with quick tips, really easy-to-use recipes and intriguing write-ups by the chefs as they test version after version of your favorite recipes.

Look forward to getting snail mail for once: Free trial issue of Cook's Illustrated