Tuesday Megalinks

Tomorrow, CHG is featuring a joint post with one of the best cooking blogs out there, Casual Kitchen. Dan and I will discuss how to buy a good cookbook, and which ones would be solid basics for your home. Come on back (same bat time, same bat channel) for the excitement.

Bitten: Why I Never Buy Vinaigrette
NY Times food guy Mark Bittman started a blog! (“Food guy.” Way to use that English degree, Kris.) Here, he discusses homemade vs. store-bought dressing.

Casual Kitchen: How to Apply the 80/20 Rule to Cooking
As the business world goes, so does food prep. Minimizing input and maximizing output is a must.

Culinate: Planning meals around a pot of beans
Personable, endearing piece from ex-food critic Carrie Floyd on how she feeds her family for a week using legumes. When her kids protest, she disguises the beans’ true identities with foreign languages: “’Those aren’t beans,’ I say, ‘they’re fagioli.’ When they persist, I switch to French: ‘Haricots!’”

Culinate: Stocking up – the basics of making meat stock
In-depth look at the art of stock. It’s all in the details, man.

Festival of Frugality #112: Lazy Man and Money
Lazy Man cuts the festival down to a sleeker, more manageable size than its previous incarnations, which makes for much easier reading. Suggested: Wise Bread’s Cooking Without Crepe Pans and Other Expensive Kitchen Tools and Lightening Online’s continuing series on Reducing the Grocery Budget (which has been excellent so far.)

Gourmet: A Rooster’s Wake-Up Call
Short of setting it aflame, there’s no quicker way to add tongue-scorching heat to a meal than sriracha. Gourmet’s Alan Systma explains why the chef-approved hot sauce should be you-approved, too. (Thanks to Serious Eats for the link.)

LA Times: Parchment paper - A kitchen marvel, and cheap!
Though the world grows increasingly paperless, parchment remains a kitchen stalwart. We couldn’t cook fish en papillote, bake decent cookies, or create Native American village dioramas without it. (Thanks to Serious Eats for the link.)

Make it From Scratch Festival #51: It’s All for the Best
Good V-Day dinner ideas in this week’s MiFS Festival, hosted by Heather. For the diet-conscious, there’s a craft how-to for felt cupcakes from GreenStyleMom. (Note: I will eat anything cupcake-shaped. Felt included.)

Serious Eats: Ed Levine's Serious Diet Week 5 - Can "Start Living, Stop Dieting" Work for a Food Writer?
In which an avowed foodie wonders if a change in lifestyle can mesh with his chosen occupation. Incidentally? Whoever’s behind the current Weight Watchers campaign needs a Clio Award immediately. The "Start Living, Stop Dieting" slogan works two ways: it separates the company from gimmicky weight-loss plans AND promises people that deprivation shouldn’t be associated with healthy eating. Kudos.

Serious Eats: What to Do with 24 Leftover Egg Yolks?
Made an Angel Food cake and don’t know how to use the refuse? Join in this thread and learn about everything from lemon curd to hollandaise.

The Simple Dollar: 100 Great Tips for Saving Money for Those Just Getting Started
PHENOMENAL post. Trent goes well beyond the usual “keep a budget” routine, delving into dozens of well-thought-out beginners’ strategies. Food makes up a good 10% of the list. Pass it on. (To everyone. Even your dog.)

The Simple Dollar: What You Spend, What You Eat – The Deep Connection Between Food and Personal Finance
Wow. Dude’s on a roll.

Slashfood: Buttermilk in a pinch? Add some vinegar to your milk (and other emergency substitutions)
Short, neat list of oft-used improvisations. I never thought of adding vinegar and milk together, having always assumed it would create some kind of time-space vortex. Mmm ... vortex.

Wise Bread: Bridging the Gap from Dining Out to Eating In
Ah, yes. Beyond learning to operate a spatula, eating out has undoubtedly been my biggest foil in saving cash. Be sure to read the comments for more suggestions.

(Photos courtesy of Flickr members reya, barron, and wine-scribbler.)

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