CHG Favorites of the Week

I totally dig browsing other cooking and personal finance sites, but twice-a-week entries devoted entirely to links got to be a tad exhausting. Thusly, today launches Favorites of the Week, an ongoing series posted anew each Thursday. (Tuesdays will stay devoted entirely to linkage, since they’re still darn important.) It’s all the best food-and-frugality-related blogs, quotes, cookbooks, bargains, and tips of the last seven days, in one convenient post. Also included will be food music videos, because … why the heck not?

Bargains of the Week
Amazon - SilverStone Simply Baking Springform Pans
Sur la Table - just ending their 75% off end-of-summer sale now.

Blog of the Week
Biblical Womanhood
Crystal is an anti-feminist, twenty-something evangelical Christian and mom of two who advocates homeschooling, modest apparel, and literal interpretation of the bible. She also happens to have one of the sharpest entrepreneurial minds in the blogosphere, especially in regard to food and home budgeting. While we don’t share many (any) political and social opinions, the writing is good, the comments are (mostly) thoughtful, and the archives go back a long way. Her Frugal Fridays series is particularly noteworthy.

Cookbook of the Week
Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here for the Food
Ever wonder why charred meat tastes so good? Or how a microwave heats food faster than an oven? Or what the difference is between a sauce and a gravy? Alton knows. More of a really good science read than a conventional recipe compilation, the Food Network’s resident mad genius breaks down every cooking-apropos chemical process from convection to the Maillard reaction. Personal anecdotes abound, and the graphics are simultaneously retro and modern. What’s more, you’ve got to love a guy who builds his own brick oven in the driveway. I flip through the book for reference at least once a week and Amazon has it used for around $13.

Organization of the Week
God’s Love We Deliver
A tri-state area based volunteer group that buys, cooks, and delivers meals to seriously ill men, women, children, GLWD accepts donations and new volunteers via their website, GodsLoveWeDeliver.org. Check it out and make someone’s day/dinner.

Quote of the Week
Anthony Bourdain blogging about Top Chef
“I'm guest judging again next week. Which means I know what happens. And while I am precluded from discussing future broadcasts by a confidentiality agreement rivalling the NSA's in the severity of its penalties for unauthorized disclosure, I can reveal this: There will be a SlaughterFest of Horror, an Orgy of Bloodletting, Partial Nudity, Flammable Liquids, Unspeakable Misuse of Power Tools and Small Woodland Creatures, and the Plaintive Wailing of the Doomed. It will make Altamont look like Lilith Fair.”

Recipe of the Week (Untried)
Coquillettes au Comté et Pousses d'Epinard (Elbow Macaroni with Comté Cheese and Baby Spinach) from Chocolate and Zucchini
Oh, man. Everything this woman cooks is art. These coquillettes look like a jazzed-up, healthier version of mac and cheese, and I can’t friggin’wait to try. If you get the chance at home, let me know what you think.

Tip of the Week
The next time you need fresh lemon, lime, or orange juice for a recipe, try squeezing the fruit with a set of tongs. You probably already have a set lying around, and you’ll extract much more liquid than doing it bare-handed. Plus, there’s no need to buy and store a juicer. This method is especially useful for someone with the upper body strength of a boneless infant (see: me).

Video of the Week (Food Division)
Weird Al Yankovic - "Eat It"
Music genius, comedy innovator, and Raisin Bran name-checker, Weird Al's given us two-and-a-half decades of mirth and light. "Eat it" was merely the beginning.
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