What can you say about an “unknown” vodka that ranks as high for quality as top brands, at one-third of the price?

You say: Forget the prestige labels and buy that vodka!

Wódka, the Polish word for vodka, is a well-priced vodka that tastes anything but generic (and we drink our vodka straight). Crisp and clean, with flavors of rye and hints of minerality, Wodka won a gold medal and 90 points from the industry authorities at the Beverage Tasting Institute.

Triple-distilled and on a par with most super-premium vodka brands, Wodka vodka is just $8.99 for a 750ml bottle. There’s no need to pay more for prestige brands: In these economic times, make price-value Wodka the new prestige.

BEVERAGE TASTING INSTITUTE RANKINGS

Learn more about Wodka vodka at WeLoveWodka.com.
  

Irresistible truffle fries. Photo courtesy Arch
Rock Fish Restaurant | Santa Barbara.

But the feast doesn’t end there: The must-haves along with this bowl of heaven include a fine craft IPA beer and a cone of truffle fries.

Ah, the truffle fries: so simple, so divine. So today’s tip is: Turn your French fries into truffle fries. All you need is some truffle oil.

The regular hand-cut fries at that restaurant are $6; with a sprinkle of truffle oil and Parmesan cheese the price almost doubles, to $11. At home: less than $1 per serving.

The following recipe is courtesy of a restaurant on the opposite coast: Arch Rock Fish in Santa Barbara, California, and its chef, Scott Leibfried.

TRUFFLE FRIES RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. CUT potatoes lengthwise into thin strips, about ¼ inch wide. Fry the potatoes in peanut oil until golden brown (see tips below).

2. SEASON with salt and truffle oil.

3. TOSS with parsley.

We actually used our Actifry for this recipe—it requires only one tablespoon of frying oil! But for making French fries the old-fashioned way:

1. SOAK the potatoes in ice water for an hour, drain, and pat completely dry between paper towels. You can skip this step, but it makes the fries crisper.

2. PREPARE surface for draining by lining two baking sheets or large plates with paper towels.

3. SELECT a large, deep pot and attach a candy thermometer with clip (the tip of the thermometer must not touch the bottom of the pot). Fill with 3 inches of peanut oil and heat over medium heat until temperature reaches 325°F.

4. FRY potatoes (in batches) for 2-3 minutes until golden, stirring occasionally. Remove to paper towels to drain. and heat the oil to 375°F.

6. RE-FRY potatoes For extra crispiness. Raise the temperature of the oil to 365°F and refry potatoes for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes per batch. Drain on fresh paper towels.

Now that you own a bottle, don’t let it languish on the shelf. Use it up while the truffle flavor and aroma are strong. But don’t heat it: Heat dissipates both flavor and aroma. Drizzle truffle oil on foods or otherwise add to:

 
ALL ABOUT TRUFFLES

Here’s everything you need to know about truffles: the types of truffles, how to buy, store and cook truffles, and much more.
 
HOW MANY TYPES OF POTATOES HAVE YOU HAD?

Check out our Potato Glossary: the history of the potato and the different types of potatoes.
  

A stack of gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.
Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

Both Jim and wife Pam have MBAs and years of business experience; but Pam also had serious baking skills. So she set out to re-invent gluten-free cookies and muffins that were every bit as tasty as their fully glutenized counterparts.

Lucky Spoon Bakery has succeeded in changing the way people think about gluten-free baked goods. The products are moist, fresh and delicious.

“Gluten-free has always been code for ’taste-free’ or ‘you can eat it but you probably won’t like it,’” says Jim. But, as has been proved by other artisan bakers of gluten-free goods, if you spend enough time, money (on the best ingredients) and love, you can produce bread, cakes, cookies, muffins and other products that everybody loves to eat.

Gluten-Free Cookies

Instead of wheat flour, the cookies are made with a blend of white rice flour, potato flour and almond meal; plus sugar, butter, eggs, quality chocolate or peanut butter, vanilla and other ingredients of good cookies.

 
Gluten-Free Muffins

?White rice flour and potato flour instead of wheat flour. As with the cookies, sugar, eggs, butter and quality flavorings combine to make moist, tasty muffins:

To find Lucky Spoon products, check the store locator on the company website.
  

Today’s tip is for chocolate lovers: Make chocolate whipped cream. It takes an extra step, but the novelty—and the delectable flavor—are worth it.

Use chocolate whipped cream to garnish a cake or pie, frost a cake or cupcakes or use as a filling for cream puffs and other pastry. Top other desserts, hot chocolate or coffee.

This recipe can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. The recipe makes about 1-1/2 cups of whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM RECIPE

Ingredients

1. PLACE chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.

2. COMBINE cream and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat

3. POUR boiling cream over the chocolate; stir until smooth and the chocolate is melted. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours, until thoroughly chilled.

4. TRANSFER to a large bowl. Beat until the mixture develops soft peaks, or to the desired consistency for spreading or filling. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using.
 
MORE FLAVORED WHIPPED CREAM RECIPES

Try these flavored whipped cream recipes, including Bourbon Whipped Cream, Five Spice Whipped Cream, Lavender Whipped Cream, Holiday Spice Whipped Cream, Salted Caramel Whipped Cream and Savory Whipped Cream.

This week we received an email from a young food blogger, who asked about writing opportunities at THE NIBBLE. She wanted to “gain industry experience.” We get frequent inquiries of this nature from people of all ages. Here’s our advice.

There are limited career opportunities in food writing. If by “career” you mean an occupation with an income that can support you, the continued demise of magazines and newspapers has resulted in fewer and fewer full-time writing and editing jobs. The outlook is not good.

There always have been many more people aspiring to earn a living as a writer, than there have been positions for them. Now, full-time jobs are drying up. Freelance writing is hard to get; the good jobs rely on connections, and even those pay less and less as the publishing industry profits erode. Many people think they can “pay their dues” by writing for a pittance, or even for free, and subsequently turn that experience into more profitable assignments. Those “dues” will rarely turn into properly paid work. We have colleagues who are highly respected and connected freelancers, with 20 years of experience; they are still offered a few hundred dollars for a large amount of work.

That‘a the down side, the reality of the business. But if you want to give it your best shot, here’s what we suggest:

Have a blog and expand it. If you already have readers, ask them what they’d like to see. Every time you research new content, you add to your professional expertise. Consider interviewing bakers, pastry chefs and industry executives for trends and tips. By interviewing people, you make connections that could lead you to other work.

Ask for ideas and constructive criticism. Speak with people who read other food blogs and ask them for input on yours. Don’t respond directly to criticism; one can’t help but be defensive when one’s work of passion is being judged. Just “take it under advisement” and decide how to address the input.

Get business cards with the title Food Writer or Freelance Food Writer and the link to your blog. You can do this inexpensively at Moo.com or Vistaprint.com. Every time the topic of food or your occupation comes up, hand out a card. You never know when a connection will be made, if not that day then down the road.

Join industry associations. Not only will you meet people, but the memberships will strengthen your resume. Go to the meetings of local groups, participate in the message boards, attend conferences. Make friends and hand out those cards. Volunteer for committees, where you get to really know people and they see your skills in action. We think the best committee is the programming or speaker committee. It gives you the opportunity to call leaders in the industry and invite them to speak. You’ll get to introduce yourself to someone who would never take your call under other circumstances.

Network, network, network. Take a class and/or read books on networking. Learn how to find leads in every encounter with everyone, from your hairdresser to friends’ parents. Then, give your “elevator pitch” to everyone you speak with (You’ll learn what that is).

Build the skills you need to stand out. The key talent required for success in most fields is not the industry expertise itself, but the business skills: pitching, selling, deal-making. Read books or find a mentor who can help you to build the ability to sell yourself and your ideas.

Get as close as you can to working in a food related business, in any capacity. It’s by meeting people and getting them to know and like you that other opportunities develop. Even if you had a clerical job at an ingredients manufacturer or a restaurant equipment distributor, for example, you could volunteer to do their blog or social media and build the credentials to move up to a job that focuses on writing. Often, a job that gives you the opportunity to write is not a full-time writing job.

Get a certificate in food studies. See what‘s available in your area or online. This will seriously differentiate you from other job candidates. Many major media outlets require their entry-level people to have such a certificate, even if they are Phi Beta Kappa graduates of Harvard who edited the school paper.

DO YOU HAVE ADVICE FOR ASPIRING FOOD WRITERS? ADD IT HERE!