Food in the media

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - The world changes, inextricably and suddenly. For instance, a person begins a love affair with super-spicy foods, after years of milder eating; hence, our current obsession with the wonderful Chile Pepper magazine. The September issue has so many recipes we want to prepare _ brown sugar crusted porterhouse pork chop with apple walnut slaw and green chili cheese grits, for example, or green apple-green chili pie, or ancho chili marinated fish with corn salsa and ginger cream _ that it's almost frustrating.

The rest of the batch of September magazines doesn't help with the recipe overload syndrome we're experiencing: Food & Wine has a feature on "Our 30 Best Fast Recipes EVER." They look fantastic, while also leading the reader on a skip down culinary history lane, but there's also some plain old good reading in this issue, including a piece about the growth of the wine market in China, seen through the eyes of 32-year-old winemaker and exporter Alessia Antinori, of Marchesi Antinori. ... Gourmet has a theme issue this month, Paris on a Budget, which explores some of the hot new neighborhoods. Editor-in-Chief Ruth Reichl reminisces about 50 meals she ate in Paris recently for under $50. But those for whom $50 is exorbitant in this economy can use the issue anyway, since it's chockablock with evocative first-person essays and recipes _ a feature on making your own duck confit, to add to white bean soup, or creamy sauerkraut gratin _ which make living vicariously easier. ... About Martha Stewart Living we have this to say: banana whoopie pies (recipe on the last page). ... After you make and eat them, you can pick up Women's Health, which always has great healthful eating tips, and this month offers a list of the 125 best packaged foods for women, noting each food's bone- and muscle-building, cancer- and heart-disease fighting, and weight-loss-aiding virtues (best yogurt for you? Oikos Plain Greek Yogurt).

ShopSmart's October issue (yikes) rates dark chocolate, microwave popcorn, white wine and Halloween candy, and among many happy surprises is the fact that 25 ˝ Good & Plentys (our favorite) has the same number of calories (100) as 9 ˝ Junior Mints and 2 2/3 Twizzlers (whose flavor has always puzzled us. Is it cherry? Strawberry?). .// Bon Appetit has a great-looking collection of 85 favorite restaurant recipes, from American Italian spots, bake shops, up and coming women chefs, staff meals, etc. And six secret ingredients from some top chefs. We'll give you one, from Frank Stitt, the Birmingham Alabama chef: sorghum syrup. He adds it to pan sauces, reductions and vinaigrettes.

TV: "The Victory Garden," PBS's longest-running gardening show, starts its 33rd season Saturday (check local listings for time). Also on the box: It had to happen. We-TV has a new show, "Amazing Wedding Cakes," which takes viewers inside the crazy lives of high-end cake makers, including Chicago's own Cake Girls. The first one-hour episode in the six-part series is Sunday at 9 p.m. And Adam Gertler, a runner-up in last season's "The Next Food Network Star," has his own TV gig as host of "Will Work for Food," in which he engages in little-known food-related jobs like shark feeder and potato chip inspector. Premieres 8:30 p.m. Sept. 30.

Supporting FREE Catholic Education with Grass-fed Beef

Web: Foodnetwork.com is serving up budget-friendly and healthful-eating help in two new Web-video series, "Easy Meals, Good Deals" (foodnetwork.comĽfoodĽeasymeals) and "Conscious Cooking" (foodnetwork.comĽfoodĽconsciouscooking). Good ideas, both. Also: jrchefsofamerica.com _ corny pop theme song and limited menu aside_is a nice site for kids who want peer-video-instruction on how to make the foods they'd eat every single night if their parents let them, which is to say, mac and cheese, pizza, omelets, chicken Parmesan and hamburgers.

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