Fall Food Trends

As with fashion food also goes through trends. Fall brings a variety of new flavors or spins on classics It's an exciting time  for foodies and gourmands alike.Apples are hot right now and oatmeal gets a new twist.

One of the best new trends is the brioche loaf. This is a take on the classic French  roll or bread, enriched with egg and a ton of butter.I first found this at the Super Foodtown in the Atlantic Highlands on a quick stop from the beach. I had never seen this before and had to buy it. The loaf was one of the best loaves I've ever eaten.It was phenomenal with Bonne Maman jam. Even though it has a sweet taste, it was still good supporting sliced London Broil in a sandwich the next day. Luckily my local Stop & Shop also carries a version of brioche bread, so I don't have to make the trek down the shore to get it.(although there are plenty of beach days left,so I probably will be visiting that particular Super Foodtown).Another trend is a returning one - pumpkin spiced lattes,both hot and cold.The hot is comforting , but I have qualms about a cold one. Coffee giant Dunkin Donuts is jumping on the apple bandwagon with a caramel apple cronut. This confection is stuffed with apples and then drizzled with caramel.There's also salted caramel coffee that combine's salty and sweet. This works for caramels and in ice cream but coffee is another matter (who wants  salty joe anyway?)

Another coffee giant,Starbucks isn't rolling out a new coffee flavor this fall, but a new oatmeal (!). It's a dark chocolate and caramelized banana flavor. You'd think it would be a kind of tart but no, It's not even made with fresh bananas but it's kind of like a gooey baby food. Chunks of dark chocolate and roasted almond are also added Unfortunately it has to be assembled by the diner too. It would just be better if it had been a tart layered with the other ingredients. Tamer offerings are their pumpkin cheesecake bar and a caramel apple pound cake. Apple seems to be everywhere, although it is the beginning of autumn. Stop & Shop also has jumped on the bandwagon. They're featuring their own brand of apple cinnamon waffles, that would be good with a drizzle of caramel and a puff of whipped cream or a pat of butter and a puddle of maple syrup.Apple cider vinegar will also be a big thing, not so much for the apple but it's a probiotic. It contains micro organisms that help in digestion along with stabilizing gut flora. Use it when making another fall culinary must have : Korean kim chee. This classic cabbage dish is making waves on all the autumn menus, with traditional galbo or American steaks.

Fall 2016 is coming soon. The trends, some delicious,some eye opening, are here already. Taste and embrace for an interesting .

Maangchi - You Tube's Top Chef

You Tube has given the world some amazing phenomenon since its' inception. There was Justin Beiber and those make up and hair whizzes  . Cooking, though has a few, but none as famous as Maangchi  aka Emily Kim. This Korean born home chef has turned her love of cooking into interesting tutorials for Korean cuisine lovers and other home chefs  Best of all, she's written a cookbook with her recipes that fans can copy and enjoy.

Chef Kim was interviewed in today's New York Times Food section by weekly contributor , Julia Moskin. Surprisingly she  didn't start off with cooking but rather gaming. Maangchi was actually the name of her avatar when she played City of Heroes. Her children urged her to another Internet activity, cooking videos. It was needed. According to Ms Kim, most Korean food videos were riddled with mistakes. someone had to amend that and she did, She has 619,000 YouTube followers , more than master chefs Ina Garten, Alton Brown and Martha Stewart.It lead to her newest cookbook "Maangchi' s Real Korean Cooking" (Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Publishng). fans not only tune into to watch her prepare classics such as the tasty beef bolgoki  and Korean fried chicken but to check out her lavish make up, tiaras, and leatherette shorts, Sometimes she'll sport fascinators , those funny hats worn at William and Kate's wedding but also rubber gloves tricked out with bling.. All her videos show her dashing around in four inch platforms. a  feat for anyone, let alone a busy cook,

Ms/ Kim was raised in Yeosu, a port city on the southernmost tip of the Korean peninsula. She came to the States in 1992 when her husband took a teaching job in Columbia Missouri This put her smack in the middle of the American Midwest where Asian food was mostly Chinese and catered to mid American tastes. She cooked for the Korean families that she counselled, giving them a much mossed taste of home.. Fast forward to her life now in Manhattan  to anew husband and a new career. Her videos and I have watched a few) are interesting and come with cute  and informative graphics. Anyone can follow them , even the most novice of home chefs. There are videos on the ancient art of fermenting used in making kim chee along with making gochujang or chile paste and doenjang  soybean paste.. This last requires salt and hay along with an electric blanket and a year to ferment. Easier recipes include the flavorful beef dish, the afore mentioned bolgoki, a chopped beef dish that features pears, sesame seeds and garlic cloves. There is also ssamjang the spicy Korean barbecue sauce, a marriage of the fiery , savory and sweet. This is perfect for any American  dish from ribs to wings.

There are a million You Tube stars but none shine as brightly as Maangcha or Emily Kim. Her easy to follow cooking demos are fun and informative. Her cookbook is going to shine just as brightly too.