Judy Berman's Open Salon Blog

Salon Kitchen Challenge: Mayo mania

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:04:01 -0400

Last week's Salon Kitchen Challenge celebrated Earth Day the hippie way, with a VW Bus-load of granola recipes. Dual winners and constant competitors Mandee Tatum (better known around these parts as Iamsurly) and 1_Irritated_Mother brought us a Summer of Love-style tie-dyed ice cream/granola cookie recipe and some truly rebellious instructions for the making of delicious pancakes, respectively. Read Mandee and Mother's posts at Salon and check out Francis Lam's roundup of other great entries.

Now, this week's challenge:

"A few days ago, we revealed ourselves here on Salon Food to be strongly in the pro-mayonnaise camp:

Mayonnaise is the King of Sauces. On its own, it's the all-purpose sauce of the South. You add some buttermilk and some garlic powder or whatever, and it's ranch dressing, aka Midwestern Sauce. Mix in some garlic and extra virgin olive oil, and it's aioli -- Mediterranean Sauce. Add some chipotle peppers to it and, well, there are whole swaths of the restaurant industry that serve the indigenous cuisine of Chipotlemayolandia.

We caught some flak for this, but we remain unbowed. Mayonnaise is the limitless condiment, the maker of good things.

So this week, we're asking you to get our back. What is your favorite mayonnaise-based recipe? Do you mix seasonings into it for your own sauce or dressing? Do you make an amazing macaroni salad? Do you slather it on fish and bake it?

Be sure to tag your posts: SKC Mayo"

Blog your submission under your real name by 10 a.m. ET Monday, May 3. Francis will announce the winners Tuesday the 4th on Salon.

Salon Kitchen Challenge: Go green with granola

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:04:33 -0400

Last week's Salon Kitchen Challenge made the best of Tax Day with wallet-friendly recipes for everyone who's straining under the weight of their yearly dues. Winner Lucy Mercer gave unto Caesar what is Caesar's with a mouth-watering shrimp and avocado Caesar salad. Read her post at Salon and check out Francis Lam's roundup of other great entries.

Now, this week's challenge:

"With Earth Day around the bend, my thoughts turn to the hippies, the poor hippies. So maligned! Why does everyone hate the hippies?

And you know what else gets a bad rap? Granola. "Hippie food," people call it with a sneer, cheeseburger in one hand and Hummer keys in the other.

But you know what? I love granola. I love the crunch, the sweetness, the toasted grains and the nuts. I love it so much, in fact, that I just got hungry for some while writing this and just stole a granola bar from my roommate. (Sorry, Rach.)

So this week, in honor of the poor hippies, in honor of our poor Earth, the challenge is to share with us your best granola recipes. But in the interest of peace, love and an open mind, recipes for other cold cereals count, too -- what's muesli, anyway? -- and so do ones that simply include granola.

Be sure to tag your posts: SKC granola"

Blog your submission under your real name by 10 a.m. ET Monday, April 26th. Francis will announce the winners Tuesday the 27th on Salon.

This morning's outage

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:04:51 -0400

Hi, everyone. Just wanted to quickly apologize for this morning's site outage. Now, obviously, we're back up and running and good as new after some hard work from our tech team.

Thanks for your patience. We know these outages can be annoying, and we are really working to make them a thing of the past.

Check it out: Your flower photos on Salon

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:04:09 -0400

I just wanted to make sure everyone sees that your gorgeous flower pictures are now a slideshow on Salon! We were bowled over by the wonderful photos so many OSers posted, from all over the world. And while we couldn't use all of the images we loved (generally for technical/sizing reasons), we are thrilled to know that there are so many fantastic photographers here at Open. So flip through, enjoy, show your friends and keep an eye out for the next photo Open Call, which is sure to come soon.

Thanks, from all of us at Salon, to everyone who participated!

Salon Kitchen Challenge: Tax Day dinner

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:04:37 -0400

Last week's Salon Kitchen Challenge paid homage to spring with a spread of excellent egg salads. Winner Nikki Stern whipped up an old-fashioned version inspired by memories of her great aunt. Read her post at Salon and check out Francis Lam's roundup of other great entries.

Now, this week's challenge:

"It's not really a seasonal holiday with attendant feasting, but hey, if there's a way to make Tax Day a fun day, it's to throw a dinner party!

So this week's challenge is two-sided. If you are bummed about what's going to happen to your money on the 15th, share with us your favorite cheap-as-possible dish. But for the happily refunded, let's see your best go-for-broke recipes. And, as always, we love a good story about your entry!

Be sure to tag your posts: SKC Tax Day"

Blog your submission under your real name by 10 a.m. ET Monday, April 19th. Francis will announce the winners Tuesday the 20th on Salon.