Sampler Platter: Barack Obama as food critic, kitchen truisms and making lox

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The intersection of food and taste...

• Everyone’s a critic. Barack Obama reviews Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop in Hyde Park, Chicago. He recommends the corn cakes and peach cobbler. Check, Please!

• Does adding sugar to stir-fried vegetables preserve the greens? (Yes.) Does browning meat seal in the juices? (No.) The science (or lack thereof) of cooking truisms. New York Times

• The 99 Cent Chef takes on Mario Batali’s Ragu alla Bolognese recipe.

• Eat Me Daily rails at the Joy of Cooking -- and rightfully so -- for releasing a line of frozen dinners.

• Lox rocks! An easy-breezy way to smoke your own salmon. gas•tron•o•my

• Carl’s Jr. expands in Texas; Taco Bell heads to Mexico and India; Chipotle visits Europe. Fast Food Daily

--Elina Shatkin