Tribune Food: Pyramid Scheme

• Be still our heart — if we’re reading the trends right, thin-crust pizza is the next hot new Chicago trend. The best trends are built by flying in the face of convention, after all (see also: cupcakes, Bacon-adorned), so it stands to reason that we’ll gain an illicit thrill by eating a crispy, chewy, eminently napoletana slice of DOC. Of course, the big question is what to drink with it, which is a query Bill Daley is happy to answer. He consults with chef Jonathan Fox of La Madia (who’s currently firing one of the best thin-crusters in town), and they agree on the so-called “Old World” wines, whose geographic origins parallel that of the pizza they complement.

• Baking bread can be hella intimidating. Hella. Lisa Futterman rounds up the necessary equipment for an ideal loaf — which, amusingly, runs far longer than the ingredient list for the bread: flour, yeast, water, salt. The list of equipment required, on the other hand, runs for three web-pages (don’t forget a baking stone, invented by the S-T’s own Pasquale!). To assuage the intimidation factor, advice is handed down from none other than Laurent Gras of L.2O, whose own bread service is so impeccable that we’re basically inclined to do whatever the man says.

• Here’s a serious teaser campaign: The US Department of Agriculture is releasing a new food pyramid designed for young children, and while they tell us all about how it’s recalibrated to create smart eating habits for the 2-to-5-year-old set, they’re not unveiling the pyramid itself until this weekend. Set your bookmarkst to mypyramid.gov and valiantly hit “refresh” until then, mkay?

• Amusing that Chicagoist defined bouillabaisse today, because JeanMarie Brownson delivers a mouthwatering recipe for a Barcelonan seafood stew, a cousin of the hard-to-spell Provençal dish.

• And finally, in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving (are you all ready yet? You’re not?! You should start stressing out!!!) James P. DeWan lays out the steps necessary to make perfect gravy. Note to haters: He advocates straining, as he should.

[Photo: Do try this at home, via bandman614’s Flickr]

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Tribune Food: Pyramid Scheme