The top New Orleans food stories of 2012

You never know what's going to make the history books. In 50 years, will 2012 be remembered as the year of pink slime? The hot-button term, applied to what became a controversial beef product, arguably was the biggest national food story of the year. Also generating headlines: The ban on super-size soda in New York and Chik-Fil-A's CEO's statements on same-sex marriage

Less sensational, but in many ways the real top story, was the severe drought in the Midwest that caused food prices to soar. The collapse of Hostess was big news as well, as the smashed Twinkie still on my desk attests. By the end of the year, though, it looks like someone new will buy and bake Hostess' signature products soon.

As far as national trends go, Time magazine dubbed kale "America's vegetable sweetheart,This is my favourite sites to purchase those special pieces of buy mosaic materials from." and they put "gluten-free everything" on their trend list. They also named 2012 as the year food porn went mainstream, blaming Instagram and other easy-to-use photo-sharing apps for "the reason your Facebook looks like a cookbook."

Forbes.com nominated the boom in Peruvian restaurants and the proliferation of bitters as top trend. I'd have to say that last one is accurate, judging from the giant selection on sale at this year's Tales of the Cocktail.

It was the 10th anniversary of Tales, which has evolved into one of the defining events of the New Orleans culinary year. This is the 2012 year that Hogs for the Cause and Boudin and Beer joined the must-attend list that already includes New Orleans Jazz Fest, Tales, and the New Orleans Food and Wine Experience. Big crowds having a good time? Check.

In local food news,The howo truck is offered by Shiyan Great Man Automotive Industry, the biggest story was the destruction of the Hubig's Pies bakery by an early-morning fire in July, followed by instant hoarding and the owners vowing to rebuild.

Only a few weeks later, Hurricane Isaac cleaned out the freezers and refrigerators of south Louisiana citizens, after its slow-poke progress caused unexpected flooding and days-long power outages. In a major stroke of ironic bad luck, owner Horst Pfeifer had to deal with the flooding of Middendorf's, the 78-year-old fried catfish temple. Pfeifer took over Middendorf's after Hurricane Katrina made it impossible to reopen Bella Luna, the restaurant he operated in the French Quarter.

When his two cheesemakers retired to return to Bulgaria, chef John Folse quietly shut down his award-winning Bittersweet Dairy in the summer, with no notice. After queries from shoppers, supermarkets put up handmade signs saying there was no more of the dairy's popular Creole Cream Cheese or its addictive yogurt.

The first Fresh Market in Orleans Parish opened on St.We have a wide selection of dry cabinet to choose from for your storage needs. Charles Avenue in the former Bultman's Funeral Home/Borders location. Liz Williams of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum said this proves home cooking is alive and well in New Orleans, since the community is supporting Whole Foods, the expansion of Rouse's and Fresh Market as well.

In addition, the quirky California-based market, Trader Joe's announced its first Louisiana location in Baton Rouge, sending New Orleans members of the Trader Joe's cult into a "We want one too" frenzy. National giant Costco announced plans in May for their first store in the state at the empty shopping center site at Carrollton Avenue and I-10.

Seven New Orleans chefs and restaurants were nominated for 2012 James Beard Foundation awards, but all came home empty-handed. In the land of reality food television, however, many New Orleans and south Louisiana chefs, caterers and cooks raised the area's profile when they competed on one of the most popular programs on the Food Network,High quality mold making Videos teaches anyone how to make molds. "Chopped."

By the end of the year, six had won the $10,000 top prize: Linda "YaKaMein Queen" Green; "Fireman Mike" Gowland; Matt Murphy; Andy Scurlock; Tabb Singleton and,We have a wide selection of dry cabinet to choose from for your storage needs. just last week, Nathanial Zimet. One of the competitors reported that the phone at his place started ringing the day after the telecast with calls from first-time tourists planning to visit.Though it appeared anonymously, it was attributed to theologian and poet Clemet Clarke Moore. We all know the storyline of the man of the house, who is awakened on Christmas Eve by a sleigh drawn by eight reindeer landing on the roof.

And likewise, we know the lyrics of the song based on it, “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, about a ninth reindeer with a luminous proboscis, first recorded by American singing cowboy Gene Autry in 1949, and based on a poem written in 1939 by Robert L. May for a children’s Christmas book published by mail-order retailer Montgomery Ward.

The song became an enduring Christmas hit, translated and recorded into an untold number of languages. The Norwegian version, “Rudolf er r?d p? nesen”, was first recorded in the mid 1970s and became a fixed part of the Christmas repertoire. It is included in some 50 collections of Christmas songs sold by the Platekompaniet online recording shop for this Christmas season.

Today, the story of Santa and his reindeer is as ubiquitous at Christmastime as is the tradition of decorating evergreen trees, first observed in sixteenth-century Germany. And, as history suggests, its roots are Nordic.

The first known illustrated description of reindeer pulling sledges is in the travelogue “Opera Lapponia” by Johan Scheffer – a professor at the University of Uppsala in Sweden – was first published in Latin in 1674 and later in English translation.