The oxymoronic label "Fancy Fast Food" is featued in a blog that is gaining some press attention today but surely will be just a footnote in the annals of foodie history.

“Yeah, it’s still bad for you – but see how good it can look!” exhorts the blog.

Photographs illustrate extreme makeovers of fast food items purchased at popular restaurants. According to the creator of the site, Erik Trinidad, “No additional ingredients have been added except for an occasional simple garnish.”

Step-by-step instructions for deconstructing a fast food meal and refashioning it into something that’s “fancy” are included. Recent entries (entrees?) on the site include: Whataroulade (Fancy Whataburger), Chocolate Mousse & Quenelles Vanille (Fancy Mister Softee), Five Dollar Farfalle (Fancy $5 Footlong), Le Chicken McConfit (Fancy Chicken McNuggets) and Tiramisu di Timio (Fancy Tim Hortons).

Visit http://www.fancyfastfood.com/ for more information.

Born and raised in West Virginia, I can honestly say there is nothing better than a warm, homemade – West Virginia-made – pepperoni roll. And according to the New York Times food section, most people agree. In fact, West Virginia is credited for creating the pepperoni roll by Italian immigrants who came to the state long ago. Now, the rolls are part of the everyday culture of many West Virginians, especially coal miners who carry them in their lunch pails.

If you're ever lucky enough to travel through the state, be sure to try one of these delights. Like the state itself, they are a bit of heaven.

View the NY Times article here.

A long table is set for dinner for about 150 people. Guest chefs from local restaurants have prepared a five-course feast featuring mostly locally produced meats, vegetables and wines. At this Outstanding in the Field dinner held on Labor Day at Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, Va., everything is, as expected, delicious, but the food and not even the chefs are the stars of the evening. That role goes to the farm that is hosting the dinner and the local farmers who grew most of the food that’s being served, and that’s what Outstanding in the Field is all about.

“In the ‘80s we started to see the rise of celebrity chefs and that was exciting,” said artist and chef Jim Denevan, creator of Outstanding in the Field. “Now it’s the farmer’s turn.”

Lots of restaurants and chefs pride themselves on sourcing ingredients from local farms. Outstanding in the Field – part of a growing trend of “farm dinners” – turns the fresh-from-the-farm movement around by bringing the restaurant to the farm.

Denevan began staging dinners at his brother’s farm and others around his hometown of Santa Cruz, Calif., in 1999 with the idea of dining at the source of the food in the company of the farmers who grow it. In 2003 the idea was expanded into a tour of farms across North America. This year’s tour, the sixth to date, includes 58 dinners in 23 states and Canada.

The dinner is served family style, normally in a farm field with diners’ feet connecting them literally with the soil. On this September evening, however, rain threatens so the dinner is served in the elegant stables of Ayrshire, a historic 800-acre farm in Virginia’s horse and wine country just a few miles southwest of Washington, D.C.

Before dinner is served, everyone gets a walking tour of the farm. A crowd gathers around Denevan and farm manager Susie Hass as he talks about the history of Outstanding in the Field and Hass explains the farm’s production practices. For this crowd of foodies, talk of predator control and composting animal waste only whets the appetite for the braised pork belly, sage sausage, lamb shoulder and other delights to come.

Diners pay $180 each for the privilege of getting up close with the animals, local farmers and Denevan himself – something of a guru in the artisan food world – putting the experience in the luxury column for most people. That each event is sold out, however, proves there is demand for a gourmet meal that’s also a chance to connect with agriculture. Some patrons at the Virginia dinner drove from as far away as Ohio and North Carolina.

Denevan said that after this year’s final dinner in early December, he and his partners would get together to pick farms for next year’s tour.

“We look for farms that are unique, that have an interesting story,” he explained. “Instead of just trying to tell the farmer’s story, we try to bring people to the farm so they can experience it for themselves.”

To find out more, check out the Web site.

Link: http://www.shoppingblog.com/blog/922093

Celebrating its 80th anniversary of harvesting cranberries, Ocean Spray has installed a 1,500 square foot bog at Rockefeller Center.

"Most of Ocean Spray's cranberry growing families have been harvesting the world's finest cranberries with us for up to five generations," said Larry Martin, vice president of marketing at Ocean Spray. "We're proud to partner with our grower-owners to share their personal stories and bring the stunning scene of cranberry harvest to life for Americans who have never seen a real harvest."

Click here to check out the video of the bog at Rockefeller Center.

Link: http://www.mnn.com/food/markets-groceries/blogs/white-house-farmers-market-debuts-today

The White House Farmers' Market opens today. Both First Lady Micelle Obama and Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack are expected to be on hand for the debut. The market is at 810 Vermont Avenue, NW (between H St, NW and I St, NW) and runs from 3pm to 7pm on Thursdays through October 29th.