Like many people, I’ve long been in the habit of purchasing parts–skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pork chops, fish filets, and the like–at the meat counter. Many shoppers are willing to pay a premium for the convenience of prepped meat, poultry, and seafood. Also, we may not know how to break down a whole chicken or clean and filet a fish. Your grandmother probably could do it with her eyes closed, but could you?
Old-school butchery is making a comeback, and butchers are the newest stars on the culinary scene.
I certainly couldn’t–at least, not very well–until I took the Meat Identification and Fabrication class at culinary school. The three-week class was a crash course in understanding different cuts of beef, lamb, veal, and pork, as well as gaining loads of practice cutting up whole chickens and ducks, and filleting all kinds of fish.
Of course, despite that, I’m no expert. Butchery is an art and skill that can’t be mastered in three weeks. But I did enjoy the satisfaction of cooking fish that I’d cleaned and filleted myself, and sauteing the breast of a chicken I’d just broken down.
The class was also particularly well timed, since a do-it-yourself approach to meat, poultry, and fish is making a strong comeback, along with other budget-friendly, old-timey, back-to-basics kitchen skills like canning. Part of it is a desire to save some coin–whole or large cuts are cheaper than parts–but it’s also an extension of the local, know-your-food movement. In other words, pork chops come from an actual pig, not a tightly sealed Styrofoam tray. People are doing this in all kinds of ways, from purchasing meat and poultry from local producers at the neighborhood farmers’ market to raising their own livestock. In one elaborate experiment, an Alabama-based magazine editor raised and slaughtered a pig–and documented it in the fascinating blog Killing Dinner. Top-drawer chefs, like Blue Hill’s Dan Barber, are bringing butchering back to restaurant kitchens in order to take advantage of high-end animal products, like hazenut-fed pigs and grass-fed beef. The newest culinary stars are butchers, according to The New York Times.
Home cooks are jumping on the bandwagon, for quality and cost-savings. If you know how to clean and filet a fish, you can inspect the whole fish before you buy to ensure it’s truly fresh–i.,e, with bright eyes, intact scales, pinky-red gills, and a fresh scent (or no scent). Buying a whole chicken is cheaper than parts, and you can get a lot of mileage out of it. A pound of organic skinless boneless chicken breasts is $9 at my local supermarket; a 4-pound whole organic chicken is less than $8 (and that’s for a premium bird from Whole Foods). I roasted one on Sunday night. Two of us ate the breast halves on Sunday; I cut the meat off the thighs and drumsticks for tacos on Tuesday; and I’ll use the carcass to make stock this weekend.
And, of course, there’s the emerging trend of bringing locally raised/caught meat, poultry, and seafood directly from producers to consumers. NPR just reported on CSFs (community-supported fisheries) in New England, which will may help small-scale fishermen and whole fishing communities survive while bringing high-quality, local seafood to Boston-area residents. CSFs work just like CSAs. Can dedicated CSRs (community-supported ranching) or CSPs (community-supported poultry) be far off? In fact, many CSAs already include delivery options for local meat, poultry, and dairy products.
Of course, the trick for many of the Boston CSF’s new customers is what to do with the whole fish they get each week. And to help with that, organizers offer classes in the fine–and nearly lost–art of cleaning and filleting a fish.
A bag of Yellow Indian Woman Beans inspires a midsummer soup.
Soup in July? Something cool and civilized, maybe, like gazpacho or cucumber. But when I eyed a bag of heritage Indian Woman Beans the other day, something thick, hearty, and spicy came to mind. And since I’m on the beach on Southern California, where the nippy June gloom has followed us into July, I went with it.
I’d picked up a 12-ounce bag of the dried beans on sale at World Market, where they carry heritage beans by Great Valley, for less than $3. Rancho Gordo also sells the beans for $4.95 per pound. Yes, that’s a lot for dried beans, but you can expect to pay a premium for anything with the world “heirloom” or “heritage” in the name. I’d never seen Yellow Indian Woman beans before but was intrigued by their petite size and lovely light brown (OK, yellowish) hue. Info on the label noted that the beans, which have a creamy texture when cooked and flavor similar to black beans or pinto beans, were brought to America by Swedish immigrants in the 19th century. Other sources I checked said the same thing, so either we’re all just reading the same Wikipedia entry or it’s true. Origins of the bean’s politically incorrect name are murkier.
So I found myself with a little time on my hands, a cool day, and a hankering for soup. The result is this recipe, which got two thumbs up from my mate, so it’s a keeper.
Yellow Indian Woman Bean Soup
Using a pressure cooker means the soup comes together in a hurry, and you can use the cooker to “quick soak” the beans, as I did in step 1. Adding a whole jalapeno infuses it with pleasant heat. If you can’t find Yellow Indian Woman beans, substitute black beans. I used unsalted homemade chicken stock, but you could use store-bought low-sodium chicken broth and adjust the amount of added salt to taste.
1 (12-ounce) bag dried Yellow Indian Woman beans
1 (4-ounce) link Mexican chorizo
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
4 cups unsalted chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 jalapeno chile pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Additional cilantro, for garnish
Yellow Indian Woman Soup
1. Sort through the beans, discarding any split beans. Place beans in a 6-quart pressure cooker; add water to cover by 2 inches. Lock lid in place, and bring to high pressure over high heat. Reduce heat, and cook 2 minutes. Release pressure using automatic pressure release OR carefully transfer cooker to sink and run cool water over rim until pressure drops. Remove lid, tilting lid away from you to allow steam to escape. Drain beans.
2. Return cooker to stove. Remove chorizo from casing; add chorizo to cooker over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, or until chorizo renders its fat, using a spoon to crumble chorizo. Add onion, and cook 3 minutes. Add garlic, and cook 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add drained beans, chicken stock, cumin, and oregano. Use a sharp knife to cut a slit in the jalapeno; add to cooker. Lock lid in place, and bring to high pressure over high heat. Reduce heat, and cook 20 minutes or until beans are tender. Release pressure using automatic pressure release OR carefully transfer cooker to sink and run cool water over rim until pressure drops. Remove lid, tilting lid away from you to allow steam to escape. Stir in salt and pepper. Discard jalapeno. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to desired texture (or transfer soup in batches to a food processor or blender). Stir in 2 tablespoons cilantro; cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Serve garnished with additional cilantro. Yield: 6 servings.
307 calories; 7 g total fat (2 g sat); 19 g protein; 44 g carbohydrates; 9 g fiber; 14 mg cholesterol; 551 mg sodium
File this one under “why didn’t I think of that?” The folks at Fine Cooking magazine have a new bookazine out: Big Buy. It’s all about making the most of food you buy in bulk, from bulk-bin beans to seasonal farmers’ market bargains to big hunks of meat and mondo chunks of cheese from warehouse stores. With recipes, of course. And it’s $9.99 with free shipping if you bite by July 22. Yep, I’ll bite.
Serve up ice cream sandwiches made with Blueberry Semifreddo and gingersnaps.
Last week, I offered a tease to a recipe for blueberry semifreddo. Well, here it is, along with other ways with blueberries, just in time for July 4th. Enjoy!
Blueberry Semifreddo: a cool, creamy treat just in time for the dog days of summer
A Facebook friend has been joking that she’s auditioning candidates for the role of her summer boyfriend. Well, I’ve found mine. He’s smooth, cool, and Italian. His name is Semifreddo. He’s a soft-serve style of ice cream that doesn’t require an ice cream maker, which in my opinion makes him an ideal low-maintenance lover.
Semifreddo requires nothing more than gently cooking some eggs and sugar on the stovetop, combining them with whipped cream and flavorings, and freezing the stuff in a metal tin. The result: A cool, creamy, rich dessert.
These days, I’m all about paring down kitchen tools. I gave away a lot of pans and gadgetry when I moved from Alabama back to Southern California. Not that my mate would believe me, given the amount of kitchen crap squirreled away in drawers and cupboards all over our crib. But, really, you can have too much of a good thing. I just jettisoned the curved torne knife (used to whittle annoying football-shaped vegetable tornes) from my knife kit, since a regular paring knife does the job just as well. Or, at least, not any worse.
Next up, I’m eyeing the ice cream maker attachment I purchased for the KitchenAid stand mixer last year. It works just fine, but I’ve used the thing exactly once. Ever. I’m not even sure I could find the bowl since I’ve moved. And in any case, there’s not really room for it to roost in the freezer, where it needs to chill for at least 12 hours before using it. That would involve moving the vodka, and why would we want to do that?
So on Sunday I was developing recipes for a story and ventured into the world of semifreddo, which requires nothing more than gently cooking some eggs and sugar on the stovetop, combining them with whipped cream and flavorings, and freezing the stuff in a metal tin. The result: A dessert that’s cool, creamy, and rich–just what you want on a summer evening. I’ll post my recipe for Blueberry Semifreddo when it goes live, but in the meantime, you can try Donna Hay’s tasty Raspberry Semifreddo.
Heady and yummy, Pascual Toso malbec is a delicioso find for 15 bucks a bottle.
Yesterday was one of those Mondays when we needed a treat at the end of the day. “Surprise me,” said the text from my mate. That’s a tall order, so I stopped by our favorite bipolar wine merchant in Marina del Rey. We affectionately refer to him as Angry Man. As in, “I’m going to buy some wine from Angry Man.”
Now, let me put in my 2 cents about wine merchants. I’ve noticed they tend to be a cranky bunch. I think it’s because they open a wineshop with the hopes and dreams and excitement about sharing their love all things grape with the public only to have people turn up demanding, “What do you have that’s under 10 bucks and good?” The merchant is left thinking, “I didn’t open my dream shop to compete with effin’ Trader Joe’s.” So their good stuff gets pushed to the back of the store while they end up promoting the cheap stuff at the front. It’s like opening a cheese shop where people only want to buy Velveeta.
But I also know that people who love wine can appreciate good sippers across the price spectrum. (My friend, wine and spirits writer Jeffery Lindenmuth, is particularly good at sniffing out great, food-friendly value wines–check out his roundup of box wines.)
I’ve also found that nothing makes a cranky wine merchant’s face light up like the words, “I’d like to buy a case today.” That was the case a few months ago, when I went in to purchase a case of French Cahors malbec (the so-called “legendary black wine of France,” which my mate had discovered at Angry Man’s shop). Angry Man only had about 6 bottles on hand, so I asked him to recommend something in a similar vein (and price). He was practically giddy as he offered up a bottle of Pascual Toso Malbec from Argentina. “This is a fantastic wine for the price,” he said of the $15 bottle. Sold!
When we sampled the wine, we were immediately seduced by its rich, plummy, berry qualities. It became our new favorite wine. And yesterday a bottle of it paired beautifully with the leftover filet mignon with Bordelaise sauce I brought home from school.
Pass up the refrigerated cookie dough and make your own.
Uh, oh, Nestle has initiated a voluntary recall (at the FDA’s prompting, but, still) of their Toll House refrigerated cookie dough, which may be tainted with E. coli. More than 60 people have gotten sick from the stuff since March, and about two dozen have been hospitalized. No one has died from eating the dough or baked cookies.
If ever cookie lovers needed motivation to make their own goodies from scratch, this is it. Try our easy Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Cookies. The best part: you can tailor them to suit your taste.
C’mon, baby, it ain’t hard. And we won’t tell if you sneak a taste of the raw dough. (Not recommended, ’cause of the raw eggs in it, but some of us like to live on the food-safety edge anyway.)
Sodium patrol: Making salt saltier (so you eat less)–Little Stomaks
Would-be urban gardener: I have the rooftop, but not the garden. Maybe this will inspire my not-so-green thumb.–The New York Times
Are Americans will to pay the cost of good nutrition? Eh, maybe, according to a new survey–NutraIngedients-USA.com
Some people won’t lose weight, even if you pay them. Or, at least, money ain’t a great weight-loss motivator.–Cornell University
Beware the box: Lia Huber, founder of the Nourish Network, has a terrific weekly “Nibble to Noodle” newsletter in which she offers tidbits about nutrition, food, and good eats. Visit Lia’s site to sign up for her e-newsletter (with recipes!). This week, she tackles overblown nutrition claims found on packaged food claims:
I walked up and down the supermarket aisles last week with a keen eye towards what packages were promising and I found that, for the most part, the bolder a product proclaimed its virtues the less likely it was to be good for me.
Take Reduced Fat Ritz Crackers, for instance. The green stripe at the bottom of the box draws my eye towards a sunny icon proclaiming the snack to be a “sensible solution.” They have half the fat of original Ritz, no cholesterol and little saturated fat; more than enough to convince a busy shopper to lob that box into their cart and feel good about it. But let’s take a closer look at those claims, shall we?
No Cholesterol and Low in Saturated Fat – These phrases typically appeal to those looking out for their cardiovascular health (and bravo to you for doing so!). Where it gets misleading is that dietary cholesterol has turned out to have much less effect on our bodies than previously thought; it’s the types of fat we consume, and their respective impact on LDL and HDL cholesterol, that matter. Saturated fat raises harmful LDL, but it also raises helpful HDL so the net effect isn’t too terribly awful. Trans fat–identified either by gram in the nutritional panel or by the term partially hydrogenated in the ingredients list–is by far the worst type of fat because it both raises LDL and lowers HDL. So let’s flip the box over and see what’s there. The nutritional panel lists trans fat at 0 grams, but because a product can contain up to .5 grams of trans fat and still list the amount at 0, I like to double-check the ingredients list for partially-hydrogenated oils. And there, right in the middle of the list, is partially-hydrogenated cottonseed oil. So much for those benefits.
Half the Fat – True, at 2 grams per serving these Ritzes contain half the fat of normal Ritzes which weigh in at 4 grams. But what does that really tell us? If we’re concerned about the fat itself, we already know that these are made with a less-than-ideal type. And if we’re equating fat grams with whether or not the crackers will make us fat, we’re looking in the wrong place. Calories (or more specifically, an excess of calories) cause weight gain, not total fat grams. These Reduced Fat Ritz have 70 calories per serving–not bad, until you consider that a serving is only 5 crackers. Up that to a more realistic 10 and you’re looking at 140 calories, roughly seven percent of an average daily “calorie budget” of 2,000.
So here you have a snack with virtually no value for your body that gobbles up close to a tenth of your allotted calories for the day and includes a downright dangerous type of fat. This is a sensible solution? For whom . . . us or Nabisco?
Poultry tops the list of foods that cause foodbourne illnesses, but smart handling will ensure it's safe. (Photo by Robert Pikul/Dreamstime.)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report last week, noting that poultry (including eggs) tops the list of foods linked to foodborne disease outbreaks. Poultry accounted for 21 percent of single-food outbreaks, followed by leafy greens and fruits/nuts, in 2006, the year covered by the CDC’s report.
These days, I’m in the Meat Identification & Fabrication class at culinary school, which means food safety is much on my mind. Last week was spent breaking down whole chickens and ducks, as well as scrubbing scales off, gutting, and filleting whole fish. With that comes, frequent sanitation and carefully avoid cross-contamination.
That’s because, like it or not, raw meat, poultry, and seafood harbors all manner of bacteria you want to keep out of your food. Common sense and diligence go a long way toward ensuring food is safe, and the same basic principles apply, whether you’re cutting up a chicken for restaurant service or or prepping ingredients to grill dinner in the back yard:
Clean
Make sure your hands, tools, and surfaces stay clean. Wash all three after handling any raw meat or seafood. Hot, soapy water will do the trick.
Separate
Cross-contamination is the big issue. Never use the same utensils and cutting boards for handling raw and cooked food (unless you wash utensils and cutting boards thoroughly after using them for raw ingredients). Also, be to use a bowl, tray, or plate to transport raw meat or seafood across the kitchen (or through the house the grill outside). Elizabeth Karmel, of Girls at the Grill, has a great tip for grillers: Invest in two pairs of long-handled tongs. Wrap red electrical tape around the handle of one, and green around the handle of the other. The red pair is for handling raw ingredients only, while the green pair is for cooked. Also take an extra plate or tray out to the grill for cooked food.
Cook properly
Undercooked food can harbor harmful bacteria. Use a digital instant-read thermometer to ensure meat and poultry is cooked to the proper internal temperature. According to the USDA, poultry should reach an internal temperature of 165 F; roasts, steaks, and fish, 145 F; and ground beef and pork, 160 F. Remember that food continues to cook when removed for heat–called “carry-over” cooking–so pull meat from the grill or oven a few degrees early, and it will come up the proper temperature while it stands before slicing.
Chill
Get food into the refrigerator or freezer promptly after bringing it home from the store. Defrost frozen food in the refrigerator, never on the counter. And chill leftovers quickly (divide large amounts into smaller portions so they cool faster).
For more info, bookmark Fight Bac!, the site created by the Partnership for Food Safety Education. It’s a great quick reference for food-safety practices.
Beater Blade scrapes the bowl of a stand mixer, so you don't have to.
I wrapped up the Intro to Baking Class at culinary school last week. As you might imagine, one of the most-used pieces of equipment was a stand mixer. The school has both super-sturdy Hobart mixers and fairly sturdy KitchenAid Professional bowl-lift models. I usually grabbed a Kitchen Aid because they’re lighter for me to carry across the lab and similar to the KitchenAid Artisan model I’ve used at home for years.
Professional culinary equipment often is superior to home versions, since it’s intended for high-volume use. But this was one case where I longed for something sitting in a drawer at home. (Actually, the second case, since I still prefer the Mac chef’s knife I use at home over the Messermeister version in the school-issued tool kit.) The school’s mixers use the manufacturer-issued metal paddle attachment. These do the job, but you often have to stop the mixer so you can scrape the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are combined.
Professional culinary equipment often is superior to home versions, since it’s intended for high-volume use. But this was one case where I longed for something sitting in a drawer at home.
“Man, they need a Beater Blade,” I told my lab partner. The Beater Blade is an aftermarket paddle attachment with rubber “bumpers” that scrape the bowl during mixing. I discovered the Beater Blade about a year ago, and it works well with heavy cookie doughs and delicate batters. I have no idea how well a Beater Blade would stand up to the frequent use of a professional kitchen, but they are a must-have for home bakers who own stand mixers.
Beater Blades cost about $25, and they’re available for KitchenAid’s tilt-head and bowl-lift models, as well as Cuisinart, Viking, and Delonghi stand mixers.
Cooks love gadgets…even if we don’t really need them. In fact, we probably don’t really need most of them. Many kitchen items can do double, or even triple duty. And you can always improvise with ingredients.
Case in point: I’ve been staying with a friend for a couple of weeks, and his kitchen is, shall we say, minimally equipped. Cooking isn’t his thing, but it’s certainly mine, so I’ve had fun improvising with the available ingredients and equipment. He doesn’t have a hand mixer (and certainly no stand mixer), for instance, but he does have a blender, albeit a cheap, tiny model more suited to blending margaritas than to mixing cookie dough.
And cookies were what I was craving. I was going to make this work, dammit! Here’s the recipe for chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies–with my clever MacGyver-like moves to get ‘em done.
Ali-Gyver Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda**
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or semisweet, white chocolate, peanut butter, etc.)
1/2 cup chopped almonds (or pecans or walnuts)
1/2 cup raisins (any kind of dried fruit works here. I’ve used dried figs, golden raisins, dried cherries, dried cranberries, even dried marionberries)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer*** until smooth. Combine flour through salt, stirring with a whisk. Stir in oatmeal. Stir in chips, nuts, and raisins. Drop dough by level teaspoonfuls onto 2 baking sheets covered with parchment paper (or sprayed with nonstick spray). Bake for 15 minutes; let cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2 dozen.
(Adapted from the New York Marathon Cookbook.)
* MacGyver move #1: there was not granulated sugar in the house, but there were packets of Sugar in the Raw. That stuff is too chunky to use as is, so I whirled in the blender for a 30 seconds to achieve a fine, granulated-like texture.
**MacGyver move #2: couldn’t find baking soda, but there was a new container of baking powder. I used 1/2 teaspoon of that and the cookies tasted fine, but came out taller than usual (see photo above).
*** MacGyver move #3: As noted, there was not mixer in the house, and the blender was a tiny, flimsy model. I used the blender to cream the wet ingredients (step 1), then stirred them into the dry, ultimately using my hands to combine everything. It came together just fine.
If you don’t happen to live in California, Arizona, Utah, or Nevada, but your travels take you to that neck of the woods, be sure to stop by one of the many In-N-Out Burger outlets that dot the landscape. As any native of the region will boast, it’s the best, hands-down. Even Eric Schlosser sang the praises of In-N-Out in Fast Food Nation, his landmark expose of the fast-food industry.
In-N-Out’s appeal is its simplicity. For 60 years, they’ve kept it streamlined: variations of burgers, fries, and great shakes. No Baja Tango Chicken Margaritaville Wraps. No Tuscan-style Sandwich-inis. No concessions to changing tastes and trends. They just make burgers and fries better than just about any fast food chain. Nothing is frozen (there isn’t even a freezer on the premises), burgers are made to order, buns are baked from sponge dough, fries are cut on the premises.
Although the menu is small, you do have options, all part of their “Not-So-Secret Menu,” which you can find on their Web site. Vegetarians can order the Grilled Cheese (no meat), carbo-phobes can opt for the Protein Style (no bun). The really, really hungry can choose a 2×2, 3×3, or even 4×4 (as in 2, 3, or 4 patties). And there’s the famous Animal Style, with a special sauce.
My favorite: a cheeseburger, with onions, fries, and a chocolate shake, which I recently enjoyed at windswept In-N-Out off the I-40 in Kingman, Arizona. My dog was happy we made the stop.
Rascal enjoys a lip-smacking bite of cheeseburger.
Now, some folks might consider this attitude jingoistic–my burger’s better that yours. So there. But I’ve been living in heart of Dixie for the last six years and have made it a quest to find a burger that rivals In-N-Out. I’ve tried Milo’s, a Birmingham, Alabama institution that serves burgers smothered in their BBQ-like special sauce. Locals adore them. I think they taste like a flat tire…smothered in BBQ sauce.
My In-N-Out substitute down south has been Sonic, which has friendly car-side service and a reasonable burger and great tater tots. But they confuse the issue by loading up the menu with chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, sausage & biscuits, and a plethora of ice cream creations that rivals Dairy Queen.
Sweet and simple…that’s the way Rascal and I like it.
A giant sombrero points the way to a delightful lunch in Tucumcari, NM.
Yesterday, I wrote about my favorite fast-food chain burger. But today, my cross-country jaunt demanded local food. As in no chains. As in something I can’t get at any interstate-side stop.
Tucumcari, NM, would offer just what I craved for a late lunch. In other words, simple New Mexican fare. So, beckoned by a roadside billboard, I pulled off I-40 and headed toward historic Route 66 in search of La Cita (located on the corner of Route 66 and S. 1st St.). Imagine my delight when I was greeted by a giant sombrero.
For all its kitschy charm, the exterior of La Cita was, admittedly a bit shabby, but inside it was all bright, soft pink walls and the chummy buzz of locals enjoying a Sunday lunch. A single, friendly waitress jockeyed between tables, keeping all of us happy. She set down a basket of thick tortilla chips fried in lard (I think) and small bowl of salsa that boasted bright, zingy heat and a wonderful thick consistency that clung to chips. I hate it when a salsa is thin and just sort of dribbles of a chip. What’s the point?
I ordered a plate of cheese enchiladas, ’cause I was in the mood for something unfussy and satisfying. It was three corn tortillas wrapped around cheese and smothered in a sea of red chile sauce and topped with a bit more cheese–just what I wanted.
A plate of cheese enchiladas at La Cita is worth a short detour off the interstate.
Milk, bread, and eggs all cost more than they did a year ago, motivating consumers to shop more creatively.
By now, we’re all spending less in order to save some dough. We’re driving less. Eating out less and cooking more at home. Shopping differently–everything from clipping coupons, to buying in-store brands, to trolling the aisles at discount stores. The market research firm Booz & Co.’s latest survey finds those are among the top behavioral changes consumers have already made or plan to make. Even well-heeled shoppers who make $95K+ are looking for bargains these days.
Traditional bargain outlets like dollar stores and other high-value retailers are seeing sales climb while high-end retailers are watching sales dip. Sales at the Commerce, Calif.-based 99 Cents Only stores rose 9 percent in the third quarter and the company now boasts “The Right Store..Now More than Ever” on its Web site. On the opposite end of the grocery scale, Whole Foods’ sales grew just 2.6% in the third quarter (down from 10% growth during the same period in 2006), and the company has trimmed plans for new store openings, according to the Wall Street Journal. They’re fighting back with weekly “value tours” to show customers how they can save and still have their Whole Foods, too.
I’m certainly shopping differently. A year ago, I cheerfully perused the aisles of Whole Foods, tossing gourmet cheese, exotic produce, and pricey meat into the my shopping cart. Last week, I bragged that I dropped just $18 at the store (picking up a few specific items and ignoring the temptation that lurked at every corner). My best buy was a couple of links of in-store-made lamb merguez sausage for less than $3. I cut them up, cooked them in a soup pot, and sauteed the aromatics in the rendered fat to make Potage de Lentille, which provided us with 2 generous suppers. You can pick up French lentils at gourmet groceries or online.
I’m also planning a recon mission to 99 Cents Only, now that I know I can score a 3-pound sack of potatoes or a 2-pack of red bell peppers for a buck (gratin, anyone?).
Mexican Chocolate Brownies: a treat for a cash-strapped era
As if I needed more evidence of how times have changed, consider how I marked
Birmingham's Chef Frank Stitt is a god.
a good friend’s birthday. Last year, I treated her to a lavish Champagne dinner created by Chef Frank Stitt of Bottega (and Highlands Bar & Grill and Chez Fon Fon) fame in Birmingham, Ala., using spectacular selections from Champagnes Bruno Paillard. Bubbly and beef cheeks speak to richer times, at least for me. This year, it’s a different story. Cash-strapped, I opted to spoil her with homemade Mexican Chocolate Brownies and a pint of premium (I’m not that poor) dulce de leche ice cream. Here’s the recipe for the brownies (shown above):
Mexican Chocolate Brownies
Mexican chocolate is sweet, cinnamony, and nutty. The chile powder adds a touch of smoky heat, but you can omit it.
1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
6 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour (that’s about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (optional)
1 1/3 cups sugar 6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and add chocolate chips, stirring until they melt and the mixture is smooth.
3. Whisk together the flour through cinnamon in a large bowl. Add vanilla, almond extract, and eggs; beat with a mixer. Add flour mixture and chocolate mixture; beat just until combined. Spread batter (it’s thick) into prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
These days, more people know what they should eat, according to a new survey.
If you’re confident that you’re on the right track as far as diet, nutrition, and fitness are concerned, you’re among the 42% of folks who made that claim in the American Dietetic Association’sNutrition Trends 2008 survey. Other categories include people who know they should do better (up 8% from 2002) and those who just don’t care (down 13%). Most consumers, especially women, in the survey ranked diet, nutrition, and physical activity as “very important.”
People are eating more of the good stuff–whole grains, vegetables, and fruit. In particular, 56% said they’re enjoying more whole grains these days. And that’s good news, because whole grains provide ample fiber, plus vitamins, minerals, and a host of antioxidants. Eating whole grains may reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The government recommends at least three servings per day (a serving is a slice of 100% whole grain bread, for example, or a half-cup of cooked brown rice).
Check my follow-up post with a recipe for one of my favorite whole grains these days: quinoa.
Starbucks was onto something when they handed out free cups of java on election day. The outcome certainly generated a worldwide wave of bonhomie.
In a small way, coffee may have had something to do with it. Yale University psychologists reporting in the journal Science say that just holding a hot cup of coffee is enough to generate goodwill towards others.
The researchers randomly assigned undergrads to hold either a cup of hot coffee or iced coffee and then review a packet of information about an individual to assess that person’s personality traits. Students who had clutched a warm cup of joe deemed the individual “warm” (i.e., more generous and caring) while those who had held iced coffee were less magnanimous.
In a follow-up study to gauge the effect of temperature on behavior, the researchers asked volunteers to hold either a hot or cold therapeutic pack and then choose between a gift certificate for a friend or a token for themselves. Sure enough, volunteers who had cuddled up to a heated pad were far more likely to opt for the gift certificate.
Hmmm…I know a cup (or three) of Peets Arabian Mocha-Java (sorry, Starbucks, it’s my fave) sets me up for a good day. Of course, if tea is your brew, you’ll still reap the feel-good benefits of holding a hot cup as opposed to the iced version.
Quinoa's tiny grains are packed with protein and fiber.
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) a South American grain that’s high in protein with a delicate flavor and texture similar to couscous. (The Incas loved the stuff, apparently.) You can find it in many supermarkets, most health-food stores, or online. It’s available in white or a heritage variety called Inca Red (they taste the same). You can cook it just like rice, adding whatever herbs or other ingredients you like. Here’s my recipe for a simple pilaf.
Easy Quinoa Pilaf. Really easy.
Easy Quinoa Pilaf
Add this to your repertoire for a versatile side dish; it’s great with grilled salmon and asparagus, for instance, or roast chicken. This recipe has a large yield, but leftovers will keep in the fridge of a few days. You can add chopped chicken or shrimp for a brown-bag lunch. Once you know the basic method and proportions, you can change it up in any number ways. Use Italian parsley or fresh sage instead of cilantro, perhaps, or trade the pecans for pine nuts or walnuts.
Toasting the quinoa intensifies its flavor and color.
1. First, toast the quinoa, which enhances its subtle nutty flavor. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the quinoa, and cook 6 minutes, stirring frequently, or until toasted. You’ll hear the quinoa grains pop as they cook.
2. Add the onion and garlic; saute 2 minutes or until the onion has softened.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly add the broth (the mixture will pop and bubble). Return the pan to the heat, and stir in the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the quinoa is tender and the liquid is absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat. Uncover, fluff with a fork, cover, and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in the pecans, cilantro, and juice. Yield: 4 1/2 cups; 8 servings.
* Uncooked quinoa needs to be soaked and thoroughly rinsed to remove saponin, a naturally occurring chemical compound that’s harmless but tastes bitter. But brands like Ancient Harvest sell quinoa that has been pre-washed and -rinsed, so you can skip this step.
**If you’re using broth from a can, it won’t be quite 2 cups. Not to worry, just top it off with water.
My neighbors have settled in for a nice, long recession. Neither of them has lost a job (yay!), but they’re still pinching pennies because these are unpredictable times and they want to be prepared for any curve ball the economy might lob their way. One of the ways they’re conserving cash (along with having their old cars repainted rather than investing in new wheels) is relying on cheap, homemade soups and digging up their mamas’ Depression-era eats. This kind of stuff is the epitome of all-American comfort food…filling dishes designed to stretch cheap ingredients. Soup, naturally, tops the list, since you can cook up a big pot of the stuff and eat it for several days. A steaming bowl satisfies the soul and the stomach, which makes it quite a bargain, indeed.
There’s some science to support the notion that soup is especially when money is tight (and, hence, the proliferation of soup kitchens during the Great Depression). Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., of Penn State University has studied this extensively, finding that low-density (meaning foods that are high in water and low in fat) foods are satisfying even though they have relatively few calories. The idea is that you can high volume of low-density food (like soup) and still feel full while consuming fewer calories. That’s good news if you’re watching your weight–or trying to fill up on cheaper, lower-calorie foods like vegetables.
Beer batter bread is a speedy, comforting accompaniment for soup.
Last night, my friends made a northern bean soup with ham hocks and veggies. My contribution was Onion and Fontina Beer Batter Bread (click the link for the recipe and a picture that does this yummy treat far more justice than my snapshot). Of course, the $5 worth of fontina cheese that went into the bread wasn’t exactly a recession-friendly ingredient, though you could substitute a cheaper cheese, say, provolone or Monterey Jack). The point is, I love a beer batter bread for a several reasons: 1) it’s hearty and 2) it’s a quick bread, so you don’t have to wait for a dough to proof, though the beer lends it a nice, yeasty quality. You can throw it together in about 10 minutes, bake it for less than an hour, and serve it with dinner.
Many schools have banned sales of sweet drinks on campuses, but a new study reveals teens drink as much of the stuff as ever. (Photo courtesy of Dreamstime.)
Today’s New York Times reports that California schools are banning traditional cookies, cakes, and other sweet treats at bake sales in light of the state’s strict new nutrition guidelines designed to battle rising obesity rates among children. It’s an admirable goal, but something tells me crudites won’t sell as briskly as chocolate-chip cookies. I’m all for better guidelines, but demonizing any food is a bad idea. What about urging portion control (so you can have your cake and eat it, too….just not too much)? Or encouraging bake sale participants to whip up lighter treats?
It’s hard to gauge whether such interventions have much effect. A new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior reports that despite efforts to reduce or eliminate the availability of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs, a k a soda, sweetened juice, and the like) in schools, teen-agers guzzle just as much of the stuff.
But a study from the University of Minnesota offers some hope: Elementary school kids will eat more whole grains when the grains are gradually added to school lunches. Working with two schools over the course of a year, researchers increased the amount of whole-grain flour in school bread and rolls. By the end of the school year, students were no more likely to throw away bread products made with up to 70% whole-grain flour than they were to toss refined-flour breads at the beginning of the year. This, researchers say, suggests kids can develop a taste for healthier fare, especially if changes are made slowly.
Grilled Asparagus with a quesadilla is my idea of a great lunch.
Lunchtime rolls around, and I don’t always want to pop out to pick something up. Today, I had a hankering for my favorite comfort food: quesadillas, which are basically my go-to breakfast/lunch/dinner. I like mine made with corn tortillas and Monterey Jack cheese, cooked in a grill pan (if you don’t own one, get one–you’ll be glad you did). I love the way the tortillas puff up as a they cook. Add a dollop of Sriracha hot sauce, and I’m ready to chow down.
Today, I wanted some kind of side, and I had some asparagus in the fridge. OK, granted, asparagus aren’t exactly in season (they’re a spring veggie), but the stuff is in the supermarket all the time now. I’m not sure it even knows it has a season anymore, but that’s an issue for another post. I also had limes on hand, so I could make one of my favorite, all-time sides. Here’s the recipe.
Grilled Asparagus for 1
The amounts aren’t exact on this, and you can use other veggies instead of asparagus. I’ve made this with sliced zucchini and summer squash for a summertime appetizer. Of course, you can make this on an outdoor grill; just be sure to skewer the asparagus or cook them in a grill basket.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon OR lime juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 ounces trimmed asparagus
Fleur de sel (optional)
1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a shallow dish; stir with a fork or whisk to combine. Add the asparagus; toss to coat. Let stand 20 minutes.
2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and marinade. Grill 4 minutes or until the asparagus is tender and some grill marks have formed. The cook time really depends on the thickness of the asparagus; very thin stalks will just need a few minutes, while thicker stalks will need more time. Sprinkle with fleur de sel, if you like. Yield: 1 serving.
Green Goddess Salad is a nice counterpoint to gumbo.
It started on Sunday afternoon, while I was perusing The New York Times, a ritual that takes up the better part of the day. Flipping through the magazine, I came across Amanda Hesser’s story about the Green Goddess Saladwith a circa-1948 recipe for the iconic salad. Crisp romaine dressed in a briny, pungent mixture of anchovies, garlic, Worcestershire, and mayo is a classic recipe, and one I wanted to share with friends. So last night a bunch of us gathered in the kitchen of my friend and neighbor Aimee, who had asked another another friend and neighbor, Jon, over to teach her how to make his gumbo. Jon has a made a study of this Cajun stew, and perfected his recipe. I’ll share his lesson in a follow-up blogs.
The evening was the ideal opportunity to try out the recipe. You need to make the dressing at least an hour before serving so the flavors have plenty of time to develop their signature punch, which makes this salad good for entertaining. I couldn’t help pondering how much the Green Goddess Salad has in common with another iconic California (albeit Baja California) salad: the Caesar Salad, which legend says was born in 1924 in Caesar Cardini’s eponymous Tijuana restaurant.
The classic Caesar dressing–as opposed to the bastardized version that haunts so many chain restaurant menus these days–uses raw egg yolks, olive oil, smashed garlic, Worcestershire, and anchovies, along with, white white vinegar or lemon juice, a dash of mustard, and Parmesan cheese. The Green Goddess dressing employs mayonnaise (which is an emulsion of raw egg yolks, oil, and acid), Worcestershire, garlic, anchovies, and white wine vinegar to create a briny bite and lovely creamy consistency very similar to Caesar dressing that coats the crisp Romaine lettuce beautifully. If you really want to make this salad sing, you’d use homemade mayo (whenever I’m moved to whisk up a batch of mayonnaise, I consult James Peterson’s recipe from Essentials of Cooking), but in this case, I just opened a jar of Hellmann’s. If you use jarred mayo, it’s important to use a good-quality one, since it’s such a key ingredient.
Up next: Gumbo and the Green Goddess, part 2: Do Roux
I may have devoted my last post to bragging about my salad, but the real purpose of our shindig last night was for my friend Jon to teach my friend Aimee how to make his gumbo.
For the uninitiated, gumbo is a hallowed Creole stew that first appeared in Louisiana more than two centuries ago. It was made in humble backwoods Cajun settlements and in the kitchens of the finest Garden District homes in New Orleans. Every pot of gumbo is an American melting pot, melding culinary traditions from West Africa (in the form of okra; “gumbo” is an African word the green pods) to the file powder (made from dried ground sassafrass leaves used by the indigenous Choctaw Indians) to the roux contributed by French settlers. Gumbo takes many forms, with each cook tailoring the ingredients to suit. In lean times, folks might settle for a vegetable-only gumbo. In times of plenty, gumbos are augmented with oysters, crab meat, even turtle meat. Gumbo may be a child of Louisiana, but it’s been embraced across the South, from Mississippi to Alabama and beyond. For a wonderful, comprehensive history of the dish, check out the Southern Foodways Alliance’s Gumbo Trail Web site. It’s a treat.
Teacher and student: Jon gives Aimee a lesson in the finer points of making roux
So when someone agrees to share his gumbo with you, he’s sharing more than a recipe. He’s sharing a piece of his soul. (Sorry, Jon, I know that will make you puke, but it’s true.) That’s because gumbo recipes are handed down from one generation to the next, evolving with each cook’s taste. Jon made a study of gumbo, seeking advice from his mom, of course, a chef from New Orleans’ Commander’s Palace, and anyone else with expertise. Along the way, he refined his gumbo (I’ll share the recipe in a follow-up post). Last night, he taught the recipe to Aimee, who in turn will refine it and make it her own.
Gumbo’s foundation is the roux (pronounced ROO), which is nothing more than flour cooked in fat (can be vegetable oil, butter, lard, or drippings) over low heat for a long time. It takes patience. There are a few things to keep in mind:
Roux takes time–at least 30 minutes, often longer. You can’t rush roux.
Roux requires constant attention. It can burn in the blink of an eye. Do not stop stirring, do not turn your back. Do pour yourself a glass of wine, gather a few friends for company (they can take over the stirring, if needed), and settle in at the stove.
Kevin helps with the stirring.
If the roux burns, you’ll need to start over.
Making roux is a lesson in trusting your senses. You’ll see it change color, from a pale paste to a smooth, chocolate-colored, nutty-scented concoction with a consistency similar to thick yogurt.
Time and attention will transform a humble paste of flour and oil into a luscious roux.
Jon had Aimee start with 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup canola oil in a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet (if it’s one that’s been in the family for generations–this one had been a gift to Aimee’s husband, Kevin, from his mama–so much the better). You can use any sturdy pan, but cast iron holds and conducts heat particularly well. Adjust the proportions as needed. If it looks too thin, add a tablespoon or so more flour. If it’s too thick, add a bit more oil.
Aimee settles in at stove to make her roux. Brodus supervises.
Within 10 minutes, the roux takes on a smooth consistency and pale-almond color.
Within 10 minutes or so, the roux begins to take on a pale almond hue. Things are happening…
Halfway point: the roux is the the color of caramel.
Another 10 minutes or so, and it’s starting to look more like caramel. Things are looking good!
After about 20 minutes, Aimee needs a quick break, so Kevin steps up to the stove. She returns, commences stirring again. After about 30 minutes, the roux is looking like milk chocolate.
“It’s magic!” Aimee claims.
“It’s science,” says Jon.
He’s a former high-school science teacher, so we know he’s right. He starts explaining how the heat and oil are affecting the gluten in the flour, etc. Etc. Etc. If you want to learn about the science behind roux, I suggest you consult the fine work of food scientists Harold McGee or Shirley Corriher.
Finally, the roux reaches chocolate stage. It’s smooth. It’s dark. It smells nutty. It’s ready.
The roux is ready. It's time to make gumbo!
Up next: Gumbo and the Green Goddess, part 3: Time to Eat (and the recipe).
Gumbo Guru: Jon swears by Tony Cachere's Creole Seasoning
OK, my previous post covered the importance of roux and how to prepare it. Now it’s time to share the full recipe and share the finished product.
Jon’s Gumbo
You’ll need to allow plenty of time to make this Creole-style stew. The roux alone takes a half-hour or longer, and the stew needs to simmer at least an hour. It’s time well spent. Invite some friends and make a party of it.
Roux:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup canola oil
Gumbo:
2 small bags frozen seasoning blend vegetables (onions, bell peppers, celery, and parsley), thawed
1 bulb garlic, minced
6 cups water
1 (2-pound bag) sliced frozen okra, thawed
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained)
1 can Original Ro-Tel tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2 pounds spicy smoked sausage, sliced*
2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined**
1 pound jumbo lump crab meat (optional; add it if you’re feeling flush. We weren’t.)
1 pint raw oysters (optional; add them if you’re feeling flush. We weren’t.)
1 1/2 teaspoons Tony Cachere’s Creole Seasoning, to taste
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Gumbo file powder***
Tabasco
Rice:
4 cups water or chicken broth
2 cups Louisiana popcorn rice****
Jon's Gumbo: a pot of goodness on a chilly evening.
1. Prepare the roux, as per my previous post. When it’s done, add the seasoning blend and garlic. (As Jon, notes, this helps cool the roux mixture so it doesn’t blend. Still, keep in mind, roux is called “Cajun napalm” for a reason–it’s very hot and may bubble and spatter when you add the vegetables. Use caution.) Cook the vegetables until tender.
2. While the vegetables cook, bring about 6 cups water to a boil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the roux-vegetable mixture, okra, tomatoes, bay leaves, and sausage to the pot (”At this point, it’s just a dump soup,” Jon notes.) Reduce the heat, and simmer 1 hour. Add the shrimp (and crab and oysters, if you’re using them); simmer 5 minutes or until the shrimp are done. Stir in the Creole seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste (you may not need them at all. Serve with file powder and Tabasco at the table.
3. While the gumbo simmers, prepare the rice. Bring 4 cups water or broth to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in the rice. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.
* Jon is a fan of Alabama-made Conecuh sausage. I couldn’t find it at the local supermarket, so we used Savoie’s Andouille sausage. Andouille is a spicy smoked Cajun-style sausage available in many supermarkets. You can use any kind of spicy smoked sausage you find.
**If you have the time and want to make your gumbo extra special, Jon suggests saving the shrimp shells and using them to make a simple stock for the soup. To do this, combine the shrimp shells; half an onion, coarsely chopped; 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped; 2 bay leaves; 3 thyme sprigs; and a teaspoon of black peppercorns in a Dutch oven or other large pot. Cover with 8 cups cold water. Bring it to a boil; reduce the heat, and simmer for 45 minutes. Every so often, skim the surface to remove any solids. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl. You can do this step a day ahead. Use the shrimp stock in place of the water in the gumbo.
***Gumbo file (pronounced FEE-lay) powder is made from ground dried sassafrass leaves. It adds an herbaceous quality and acts as a thickening agent. It’s added to the gumbo after cooking.
****Popcorn rice is a Louisiana specialty, a cross between basmati and American long-grain varieties. It actually smells like popped popcorn as it cooks. You can find it at specialty stores, order it online, or substitute regular basmati rice.
Mac the Knife: These imported Japanese knives live up to the hype.
I’m a sucker for a good a good sales pitch. As a kid, I loved listening to the pitchmen at the annual San Diego County Fair hawk their wares…juicers, blenders, Ginsu knives–you name it, they sold it. TV shopping channels and informercials have much the same appeal (I was seriously tempted by a cheap plastic caulking tool on TV last night), and the words “but wait, there’s more” are oddly hypnotic. Of course, I want more. It takes some willpower to ignore that siren song.
But was a carnival-like pitch at a trade show that led me to my favorite knife. As I trolled expo aisles chockablock with gourmet chocolate, fancy cookware, and food commodities marketers promoting the culinary virtues of kiwifruit and hazelnuts, I noticed a crowd gathered around a table, where a salesman enthusiastically extolled the virtues of the Mac knife. It’s imported from Japan, which produces some of the world’s best cutlery, and is the new favorite knife of such gastronomic heavy hitters as Thomas Keller and Eric Ripert.
“Here, give it a try,” the salesman said, when I worked my way up to the table. He handed me a santoku knife, a tomato, and a potato.
It was lovely to hold, light and well balanced. It fit perfectly in the palm of my hand. It sliced through the tender tomato without mangling the fruit. It made short work of the denser spud, too.
“That’s nice,” I said, handing it back. “But how does it hold its edge? My Wustof doesn’t hold its edge at all.”
“You won’t have that problem with these knives,” he promised, unsurprisingly. He pointed out the knife’s thin blade and slender spine, noting that it helped the knife hold its edge.
I was hooked, and a small trade show discount sealed the deal. I ordered a 6 1/2-inch Mac Mighty santoku knife. It retails for about $110, comparable to other high-quality knives, but you could certainly pay a lot more; a similar-size Shun Ken Onion, for example, is almost twice as expensive.
Two weeks later, my little cutter arrived, and I’ve loved it ever since. It stays sharp, as promised, and its agile quality serves me well. Recently, I decided it needed a friend, so I picked up a 10-inch dimpled Mac chef’s knife, which, thanks to its light heft and perfect balance, is easy for me to wield. It cost about $100. Needless to say, the Wustofs are gone.
I’ve rarely seen Mac knives in retail stores (except for the gift shop at the Culinary Institute of America/Greystone), but you can find them easily online. I promise.
I came across this interesting nugget: exercise may reduce chocolate cravings. Researchers at the University of Exeter in the UK asked 25 self-confessed chocoholics to abstain from their favorite fix for three days. Then they were randomly assigned to take a brisk 15-minute walk or rest, followed by an activity that would normally make them jones for chocolate (either a mental test, which induces stress, or opening a chocolate bar, which triggers a Pavlovian response). The participants reported reduced cravings during the walk and for 10 minutes afterward.
Researchers cite this as the first study to link exercise with diminished chocolate cravings. “This could be good news for people who struggle to manage their cravings for sugary snacks and want to lose weight,” says Professor Adrian Taylor. Craving chocolate is often a symptom of stress or a low mood, and exercise can both dissipate stress and lift your spirits.
Unfortunately, upon reading about this study, I started to crave chocolate and went into the kitchen to fix my favorite snack–Greek yogurt and dark chocolate chips. Since I’ll take the dog for a brisk walk in a little while anyway, I figure I can have my chocolate and enjoy it, too.
If potatoes are on your Thanksgiving menus, cook the spuds whole to maximize their nutritional punch. (Photo courtesy of USDA.)
Thanksgiving may be a couple weeks away, but if you’re cooking the feast, you’re probably deep into planning the feast. No doubt, spuds of some type–russets in a mash, perhaps, or sweet potatoes in a casserole–will be part of the menu.
As you prepare your potatoes, keep some news from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in mind: How you cook the spuds affects their nutritional value. ARS researchers found that cubed and boiled potatoes may cook faster, but they also lose up to 75% of their mineral content. To preserve the spuds’ nutritional value, the ARS folks suggest boiling them whole with their skin on.
Clearly, our friends at the ARS don’t cook, because boiling whole potatoes would take forever. A better strategy would be to bake (about 45 to 60 minutes in a 400 degree oven) or microwave (about 10 minutes on HIGH; turn ‘em halfway through) the spuds. (Don’t forget to pierce their skin with a fork so they don’t explode in the oven.) The baked potatoes will have a drier texture, so you may need to add a bit more liquid to the mash.
It’s worth cooking tubers with care. Potatoes may have gotten a bad rap from the anti-carb crowd in recent years, but they are an excellent source of the mineral potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure and kidney function, and may prevent strokes. The recommended daily allowance for potassium is 3,500 milligrams. A medium baked russet potato has 610 milligrams; a baked sweet potato has even more, at 694.
Do people really need more stuff? Affordable, consumable goodies are likely to top lists this year. (Photo courtesy of Dreamstime.)
New York Times columnist Michael Kinsey wrote an interesting blog recently about a debate he had with himself: Should he purchase a whiz-bang coffee grinder/maker on sale at home emporium store going out of business? Although he could certainly afford the $179 the gadget would set him back, he noted, the current dour economic conditions made think him twice and he ultimately decided to leave it on the shelf. Expense aside, he figured, it was just another appliance to clutter up the kitchen counter.
Hmmm, he raises a good point. When you think about it, buying more junk willy-nilly is the opposite of fiscal responsibility (even if it’s deeply discounted at pre-Christmas sales and was the engine that drove our economy for so long) and counter to environmental responsibility (more stuff=more clutter=more junk in the landfill).
Kinsey’s blog also reminds me of my friend’s husband. Long before the economy began to tank, he despised gifts that just took up space and favored tokens that could be consumed, literally. A gift of food was the most obvious example (for goodies to make, check out Eating Well magazine’s roundup of healthy recipes and cool printable gift tags). The recipient eats it, enjoys it, and–voila!–it’s gone. Tickets to an event are an idea in the same vein. And since I’m in the process of packing for a cross-country move, I can appreciate this concept better than ever. I’m shedding stuff, not looking to acquire more.
Long before the economy began to tank, my friend’s husband despised gifts that took up space and favored tokens that could be consumed, literally. Nothing fulfills that criteria better than the gift of food.
So I predict these austere times will make homemade gifts, including baked treats and other cadeaux from the kitchen, a hot item this holiday. These presents may once have smacked for quaint; now they’re the height of recession-era chic. If you don’t have time to be an elf in the kitchen this year, here are a half-dozen affordable, consumable items to consider for those you love.
For the coffee lover
OK, at $39.95 for a half-pound, Peet’s Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee isn’t exactly cheap, but recipients will no doubt consume it in no time. And if your giftees have downgraded to Yuban lately, this rich, world-renowned brew will be all the more appreciated. Or to keep stretch that $39, enroll someone in Peet’s Monthly Coffee Tour ($39 for 3 months, $74 for 6, $149 for 12) so they receive 1 pound of a different coffee monthly.
For the artisanal food aficionado
Located in the heart of Kentucky’s Bourbon Country, Bourbon Barrel Foods crafts small-batch sauces using bourbon barrels. The result is very intriguing gifts for little coin: their Worcestershire or soy sauce is just $5. Their sorghum syrups–billed as Kentucky’s answer to maple syrup–are about $8. Their bourbon barrel-aged vanilla extract ($8.95) is a must for bakers. For $17.50, you can give a set of the their bourbon barrel-smoked salt, paprika, and peppers–a nice item for the grillers on your list.
For the cook…
…a hands-on cooking lesson, of course. You can find these in just about any community for all manner of cuisines and techniques. Culinary schools often offer recreational classes for passionate amateurs, national chains like Sur la Table have great lineups of guest teachers, and local restaurant chefs also occasionally invite students into their kitchens. Prices range from about $60 for an evening class at a local store to $2,095 for a five-day Culinary Boot Camp at the Culinary Institute of America’s Hyde Park, NY, campus. And remember, hands on, no demo sessions, because a cook isn’t going to want to sit around and watch someone else at the stove.
For the gourmand or health-food lover
Farro is high on the list of trendy foods these days. The ancient grain is high in fiber and protein, has appealing nutty flavor and al dente texture; you can use it in a place of rice in a pilaf or cook it like risotto. But it can be hard to find, so make it easy by ordering a pretty little linen bag of Tenuta Castello Farro.
For the (adventurous) chocolate lover
Chocolate and bacon? Trust me, it’s compelling…sort of a gourmet sweet-and-savory riff like chocolate and peanut butter. Vosges‘ Mo’s Bacon Bar ($7.50) combines velvety milk chocolate with bits of applewood-smoked bacon and a sprinkling of alder wood-smoked salt. Yummmm. The chocolatiers at Vosges aren’t shy about creating offbeat flavor combinations; they also have the intriguing Organic Enchanted Mushroom Bar (dark chocolate, reishi mushrooms, and walnuts for $8.50) or the Habana bar (milk chocolate and crunchy plaintains, also $8.50)–and these are some of their more mainstream concoctions. For those who like variety, awesome gift sets of mini exotic bars starting at $25.
For the wine (and food) lover
Wine is a classic consumable gift, and a bottle of Dobbes Family Estate’s 2007 Grand Assemblage Cuvee Pinot Noir ($28) is a crowd-pleasing winner. The wine’s ripe fruitiness, soft texture, and pleasing acidity makes it play well with all manner of holiday foods. If you go to someone’s house for supper, a bottle of this Oregonian wine will ensure you’re invited back. A guest brought me a bottle for Thanksgiving, and it certainly left me with warm fuzzy feelings.
Rancho la Puerta (photo courtesy of Rancho la Puerta)
I’m at Rancho la Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, this week, eating well, hiking, and yoga’ing it up. I’m especially eager to explore their new culinary center, La Cocina que Canta, where Chef Jesus Gonzalez shares the legendary spa’s epicurean secrets with guests.
La Cocina que Canta: the culinary school at Rancho La Puerta.
Am at Rancho la Puerta in Tecate, Mexico. RLP is the legendary spa started in the 1940s by the couple who later went on to found the ultra-luxurious Golden Door. It’s my first visit here (the first of many to come, I hope, assuming I win the lottery–good thing I’m moving from no-lottery Alabama to back to lottery-fevered California).
I’ll go into more detail when I return, but suffice to say it’s like an upscale camp for grown-ups. Lots of activities to choose from, do nothing at all, if you please.
One of the many highlights is the food, which is healthy, but tasty and filling. When the staff rings the mealtime bell, I come runnin’, just like Pavlov’s dog. The produce comes from the Ranch’s extensive organic garden (overseen by the delightful and enthusiastic Salvador, ) and the occasional seafood dish features fresh catch from nearby Ensenada.
So, this afternoon, it’s lunch, of course, followed by making prayer arrows this afternoon. I have no clue what that entails, but it’s bound to be crafty and spritual. In any case, Hillari wants one. Why, is a mystery.
Lunchtime offerings at Rancho la Puerta typically include a stellar salad, like this one made with roasted beets and medallions of goat cheese. Yum!
I’ve just returned from a week’s stay at Rancho la Puerta in Tecate, Mexico. It was a nice little item I’d bid on and won at a charity auction last year because I’d always dreamed of going. So my pal Hillari and I made the long journey, arriving under cover of darkness (she found the trip winding along San Diego County’s quiet backcountry roads toward the border crossing in Tecate a tad unnerving, or at least carsick-inducing).
The week was all I’d hoped for–relaxing, with lots of opportunities for early morning hikes on
When you start the day with a brisk hike up a desert mountain, you feel fine about eating as much as you want.
desert mountain trails, plenty of yoga, and other classes to sample. The special poetry workshop was a pleasant surprise, as were the qi gong sessions. The chance to learn about healing touch and colors, and to craft my very own prayer arrow (basically yarn wrapped around a stick with some feathers and a crystal) was fun, but I’m still a skeptic.
Certainly, a standout highlight was the food. The overriding philosophy at The Ranch is to enjoy lots of fresh fruits and vegetables at every meal. Ideally, in every dish. Butternut squash was the veggie of the week. It seemed the gardeners at the Ranch’s Tres Estrellas organic garden had a bumper crop this fall and the chefs found ways to include it in almost every meal. I even had a Mayan Chocolate Sorbet that incorporated the stuff, and it was delicious. Whatever was served, guests were welcome to enjoy as much or as little as they wished. I didn’t hesitate to ask for an extra fish taco (awesome!) and always pushed away from the table contentedly full. In general, The Ranch’s chefs hit a home run when they prepared Mexican and Mediterranean fare; their one foray into Asian wasn’t so successful.
Of course, I couldn’t resist picking up a copy of the new book Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho la Puerta by The Ranch’s founder, Deborah Szekely, and Chef Deborah M. Schneider, who often teaches at The Ranch’s new cooking school, La Cocina que Canta. Can’t wait to try the sorbet (for Thanksgiving, I think) and the fish tacos.
Marmalade rejects my handcrafted prayer arrow as a cat toy. Bitch.
Will work for food: Guests of Rancho la Puerta prepare a lavish dinner at La Cocina que Canta.
Because food is so central to the experience at Rancho la Puerta, and guests often want to learn how to make all that great food at home, The Ranch opened an on-site cooking school and culinary center: La Cocina que Canta on the grounds of Tres Estrellas organic garden last year. Of course, I was eager to check it out.
Located on the grounds of The Ranch’s expansive Tres Estrellas organic garden, La Cocina features a
Students check out the garden before cooking
large demonstration kitchen that also offers ample space for students to cook hands-on. I’ll take a hands-on class over a demonstration any day, and, it appeared, so did about a dozen of my fellow guests, who also signed up for the 3 1/2-hour class. We gathered in the kitchen under the tutelage of Deborah Schneider, a San Diego-based chef who specializes in Baja California cuisine and is the co-author of Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho la Puerta. After watching a brief demonstration of basic knife skills, we divided up to prepare the eight recipes (some folks worked in teams on the more involved dishes) that would comprise our supper. There was a salad, of course, a Mexican-style lasagna (with tortillas and ancho-chile salsa standing in for pasta and tomato sauce), chiles rellenos, pinto beans, a quinoa salaed, chocolate sorbet, and almond cookies.
While other students gravitated to the recipes, I decided to take up the No-Recipe Soup from the Garden. A bowl of vegetables plucked from the garden and a few scribbled suggestions were offered as inspiration. I enjoy improvising, and the ingredients were good, so I couldn’t go too far wrong. I set about chopping onions, garlic, and celery; peeling, seeding, and cubing butternut squash; and chopping up a couple of apples. Healthy cooking requires getting well-acquainted with your chef’s knife. Chef Schneider stopped by my station as I sliced, and diced, and chopped.
Chef Schneider at the stove
“What do you think you’ll do?” she asked.
I had some ideas. “I think I’ll roast the squash in the oven, saute the aromatics in a pot, then add the squash and apples and some broth and let it cook.”
“I don’t think we’ll have enough time to do that,” she replied. “How about if we layer the ingredients in a pot and cook it that way?”
I’m all for simplicity, and a chance to learn something new. So, here’s the recipe, although, it’s not really a recipe, since the amounts aren’t precise, and you can use whatever is on hand. This is what we made (I’d halve the amounts when I make this at home), and it would be a terrific addition to any holiday spread:
No-Recipe Soup from the Garden
1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Layer 2 chopped onions, 3 minced garlic cloves, 4 chopped celery stalks, and about 1 tablespoons of peeled and chopped ginger in the bottom of the pan. Top with 2 peeled, seeded, and chopped butternut squash. Cut out a circle of parchment paper large enough to cover the vegetables; lay the parchment paper directly over the vegetables. This allows them to steam and sweat and soften. Cover the pot and cook 15 minutes or until the squash begins to get tender.
2. Uncover the pot; discard the parchment paper. Add 2 peeled and chopped apples. Add enough vegetable broth (homemade is ideal) or water to cover by 1 to 2 inches. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 30 minutes or until squash is tender. Puree in batches in a blender or food processor (or use an immersion blender to puree it in the pot). Add and additional 1 tablespoon peeled, chopped ginger; puree. Add salt and black pepper to taste, along with any other spices you like–fresh nutmeg, perhaps, or ground cumin. You also could stir in a little Sriracha or sambal oelek. Whatever suits your mood works here.
Yield: A hell of a lot (we didn’t measure it, but I’d guess this made about 12 cups).
A can of tomatoes provides the base for versatile sauce.
One way I’m preparing for an upcoming cross-country move is to eat through my pantry staples. Sure, I can donate unopened cans of broth or boxes of pasta to food banks, which really need them this year. But they won’t be too interested in my half-consumed sack of Great Northern beans or Carnoli rice or artisinal cornmeal. Can you say soup? Risotto? Grits?
I’ve been eating popcorn like a fiend, yet the level of kernels in the jar appears to remain constant–a magic jar of popcorn that seems to insist on migrating with me! Any thoughts on what to do with popped corn (other than slather it with butter and salt) will be much appreciated.
Pasta is high on my list of pantry favorites. So, in an effort to dress up the stuff, I pulled a can of whole peeled tomatoes out of the cupboard and whipped up a pot of tomato sauce. It’s a low-effort recipe that yields lots of flavor and possibilities.
Pantry Pasta Sauce
The flavors are intentionally simple; add rosemary or oregano, if you like. You can use this, of course, on pasta, or as the base for lasagna. Last night, I combined some with cooked penne, Monterey Jack cheese, and Parmigiano-Reggiano in a little gratin dish and baked at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. It’s also good on pizza, or spooned over sauteed chicken.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Pantry Pasta Sauce
1 cup chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes (use kitchen shears to roughly cut up the tomatoes in the can)
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil. Add onion; saute 4 minutes or until onion is softened. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Puree in the pot using an immersion blender or transfer sauce to a blender or food processor. Yield: 2 1/2 cups.
Elbow grease and patience restored a rusted-out vintage saucepan to glory.
Rascal and I were taking a walk one recent blustery Saturday morning, when my friend Kevin called to us from the driveway of a house where there was an estate sale.
“Hey, come take a look at something I’m thinking of buying,” he said.
So we trotted up driveway and made our way to the back of the garage, where there was a gorgeous wood church pew in the shadows. It was in terrific condition, and the top of the bench lifted to reveal ample storage in the seat. The price was right, so I urged him to buy it. Rascal agreed.
Then we spied the real treasure on a table catty-corner from the pew: a number of pieces of old cast-iron cookware. There were a couple of Dutch ovens, deep skillets, a saucepan, and even a large casserole dish, all deep red with rust. It had been many years since these pots had taken a turn on the stove.
“Wow,” we said.
The rust belt: A deep fryer before we start work
“That one could be a Christmas present,” I said, pointing to a deep skillet. Of course, I wasn’t suggesting Kevin put a bow on a rusted-out pan and hand it out. But I knew he could restore the pan to culinary glory, and that effort would be the real gift.
Kevin has a particular appreciation for cast iron and often reaches for his well-seasoned skillet (a hand-me-down from his mom) to whip up cornbread. He ended up buying the whole lot of estate-sale cookware, with plans to restore all of it. His wife assumed he was going to dole the stuff out to family and friends. But he was so beguiled by the stuff that he decided to start a collection.
Cooks prize cast iron because it heats slowly, but evenly and retains heat better than just about any other material. It’s great for high-heat cooking, to sear a steak or scallops, for instance. A deep skillet is ideal for frying chicken. A well-seasoned pot has a lovely, stick-resistant patina (made of carbon, really). These days, manufacturers like Lodge sell preseasoned pots, but traditionally, pots have been seasoned by years of cooking. (Note: You could opt for enameled cast-iron cookware, which offers the benefits of cast iron but is rust-resistant and doesn’t require seasoning, thanks to the enamel coating. But it costs a lot more. Lodge’s 5-quart cast-iron Dutch oven is $50 vs. $168 for their enameled cast-iron version.) Kevin’s cache of cast-iron cookware would need serious cleaning and reseasoning.
How to season the pots was a conundrum, since Kevin discovered that there are nearly as many ways to season cast-iron cookware as there are cooks, and everyone swears their way is the One True Method. The Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Companion, for instance, suggests heating a pan on the stove over high heat until it’s hot enough for a drop of water to sizzle. Then coat the pan with vegetable oil, rubbing vigorously and blotting up any extra oil; for a new pot, repeat the process several times until the surface blackens. Some cooks swear by animal fat (i.e., lard) for seasoning; others say you should never use animal fat. Some sources say you must bake the oiled pot in a high oven; others advocate a low oven. After some research, Kevin settled on a method that works well, and he gladly shared with me and another friend…as long as we came over and did the work. A hands-on lesson, so to speak. Here’s what we did, beginning with two very rusted pans.
Scrubbing with a steel wool pad to remove rust.
Cleaning Cast-Iron with Kevin
1. Thoroughly wet the pan.
2. Scrub with a steel-wool pad. This will remove much of the rust. Use a stiff-bristled steel-wool brush to remove stubborn rust spots, especially in crevices. Rinse every so often so you can check your progress. If the rust is really intractable, you may need to resort to an electric sander. Whatever tool you use, take care to remove the rust without scrubbing away the dark patina.
3. Dry the pan completely and check it again for any lingering rust. The rust will become apparent as the pan dries.
Spot check: Kevin deems my cleaning efforts satisfactory.
4. Scrub the pot with hot water, a dish brush, and mild dish soap. Dry the pot thoroughly and do one last check for any lingering signs of rust. Scour the pan as needed to remove remaining rust.
Coating a pot with oil to season it
5. Generously coat the clean pot with fat (Kevin uses canola oil, which has a neutral flavor).
6. Bake the pot in a 325- to 450-degree oven (people use a wide range of temperatures) for about an hour.
7. Remove the pot from the oven. Let it cool until it’s safe to handle. Reapply oil and bake again. You can repeat the oiling/baking process several times, if you like.
The results of our efforts were glorious, as you can see below. Of course, I borrowed the deep fryer yesterday to fry up some chicken for our Thanksgiving feast. It did the job beautifully. Hmmm, perhaps I can “forget” to return it?
Traditional Sweet Potato Casserole (Cooking Light)
One of the benefits of hosting a smaller Thanksgiving feast is feeling that you can depart from tradition. I’ve got four folks coming over today. And since at least a couple of us aren’t particularly fond of turkey, and the gathering is small, I’m making fried chicken. Here’s the menu for this afternoon:
Tonight I’m cooking up a big-ass pot of beans to use up a package of dried beans that have been languishing in my pantry. Cooking dried beans more often is part of my resolution after visiting the Rancho la Puerta last week.
I adore beans, and the only drawback with dried beans is that you have to plan ahead to soak them. The task doesn’t involve much work–just sort through the beans to remove any small stones or other debris, put them in a large pot, cover with water, cover the pot, and let it stand for eight hours or overnight.* (Smaller legumes, like split peas or lentils, don’t require soaking.)
Dried beans also can take awhile to cook, which also doesn’t involve much actual effort, but you do have to keep tabs on them.
Drain the soaked beans, return them to the pot, and cover them with 1 inch of cold water.
Bring the pot to a boil.
Immediately reduce the heat to s simmer and cook the beans, anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours. Cooking time depends on the size and age of the bean. Be sure to test for doneness. Maintain the water at a simmer, so the beans don’t come out tough, and don’t add salt to the beans while they cook, which also can toughen them.
I’m cooking Great Northern beans tonight and will use them tomorrow to make a Tuscan Bean Soup. I’ll share the recipe tomorrow.
* I prefer the overnight method for soaking beans because I think it yields a more tender, uniformly cooked bean. That’s completely unscientific, just my opinion. You could opt for the quick-soak method: place the dried beans in a large pot, cover with triple their volume in water; bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes; remove the pan from the heat, cover, and soak 1 hour.
Simona of bricole is hosting the fifth edition of Is My Blog Burning’s My Legume Love Affair, which challenges participants to show off how they use beans and legumes in sweet and savory applications. It’s chilly these days, and I had a bag of dried Great Northern beans I’ve been wanting to use in soup. So, I made Tuscan White Bean Soup, which is my riff on a classic Italian dish. Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook oversees MLLA, which is hosted monthly by a different blogger; check out her site for upcoming legume events. I can’t wait to see what other bloggers have done. In the meantime, here’s my contribution to the November event.
Tuscan White Bean Soup
Tuscan White Bean Soup
If you don’t have cooked dried beans on hand, you can substitute an equal amount of canned Great Northerns, cannellinis, navy beans, or even chickpeas. Be sure to rinse and drain the canned beans, and you may want to adjust the amount of salt in the recipe. If you happen to have a Parmigiano-Reggiano rind on hand, you can add it to the soup while it simmers (discard before serving). For a light supper, serve with crusty bread and a green salad.
1. Heat a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add oil. Add onion and garlic. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the onion is very tender. Add beans, broth, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and rosemary; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir in the vinegar. Puree, using an immersion blender (or transfer soup to a regular blender or food processor); adjust the seasonings, if needed. Serve topped with grated cheese and a rosemary sprig. Yield: 6 cups (4-6 servings).
Why is it that so many restaurants treat a fruit cup like an afterthought? I was eating brunch with friends at a local spot yesterday when my breakfast casserole and grits were accompanied by the saddest little sidecar of melon, pineapple, and grapes I’ve ever seen. The fruit selection was uninspired, anemic, and virtually tasteless. There’s really no excuse for that, given the cafe is attached to an overpriced gourmet grocery.
And, of course, there are wonderful winter fruits to choose from, not the least of which is a bumper crop of citrus, including grapefruit, blood oranges, and my favorite: Satsuma tangerines. They really are winter jewels, with loose skin that reveals incredibly juicy flesh that’s more sweet than acidic. I love snacking on Satsumas out of hand, but you can use the juice and rind in any recipe that calls for regular orange juice and rind. Try it in Olive Oil Bundt Cake with Tangerine Glaze.
The pharoahs apparently ate farro, also known as emmer, and the grain fueled Caesar’s armies on their conquests. And now the this ancient foodstuff has become chic again, turning up in gourmet groceries and on high-end restaurant menus.
But there’s some confusion surrounding farro, so I read Heidi Julavits’ “The Way We Eat” column, “Grain Exchange,” about farro in Sunday’s New York Times, with particular interest. The Italian grain has been much on my mind lately, and the source of some confusion. When I worked on staff at a national food magazine, we routinely referred to spelt as an appropriate substitute. Even The Cook’s Thesaurus, a source that is typcially reliable, agrees.
Farro was the star among whole grains at the recent Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives conference at the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone campus in California. Joyce Goldstein, author of Mediterranean Fresh and other cookbooks, extolled its virtues during a cooking demonstration. Farro is a highly nutritious whole grain, which we all need to enjoy more of, with a wonderful nutty flavor and chewy bite. It’s versatile, too; it can stand in for barley or rice in many dishes. (It would be great in the Mushroom Casserole recently featured on Heidi Swanson’s 101 Cookbooks blog.) I figured Joyce could settle the farro/spelt issue:
Is farro interchangeable with spelt?
“No,” said Joyce.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that spelt is not an acceptable substitute for farro.
Spelt is a different beast, culinarily speaking. Farro is a relatively quick-cooking grain–it takes anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes of simmering, depending on the brand and how al dente you like it. Spelt takes several hours to cook. Farro has a nutty flavor and appealingly chewy bite and takes well to other flavors. Spelt can taste like cardboard. Farro is emmer wheat; spelt is…not. If you can’t find farro, some experts say barley is a better substitute than spelt.
After the conference, I was sold on farro’s flavor and nutritional value. But the stuff isn’t easy to come by, so I was particularly glad to find a bag of farro at in a store at San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace. The marketplace is ground zero of all things local, sustainable, seasonal, and twee, which means I find it irresistible.
One cup of dry farro yields 2 cups of cooked grain.
Turns out, farro is the culinary equivalent of crack. The stuff is cultivated in the golden fields of Tuscany, which automatically ups the ante. A 1-pound bag of Tenuta Castello Farro, packaged in a charming, Old Worldy linen sack was $7.50 (not bad, actually, as I later discovered you can pay as much as 9 bucks for it elsewhere). Sold! (Along with a bar of Vosges’ Mo’s Bacon Chocolate–um, also $7.50–damn that shit is good!)
Farro and White Bean Salad
Beans and grains are a classic combination, and I thought a Spanish-style sherry vinaigrette would work well here. (The vinaigrette is also nice on a romaine salad with shaved Manchego cheese.) Toasting the farro enhances its nutty flavor. You can add all manner of other fixings to this salad–grilled shrimp or chicken, chunks of broiled lamb, feta cheese, olives, cucumbers, red bell pepper, etc. You can make the salad up to a day ahead and refrigerate to allow the flavors to develop; it’s best served at room temperature.
1 cup farro
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups cooked dried Great Northern or other white beans OR an equal amount of drained and rinsed canned beans
1/2 cup chopped seeded Roma tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Sherry Vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Farro and White Bean Salad
1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Add farro; cook 5 minutes or until toasted (the farro will have a toasty aroma), stirring frequently. The grains will pop as they toast.
2. While the farro toasts, bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add 1 teaspoon salt.
3. When the farro is toasted, remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the boiling water. Return to heat, reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes or until farro is done (al dente). Drain any remaining liquid.
4. Combine the farro, beans, tomato, and parsley in a large bowl. Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine vinaigrette to farro mixture; toss to coat. Yield: 4 cups (serving size: 3/4 cup).
Mook's Cheese Straws, made in Alabama, are the real thing.
I just cruised over to Chef Eric Ripert’s delightlful blog, Avec Eric. Like many, I’m seduced by his adorable prematurely gray hair, his Gallic charm, his kid-in-a-candy-store enthusiasm, his sexy accent, his way with food…let me count the ways. “The holidays are an excellent time for a cocktail,” he begins in his current post. Yes, Eric, they are, especially if you’re doing the cooking.
I scrolled through an intriguing roll call of recipes that offer Eric’s interpretation of classic American cocktail fare–chorizo-stuffed shrimp, deviled eggs with smoked salmon, and the like. Then my eyes fell on his Spicy Parmesan Cheese Straws. I clicked on the recipe to check out his spin on the iconic Southern snack. Now, I’ve been living in the Deep South for awhile, long enough to appreciate the simple, decadent pleasure of a good cheese straw. Especially when it’s served with a gin and tonic. I’ve got a friend who regularly churns out his cheese straws, and they’re so good that I always say he should sell them.
What Eric offers is. not. a. cheese. straw. His recipe features puff pastry (huh???) cut into strips and coated in a blend of parmesan cheese, chopped pistachios, salt, and cayenne pepper. Delicious, I’m sure. If you served me one but didn’t call it a cheese straw, I’d probably love it. Maybe it’s the language barrier, but semantics count here, and these are by no stretch true cheese straws.
A real cheese straw is a simple decadent please, little more than loads of cheese, butter, and flour. No puff pastry involved.
The real thing is cheese (often cheddar, and lots of it) and butter (lots of it) bound by flour with salt and pepper (could be cayenne), and extruded into their straw shape with a cookie press or pastry bag. Cooks may play with the proportions, the type of cheese, perhaps add herbs. (I once suggested a friend’s college-age daughter bring pot-spiked cheese straws to the family Thanksgiving. Hmm, perhaps that’s why it’s a good idea I’m no one’s parent. But I stand by the concept as a solid one.)
But there is no puff pastry in a cheese straw. Sorry, Eric.
You can buy plenty of classic, packaged cheese straws, even if you’re not in the South. Mook’s, of Florence, Alabama, makes a good one. For a classic rendition, I suggest you try Southern Living’s Cheddar Cheese Straws. They’d be great with a gin and tonic.
Aldi offers bargain groceries in a clean, efficient environment.
Aldi, the German-owned discount supermarket chain, began popping up around town a couple of years ago. They now have over 1,000 stores in 29 states, from Kansas to points east. It’s only during these new penny-pinching times that I’ve finally ventured inside. After all, Aldi promises shoppers will save 50-90% off regular supermarkets. I was out running errands this morning, needing a couple of items anyway, and decided to pop into a new Aldi outlet to see what it’s all about.
Since I just needed a few things, I bypassed the line of shopping carts, for which you must deposit 25 cents to use (it’s refunded at checkout).
I should have popped for the cart.
My first impression was that the store was clean, well lit, and well organized. It felt spacious without being overly large (it was about the size of a Trader Joe’s, but with a smaller selection and therefore wider aisles). It’s all about off-brand items (Aldi’s house brands, it turns out). I’d never heard of Clancy’s corn chips, but they were available in many varieties, including multigrain and organic blue corn ($1.69 per 9-ounce bag). I couldn’t pass up the Rodeo Bill Peppercorn Ranch Kettle-Style Potato Chips ($1.99 for 9 ounces)–heck, because they were called Rodeo Bill. And they’re damn tasty. I picked up a box of 50 quart-size Kwik ‘n’ Fresh zip-top bags ($1.99), and they’re a much better quality than other bargain versions I’ve found.
My haul from Aldi.
A few name-brand items are sprinkled about the store–there were Reese’s mini cups and M&M’s amid the candy (alongside Aldi’s Austrian-made Choceur chocolates), but for the most part you’ll find store brands, including their Fit ‘n’ Active lower-cal items and La Mas Rica Mexican staples. You can also find dairy products; eggs; fresh meat, poultry (hormone-free boneless chicken breast, anyone?), and pork; canned and frozen goods; and household items. There’s a small section of decent-looking produce, too. You won’t find exotic stuff, but the basics are there. I’ll say the lettuce was looking better than the tired, overpriced, head of Romaine I bought at a gourmet store yesterday.
There’s even a selection of wine, beer, and a few specialty drinks. If you don’t mind buying O’Donnell’s Irish Cream instead of Bailey’s or Monterrey beer instead of Corona (and I don’t), you’re in business.
In other words, you’d find pretty much everything on an average shopping list, but with a smaller, more mainstream selection. Bakers, for example, will find semisweet chocolate chips, but not dark chocolate. But that also helps Aldi keep it cheap and cheerful.
The central part of the store is taken up with oddball weekly special buys–gift sets of body butter, say, or binoculars, or electric stove heaters.
The checkout line is where they really streamline things to minimize staffing. Shoppers are welcome to bring their own bags, or you can purchase one (6 cents for paper, 10 cents for a roomy plastic bag, or $1.99 for a really sturdy fabric version). You bag your own groceries (which you can take to a roomy counter to bag them up after paying). And Aldi only accepts cash or debit cards.
If you love avocados, it’s hard to pass up a bargain like the Mexican Haas avocados for $1 apiece I found at Whole Foods earlier this week. I snapped those suckers up and put ‘em in a paper bag to ripen as soon as I got home. Now they’ve soft enough to make guacamole.
I suspect people fall into three camps when it comes to guacamole:
Those who hate it (and I’m not sure I want to know them)
Those who are purists and believe guacamole should be little more than mashed avocado, salt, and lime juice
Those who are the Ben & Jerry’s of guacamole–the more stuff in there the better
I fall into the last group, though I can understand the purists. Avocados are wonderful on their own and really don’t need much to dress them up. But I like a variety of tastes and textures. Here’s my version:
Ali’s Loaded Guacamole
I enjoy the contrasting flavors and textures in this guacamole–the way the sharp bit of onion plays off the cool, creamy avocado, the hint of smokiness from the cumin, the touch of heat from the cayenne. Adjust the ingredients and seasonings to suit your preference. Avocado is a personal thing. Serve with tortilla chips, Mexican beer, and margaritas.
3 medium avocados*
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 minced garlic clove (optional–sometimes I throw it in, sometimes I don’t)
1 finely chopped seeded jalapeno pepper (optional–if I have one on hand, I’ll use it)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (any kind is fine, but I like the bite of red onion)
1/4 cup finely chopped seeded tomato (this time a year, I use Roma)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Use a fork to scoop the flesh out the skins into a small bowl. Mash avocado with the fork. Stir in the juice, salt, cumin, red pepper, garlic (if using), and jalapeno (if using). Gently fold in the onion, tomato, and cilantro. Yield: about 2 c ups (serving size: well, that depends on whether you’re willing to share).
* Lighten the load: Avocados are good for you, no doubt about it. They’re packed with heart-healthy fat and fiber. But they also have a lot of calories–about 225 per fruit. To lighten the caloric load, replace half the avocado with slightly frozen thawed peas. Sounds odd, but it’s delicious; the peas add a subtle sweetness. I had this rendition at Rancho la Puerta recently, and loved it.
When I was 11, Dad asked Mom, “Shouldn’t Alison learn to cook something?” Her response: “Why?”
I’m not sentimental about much, but as I pack up my crap to move, I still can’t let go of our family’s meager culinary heirlooms. In our case, that amounts to my mother’s A-Z Woman’s Day cookbook collection, and her clipped and scribbled recipes gathered in a quaint little red binder and a green spiral notebook. There’s some cookware that will make the trek, too: a large yellow early’50s mixing bowl that my father brought into my parent’s marriage, my mom’s Bundt pan (she was proud of her Bundt cake), her red enamel cast-iron Dutch oven.
It’s interesting that I’m so attached to this stuff, because, Bundt cake aside, my mom wasn’t an eager cook. When I was 11, Dad asked Mom, “Shouldn’t Alison learn to cook something?” Her response was, “Why?”
Perhaps I hang onto this stuff is because it’s an amusing time capsule of ’70s culinary ephemera. We were a Southern California ’70s family, down to the redwood hot tub out back, the lessons our family took in Transcendental Meditation (my brother and I only recently revealed our mantras to each other), and an enduring fondness for fondue (we clung to our fondue dinners long after the Swiss dish fell out of favor).
So it’s no surprise that my mom was a huge fan of Vidal Sassoon. Yep, the hairdresser known for his geometric, low-maintenance cuts that were a departure from the wash ‘n’ set approach of the ’60s. In particular, she enjoyed A Year of Beauty and Health, a self-help book he wrote in the late-’70s with his then-wife Beverly. The Sassoons were big proponents of health drinks–this was the era of the smoothie, remember–especially those incorporating brewer’s yeast (for energy-boosting B vitamins), lecithin (for a host of supposed benefits), and wheat germ (for fiber, etc.). Her spiral notebook of recipes begins with these two gems.
Sassoon’s Vitality Drink
(For Two)
2 tablespoons powdered protein
1 tablespoon granular lecithin
1 large banana
1 teaspoon raw honey
2 cups low-fat or skim milk
1 teaspoon brewer’s yeast (introduced very gradually)
Whip in blender for 30 seconds.
Vim & Vigor Breakfast
(serves 4)
1 cup sprouts
1 cup sunflower seeds
6 apples, cored and quartered
3 tablespoons brewer’s yeast
3 tablespoons raw honey
1/2 cup powdered nonfat milk
1/2 cup wheat germ
Juice of 3 lemons.
Liquify in blender.
Are you gagging yet? My parents drank one or the other of these concoctions most mornings. I think Mom induced me to sample the vitality drink once or twice. It was some nasty-healthy-tasting shit. But I have to say, if you saw Vidal on Bravo’s “Shear Genius” last year, you’d know he was onto something.
(Photo courtesy of Culinary Institute of America/Greystone)
If you’re a regular shopper at Trader Joe’s, you know their deeply discounted wine, beer,and other boozy beverages are a big part of their appeal. Today, Serious Eats spotlights Jason’s Wine Blog, which includes a regular feature on the best wine buys at TJ’s. Stuff as cheap as 4 bucks a bottle, which means you can stock up for holiday entertaining. Jason will release his ranking of TJ’s best wines for 2008 any day now.
And if you’re wondering which wine to serve with which food, check out Trader Joe’s helpful food/wine pairing guide.
One of the benefits of being on your own for dinner is that you can have whatever you want. If that’s a bowl of popcorn, fine. A pint of Ben & Jerry’s, fine. Sometimes, that’s just what I want.
One of the benefits of being on your own for dinner is that you can have whatever you want.
But I find eating alone is a welcome opportunity to cook and indulge in one of my favorite comfort foods: mac ‘n’ cheese. I usually have all the ingredients on hand–some kind of small pasta, a variety of cheeses, and milk. To that you can add anything else you like; I like mushrooms this time of year. Sausage is good, too, as is spinach. But most recipes are for four or more people, so I created this version, which is just enough for one.
Baked Pasta and Cheese for One
You can add anything to the mix, but I enjoy the way the earthy mushrooms mesh with the cheese. Serve with a green salad and a glass of chardonnay for lovely supper.
3 ounces mezzi tubetti (or penne or elbow macaroni)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 1/2 ounces white cheddar cheese, shredded (or use a blend of your favorite cheeses)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Dash of cayenne
1. Cook the pasta in boiling water for 10 minutes or until al dente.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
3. While the pasta cooks, heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil. Add the mushrooms, and saute 5 minutes or until they’ve released their liquid and browned a bit. Scrape the mushrooms from the pan.
3. Return the pan to medium heat. Add milk. Whisk in the flour. Cook over medium heat 4 minutes, or until thickened, whisking constantly. Remove pan from heat. Add cheese and remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk until the cheese melts.
4. When the pasta is done, drain it well in a colander. Add pasta and mushrooms to cheese sauce, stirring to combine. Transfer pasta to a single-serving ovenproof dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Yield: 1 serving.
Flambeed food is exciting. Cherries jubilee, bananas Foster, baked Alaska–if flames are dancing on it, I want it.
Usually.
Cookies flambe weren’t what I had in mind when I decided to whip up a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies to take to a neighbor’s house for dinner. But that’s what I got.
Blame the oven mitts, which made it awkward to a good grip on the hot cookie sheet. I watched the parchment paper of cookies start to slide back. “I’ve got it,” I thought. Nope. As if in slo-mo, the cookies slid toward the back of the oven…and onto the heat element, where the parchment paper provided kindling for an impressive show.
Rascal angled in the background while I figured out what to do with my flaming cookies. Hmmm. Let ‘em just burn out? Shut the oven and turn it on self-clean to hurry up the incineration? Ultimately, I turned off the oven, on the vent, put on my mitts back on, grabbed a pair of long-handled tongs, and set fished the incendiary treats out of the oven.
Luckily, I had enough dough for another batch, which I’m happy to report made in and out of the oven safely.
Pesto had its heyday in the culinary sun some time ago, when chefs concocted versions of the Italian-style uncooked sauce using all manner of ingredients in all kinds of dishes.
But pesto will never really fall out of favor, in part because it’s such a great way to use leftover herbs. Certainly in summer, when bunches of fresh basil sell for a song at farmer’s markets, home cooks and professional chefs alike whip up batches of the pesto. And as Debbie Arrington notes in the Sacramento Bee, winter herbs work just fine, too.
You can play with pesto’s formula, using different herbs, cheeses, and nuts to vary the flavor and reflect the season.
Traditional pesto is nothing more than an uncooked sauce made of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmigian0-Reggiano cheese, and olive oil pounded in a mortar and pestle. These days, most people use a food processor or blender. Of course, you can play with that formula, using different herbs (arugula, cilantro, mint, sage, etc.), cheeses (Manchego, say), and nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, you name it). You can add other ingredients–a touch of cracked red pepper for a heat, perhaps, or a squeeze of lemon juice for bright acidity. I came up with this version to use a bunch of cilantro sitting in the crisper.
Cilantro-Pecan Pesto
Cilantro-Pecan Pesto
Serve this multipurpose sauce over pasta, fish, or poultry, or toss a bit with steamed or grilled vegetables.
1. Place nuts, garlic, and cilantro in a mini food processor; process until minced. Add oil and remaining ingredeints; process until smooth. Yield: about 1/2 cup, 4 servings.
Southern fare has grown on me, much like the invasive Japanese vine that slowly but steadily has covered the South,
After six years inn Alabama, I’m returning to my home turf of Southern California. Still, my time in Dixie has left an indelible impression on my palate. There are many things I’ll miss–great friends and neighbors, my 1930s bungalow in what has to be the kookiest neighborhood in Birmingham. But here are just a few of the foods I’ve come to love:
All of Frank Stitt’s restaurants. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Birmingham’s Frank Stitt is a terrifically talented and versatile chef. He’s kept the empire manageable enough that he and his wife, Pardis, are involved in the day-to-day operations of their three restaurants: the high-end, New Southern-style Highlands; the bistro Chez Fonfon; and Bottega.
A plate of pull-pork 'cue and all the fixins=pure goodness.
Barbecue, and especially pulled pork barbecue. Until I moved to Birmingham, barbecue never did much for me. Maybe because I’d never had really great barbecue before. But a former work colleague, Mike Wilson, has a tidy side business making incredible North Carolina-style pulled-pork barbecue and selling his vinegary Saw’s Sauce, which you can buy. Add pickles and crunchy coleslaw (another food I learned to love in Dixie), and I’m a happy camper. Yes, there is barbecue in Southern California, but it won’t be a patch on Mike’s.
All pig products. Well, really, I’ve come to love pork in all its forms–bacon, sausage, roasts, etc.
Summer-fresh shell beans. Birmingham’s wonderful farmer’s market at Pepper Place is full of fresh shell beans and peas (butter beans, lady peas, pink-eyed peas–you name it), which became one of my favorite summertime staples. I love to toss the cooked beans with a simple vinaigrette (usually some variation of the supereasy Marinated Lady Peas from Cooking Light). For the piece de resistance, add a dollop of homemade mayonnaise, which I understand is a uniquely Birmingham treat.
Jon and his secret gumbo ingredient: Tony Cachere's
My friend Jon’s gumbo. Not too long ago, several of us gathered at my friend Aimee’s house for a gumbo-making lesson. It’s a big pot of love.
The soul-soothing, tummy-warming goodness of jambalaya. I was in New Orleans a few years ago and watched Chef Frank Brigtsen do a cooking demo of his jambalaya. The demo was interesting, but the tasting was heaven. The jambalaya was delicious, of course, but even more, it made me warm and contented from the inside out.
My friend Kevin’s biscuits and chocolate gravy. He’ll whip this specialty up on the occasional weekend morning. It’s his mama’s biscuits and a gravy made, literally, of chocolate. Hmm, I’ll have to beg him to make a batch tomorrow morning.
Kevin and one of his many cast-iron cookware pieces.
Kevin’s cornbread. Also made from a family recipe in a hand-me-down cast-iron skillet.
Sonic, which has helped me through a long, dry spell of no In-n-Out Burger.
Bahn mi sandwiches at Pho Que Huong. Yes, Birmingham has a Vietnamese restaurant, and it’s hopping at lunchtime. I’m addicted to their char sui bahn mi sandwiches. It’s another way I learned to love pork.
Falafel sandwiches at George’s Lebanese Restaurant. Birmingham has a lively and sizable Lebanese community, and my favorite spot is George’s. It’s a modest strip-mall restaurant and grocery, lined with hookah pipes and run by George and his wife. I just wish George would start wearing his fez again. It was cool.
In 2009, chefs and home cooks alike will turn to cheaper cuts of meat to save pennies.
It’s that time, when “experts” and the rest of us look ahead to what’s in store for the new year. And it would appear that my friends are bona fide trendsetters. Months ago, they started cooking up cheapo recession fare, and now they’ve challenged each other other to whip up dinner for less than $3 per serving (or is it $3 for both of them? Whatever, they’re doing it, albeit with mixed results).
People around the world are feeling insecure and are already looking to re-establish a sense of stability in their lives. A good home-cooked meal can do that.
They’re not the only ones coping with rising food costs and smaller budgets. Many food trends for 2009, not surprisingly, are driven by the current dour economy, which makes value-oriented items more appealing than ever. ”People around the world are feeling insecure and are already looking to re-establish a sense of stability in their lives,” says Joan Holleran, director of research at the global trends research firm Mintel. One way to accomplish that is with the food you eat, and consumers will be more selective than ever about how they spend their money. James Oliver Cury of Epicurious predicts “value” will eclipse “sustainable” as the foodie buzzword of 2009. These are just a few ways the cheap-and-cheerful trend will manifest itself.
Comfort food still reigns supreme. You might think this has peaked, but consumers will crave familiar ingredients and dishes more than ever. Bon Appetit put peanut butter at the top of its list for 2009, along with eggs in any form. Both are inexpensive sources of protein. The magazine also predicts more restaurants will serve breakfast all day–always an affordable, filling, and comforting option. Overall, restaurant diners will favor bistro-type eateries serving familiar, high-quality, well-priced food. Expect spaghetti and meatballs to “make a roaring comeback,” according to restaurant consultants Baum & Whiteman.
Beware, billy: Food watchers say goat meat may go mainstream in 2009.
Cooks will use cheaper cuts of meat. The National Restaurants Consultants forecasts the price of beef will skyrocket, making less-expensive cuts–short ribs, hanger steaks, brisket, chuck roasts, and the like–a better buy. These cuts typically are tougher, but long, slow cooking techniques like braising, stewing, or pot roasting yield tender, hearty results. Other types of meat will go mainstream, too. Among them: goat, according to “trendologists” at the Center for Culinary Development. George Wilson, of the Australian Wildlife Services, has proposed promoting kangaroo as an environmentally friendly alternative to beef cattle; unlike cattle, kangaroos don’t produce methane and they have high levels of healthy fats.
Tip: When shopping for meat, remember anything with “loin” in the name = tender = more expensive. “Chuck” or “shoulder” = tougher = cheaper.
Look for offal recipes. Other cultures, especially those in Asia, have a long tradition of using all of the animal, because meat is considered too precious a resource to waste. American cooks are expected to adopt a similar “nose-to-tail” approach, making use of everything from cheeks and tongue to tripe and trotters.
Indulgences won’t go away, but they will shrink. The expense of food may help all of us with portion control. If a beef is expensive, for example, we may opt for the occasional 4-ounce serving of pricey tenderloin. The high cost of ingredients is driving more restaurants to add small-plate options to their menus.
Type in your ZIP code at Ueatcheap.com to map out meals under $10.
We’ll share information to find affordable meals. Call it Eating 2.0, but diners will continue to flock to the Web in search of the good, cheap eats. Sites like Slashfood, Serious Eats, and Eater LA (and its sisters Eater NY and Eater SF) specialize in content by and for avid foodies while users rate restaurants on Yelp and Ueatcheap.com,
People will stay home. Although restaurateurs will do their best to lure customers with bargains, most of us are likely to dine out less and eat in more in 2009. Analysts at Mintel forecast more entertaining at home while the folks at UK-based thefoodpeople predict we’ll whip up cocktails at home rather than hit the bars.
Has the end of the chef cult arrived? Probably not, but expect to see more emphasis on food than personality. (Photo courtesy of the Culinary Institute of America/Greystone.)
Could the age of the chef be coming to an end? A few indicators seem to point that way. The New York Times ran a pair of interesting opinion pieces in recent weeks, both of which address the perceived divide between cooks and chefs.
On Nov. 29, Marcella Hazan, who many credit with bringing authentic Italian home cooking to American kitchens, sounded off in “No Chefs in My Kitchen.” As the essay’s title suggests, Hazan firmly and proudly considers herself a cook and deplores the way the term “chef” has come to describe everyone from professional chefs who run restaurant kitchens to avid home cooks.
In last Sunday’s Times, Mark Bittman, who writes the paper’s Bitten blog and Minimalist column (as well as a popular series of How to Cook… books) offers “So Your Kitchen is Tiny. So What?” in which he describes his dinky New York apartment kitchen, which suits him just fine, thanks. As he points out, great food is turned out by the person standing at the stove, not by the stove itself. Like Hazan, Bittman is not a trained chef, though he is a first-rate food journalist whose passion for cooking has made him a bona fide authority. I suspect that, also like Hazan, he’d be just fine with being labeled a cook.
Hotels magazine recently polled industry folks about top hotel food trends for 2009, and “Chef-driven restaurants scale back” tops the list. The cost of launching and maintaining big-name chef-driven establishments outstrips their profitability, one expert tells the magazine. I’m always leery of chef-empire restaurants, since I know that the chef whose name is on the door isn’t the one cooking my food, or even overseeing the kitchen.
The cost of launching and maintaining big-name chef-driven restaurants outstrips their profitability, says one industry expert.
All this led me to wonder if the celebrity chef cult–largely driven by media outlets like the Food Network and Gourmet, as well as by hefty PR budgets–is coming to an end. To find out, I sought the opinions of chefs, home cooks, and foodies.
Iri Greco, of Panforte Productions, which produces food-oriented content for broadcast and new media, says the focus has shifted from true chefs to approachable, accessible food personalities along the lines of Rachael Ray. Viewers are still eager to learn about chefs, she adds, as evidenced by the popularity of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” which showcases pros in “a more ‘real life’ incarnation. [Audiences] want to see the down and dirty, real people succeeding and failing.”
Wade Williams, of the catering and event-planning firm PicnicLA, agrees. TV programming like “Top Chef” and the Food Network “will keep the trend going for awhile. People love to eat and love to watch fun people cook,” he notes. Personality and food go hand in hand, he adds. “You have to have both. Food is cooked with passion and love. Your personality is always reflected in your cooking. If you’re a dull chef, you definitely will end up with dull food.”
Will farmers displace chefs as the new food world celebs?
Focus on nourishing, high-quality, seasonal food will pave the way for rising culinary stars, says Anne Dimon, editor of TravelToWellness.com, “Chefs who will become the new ‘celebrities’ will be those who put healthy, nutritious eating at the core of their food philosophies,” she predicts. Galen Zamarra, of New York’s Mas (farmhouse), and Jean-Charles Dupoire, of Loire Restaurant inToronto, are two chefs who exemplify this approach. Cookbook author Linda Eckhardt takes this idea a step further. She thinks the emphasis on locally produced ingredients will shift the spotlight from chefs to farmers.
I also put the question to the Serious Eats community, which is made up of keen observers of food trends. Overkill is an issue for many. Rachael Ray was fine when she was on one show. But now that we’re bombarded with her (too many) TV shows, magazine, and endorsements, it’s too much. Similarly, seeing Tyler Florence shilling for Applebee’s and Alton Brown using his kitchen-scientist persona to sell grape juice diminishes their credibility.
SweetHeat puts it best: “I see 2 kinds of celebrity chefs: 1) the TV kind (Bourdain, Rachael Ray, etc) and 2) the Chefs who are famous for their cuisine first: (Keller, Ducasse, Boulud, Vongerichten, etc). The TV kind I am sick of. The 2nd group I adore.”
Rocco caught in a rare moment of actually cooking something.
Earlier this week, I posed the question whether the cult of the celebrity chef might be coming to an end. The topic inspired a lively discussion among my pals at Serious Eats.
Yesterday’s New York Times profiled Rocco DiSpirito, who has come to epitomize the talented chef who has sold out in pursuit of fame (dubious as it is) and fortune. As Jeff Gordinier’s profile notes, unlike other celebrity chefs (Mario Batali, Tom Colicchio, to name a couple), Rocco is rarely cooks for the public these days. Instead, he urges us to buy nasty Bertolli prepared meals and shows his moves on “Dancing with the Stars.” Serious Eats’ Ed Levine weighs in–scathingly–on his fall from gourmet grace. The sad part of all this is that Rocco is generally acknowledged as a real culinary talent, albeit squandered, and everyone is waiting to see if he decides to show it again.
At the other end of the culinary spectrum, there’s Rachael Ray. Beloved by millions–but not so popular with the foodie set–Rachael is a lot like Rocco. She, too, turns up everywhere–a TV talk show, a magazine, on a box of crackers. And dog food. Modern Dog magazine gushingly profiled the chatty cook, and included her recipe for some kind of doggy pasta dish. With onions, which are toxic to dogs. The site’s editors took down the recipe after much razzing from the peanut gallery. They claimed the recipe was intended for people though “inspired” by some dish she makes for her dog. So, that means Rachael’s food is inspired by dog food? Huh?
Rascal finishes a cheeseburger--without onions.
Yes, it was a small amount of onions, unlikely to really hurt a dog. But you’d think someone who is always blathering about how much she loves her pups, includes recipes for dogs in her magazine, and even has a line of dog food, might know better.
But then, we are talking about Rachael. And just because someone’s mug is everywhere doesn’t make them an expert.
All across the land, folks are hard at work baking holiday treats.
All across the country, little elves are hard at work churning out batch after batch of Christmas cookies. According to the research firm NPD Group, 60% of American households are whipping up cookies, cakes, pies and other goodies. For many of us, it’s the only baking we do all year long, says NPD VP Harry Balzer. “We keep to long-standing holiday traditions in December and many of those traditions include baking,” he says.
Cookies top the list of holiday baked goods. That makes sense, since they’re pretty much goof-proof, you can make several different kinds with little extra effort, and you can get a lot of gift-giving mileage out of a single batch. These attributes make them especially appealing to the occasional baker.
“We keep to long-standing holiday traditions in December and many of those traditions include baking.”
Sadly, I can’t participate in this year’s holiday bakefest–my kitchen is packed up in a moving pod and trundling across this great land of ours. So, I’ll have to enjoy the fun vicariously (or nibble on the fruits of others’ labor). Here’s what I would make if I could get to my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and cookie sheets:
Chocolate Mint Bars–Cooking Light. These triple-layer brownies may be light, but the result is decadent. I’d add a few extra drops of green food coloring to the peppermint layer so these scream “Christmas.”
15-Minute Chocolate Walnut Fudge–Cook’s Illustrated (membership required). The chef’s in CI’s test kitchen came up with a supereasy fudge recipe, which ran in the January 2007 issue. Last year, I went turned out many batches, playing with different types of nuts and flavorings. My favorite used pecans and bourbon.
Chocolate Shortbread–Cooking Light. This recipe is easy enough for a child to make, and the addition of bit of canola oil lightens the saturated fat load without compromising the short texture.
Swedish Rye Cookies–101 Cookbooks. I love the flavor of rye, and I’m intrigued by this recipe, which would be flavorful but not too sweet.
Ali-Gyver Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. I make these babies year-round, but this time of year, I’d be sure to use dried cherries or dried cranberries, and I’d replace up to 1/2 cup of the flour with almond meal.
More 2009 food and travel forecasts, including jumbo beans, ice cream supplanting cupcakes, artisanal yogurt, and Cuba and Iceland will emerge as top (i.e., affordable) destinations–Gourmet
If you don’t bake 6,00o Christmas cookies like this 79-year-old, you’re just not trying hard enough–The New York Times
Tell the folks at Pillsbury how you make a America sweeter and you could win $5,000, or just make their rugelach recipe–Pilllsbury
My friend and neighbor Kevin treated me to a wonderful goodbye breakfast this morning: homemade biscuits and chocolate gravy (mmmm) with sidecars of bacon and scrambled eggs. Biscuits and chocolate gravy are one of his family’s beloved treats, and I’m happy to have enjoyed them. My picture doesn’t begin to do them justice, but, hey, my camera battery was fading fast.
Biscuits and chocolate gravy.
I’ll try to get Kevin to write a post about this Kentucky dish, and share his mom’s recipes.
Another great goodbye treat was a bag of cheese straws from my friend Phillip. His partner makes them, and they’re the best I’ve had–cheddary, peppery, delicate–wonderful with a gin and tonic. I’ll try to procure the recipe for that, too.
Size matters: No wonder this little fella looks nervous. He's yours--free!--if you can eat him in under an hour.
I’m on Day 3 of my cross-country road trip–with dog and cat in tow, in a Mini. Driving along the I-40 for 10 hours a day is bound to lead to a few epiphanies:
Obama’s plan to create new jobs to shore up our nation’s crumbling infrastructure is smart. I thought I’d lose a kidney while bouncing over the rutted stretch of I-40 in east Oklahoma.
I am a modern-day Okie. The car is packed to the gills with crap and animals. There’s even a soup pot–albeit an All-Clad–on the front seat (I’d forgotten to pack it). So I can always stop and whip up a roadkill soup if things get really bad.
Texas is all about big.
Of course, the third item isn’t really anything new, but I still enjoyed many examples while driving across the Texas Panhandle. It’s home to some of the swankiest rest stops I’ve seen. In Gray County, heading east from Oklahoma, there’s an environmentally sound welcome center built into the hillside. On the westbound side of the interstate, in neighboring Donley County, they’ve upped the ante with a huge, Art Deco-style rest stop. Places like these are enough to make you think, “I should stop for a spell to check this out.”
The largest cross in the Western Hemisphere.
A scene from "The Life of Brian"?
In Groom, just east of Amarillo, you can stop to admire the largest freestanding cross in the Western Hemisphere. It’s a soaring, 190-foot-tall, cement achievement that even a heathen like me can appreciate. Although the Stations of the Cross sculptures surrounding the main event made me think of “The Life of Brian.”
Driving away from my stop at the cross, I was greeted by huge (of course) billboards touting the Big Texan in Amarillo. The Big Texan is a cheerfully gaudy Route 66 landmark, as it’s the home of the 72-ounce steak–free, if you can gobble the thing in under an hour. It’s not a challenge I was up to (though my dog Rascal would have been happy to take it on). A free 4 1/2-pound steak is the ultimate in eating cheap–if you succeed. But you must pay the $72 upfront. It’s refunded if you meet the challenge, and 8,500 people have since the Big Texan opened in 1960.
You have to admire people who are willing to create their own grandeur on such a breathtaking scale–not just a steak, but an enormous one.
Ultimately, the emphasis on superlative size is what I admire about this part of Texas. There’s not much there, really, just miles of barren, windswept (T. Boone Pickens is right about harnessing that wind to generate some energy) ranchland. You have to admire people who are willing to create their own grandeur on such a breathtaking scale–not just any cross, but the biggest one; not just a steak, but an enormous one. I usually subscribe to the less-is-more school of thought. But in Texas, bigger really is better. Or at least more entertaining.
We may imagine farms are as bucolic as this one. In reality, most farms are industrial-size enterprises, and some experts say that results in food safety concerns.
When Obama won the presidential election, many foodies hoped he would advocate for a better food environment. At the top of the wish list is addressing the safety of our food supply.
In today’s New York Times, reporter Kim Severson tries to parse President-Elect Obama’s food policies, including his controversial selection of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack as the secretary of agriculture. Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food, summed it up for many when he described the selection of Vilsack, who has supports ethanol production and biotech croops, as “agribusiness as usual.” Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat, also expressed some concern about the choice. You can weigh in with your opinion at Serious Eats.
There is a glimmer of hope, though, as there’s the still-open, key post of undersecretary of food safety to fill. The first-rate blog Obama Fooderama urges the incoming president to appoint class-action attorney Bill Marler, because he might actually do something to ensure the safety of our food supply. (Check out his list of the top 10 food safety stories of the year.) Marler’s track record of successfully pursuing food-bourne illness suits since the early ’90s makes him an intriguing, if politically inconvenient, candidate.
The FDA's plans to protect our food supply are mostly in the meeting stage at this point.
But even the government acknowledges–although clumsily–that something needs to be done to improve food safety for Americans. Earlier this month, the FDA released a one-year progress report on its Food Protection Plan. Thus far, the progress is mostly the formation of steering committees and holding public meetings, in addition to:
A food-safety self-assessment tool for industry. (Isn’t that like having the wolf guard the henhouse?)
Establishing inspection locations in foreign countries that export food to the U.S. (A good idea, but it’s unlikely to be as comprehensive as it should be, due to inadequate funding. But even if there are enough inspectors, they may not screen for everything. The Los Angeles Times reports that melamine-tainted farmed seafood is routinely exported to the U.S., and FDA doesn’t currently require melamine screening for imported seafood.)
Approving the irradiation of spinach and iceberg lettuce, a process that many consider controversial. (Irradiation may destroy vitamins in food, and it doesn’t address unsanitary conditions at factory farms, accordng to the Center for Food Safety.)
Requesting funds from Congress to hire more inspectors, which the chronically underfunded agency needs. (It will be interesting to see if Congress comes considers the safety of our food supply as important as bailing out banks.)
Although I’d certainly like to see more a more vigorous food-safety policy from our government–one that’s aimed at protecting citizens rather than appeasing agribusiness–current economic conditions have likely knocked it down on the list of priorities for Obama’s first days in office.
The presents may be opened, but if Santa forgot something for the kitchen, now is a great time to treat yourself. I’m banned from kitchenware stores, since I’ve just spent weeks paring down my cluttered kitchen in preparation for a cross-country move. But I can still enjoy a little virtual window shopping. Here are some of the best buys I’ve found for you.
Sur la Table’s 9-piece stainless steel cookware set: $270 (regularly $350). If you’ve been waiting to invest in good-quality cookware, check out this bargain on the kitchenware emporium’s house brand.
There’s no time like after Christmas to stock up on holiday-themed stuff. This Red cutwork table runner from Williams-Sonoma ($24, down from $60) is nice enough to become a family heirloom.
Find a 12-inch Calphalon One nonstick chef's skillet for just $49.95, down from $144.95, at Cooking.com.
Amazing deals on Calphalon nonstick cookware at Cooking.com. (I really need to visit this site more often–they have some terrific buys.)
Buy 8 Riedel "O" series stemless red wine glasses for $70 at Cooking.com.
I love Michele Cranston’s full-color Kitchen cookbook for inspiration and her inviting approach to cooking. Buy it for $19.95 (down from $34.95) at Crate & Barrel.
Plain white serving bowls are at home in every kitchen, and Chefs has lovely Portuguese-made bowls from $9.99.
I need dishes like a hole in my head, but I’m tempted to break ‘em all so I have an excuse to buy Chefs hand-painted Mocha-Stripe dinnerware set ($60 for the 16-piece set; $90 for 32 pieces, down from $130 and $260). It’s gorgeous.
Molecular gastronomy has made waves in the food world for several years now, as cutting-edge chefs experiment with ways to introduce new textures and flavors to the plate. Everyone, it seems, from Herve This and Ferran Adria to that creepy Marcel guy with the Joker hairdo on “Top Chef,” is working with gums, and foams, and goos. Now the trend is nudging into the home kitchen.
[Update: check the comments following this post for Herve This's wonderful explanation of molecular gastronomy, and check out Gourmet's delightful video about him.]
So on Saturday afternoon I eagerly hustled over to Surfas, a high-end restaurant supply emporium in Culver City, CA, for a demonstration of basic molecular gastronomy. The store’s large demonstration kitchen overflowed with spectators, who were there to watch Chef Andi do her stuff. She teaches molecular gastronomy as part of the culinary arts program at a local high school, which would be an awesome way to learn about cooking and science. If only I’d had that option, instead of dissecting a yucky fetal pig, my life might have taken a very different turn.
Someone like Harold McGee might say that all cooking involves molecular activity and is, therefore, a form of molecular gastronomy.
In the interest of full disclosure, I admit I’m skeptical about the whole molecular gastronomy gig. First, if you read Harold McGee’sOn Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (an indispensable reference), you know that all cooking involves molecular activity and is, therefore, a form of molecular gastronomy. The comprehensive site Khymos.org, which is run by a Norwegian chemist with a passion for cooking and is devoted to molecular cuisine, makes it pretty clear that anyone who has boiled an egg is a molecular gastronomist, or at least a kitchen scientist.
But the term “molecular gastronomy” has come to describe–in my mind, at least–precious tasting spoons filled with dubious-looking foams or tiny gelatinous beads adrift in the middle of a continent-sized white plate. Molecular gastronomy is the antithesis of the kind of hearty, authentic fare I prefer. Of course, that begs the question of what constitutes “authentic.” After all, someone has to prepare my twee plate of molecular chow, so it isn’t really fair to say it’s somehow less authentic than a bowl of nonna’s bolognese.
Still, on a gut level, I harbor some skepticism. But on an intellectual level, I can appreciate that Ferran, Grant, and other molecular gastronomists are pushing the boundaries of flavor and texture in intriguing ways.
Chef Andi offers a molecular gastronomy demo at Surfas in L.A.
It’s in that betwixt-and-between mindset that I took a seat at Surfas to watch Chef Andi run through her demo. She was showing us three recipes, which made it a little confusing for a molecular novice like me to follow. Primarily, she focused on gelatin–the common gelling agent extracted from animal collagen, with which home cooks are quite familiar; sodium alginate; and calcium chloride.
The sodium alginate and calcium chloride were where things got interesting. When sodium alginate is mixed with a liquid and then added to a bath of calcium chloride, the liquid gels and forms beads to create lovely pearls that look like caviar.
This worked with mixed results. In one recipe, Chef Andi and her assistants made Peanut Butter & “Jelly” Dessert Cups (check the Surfas Web site for recipes, which they promise to post soon)–basically a peanut butter mousse (made with gelatin) topped with a black grape “caviar” (created with the help of sodium alginate and calcium chloride) and spooned into chocolate cups in a sort of dessert version of an amuse-bouche. It was tasty, but I couldn’t help thinking you could achieve a similar result with a lot less effort by just using regular ol’ real jelly. Perhaps that’s why I’ll never be a molecular gastonomist.
Do this at home: make little beads of "caviar" with the help of sodium alginate and calcium chloride.
I saw–and tasted–molecular gastronomy’s appeal more clearly in the Tuna & Avocado Salad with Green Onion, Ginger, and Sake “Caviar.” Chef Andi made the caviar from a flavorful liquid of stewed ginger, onions, and sake to which she added sodium alginate. She decanted this mixture into a squeeze bottle, and then began squeezing pearl-sized drops into a calcium chloride bath, where they formed perfect little caviar-like beads. This caviar was spooned atop a timbal of sushi-grade tuna salad and avocado. The result was a a complex amalgam of flavors and textures. The tuna was velvety, the avocado creamy, and the “caviar” exploded with flavor–much like real caviar.
As I watched the demonstration, I realized that my reluctance about molecular gastronomy is more a reflection of my approach to cooking than anything. Molecular gastronomy requires a level of patience and precision that’s inherently at odds with my slapdash cooking style. I glance at a recipe, and then improvise along the way. Molecular gastronomy requires reading–and heeding–the directions. So although I may be temperamentally unsuited to molecular gastronomy as a cook, I can certainly appreciate the results when someone else does it.
2008 may well go down as the year I finally embraced bacon. I’m not sure why it took me so long to come around. My mom was a fiend for bacon–one of the last things I remember her eating was fat scallops wrapped in bacon. She ordered rashers of the stuff when she was in the hospital with lung cancer, much to the consternation of the staff nutritionists. They’d call to set her straight.
“Mrs. Mann, we got your order, and I’m afraid bacon doesn’t count as a protein.”
“That’s not really an issue for me now,” she’d reply. “Send me the bacon.”
Perhaps it took me a long stay in the Deep South, where the natives love all things pig, but I’ve finally come to realize bacon is a staple that deserves a spot in the fridge at all times. I love i’s smoky flavor and crunch, which elevates all manner of dishes. I also appreciate the flavorful fat it renders, which I use to saute, well, anything, really.
Perhaps it took me a long stay in the Deep South, where the natives love all things pig, but I’ve finally come to realize bacon is a staple that deserves a spot in the fridge at all times.
Of course, I’m latecomer to a really big party, because bacon has always had a passionate following. I (Heart) Bacon is a Seattle-based blog devoted to cured pig products. Another one is Bacon Freak (i.e., “Bacon is Meat Candy”), where you can order everything from gift baskets of bacon to gummy bacon candy. Serious Eats justnamed bacon one of their top posts for 2008.
I picked up a half-pound of Black Forest bacon, a thickly sliced, German-style smoked and cured variety, at the Whole Foods meat counter the other day. And I’ve enjoyed it this week with Brussels sprouts and spinach, and in place of unsmoked pancetta in Bon Appetit’s Fettuccine Carbonara with Fried Eggs (I also omitted the fried eggs and used spinach in place of the broccoli rabe). But here’s how I use it with Brussels sprouts in my current favorite side dish.
Brussels Sprouts with Black Forest Bacon
Brussels sprouts and bacon have a special affinity. You can use any type of bacon in this easy side dish, though the smokiness of Black Forest bacon is especially nice. Depending on the type of bacon you use, you may not need much (or any) salt. Quartering the sprouts helps them cook quickly. You could add shallots with the garlic, if you like, or deglaze the pan with white wine instead of broth. Serve with roasted pork tenderloin or chicken.
1 pound small Brussels sprouts
2 slices Black Forest bacon, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chicken broth
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1. Trim away the outer leaves and stalk end of the Brussels sprouts. Cut sprouts into quarters.
2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon; cook 5 minutes, or until bacon starts to get crisp and render its fat. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds. Add sprouts, saute 5 minutes. Add broth, scraping the pan to loosen any browned bits. Reduce heat, and cook 3 minutes, or until sprouts are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.
One a day: enjoying seasonal fruit like Meyer lemons and satsuma oranges is a resolution that's easy to keep.
We all do it: After an indulgent holiday season, we crawl into the new year with promises to do it better this time. Lose a few pounds, hit the gym regularly, revamp our diet. We set resolutions with all the hopefulness of the newborn year, but we’re barely into the first week of 2009, and I know some friends’ resolve is already wavering.
I’m a big believer in small, positive changes. It’s easier to embrace an enjoyable behavior than it is to break a bad habit. So in that spirit, I’ve asked friends and colleagues to share their food-related resolutions for 2009. I’ll focus on one a day for the next week or so, with tips to help them stick.
The first one up is courtesy of Cooking Light contributing editor and NourishNetwork.com founder Lia Huber: Eat one piece of seasonal fruit a day. “I’m not much of a fruit person, so I tend to just skip over them,” she confesses. “But when I do finally bite into an apple or peel an orange, it makes me feel so grounded and good and vibrant.”
I’m in the same boat; fruit isn’t the first thing I reach for when I’m hungry, and I have to make a point of eating the stuff. Which is odd, because I have an impressive sweet tooth that fruit can satisfy.
Lia’s resolution to focus on seasonal fruit is a smart way to expand your palate and enjoy a terrific variety throughout the year.
This time of year, I love citrus fruit, and especially satusma oranges. Once you start focusing a bit of attention on seasonal fruit, you’ll realize that there are many ways to incorporate it in your diet Here are three simple strategies:
Expand your fruit vocabulary. If you see something that looks interesting at the farmer’s market, or even the supermarket, pick it up. You can always ask the farmer or store produce manager for ideas on how to enjoy unfamiliar fruits. Or check out the produce distributor Melissa’s Web site. It has a helpful tool that allows you to search for fruit and other produce by season, with tips to buy, store, and cook with it.
Incorporate fruit into recipes. Of course, you can always enjoy a piece of fruit out of hand as a snack, but fruit can play many roles in sweet and savory recipes. This time of year, sectioned citrus pairs wonderfully with salad greens. You can use different fruits in salsa (depending on the season, try pineapple, mango, or peach), or in a smooth sauce (try tart cherries in summer) to pair with roasted meat or chicken. Fruit-based desserts can satisfy a sweet tooth and boost your nutritional profile; the Culinary Institute of America has some great tips for putting fruit front and center in desserts. Melissa’s site has plenty of recipes, too, from big-name chefs, as well as from Melissa’s test kitchen. (I want to try their Meyer Lemon Custard to use up some sweet lil’ Meyers I picked up the other day.)
Discover the range of flavors and textures. Many of us associate fruit with sweet flavors, but that isn’t always the case. Consider the avocado. It’s a fruit that boasts creamy texture and mellow vegetal flavor. And I’m always happy to eat one.
A bowl of Hoppin' John and collard greens is a fine way to start 2009.
I’ve been in transition for some time now, but things started to fall into place when my moving pod of belongings arrived from Alabama on New Year’s Eve. As we unloaded box after box of kitchen gear, I thought, “Ah, now I can make this. I can make that.”
To pay homage to my former home, and because, hell, we all could use some good luck going into 2009, I decided to make a pot of Hoppin’ John. The Southern Low Country dish is a simple melange of black-eyed peas, rice, tomatoes, and some kind of pork (a ham hock, sausage, bacon, whatever), and it’s supposed to bring good luck to those who partake on New Year’s Day.
For the most luck, you should eat a bowl of the stuff at the stroke of midnight. We were at a party in a penthouse condo overlooking Marina del Rey at midnight, so I sought my luck in a lychee martini. That meant we had our Hoppin’ John at the end of New Year’s Day, so we may only acquire a little luck. I’ll take it. In any case, I figured a pot of Hoppin’ John and the traditional side of collard greens would have some curative benefits for my mate, who was feeling a tad delicate after the previous evening’s festivities.
Of course, Hoppin’ John’s good-luck powers are well known beyond the South, but I still figured there’d be no problem finding the ingredients at Whole Foods in Venice on New Year’s afternoon. That’s where my luck started to waver. When I approached the bulk bean bins, I was dismayed to find the dried black-eyed peas bin empty. Not a lone pea to be found. Uh, oh, a whole lot of folks in the Marina and Venice were eating our good luck. Not to worry, I assumed there must be frozen or canned or some kind of black-eyed pea elsewhere in this vast food temple.
My prize: The last two cans of black-eyed peas in the Venice Whole Foods. Good thing I already had a bag of popcorn rice.
Um, not really. No peas in the frozen section. No packaged dried peas, either. Canned peas were starting to sound really, really good at that point. Of course, the shelf space for canned black-eyed peas was empty. I fished around in the dark recesses of the shelf and came up with The Last Two Cans of Black-Eyed Peas. Eureka!
I had better luck finding collards in the produce section. I picked up two gorgeous bunches with giant, fresh, green leaves that bode well for prosperity in the new year. At the very least, we’d get a ton of antioxidants.
So, it was in a somewhat triumphant mood that I returned home to make a pot of Hoppin’ John and a side of collard greens.
Hoppin’ John from a Can
I adapted this recipe from Matt Lee and Ted Lee’s version for The New York Times. Canned beans may not have been my first choice, but since I didn’t have to soak dried beans, this New Year’s Day specialty came together quickly. Louisiana popcorn rice is an aromatic long-grain variety that’s a Cajun speciality; it actually smells liked popped corn. You can use any type of long-grain rice. I had some lovely Black Forest bacon on hand, but you could substitute any bacon, a more-traditional ham hock, or even sausage. Serve with hot sauce–Tabasco would be a natural, but I love the bright flavor of Asian-style sriracha.
3 thick-cut slices bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
2 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
3 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teapoon cayenne
6 canned whole peeled tomatoes
11/2 cups Louisiana popcorn rice (or any long-grain rice)
Hot sauce (optional)
1. Cook bacon over medium heat in a large saucepan for 3 minutes, or until the bacon renders its fat. Add onion; cook 5 minutes, or until tender. Add peas, broth, salt, and peppers;. Use kitchen shears to cut up the tomatoes in a bowl or measuring cup; add tomatoes to the pan. Bring to a boil; add rice. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Serve with hot sauce. Yields 6 servings.
Quick Collards
Traditionally, collards are cooked with pork fat and boiled. For an old-school version, try Southern Living’s Country-Style Collards. Since my Hoppin’ John was coming together quickly, I opted to chiffonade my collards and saute them. This will look like an ungodly amount greens once you have them trimmed and sliced, but it cooks down, much like spinach. I find it’s easiest to wash the greens in a colander or salad spinner after they’ve been trimmed and sliced .
1 pound fresh collard greens
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1. Trim the center ribs from the collard leaves. Stack the leaves and roll them up like a cigar; thinly slice (chiffonade).
2. Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add oil. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add a large handful of collards to pan; cook until collards wilt. Repeat with remaining collards until all of them are in the pan. Stir in salt and peppers; sauté 2 minutes. Add broth; cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates and collards are tender. Yields 4-6 servings.
An empty bowl is an invitation to focus on what you eat.
Next up on our tour of food-related New Year’s resolutions is what some people call mindful eating, or what I consider simply paying attention to what you eat. Nichele Hoskins, a Birmingham, AL-based magazine editor, put it best when she sent me her 2009 resolutions: Avoid eating in transit, topped the list. Sounds simple, but if you’re an avid grazer (a k a snacker) like me, you first have to acknowledge how much mindless chowing you actually do. You know, those times when you find yourself nibbling on this or that because you’re kinda, sorta, well, not really hungry. Sound familiar? Hmm, I just ate a scone while folding laundry. In fact, when I think about it, most of my eating is done while doing something else.
Evenings have been a downfall for David Mark, a consultant who specializes in nutrition research and development.. “No calories of any sort after dinner,” Mark vows for the coming year, to avoid mindless eating and reduce the likelihood of bedtime acid reflux.
Nichele’s and David’s seemingly small goals are powerful. Essentially, they involve avoiding situations where you eat while engaged in another activity, such as driving, working, reading, watching TV, or noodling on the Internet.
Nichele’s goal: Avoid eating in transit. That’s a simple, yet powerful goal that can help short-circuit mindless consumption. Eating while distracted makes it difficult to register when you’ve had enough.
Too many of us eat without taking notice too often. According to Brigham & Women’s Hospital, 66% of us regularly eat dinner in front of the TV (yep, guilty of that one). So what? Well, it turns out mindless munching could make the digestive process up to 40% less effective, not to mention create unwanted side effects like bloating, acid reflux, or just plain eating too much. Eating while distracted makes it difficult to register when you’ve had enough.
There are lots of ways to eat mindfully, some of them not really suited to everyday living (are you going to close your eyes and register every bite, or chew every bite 30 times? Not me). But there are some simple strategies to bring your attention back to the task.
Eat with your nondominant hand to slow you down. (I can do that.)
Don’t watch TV, read, drive, or troll the Internet while you eat. (This one will be tough; I love eating and reading or watching TV.)
Serve up a proper portion on a plate. (Easy.)
Sit down to eat. (Not so easy, if sitting down doesn’t also involve another activity.)
Try to make the meal last 20 minutes. (That isn’t so long, but if you’re in the habit of bolting down your food, it will probably feel like forever at first.)
Eat food you like. (I like this one–why waste time eating food you don’t enjoy?)
There are many triggers to mindless eating, as Cornell researcher Brian Wansink, PhD, can attest. He’s made a career of studying the psychology of eating–everything from how different-size plates influence how much we eat to why people consume more calories at Subway than they do at McDonalds. His (often surprising) findings are collected in his book and Web site Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. I’ve signed up for his National Mindless Eating Challenge, which allows you to customize weekly and monthly goals to eat better and with more attention. Also check out Brian’s blog on the Prevention magazine Web site. Now, I am hungry, so I’m going to go eat something. Just eat, nothing else.
[Update: I had a carton of blueberry nonfat yogurt and managed to sit down while eating it (though I had to fight the urge to get up and at least walk around, maybe pet the dog). But it was tasty, and I did note my enjoyment of it. However, I caught myself reading the nutrition info on the carton, which was a bit of a cheat. At least I was reading about the food I was eating.]
Pretty and tasty: Kale's sturdy leaves boast earthy, cabbage-y flavor that's perfect with winter dishes.
My mother never told me to eat my greeens, because she never made them. I’m not sure if she didn’t like greens or just wasn’t sure what to do with them, but spinach, collards, kale, and other hearty cooking greens are something I only came to enjoy as an adult.
And I’d like to join my friend, freelance writer and editor Hillari Dowdle, in her 2009 endeavor to eat more hearty, dark greens. Of course, greens are good for you–they’re rich in a host of vitamins (especially vitamins A and C), minerals (like iron and manganese), and phytonutrients. Even better, hearty greens are at their peak right now, and their earthy flavor is a perfect fit for winter meals.
Select greens that have fresh, crisp, unblemished leaves; they’ll keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Their leaves tend to trap dirt and grit, so you’ll want to wash them thoroughly. I like to do this in a salad spinner after trimming and chopping the leaves. You also can dunk the leaves several times in a large bowl or sink filled with water; this allows any grit to settle at the bottom. You’ll want to trim away the thick, fibrous stems of tough greens like collards.
Select greens that have fresh, crisp, unblemished leaves; they’ll keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Sally Schneider has some helpful guidelines for cooking with greens in her book A New Way to Cook:
Tender greens (those with young, small, and supple leaves) can be cooked quickly (i.e., sauteed or briefly boiled) or eaten raw.
Mature greens (those with large, tough leaves) must be cooked. You may want to blanch them (cooked in boiling water for a minute or two) before proceeding with a recipe. Blanching also renders bitter greens less assertive. Mature greens also fare well braised or boiled.
Though you can use most greens interchangeably, their flavor ranges from mild to spicy. For substitution guidelines, visit The Cook’s Thesaurus (a site worth bookmarking). Here’s a rundown of a few of my faves:
Beet greens: If you buy a bunch of beets with the leaves still attached, don’t throw those delicious, earthy-tasting leaves away. Instead, simply saute them, much as you would spinach. Yum!
Broccoli rabe has a pungent, bitter quality that Italian cooks adore. A bit of olive oil and salt helps tame the bitterness. Try it steamed, braised, or fried.
The Italians also love bitter chicory, which they boil and serve with a white sauce, or puree with a touch of cream.
I’ve come to love the mild flavor of collard greens, which generally benefit from long braising, though you also could saute them (see my recipe below).
Kale is a part of the cabbage family, so it (not surprisingly) has a cabbage-y quality. Discard the center stem and treat the curly leaves much the way you would spinach. Frilly-leaved kale is the most common variety, but you’ll find other types (lacinto, for example) at farmers’ markets and gourmet stores.
For a spicy, peppery bite, try mustard greens, which do well braised with bacon. For an even more assertive selection, try turnip greens.
Spinach may well be the most popular variety. Large, mature leaves should be cooked (steamed, boiled, braised), while baby spinach does fine with a quick saute.
This is by no means a complete list. If you visit an ethnic market or farmers’ market, you’ll find many other varieties. Just ask the merchant for tips to cook them.
QUICK COLLARDS
Taking a few moments to thinly slice hearty greens like collards means they’ll cook quickly–ideal if you want to serve this with a weeknight supper. I find it’s easiest to wash the greens in a colander or salad spinner after they’ve been trimmed and sliced. You can treat other greens, like kale, chard, mustard greens, or turnip greens, the same way. This will look like an ungodly amount greens once you have them trimmed and sliced, but it cooks down, much like spinach.
1 pound fresh collard greens (or other hearty greens)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or cracked red pepper
1/2 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1. Trim the center ribs from the collard leaves. Stack the leaves and roll them up like a cigar; thinly slice (chiffonade).
2. Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add oil. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add a large handful of collards to pan; cook until collards wilt. Repeat with remaining collards until all of them are in the pan. Stir in salt and peppers; sauté 2 minutes. Add broth; cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates and collards are tender. Yields 4-6 servings.
Eat in: Trendhunter names cooking one of the top 20 trends for 2009. “Fuelled by the credit crunch and food as a fashionable hobby, we’ll see a return to the kitchen, especially for the celebrated meals,” they report.
Fat diets going extinct? Gosh, I hope so.–Slashfood
Sign an online petition to let incoming President Obama know that a sustainable national food policy is important to you–Food Democracy Now!
Chef Eric Ripert shares his menu for a Cozy Winter Dinner Social. Send him a photo of how it turns out by Jan. 26, and you could win an Olympus digital camera–AvecEric
Save the date, invite your friends, and plan to put a pot on the stove: the Third Annual Soup Swap Day is January 24. This event–started in Seattle six years ago because it’s January, it’s cold, and who doesn’t love soup this time of year?–has gone national. It works like a cookie exchange in that everyone brings enough to send home with everyone else (for guidelines, check the Soup Swap web site). I think you could stretch the definition of soup to include stews and chilis.
Basically, you’d need to prepare 6 quarts of your favorite soup, and freeze it in 1-quart containers (those semi-disposable plastic containers or heavy-duty zip-top baggies would would do the trick). Don’t forget to mark the container with a Sharpie so people know what they’re getting. If you feel extra nice, include the recipe in case they want to make more.
Here’s a recipe to get you started.
Tuscan White Bean Soup
If you don’t have cooked dried beans on hand, you can substitute an equal amount of canned Great Northerns, cannellinis, navy beans, or even chickpeas. Be sure to rinse and drain the canned beans, and you may want to adjust the amount of salt in the recipe. If you happen to have a Parmigiano-Reggiano rind on hand, you can add it to the soup while it simmers (discard before serving). Include the serving suggestion to add freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a rosemary sprig.
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups chopped onion (2-3 large)
6 minced garlic cloves
16 cups cooked dried Great Northern beans OR rinsed, drained canned beans
4 quarts chicken or vegetable broth
2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
11/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1. Heat a stockpot over medium heat. Add oil. Add onion and garlic. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the onion is very tender. Add beans, broth, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and rosemary; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir in the vinegar. Puree, using an immersion blender (or transfer soup to a regular blender or food processor and puree in batches); adjust the seasonings, if needed. Serve topped with grated cheese and a rosemary sprig. Yield: about 6 quarts.
Moderate consumption of red wine may boost hearty-healthy omega-3 fatty acids in your blood.
File this under good news: Wine Spectator reports that drinking red wine may boost blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are linked to lower rates of heart disease and may help ward off depression (wow, so you really can drink your troubles away–just kidding!). You need to consume foods rich in omega-3 fats, since your body can’t produce them. Oily fish like salmon and mackerel are good sources, as are nuts and nut oils, flax seed, and canola oil.
European researchers have found moderate red wine consumption–one (4-ounce) glass per day for women, two for men–helps boost blood levels of omega-3s. They say wine helps the body synthesize omega-3s from plant and animal sources.
Of course, the key is moderate consumption. Heavy drinkers in the study had lower blood levels of omega-3s.
You can celebrate the news tonight by grilling wild Alaskan salmon (it’s available frozen this time of year) and glass of pinot noir. If you want to find a good, super-affordable red table wine, check out Jason’s Wine Blog, which rates the cheap sips available at Trader Joe’s.
The New York Times‘ Dining & Wine section gets plenty of attention, and they do a terrific job. But since I’ve returned to Southern California, I’m really enjoying getting reacquainted with the weekly Food pages of the Los Angeles Times. The staff turns out consistently enjoyable features that make me want to get into the kitchen. And isn’t that the point?
This week, Food Editor Russ Parsons kicks off the weekly Get Cooking series that focuses on simple weeknight dishes. The online version is accompanied by a nice video. The first installment focuses on pasta, and I love the way Russ makes a case for the affordable luxury of high-quality dried pasta and tries to explain what, exactly, is meant by “al dente” (a tall order, since it’s an elusive, highly subjective quality). I’m bookmarkin’ it.
Satisfying, healthy fare takes planning--not a lot, but at least some.
Sometimes you get lucky and you’re able to improvise a tasty, healthy meal. But for the most part, eating well takes at least a little planning. But life is busy, and it’s all too easy to overlook that key planning step.
“I’m going to be more dilligent about planning and preparing healthy meals,” says Sara Floor Miller, communications manager for the Dairy Council of California. That’s a goal many of us share.
Planning is also a core tenet of eating cheaply, since it enables you to make use of everything you buy. I attended a seminar at the Culinary Institute of America’s Northern California campus last fall, where Chef Adam Busby (he’s one of just 62 Certified Master Chefs in the States) discussed the virtues of “planovers.” This is not the same thing as making a massive amount of one recipe and eating the leftovers throughout the week. Instead, it’s a matter of choosing recipes with similar elements to make your shopping and cooking more efficient. For example, on Wednesday, I made a batch of Pantry Pasta Sauce, which I used on homemade pizza that night and planned to serve over pasta on Friday. When I make roast a pork tenderloin, we’ll enjoy it sliced with veggie and grain sides that night; we’ll have again in quesadillas later in the week.
“Planovers” are not the same thing as making a massive amount of one recipe and eating the leftovers throughout the week. Instead, they’re a matter of choosing recipes with similar elements so your shopping and cooking are more efficient.
Here are ways to create your own planovers:
Designate a half-dozen or so dinnertime meals as your go-to recipes. We all have family favorites that we prepare in a more or less formal rotation. The more often you make them, the easier it will be to plan and shop efficiently. You’ll also become more comfortable with substituting different ingredients so you don’t get bored and more confident working in a new recipe every week or so to expand your repertoire. Free, online resources like Meals Matter offer meal planning tools, recipe storage, and shopping lists to make it easy.
Keep the pantry stocked with basics for your favorites. These might include chicken broth, pasta, rice, canned tomatoes, olive oil–whatever you use regularly. That way, you can pull together a good meal on the fly if you need to.
Plan your meals for the week, and create a shopping list. Be sure to check the pantry and fridge to see what you already have on hand so you don’t buy duplicates at the store.
When you’re cooking one night, do work for the next. Stretch prep work by cleaning and chopping extra vegetables for recipes later in the week. You can even cook extra food with little extra effort. Let’s say you’re fixing rice for a side dish. Double the amount, refrigerate the extra, and use it to make stir-fried rice another evening. If you have the grilled fired up, use all the space to cook extra food for another meal. Cooking Light’s “Grill Once, Eat Twice” guide is a perfect example of this strategy.
Previous posts in the Resolutions That Work Series:
The offer of a free mega-steak may seem like an intriguing challenge, but it won't do you any favors, nutritionally speaking.
My friend Donna Florio, who’s a senior writer at Southern Living magazine, rolled into 2009 with this goal: Eat less meat. “I’ve been in a bad meat habit lately, choosing beefy entrees, eating fewer meatless meals,” she says. (By the way, Donna is not referring to the Big Texan’s 72-ounce steak challenge, pictured above.) “I’m going to work on getting back to enjoying meat as an accessory rather than a main dish.”
I’m not including this resolution to demonize meat. I love meat, and believe it deserves a spot in a healthy diet–especially if you choose lean cuts and enjoy them in reasonable portions. If you visit a steakhouse, chances are the 8-ounce New York strip steak is the light-eater’s option. And on a menu populated with 24-ounce porterhouse steaks and other mega-cuts, it is. A 3-ounce cooked portion (that’s about 4 ounces raw) is more like it, according to the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
I’m not including this resolution to demonize meat. I love meat, and believe it deserves a spot in a healthy diet–especially if you choose lean cuts and enjoy them in reasonable portions. The USDA considers a serving of beef to be 3 ounces cooked (4 ounces raw). That’s not a lot, especially if you’re accustomed to larger, restaurant-size portions.
There are several ways to “accessorize” with meat.
Keep an eye on portions. The USDA considers a serving of beef–or pork, lamb, chicken, or seafood, for that matter–to be 3 ounces cooked (4 ounces raw). That’s not a lot, especially if you’re used to larger, restaurant-size portions, though if it’s surrounded by ample veggies and whole grains, you won’t feel deprived. A kitchen scale is a handy tool to help you keep portion sizes in check. Serious Eats’ Meat Lite recipes offer plenty of inspiration on how to do more with less meat.
In this Mexican dish, grilled pork is part of a bigger picture. (Photo courtesy of the Culinary Institute of America/Greystone.)
Look to other cuisines for inspiration. Meat may be a mainstay of the American diet, but in other parts of the world, meat is an expensive ingredient and cooks have had to devise creative ways to stretch its flavor. Asian stir-fries are a classic example of this. For inspiration, check out the Culinary Institute of America’s Worlds of Healthy Flavors site.
Add meaty flavor in subtle ways. If you love hearty, meaty flavor–what’s known as umami, the so-called fifth taste sense–you can enhance that quality in many ways. For example, last night, I made pasta with some leftover Pantry Pasta Sauce. The sauce itself has a touch of soy sauce, which lends it a meaty, umami-ness that helps tame the tinniness of canned tomatoes. For extra meaty heft, I added sauteed mushrooms and pancetta, and finished it off with a grating of pecorino Romano cheese.
[Interesting side note: In all fairness, I have to point out that the Big Texan in Amarillo, Texas, which is famous for offering a free 72-ounce steak to anyone who can gobble the thing in under an hour, also serves a nice, comparatively lil' 6-ounce filet.]
Previous posts in the Resolutions That Work Series:
January if flyin' by, baby. How are those resolutions coming along? (Flickr photo.)
It’s hard to believe we’re almost halfway through January. And there’s a good chance all those New Year’s intentions to eat better are starting to wane in the face of a busy post-holiday, return-t0-work routine. One way to stay on track is to join a group challenge, and there are a number of national diet and fitness challenges currently underway. You can start them anytime.
“I am going to do the Small Plate Movement Challenge and start eating dinner from a salad plate,” says Health magazine associate editor Shaun Chavis. “I love eating food from bowls, so I’ll have to find some smaller ones.” (Check out Shaun’s awesome weight-loss blog for Health.com.) Here’s the deal on the Small Plate Movement and four other (free!) challenges you can join:
For portion control: This year, Shaun is accepting the Small Plate Movement Challenge, which was developed by Brian Wansink, PhD. Wansink is a psychologist who heads up the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab. He has done fascinating research on food behavior, including the influence of plate size on how much we eat. It’s pretty simple: When we eat off larger plates (and dinner plates have gotten larger over the last couple of decades), we consume more food. The Small Plate Movement challenges participants to eat the largest meal of the day off a 10-inch plate for one month. It’s a simple challenge, and an easy way to start controlling portion sizes.
To keep an eye on what you eat: Munching while distracted (i.e., mindlessly) leads to consuming unwanted calories. The National Mindless Eating Challenge is another of Wansink’s projects; it allows you to customize weekly and monthly goals, for which Wansink offers research-supported tips to improve your chances of success.
To improve your overall diet: The editors of EatingWell magazine have designed the EatingWell Diet Challenge, which you can start anytime. The 12-week program has interactive tools, tips, and research to help you set realistic goals and meet them. I really like this one, because it anticipates obstacles, like weight-loss plateaus and overeating triggers.
Short and sweet: If you just need to kick-start better eating habits, try the Dairy Council of California’s Meals Matter Nutrition and Fitness Challenge. Designed by registered dietitians, “the Challenge has three weeks of diet, fitness, and lifestyle assessment and improvement through interactive tools,” says Sara Floor Miller, the council’s communications manager. Miller has accepted the challenge. “I’m already planning to increase my excercise by walking my dogs. I’m also planning to be more dilligent about planning and preparing healthy meals.”
Extra incentive: Register for Discovery Health’s National Body Challenge, and you’ll get a free 30-day membership to Bally’s health clubs–in addition to free online tools to set and track your diet and fitness resolutions.
Previous posts in the Resolutions That Work Series:
I’ve long aspired to make decent pizza at home, with varying levels of success. The trick for me has been finding a reliable dough. Reliable, as in easy enough for a so-so baker like me to pull together. Either the doughs I’ve tried have been too wet, or too dry, or I haven’t been able to get the right consistency after kneading (like I said, I’m no pro).
Well, I’ve found my grail in the Basic Pizza Dough recipe from the September 2008 issue of Cooking Light. It uses a food processor, which means it comes together quickly, though I’ve kneaded it by hand at least once and it still turned out just right. It rises perfectly and rolls out beautifully. I’ll whip up the dough,take the dog for a walk while it rises, and then finish the pizza when I get home.
I threw together the pizza pictured above using this dough recipe, plus some leftover Pantry Pasta Sauce, pre-grated mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and a sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano. It baked on a pizza stone (you can pick one up for less than 10 bucks at Wal-Mart) in a 500-degree oven for 9 minutes.
Bookmark this: From aamchur to zira, the UK-based site The Foody defines herbs and spices–as well as fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and other items. Nice if you’re making a British recipe and forgot that an aubergine is an eggplant.
It’s one way to fight the deficit: New York Governor David Patterson proposes an 18% sin tax on sugary beverages. Hard fiscal times makes so-called “obesity taxes” on junk food more appealing than ever, says Kelly Brownell, director of Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity–Business Week
Vitamin D is the “it” nutrient, especially for people with diabetes. Managing vitamin D deficiency “may be a simple and cost-effective method to improve blood sugar control and prevent the serious complications associated with diabetes,” says Joanne Kouba, Ph.D., R.D., L.D.N., study co-author and clinical assistant professor of dietetics, Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing–The Diabetes Educator
Dining out on a shoestring: Best cheap eats across the country, from LA to Atlanta–Gayot.com
Can those who critique cook? Ummm, no. Feared French food critic Francois Simon takes a turn at the stove–The New York Times
Room for another cooking competition TV show? The Los Angeles Times’ Rene Lynch reviews the Food Network’s “Chopped” and deems it worthy of a place on the broadcast menu. The folks at Serious Eats aren’t so sure.
This morning's haul from the local farmers' market
I hit the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market this morning and was greeted by bumper crops of root vegetables and citrus of all varieties. After duking it out with local restaurant chefs who were stocking up for the day’s menus, I came away with this modest though inspiring selection (I tried to keep my purchases to items we’d use in the next few days):
Meyer lemons (50 cents apiece)–I’ll use the juice to make a vinaigrette and the zest to flavor some buttermilk scones.
White (albino) beets ($3/bunch)–The beets will be roasted, sliced, and added to a big salad, as well as used on a pizza. Their gorgeous greens will go into tonight’s stir-fry.
Potato patch: Almost too many varieties to choose from, but they're all tasty.
Russian banana fingerling potatoes ($1.50/pound)–not sure yet if I’ll roast these or steam them for a salad
Redwood Hill Farm goat cheese ($8/5 ounces)–this was my indulgence, but it’s hard to pass up artisanal goat cheese. This will likely be paired with the beets in the salad or on the pizza (or both). Is it too decadent to just eat the stuff as is?
Diners have a surprising reaction when they learn terrorists might have tampered with their food. (Cornell University photo.)
Let’s file this one under, huh, that’s weird.
It’s long been known that terrorists could wreak havoc on our food supply. Cornell University researchers just released a study to determine the effect this might have on consumers.
This is a tricky kind of experiment to conduct. ”Policymakers have been using naturally occurring outbreaks of food- borne illnesses to assess the potential impacts of terrorism on the food supply,” said first author David R. Just, associate professor of applied economics and management in Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. But that doesn’t really correlate to a terrorist attack on food, he says. So the researchers created a hypothetical setting to gauge people’s response to potential terrorist tampering with their food.
A hired actor created a “mild disturbance” among a group of 103 volunteer diners. In one situation, he declared he wouldn’t eat the chicken because the morning news had reported there was an outbreak of bird flu 45 miles away. In another setting, he passed on the chicken because the morning news had reported terrorists might be responsible for the bird flu outbreak.
If you heard a terrorist might have tampered with your food, how would you react?
When volunteers thought the bird flu was naturally occurring, they ate 17% less chicken. When they thought terrorists were behind it, they ate 26% less chicken. Only a few people rejected the chicken altogether.
Um, so, when people heard terrorists might have tainted the food they were eating, they still ate almost three-quarters of it? Just says the study demonstrates how much more severely consumers react when they believe terrorists have messed with their chow. Eating 26% less potentially tainted chicken doesn’t sound that severe to me. How would you react?
Update:
If you read the comments, you’ll see that a poster took issue with the experiment’s setup, since adequate cooking would kill any bird-flu pathogens and render the hypothetically tainted chicken safe in any case. I contacted Dr. Just at Cornell to inquire further about how the researchers settled on bird flu as their theoretical terrorist threat. Here’s how he explained it:
“We chose this for two reasons. First, because almost nobody knows much about bird flu, and so it was a very ambiguous threat. Secondly, if anyone did know much about it, it would seem plausible to them why we would serve the chicken despite the threat.
“If we had chosen (for example) cyanide, people might suspect the actor was part of an experiment because no one would serve food potentially laced with cyanide. Certainly the amount people would be willing to eat should depend on the particular pathogen or other tampering. We did a bunch of focus groups and asked some open ended questions to figure out how much of a role this played. The results were a bit surprising. When asked an open ended question of why they were willing to eat the chicken despite the potential for contamination, the most frequent answer was that they could bring a lawsuit if there had been any ill effects. More research needs to be done on this, but I think there may be a real issue with having too much faith in the food system.”
A cross between a lemon and an orange, Meyer lemons deliver sweeter flavor and less acidity than standard lemons.
There was an abundance of Meyer lemons at the farmers’ market this week. These lovely winter citrus fruits have been trendy for a few years, and now you can find them in some supermarkets. The skin ranges from vivid yellow to orange-tinged. That’s because they’re a cross between a lemon and an orange, so they are rounder and less acidic than a standard lemon. The juice is sweet and delicate, while the rind has a mellow quality that works nicely in baked goods. They’ll keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, but you’ll probably use them long before that.
I picked up several Meyers and used them to make this simple vinaigrette.
Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
Meyer lemon juice has a delicate quality, so you don’t want to use an overly fruity or peppery olive oil. That’s also why there’s no mustard in this vinaigrette–I didn’t want the condiment to overwhelm the lemon. With these proportions, it emulsifies just fine. Use the dressing on salads or drizzled over grilled fish. If you plan to use the rind in another recipe, go ahead and grate or peel the rind before juicing the fruit.
1/3 cup mild-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Stir with a whisk. Yield: about 1/2 cup.
An artist uses Stubbs BBQ Sauce to create portraits of the company's founder at the Fancy Food Show.
I’m in San Francisco for the Winter Fancy Food Show, a trade shindig for producers and retailers put on by National Association for the Specialty Food Trade. (Check out their fun consumer site, Foodspring.) It’s a bustling show, with lavish displays filling Moscone Center’s vast exhibit halls.
“Recession? What recession?” I wondered.
“Oh, they must have paid for all that by September,” my sister-in-law later told me.
The show is slightly scaled back this year, but not that a rube like me would notice (it has been some time since I’ve attended this particular trade show). “It’s a little bit smaller,” said an Oakland, CA-based caterer who attends every year. “Maybe.”
Here’s a quick rundown of just a few highlights:
Infusion. Expect to see even more flavor-infused salts, oils, vinegars, and other products on store shelves. Sometimes this leads to flavor confusion because infusion is a tricky proposition. One flavor shouldn’t overwhelm the other. Sometimes the flavors marry well; others, it’s not so successful. I sampled an orange-infused olive oil from Sicily and all I could taste was orange. And I do not want raspberry-cheddar cheese under any circumstances.
Tea products of every kind. From rare tea leaves to biodegradable tea bags to nutrient-enhanced iced tea beverages, we’ll have more opportunities to sip than ever.
Artisinal chocolate. The chocolate wave is still going strong, though there are so many players–each claiming to have the rarest, fairest-trade, single-origin bar–that it’s hard for consumers (well, me, anyway) to distinguish them.
One of my favorite finds thus far: Golden Star Jasmine Sparkling Tea. This stuff tastes amazing–crisp, refreshing, an elegant warm-weather sipper. You can find it at Whole Foods.
The annual Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco is an opportunity for producers to introduce new flavors to retailers and other foodies.
Having just returned from the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, where I spent two days sampling untold numbers of cheeses, cured meats, chocolate, jams, snacks, teas, and other gourmet offerings, I’ve had a chance to mull over my favorite finds. These are items that stand out in my mind (and on my palate), and which I’ll seek out.
Golden Star White Jasmine Sparkling Tea. In a sea of tea drinks–ranging from single-origin loose leaves to biodegradable sachets to nutrient-rich tea energy drinks–this was the absolute winner. The Northern California producers combine jasmine silver needle tea, a smidgen of cane juice, and lightly carbonated spring water to produce a lively, refreshing, food-friendly beverage. It’s currently available in Whole Foods markets in California and online. If you’re not near a Whole Foods in California, it’s definitely worth ordering online.
Vosges Haut-Chocolate. The show’s vast exhibit halls were chockablock with gourmet, artisanal chocolates, and I sampled many of them. Most were quite good, but my hands-down favorite is still Vosges. Chicago-based chocolatier Katrina Markoff concocts wildly creative combos–Green Matcha, Mo’s Bacon Bar, and the like–of spicy, smoky, salty, and sweet. What struck me about Markoff’s talent, as I nibbled on a sample of the hickory-smoked almond-studded Barcelona Bar, is that it always results in a surprising blend of flavors that never outshines the chocolate. Vosges sets the standard.
Heritage Popcorn. Yep, you read that correctly. This Idaho-based company’s popcorn is made with heritage strains of corn, which produces light, airy kernels. Their purple-kerneled Rosita variety is also high in antioxidants. I popped up a sample of this for my family, and I thought my 5-year-old niece was going crawl into the bowl. Forget Orville Redenbacher, and try this stuff instead.
Labne. This fresh cheese made from strained yogurt is nothing new if you’re from the Middle East, but it’s getting ready to follow its cousin Greek yogurt (a thick, strained version of yogurt) into the mainstream. Yum. This stuff has the consistency of sour cream or soft cream cheese (it would make a wonderful substitute for either) with a mildly tangy top note. Karoun Dairies has a nice version. Ciao Bella Gelato Co. had their Lebanese Yogurt Gelato, a subtly tart, rich-tasting dessert made with labne and a Sicilian lemon juice. It’s currently only available for food service, but they’re looking into selling it in pints at retail. I hope they do.
Korean king oyster mushrooms. These mondo-size mushrooms offer meaty texture and flavor that’s perfect in a stir-fry. I’ll seek them out at Asian groceries.
This has been a week when some clever tips came my way–things to help improve my life in the kitchen. So, of course, I want to share them:
1. Peel and cube raw beets before you roast them. Melissa Clark shares that nugget in this week’s Dining & Wine section of The New York Times. The smaller pieces roast quickly and caramelize beautifully–without the mess of peeling and chopping whole roasted beets (especially if you’re dealing with the red variety). I’m mad for roasted beets and can’t wait to try this strategy in her recipe for Beet and Radicchio Salad with Goat Cheese and Pistachios.
2. Use a small measuring cup instead of a coffee scoop to measure coffee. This one comes from professional organizer Krista Colvin, of the whole shebang: “After scooping coffee into the pot for the umpteenth thousand time I measured out those scoops and replaced the lil’ scoop with a larger full serve-1 timer scoop.”
(Dreamstime photo)
3. Make a perfect cup of green tea. Green tea is more delicate than black tea, so you should never pour boiling water over green tea leaves. That will make it bitter. Instead, use water just before the boiling point, says Rona Tison, of the Japanese tea producer Ito En. And allow the leaves to steep only a minute or two before sipping.
Reggianito Argentina cheese may not be as complex as Parmigiano-Reggiano, but its robust flavor and friendly price make an attractive option for recipes.
I was in Whole Foods yesterday afternoon, shopping for ingredients to do a little recipe developing when I trolled over to the cheese counter. Whole Foods’ cheese counter always sings a siren song that I’m powerless to resist.
“Come sample my wares,” it sighs. “Just have a little taste.”
The heady aroma of cheese and promise of a sample lures me to the cliffs of pecorino Sardo, into the rocky coast of Gruyere, where I’ll sink into the pungent mounds of Spanish goat cheese. The friendly folks at the counter are like drug pushers at an elementary school, cheerfully doling out samples of this and that. They know that once you nibble, you’ll bit and pop for an unplanned $10 purchase of some remarkable cheese. (Oh, my, there are enough mixed metaphors in this paragraph to give a high school English teacher a coronary. Ah, well, that’s kinda the point of blog–to leave unvarnished bad writing alone.)
Hmm, I probably should add this tip to my Eat Cheap page: If you love cheese like I do, steer clear of the cheese counter. It will reel you in and cost you money.
But yesterday I had a rather pleasant surprise. My eyes fell on a honey-colored chunk labeled “Reggianito Argentina,” priced at $2.79 for a third of pound. The attendant cut me a generous sample. It was nutty and salty, and for the money, very good buy. Sold!
Now, I’ve probably eaten Argentina’s version of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese many times before and just didn’t realize it. The stuff is often marketed in the United States simply as “Parmesan.”
Photo courtesy of Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Just after World War I, Italian immigrants arriving in Argentina saw miles of grassy ranch land, lots of cows, and, therefore, the ingredients to produce cheese in the manner of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Parm-Regg is the grande dame of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, a cheese still made in the traditional way–pretty much by hand in copper vats by expert cheesemakers. The curds are pressed into giant, 80-pound wheels, and then aged in a salt bath in a darkened room, where they are lovely tended and turned, for at least 12 months and up to three years. No wonder it’s a national treasure that’s protected by a consortium (if the stuff isn’t stamped or otherwise labeled “Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano,” it’s an impostor.)
It’s a time-consuming, labor-intensive process that results in a hard cheese of remarkable complexity. And it’s expensive–$18.99 a pound at Whole Foods. The Argentine verison, called Reggianito because the cheese is produced in comparatively petite, 15-pound wheels, is aged just five or six months, so its flavor and character are no where near as complex as that of its older Italian cousin.
But at just $8.99 a pound, I’ll look to Reggianito Argentina for cooking and reserve my beloved Parm-Regg to enjoy for dessert with a nice glass of wine so I can fully appreciate all of its pricey charms.
Our grandparents went underground for booze during Prohibition. In 2009, we seek secret suppers.
The Food Channel named clandestine dining one of the top trends for 2008. The concept of underground meals–staged by chefs, passionate amateurs, and other foodies in different locations–has been around for awhile. Several years ago, my mate and I attended one of Michael Hebberoy’s not-so-secret Family Supper events located in an unmarked building ’round the back from his restaurant Gotham in Portland, OR. (Shortly thereafter the thing folded its tent when the bad-boy restaurateur skipped town leaving his then chef-wife Naomi holding the bag. Word is, she’s revived it.)
The more out of the way and unmarked the setting of a clandestine supper, the better; secrecy just adds to the vibe that this is the new-millenium version of the speakeasy.
So it’s an understatement to say the whole underground dining thing continues to gain momentum. And for good reason: It’s fun to be in on a secret and partake in an ephemeral event. Word of clandestine suppers usually spreads by e-mail, there may even be a password involved, the menu depends entirely on the organizers’ whims, and the location is usually some offbeat spot–an empty commercial space, a warehouse, a private home–whatever they can swing for free or at least really, really cheap. The more out of the way and unmarked the setting the better; secrecy just adds to the vibe that this is the new-millenium version of the speakeasy.
I love being in on a secret, so the whole idea of underground dining tickles me. When our friend John sent an e-mail asking us if we wanted to tag along for a secret supper on Sunday, I was in. (Well, he’d seen it touted on Daily Candy LA, so it wasn’t that secret, but still.)
The event was staged by Chicks With Knives, a pair of enthusiastic local professional chefs–lovely young ladies who go by R and P. The Chicks run the monthly Sustainable Supper Club in Los Angeles, specializing in S.O.L.E. (Sustainable, Organic, Local, Ethical) food sourced within 150 miles of Los Angeles. And when they say local, they mean it. The produce for a meal often comes from their own gardens or is contributed from the gardens of their friends and fans.
The Chicks’ next event is in downtown LA on Feb. 8. For an invite and details, send an e-mail to info@chickswithknives.com.
We fired off e-mails requesting the password for details about the upcoming supper. The location for Sunday’s festivities was an unoccupied, unmarked house-cum-commercial space in West Hollywood. The price: 48 bucks (suggested donation) for four courses, BYOB.
I consulted John, who’s plotting his next career as a sommelier, for advice on which sipper to bring, with the caveat “must be cheap”–three words genuine wine lovers must dread. Nonetheless, he offered up some general guidance, suggesting a bold zin or cab to go with the menu’s short ribs. I decided to bring a cheapo sangiovese I’d picked up the day before at World Market. At this point, John probably wondered why I’d bothered to ask his advice, but he said my Italian plonk would probably be fine and graciously offered to share some of the good stuff he and his wife were planning to bring.
“I don’t trust their glasses,” John later told my mate. “I’m bringing my own stems.” And he did–four Riedels nestled in a dedicated padded tote bag. It turns out, his sommelier-in-training sense was on target that night. The Chicks keep things jovially casual, providing glass tumblers for drinks.
The evening was sold out (thanks, in part, to the Daily Candy tout), with about 60 diners, I’d guess. R introduced her partner, P, and they briefly discussed details of each course before it was served.
First up was Smoked Mushrooms with Red-Fringe Mustard Greens, Leeks, and Braised Mustard Seed Vinaigrette. The smoked mushrooms were an inspired touch, and, of course, I found the jewel-toned diced beets delightful. Beets are good.
Next out of the kitchen was Carrot-Fennel Soup with House-Made Crackers and Black Olive Tapenade. This one seemed to get mixed reviews at our table, but I loved the blend of salty tapenade and sweet carrot. And the delicate crackers held up surprisingly well in the hot soup.
The evening’s highlight, undoubtedly, was Steam-Ship-Style Short Rib with Apple and Root Vegetable Mash and Hash. The hearty aroma wafting out of the kitchen whet everyone’s appetite. And when a plate of the fork-tender meat was set in front of me, I dove right in. So, sorry, no photo. Just take my word for it that these were succulent, tender, and soul-soothing (the last time I was so transported by comfort food was when I gobbled Chef Frank Brigtsen’s jambalaya in New Orleans). And John’s choice of Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel kicked the whole experience up to a new level with a flavorful seesaw between bite of tender beef and sip of bold, fruity wine.
The meal concluded with Torta Sabrossa with Sweet Goat Cheese Frosting and Meyer Lemon Sugar Glass. This was a small cake made with potato flour, with a blood orange glaze and a little tiara of Meyer lemon sugar glass. What intrigued me most, though, was the dollop of sweetened goat cheese frosting. Now, that’s a trick, I’ll have to try at home.
A little leftover homemade ricotta inspires a scone-making project.
It’s not often–never, really– that I have extra homemade ricotta cheese on hand. But I did this week, thanks to having prepared a batch of the tasty curds for a recipe developing gig. Much of it was going down my mate’s gullet, one spoonful at a time. Not a bad fate–I was happy he liked it so much–but I thought it could find new life in another recipe.
I also had a lovely little Meyer lemon in the fridge, plus a jar of chi-chi Nielsen-Massey bourbon vanilla sugar that I picked up at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco last week. Add a yen for scones, and I was ready to bake.
Meyer Lemon Ricotta Scones
If you substitute store-bought ricotta, be sure to use the whole milk variety. If you don’t have vanilla sugar to sprinkle on top of the scones, just use turbinado or even regular sugar.
6.75 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta
1/4 cup chilled butter, grated or cut into small pieces
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Cut in the ricotta and butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand, using a pastry blender, 2 knives, or your fingers. Gently stir in the buttermilk. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead gently for 2 minutes (the dough is crumbly but holds together).
3. Place the dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick circle. Cut the dough into 8 wedges (don’t separate the wedges). Use a pastry brush to brush the surface of the dough with egg; sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Bake at 400 degrees F for 17 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in a wire rack. Yield: 8 servings.
Cooks are finding different ways to use the iPhone in the kitchen.
I recently made a huge upgrade, going from a crappy $13 prepaid cell phone to an iPhone. That’s the techno-equivalent of upgrading from a donkey to a Ferrari. To say I’m still discovering the iPhone’s many capabilities is an understatement.
iPhone regularly joins me in the kitchen. It takes up less counter space than a laptop, so I’ll use it go on the Web, find a recipe, and keep it on the counter for reference. I also use the phone’s timer and stopwatch when I’m developing recipes, as well as the calculator to make conversions.
But that’s just the beginning. The iPhone’s real treasure trove is the myriad apps that you can download, many of them for free. As The New York Times recently noted, even technophobe chefs are turning to cell-phone applications to search for recipe inspiration, manage grocery lists, and take snapshots of their work. Bartenders are even more iPhone savvy, says The Wall Street Journal, downloading apps that put creative concoctions at their fingertips.
So, of course, soon after getting the iPhone into my hot little hands, I trolled around the iPhone’s app store in search of foodie apps (OK, after downloading the juvenile but fun Whoopee Cushion app). Since I’m a cheapskate, I opted for the freebies. First up was UrbanSpoon, an application that uses a GPS to find your current location so you can shake the iPhone to spin a restaurant suggestion. I’m doing it right now, and UrbanSpoon is suggesting I hit up 3 Square Bakery on Abbot Kinney in Venice, complete with reviews, a menu, and a map. I haven’t heeded any of UrbanSpoon’s suggestions yet, but I still enjoy the novelty of shaking the phone, watching it spin, and checking out what comes up.
Next up, mostly out of curiosity, was AllRecipe.com’s Dinner Spinner, which also has an entertaining slot-machine effect to serve up recipe choices based on dish type, ingredients, and time. For example, Bread/Vegetables/20 Minutes or Less yields 10 matches, including Pita Pizza, Olive Cheese Melts, lots of garlic breads, and some dips. Most interesting is Leona’s Lefse, a Norwegian dish of potatoes and cheese. Recipes are accompanied by user reviews and nutrition. You can link to the recipes online to add them to a shopping list.
I read about BigOven in The New York Times article, so I downloaded that one. Like AllRecipes, BigOven is a recipe swapping site, where users upload and review each other’s dishes. You enter a title or keywords to find recipes. I typed in “macaroni and cheese” (because I love the stuff) and came up with 225 recipes–a few more than I’d want to wade through on the iPhone. However, I do like BigOven’s massive and very informative food dictionary. That alone is a worth the download.
Although I might occasionally look to AllRecipes or BigOven for inspiration, I’m not likely to find myself standing in the grocery store with no idea what to fix for supper and turning to the iPhone for help. (Kraft’s iFood Assistant has similar features, but I’d have to shell out 99 cents to check it out, and, as noted above, I’m cheap when it comes to these things. And of course, I’d be paying 99 cents for access to loads of recipes featuring–surprise, surprise–Kraft products. Really, folks, if you’re going to use the app as a vehicle to promote your products, the app should be free.)
There had to other apps out there for cooks, so I turned to the friendly community at Serious Eats to ask how they use their mobile phones in the kitchen. Their feedback ranged from using the phone to go on the Internet and search for the recipe they want. (A couple of people mentioned an app called “Silver Spoon,” but I haven’t been able to find that one yet.) Others use the phone’s notes function to keep a running grocery list, and one member uses Evernote’s souped-up, synced-up version that allows her husband to access the shopping list of his phone, too.
But the app that Serious Eats turned me onto, and that I absolutely love, is Little Chef. This is a delightfully simple freebie that’s nothing more than a conversion tool–perfect when you forget that a quart is 4 cups, or need to convert metric or British measurements into American units.
Another app I’ve downloaded that will be helpful when I’m at the store or at a restaurant is the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Guides. Their iPhone app divides guides by region (plus a dedicated sushi guide with Japanese and English names) to put environmentally sound seafood choices at your fingertips. Here’s an upgrade for version 2.0 that I’d suggest to the folks at the aquarium: Offer smart alternatives to fish I should avoid. For example, the entry for monkfish cautions me to avoid the fish and tells me why, but doesn’t offer an alternative. Their online version of the guides does offer other options, though the suggestions can be odd. For monkfish, they direct me to farmed tilapia, catfish, or trout. Huh? Yuck! For taste and texture, lobster would be a far better choice, and American spiny or Maine lobster is a-OK, according to Seafood Watch.
Now, here’s an app I’d pay for: I’d love to see someone like cookbook author/photographer James Peterson develop an iPhone app of visual culinary technique how-to photos and videos. His book Essentials of Cooking is my go-to reference when I need to double-check a basic technique. A virtual version of that would be my iPhone dream come true.
Plums’ antioxidant activity is comparable to that of blueberries, say researchers, and the stone fruit offers shoppers a more affordable alternative to the often expensive berry.
Plums are the new blueberry?
Lately, blueberries have been the antioxidant superstars, but they’ll have to make way for plums, says Dr. Luis Cisneros, Texas AgriLife Research food scientist. “Stone fruits are super fruits with plums as emerging stars.” Plums’ antioxidant activity is comparable to that of blueberries, says Cisneros, and the stone fruit offers shoppers a more affordable alternative. “People tend to eat just a few blueberries at a time–a few on the cereal or as an ingredient mixed with lots of sugar,” he says. “But people will eat a whole plum at once and get the full benefit.”
Unlocking garlic’s secrets
Canadian researchers say they’ve figured out what makes garlic such a nutritional superstar (it has been credited with lowering blood pressure, slowing artherosclerosis, and preventing some cancers). ”While garlic has been used as a herbal medicine for centuries and there are many garlic supplements on the market, until now there has been no convincing explanation as to why garlic is beneficial,” says Dr. Derek Pratt, chemistry professor at Queen’s in Kingston, Ontario. Researchers knew garlic contains the organic compound allicin, gives the allium its signature flavor and aroma, but they didn’t know how it generated garlic’s strong antioxidant response. Pratt and his team discovered that garlic’s allicin decomposes quickly to generate a potent antioxidant to trap free radicals.
Trans-fat confusion
The good news in the new issue of the Journal of Clinical Nutrition is that 92 percent of Americans are aware of trans fats (up from 84 percent in 2006), and about one-third of people have changed their buying habits to choose zero-trans-fats foods. The bad news: About 80 percent of us can’t name three foods that contain trans fats. Here’s a cheat sheet, in case anyone gives you a pop quiz:
Meat and dairy products contain small amounts of naturally occurring trans fats.
Trans fats are present in any food that contains partially hydrogenated oil. That can include cookies, crackers, pastries, and fried foods.
Hmm, I’m not wild about the word “medley”–sounds like something you’d see performed on the “Lawrence Welk Show”–but it’s better than, say, “melange.” And it describes today’s recipe, which can include a mix of whatever hearty veggies you like.
This one was inspired by the gorgeous cauliflower I picked up at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market this week. Normally, I don’t get that excited by cauliflower. It’s fine, but it’s…cauliflower. But the bouquets on display were so pristine and gorgeous that I thought, “yum, cauliflower!” and bought a bunch, along with some beets and Yukon potatoes.
The beet greens and some of the cauliflower went into a pasta toss earlier this week. The rest went into this combo of roasted vegetables.
Farmers' market finds inspire a mess o' roasted veggies.
Roasted Vegetable Medley
There’s no need to get out measuring cups and spoons for this one. Just be sure you can arrange the veggies in a single layer on the baking sheet. If not, split them up between two sheets. Use any combination of hearty vegetables you like. Peeling and chopping the beets before roasting is a cool trick I picked up from The New York Times. Toss the beets with oil separately from the cauliflower and potatoes to minimize staining the light-colored veggies.
3 medium beets, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Olive oil
White wine vinegar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
6 small, thin-skinned potatoes (such as Yukon golds), cut into 1-inch pieces
Pinch dried thyme (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Place beets in a medium bowl. Add about 2 tablespoons oil and a splash of vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Arrange beets in a single layer on a foil-covered, rimmed baking sheet.
3. Place cauliflower and potatoes in bowl. Add about 3 tablespoons oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet with beets. Bake at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes, stirring veggies after 15 minutes. Yield: 2-4 servings.
Randy has shared his recipe for Superfine Cheese Straws, so I can enjoy a taste of Dixie in the City of Angels anytime.
When I moved from Alabama back to Southern California in December and listed the Dixie specialities I’d miss, I overlooked a gem: my friend Randy’s Superfine Cheese Straws. He and his partner Phillip were kind enough to give me a generous batch of these delicate treats before I left Birmingham. I’m pretty sure I ate them all (with a little sneaky help from Rascal) before the car pulled out of the driveway.
They’re that good. As I noted in an earlier crazy rant, cheese straws as they’re made in the Deep South are a savory pleasure of cheddar cheese, butter, and flour. Love ‘em with a gin and tonic, which was usually how Phillip served them to me.
Randy’s Superfine Cheese Straws
Surprisingly, cheese straws are not the place to use your fancy English Cheddar. “The cheap stuff, like Cracker Barrel, works best for us,” says Phillip. A cookie press is a gadget that allows you to load the dough into a barrel and press out cookies–or cheese straws–in a uniform shape. Most come with an assortment of attachments for different shapes and sizes. If you don’t have one, shape the dough into little logs by hand. The results won’t look as refined as the photo above, but you’re using Cracker Barrel for crissakes, so there’s no need to be high-falutin’.
9 ounces flour (about 2 cups)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or more, if you want them hotter)
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, melted
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated and at room temperature
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift together first 4 ingredients. Place butter butter and cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; beat until smooth. With the mixer on, slowly add flour mixture, beating until dough forms. Place dough into cookie press, squeeze desired shape. Place on 2 baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes on pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Store in an airtight container for up to a week (though I can’t imagine they’d last that long). Yield: well, that depends on how the size of cheese straws you choose. I mean, don’t go overboard or anything. They’re just supposed to be a lil’ cocktail nibble.
It’s been a rough week, with a really sick cat and all, so I figured we could use some comfort chow for dinner tonight. These days, that means a pasta toss with lots o’ veggies. After hitting up the local market to stock up on Brussels sprouts, cremini mushrooms, and a wedge of pecorino Romano, we were ready to go. I’m not sure when Brussels sprouts became a comfort food for me, but they are they are. Especially with bacon. Come to think of it, everything is better with bacon.
Penne with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms
This would work with any short pasta–orrechiette or cavatappi, perhaps. I used cremini mushrooms for their full, earthy flavor, but white button mushrooms would do the trick just fine. You can substitute a slice or two of regular bacon (with smokier results) for the pancetta.
6 ounces dry penne pasta
2 tablespoons diced pancetta
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1 garlic clove, minced
4 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved pecorino Romano cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, and keep warm.
2. While the pasta cooks, heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add pancetta to pan; saute 2 minutes. Add shallot; saute 2 minutes. Add garlic; saute 20 seconds. Add mushrooms and salt; saute 2 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts, broth, vinegar, and pepper; cook 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta, and toss to combine; cook 1 minute or until hot. Garnish with cheese and sage. Yield: 2 servings.
The latest food scare–tainted peanut butter–reveals consumers still place too much trust in our current food safety system. It’s the “halo effect,” a new Hartman Group report reveals. Shoppers believe that if a food is labeled “natural” or “gourmet,” it must be higher quality than lower-priced brands. In fact, premium products are often sourced from the same producers as the ordinary stuff. Hartman President and COO Laurie Demeritt says consumers say they’re concerned about food safety when asked about it, but when shopping, they don’t scrutinize the source of their food and assume it’s safe. This echoes a recent study from Cornell University.
Foreign Fast Food
No matter where you’re from, you still need to get dinner on the table after a long day at work. Reporter Leslie Kaufman goes into the kitchens of immigrants living in New York to find out how they’ve adapted their favorite dishes to the American kitchen. Be sure to check out the audio slide show, too–it’s cool!–The New York Times
Smart Apron
I’m not big on aprons (though I should be, since I’m always spilling and splattering in the kitchen), but Zip&Dry apron, which is edged with a towel, might win me over.–The Food Section
Nuts for Nutella
Can you really trust a person who doesn’t love the creamy chocolate-hazelnut spread known as Nutella? I think not. Reporter Amy Scattergood delves into its seductive charms, with recipes.–Los Angeles Times
Best Canned Tomatoes
If you’re cooking with tomatoes this time of year, they’re probably canned. And the best are Muir Glen’s, according to Chow.
Killer PB? Most people are aware of the peanut butter scare, but a new Harvard survey finds many don't know how widespread it really is.
“Are you really going to eat that?” my mate asked yesterday.
I was opening a jar of gourmet chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter, which had arrived in a box of samples.
“Yeah, I’m living on the edge,” I replied, spreading a generous schmear of the stuff on toasted ciabatta. The jarful of three of my favorite things–peanut butter, chocolate, and cookie dough–seduced me into overlooking the risk.
Like just about everyone else who hasn’t been living under a rock, we’ve heard about salmonella-tainted peanut butter, which has led the FDA to recall more than 130 products. The agency even sent out alerts on Twitter.
A new survey from the Harvard School of Public Health suggests the government has done a pretty good job of getting the word out. More than 90 percent of Americans are aware of the issue, and of those, more than 60 percent have changed their habits. They’re scrutinizing ingredient lists at the grocery store, throwing away potentially tainted foods at home, and avoiding restaurant dishes that contain peanuts.
That’s a good strategy, considering the dudes who head up the Peanut Corporation of America invoked the fifth amendment, refusing to testify before a congressional hearing. Evidence suggests they knowingly shipped tainted PB.
There’s a striking level of awareness of this recall, and many people have taken action. But they’re not aware of the range of products involved in the recall.
But the Harvard study indicates consumers are still confused about the wide range of foods covered by the recall. The array of potentially tainted products is daunting, ranging from the obvious–peanut butter–to the less expected, like pet food. Less than half of consumers know that the recall includes snack bars, cakes, brownies, cookies, pet treats, candies, prepackaged meals, and dry-roasted peanuts. Whew!
“There’s a striking level of awareness of this recall, and many people have taken action. But they’re not aware of the range of products involved in the recall,” says Robert J. Blendon, professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health. “People should check the Food and Drug Administration recall list routinely, since the number of products is still growing.”
The peanut scare is only the latest in a growing list of food safety snafus that point to the urgent need to revamp our food safety system. It’s no surprise to Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics, who has for years noted that the U.S. government does a woefully inadequate job of policing the safety of our food supply. “What more evidence do we need that an overhaul of the food safety system is very much in order?” she recently posited on her blog. ”Congress: this is your problem to solve! Citizens: write your congressional representatives!”
That’s easy enough to do–everyone in congress has a Web site and e-mail address. Drop your representatives a line to voice your demand for safe food.
Portion sizes and calorie counts in The Joy of Cooking have burgeoned over the years, along with our waistlines.
If you’re of a certain age–like, say, mine–you probably grew up in a household where The Joy of Cooking held an honored spot on the cookbook shelf. Well, maybe not honored in our house, since my mom didn’t really like cooking all that much, but it was a reference to which she turned with some regularity.
First published commercially in 1936, Joy has been updated every few years since. (Irma S. Rombauer had self-published the original edition in 1931.) Leave it Cornell University professor Brian Wansink, Ph.D., to examine how the cookbook has evolved over the years to reflect our changing food habits. Wansink is the author of Mindless Eating and heads up Cornell’s Food and Brand Lab, where he and his colleagues do amazing research into our attitudes and behavior when it comes to food. He and former postdoc researcher Collin Payne culled through 18 recipes that have been published in every addition of Joy, including such beloved American faves as brownies, sugar cookies, mac ‘n’ cheese, and beef stroganoff.
I wasn’t surprised to learn that portions have gotten bigger over the decades, but I was shocked to discover they’ve ballooned 63 percent. Um, that’s a lot. In 1936, the average recipe was a trim 268 calories. Seventy years later, the average was 436 calories per serving. ”What served four people in 1986 would have served almost seven people by 1936 standards,” says Wansink. He thinks analyzing other long-published cookbooks would yield similar results.
What served four people in the 1986 edition of The Joy of Cooking would have served almost seven people by 1936 standards.
“People often blame eating out as being one of the big culprits for gaining weight, but this study suggests that what we do in our own homes may be equally bad or even worse,” he says. “Family size has gotten smaller, but calorie content and portion sizes have gotten bigger.” Several factors contribute to this, he explains, including:
Americans have grown larger.
Restaurant portions have gotten bigger, which has changed our expectations for portions at home.
Food has gotten cheaper, so we spend a smaller proportion of our income on it and buy more of it.
Now, the last point is really interesting, because when Joy’s 1986 edition was published in the heart of the go-go ’80s, and even when the 2006 version was published, food was indeed cheap. But as we all know, the cost of food has risen steadily in the past year, while salaries have dropped, people have lost their jobs, and the economy has slowed to a deep and tenacious recession (depression, some say). I can’t help wondering how this will influence Joy’s editors as they prepare the 80th anniversary edition for 2011. It will be interesting to see if portion sizes and calorie counts hark back to Irma Rombauer’s Depression-era incarnations.
Food prices have risen sharply over the past year, and we’re in the midst of a stubborn and deep recession. It will be interesting to see if the upcoming 80th anniversary edition of Joy harks back to the portion sizes and calorie counts of its Depression-era roots.
In the meantime, when cooking from the current version of Joy, Wansink has some advice: If you’re preparing a recipe that’s supposed to serve 4, set aside half the recipe to enjoy another night. “Families need to be aware that serving size and calorie composition of classic recipes “should be downsized to counteract growing waistlines.”
Strawberry jam made with fruit purchased on sale. Does this make me an artisanal producer?
This week, I was working on a story for a Web site about how to eat supper for under a buck per serving when I got some simple advice from Julie Parrish, co-founder of the sites HotCouponWorld.com and OrganicGroceryDeals.com. Even if you never clip a coupon, supermarkets are rich with unadvertised, last-minute bargains that you should snap when you find them. Get the stuff home, she said, and figure out what to do with it later.
If you spot a great deal at the supermarket, buy it and decide what to do with it later.
You would think someone whose blog is named “Eat Cheap” would do that anyway, but there you have it. As this recession deepens, I’m still learning what it really means to shop and eat frugally. I’m old enough to remember the recession of the 1970s, but I was a just a kid then and mostly recall our family’s belt-tightening involved my mother buying store-brand plastic wrap. She probably did much more than that, but I was unobservant in these matters.
So after talking to Julie, I visited the supermarket with new eyes and spied all kinds of goodies on the cheap–two pounds of Tillamook butter for $7 (a great deal and we’ll use it up long before its May expiration date), a couple of lamb sirloin steaks for 5 bucks. But the best buy, by far, was two pounds of fresh strawberries for $3.
I took one look and thought, “Jam.”
You see, my mate is British, and jam is a staple of his diet (along with PG Tips tea, bread, and butter–hence, why we’ll plow through the bargain Tillamook in no time). He probably goes through jar of jam every week or so. And he likes the good stuff–Bonne Maman and the like. No Smuckers preserves for him. He recently weaned himself from a minor addiction to a very fancy-schmancy (i.e., expensive) Italian jam, so the Bonne Maman is a step down for him.
Still, as I pondered the piles of sale strawberries, I recalled that jam is dead simple to make. Basically, just combine fruit and sugar and simmer the hell out of it until it’s a sweet, fruity mush. And that’s what I did last night, stopping to stir the goo between sips of cheapo Sangiovese and catching up on “Nip/Tuck” on Hulu (Lesbian Liz has finally left Christian the Cad–really, it was doomed from the start).
“It’s Ali’s Artisanal Jam,” my mate declared as he slathered it on toast this morning. So that’s it, I’m not just thrifty, I’m an artisan. And you can be one, too, with this recipe.
You-Can-be-an-Artisanal-Producer Strawberry Jam
I used a bit more sugar than usual because the strawberries aren’t quite in season yet, and not as juicy and sweet as they will be in a few months. Taste your berries first and adjust the amount of sugar accordingly–if they’re sweet and juicy, you’ll need less. Also play around around with the flavorings you add at the end. A couple teaspoons of lemon juice can stand in for the Cointreau and vanilla. This is a refrigerator jam, so plan to use it within 5 days. Not a problem in our household.
1 1/2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and coarsely
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon Cointreau
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Combine the strawberries and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until thickened, stirring every so often. Remove from heat; stir in the Cointreau and vanilla. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate (jam will continue to thicken as it cools). Yield: about 2 cups.
Raw foodies miss out on the soul-soothing comfort found in a hot pot of gumbo.
I’ve always thought the raw food movement was a crock of hooey, a kooky offshoot of vegetarianism in which followers believe heat (above 108 F or 112 F or 116 F, depending on the source) “kills” the nutrients in food.
Okaayyy…of course, once a plant is harvested–pulled from the ground, cut off from its root system–it is no longer living. It is in the process of decaying, in other words. It is not “living.”
So I read an article in the current issue of The Economist with particular interest. It details Harvard anthropology professor Richard Wrangham’s theory that cooking is humanity’s killer app. In other words, cooking makes us human. A few years ago, I caught Dr. Wrangham’s keynote address on the same topic at the annual meeting of the International Society of Culinary Professionals. He noted that humans have big brains that require lots of calories. Heat renders otherwise inedible foods digestible–and palatable–which greatly expands our range of things to eat. And even foods that don’t have to be cooked–calorie-dense meat, for example–are more easily digested when cooked. Cooking makes some nutrients–lycopene and iron, for instance–more bioavailable and therefore more nutritious. Heat also kills bacteria, making many foods safer to consume.
And then there’s the social aspect of cooking. As people gathered around the fire to share a meal, relationships and society blossomed. That’s not a small thing.
Some raw foodists claim their way is more “natural.” I’m not sure what this means. Humans have been cooking–i.e., applying heat to food–since the Neanderthals, so one could claim cooking is part of humanity’s evolution. In any case, raw cuisine certainly entails processing food as ingredients are dehydrated, blended, juiced, and soaked. (I’m sorry, but cold-pressed coffee beans, really? Yuck.) It requires finesse and skill. In that respect, raw foodism is a culinary cousin of molecular gastronomy.
The science behind raw food diets is sketchy at best–raw food adherents don’t typically have weight problems, but they can be low on vitamin B12, calcium, and protein. Longtime followers can have low bone mass, which leaves them vulnerable to osteoporosis.
I have nothing against raw food, per se. I love the crunch of a great salad. But I think it’s even nicer paired to a bowl of hot (not tepid) soup.
File this one under sites-you-must-bookmark. The CIA (Culinary Institute of America, that is) teamed up with the Spanish trade commissions for food and wine to create the spectacular new Worlds of Flavor Spain Web site. Forget Mario Batali traipsing through Iberia with Gwyneth Paltrow in tow and focus on this gem instead. None other than Ferran Adria and Jose Andres are this site’s co-chairs, and they’ll introduce you to a wealth of instructional videos, dozens of tempting recipes, explanations of Spain’s regional cuisines, glorious spotlights on its cheese and wine, and a marketplace to buy specialty ingredients. The site may be aimed at professional chefs, but there’s plenty here to entertain and inspire the home cook. This one sets a new benchmark for food on the Web.
Can’t wait to make this
Sunday’s New York Times Magazine featured the rustic charms of a British meat pie. The only motivation I’ll need to make this adaptation of Jamie Oliver’s pastry-topped meat-and-veg Guinness Pie is a chilly evening.
Not every one is a winner
The March issue of Food & Wine has a gorgeous special section of 40 healthy recipes. The Creamy Caramel Pudding tempted my sweet tooth, so I made a batch this weekend. The results were…mixed. It’s more sweet than caramel-y (my fault–I didn’t let the caramel cook long enough). But what put me off more was the gelatinous texture, thanks to 6 tablespoons of cornstarch. Still, it wasn’t awful, especially when topped with chopped salty roasted peanuts to cut the sweetness. That’s OK, I’m still eager to try the Beet Salad with Tangerines. But for a more satisfying low-fat pudding experience, try Cooking Light’sButterscotch Pudding or Chocolate Pudding (make it with dark chocolate–yum!). Both include egg yolks and a touch of butter for a richer–yet still low-fat–pudding.
Tom on Coke
What’s your opinion of “Top Chef” top judge Tom Colicchio in a commercial hawking the “taste” of Diet Coke during the Oscars? It left a bad taste in my mouth–much like a sip of Diet Coke does, blech!–but I still thought, “Dude, take the money and run.” Add your 2 cents at Serious Eats. Or check out what the community at Epicurious has to say about this tempest in a Coke can. Hey, it’s a diversion from worrying about the economy.
But we still love Fabio
Speaking of “Top Chef,” I joined a lot of other fans in mourning the exit of Season 5 charmer Fabio. Check out YumSugar’s interview with the man who will surely be this season’s fan favorite.
A room of one's own: My dream kitchen involved color, ample storage and counter space, a decent range, and a functioning dishwasher.
If you’ve ever lived through (survived?) a kitchen remodeling project, you know it’s messy, intrusive, and expensive. But if you love to cook, the kitchen is your favorite room in the house, so you’re always looking for design inspiration. Even if your kitchen is “done,” it’s never really done.
Case in point: No matter what state your kitchen is in, it’s hard to pass up a chance to thumb through the pages of Kitchen Trends, the big-format, lushly produced book-azine published by TrendsIdeas.com. The print edition is $10.95, but the lavish kitchens featured within its pages are a great source of inspiration, even if you don’t have a big budget. Even better, the good folks at Trends Ideas have made the e-book version of the magazine available for free. I’m not usually a fan of digital versions of magazines–they tend to be clunky and slow to flip through–but this one loads quickly and smoothly. Bookmark or print out anything that catches your eye–it can be a great start to your own design idea book.
I’ve moved across the country, but my heart still belongs to the kitchen I had remodeled my Alabama home. I couldn’t bring the kitchen with me, but I did pack up the spiral notebook of design ideas that inspired it.
The kitchen was not a selling point when I bought the 1930s bungalow. Counter space was virtually nonexistent, storage was minimal, the stove was ancient (but not in a cute, vintage way), and worst of all was the dishwasher. It was an outdated portable Kenmore that you rolled over the sink and hooked up to the faucet, which inevitably sprayed water everywhere but on the dishes in the dishwasher.
I lived with it for more than a year, to get a sense of what I wanted the space to become and to psyche myself up for the money-pit mess that is any kitchen remodel. But when mice started to invade through the rotting floorboards of the pantry, it was time to call my coworker’s contractor husband to start the project. (After calling the pest control company, of course.) Here’s what I learned from my project.
Keep a design notebook. Design experts always suggest this, and it’s a great idea. Include anything that catches your eye–could be a color, a design element, a layout–noting what it is that you like. Themes will start to emerge. I quickly discovered a fondness for color and vintage-looking design that would suit my bungalow. I also found specific items that eventually ended up in my kitchen–Formica’s Citron Ice countertop and the Jenn-Air range.
Be flexible. I went the home improvement store all set to order white cabinetry. Then I spotted gorgeous natural hickory cabinets that I liked even better.
Gather samples. Home improvement stores have samples loan. Take them home and see how different materials work together. I spent a weekend looking at cabinet, countertop, backsplash, and flooring samples before I made up my mind.
Keep an eye out for special promotions. Home improvement stores often have special offers on materials, and it may be worth timing your purchase to take advantage. I put off ordering my countertops for three weeks in order to get a free integrated sink–and saved about $600 on a feature I wanted anyway.
Shop at different outlets. Although I purchased big items like the cabinets, floors, and countertop at Lowe’s, I gathered items from other sources. The appliances came from the manufacturer’s retail outlet. I bought a brand-new John Boos kitchen island on eBay, paying at least one-third less than I would have for a similar model at Williams-Sonoma; I also ordered the antique-bronze cabinet hardware through a dealer on eBay. The copper lights (made from converted antique Turkish bowls) were purchased on sale from the Sundance catalog. The result was a kitchen that looks personal, not like a catalog. More importantly, it wasa place where I loved spending time doing what I love best.
The editors at Epicurious must be reading my mind, because I’ve been thinking about bread-baking a lot lately and they just e-mailed me their newsletter with a link to a wonderful online guide to bread basics. How did they know?
Ever since I was a kid and enjoyed the homemade bread baked by my best friend’s mom, I’ve wanted to be one of those people who turned out yeast bread like it was nothing. But, like many, I find the prospect intimidating, from fermenting the living yeast to kneading the dough to proofing. It’s a time-consuming process, not suited to those (like me) who crave instant gratification. I’ve tried baking bread occasionally, but it requires practice if you want to enjoy tasty, consistent results.
But these current economic times have encouraged me to revisit my ambition. You see, bread is a staple of our household. Even during the height of the Atkins anti-carb craze, we never abandoned bread. It’s good for the soul. But we crave artisanal loaves with crunchy crusts and tender interiors, and we’ll go through a pricey ciabatta from the gourmet store in a day or two. That adds up.
So, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and try again. I’ve had some success lately with pizza dough, which makes me more confident about working with yeast. After trolling around the Internet for recipes, I turned to cookbooks and settled on Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking. Marcella never leads me astray.
Still, as usual I couldn’t resist futzing with the recipe. It calls for a total of 6 1/2 hours of rising time, which works if you start by noon, revisit it at intervals throughout the day, and then bake it for dinner. I was starting at 6:30 p.m. And I had a plan, sort of. Here’s the recipe, with many deviations from Marcella’s sage instructions. Experienced bread bakers, please chime in with any advice you have.
Mantovana (Olive Oil) Bread
Adapted from Essentials of Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. Even with a few hiccups, it turned out OK, but practice will make it perfect.
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water, divided
2 1/2 to 3 cups unbleached bread flour (’cause it says it’s “better for bread” right on the label)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Cornmeal
1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1/4 cup warm water. Let stand 10 minutes. Place 1 1/2 cups flour in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. With the motor running, gradually pour the yeast mixture and 1/4 cup warm water through the food chute. Process until dough forms in a lump around the blades. Remove dough from processor, and knead by hand for 1 to 2 minutes. Place the dough in a large bowl dusted with flour; cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for 3 hours or until it has doubled in bulk.
2. Place 1 cup flour in the bowl of the food processor, add the dough and salt. With the motor running, add the remaining 1/2 cup warm water and oil. Process until the dough forms a lump around the blade, add more of the remaining 1/2 cup flour if needed. Remove the dough from processor, and knead by hand for 1 to 2 minutes. Return the dough to the flour-dusted bowl, cover with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm place for another 3 hours or until it has doubled in bulk. [At this point, it was getting late, so I popped the bowl in the refrigerator and went to bed.]
3. Put a baking stone (a k a pizza stone) in the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
4. Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a floured work surface. [At this point, it was 6:30 a.m., I woke up, scampered downstairs and removed the dough from the fridge. It was very cold so I let it warm to room temperature. Sort of.] Slap the dough down very hard several times or until it stretches out lengthwise. Starting with the farthest edge, fold the dough 3 or 4 inches toward you, then push it away with the heel of your hand. Continue to fold and push, gradually rolling the dough toward you in a tapered roll. Holding the dough by one of the tapered ends, lift it high over your head and slap it down on the counter (this part is lots of fun); do this several times until it stretches out lengthwise. Repeat the folding-and-pushing maneuver. Continue working the dough–slapping, folding, and pushing–for 8 minutes. [Since my dough was chilly, I had to work it a bit longer.] Shape the dough into a thick, cigar-shaped loaf that’s thick in the middle and tapered at the ends. Place it on a cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal. Cover with a damp towel, and let it rest 30 minutes.
[I was just about ready to put bread in the oven when my mate toddled into the kitchen, started slicing an (existing) loaf of (fancy, gourmet-store) bread, and sliced his thumb in the process. It needed professional medical attention, so I turned off the oven, left the dough, took him to urgent care, and returned 2 hours later. It looked fine when I returned.]
5. Use a sharp knife to cut a 1-inch-deep lengthwise slash on top of the dough. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the dough with water. Slide the dough onto the preheated baking stone. Bake at 450 F for 12 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F (do not remove bread from oven), and bake an additional 40 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf.
[Note: Yes, I have tried Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread recipe, printed in The New York Times a couple of years ago. The dog ate the dough that was proofing on the counter, which could happen anyway, but I'd also rather knead the bread and enjoy it the same day I crave it.]
Anyone else put off by the outcome of last night’s “Top Chef” finale? Hosea? Really? Mediocre all season long, too scared to make a dessert for the finale, and he still won? I’m with Hubert Keller–someone who will be called “Top Chef” should at least be able to turn out a damn dessert. If only my girl Carla had ignored dopey Casey (sous vide steak? souffles?) and stuck to her guns, she might have shown that nice girls can finish first. Join the discussion at Serious Eats, which is abuzz about it today.
Visit Brussels
Sprouts, that is. Heidi Swanson shares a delectable salad made with shredded raw baby Brussels sprouts, toasted hazelnuts, and lots of other goodness.–101 Cookbooks
Water ways
Food scientist Harold McGee experiments with how much water you need to cook pasta.The incomparable Lidia Bastianich and Marcella Hazan weigh in, too.–The New York Times
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“Location, location, location,” is the mantra of real estate agents. Turns out, location has a big impact on food, too. A growing body of evidence links locale with diet quality. Residents of poor neighborhoods have limited access to high-quality fresh foods and tend to have correspondingly poor diets while those who are better off have a range of food-shopping options with healthier fare.–Nutraingredients-USA.com
Brain food
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File this one under “why didn’t I think of that?” The folks at Fine Cooking magazine have a new bookazine out: 
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Shirley Corriher
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1. Peel and cube raw beets before you roast them. 
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Next out of the kitchen was Carrot-Fennel Soup with House-Made Crackers and Black Olive Tapenade. This one seemed to get mixed reviews at our table, but I loved the blend of salty tapenade and sweet carrot. And the delicate crackers held up surprisingly well in the hot soup.
The meal concluded with Torta Sabrossa with Sweet Goat Cheese Frosting and Meyer Lemon Sugar Glass. This was a small cake made with potato flour, with a blood orange glaze and a little tiara of Meyer lemon sugar glass. What intrigued me most, though, was the dollop of sweetened goat cheese frosting. Now, that’s a trick, I’ll have to try at home.
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Can’t wait to make this
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Keep a design notebook. Design experts always suggest this, and it’s a great idea. Include anything that catches your eye–could be a color, a design element, a layout–noting what it is that you like. Themes will start to emerge. I quickly discovered a fondness for color and vintage-looking design that would suit my bungalow. I also found specific items that eventually ended up in my kitchen–Formica’s Citron Ice countertop and the Jenn-Air range.
Mantovana (Olive Oil) Bread
Top Chef?
Sprouts, that is. Heidi Swanson shares a delectable salad made with shredded raw baby Brussels sprouts, toasted hazelnuts, and lots of other goodness.–
Water ways
It’s all about location
The just-say-no-to-drugs crowd likes to claim that consuming pot kills brains cells. Not so fast. A pair of new studies finds that marijuana, along with red wine, may prevent or slow Alzheimer’s disease. “Neither of these findings surprises me,” says integrative medicine pioneer Andrew Weil, M.D., in his latest weekly bulletin. “That marijuana has medical efficacy against a variety of conditions is firmly established scientifically, and the health benefits of moderate red wine consumption are also becoming clearer with each passing year. As of November, 2008, 15 states had laws with provisions for medical marijuana on the books, and I hope more states enact enlightened policies in this regard.” Now, if the federal government could just get on board and turn the war on drugs to more productive efforts…–
It’s all about calories