Raw food eh?

After pondering many critical thoughts regarding the topic of raw cuisine...I have decided to set aside my longstanding food-fad-abstinance policy in order to write the upcoming Blog series entitled: "RAW food --Didn't that exist before?" Check back to see what foods I've sampled along my journey to determine if anything at all has been invented by people trying to sell this new "cuisine".

Cater me this....

Knowing that I'm going to a catered function almost always makes me contemplate eating beforehand. Not that caterers are bad cooks; it just seems like people always request to have food that doesn't lend itself well to mass production and holding. Think of your standard surf and turf. A steak that is grilled to a decent temperature is then held for at least 30 minutes in a steamer. No matter what...the meat will over-rest and the temperature will most likely rise. Ditto with the surf portion. A perfectly cooked lobster tail put into the same steamer for 30 minutes doesn't stand a chance. In fact, any chef knows that steam actually causes the lobster meat to constrict and toughen to a leather-like consistency. Doesn't that sound appealing? Didn't think so.

Think of the challenge caterers encounter at every event: use high end products, simple cooking techniques, and at least a 30 minute hold in a warmer to produce something worthy of the $100+ price tag that the host is paying -- oh and one last thing...do it 100 - 200 dishes at a time. Sounds like a challenge from the Top Chef line-up doesn't it!

Every now and then though, a dish is created in these instances that is just brilliant. Take for example the one featured in this post's headline picture produced by Max Ultimate Food of Boston, MA. The dish is simple: Pan Roasted Chilean Sea Bass with Glazed Baby Root Vegetables and Meyer Lemon Sauce. All of the elements here work because the person who created the menu thought through the production and execution of the dish. I'm sure it went something like this: a fatty fish will be able to hold up in a warming box better than a lean and flakey one...Sea Bass is that lucious fish...root veggies won't fall apart after being heated, then cooled, then heated again.....and a meyer lemon butter sauce will be able to be made and held at about 140 without losing it's character and freshness. Brilliant.

Now if only crudite could be outlawed!

Nauset Steamers

The cold of winter here in New England has me craving a warm summer day when a dozen fresh shucked oysters and a couple of pounds of steamers or mussels are just a short drive away. Until then, I've got some time to perfect my recipes and techniques for making the perfect batch of steamers...and to do so, I'll refer to some tips given to me recently while at Mac's Shack and the Beachcomber in Wellfleet, MA.

There are a couple of big points to consider when making steamers: 1)No sand! -- simple as it sounds it's really difficult to clean these suckers, so the guys at Mac's actually built their own holding tanks for mussels, lobsters, and steamers that filters in Wellfleet Bay water 24 hours a day. This provides the steamers a chance to spew all the sand they ate while in the wild, without losing any of that natural flavor. To simulate this at home, soak the steamers in cold salt water for 24 hours in the refigerator. 2)No broken shells! --this one can be taken care of during the selection and storage process. Keep steamers in a collander in the refrigerator in a single to double layer covered with a damp cloth. Steamers are called soft-shell clams for a reason so be gentle! 3)Perfectly cooked without being overdone! -- This is tougher than it sounds. When cooking littlenecks or mussels, the opening of the shell is the best indication of being done, however with steamers, that is not the case. The name "steamer" comes from the traditional cooking method where 1-2 inches of water or broth was brought to a boil in the bottom of a pot, then the steamers would be added and allowed to steam for several minutes. This creates a good finished product, however after much snooping at some of the best seafood shacks on Cape Cod, I noticed that they actually boil the steamers and mussels in giant pots containing slightly salted water! I recommend the following when cooking 2#'s of steamers:

8 qts water

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1/2 lemon

6 peppercorns

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon sea salt

Bring all of the ingredients to a boil and then drop in the steamers for 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Strain the broth through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer and reserve for dipping or drinking. Serve steamers with broth and drawn butter.

Half Chicken Braised with Tomatoes, Lemon, and Fennel

For this simple, mediterenean inspired dish, a simple tomato sauce, scented with fennel is the vehicle for a great balance of acidity and sweetness. To make this dish: onions, fennel, garlic, bay leaves, and olive oil are gently heated to create an infusion of flavors. Once the vegetables are softened (about 5 - 10 minutes) but not browned, crushed peeled tomatoes and tomato juice are added to create the broth that the chicken will gently braise in. Be sure to add the chicken to the pan skin-side-up to insure a crispy flavorful final product. Right before serving, dust with salt and zest a lemon over the chicken. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 Chicken, seasoned lightly with salt

1/2 onion, sliced

1 bulb fennel, tops removed, bulb sliced

2 whole cloves garlic, crushed

3 bay leaves

1 lemon, zested

1 cup canned, crushed tomatoes

2 cups tomato juice

Cheap Eats

I recently discovered that I make a great Cachupa. Whats this you ask? It's practically the national dish of Cape Verde (the islands off the coast of Africa/Portugal) consisting of several types of beans, dry hominy, greens, butternut squash and tomatoes. Sound familiar? If you're used to making Italian food...one might immediately think of a minestrone or the start of a ribollita. In fact, this would be almost true, except that in a cachupa, hominy corn is cooked to add a rich velvety texture to a broth that is further thickened and sweetened by butternut squash. Truly amazing! One more note about this dish is that it can be made one of three ways: vegetarian, w/pork, or w/fish. The ingredients stay the same regardless, and one thing is traditional -- start with dry ingredients (beans/hominy) and don't mix types of meat.

Pork Cachupa di Cabo Verde:
serves 6

1 bunch collard greens or swiss chard, ribs removed and chopped
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced into 2 inch chunks

1 cup dry white beans

1 cup dry garbanzo beans

1/2 cup dry lima beans

1/2 cup dry kidney beans

2 cups dry white hominy corn

2 cups canned, whole peeled tomatoes

1/2 head of green cabbage, core removed and cut into large chunks

6 bay leaves

6 cloves of garlic

4 cups chicken stock

1/4# diced salt pork (optional)

1 # diced fresh chorizo sausage (optional)

4 - 8 oz pork shoulder steaks

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

Prep:

1. Soak the beans in cool water and refridgerate overnight. Then, drain the water, rinse, and place them in a pot and cover with 6 inches of cool water. Add the salt pork, 1 clove garlic, 1 bay leaf, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Keep a careful watch on the level of water and refill to maintain at least 2 inches of water over the beans. Cook until the beans are soft, but not fully tender - about 30 minutes.

2. In a large pot, brown the pork shoulder in a little oil. Remove them and add the chicken stock, hominy corn, bay leaves, beans with their liquid, garlic, butternut squash, chorizo and bring to a simmer. Add the pork and cook for 1 hour. Watch the level of broth, the mix should maintain a thick soup consistency.

3. Add the tomato, cabbage, and remaining ingredients and simmer for another 30 - 45 minutes until the pork is tender enough to be pulled apart with a fork.

4. Adjust the salt and pepper and spoon into large bowls to serve. The final product should be thickened enough by the hominy and squash to be as thick as a stew. Traditionally it is enjoyed on its own, but occasionally I cut thick pieces of french bread to accompany.

Marky - Mark

In yet another..."you should check this out" entry, I'm fully endorsing Mark Bittman's blog...check it @ http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/ . I was lead there after reading excerpts from one of his newest books on diet, eating, and sustainable food production.

Some topics covered are things like outlining the benefits of eating a partially vegan diet (he uses something he calls the before 6pm rule)....and using the production method of food, rather than an organic label, to decide whether or not it is produced in a sustainable, healthy manor.

He also attempts to bring the restaurant mindset of "food cost" to the home kitchen by explaining recipes that cost virtually nothing to prepare. One example he uses is making beans and rice from scratch -- a meal that is nutritious, vegan, sustainable, easy to prepare, and costs less than $1 per person to serve.

He outlines another great reason to try to change 3 meals a week from meat-centric to vegan. Animal (as do people) produce greenhouse gasses. At last check, we raise 40 Billion - yes Billion -- animals for consumption in the US alone. If each of us dropped three meat items a week from our diet, we would be able to reduce the amount of animals raised and consumed to a level that would environmentally speaking, be equivalent to taking all of the SUVS driven in America off the road. Additionally, to raise this many animals to produce things like steaks and cheeses, etc, we use extremly efficient (yet not very nice for the animals) farming methods that are currently operating at 70% the capicity of the world's farmlands. With the world population rising, and our consumption levels increasing daily, we soon will hit a maximum level of production.

One last thing, Bittman has been eating a more plant based diet for the past 3 years, and with no increase in exercise, has lost 40 pounds. Think about it.

Dani-boy!

http://www.danielnyc.com/dbontv.html


Any who is even a little interested in food/wine/restaurants...owes it to themselves to follow the above link and watch an episode of Daniel's After Hours show.

Winter Citrus

Meyer lemons, which originated in China, are a cross between a regular lemon and a tangerine. Plant researcher Frank Meyer brought these highly fragrant lemons to the U.S. in 1908 from the area near Peking. Meyers are rounder than lemons and have thin, soft, smooth rinds, which are rich yellow-orange when fully ripe. The pulp is deep yellow and low in acid.

Oddly enough, we associate citrus fruits with summertime cuisine. Margaritas, fresh grilled items, salad dressings...etc; but the peak season for these acid fruits are the winter months of December, January, February. Luckily, there are multiple ways to enjoy the flavor of peak season year round. Since Meyer lemons have such delicate sweetness, these lemons make excellent jams, merangues, pastry creams, cakes, and dressings. One of my favorite preservation techniques for them is to cure the lemons by paking them in salt for use later on in the year. Once the lemons have been salt cured, or "confit", the lemons can be washed and quickly boiled to remove the salt that preserved them. Chopping and using confit lemons allows you to impart their delicate citrus flavor to any preparation that would normally call for lemon.

To prepare the confit, you first need a clean, sterilized glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Next, you'll need enough meyer lemons to fill the jar. Lastly, kosher or course sea salt.

Method of Prep:

Thoroughly wash the lemons with warm water. Next, you'll make two criss-crossing cuts into the lemons in the same manner you would use to cut lemon wedges -- the only difference is that you will stop before cutting entirely through the lemons. This will result in four wedges connected by a portion of the peel. Next, you will pack salt into the lemons. For an advanced preparation, try grinding some spices into the salt. Ones to experiment with would be bay leaves, black peppercorns, juniper berries, etc. Once there is enough salt packed into the cuts to prevent the lemon pieces from touching, pack the lemons into the glass jar and add some additional salt to cover. Repeat until the jar is filled with lemons and salt. Close the jar and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 weeks, and maximum 1 year.

Salsa Crudo with Confit Meyer Lemon

1/2 confit meyer lemon, washed and cooked in boiling water for 2 minutes

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1 shallot

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 bunch fresh cilantro

black pepper to taste

1. Chop the meyer lemon into very small pieces

2. Chop the cilantro and shallot

3. In a glass or non-reactive bowl, wisk together the vinegar, oil, and black pepper

4. Mix in the cilantro, meyer lemon, and shallot into the oil and vinegar blend

5. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking with salt, pepper, or sugar

To use, serve along side, or drizzled over grilled fish, steak, or poultry. A vegetarian option is to toss freshly grilled asparagus, zucchini, or cauliflower with the salsa. For a salad preparation, try tossing freshly cut cucumbers with the mix, let stand for 5 minutes, and serve.

simple pleasures

spent the last 2 weeks planning my wedding dinner menu...and the truth of it is...among all of the choices that one can make when planning such a detailed event...the only thing that's really a necessity for me...is...

caviar. Lots of it....

and of course...champagne.

candy candy candy candy...

I'm now allowed to say that Necco has offically introduced this years new sweetheart candy sayings and....to acknowledge the importance and evocative nature of food in our culture, all the sayings being produced this year will be "food phrases". Check back soon for a glimpse of the unveiling ceremony this morning featuring several Boston chefs and MC'd by TV personality Ming Tsai...

sweetheart...

So...get ready for this year's sweetheart candies from Mass-based candy giant Necco...there's a
surprise for all you food lovers as well...you ready for it---drum role please....oops..sorry...can't yet divulge this one...apparently there's a threat amongst the candy conglomerates that deems info about new releases of hardened, colorful candy top-secret. Don't fret though...there will be plenty of news coverage of the unveiling tomorrow...1/14...and you just might catch a glimpse of yours truly in the crowd...check back for more info...

what am I supposed to do with this?

ok...so we're all fans of new ways to wow with lobster. this particular dish is just one of those attempts from michael mina at seablue. here he tries....and fails...to create a "pot-pie" that warrants having a $62 price tag. now, i'll be the first to admit that cooking's end result sometimes doesn't seem to measure up to all the work that goes into a dish. From what I was told, the sauce alone took 2 days to prepare. Add to that the sweat and toil that some underpaid culinary intern put into making a fresh puff pastry....steaming and shelling the lobster...and assembling ingredients into the copper casket it arrives to your table in and you've got almost half a week's work to make this one pot pie. But, that's not it...as if the lobster wasn't already dead at this point...they manage to continue to cook it until it tastes like a shoe. Ok that's giving it more credit than it deserves---when I buy a pair of $62 dollar shoes...i expect the leather to be softer than this was. so...once again...a haute gaff....making a dish that looks perfect...takes years worth of knowlege of technique to create....but prepared with too little salt...too much heat....and not enough attention to what is really being put on the plate....boo

gimme some of that down home cookin...

Often times in a class full of Boston middle-school aged children, I am asked the question…what is your specialty…and although it may sound pompous or certainly arrogant, I almost always reply…I feel comfortable cooking pretty much anything…really my specialty is using a mood and a set of really great ingredients to create a dish that captures the moment or sets the tone for a meal. This is not the answer they are looking for. “Italian food” or “tacos” is what I’m sure they’d rather hear me say. But the more I think about my answer, the more I am sure that the importance of using good techniques is secondary to embracing the emotion surrounding food. It’s like the old saying…”no matter how large the feast, if it’s prepared without love, it won’t nourish the soul.”(not that I’ve actually heard that before…but I’m sure it exists) So, remembering one the most emotionally evocative dishes of my childhood, I want to share a recipe that I learned from my mother. First, let me say that my mother is an amazing cook. She embraced all of the traditional Persian dishes that she had grown up with, as well as some classic American food that she had learned from friends after moving to the States. As far as I can remember, she embraced the opportunity to make lavish feasts whenever the occasion was fitting. These were usually based on Persian cuisine: huge mountains of basmati rice with saffron and red currants; roasts of beef or chicken; stews with spinach, kidney beans, cilantro, and fenugreek—the table was always set with enough food to feed at least twice the amount of guests present! This was done purposefully and showed the true heart of the culture and cuisine. Even if you had none, you gave more than you could to a hungry guest. While this tradition was certain of get-togethers and special occasions, the rigors of being a mother of two and full time nurse prevented my mother from slaving in the kitchen every night. More often we’d have quickly cooked dinners like baked bbq chicken breast casserole or spaghetti topped with a meat infused jar of prepared tomato sauce. Regardless of the preparation time put into a meal, I applaud my mother’s ability to get everyone in the household, herself included, to slow down for a bit and gather around the dinner table almost every night of the week. Occasionally departing from the act of cooking a quick meal, my mother would sometimes put aside an hour or so to cook one of my favorite childhood meals -- beef and potato cutlets. It was the kind of dish that wasn’t lavish or gourmet, but took such patience and purpose that if you even got close to the kitchen you could feel the love bubbling though the air. Some of my fondest memories of childhood come from the happiness I would feel while watching my mother expertly shape and then drop these patties into the frying pan to sizzle. Remembering my jubilation when I got to try a piece fresh out of the pan makes me think it’s no surprise that I picked a career where I could make these tasty things any time I want!
Developing the crisp and golden brown crust while making sure the patties are cooked through is something that requires patience, and careful tending of the heat. Resisting the temptation to eat them as quickly as they come out of the pan requires a healthy dash of willpower. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:
1# ground beef or substitute turkey for a more health conscious version
2 medium-large chef’s potatoes, cooked and peeled, and grated
1 small white onion, grated or minced finely
½ bunch parsley, leaves only - washed and chopped
½ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 extra large egg
¼ cup milk
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
Canola oil for frying

Directions:
1. Mix the egg, milk, salt, pepper, and parsley together in a bowl.
2. Mix the meat, potato, onion, and bread crumbs together in a separate bowl.
3. Fold the egg mixture into the meat mixture and mix just until evenly combined.
4. Heat ¼ inch of oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. With your hands, form 4” oblong patties with the mixture and gently place patties, one at a time into the pan. The oil should gently sizzle when the patties are added. Adjust the heat accordingly to achieve this. Without over-crowding the pan, continue to add patties and cook until golden brown and crisp, then flip and repeat this on the other side. Once both sides are browned, remove the patties to a plate lined with paper towels to catch the excess oil. Lightly salt the patties and let cool slightly before serving.

and on...

As I write entries in this blog, you’ll witness my understanding and interpretation of classic techniques and dishes. I am going to share recipes that are special to me. I am going to share unique views on eating and nutrition. I am going to talk about the way that children should not only share in…but fully participate in food preparation. In my opinion, cooking has always been at the center of strong communities; think of your own community and family – isn’t a warm meal one of the few things that can get our modern families to slow down and come together? Our need for food is constant, but food itself is subject to change. Our attention to food will either increase or diminish. The contents of our meals will get heartier or more nutritionally devoid. Sometimes when things change slowly, sometimes we forget that they are changing at all. When was the last time you really thought about how your diet has changed throughout your life? Where do thoughts about the quality of your food rank in your daily thought process?

We would all agree about the importance of preserving a family and bringing together our communities…but do we realize that our modern foodscape is limiting the ability to do that through cooking and enjoying food together? Our modern meals still fill us up, but are they nourishing? Do we remember that those who make the food that we eat have an active role in influencing and sustaining the people who eat it…they can create and change moods…they can comfort us in rough times…they are truly connected to us. Think about the simple example of how comforting it is to smell a pumpkin pie baking in the oven. Traditionally, cooking and enjoying food has been a means of relaxation, a form of celebration, a coping mechanism for mourning families. When we think of food in this way, we realize that learning a recipe is one thing, but having respect for the culture and history behind the cuisine responsible for that recipe is another equally important thing. When we acknowledge that food has a soul, we are able to bring dishes alive and create feelings within those who consume it. A part of that is realizing where ingredients come from and why they are used in particularity. Consuming locally also helps to create a modern food heritage that supports our thought that food is more than just instant gratification. Just because products are globally accessible, doesn’t mean we should throw out our concept of embracing indigenous foods or meals. A burger frozen in Idaho, a piece of lettuce from Peru, ketchup from Pennsylvania, and a week old bun from New York shouldn’t represent lunch for a middle school student in Boston, MA almost every day of the week…but more often than not, it does. In our ever-evolving societies…urban…suburban…and rural alike, we must not forget how empowered we are to influence our bodies, our moods, our families, and our communities through all of the food choices that we make. Those choices can affect a lot more than our growling bellies.

soups cookin....

Whenever I write a recipe, I start by imagining a place, a face, a smell, a taste, or a feeling that is the true heart of the dish that I am trying to create. I use all of my past experiences -- not just those from within the kitchen. In fact, some of the most powerful and compelling recipes in my repertoire are the ones that most uniquely represent my life experiences—my heritage. Interestingly enough, food heritage does not always equate to a chef’s actual heritage or ethnicity. We all have our own identities in the kitchen and certainly feel most comfortable using ingredients and techniques that we are familiar to, but what happens when we are forced to leave our safe space and cook…or even just eat…outside of that box? This is when we let our true food heritage come through. We can appreciate and try our best to mimic the techniques outlined in recipes that are foreign to us, but it is important that we impart something of our own. Whether it’s a like or dislike for a distinctive flavor that leads to a change in quantity, an addition of peppers to “spice it up”, a heavy hand with salt or simply a use of olive oil when others might use butter…each of us must put our own spin on things. Respecting and revealing our own food identity, not following a recipe to the “T”, is the essence of cooking. It is imperative that a cook not be afraid to take a risk, try something different, and then step back and ask, “Did it work?” Repetition of this process leads a cook to truly understand cooking.