Gelato
Thank god for the gelato trend. I had the chance to try avocado and cranberry in Toronto yesterday, and am really happy about where this is going (prevalent, evolving, etc.). Miami has a number of Italian branded places, but the real surprise is places like Dulcianna on Lincoln Road (South Beach) that is a straight Argentine franchise. No big deal in Miami, but to find Dolcezza in Georgetown (Wisconsin Ave), an Argentine family-owned shop, makes it clear that the entire US is benefitting from Latin America's instabilities.
Sweet Toronto Dim Sum
Dim Sum is a gift. I was in Toronto all weekend, and had the chance to get a chowhound recommendation for Bright Pearl Seafood Restaurant 346-348 Spadina Ave. The food was divine, the selection extraordinary. I definitely recommend weekday Dim Sum. Anyone have any favorite dishes? Where is the best Dim Sum in NY? Any recommendations for how to recover (enough to go back to work) after one of these meals?
Murray's Farm
Drove three hours out to Tamaqua, PA to visit Koch's Farm. This family farm produces all of Murray's turkeys. It's surrounded by hills and silos with no cell phone service and not surprisingly, I had pull into another farm to ask for Koch's farm. Directions include a bit of the over the river, through the woods to Grandmother's house. Mr. Koch had us over for lunch with ginger teriyaki turkey, smoked turkey, spicy Korean turkey(kimchi turkey?!), and turkey on white heroes. Seven years ago, he went natural after almost going bankrupt like many family farms who raise commodity birds that couldn't make a sustainable living. The tilting mechanical trays of eggs mimic the hen (moms) who would ordinarily rotate the eggs in the nest. I forgot to ask about turkey eggs? Can you eat turkey eggs? Hmm. The little things get debeaked (burnt off) and it falls off after one week's time. The large toms and hens live freely outside in a large pen. The space the turkeys get are more than commodity birds which helps in the loading and slaughtering since they are more at ease with the world. Good metaphor for humans as well. I wonder what will happen to the next generation of farmers? Who will inherit the raising of animals and care of US agriculture? How many 20-40 year olds view farming as a "good career"? Will all this go to the big multinationals of the world?
Sansho - Investigatory
Have any of you had any success extending sansho from the unagi ideal? I came across a fantastic spice shop (also have a great shichimi togarashi, apparently also known as nanairo togarashi in Tokyo, but I have never heard it referred to as such) near Kiyomizudera in Kyoto, and have been trying to figure out how I can use sansho ever since. As of now, I know it doesn’t make an especially good tea (even though it is the substance behind one of the funniest phone calls I have ever received – Simon, please explain!), but I have had some success with tomatoes, both cooked and raw. I assumed this might extend its application to foods of similar acidity, but then I read in a spice guide at Amy’s house that the key to sansho was fatty foods. As all of you know, olive oil is a necessity for me, and it might have actually been the oil that the sansho had complemented so well on my tomatoes. Do any of you use it in your cooking? Should we stick to using it as a table condiment (after all the cooking is done)? I am really excited to use it on some grilled fatty fish (salmon, grouper, etc.) especially my favorite, grilled (chicharroned) grouper head (shioyaki – with only salt). Hopefully we can spear a few this 4th of July weekend in Sugarloaf.
Sansho Questions:
Where is it used besides with unagi?
Does it complement tomatoes?
Does it complement olive oils?
Have any of you used it on fatty foods? fish? beef? pork?
Can we cook with it, or should it be used as a table condiment?
Sansho Questions:
Where is it used besides with unagi?
Does it complement tomatoes?
Does it complement olive oils?
Have any of you used it on fatty foods? fish? beef? pork?
Can we cook with it, or should it be used as a table condiment?
Food Romp III Jackson Heights
Food Romp I, 2003 - Manhattan. Food Romp II, 2004 - Flushing, Queens. Food Romp III, 2005 - Jackson Heights, Queens
My cousin, Ambrose's high school friend, Corey and I have organized a food romp (tour of sorts) that started organically three years ago after our professed love of eating all foods. Corey does all the work which include a well plotted walking map (and I throw in a few comments) two months prior. Thus, starting an annual tradition that has grown in number each year. A few weeks ago, we hosted a group of 15 or so avid eaters who were brave enough to go Jackson Heights from the likes of New Haven to Manhattan in order to visit the vibrant, bustling neighborhood loaded with all sorts of goodies - the Indian market(s) to Spanish grocer, who stayed open late to pour a bottle of wine on the house for us.
We kicked off the day with 11am Indian, Indian vegetarian, followed by the Kebab King, then Peruvian, Argentian, Tibetan, etcetera and in-between a sidewalk devouring of tres leches cake (see below). The day ended with some sangria and ceviche towards 3pm to stave off the sugar. Thank you, Corey.
My cousin, Ambrose's high school friend, Corey and I have organized a food romp (tour of sorts) that started organically three years ago after our professed love of eating all foods. Corey does all the work which include a well plotted walking map (and I throw in a few comments) two months prior. Thus, starting an annual tradition that has grown in number each year. A few weeks ago, we hosted a group of 15 or so avid eaters who were brave enough to go Jackson Heights from the likes of New Haven to Manhattan in order to visit the vibrant, bustling neighborhood loaded with all sorts of goodies - the Indian market(s) to Spanish grocer, who stayed open late to pour a bottle of wine on the house for us.
We kicked off the day with 11am Indian, Indian vegetarian, followed by the Kebab King, then Peruvian, Argentian, Tibetan, etcetera and in-between a sidewalk devouring of tres leches cake (see below). The day ended with some sangria and ceviche towards 3pm to stave off the sugar. Thank you, Corey.
Bell and Evans Farm
Went to visit Bell and Evans Farm, in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania, last Thursday. It's the largest all-natural poultry company in the US and they are proud to say they are now the largest buying of certain commodities like grain feed in Pennsylvania and employ, what seems like, most of the surrounding area. I'm sure we've all seen the logo of the farm and chicken in the foreground surrounded by blue scrolls at your local Publix all the way to the South. It's about a two and a half hour drive from the city (Manhattan, that is, for all you globetrotters) and about an hour into the drive the road opens up towards Allentown onto green pastures with farms and silos just like one of the wall calendars at Barnes and Nobles.
Last year, I toured the plant where flags of Fredericksburg greeted us flying high on poles with chicken images. And this year, even prouder still, Bell and Evans' few thousand employees work on a new "air chilled" system (only one of two in the country, like Europe where most chickens are air chilled to bring down the temperature by air to 38F instead of with cold water bath aka "fecal bath"). Some employees are cut offal out of chickens all day that fly on plastic green hooks like a roller coaster up and down the ceilings, the sides, and passageways of the many rooms. The evisceration room is called "evis" and the employees work hard on the line at various stages of processing from portioning out breasts, picking Grades A-D of birds to trimming birds.
I am wearing my blue lab coat with the chicken logo on the back with the hairnet having been dripped on with chicken juice and water. I shut my eyes and smell chicken feathers. It's all very well done and we celebrate at the end with a prideful show of chicken: chicken cordon bleu, chicken nuggets, chicken parmiggiana, and grilled chicken for lunch. Another long day at the farm. Real work for real people.
Last year, I toured the plant where flags of Fredericksburg greeted us flying high on poles with chicken images. And this year, even prouder still, Bell and Evans' few thousand employees work on a new "air chilled" system (only one of two in the country, like Europe where most chickens are air chilled to bring down the temperature by air to 38F instead of with cold water bath aka "fecal bath"). Some employees are cut offal out of chickens all day that fly on plastic green hooks like a roller coaster up and down the ceilings, the sides, and passageways of the many rooms. The evisceration room is called "evis" and the employees work hard on the line at various stages of processing from portioning out breasts, picking Grades A-D of birds to trimming birds.
I am wearing my blue lab coat with the chicken logo on the back with the hairnet having been dripped on with chicken juice and water. I shut my eyes and smell chicken feathers. It's all very well done and we celebrate at the end with a prideful show of chicken: chicken cordon bleu, chicken nuggets, chicken parmiggiana, and grilled chicken for lunch. Another long day at the farm. Real work for real people.
Japanese and Korean Cookie/Cracker
I am obsessed with two brands of sweet salty cookie/crackers for pate, cheese, etc.. The first is Korean, labeled Korean Cookies on the American nutritional import label, exceptionally packaged (original Art work, never crumble, etc.) and I have had friends eating them like hosts. The second is Japanese, Harvest Sesame, and equally divine. I consider both some of the best products I have found in a long time, and would strongly recommend them not only for their quality, but also for their superior flavor. Has anyone seen/tried them as well?
Note: I have stopped purchasing my perennial favorite, Bremner Wafers, because of this solid Asian market find.
Note: I have stopped purchasing my perennial favorite, Bremner Wafers, because of this solid Asian market find.
Pate - Venison, Pork, etc.
Living in Tennessee, I am fortunate enough to not only have tons of friends who hunt, but no one to compete with when I ask for the deer hearts and livers (even the meat is considered second rate). One of these friends, Allen Mann, is consistently successful, and is the source of all of this year's meat. During the fall, I was lucky enough to receive a few livers from him (he killed a good number of deer, but these were the only ones that made it without being tainted by stomach acids or excrement, being blown to bits, etc.).
Since I had never made venison pate, I decided on a simple method: boil the liver with wine and a spice, cuisinart, add enough butter to complement, then salt and pepper to taste. I chose 4 combinations, red wine + star anise, red wine + tarragon, white wine + star anise, and white wine + tarragon. My first surprise was that venison liver tastes nearly identical to pork liver (of lechon asado fame - side note - how does ankimo taste like liver?!?). I had settled on my method while investigating with pork liver, but continue to be amazed as to how butter balances liver. Adding local butter spoonful by spoonful, pushing the cuisinart button, and tasting, the successive combinations went: liver, liver, liver, liver, absolutely divine. Making fresh alioli told me to stop right then, and to marvel at how the butter had retained the full taste of liver, but had somehow made it approachable! I felt the same way I had when I saw my first garlic olive oil combination thicken! It was fantastic.
The undisputed winner was the red wine star anise combination (admittedly, it was winter/fall), but I bet a white wine + star anise + white pepper combination would work this summer with your favorite liver!
Since I had never made venison pate, I decided on a simple method: boil the liver with wine and a spice, cuisinart, add enough butter to complement, then salt and pepper to taste. I chose 4 combinations, red wine + star anise, red wine + tarragon, white wine + star anise, and white wine + tarragon. My first surprise was that venison liver tastes nearly identical to pork liver (of lechon asado fame - side note - how does ankimo taste like liver?!?). I had settled on my method while investigating with pork liver, but continue to be amazed as to how butter balances liver. Adding local butter spoonful by spoonful, pushing the cuisinart button, and tasting, the successive combinations went: liver, liver, liver, liver, absolutely divine. Making fresh alioli told me to stop right then, and to marvel at how the butter had retained the full taste of liver, but had somehow made it approachable! I felt the same way I had when I saw my first garlic olive oil combination thicken! It was fantastic.
The undisputed winner was the red wine star anise combination (admittedly, it was winter/fall), but I bet a white wine + star anise + white pepper combination would work this summer with your favorite liver!
Ripe Pate
I have no problems eating logs of pate on my own. Today I enjoyed a Mousse Truffee from Trois Petits Cochons, the nation's leading (can also be found in Tennessee) pate manufacturer from New York. My favorite from three little pigs, it is a mixture of chicken and pork livers combined with truffles, and I love it ripe. It took a summer plane trip from Annapolis and the temptations of a melted nose to try it for the first time, but not only does pate ripen, it should be allowed to, even if a spoon becomes your only option. Don't be afraid to enjoy this one during the summer (it ripens more quickly), it is surprisingly light, and should accompany those hot afternoon riesling binges.
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