From NYTimes:
In Italy, you can determine a region’s historical affluence by the dominant type of pasta. Flour and water, perhaps with some oil, produced a bleak-colored pasta made by poor people. Flour with a few eggs, yielding a pale yellow pasta, was the pasta of the not-so-poor. Flour with a lot of eggs — creating a brilliant yellow — was for the wealthy.
And some Lucca recommendations:
Ristorante La Mora, Via Sesto di Moriano, 1748, Ponte a Moriano; (39-0583) 406402. A pleasant 15-minute drive from Lucca, and worth the trip. Lunch or dinner, 33 to 49 euros (about $43 to $63, at $1.29 to the euro) a person. The tasting menus, at 45 euros and higher, are excellent values.
Ristorante Giglio, Piazza del Giglio, 2; (39-0583) 494058. Lunch or dinner for two, with three courses, about 30 euros.
Trattoria Da Francesco, Corte Portici 13; (39-0583) 418.049. Lunch or dinner for two, with three courses, about 30 euros a person.
Trattoria Gigi, Piazza del Carmine, 7; (39-0583) 467266. Lunch or dinner for two, with three courses, about 30 euros.
Trattoria Da Leo, Via Tegrimi, 1; (39-0583) 492236. Lunch or dinner for two, with three courses, about 25 euros.
Cornell Memories
I learned to drink wine in college, and the Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling was always my favorite.
from the NYTimes
August 17, 2006
Dry Riesling Wins Top Award in State Contest
By HOWARD G. GOLDBERG
A 2005 dry riesling from the Finger Lakes was voted New York’s best wine in an annual contest yesterday.
The winner, a white made by the Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard, defeated 702 other entries in the biggest field in the New York Wine and Food Classic’s 21-year history.
The bottle costs $16 at the winery, on Seneca Lake in Dundee, N.Y. Given the Governor’s Cup, it was named “best white wine” and “best of show.”
The two-day competition took place in Canandaigua in the Finger Lakes region.
The competition was sponsored by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, a nonprofit statewide trade association based in the New York Wine and Culinary Center, which opened in Canandaigua in June.
The Wiemer vineyard, established in 1979, is viewed by many as one of North America’s leading riesling producers. Mr. Wiemer’s 2002 reserve riesling won the 2003 contest.
The German-born Mr. Wiemer made 2,000 12-bottle cases of the winning 2005 wine. Most have been allocated to various markets. About 200 awaited distribution to merchants and restaurants in New York City.
Reached at his property, Mr. Wiemer said he planned to send the winning riesling to customers in about 40 states.
“It is not a typical riesling for the Lakes,” he said. “We had a warm vintage, and the wine is broader than usual.”
Except for 2005, rieslings have won the contest every year since 2000, giving rise to the perception that the Finger Lakes region has become one of the world’s principal riesling zones.
At the contest, Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars, on Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes region, was declared the winery of the year on the basis of total number of medals amassed.
In major categories, the state’s best whites from the Finger Lakes included the following: Chateau Frank’s 2000 Blanc de Noirs sparkling wine ($39.99); Chateau LaFayette Reneau’s 2005 semisweet Johannisberg riesling ($14.99); and Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars’ 2005 ($24.99) gewürztraminer, which tied with Corey Creek Vineyards’ 2005 gewürztraminer ($25) from Long Island.
The best reds, also from the Finger Lakes, included ChateauLaFayette Reneau’s 2002 cabernet sauvignon ($19.99) and its 2002 pinot noir ($18.99).
Long Island contributed these winners: Jamesport Vineyards’ 2004 cabernet franc ($24.95), best overall red; Corey Creek’s 2005 reserve chardonnay ($30); Peconic Bay Winery’s 2001 merlot ($23.99); and Wölffer Estate’s 2005 late-harvest chardonnay ($37, half bottle), voted best dessert wine.
The best semidry riesling was Mazza Chautauqua Cellars’ 2005 ($12.95), made in the Lake Erie region.
All the wines were tasted blind, although the 24 judges, 17 of whom came from out of state, were told the grape varieties in each round.
The wine industry and influential wine periodicals treat the contest as the broadest, most representative index of the quality and styles of New York’s expanding wine industry.
Entries were submitted by 102 of the state’s 239 producers. As measured by total wineries, New York’s industry is the fourth-largest in the United States, after California, Washington and Oregon.
from the NYTimes
August 17, 2006
Dry Riesling Wins Top Award in State Contest
By HOWARD G. GOLDBERG
A 2005 dry riesling from the Finger Lakes was voted New York’s best wine in an annual contest yesterday.
The winner, a white made by the Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard, defeated 702 other entries in the biggest field in the New York Wine and Food Classic’s 21-year history.
The bottle costs $16 at the winery, on Seneca Lake in Dundee, N.Y. Given the Governor’s Cup, it was named “best white wine” and “best of show.”
The two-day competition took place in Canandaigua in the Finger Lakes region.
The competition was sponsored by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, a nonprofit statewide trade association based in the New York Wine and Culinary Center, which opened in Canandaigua in June.
The Wiemer vineyard, established in 1979, is viewed by many as one of North America’s leading riesling producers. Mr. Wiemer’s 2002 reserve riesling won the 2003 contest.
The German-born Mr. Wiemer made 2,000 12-bottle cases of the winning 2005 wine. Most have been allocated to various markets. About 200 awaited distribution to merchants and restaurants in New York City.
Reached at his property, Mr. Wiemer said he planned to send the winning riesling to customers in about 40 states.
“It is not a typical riesling for the Lakes,” he said. “We had a warm vintage, and the wine is broader than usual.”
Except for 2005, rieslings have won the contest every year since 2000, giving rise to the perception that the Finger Lakes region has become one of the world’s principal riesling zones.
At the contest, Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars, on Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes region, was declared the winery of the year on the basis of total number of medals amassed.
In major categories, the state’s best whites from the Finger Lakes included the following: Chateau Frank’s 2000 Blanc de Noirs sparkling wine ($39.99); Chateau LaFayette Reneau’s 2005 semisweet Johannisberg riesling ($14.99); and Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars’ 2005 ($24.99) gewürztraminer, which tied with Corey Creek Vineyards’ 2005 gewürztraminer ($25) from Long Island.
The best reds, also from the Finger Lakes, included ChateauLaFayette Reneau’s 2002 cabernet sauvignon ($19.99) and its 2002 pinot noir ($18.99).
Long Island contributed these winners: Jamesport Vineyards’ 2004 cabernet franc ($24.95), best overall red; Corey Creek’s 2005 reserve chardonnay ($30); Peconic Bay Winery’s 2001 merlot ($23.99); and Wölffer Estate’s 2005 late-harvest chardonnay ($37, half bottle), voted best dessert wine.
The best semidry riesling was Mazza Chautauqua Cellars’ 2005 ($12.95), made in the Lake Erie region.
All the wines were tasted blind, although the 24 judges, 17 of whom came from out of state, were told the grape varieties in each round.
The wine industry and influential wine periodicals treat the contest as the broadest, most representative index of the quality and styles of New York’s expanding wine industry.
Entries were submitted by 102 of the state’s 239 producers. As measured by total wineries, New York’s industry is the fourth-largest in the United States, after California, Washington and Oregon.
What happened to Chowhound? www.chow.com
From the NYTimes
August 16, 2006
A Food Web Site, Spiced With Attitude
By LORNE MANLY
HIPNESS is rarely a prime ingredient in the most popular Web sites devoted to food and drink. Chow.com, a new food Web site that begins its rollout next week, hopes to inject that sensibility into its smorgasbord of recipes, restaurant reviews, party hints, video tutorials and coverage of the marketing and culture of food. All this is aimed at a younger audience than the major food Web sites tend to attract.
Chow.com comes from an unlikely purveyor: CNET Networks, a Web publisher best known for technology news and reviews and computer game tips and tricks. Though the foray seems an odd fit, it dovetails with the company’s strategy of expanding to general-interest passions of the 25- to 45-year-olds it seeks, whether child-rearing (urbanbaby.com), music (mp3.com) or television (tv.com).
For the required gustatory intelligence, the company earlier this year bought the remains of a short-lived magazine called Chow, bringing along its founder, Jane Goldman. And since every self-respecting Web site needs a virtual community attached to it, CNET Networks also acquired Chowhound, an online message board for the food-obsessed, where culinary explorers seek and debate everything from the best stewed octopus in Astoria to the ultimate doughnut in Maspeth. (The New York Times Company has a content syndication agreement with different CNET Networks properties, the technology-focused cnet.com and news.com.)
Cracking the consciousness of Web surfers will not be easy for chow.com. The prodding of the Food Network cable channel powers the Web site of the same name, and provides the profits for original shows for the Web. On Monday, for example, a Web show called “Dave Does’’ made its debut, in which the chef and author Dave Lieberman scopes out the latest food trends.
In addition, epicurious.com, owned by the company that publishes two of the most influential food magazines, Gourmet and Bon Appétit, profits from that connection, while AOL Food reaps the benefits of one of the most popular Internet portals. And although fans of the iconoclastic Chowhound could be the core audience of chow.com, some members may rebel against the notion of its “going corporate,” much as early fans of an indie rock group turn against the band after a major record label snaps it up.
Ms. Goldman, a former editor of The Industry Standard, the chronicler of the Internet boom and then bust, started Chow in 2004 for an audience she believed was underserved: a younger, hipper clientele passionate about food but perhaps not too skilled at preparing it. The plans for chow.com call for retaining the magazine’s sensibility and making the contributions of its users a substantial part of the mix.
The new site begins the Web equivalent of an out-of-town tryout next Wednesday. People who go to chow.com in the next week will be able to register to sample the site’s goods before it opens widely next month; the Chowhound message boards are already available.
Though chow.com will have a test kitchen and has licensed recipes like those from Roy Finamore’s book “Tasty,” executives know they’ll never be able to match the libraries of Epicurious, the Food Network’s Web site, or the popular site allrecipes.com. But it hopes to provide clever ways to search for those recipes, like what to eat before a night of drinking and dancing into the wee hours.
In addition to the usual food site basics, there will be video tutorials for offbeat projects like making your own root beer or curing your own meat. A party package will include music playlists, tips on how to get people to leave and the chance for users to send along analysis of their own parties, including videos.
In “Show Us Your Kitchen,” Chow-blessed contractors will invade volunteers’ homes to remodel. The “My Chow” feature, beyond allowing for the sharing of recipes and restaurant recommendations, will let users find like-minded dinner companions for the times their friends are too cheap to splurge for the likes of a Thomas Keller dinner. And a “Nagging Question” section aims to offer a pop-culture sensibility. After reading that a competitive eater downed 44 lobsters, Ms. Goldman wondered, If you eat 11.3 pounds of food — which is what those lobsters yielded — do you gain 11.3 pounds? The answer: for a few minutes, yes.
CNET Networks will try to meld the personalities of Chow and Chowhound by sending Jim Leff, the founder of Chowhound, on an eat-across-America mission called Chow Tour. This week, Mr. Leff, who will gladly travel 30 miles out of his way for a slightly better muffin, heads south into barbecue country, with some planned stops at Kentucky bourbon and spoonbread festivals.
Since it began in 1997, Chowhound has attracted a fervent audience of food lovers, but its minuscule budget made scanning the site as enjoyable as reading the phone book. CNET Networks installed better software and design in June, but popularity breeds complaints.
Robert Sietsema, the restaurant critic for The Village Voice and a contributor to Gourmet, said he still finds the Chowhound boards helpful, but he said the quality of the discourse over the past few years has declined as more dabblers and dilettantes came onboard. “There’s less interest in the signature find,” he said. Instead of people scouring off-the-beaten-track neighborhoods, there are obvious questions, like “Where can I take my parents after a Broadway show?’’
Mr. Leff disputes that the proportion has changed, and vows that the swankier surroundings will not subvert the site’s mission: finding unsung “deliciousness” not beholden to the marketing machine. CNET, he said, has promised him that it will not sell restaurant ads on the Chowhound message boards. But the rest of the site is open to marketing tie-ins. Sub-Zero is a sponsor.
Blurring the lines between advertising and journalism is not a problem to everyone. The second most popular food Web site in July, behind FoodNetwork.com, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, was kraftfoods.com, which has recipes, videos (how to prepare balsamic-marinated flank steak, for example), and articles from the Kraft-sponsored magazine Food & Family.
“Who delivers that information doesn’t seem to matter, as long as the ads don’t interrupt the experience,” said Beth Higbee, senior vice president of Scripps Networks Interactive, which runs Food Network.com. Chow.com may have indie cred. But, Ms. Higbee asked, “Is that enough to emerge from the fray?”
August 16, 2006
A Food Web Site, Spiced With Attitude
By LORNE MANLY
HIPNESS is rarely a prime ingredient in the most popular Web sites devoted to food and drink. Chow.com, a new food Web site that begins its rollout next week, hopes to inject that sensibility into its smorgasbord of recipes, restaurant reviews, party hints, video tutorials and coverage of the marketing and culture of food. All this is aimed at a younger audience than the major food Web sites tend to attract.
Chow.com comes from an unlikely purveyor: CNET Networks, a Web publisher best known for technology news and reviews and computer game tips and tricks. Though the foray seems an odd fit, it dovetails with the company’s strategy of expanding to general-interest passions of the 25- to 45-year-olds it seeks, whether child-rearing (urbanbaby.com), music (mp3.com) or television (tv.com).
For the required gustatory intelligence, the company earlier this year bought the remains of a short-lived magazine called Chow, bringing along its founder, Jane Goldman. And since every self-respecting Web site needs a virtual community attached to it, CNET Networks also acquired Chowhound, an online message board for the food-obsessed, where culinary explorers seek and debate everything from the best stewed octopus in Astoria to the ultimate doughnut in Maspeth. (The New York Times Company has a content syndication agreement with different CNET Networks properties, the technology-focused cnet.com and news.com.)
Cracking the consciousness of Web surfers will not be easy for chow.com. The prodding of the Food Network cable channel powers the Web site of the same name, and provides the profits for original shows for the Web. On Monday, for example, a Web show called “Dave Does’’ made its debut, in which the chef and author Dave Lieberman scopes out the latest food trends.
In addition, epicurious.com, owned by the company that publishes two of the most influential food magazines, Gourmet and Bon Appétit, profits from that connection, while AOL Food reaps the benefits of one of the most popular Internet portals. And although fans of the iconoclastic Chowhound could be the core audience of chow.com, some members may rebel against the notion of its “going corporate,” much as early fans of an indie rock group turn against the band after a major record label snaps it up.
Ms. Goldman, a former editor of The Industry Standard, the chronicler of the Internet boom and then bust, started Chow in 2004 for an audience she believed was underserved: a younger, hipper clientele passionate about food but perhaps not too skilled at preparing it. The plans for chow.com call for retaining the magazine’s sensibility and making the contributions of its users a substantial part of the mix.
The new site begins the Web equivalent of an out-of-town tryout next Wednesday. People who go to chow.com in the next week will be able to register to sample the site’s goods before it opens widely next month; the Chowhound message boards are already available.
Though chow.com will have a test kitchen and has licensed recipes like those from Roy Finamore’s book “Tasty,” executives know they’ll never be able to match the libraries of Epicurious, the Food Network’s Web site, or the popular site allrecipes.com. But it hopes to provide clever ways to search for those recipes, like what to eat before a night of drinking and dancing into the wee hours.
In addition to the usual food site basics, there will be video tutorials for offbeat projects like making your own root beer or curing your own meat. A party package will include music playlists, tips on how to get people to leave and the chance for users to send along analysis of their own parties, including videos.
In “Show Us Your Kitchen,” Chow-blessed contractors will invade volunteers’ homes to remodel. The “My Chow” feature, beyond allowing for the sharing of recipes and restaurant recommendations, will let users find like-minded dinner companions for the times their friends are too cheap to splurge for the likes of a Thomas Keller dinner. And a “Nagging Question” section aims to offer a pop-culture sensibility. After reading that a competitive eater downed 44 lobsters, Ms. Goldman wondered, If you eat 11.3 pounds of food — which is what those lobsters yielded — do you gain 11.3 pounds? The answer: for a few minutes, yes.
CNET Networks will try to meld the personalities of Chow and Chowhound by sending Jim Leff, the founder of Chowhound, on an eat-across-America mission called Chow Tour. This week, Mr. Leff, who will gladly travel 30 miles out of his way for a slightly better muffin, heads south into barbecue country, with some planned stops at Kentucky bourbon and spoonbread festivals.
Since it began in 1997, Chowhound has attracted a fervent audience of food lovers, but its minuscule budget made scanning the site as enjoyable as reading the phone book. CNET Networks installed better software and design in June, but popularity breeds complaints.
Robert Sietsema, the restaurant critic for The Village Voice and a contributor to Gourmet, said he still finds the Chowhound boards helpful, but he said the quality of the discourse over the past few years has declined as more dabblers and dilettantes came onboard. “There’s less interest in the signature find,” he said. Instead of people scouring off-the-beaten-track neighborhoods, there are obvious questions, like “Where can I take my parents after a Broadway show?’’
Mr. Leff disputes that the proportion has changed, and vows that the swankier surroundings will not subvert the site’s mission: finding unsung “deliciousness” not beholden to the marketing machine. CNET, he said, has promised him that it will not sell restaurant ads on the Chowhound message boards. But the rest of the site is open to marketing tie-ins. Sub-Zero is a sponsor.
Blurring the lines between advertising and journalism is not a problem to everyone. The second most popular food Web site in July, behind FoodNetwork.com, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, was kraftfoods.com, which has recipes, videos (how to prepare balsamic-marinated flank steak, for example), and articles from the Kraft-sponsored magazine Food & Family.
“Who delivers that information doesn’t seem to matter, as long as the ads don’t interrupt the experience,” said Beth Higbee, senior vice president of Scripps Networks Interactive, which runs Food Network.com. Chow.com may have indie cred. But, Ms. Higbee asked, “Is that enough to emerge from the fray?”
Chautauqua Culinary Institute
Wow. A fantastic weekend in Chautauqua New York (near the PA border and 1 hour South of Buffalo), and I feel like the Chautauqua Institute got most things right, but I couldn't believe that food was not more of a priority.
With summer educational programs in dance, theatre, opera, music, and visual arts, everywhere you turn there is a stimulating art form, and when combined with a beautiful place, the time between meals can really be outstanding.
Unfortunately, the enlightened minds that have cultivated this extraordinary place for families and intellectuals and believers seems to be neglecting my favorite art, and everyone else also seems to complain about the food.
What is it? I guess it could be some sort of Puritan tradition, but the artistic stimulation is certainly decadent, the place is beautiful, and no one is there working. Why single out food?
It seems to me like it would be a natural extension of the existing art programs to include another: the Chautauqua Culinary Institute. Imagine that, along with the dozens of artists invited to enrich their skills, Chautauqua sponsored aspiring chefs to be a part of the community. Like the musicians practicing on the quads, maybe we could have chefs sharing small meals throughout the campus. Like the main plays the acting group puts together, couldn’t the chefs come together for some fantastic feasts? Upstate New York is rich for culinary transcendence during the peak summer season, and it is a shame that it is not more strongly embraced by this enlightened community.
With summer educational programs in dance, theatre, opera, music, and visual arts, everywhere you turn there is a stimulating art form, and when combined with a beautiful place, the time between meals can really be outstanding.
Unfortunately, the enlightened minds that have cultivated this extraordinary place for families and intellectuals and believers seems to be neglecting my favorite art, and everyone else also seems to complain about the food.
What is it? I guess it could be some sort of Puritan tradition, but the artistic stimulation is certainly decadent, the place is beautiful, and no one is there working. Why single out food?
It seems to me like it would be a natural extension of the existing art programs to include another: the Chautauqua Culinary Institute. Imagine that, along with the dozens of artists invited to enrich their skills, Chautauqua sponsored aspiring chefs to be a part of the community. Like the musicians practicing on the quads, maybe we could have chefs sharing small meals throughout the campus. Like the main plays the acting group puts together, couldn’t the chefs come together for some fantastic feasts? Upstate New York is rich for culinary transcendence during the peak summer season, and it is a shame that it is not more strongly embraced by this enlightened community.
Cyclades – Sea Harvest and Market Lessons
Monica, Shota, and I spent the last week of July touring the Cyclades on a 51 foot Alfa (ocean cruising sailboat) with a fantastic Obelixan skipper - Babys, and 3 new Greek friends - Apostolous, Ilias, and Kostis. Flying in to Athens, we met the boat at Paros, after a three hour high speed ferry ride from Piraeus (the port of Athens), to begin a casual tour of some stunning Cycladean islands.
We came to eat and we were excited about fish, octopus, and sea urchins. I even brought my dive gear and fishing rods to see if I could help in the harvest. We had moderate success while diving and fishing, but we had a challenging time finding fresh seafood at restaurants.
The first fish I saw in Greece were at a great salumerie in Milos (our first island stop) which was about a block away from the center of the port (and a fantastic bakery – see photo). There was a broad selection of what appeared to be local (no brand) well packaged beautiful fish, squid, and octopus. This strong frozen selection and Babys’ selection of ouzo mezze from the same store (canned seafood and smoked cheese) should have been an indication as to how the fish markets work in remote Cycladean islands and how our week of fish eating would be.
There was fishing on the islands and I saw two traditional methods: drop lines and gill nets. The drop lines were fished with monofilament and small baited hooks attached in series on a long stretch and monitored by pairs of fishermen in small (<15 foot) boats that I would not like to be in outside of protected waters. The gill nets were bright yellow and handled on specialized boats about the size of lobster trawlers.
I never saw a prize catch. Instead I saw lots of small (~8-10 inch) fish of mixed variety sold from the boats in quantities of about a dozen and carried un-refrigerated (no ice) in plastic shopping bags to what inevitably was the house of a local. I would consider these fish by-catch or trash fish: small, mixed species, nominally fish: probably not the intended catch, but ended up dead in the boat. In Miami, we complain if we find them on the end of our line; in Japan, I am sure they are a delicacy (the rarer and smaller the better); and in Greece, they probably make a great soup.
I also tried my luck at fishing and diving. I caught a few 10 inch grouper in the port at Milos and a lizard fish during a post partying dawn at Folegandros, but I could not catch anything worth keeping. On the other hand, a mate on the Shiraz, a luxury sailboat with Spanish owners which we met in Milos, had some success trolling large bright Rapalas on his way to the island, with 4 20+ pound tunas in the fridge.
Diving was different. I never saw an octopus, but the upper depths were littered with sea urchins, so I knocked free and collected as many as I could during the half hour free diving segments in the frigid clear Mediterranean Sea. Our first try at Folegandros yielded dozens of beautiful black urchins, a pen shell, and a scallop that looked like a rock. I had seen a small cuttlefish, but they are really difficult to catch with your bare hands! Back at the boat, we had scallop with lemon juice (divine), and I was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of breeding (the female had eggs) clear shrimp living in our pen shell (also eaten). They were great live and immediate.
The urchins were no fun. Even though they were beautiful, not all of them had the orange uni stuff we were looking for, and if they did, they looked anemic. It wasn’t until Sikinos were I grabbed some large white-spined specimens that we had a better uni hit rate and greater uni yield. From our results, I would guess that uni success is as much a function of species as it is of gender? We never looked at any menus (we were with Greeks), but we were never offered sea urchins.
Monica and I requested fish every day at every island, but did not fully realize that we would have a difficult time finding it until we reached the most remote island we visited, Sikinos, and realized that we had eaten nothing but lamb and goat all week long.
The one chance we had at eating fish on the islands seemed to have been through a promise from Babys: if we planned a trip early enough to Sikinos, he could reserve fish from the day’s catch for our dinner. Unfortunately, the hangover delays precluded this possibility. I assumed there was a limited number of fish caught and consumed on the island, and that we just needed to claim our share, but when I thought a bit more about the market dynamics, it seemed like there may be another answer for why we couldn’t find the fish we so eagerly sought on the islands we visited, and I wanted to answer a simple question: Where could I get fish? If they weren’t reserved and we could not find them in the restaurants, where did the fish go?
Apparently, there are two types of fish (famously complained about by Greek locals), the premium fresh fish, usually prized species, kept fresh and prepared as a delicacy for prices quoted at 50 Euros +, and the affordable mass market frozen and canned seafood that is ubiquitous and delicious. What we did not realize was that a week cruising among remote Cycladean islands would bring us the latter. The remote islands we visited had the majority of their supplies brought in from the outside, and were almost solely visited by Greek tourists, who are probably less willing to pay the inflated prices guaranteed for fresh fish during the peak tourist season at other sites.
Our experience in the islands was an apparent lesson in market economics:
• If you want fresh seafood, catch it yourself.
• If there is a more lucrative market for seafood, that is probably were the best quality goes.
Luckily the trip still had some food highlights, but it was amazing that we had to return to Paros, which seemed like a suburb of Athens (high school cliques at bars), to find where the market deposited the fish we sought.
On our last night in Paros together we found our first great seafood meal at the Ouzeri Apostolis restaurant. It began with the local octopus delicacy which is brushed with olive oil and dried in the sun for a few days (according to Babys) and grilled just before it is served. We had seen a tourist depiction at a pleasant café on the Milos boardwalk, but this was our first successful eating. The meal climaxed with a wonderfully cooked, grilled, juicy, red snapper (fangri in Greek, almost identical to tai in Japan, nothing like Atlantic red snapper) served with a lemon olive oil dressing, and my favorite memory is of pulling the head in half (longwise) and sucking on one of the juiciest grilled fish I have ever had.
The best was apparently saved for last. The rest of the group had left us, Ilias and Kostis for work, Apostolous and Shota to Mykonos to try some last attempt slutting, so Monica and I found ourselves with a beautiful day to wander Paros’ neighborhoods. After some mandatory (for me) shopping and a full meal at a great local gourmet café selected by Apostolous (Distrato- coolest temperature on Paros), we found ourselves on a small beach with a number of tables outdoors and selected the most pleasant looking one (Glaukos). We were stuffed, but planned on reading our thick books with mezze and ouzo all afternoon long. I was reading the Fagles Odyssey again (which I love), but was startled from the epic when godly chipirones (baby squid) deposited themselves on the table of the only other guests on this seashore. We quickly ordered our own, and were served them fried in a pile: fresh, uncleaned, and with a thick crumbing. Monica and I attacked (too quickly for cameras), and it wasn’t until I explained that the broad range in flavors of the plate in front of us was due to the fresh intestinal contents each squid contained, that I was able to grab the lion’s share.
Interestingly, I had a similar experience in Hokkaido (the northernmost island of Japan), where okasan and I had a horribly difficult time finding premium uni (sea urchin) and ikura (salmon roe) even though Hokkaido is the famous source. Hokkaido is also remote, harsh, and visited mostly by local (Japanese) tourists. The inability to get premium products at the source is a strange artifact of an efficient market, but gives me confidence that money can buy quality foods (even if they are a day older). Could Argentina’s beef be another model of this, where all the cuts considered “best” in export markets are not available in local cuisines? Ever seen a large Key West Pink Shrimp in Key West? What exactly was that trash fish soup the local was making?
Refreshingly, the Cyclades were fantastic, and we have many stunning memories of rakomelo nights and wine dark seas. I think there are probably places that combine the strengths of the market with the benefits of being close by (experience, freshness, price, etc.), and it seems as though Paros fits that role for the Cyclades - maybe Sapporo does this for Hokkaido (or is it Tokyo for everything?). Kyoto definitely does it for baby bamboo (sources the best of the region), and (thinking ahead to the next vacation) it gives reason to stopping in Florence during truffle season and not just hanging out in the forests.
L.A. to the Bay - NY Times Tacos
Always looking for tacos in Cali, here is a list that is the result of a highway 1 NY Times adventure:
EL PARIáN 1528 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles; (213) 386-7361.
TACOS BAJA ENSENADA 5385 Whittier Boulevard, Los Angeles; (323) 887-1980.
LA SUPER RICA TAQUERIA 622 North Milpas Street, Santa Barbara; (805) 963-4940.
LILLY’S TAQUERIA 310 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara; (805) 966-9180.
CHAPALA RESTAURANT 2816 Main Street, Morro Bay; (805) 772-4492.
RUDDELL’S SMOKEHOUSE 101 D Street, Cayucos; (805) 995-5028.
TAQUERIA VALLARTA 1101 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz; (831) 471-2655.
TAQUERIA Y MERCADO DE AMIGOS 1999 Pescadero Creek Road, Pescadero; (650) 879-0232.
LA TAQUERIA 2889 Mission Street, San Francisco; (415) 285-7117.
TAQUERIA SAN JOSé 2830 Mission Street, San Francisco; (415) 282-0203.
EL TONAYENSE TACO TRUCK Harrison Street & 22nd Street, San Francisco.
LA PALMA MEXICATESSEN 2884 24th Street, San Francisco; (415) 647-1500.
EL PARIáN 1528 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles; (213) 386-7361.
TACOS BAJA ENSENADA 5385 Whittier Boulevard, Los Angeles; (323) 887-1980.
LA SUPER RICA TAQUERIA 622 North Milpas Street, Santa Barbara; (805) 963-4940.
LILLY’S TAQUERIA 310 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara; (805) 966-9180.
CHAPALA RESTAURANT 2816 Main Street, Morro Bay; (805) 772-4492.
RUDDELL’S SMOKEHOUSE 101 D Street, Cayucos; (805) 995-5028.
TAQUERIA VALLARTA 1101 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz; (831) 471-2655.
TAQUERIA Y MERCADO DE AMIGOS 1999 Pescadero Creek Road, Pescadero; (650) 879-0232.
LA TAQUERIA 2889 Mission Street, San Francisco; (415) 285-7117.
TAQUERIA SAN JOSé 2830 Mission Street, San Francisco; (415) 282-0203.
EL TONAYENSE TACO TRUCK Harrison Street & 22nd Street, San Francisco.
LA PALMA MEXICATESSEN 2884 24th Street, San Francisco; (415) 647-1500.
Poached Dove
Last night the wild turkey breast I had thawed turned out to be 20 dove breasts, and I was left with the much more challenging task of making the gamiest bird in my experience approachable. What's more, it was under pressure to perform.
I am not sure if it was the company (a wonderful girl) or sheer luck, but the dish I ended up with was one of the best I have ever made.
I started by cutting the breast meat from the bone for each of these dark meat breasts, and then, after deliberating over sauces and cooking techniques, I settled on poaching the breasts in the whole milk I had gotten the day before at the farmer's market from Cruze Farm. My experience with bittersweet cocoa and venison led me to the same path, and in spite of always associating chocolate with winter, I made my first chocolate sauce. I had even entertained making a chocolate milk for poaching, but could not see a siginificant difference in taste, and the butter, bittersweet cocoa, and wild rasberry compote lent all the flavor that the lightly poached doves were looking for. Served next to a truffle oil arugula salad, the mixture became the perfect complement for the beautiful day.
Thank you Allen for sharing your dove harvest with me and teaching me how to harvest my own.
Thank you Bea for the wild rasberrry compote that I accepted so greedily when you offered it to me some time ago.
Thank you Rocio for a great beginning to a friendship.
I am not sure if it was the company (a wonderful girl) or sheer luck, but the dish I ended up with was one of the best I have ever made.
I started by cutting the breast meat from the bone for each of these dark meat breasts, and then, after deliberating over sauces and cooking techniques, I settled on poaching the breasts in the whole milk I had gotten the day before at the farmer's market from Cruze Farm. My experience with bittersweet cocoa and venison led me to the same path, and in spite of always associating chocolate with winter, I made my first chocolate sauce. I had even entertained making a chocolate milk for poaching, but could not see a siginificant difference in taste, and the butter, bittersweet cocoa, and wild rasberry compote lent all the flavor that the lightly poached doves were looking for. Served next to a truffle oil arugula salad, the mixture became the perfect complement for the beautiful day.
Thank you Allen for sharing your dove harvest with me and teaching me how to harvest my own.
Thank you Bea for the wild rasberrry compote that I accepted so greedily when you offered it to me some time ago.
Thank you Rocio for a great beginning to a friendship.
Lechon Matado
So, I have been roasting whole pigs for more than 10 years now, and I have never really seen one of my pigs alive until today.
Gary Grizzle has been butchering pigs for me since I got to East Tennessee, and he is one of the nicest guys I have met out here. He lives in the country with his son’s family to the left and his neighbor’s 100+ calves in a barn to the right, all overlooking his multiple acre vegetable garden.
This morning I met Gary and drove over to Bill the pig farmer's farm. A couple of hundred pigs, all of them cute, smelly, eating, shitting machines. Bill was in the middle, wearing what I would consider fly fishing waders, smiling and knee deep in pig. There were all sizes, from beautiful little foot long babies to their 500 lbs (those bite) mommas; we picked the largest of the less than 15 week lot, about 85 pounds live weight, and put it into Gary's son's trailer for the drive back to Gary's place. Apparently it only takes a pig about 6 months to reach 250+ pounds!
One shot in the head (while still in the trailer), and our bouncing brain pierced pig was on the floor, soon to be bled with a swift cut at the main neck artery. As it bled, Gary's two beautiful weenie dogs (as his grandaughter put it) lapped up the blood (I had earlier remarked that they had stunning coats), and we chatted as we waited for the blood to subside and the heated water trough to reach 160 degrees.
A homemade metal bath with (what had to have been) large propane burners underneath, Gary had started the heat at 7 this morning. It was now about 9:15, and the water (not changed since the last pig) finally read 160 on the industrial thermometer.
We used a chain link fence to support the pig as Gordon (Gary’s son) rocked the pig up and down, carefully scalding the outer layer of skin, until, in-between rocks, Gary was able to easily rip off pieces of hide.
The chain link fence was great because not only was it strong, porous, and flexible enough to be rocked, it also made the roll onto the wooden dock next to the bath that much simpler.
All three of them went at it, Gary, Gordon, and Gordon’s son, three generations of Grizzles making this pig cleaning look easy and putting up with a strange looking Cuban that was really interested in the details.
They used folding buck-style knives that they had each sharpened earlier, and I realized that the grips and short blades were perfect for shaving the pig. I was in there grabbing at hide as well, but that was the fun part, as the shaving of the left over hair took the skill of a barber with a straight blade.
After making slits in the rear legs and revealing the double (as Gordon noted, unlike a deer) ligaments, we hung the pig up from a crane, and I realized how beautiful it was.
After cutting completely around the anus to free it, Gary made a light central cut, barely breaking the skin, from ass to ribs. I looked at it more than once, and realized that it was indeed perfectly straight and perfectly in the middle.
A bit deeper, and a grain filled small intestine began to pop out, slowly followed by its length, and Gary worked the viscera out at a steady pace. Before the liver, he asked do want the liver? Cutting it away and handing it to Gordon, he continued down the pig. Do you want the heart? Again cut away, then split, and the congealed (thick thick dark dark) blood pushed out. Before I knew it, there was a hose, Gordon’s son had picked up the guts (almost as big as him), successfully strained to put them in the trash bin nearby, and I had a zip lock of clean viscera and was on my way to wash up for a day at office.
I think I learned more this morning than I have all week, and viscera (as my olive oil sautéed lunch time heart spoke to) are exquisite fresh.
Thanks to Gary, Gordon, and Mackle for their patience and generosity.
You may ask: why no photos?
- I walk a fine line between being an interested outsider, and being an abrupt alien. Gary’s grandkids would have thought I was the strangest fellow in the world if I had been taking photos of shit covered pigs.
Gary Grizzle has been butchering pigs for me since I got to East Tennessee, and he is one of the nicest guys I have met out here. He lives in the country with his son’s family to the left and his neighbor’s 100+ calves in a barn to the right, all overlooking his multiple acre vegetable garden.
This morning I met Gary and drove over to Bill the pig farmer's farm. A couple of hundred pigs, all of them cute, smelly, eating, shitting machines. Bill was in the middle, wearing what I would consider fly fishing waders, smiling and knee deep in pig. There were all sizes, from beautiful little foot long babies to their 500 lbs (those bite) mommas; we picked the largest of the less than 15 week lot, about 85 pounds live weight, and put it into Gary's son's trailer for the drive back to Gary's place. Apparently it only takes a pig about 6 months to reach 250+ pounds!
One shot in the head (while still in the trailer), and our bouncing brain pierced pig was on the floor, soon to be bled with a swift cut at the main neck artery. As it bled, Gary's two beautiful weenie dogs (as his grandaughter put it) lapped up the blood (I had earlier remarked that they had stunning coats), and we chatted as we waited for the blood to subside and the heated water trough to reach 160 degrees.
A homemade metal bath with (what had to have been) large propane burners underneath, Gary had started the heat at 7 this morning. It was now about 9:15, and the water (not changed since the last pig) finally read 160 on the industrial thermometer.
We used a chain link fence to support the pig as Gordon (Gary’s son) rocked the pig up and down, carefully scalding the outer layer of skin, until, in-between rocks, Gary was able to easily rip off pieces of hide.
The chain link fence was great because not only was it strong, porous, and flexible enough to be rocked, it also made the roll onto the wooden dock next to the bath that much simpler.
All three of them went at it, Gary, Gordon, and Gordon’s son, three generations of Grizzles making this pig cleaning look easy and putting up with a strange looking Cuban that was really interested in the details.
They used folding buck-style knives that they had each sharpened earlier, and I realized that the grips and short blades were perfect for shaving the pig. I was in there grabbing at hide as well, but that was the fun part, as the shaving of the left over hair took the skill of a barber with a straight blade.
After making slits in the rear legs and revealing the double (as Gordon noted, unlike a deer) ligaments, we hung the pig up from a crane, and I realized how beautiful it was.
After cutting completely around the anus to free it, Gary made a light central cut, barely breaking the skin, from ass to ribs. I looked at it more than once, and realized that it was indeed perfectly straight and perfectly in the middle.
A bit deeper, and a grain filled small intestine began to pop out, slowly followed by its length, and Gary worked the viscera out at a steady pace. Before the liver, he asked do want the liver? Cutting it away and handing it to Gordon, he continued down the pig. Do you want the heart? Again cut away, then split, and the congealed (thick thick dark dark) blood pushed out. Before I knew it, there was a hose, Gordon’s son had picked up the guts (almost as big as him), successfully strained to put them in the trash bin nearby, and I had a zip lock of clean viscera and was on my way to wash up for a day at office.
I think I learned more this morning than I have all week, and viscera (as my olive oil sautéed lunch time heart spoke to) are exquisite fresh.
Thanks to Gary, Gordon, and Mackle for their patience and generosity.
You may ask: why no photos?
- I walk a fine line between being an interested outsider, and being an abrupt alien. Gary’s grandkids would have thought I was the strangest fellow in the world if I had been taking photos of shit covered pigs.
Cooper Hewitt Exhibit on flatware
http://www.cooperhewitt.org/EXHIBITIONS/feeding_desire/index.aspFeeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500–2005On view May 5–October 29, 2006
A journey through the evolution of Western dining from the Renaissance to the present, Feeding Desire features objects from Cooper-Hewitt’s world-class collections. The exhibition will address the development of utensil forms, innovations in production and materials, etiquette, and flatware as social commentary.
AWESOME!
A journey through the evolution of Western dining from the Renaissance to the present, Feeding Desire features objects from Cooper-Hewitt’s world-class collections. The exhibition will address the development of utensil forms, innovations in production and materials, etiquette, and flatware as social commentary.
AWESOME!
Microplane Graters
Some of you can relate to being the owner of useless kitchen gadgets. The kind that sit in dark cabinet corners collecting dust feeling 90% guilty and 10% resigned to contributing to the US economy. Let's see, I got a food dehydrator after a month of raw food obsession. That's never been used. A Dial-A-Knife circa 1960's from a flea market - powder blue dial with bubble font. I'm afraid to stick my good knife in it...that's never been plugged in. A stunning $500 Limited Edition chrome 12-cup Cuisinart (courtesy of psycho-boss who made up for abusive office behavior) used once in two years. Taking apart the various pieces to wash it takes too much time. The one kitchen gadget that I love, possessing the right design and utility is the microplaner. It's affordable (less than $20), easily washable, and incredibly useful. It makes that rectangular grater look pathetic: does grate well or washed well while giving you knuckle cuts. Check it out: http://www.microplane.com
One of our favorite Manhattan Restaurants closes
Sergio and I had one of the best meals in NYC last year when we stumbled upon a party for his friend, Maurti (sp?). We had just finished snacking at two places yet we ate like we never did at Petrosino's on the Lower East Side. The menu has mostly Northern Italian food done in a room with simple white decor. Now WTF does the ubiquitious Italian-modern decor thing have going on here? Simple - abundance of plenty with class. The piles of prosciutto didn't seem obnoxious but layer in ripples on the small tasting dishes. Then came out the sauteed broccoli rabe, spaghetti with meatballs...closing round of five desserts. I can't recall all the details but Serg and I still salivate and laugh about that meal. No one else at the table was particularly hungry but we had doubles of everything. It was a sad day for both of us to hear this February that Petrosino's would be no more.
TT - Trinidad & Tobago
Marty and I went to TT for Spring Break a few weeks ago. Not only was the weather lovely but the local food divine. We stayed with his precocious nine-year old goddaughter and the parents. Debbie, her mother, is a TT/Caribbean celebrity chef so needless to say we ate pretty well...We kicked off the liming at a local rum shop en route from the airport with ice cold Carib and Stag beers, dubbed by roadside banners as "the man's drink" (Marty preferred the Carib which has a crisper finish). This was accompanied by delicious handmade handheld food - roti stuffed with curried potatoes and your choice of meat (goat or chicken are the most common) wrapped in light blue-purple tissue paper. On Sunday, we were treated to a traditional Sunday lunch with callaloo soup, stewed chicken, fish chowder, and breadfruit. Breadfruit kicks any potatoes ass - it has a firmness - slightly sweet, non-starchy quality. One day, we drove to Debe in Trinidad and had Carib-Indian fried street food. I never thought much about fried food's differentiation but each local stall had his/her own following. Lightly battered, fried to a certain lightness, crispy yet moist but not too moist that only tastes good at a certain temperature - one degree over or below makes the whole thing a bit sad. TT subsists on a pretty impressive diet: fish, chicken (one fried breakfast egg is about five fried breakfast eggs), vegetables rice and local fruit. The strong sense of Indian-Chinese-African flavors meld together quite well.
Edible Art?
Read this in Time Out NY March 30th issue. Sid Chidiac's "sweet tooth". Interesting and kinda bizarre: http://www.sidchidiac.com/Chocolate.htm
Padang
Has anyone ever been to Padang in Indonesia? The NYTimes describes if as food-crazed, with items like sate padang, tender skewers of beef smothered in a brown sauce laced with 15 spices, and creamy avocado juice spiked with chocolate syrup.
If you live in NY, you can get a preview at Padang Raya or Minangasli on Whitney Ave in North Elmhurst.
The Lemongrass War
By ADAM B. ELLICK
Published: March 5, 2006
If you live in NY, you can get a preview at Padang Raya or Minangasli on Whitney Ave in North Elmhurst.
The Lemongrass War
By ADAM B. ELLICK
Published: March 5, 2006
Truffles Exposed!
The NY Times had an article on March 1st, Cultivating a Mystique by Jane Black, that was my first glimpse of the worlwide truffle market. Did you know:
- One truffle farm in Spain accounts for 15-25% of the global supply of ~35 tons a year?
- 80 to 90 percent of French truffles are now cultivated.
- New Zealand is a big player with about 100 new truffle farms in the last decade. It is home to the most productive truffle farm in the world, with $220,000 worth of truffles (wholesale) an acre.
- Primitive truffle farms began in France almost 150 years ago.
- All you need to make truffles are the right growing conditions, an oak forest, and some truffle spores to infect new saplings? Trees take about 8-10 years to mature before the first crop.
- Even at truffle farms, dogs are used to find truffles, and they are hand dug. This is necessary because the peak of a truffle's ripeness is relatively short.
- Look out for Chinese truffles, Tuber indicum, which look like black truffles, or Tuber melanosporum, but lack their signature aroma and flavor, and sell for a fraction of the price - I am not sure I believe the part about aroma and flavour, and I think this might be China bashing. Do any of you have any experience?
Eat as many truffles as you can. Cheat, and use truffles to get laid. Be critical of chefs that put truffle oil on everything.
- One truffle farm in Spain accounts for 15-25% of the global supply of ~35 tons a year?
- 80 to 90 percent of French truffles are now cultivated.
- New Zealand is a big player with about 100 new truffle farms in the last decade. It is home to the most productive truffle farm in the world, with $220,000 worth of truffles (wholesale) an acre.
- Primitive truffle farms began in France almost 150 years ago.
- All you need to make truffles are the right growing conditions, an oak forest, and some truffle spores to infect new saplings? Trees take about 8-10 years to mature before the first crop.
- Even at truffle farms, dogs are used to find truffles, and they are hand dug. This is necessary because the peak of a truffle's ripeness is relatively short.
- Look out for Chinese truffles, Tuber indicum, which look like black truffles, or Tuber melanosporum, but lack their signature aroma and flavor, and sell for a fraction of the price - I am not sure I believe the part about aroma and flavour, and I think this might be China bashing. Do any of you have any experience?
Eat as many truffles as you can. Cheat, and use truffles to get laid. Be critical of chefs that put truffle oil on everything.
Tropical Winter Feast
Wow. A little bit of luck fishing, Simon, Okasan, Mom, and guests, and we had an easy feast. January on Sugarloaf. Wonderful.
Assorted pickles and vegetables
Rum Drunk Grilled Fennel Shrimp
Mackerel Sashimi
Mackerel Sushi
Grilled Mackerel
Churrasco
Pear Marinated Cocoa Venison Back Strap
Loco Con Los Platanos
We finally have a way to peel green plantains without breaking or dirtying our beautiful long nails. The story of the E-Z Peeler, out today in the New York Times, is anecdotal and worthwhile. I would love to eat so many plantains that I would need one of these. There is also a plantain cookbook that is probably worth investigating.
Thumb-Wrestling With Plantains Is Now an Optional Sport
By AMANDA HESSER
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/01/dining/01peel.html?:/
www.lococonlosplatanos.com
Thumb-Wrestling With Plantains Is Now an Optional Sport
By AMANDA HESSER
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/01/dining/01peel.html?:/
www.lococonlosplatanos.com
Conservation Salmon
Here is a way to get hook and line caught salmon straight from the source. Conservation Salmon is endorsed by Trout Unlimited, whose mission is to conserve, protect and restore North America’s trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds. I volunteer with my local TU group, the Little River Chapter, and I really feel like their contributions are significant.
Here is what they say their goals are:
Goals of Conservation Salmon
To ensure a fair return to salmon fishermen in keeping with "Fair Trade" principles;
To provide a "percent of profits tithe" to selected conservation groups to assist their ongoing efforts to protect salmon habitat;
and
To provide conservation consumers with direct access to the finest, all natural, sustainable food in the world - wild Alaska salmon and seafood.
I can't wait to ask them to send me a whole salmon and some ikura. Check them out, www.ConservationSalmon.com
Here is what they say their goals are:
Goals of Conservation Salmon
To ensure a fair return to salmon fishermen in keeping with "Fair Trade" principles;
To provide a "percent of profits tithe" to selected conservation groups to assist their ongoing efforts to protect salmon habitat;
and
To provide conservation consumers with direct access to the finest, all natural, sustainable food in the world - wild Alaska salmon and seafood.
I can't wait to ask them to send me a whole salmon and some ikura. Check them out, www.ConservationSalmon.com
Barcelona Bravas
Even though they had their share, Shota and Amy missed out on las mejores Patatas Bravas de Barcelona, which I enjoyed during my day trip peregrinaje to the Vilar/Connil home site in the suburb of Sarria. Served with all i oli and salsa picante at the packed bar Tomas de Sarria, we ordered 6 portions to go, and I had eaten two of those portions (huge by European standards) in tie, hot, and walking, even before we had reached the family apartment for a roasted chicken lunch with Montse (Maria de Monteserrat, Maria's Aphrodite eyed mother), husband (Manolo), and wonderful children, Maria and Victor.
All i oli has always amazed me, and Catalunia truly challenges my ideas on the sauce, because good quality hyper thick spoonfuls of it are so easy to find. Good olive oil and good garlic (fresh?) should produce good all i oli, but every time I succeed in persuading the garlic to emulse as it dances with the oil, I find myself with small quantities of success and an overcautious fear of it returning, and leaving me with only the original ingredients. In Barcelona, the all i oli is strong, it is thick, it is white, and it is impossible to ligar after eating it, but it is worth it (as Spanish girls require excessive warming up anyway).
The salsa picante is secondary, and seems to be a cayenne paprika oil mixture identical to that drizzled on pulpo a la Gallega in Barcelona, but it has the benefits of both flavor and looks.
Tomas de Sarria has reached cult status, and the combination of huge turnover, great potatoes (Maria swears this is their secret), all i oli and salsa picante, made my toothpick attack of a plate of fried potatoes experience the perfect thread of a memorable afternoon.
All i oli has always amazed me, and Catalunia truly challenges my ideas on the sauce, because good quality hyper thick spoonfuls of it are so easy to find. Good olive oil and good garlic (fresh?) should produce good all i oli, but every time I succeed in persuading the garlic to emulse as it dances with the oil, I find myself with small quantities of success and an overcautious fear of it returning, and leaving me with only the original ingredients. In Barcelona, the all i oli is strong, it is thick, it is white, and it is impossible to ligar after eating it, but it is worth it (as Spanish girls require excessive warming up anyway).
The salsa picante is secondary, and seems to be a cayenne paprika oil mixture identical to that drizzled on pulpo a la Gallega in Barcelona, but it has the benefits of both flavor and looks.
Tomas de Sarria has reached cult status, and the combination of huge turnover, great potatoes (Maria swears this is their secret), all i oli and salsa picante, made my toothpick attack of a plate of fried potatoes experience the perfect thread of a memorable afternoon.
Venison to NYC
I have to admit I was horribly nervous about sharing the way I had learned to cook venison in Tennessee with my snobby sophisticate gourmet New York friends. Bringing an entire back strap with me from Knoxville (not a tenderloin as I had thought), I was determined to show off and impress. With some fancy unsweetened cocoa from Simon's favorite Jewish market and the perpetual Baleine fine sea salt, I set out to prepare an unforgettable dish. Dressed as a clown (literally), not sober, and surrounded by good friends, I loosened up and just went to it. As I let the meat rest before bringing it to Simon's skilled sashimi slicing hands, I did not know what to expect. What happenned as I passed the sliced thin 4 inch diameter disks of perfectly cooked meat for ninja turtles and ravens and Yosemite Sam to eat should not have surprised me. Simon had prepared a warm space for his friends to enjoy a beautiful beautiful fall day in NY, and this dish was able to complement it. Smiles to laughs to the visceral pleasure of a great bite, I was really happy to be able to share. Great memories of people place and food. Thank you.
Sanguinaccio!
The resident gourmand from Napoli, Marco (student in the same school as me), told me about Sanguinaccio. It's chocolate and pig's blood... can you imagine? And apparently it's absolutely delicious. He was telling me how his mother used to make it often, and as a kid he'd be scared because he'd open the refigerator and there would be a jar of pig's blood in there. But he claims that the taste is divine. Does anyone know more about this, or tried it before?? (p.s. I don't think they make the real ones in the US, and though they've apparently created a version without the blood...)
Esqueixada de Bacalla'
We went to the Set Portes, an old portside restaurant in Barcelona which has opened in 1836. Experience and an old-world decor complete with dusty piano player didn't prevent the place from having awful paella and fideua' (and they were out of my favorite: the arros negre which is the squid's ink paella). But the chilled salad of bean kernels were exquisite and these esqueixada were the best I've ever had. Go there for the appetizers. The salted bacalao (cod) were fresh, fleshy and tangy, and the green pungence of the extra virgin olive oil and the bed of crispy onions were masterful, along with the rosy puree of tomato that topped the affair. Esqueixada (pronounced something like "as-ka-sha-da") is a typical cold tapas of the region which tickles my Japanese sensibility for the half-raw. The actual recipe is here but unfortunately only in Catalan.
Fair trade Coffee!
McDonald's is selling Fairtrade coffee! Monica finally convinced them! Comparatively, I was in a Starbuck's yesterday, and only one of their (many) roasts was Fairtrade. Monica, please keep us updated on how this changes the market!
http://www.just-food.com/news_detail.asp?art=62276&dm=yes
Fairtrade groups have welcomed the announcement by fastfood giant McDonald’s that it is partnering Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to sell Newman's Own Organics Blend coffee in more than 650 McDonald's restaurants in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Albany, NY.
Created exclusively for McDonald's, Newman's Own Organics Blend, made from Fair Trade Certified and organic specialty coffees, will be available as both regular and decaffeinated.
Fairtrade product certifier TransFair said it joined Oxfam America in welcoming the move with the hope that McDonald’s extends the launch to its restaurants across the US.
"This is a great moment for the Fair Trade movement – one that will have an immensely positive impact on Fair Trade farmers and serve as an example for other companies that are still considering whether to respond to consumer demand for Fair Trade products," said Paul Rice, president and CEO of TransFair USA.
"Our hope is that McDonald's will embrace Fair Trade across its entire system and convert all of its US restaurants to Fair Trade in the next year or two."
Rice added: "Companies such as Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Costco and Sam's Club, as well as thousands of smaller independent companies, are selling Fair Trade Certified coffee and McDonald's will help to accelerate the trend."
http://www.just-food.com/news_detail.asp?art=62276&dm=yes
Fairtrade groups have welcomed the announcement by fastfood giant McDonald’s that it is partnering Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to sell Newman's Own Organics Blend coffee in more than 650 McDonald's restaurants in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Albany, NY.
Created exclusively for McDonald's, Newman's Own Organics Blend, made from Fair Trade Certified and organic specialty coffees, will be available as both regular and decaffeinated.
Fairtrade product certifier TransFair said it joined Oxfam America in welcoming the move with the hope that McDonald’s extends the launch to its restaurants across the US.
"This is a great moment for the Fair Trade movement – one that will have an immensely positive impact on Fair Trade farmers and serve as an example for other companies that are still considering whether to respond to consumer demand for Fair Trade products," said Paul Rice, president and CEO of TransFair USA.
"Our hope is that McDonald's will embrace Fair Trade across its entire system and convert all of its US restaurants to Fair Trade in the next year or two."
Rice added: "Companies such as Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Costco and Sam's Club, as well as thousands of smaller independent companies, are selling Fair Trade Certified coffee and McDonald's will help to accelerate the trend."
Huckleberry Trout
This week Patrick and I had the opportunity to fish on Little River in the Smoky Mountains after work, and it was beautiful. We picked a promising stretch of river, and fished together, him on the holes to the right side, I to the left. We caught bunches of fish. I was lucky enough to look up just as he set the hook into a fish upstream of me that turned out to be glorious. I watched him play the fish, and was at his side shortly after he landed it. More than a foot long and stunning, this rainbow trout was a true Smoky Mountain trophy. Unfortunately, the hook had been set deep in the mouth of the fish, and it was bleeding, so Patrick, still a bit traumatized, worked on releasing the hook, as I proceeded to fantasize about how it would end up in my belly. We have caught a couple of hundred trout in the Smokies this year between us, and we have released them all. I even got two whoppers in the hole beneath Patrick's earlier this spring, it could have been one of those fish. This one did not have a very good chance of surviving after a tough hooking, and I do not regret killing this beautiful fish.
A salt and pepper coat later, the fish was grilled until the skin was crispy and the flesh still wet but falling off the bone. I am a sucker for skin, as most of you know from some lechon/salmon "only the skin is important" experiences with me, but the flesh once the skin was pulled away was also divine. Beautiful at every point: alive, dead, gutted, powdered in Korean black pepper and Utah salt (pink and glistening), and presented whole on the plate. What a glorious night.
Note: Those are wild muscadine grapes surrounding the fish. They lined nearly the entire stretch of river and were small tough skinned and heavily seeded, but they had a delicious sweet burst of juice at each pop. Patrick, ceaselessly teasing, called me Huckleberry as I popped grapes while walking streamside with my fishing pole, and found the name for this memorable stretch of river.
the Future of Food
Amazing documentary that wasn't goofy like Michael Moore nor preachy like Catholic homilies. Instead, this movie I brave on a heavily raining school night for a 9:55pm(!) showing at the IFC was brilliant. Director Deborah Garcia, sister of Jerry Garcia (yes, from the Grateful Dead), educated me on GMOs aka Genetically Modified Organisms. The silent havoc on Nature from the likes of agribusinesses likeMonsanto makes one wonder about the state of affairs on our global food system. Gene splitting, patenting of seeds, suicide seeds, and the death of family farms.
http://www.thefutureoffood.com
http://www.thefutureoffood.com
Da Dinners
One thing I'm always impressed by with my colleagues leaving in the countryside chateaux / farmhouses is somehow their ability to conjure themselves from the dark abyss of the perennial MBA hangover and get their act together enough to organize weekly dinners. And when they get their proverbial ass in gear, it's not like we boil up some pasta to some canned ragu for several unexpectant friends. It's a serious affair involving aperitifs and cocktails and little Japanese-style fingerfoods. The fact that some houses get this catered in not withstanding, it's quite and impressive feat to have something like 30 people over for any sort of collective feeding.
Many of the houses do this out of their sheer surplus energy and volition, which I find incredibly admirable. One of the first of these little soiree affairs that I was invited to happened at Le Vivier, a connivingly far-off farmhouse in the netherlands of between Fontainebleau and Paris. Some of the most witty, friendly, and engaging people live in this languid villa, along with what appeared to be a half-dozen chicken. I was fortunate enough to be invited before they got a clue and started getting their dinners catered. We were treated to a full-course with drinks at the bar, dinner, and dessert and digestifs in the smoking room. Whatever a smoking room is. Jessica's albondigas were to die for-- real homemade cooking, the succlent tomato sauce complementing the soft little meat balls. And Veronica brought out the best of her Fordism by a serious mass-production of bright fusilli salad to the tune of being able to save all of Uganda from hunger and starvation-- I mean I wouldn't be surprised if she literally filled the bathtub with hot water and poured the pasta right in to make it. It was a serious amount. I believe that with our collective appetite (of like a dozen people), we managed to consume about a hundredth of the entire amount manufactured-- somehow the demand curve and supply curve were taking a trip to the fifth dimension. This may have caused the abrupt switch to catering, though it's not a bullet-proof theory.
In any case, the company was excellent. I wasn't driving. The food was beautifully if voluminously prepared. It was a wonderful night, and cheers to the entire Le Vivier team for this excellent production.
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