CoolCooksShare

The Goose, the Whole Goose, and Nothing But the Goose

2011-12-07T05:21:00.001-06:00

The Goose, the Whole Goose, and Nothing But the Goose

Wiehnachtsgans (Viennese Christmas Goose)

SchiltzFoods, Inc. is America's largest goose farm. Established in 1944, Schiltz geeseare raised free range in the natural rhythm of the geese. If you have never experienceda roasted goose you are in for a treat.

Weihnachtsgans(Viennese Christmas Goose)

The Goose:

Preheat ovento 425 degrees. Trim off goose wing tips, put into a small pot, and set aside.Prick skin all over with the tip of a paring knife. Rub bird, inside and out,with marjoram, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Stud apples and onions withcloves, and then stuff into cavity of bird. Tie legs together with kitchentwine. Heat oil in a large heavy roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add gooseand cook until browned all over, about 15 minutes. Set goose aside. Drain offfat from pan into a medium bowl and set aside. Return pan to medium-high heat.Add wine and 1 cup water and cook, scraping browned its stuck to bottom of panwith a wooden spoon, for 2 minutes. Transfer goose, breast side up, to pan androast until skin begins to get crisp, 35-45 minutes. Siphon off fat in pan witha bulb baster (add it to bowl with fat), leaving any pan juices in pan. Reduceoven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting goose until juices runclear when pricked and skin is brown and crisp, 35-50 minutes more, siphoningoff fat from pan once or twice as it roasts. Meanwhile, add stock to pot withwing tips and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes. Strain stock, discardingsolids, and set aside.

The Apples:

Soak raisinsin rum in a small bowl until plump, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Core apples, leaving bottoms intact, and put into a medium baking dish, holeside up. Drain raisins, then stuff into apple cavities and top each with apiece of butter. Add 1 cup water to dish, cover with foil, and bake untilapples are soft but still intact, 45-50 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 200degrees and keep apples warm in oven.

TheDumplings:

Put potatoesinto a large pot of salted water and boil over medium-high heat until soft,25-30 minutes. Drain and set aside to let rest until just cool enough tohandle. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil overhigh heat. Peel potatoes, then press through a potato ricer onto a cleansurface. Gather potatoes while still warm into a mound and make a well in thecenter. Add 2 cups of the flour, eggs, butter, and 1 tbsp salt to well andgently knead bread dough until smooth, adding up to 4 tbsp more flour if doughis too tacky. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Lightly flour your hands androll each piece of dough into a ball. Working in 2 batches, add dough balls topot of water, reduce heat to medium, and gently simmer, stirring occasionally,until dumplings float and are cooked through 20-25 minutes. Transfer with aslotted spoon to a warm plate, cover with foil, and keep warm in oven withapples.

The Cabbage:

Heat 3 tbspof the reserved goose fat (save remaining fat for another use) in a medium potover medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until soft 4-5minutes. Add cabbage and apples and cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in wine, orangejuice, cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt and pepper totaste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirringoccasionally until cabbage is very soft, 35-45 minutes. Keep warm over lowestheat.

TheChestnuts

Melt butterin a large skillet over medium heat. Add chestnuts and cook until heatedthrough, 2-3 minutes. Add cream and honey and cook, stirring occasionally,until sauce is thick and chestnuts are glazed, 4-5 minutes. Cover skillet andkeep warm over lowest heat.

To Complete

Discardkitchen twine and apples and onions from cavity of goose. Put goose on a largeserving platter and allow to rest 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, drain fat from pan,then set pan on top of stove and heat over medium-high heat. Add reservedstock, scraping browned bits stuck to bottom of pan, and boil until reduced byone-quarter, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, thenstrain gravy into a warm gravy boat.

To serve:

Fill goosecavity with warm chestnuts. Put cabbage next to goose on platter. Arrangeapples and dumplings around goose. Moisten goose and cabbage with some of thegravy. Garnish dumplings with parsley. Serve gravy on the side.

Graupensuppe (German Barley Soup)

2011-11-28T04:19:00.001-06:00

Graupensuppe (German Barley Soup)

Fall is soup time and nothing quitehits the spot like a hardy barley soup. In Germany barley soup is an "Eintopf"- a one-pot meal. It uses the classic "Suppengrün" mixture (mirepoix)of leek, celery root and carrot, plus potatoes and bacon for substance. Thisrecipe is adapted from Klaus Weiler, the chef at Weinhaus Weiler in Oberwesel,Germany. It appeared in the Saveur November 2011 issue on The Art of Soup.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoonsunsalted butter
1 medium yellowonion, finely chopped
1 cup pearl barley

8 cupsvegetable or chicken stock

½ cupwhite wine
½ cup finelychopped peeled russet potato
½ cup finelychopped carrot
½ cup finelychopped celery root
½ cup finelychopped leek

2 cups choppedSwiss chard

1 cupsliced button mushrooms
1 bay leaf

1 tsp.dried marjoram
2 German sausages,like bockwurst or bratwurst
Freshly gratednutmeg, to taste
Kosher salt andfreshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup thinly slicedflat-leaf parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat butter in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium-highheat; add onion, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add barley,and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Add stock, potato,carrot, celery root, leek, marjoram, Swiss chard, button mushrooms, bay leaf,whole sausages, and bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sausages aretender, about 35 minutes. Remove sausages and bacon from saucepan, thinly slicesausages, and discard bacon. Season soup with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Toserve, ladle soup into 8 serving bowls, and garnish with parsley and slicedsausage.

Try to find ‘real’ German sausages – bockwurst orbratwurst – freshly made. The 100-year-entombed, cryrovac-packed silicon casingtubes offered in supermarkets just don’t make the cut. You should be able toeasily ‘tear’ the sausage into chunks.

Kids should know where real food comes from

2011-11-06T06:28:00.003-06:00

Basque Roasted Pepper Soup

2011-08-21T05:44:00.000-05:00

piment d’Espelette

Basque Roasted Pepper Soup

This sweet, smoky pepper soup was adapted from “The Basque Kitchen” by Gerald Hirigoyen. His restaurant in San Francisco is a rustic joy. The inspiration came from our Backroads.com, Pays Basque, Rustic Inns hiking trip to Spain and France in 2005. In my considered opinion this beautiful hike through the provinces of Pays Basque in the Pyrenees Mountains is one of the great culinary experiences in the world.

The Basques would use their famous piment d’Espelette (peppers) for this soup - the entire town of Espelette turns red with garlands of these smoky red peppers when hung out to dry each summer. I have found that pimento peppers, New Mexico peppers or any pungent small red pepper works just as well. The Basques grind their dried peppers into a sweet powder that you can order on line. In this recipe I used Aleppo ground chili pepper. The wonderful result is a soup that can be served either hot or cold.

4 pimento peppers (medium size), roasted, peeled, deseeded and chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, roasted, seeded, skinned and chopped

2 banana peppers, roasted, peeled, deseeded and chopped

½ Vidalia onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

½ cup of olive oil

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 tablespoon crushed Aleppo chili pepper (or any crushed red pepper)

1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)

1 32-ounce container of organic chicken stock

1 tablespoon Kosher salt

ground black pepper to taste

assorted fresh herbs, chopped finely

sour cream or Greek yogurt, garnish

chives, chopped for garnish

Preparation: Roast the peppers in a 375-degree oven for 30 minutes or until just charred – reserve to cool. In a stockpot sauté in olive oil the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until soft. Add the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes and potatoes and bring to a simmer. When the peppers are cool, remove their skins and deseed – chop and add to the soup. Add the pepper flakes, salt, ground black pepper and chopped herbs. Bring to a quick boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. When the soup has cooled use a blender to puree the soup in batches.

Presentation: If serving the soup hot, return the soup to the burner and heat for serving. Garnish with a tablespoon of sour cream or Greek yogurt and chopped chives. If serving cold put the soup in the refrigerator for at least three hours and present the same way.

2011-08-16T07:52:00.002-05:00

Eating Well Inexpensively

One of the myths of healthy whole foods is that they are expensive. I take issue with this and present this recipe as a case in point.

Constructed Chicken & Baby Potato Salad – Two servings

Ingredients.

½ Cooked chicken breast, cut into quarter-inch slices [Buy an organic roasting chicken two-pack at Costco for $9.99 – ½ chicken breast equals $2.50]

2 Fresh farm eggs, hard boiled, shelled and split in two [I buy a dozen farmers eggs a week at the Farmers Market for $6.00 a dozen - $1.00 for two eggs]

1 Bunch farmers market red lettuce [$ .50].

10 Baby organic potatoes, boiled [$1.50]

½ Vidalia onion, sliced thin [$ .50]

Herbs to taste.

Salt and pepper to taste.

2 Tablespoons butter [$ .25].

Total entrée cost - $3.12 per person.

Preparation.

Roast your chicken as you prefer and bring to room temperature or reserve in the refrigerator. Boil the baby potatoes until tender, bring to room temperature and toss with half the butter, herbs and salt and pepper. Sauté the sliced onion in half the butter until just lightly browned. Add to the potatoes and toss.

Presentation.

On two salad dishes arrange the lettuce on half of each plate. Display the sliced chicken across the lettuce. Spoon the potatoes and onions on the other side of each dish. Place the egg haves in between. Sprinkle chopped herbs on top. Salt and pepper to your taste. Lightly splash with a simple vinaigrette and serve.

2011-08-10T08:50:00.002-05:00

The Government Knew About Bacteria in Turkey

Find a butcher you trust and grind your own meat. Factory meat contains flesh from hundreds of animal or birds, increasing the odds of contamination.

2011-08-01T06:26:00.006-05:00

Golden Corn Cakes

These light and succulent fresh corn cakes are adapted from the recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi, a chef with four cafés in London, and Nopi in Soho NYC - http://www.nopi-restaurant.com/ - Yotam celebrates Middle Eastern flavors and vegetarian virtues. These corn cakes are light, crunchy and flavorful and accent the best of fresh summer corn from your roadside stand.

Corn Cakes

½ cup quick-cook polenta or fine-ground cornmeal

1 ¾ cups corn kernels, cut from 1-2 ears of corn, blanched in boiling water for 1 minute

1 small shallot, diced fine – about 3 tablespoons

½ cup chopped red pepper

½ jalapeño, seeds and membrane removed (more if you like heat)

½ teaspoon cumin seeds, roughly smashed

¾ teaspoon salt, plus extra for seasoning at the end

¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus extra for seasoning at the end

¾ cup Greek yogurt

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for frying

3 eggs, separated

Cilantro Salad

4 cups arugula

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ - 1 cup cilantro leaves
olive oil to taste

Garnish

Sour cream

Preparation: (1) In a large bowl mix the corn meal, corn, shallots, jalapeño, cumin, salt and pepper. Add yogurt, 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil and one egg yolk (reserve the other two yolks for another use). Mix well with a fork. It will form a fairly thick paste. (2) In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Carefully fold the whites into the corn paste in two stages. This will change the consistency to a batter. Let rest for 5 minutes. (3) Make the dressing by whisking 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil with lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. (4) Set a large nonstick frying pan on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Pour in 1 teaspoon olive oil. When hot, spoon 2 tablespoons of batter per cake until the pan is full. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until they are golden. Flip and cook 1 minute. Transfer to a paper-lined tray. (5) Toss the cilantro and arugula. Add the dressing and toss again and season.

Presentation: Serve the corn cakes with a dollop of sour cream and the salad on the side. We served this with an heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad with basil vinaigrette, along with a crisp Italian white wine - Italian Gavi, Mosby Cortese.

Bacon-Wrapped Smoked Trout With Tarragon

2011-07-24T07:31:00.001-05:00

Just the Way Hemingway Cooked His Trout (but in a fry pan on a fire and absent the smoker)

Bacon-Wrapped Smoked Trout With Tarragon

Saveur magazine, BBQ Nations, issue 139

12 slices bacon

2 whole rainbow trout (about 1 lb. each), cleaned

2 tbsp. olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

6 sprigs tarragon

1. Heat oven to 375°. Place bacon on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until half-cooked, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool. Brush inside and outside of each trout with 1 tbsp. oil, season with salt and pepper, and stuff with 3 sprigs tarragon each; set aside. Arrange 6 bacon slices, overlapping slightly, on a cutting board parallel to you. Place I trout over middle of bacon perpendicular to you, and wrap trout in bacon, arranging it seam side down on the rack of a stove-top smoker (see link for instructions). Repeat with remaining bacon and trout.

2. Prepare stove-top smoker according to manufacturer's instructions, using apple or pecan wood shavings (see Fuel and Flavor); place rack with trout inside. Smoke until fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Heat broiler to high and arrange a rack 4″ from broiler element. Transfer trout on smoker rack to a baking sheet and place under broiler; cook until bacon is crisp, about 2 minutes.

2011-07-18T06:08:00.000-05:00

Zucchini Vichyssoise

This delicious cold soup is adapted from Ina Garten’s “Barefoot in Paris” (2004). To build this soup I used organic zucchini, potatoes, spring onions, and banana peppers from the organic farmers market in Evanston, IL, and fresh herbs from my herb garden.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 white skinned potatoes, skins on, chopped

6 small zucchini, trimmed, skins on, chopped

2 white spring onions, chopped

1 banana pepper, cored, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced

6 cups water, chicken stock, or vegetable stock as you wish

1 cup cream

1 tablespoon chives, chopped for garnish

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper to taste

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Heat the butter and oil in a large stockpot; add the onions and banana pepper and sauté over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, zucchini, vegetable stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Allow to cool and then pass the mixture through a food mill, or mix in batches in a blender. Add the cream and season to taste.

You can serve this either hot or cold, but I prefer serving it as a vichyssoise with a splash of fresh lemon juice and scattering of chives and freshly ground black pepper just before serving.

2011-06-13T07:15:00.002-05:00

Steamed Golden Beets, Fresh Garlic & Cherry Tomatoes

Serves 4

There are those who do not love beets and I plead guilty. But over time I have found certain recipes that bring out the earthy tones of beets in a pleasing way. This dish is entirely dependent upon the quality of its ingredients – I recommend a visit to a local farmers market for organic vegetables as a prerequisite.

4-6 medium or small golden beets, cleaned and sliced thinly

2 heads of fresh garlic, thinly sliced

12 red cherry tomatoes cut in half

12 yellow cherry tomatoes cut in half

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation: Clean and thinly slice the golden beets and garlic. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Prepare a bamboo steaming basket or similar steamer and put the beet and garlic tops in the water along with a lemon peel. Steam the beets, garlic and tomatoes for about five minutes, or just until the beets are still crunchy. Put the vegetables into a mixing bowl and combine with the butter, dill, sea salt and ground pepper. Toss briefly and serve.

Presentation: I presented this dish in a constructed salad of fresh spinach served with a poached egg and prosciutto, black olives and shavings of Spanish Manchego cheese with a vinaigrette dressing.

Richard Wottrich

Slow Roasted Glazed Salmon

2011-05-26T18:20:00.002-05:00

Slow Roasted Glazed Salmon

Serves 4

Over the years I have cooked Salmon every which way – grilled, slow roasted, sashimi, blackened, poached, steamed, cold cured – you name it. But my two favorites are slow roasted Salmon and glazed Salmon. The problem combining the two is how to achieve a perfect crunchy glaze without drying out the top layer of the fish. This recipe perfectly solves this riddle and produces an amazing Slow Roasted Glazed Salmon dish. [Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated]

4 center-cut Salmon fillets of equal thickness (6 to 8 ounces each)

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon corn starch

Ground black pepper

1 teaspoon vegetable oil teaspoons fleur de sel

1 recipe glaze (see following recipes)

Adjust your oven rack to the middle and heat to 325 degrees. Combine the brown sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Pat the Salmon dry with paper towels and make sure all scales and bones are removed. Season with ground pepper. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the flesh side of each filet and rub to evenly distribute.

Heat oil in a 12-icnh cast iron fry pan or oven safe nonstick skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Place the Salmon, flesh side down, in the pan and cook until well browned – 1 minute. The brown sugar will form a perfect crunchy glaze and the corn starch will make it adhere to the surface and “grab” the glaze. Using tongs carefully flip the Salmon and cook on the skin side another 1 minute.

Remove the skillet from the heat and spoon the glaze over the flesh side of each fillet. Use a butter knife to smooth the glaze to a thin layer – too thick is too much. Put the skillet in the heated oven and roast until you achieve the desired consistency. I like to Salmon just done, melt in your mouth – which for a 1-inch-thick filet takes about seven minutes.

For the glaze whisk ingredients in a small pan. Bring to a quick boil and then simmer until thickened – about 1-3 minutes.

Soy Mustard Glaze

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Dash of red pepper flakes to your taste

Pomegranate-Balsamic Glaze

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

3 tablespoons pomegranate juice

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Dash of red pepper flakes to your taste

Asian Barbeque Glaze

2 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (Chinese dipping sauce)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons Asian chili-garlic sauce

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Orange Miso Glaze

¼ cup juice + 1 teaspoon finely grated zest from two oranges

2 tablespoons white miso

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

¾ teaspoon cornstarch

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Richard Wottrich

2011-05-26T08:06:00.001-05:00

The Myth of Killer Mercury
May 25th, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

Facts are stubborn things - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703421204576329420414284558.html?KEYWORDS=mercury

2011-05-20T06:46:00.002-05:00

New Food Site - Gilt Taste

http://www.gilttaste.com/

2011-05-15T07:48:00.000-05:00

China gives press more freedom - for food safety

May 15, 2011, Chicago USA

China has been coping with enormous food chain safety issues that have caused an historic shift in freedom of the press. In short, Chinese leaders are relaxing press restraints on social criticism to encourage the uncovering of food chain fraud.

Go to: http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20110515/API/1105150565

rlw

2011-05-01T05:13:00.003-05:00

Panko Sesame Seed-crusted Halibut

Serves 4 as a main course

Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders (Pleuronectidae). Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly (holy) and butt (flat fish), for its popularity on Catholic holy days. Halibut live in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans.

According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, most Atlantic flatfish such as halibut and sole have been overfished and are ranked "Avoid." One exception is summer flounder, a species that’s recovering and is a “Good Alternative.” This should be labeled “Pacific Halibut” or “Alaskan Halibut.”

4 6-ounce Halibut filets, skinless

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons Herbs de Provence (oregano, thyme, savory or as you wish)

2 cups Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 heavy cast iron fry pan

Preparation: Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Prepare three large shallow bowls. In the first put two beaten eggs. In the second mix the flour, Herbs de Provence, salt and pepper. In the third mix the Panko and sesame seeds. Take four Halibut filets and pat them dry. Take each filet and coat with the eggs, then dredge in the flour mixture, finally roll in the Panko and sesame seeds until evenly coated. Set aside on a large dish for five minutes. Put the olive oil and butter into the cast iron pan and bring to very high heat (just smoking). Place the four filets in the pan and cook two to three minutes a side. When you flip them they should be golden brown. Place the fish in the pan in the oven to finish. Depending upon the thickness of the filets (one half to one inch) this should take between three and five minutes. Remove the sizzling filets from the oven and serve immediately.

This fantastic nutty crusted Halibut can quite literally be paired with anything. I presented the Halibut with an English pea and white button mushroom risotto and a Pinot gris.

2011-04-24T09:51:00.013-05:00

Pork Sausages, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany (Photo:RLW)

Rillettes

Rillettes are an ancient preparation that relies on fat content to preserve and flavor. Similar to pâté, rillettes are usually made with pork. The meat is cubed or chopped, salted heavily and cooked slowly in fat until it is tender enough to be easily shredded, and then cooled with enough of the fat to form a paste. In this form it will keep for up to a month. Rillettes are usually spread on bread or toast and served at room temperature.

Rillettes are also made with other meats: goose, duck, chicken, game birds, rabbit, and sometimes with fish such as anchovies, tuna or salmon.

I think it important to consider why certain religions such as Judaism and Islam forbid the eating of pork. Through the centuries religions have codified dietary constraints to protect the health of their supplicants. Prior to refrigeration meat went bad quite quickly in warmer climates. Butchery determined over time that the bleeding of the slaughtered animal removes a possible source of contamination of the meat and would aid in the cooling of the carcass.
The anatomy of a pig however makes this practice difficult if not impossible. Pork is also a meat that is difficult to determine whether it has gone bad, hence over time Islam and Judaism forbad eating meat of the “cloven footed.”

Does this prohibition make sense in the modern world of refrigeration and safe food preparation? That alas is a personal decision.

2 pounds pork belly, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 pound pork shoulder, cut into 2-icnh cubes

4 cups water

1 bouquet garni [1]

1 tablespoon salt

pinch of black pepper

1 pound pork fat, cut into thin slices

Put the pork belly and shoulder in a heavy bottomed pot. Add the water and bouquet garni and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally. After 6 hours, stir in the salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Discard the bouquet garni.

Once the meat is cool enough to handle, transfer to a mixing bowl and, using a fork, shred the meat. Preserve its natural fibers – do not turn it into mush.

Divide the mixture into several small containers. Top each portion with a slice or two of pork fat to completely cover it. Fold the fat gently into each container and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let these sit in the refrigerator for three days.

Scoop out the rillettes and shape as you like (with a metal ring or cookie form). Garnish with toasted baguette slices and Cornichons. Be generous with ground pepper. Properly covered, rillettes will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Enjoy!

Richard Wottrich

[1] Bouquet Garni – 1 sprig of flat parsley, 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, and 1 bay leaf, tied together with storing and used as a flavoring. Tying the bundle in cheesecloth makes it easier to retrieve from the pot.

2011-04-18T06:08:00.000-05:00

Beef Tartare with Curry Vinaigrette

This unusual take on Steak Tartare is courtesy of Philippe Conticini, who was the chef and pastry chef for Petrossian Boutique and Café in both New York City and Paris. More recently he has opened La Pâtisserie des Rêves at 93, rue du Bac, Paris. The unexpected here is the addition of honey, which is a stroke of genius.

1 pound beef filet, finely chopped

5 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 tablespoons plus ½ cup hazelnut oil

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons fleur de sel

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons of caviar

finely crushed hazelnuts

In a bowl combine the beef, 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds, 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil, balsamic vinegar, and 1 teaspoon fleur de sel. Mix well.

Whisk together the curry powder, honey, lemon juice, remaining 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, remaining 1/2 cup hazelnut oil, and 1 tablespoon caviar.

Fill 24 tablespoons halfway with beef tartare. Sprinkle with curry vinaigrette, remaining 1 teaspoon fleur de sel, and crushed hazelnuts. Dab with remaining caviar. Arrange on a platter.

2011-04-15T17:40:00.000-05:00

World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards Draw Star Chefs to London: Richard Vines

Bloomberg, April 15, 2011

2011-03-10T08:47:00.006-06:00

Rue Poncelet Market, Paris (Photo:RLW)

Antioxidant Bombs

The super antioxidant foods such as berries, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli and grapes carry most of their punch in the skins - that's why we benefit because we eat their skins. But the same things are true of oranges, lemons, limes, tangerines, bananas and so on. Their skins are loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants are always closest to the sun or earth, defending the plant against attack.

Try making an antioxidant bomb Smoothie by throwing whole fruit into the blender in chunks - cleaned of course and stems removed, but throw in the entire banana and orange and so on. The results are truly delicious and you can almost feel the health benefits when you drink one.

Try it - You’ll be surprised.

1/4 - orange, skin and all

1/2 - banana, peel and all

1/2 – cup blueberries

1/2 – cup chopped strawberries

1 - thin slice lemon, skin and all

1 - thin slice of lime, skin and all

2 - cups fruit juice (I use Sonda juices such as Peach & Carrot, or Pineapple & Carrot)

Blend at high speed until smooth, pour and enjoy!

Richard Wottrich

2011-03-07T15:33:00.000-06:00

The New York Times, March 7th, 2011

Thomas Keller will join Julia Child and Alice Waters as the only Americans in the food field to be named Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. He is being granted the distinction for his work in promoting French cuisine in America.

2011-03-06T05:57:00.014-06:00

Tuscany near Siena (Photo:RLW)

Pasta alla Carbonara

Sizzling bacon, wine, cream, eggs, black pepper and pasta – we’re in heaven! Pasta alla Carbonara was perhaps first brought home to America by our soldiers fighting in Italy in WWII. Many know it as a typical Roman dish, but the name purportedly comes from the Appenine mountains of Abruzzo by woodcutters who made charcoal for fuel. Literally, “in the manner of the coal miners” (Carbonara and carbone, the Italian word for coal, both derive from the Latin word carbo.), its preparation in Italy creates “just enough” sauce.

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 ounces pancetta or slab bacon, diced

1 teaspoon diced garlic

2 tablespoons white wine

1/2 cup cream

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more as you wish

1 pound fresh linguine, spaghetti, or even penne as you wish (fresh is best)

1 cup grated Pecorino Romano

2 eggs, separated

red pepper flakes to your tatse (optional)

Directions

Put the water in a large pasta pot, add salt, and bring it to a boil over medium heat.

Add the oil and pancetta to a large sauté pan over low heat. Cook the pancetta until crisp, being careful not to burn it, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 5 seconds. Add the wine, cream and black pepper. Cook until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Drop the fresh pasta into water and stir to separate strands. When pasta is just undercooked remove it from the water and add it to the pan with the sauce. Gently stir for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, add 1/2 the cheese and the egg white and stir, being careful not to break the noodles. Add the egg yolk and lightly toss. Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl or platter and garnish with the remaining cheese. Enjoy.

Richard Wottrich

2011-03-05T14:23:00.002-06:00

The Odd Couple

Bourdain and Ripert at Symphony Hall - Boston

2011-03-04T04:48:00.000-06:00

America's Largest Cookbook Collection: New York University's Fales Library Food Studies Collection

2011-02-27T17:05:00.001-06:00

Fried Rice

Growing up Chinese fried rice has always been a comfort food for me. Fried rice is considered a snack food by the Chinese and it is never served as a main course, but Americans feel differently. Making it yourself at home is not difficult if you follow a few basic techniques. First of all you do need a wok and always use your largest stove burner for high heat. Second, you must use cold cooked rice, so plan ahead. Third, a 50/50 blend of white and brown rice works the best. Rinse the rice first and allow it to sit in a colander for 30 minutes prior to cooking. Fourth, cook whatever fish, meat or poultry you want to add to the dish first and then thinly slice it. And finally it is best to first parboil all the vegetables you plan on adding in a big pot of salted boiling water. As soon as they are just flash boiled, turn off the heat and hold until ready to drain and add to the stir fry. Variations are endless and actual preparation time is quick – so enjoy.

Whisk briskly:

4 eggs

½ teaspoon of salt

Heat your wok over medium heat until it evaporates a drop of water on contact. Pour in and tilt the wok to coat:

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (canola)

Heat until very hot. Add the eggs all at once and as they bubble around the edges, push them to the center, tilting the wok to cook the eggs evenly. Break the cooked eggs into clumps. When the eggs are set remove them to a bowl. Pour into the hot wok and heat until hot:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Add to the wok:

1 cup thin sliced spring onions or scallions, equal parts green and white

Toss for one minute and then add all together:

4 cups cold cooked rice

1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger

Cook the rice for three minutes, tossing all the time to coat all rice grains with the hot oil. Then add and toss:

Cooked sliced fish, meat or poultry as you wish

Par-boiled thinly sliced vegetables (carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, French beans, as you wish)

Button mushrooms or sliced shitake mushrooms

1 small can drained bamboo shoots

1 small can drained water chestnuts

Add soy sauce and drizzle with sesame oil and a splash of rice wine or rice vinegar to your taste. Toss the fried rice to mix thoroughly and serve immediately.

2011-02-22T07:34:00.003-06:00

BASF Million-Bottle Wine Cellar, Mannheim, Germany

Top Wines of the Year

Wine Spectator magazine's new issue of the top 100 wines of the year has several surprises. This is the best of times for fine wine from the world over. My three rules for drinking wine are:

Drink what you enjoy.
Cook with the wine you drink.
Keep the value of the wine proportional to the value of the dinner.

My own rule of thumb is to drink any wine rated 90 or higher that I enjoy that costs $20 or less. Rated at number 7 on this year's Wine Spectator list is a beautiful Australian wine, Schild Shiraz Barossa 2008, rated 94, cost $20. Who could live better than this!

Richard Wottrich

2011-02-12T13:18:00.005-06:00

Lionfish with Fregola Sarda, Lambrusco, Guanciale

January 30 2011 marked my first encounter with Slow Food Charleston. I was fortunate to have my experience to include a dinner at Trattoria Lucca who is owned by Ken Vedrinski. Chef Ken Vedrinski established himself in the early 1990s as an advocate for farm fresh ingredients heading up the kitchen of the acclaimed Opus Restaurant in the former Swissôtel Atlanta. He went on to garner the only Mobile Five-Star ranking awarded to a South Carolina restaurant at the Dining Room at Woodlands Inn. With the opening of hisTrattoria Lucca, Vedrinski, who learned to cook at the side of his Italian grandmother, has brought his culinary journey full circle.

Lucca - named for the town in Western Tuscany that produces his favorite olive oil - is a tribute to Vedrinski's Italian heritage. A semi-finalist for "Best New Restaurant" in the 2009 James Beard Awards, its menu showcases Lowcountry staples, particularly freshly-netted fish and local produce.

Recently, Slow Food Charleston asked Vedrinski to help raise awareness of the predatory lionfish now patrolling the waters of the East Coast, and he was completely on board.

"I'd just read an article about the lionfish," says Vedrinski. "They eat everything, and are threatening to wipe out the natural species unique to South Carolina."

Vedrinski also read that the lionfish is delicious, and that the best strategy for controlling it is increased consumption, so he's teamed up with guest chefs Mike Lata of FIG and Celina Tio of Julian to prepare a four-course dinner to support this sustainable initiative. The lionfish was the centerpiece of the January 30 event, "Eat the Lionfish", as well as a new dish on Lucca's menu. Local lionfish hunter (and Lucca lionfish supplier) Vic Depuis will gave an excellent presentation on the habitat + history of these voracious fishes.

Ken Vedrinski's Lionfish
Lionfish with Fregola Sarda , Lambrusco , Guanciale

Four 6-oz Lionfish filets
1 cup all-purpose flour
8 oz Fregola (large cous cous)
1 btl Lambrusco
4 oz Guanciale, cooked & chopped
1 qt chicken stock
2 shallots, finely minced
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 small carrot, diced
1 fresh bay leaf
1/3 cup olive oil
1 beet, peeled & chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Saute shallots, garlic, and carrot in olive oil till soft. Add Fregola, Lambrusco, beets and bay leaf, and simmer until wine is almost gone. Add chicken stock and cook until Fregola is al dente. Remove beet pieces. Add salt to taste. Keep warm. Put Guanciale crust thinly on top of fish and bake at 350 for 6 to 8 minutes. Serve over Fregola.

Recipe courtesy of Slow Food Charleston + Ken Vedrinski of Trattatoria Lucca, Charleston SC - Maggie

2011-02-10T11:41:00.009-06:00

Twelve Cookbooks to Live With

If cooking for those you love is part of the fabric your life, then the cookbooks one relies upon become the catalysts for that love. They count. This is not my life list, or top list, but rather is where I go when seeking inspiration or information when cooking. It will change from time to time, as I explore different cuisines and depending upon the season. Enjoy!

Title	Author	Year & Publisher	Comment
Craig Claiborne’s Memorable Meals	Craig Claiborne	E.P. Dutton, 1985	Elegantly simple menus across multiple cuisines
Heartland	Marcia Adams	Clarkson Potter, 1991	To quote Clementine Paddleford, this is “How America Eats”
Jamie’s Kitchen	Jamie Oliver	Hyperion, 2002	Youth will be served
Japanese Cooking, A Simple Art	Shizuo Tsuji, forward by M.F.K. Fisher	Kodansho International, 1980	You cannot ignore Japanese cuisine, if only for an occasional stir-fry
Joy of Cooking	Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer, Ethan Becker		The font of knowledge to answer questions or check a basic recipe
Kitchen of Light	Andreas Viestad	Artisan, 2003	New Scandinavian cooking for my Norwegian
Les Halles Cookbook	Anthony Bourdain	Broomsbury, 2004	Hands down the best French bistro cookbook ever!
Marcella Cucina	Marcella Hazan	Harper Collins, 1997	Authentic and heartfelt regional Italian cooking
Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen	Rick Bayless	Scribner, 1996	The primal source for fantastic Mexican sauces
Simple French Food	Richard Olney, Introduction by Patricia Wells, Forward by James Beard	MacMillan, 1974	Pure country French cooking combined with fascinating insights
The Paris Cookbook	Patricia Wells, Ina Garten's muse	Harper Collins, 2001	Ah Paris! Need I say more?
The Splendid Grain	Rebecca Wood	William Morrow, 1997	Read and learn and enjoy

I own over 350 cookbooks and they come and go from my kitchen. As I explore different cuisines, such as Chinese or German, my list will change. But in the end the books above can and will inspire you and bring smiles to those you love.

Richard Wottrich

2011-02-05T08:06:00.004-06:00

Swiss chard, Cannellini Bean, Mushroom and Barley Soup

We just had the 3^rd largest snowfall in Chicago history with over 20-inches on the ground, howling 70-mph winds and temperatures near zero. I have a chicken with herbs roasting in the oven and bourbon on the rocks with a twist in my hand. What could be better than making a Marcella Hazan classic Italian soup? Hazan was born in 1924 in the village of Cesenatico in Emilia-Romagnaand and her recipes have the ring of authenticity. Mario Batali can deliver the panache of Italy across his legions of restaurants, but if you are cooking at home you want Marcella.

I adapted this recipe from her “Marcella Cucina” cookbook published in 1997. This soup comes from the Trentino and Friuli northern regions of Italy. I have returned to this book many times over the years and it never fails to deliver.

As always your ingredients should be at peak. Don’t try this unless your Swiss chard is exceptional. In the winter I take a tip from Batali and use canned San Marzano whole plum tomatoes. Their flavor cannot be equaled. Crush them in a bowl yourself. Cremini mushrooms work best here I find. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound Swiss chard

¼ cup olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

½ cup finely chopped celery

½ cup finely chopped carrot

1 28-ounce can of San Marzano whole plum tomatoes, crushed

1 cup orzo (pearl barley)

2 8.5-ounce cans of cannellini beans, drained (substitute Great Northern white or cranberry beans)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon apple vinegar

1 pound Cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 cup Friuli white wine

1 cup good chicken stock

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

water as required

salt to taste

black pepper ground fresh

freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for the table

toasted bread slices

Directions:

1. Soak the chard in cold water for ten minutes, drain and wash several times. If there are broad stalks, detach them and dice into small pieces. Cut the leaves in narrow strips about ¼-inch wide. 2. Put the olive oil in your stock pot and sauté the onions at medium heat until they turn golden. Add the carrots and celery and cook for another 6 to 7 minutes. Garlic is optional. Stir occasionally. 3. Put the crushed tomatoes into the pot and stir. After roughly 6 minutes add the chard stalks and leaves and some salt. Mix well, turn the heat down to low and cover the pot. 4. Put 4 to 5 cups of water in another pot and bring to a boil. Put in the barley and cook at a steady simmer for 40 minutes. Slightly under cook the barley so it is a bit chewy. Drain the barley into a small bowl and keep the water. 5. Taste the chard stalks and leaves. When tender add the white wine, chicken stock, barley, sliced mushrooms and drained beans and stir gently. 6. Add the barley water to achieve the soup consistency that you enjoy. This soup is meant to be somewhat thick. Add the thyme and salt and pepper to your taste. I usually bring the soup to a quick boil and then turn the heat off until serving. 7. Serve with toasted bread and Parmesan cheese at the table and of course the rest of the Friuli wine.

Richard Wottrich

2011-01-18T07:32:00.000-06:00

The New York Times International - January 18, 2011

North African Seasoning For Top French Kitchens

Alain Ducasse, chef and patron of a world class restaurant empire, has reached out to help 15 North African women, born in the Paris urban neighborhoods, to become chefs.

Richard Wottrich

2011-01-16T14:58:00.002-06:00

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts, Shallots and Water Chestnuts

The Brussels sprout is a cultivar group of wild cabbage grown for its small, leafy green buds. Forerunners to modern Brussels sprouts were likely cultivated in ancient Rome. Brussels sprouts as we now know them were grown possibly as early as the 13th century in what is now Belgium. Production of Brussels sprouts in the United States began around 1800, when French settlers brought them to Louisiana.

Brussels sprouts, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane, a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties. Although boiling reduces the level of the anti-cancer compounds, steaming, microwaving, and stir frying does not result in significant loss. Brussels sprouts and other brassicas are also a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells.

1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise

2 small shallots, trimmed, peeled and sliced

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1/2 juice from one half orange

Kosher salt to taste

Ground white pepper to taste

Preparation: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar. Blanch the Brussels sprouts for four minutes until they turn bright green and are just tender. Drain and shock briefly with cold water to arrest cooking. In a fry pan heat the peanut oil and sauté the shallots for three minutes. Add the water chestnuts and sauté until they just start to brown. Deglaze the pan with the remaining sherry vinegar and orange juice for one minute. Add the Brussels Sprouts and seasoned rice vinegar and sauté until hot, about two minutes.

Presentation: Serve immediately with snowy white rice and another Chinese dish of your choice. We served this with Sweet, Sour, and Spicy Meatballs.

2011-01-01T05:27:00.003-06:00

Paris Market

Oeufs Cocette Aux Champignons

(Coddled Eggs With Mushrooms)

Serves 4

This recipe is from Frédéric Thevenet at Restaurant Aux Lyonnais (opened 1890) in Paris. Upon returning from Paris this past late October, I have been experimenting with bistro dishes because – well because it represents the best of home cooking. The first bistro owners were not professionally trained chefs, but rather they cooked plats ménager (housewife’s dishes). This is such a dish.

¾ cup good olive oil

4 cloves garlic

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 ounces spinach, stemmed

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

8 ounces of mushrooms as you like, quartered

½ cup heavy cream

4 eggs

1 baguette, cut on diagonal into ½-inch slices and toasted

Preparation:

Make a garlic confit: Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add two cloves of garlic and cook stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender, 10-15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer garlic to cutting board; let cool. Thinly slice the garlic confit lengthwise. (Reserve the olive oil for another use)

Poke one clove of garlic with the tines of a fork several times; set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat until foamy. Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally with the fork used to poke the garlic (to perfume the spinach), until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the spinach to a clean tea towel and wipe out the skillet. Gather the ends of the towel and twist to squeeze out excess liquid. Set spinach aside.

Melt remaining butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic clove and the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cook 5 minutes more. Remove pan from the heat, cover, and let the mushrooms steep for 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Divide the spinach and mushroom mixture equally in four 6-ounce ramekins. Add reserved slices of garlic confit. Crack 1 egg into each ramekin. Transfer ramekins to a shallow baking pan and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Cook until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny, about 10-15 minutes depending upon your oven.

Serve with toasted baguettes and salt and pepper the eggs to taste.

2010-12-30T20:12:00.002-06:00

Cinque Terre Lemons

Pork Marinara & Fettuccine

Every once in a while you nail a dish perfectly. It doesn’t happen often, so when it does I am compelled to immediately record preciously how I prepared it. Italian pasta is meant to be cooked al dente and then finished off by mixing in the sauce, so it adheres to every pasta strand. Pasta sauce is also all about using the ingredients at hand. In this case I had the remnants of a pork rib roast to play with. Pasta is in the moment and always best served immediately after preparation. Try this. It will surprise you.

1 26-ounce jar of Trader Joe’s Tomato Basil Marinara sauce

1 pound dry fettuccine, cooked

4 cups finely chopped cooked pork

1 cup chopped Vidalia onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 strip of cooked bacon, chopped

½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1 cup chicken stock

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano

1 teaspoon medium hot chili powder

olive oil to taste

salt and pepper to taste

grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Preparation: In a large pot of boiling salted water cook the fettuccine until al dente; usually about eight minutes. In a large cast iron fry pan sauté the Vidalia onions in the olive oil until just softened, about three minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the 4 cups of cooked chopped pork and bacon and season with the Greek oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper, and sauté for two minutes. Add the Marinara sauce, chicken stock, lemon juice, vinegar, parsley and stir. Bring to a quick boil and then set to low and cook for ten minutes more. Adjust seasoning to your preference.

In a large pan or bowl combine the sauce with the drained fettuccine. Add a splash of olive oil to your preference. Serve at once with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Richard Wottrich

2010-12-12T06:19:00.002-06:00

Black Mission Fig & Red Grape Frisée Salad

This salad of bright flavors pairs well with an omelet for dinner, a bistro chicken fricassee, or a flank steak with mustard cream sauce.

2 cups of loosely packed Frisée greens

1 heart of Romaine lettuce, chopped into 2-inch lengths

½ cup of loosely packed flat parsley leaves

½ red onion, thinly sliced

6 Black Mission figs, quartered

12 seedless red grapes, halved

½ orange

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation: In a wooden salad bowl lightly toss the first six ingredients. Squeeze the juice from the half orange onto the salad. Take a fork and scrape the orange pulp into the salad. Add the sherry vinegar and olive oil and toss again. Add sea salt and pepper to taste.

Richard Wottrich

2010-12-10T05:49:00.002-06:00

Chicken Fricassee with Two Vinegars

(Fricassée de Poulet aux Deux Vinaigres)

Friends often ask me for recommendations on how to get started in serious cooking and I usually go into a tirade on buying small quantities of the best real food you can afford and then getting out of the way of the ingredients. Then I mention cookbooks from Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) or Jamie Oliver. But for very sophisticated Parisian fare and perfect technique The Paris Cookbook (Harper Collins, 2001) by Patricia Wells (a close friend of Ina) is another terrific choice. Sauces can be daunting to even the experienced cook, but Patricia lays out straight forward recipes that build sublime sauces before you know it. This is such a recipe.

1 fresh farm chicken, 3-4 pounds, cut into 8 pieces (*see note)

sea salt, to taste

fresh ground white pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup best quality white champagne vinegar

1/3 cup best quality red wine vinegar

1/3 cup of the white wine you are having with dinner

2 shallots, finely minced

3/4 cup tomato sauce

1 2/3 cups chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

Preparation: 1. Pat the chicken dry and liberally season it on all sides with sea salt and white pepper. 2. In a deep skillet, combine the oil and butter, and heat over moderate heat. When the fats are hot but not smoking, add the chicken, skin side down, and brown until it turns an even golden color, about 5 minutes. Turn the pieces and brown them on the other side, 5 minutes more. Carefully regulate the heat to avoid scorching the skin. (This may have to be done in batches.) When all the pieces are browned, use tongs (to avoid piercing the meat) to transfer them to a platter. 3. Pour off and discard the fat in the skillet. Off the heat, add the two vinegars and deglaze the pan. Add the wine. Add the shallots and cook, covered, over low heat until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken pieces to a large warmed platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. 4. Add the tomato sauce and stock to the skillet; stir to blend thoroughly. Add the cream and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Return the chicken to the skillet, cover and cook over low heat, turning the pieces from time to time to absorb the sauce, for about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning, and serve.

Presentation: I served this with steamed Broccolini and two pieces of chicken per serving and poured the sauce on! A side salad of flat parsley, Romaine leaves and frisée, quartered black figs, sliced red onion and halved red grapes with vinaigrette was perfect.

* Start with the chicken at room temperature. Patricia notes that if you can't find a fresh farm chicken, a free-range or organic chicken will do. I bought an organic chicken at Harrison’s Poultry Farm, Inc. in Glenview for $5.60. Patricia serves the dish over rice or pasta. I used sherry vinegar instead of champagne vinegar, seasoned with dry tarragon, and added thin sliced white button mushrooms in Step. 4.

2010-12-05T18:17:00.000-06:00

Jack Daniel’s Squares

Makes 12-16 Squares

These bourbon-spiked brownies hale from the holiday cookie contests Sharon used to host at the A-Plus Talent Agency, Inc. Christmas party, held at our home on 1845 N. Dayton St., in Chicago in the late 1980s. As one of the erstwhile judges, I can attest that many of the submitted confectioneries were truly dismal, but these spiked squares always brought raves. I personally happen to prefer my Jack on the rocks with a twist, water back.

Squares
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup all-purpose flower
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons Jack Daniel’s whiskey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

Icing
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 1-ounce square unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon Jack Daniel’s whiskey
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation: 1. Heat your oven to 350°. 2. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan. 3. For the squares: In a bowl combine the granulated sugar, pecans, flour and cocoa and stir until thoroughly mixed. 4. Add the eggs, whiskey, vanilla and melted butter, mixing until smooth. 5. Pour the batter into the buttered pan and bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes. 6. Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack. 7. For the icing: In a bowl, combine the confectioner’s sugar, chocolate, butter, whiskey, milk, and vanilla. 8. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and spreadable. If the icing is too thick, add more milk, a teaspoon at a time. 9. Coat the tops of the squares with the icing and serve cold or at room temperature.

2010-12-04T06:25:00.001-06:00

Pavés du Mail

This classic bistro dish of pan-fried steak and mustard cream sauce is simple and quick. Bistro cooking is based upon utilizing humble ingredients that are exalted via supreme saucing techniques – simple fare – glorious results. In Paris this dish would be done with flat iron steaks (flat blade) or hanger steaks. Either is fine, but I would suggest picking up a flank steak when on sale. The flavor is terrific.

1 pound flank steak
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon cognac or brandy
¼ cup heavy cream
1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
8 white button mushrooms, slice thinly
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley

Preparation: Season the flank steak with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a 12” cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steak and cook, turning once, until browned and cooked to the desired temperature, about 6 minutes for medium rare. Remove pan from the heat. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Pour off and discard all but one tablespoon of fat in the pan.

Add most of the cognac to the pan and stir, scraping browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Return pan to medium-high heat and cook for 20 seconds. Add the cream, mustard, and sliced mushrooms, season with sea salt and pepper, and cook, stirring vigorously, until the sauce just thickens. Stir in the remaining cognac.

Slice the flank steak on a slanting angle against the grain. Display several thin slices across the plate and pour on the sauce. Garnish with the minced parsley. Add freshly ground pepper and serve. Pair with a whole leaf Caesar salad.

Richard Wottrich

2010-11-21T08:58:00.000-06:00

The Ecstasy of Modern Grocery Shopping

I noticed an essay in the NYT Sunday edition today and was struck by its title, “The Agony of Modern Grocery Shopping.” My immediate reaction was to wonder why the author did not stay out of supermarkets if they bothered him. But upon reflection I decided to take a different tact. “We live in the best of times for real food shopping.”

I am a cook who loves to prepare and present real food made made from scratch. I have been cooking for 20 years, write a cooking blog ( http://coolcook.blogspot.com ), and can say definitively that times have never been better for this passion. For starters I shop every Saturday morning at the Evanston (Illinois) Farmers Market. There I buy eggs from a real farm, organic vegetables, wild mushrooms, artisan cheeses from Wisconsin and local fruit from an orchard. Alternatively there are dozens of cooperative truck farms in the Chicago region that sell shares in their annual crops. You can pick up your produce at the farm each week and show your kids where their food comes from.

Three miles from my home is a 100,000 square foot Asian market with the largest fish bar I have ever seen, and every other Asian ingredient known. I take my grandson there just to show him what seafood looks like. Even closer is a Japanese market with sushi-grade seafood, along with The Fresh Market across the street that has an excellent meat selection. Every few months I visit a Chicago-based chain of spice shops, The Spice House, which carries an astounding variety of ingredients.

Our local Costco carries bulk food items at prices that cannot be duplicated and it has a selection of excellent wines at very low prices that are worth the trip. Just a bit further is a local Greek-owned fruit and vegetable shop that has bakery specialties, excellent lamb and imported feta cheeses and olives. My local butcher shop will accommodate my every whim, including preparing a standing rib pork roast with little notice. Around the corner from me is Harrison’s Poultry Farm, which provides organic poultry products to the top restaurants in Chicago. Almost every month I buy a seven-pound capon and have a magnificent roasted chicken.

You’ll notice that I have described ten food destinations and never mentioned a supermarket. The choices are there if you look. Does quality cost more? Sure it does, but if you quite naturally reduce the quantity you eat and replace it with quality you will dine better and spend the same. Does this take more time? I would ask that question in a differently manner. Does your family deserve this attention? Should your children know where real food comes? Should a family sit down every evening possible and share in breaking bread and conviviality?

Preparing and presenting food is part of the natural rhythm of life and these are the best of times.

Richard Wottrich

2010-11-16T06:10:00.006-06:00

Meatloaf Olivera
Serves 20

Sometimes a large crowd is expected for dinner, including several kids. The leaves are turning and it dips below 40-degrees outside. A football game is on and cold beer is replaced with good Scotch. It’s time for an old fashioned 25-ingredient five-pound meatloaf. As for scaling this recipe down, don't even think about it! Leftovers make great rye bread sandwiches the next day.

1 pound ground Bison (Buffalo)
1 pound ground chuck (beef)
1 pound ground pork
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, crumble the stuffing
4 cups Japanese Panko bread crumbs
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, charred, seeded, skinned and chopped
1 tablespoon crushed Aleppo chili pepper (or any crushed chili)
1 cup capers, drained or salt cured
2 cups salsa, medium heat
1 teaspoon hot sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole brown mustard seed
1 tablespoon celery seed
2 tablespoons fennel seed
2 tablespoons Greek oregano
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple vinegar
2 tablespoons kosher salt (If using salt cured capons, cut kosher salt in half)
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
8 strips of natural bacon, cut in half (no nitrates)
Springs of fresh rosemary and thyme

Preparation: Set your oven to 400-degrees. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients, except the bacon, rosemary and thyme. Using your hands or two large spoons, mix the ingredients thoroughly making sure not to compress or pack the mixture. Take a large cast iron pan (15-inches) or a large heavy bottomed stainless steel roaster and spray the inside with Pam, or coat it with butter. In the pan free form a large rectangular loaf. Square up the sides and corners with a large spatula, leaving a gently rounded top. Overlap the strips of bacon evenly across the top of the meatloaf. Grind black pepper over the loaf. Surround the loaf with the springs of rosemary and thyme. Roast the meatloaf for roughly 90 minutes, until a nice crust forms and a meat thermometer reads at least 140-degrees. Remove from the oven and cover with aluminum foil. Let the meatloaf rest for at least 30 minutes. Cut into slabs and serve with Cornichons (pickles), mashed potatoes and gravy. If there are leftovers (there won’t be) make cold sandwiches on rye the next day.

Richard Wottrich – richard.wottrich@gmail.com – http://coolcook.blogspot.com

2010-10-04T16:04:00.008-05:00

Mushroom Barley Soup

My dad used to make mushroom barley soup in the Fall every year when the leaves started to turn. Coming in after tossing the football around on a Saturday, we’d have hot bowls of soup and chunks of freshly baked bread for dipping.

Years later I have learned that mushrooms may have hypoglycemic activity, anti-cancer activity, anti-pathogenic activity, and immune system enhancing activity. Recent research has found that the oyster mushroom naturally contains the cholesterol drug lovastatin; some mushrooms produce large amounts of vitamin D when exposed to UV light and that certain fungi may be a future source of taxol. To date, penicillin and the statin drugs lovastatin, and mevastatin, are notable pharmaceuticals which have been isolated from the fungal kingdom. Other pharmaceuticals derived from fungi include ciclosporin, griseofulvin, cephalosporin, and ergometrine.

Try an assortment of crimini, Portobello, shiitake, maitake (hen-of-the-woods), oyster, and enoki mushrooms. Also use wild mushrooms if you can. Usually a good farmers market will have a mushroom purveyor who will have interesting selections. They cost a bit more, but the freshness is important. Mushrooms taste fantastic and they are good for you – it’s a win, win.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pound cleaned sliced fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon Madeira or Amontillado
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple vinegar
1 cup barley
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh Thyme

Directions:

Heat the oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic; cook and stir until onions are tender and transparent. Stir in the barley grains until just coated and toasted. Stir in mushrooms and continue to cook for a few minutes. Mix the flour into the chicken and beef stock and pour into the pot and stir until smooth. Add the lemon juice, vinegar and Madeira and bring to a quick boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until barley is tender, about 50 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and Thyme before serving.

2010-09-04T05:27:00.004-05:00

Hemingway's Brook Trout

Most folks who “know” Ernest Hemingway know that he spent many years in Northern Michigan. His family owned a summer home called Windemere on Walloon Lake, near Petoskey, Michigan. Growing up Hemingway fished for Brook Trout in most of the area streams, including School and Bear Creek, and the Boardman, Sturgeon, Black and Pigeon rivers. I have fished many of these same streams over the years, as we owned a family cottage near Elk Rapids on Grand Traverse Bay for over 40 years.

In 1920 Hemingway wrote a piece for The Toronto Star entitled “Camping Out.” In it he wrote, “A pan of fried trout can’t be bettered and they don’t cost any more than ever. But there is a good and bad way of frying them.”

Hemingway’s recipe was simple. “The proper way is to cook over coals [in a fry pan]... Put the bacon in and when it is about half cooked lay the trout in the hot grease, dipping them in corn meal first. Then put the bacon on top of the trout and it will baste them as it slowly cooks. The coffee can be boiling at the same time and in a smaller skillet pancakes being made that are satisfying the other campers while they are waiting for the trout.”

My father and I cooked Brook Trout this way, especially on fly in fishing trips in Canada. Our Indian guide, Eli, would set up a shore lunch right on the banks of a lake and grease the spiders (flat-bottomed fry pans) with lard. The red fleshed Brook Trout were gutted and cleaned a few feet away, then brought over and dredged in corn meal, waiting for the strips of bacon to crackle. The Trout would fry up beautifully in the hot grease, crisp skin on the outside and succulent moist flesh inside.

From the water to the tension of the line to the hot spider is more than just a state of mind, as you cannot create this dish unless you are really there.

Richard Wottrich

2010-08-31T14:57:00.003-05:00

Piperies Gemistes Me Feta (Peppers Stuffed With Feta)
This Greek (Macedonia) dish is made with sweet Florina peppers, although Fresno or Anaheim chilies may be substituted. This dish appeared on the Aug/Sep 2010 cover of Saveur magazine. Serve this with a slow-braised leg of lamb and Horiatiki (Greek Salad) for a perfect dinner.

2 Fresno or Anaheim chilies, 4” to 5”
6 ounces of Feta cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
½ teaspoon lemon zest
½ teaspoon dried Greek oregano
2 egg yolks
Kosher salt and ground pepper
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Slice the peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds and membranes. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to whip the Feta, oil, yogurt, parsley, lemon zest, oregano and egg yolks. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff each pepper with the filling. Roast in a 300-degree oven for 15 minutes, or until the peppers are just softened. Sprinkle the parmesan on top and broil for another 2 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot. Serves Four.

2010-08-17T07:19:00.002-05:00

Roasted Shrimp, Feta & Orzo

Orzo is an Italian pasta shape which resembles grains of rice. In fact, “orzo” means “barley” in Italian, and in Italian cuisine, the word “orzo” often refers to barley, as in the case of drinks made with roasted barley.

Feta (Greek: φέτα) is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta has been an EU Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product since 2002. Only cheeses produced in a traditional way in some areas of Greece (mainland and the island of Lesvos), and made from sheep's milk, or from a mixture of sheep's and goats’ milk (up to 30%) of the same area, may bear the name "feta".

Be aware of the environmental issues surrounding farmed shrimp, especially as farmed in certain Asian countries. You have no control over what steroids, herbicides and similar toxins were utilized in the particular country of origin. Wild shrimp is a better choice.

kosher salt
olive oil
¾ pound of orzo
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 medium lemons)
freshly ground pepper
2 pounds shrimp (16 to 18 count), peeled and deveined
1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts
1 cup fresh dill, chopped
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, medium dice
1 medium-sized red onion, diced
¾ pound good quality feta cheese, ½ inch dice

Preparations: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Fill a large pot of water, add kosher salt and a splash of oil, and bring to a boil. Cook the orzo for 10 to 12 minutes until al dente, stirring occasionally. It takes time for the orzo to plump up, so be patient.

Prepare the dressing by whisking the lemon juice with the olive oil, two teaspoons of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drain the orzo and put into a big bowl. Add the dressing immediately while the orzo is hot and mix well.

Put the shrimp in a bowl and add olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss briefly. Put the shrimp on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 4 to 5 minutes until firm – do not overcook.

Add the shrimp to the orzo and then add the scallions, dill, parsley, cumber and onion. Mix gently. Season with salt and pepper. Add the feta and toss gently. Set aside for one hour or longer to allow the flavors to marry, or refrigerate overnight. Allow to come back to room temperature and taste for seasoning.

2010-08-14T10:28:00.001-05:00

Vegetables In Oil For Roasting - Tritto

Simple joys of Italian cooking include keeping a couple of jars of chopped vegetables on hand, steeped in olive oil, for roasting and sautéing – known as Tritto. Pick the best quality vegetables of course and clean and chop them by hand. I mix them dry in a bowl with several herbs from my herb garden and a few thin slices of lemon, and then put them into tall vertical jars. I use a blend of olive oil and canola oil to cover the vegetables. Let them steep for at least 12 hours in a cool room.

The jar on the right has soft vegetables such as red peppers, leeks, fennel, celery, broccoli and cauliflower. These will roast in 20 minutes or so at 350-degrees. The jar on the left has root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, celeriac, and onions. These will roast in 45 minutes or so at the same temperature.

When ready to use, drain the oil (saving it for other uses) and spread the two medleys of vegetables evenly in separate roasting pans. Season with salt and pepper and any other spices you enjoy. Or surround a roast with the vegetables to create wonderful gravy.

Richard Wottrich

2010-08-06T10:06:00.005-05:00

Deep Fried Spiced Quail

by Christine Manfield from her great cookbook

We are in the dogs days here in Florida...and it has begun to dent my brain. Sandy Botstein did this great little pastel of the lady & the pigeons (flying rats to some of my friends). It is because of the heat I am sure, but I cannot tell if she is inviting them to eat dinner or to be dinner...and I love little birds (for dinner) so here follows my favorite recipe for quail (which I know is not squab...but they would work just fine).

4 large quail

8 tsp Massaman curry paste (Massaman)

vegetable oil for deep frying & stir frying

6.5 oz. small spinach leaves

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

2 tsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp fried red shallots slices

Preheat oven to 450F Wash quails, pat dry; rub generously w/Massaman curry paste; Heat oil in deep fryer to 350F; deep fry quails 4 minutes transfer to baking tray bake for another 3 minutes; rest 2 minutes before serving; Stir fry spinach w/a little oil w/garlic, fish sauce & pepper until wilted place spinach as a base on each plate, top w/quail, sprinkle w/fried shallot.

Make Your Own Curry Paste

4 tsp cumin

8 tsp coriander seeds

seeds from 5 cardamon pods

6 cloves

2 sticks cinnamon

8 dried birds eye chilies

2 tsp Thai shrimp paste/kapi

6 fresh birds eye red chilies, chopped

20 cloves garlic, chopped

2 small brown onions, chopped

4 tsp green peppercorns

5 cilantro roots, chopped

small amount vegetable oil

zest 2 kaffir limes, chopped

2 stalks lemon grass chopped

2.5 oz palm sugar/zaggery, shaved

2.5 oz fish sauce

2 oz tamarind liquid (1 part pulp simmered w/4 parts water for 30 minutes, strained)

Dry roast cumin, coriander, cardamon, cloves, cinnamon sticks, dried chilies over gentle heat until fragrant, cool & grind to a fine powder. Dry roast shrimp paste over gentle heat until fragrant. Blend fresh chilies, garlic, onion, peppercorns, coriander root, & small amount of vegetable oil as required in a food processor. Cook paste over gentle heat until softens & slightly colored, place in food processor w/lime rind, lemon grass, dry roasted shrimp paste, add remaining ingredients & process thoroughly.

She's not really going to eat those birds is she???????????????

2010-07-31T11:40:00.001-05:00

The Best Lobster Roll In the World – Red’s Eats

If you’re ever driven up into Maine on Route 1 you know what I’m talking about. There in the town of Wiscasset, sitting hard on the west side going north just before the Sheepscot River Bridge, sits Red’s Eats. Red’s opened in Boothbay in 1938, and moved to the north end of Wiscasset in 1954. The traffic jams in Wincasset are legendary for this simple reason - Red’s sells a perfect Lobster Roll for $14.00 that people stop for from miles around. In fact the traffic is so bad that they are proposing to move Red’s Eats about 50 feet and put in a new bridge that will divert around Wiscasset and its legendary lobster shack.

Red's is a real lobster shack, a building built around a small house trailer with a single window where you both place and pick up your order. The lines can be 100 feet long on a hot summer day. About 25,000 cars a day cruise through town during the summer months. The cars at the intersection can be backed up a mile or more. It’s worth it.

Each Red’s Lobster Roll contains all the meat from a one-pound lobster extracted in glistening chunks and piled into a toasted split-top bun served with a cup of drawn butter or mayonnaise. It is lobster-eater's nirvana.

Red's Lobster Roll Recipe

New York Times article

2010-07-19T15:11:00.002-05:00

Herbal Butter

Over the years I have always used herbal butter for corn-on-the-cob until it has become second nature. After multiple requests here is the recipe for this simple nectar. After all, if it tastes good it has butter in it.

2 sticks butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs; basil, thyme, parsley, lavender, rosemary, oregano, as you wish
1 teaspoon apple vinegar
freshly ground pepper to taste
sea salt to taste

Slowly melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the ingredients. Blanch your just-out-of-the-field corn in boiling water for two minutes or less. Drain and pour the herbal butter over the corn in the bowl. This is also great on any grilled fish, boiled potatoes, grilled onions, boiled cabbage and carrots, and on and on…

Enjoy!

2010-07-19T01:32:00.003-05:00

Deconstructing Alice Waters

Anthony Bourdain is the quintessential lighting rod in the narrow confines of the US food world. Folks either love him or hate him. I loved Kitchen Confidential because it humanized the shadowy world of fine dining. He told the truth – or at least his version of the truth.

In his latest book, Medium Raw, we have the added surprise of an older Bourdain who actually has distilled (literally) into an excellent writer. There are the obligatory “Emperor’s New Clothes” undressing of pretentious and over hyped celebrity chefs of course – that’s his trademark. But even here his skill in deconstructing Alice Waters is akin to watching a fine surgeon at work.

Where Bourdain really shines however, far beyond “food writing”, are in his chapters in which he roams the world in jewel-like vignettes of food experiences, and in the amazing profile of the fish butcher at Le Bernardin. Justo Thomas prepares 700 pounds of fish at the country’s best fish restaurant every day – 1,000 pounds on weekends! He is an artist, as is Bourdain’s description.

Or not – you either love the guy or you don’t.

Richard Wottrich

2010-07-01T20:12:00.011-05:00

Truffles are no Trifle

Italy’s “King of Truffles” died on June 17 at age 79. Paolo Urbani and his brother ran Urbani Tartufi, which claimed control of 70% of the world market for both black and white truffles. Along the way Urbani introduced Italian truffles to the world as well.
Truffles are the coveted fungi above all others dating back to medieval times. The 18th-century French gastronome Brillat-Savarin called truffles "the diamond of the kitchen". Urbani’s family founded the firm back in the 1800s.

The white truffle or Alba madonna (Tuber magnatum) comes from the Langhe area of the Piedmont region in northern Italy and, most famously, in the countryside around the city of Alba. It is also found in Croatia, on the Istria peninsula in the Motovun forest alongside Mirna river. While in Dubrovnik in 2007 I had ethereal white truffles showered on creamed white noodles that were nectar from the gods.

Growing symbiotically with oak, hazel, poplar and beech and fruiting in autumn, truffles can reach 12 cm diameter and 500 g, though are usually much smaller. The flesh is pale cream or brown with white marbling. Like the French black truffles, Italian white truffles are highly esteemed.

The white truffle market in Alba is busiest in the months of October and November, where a 1.6-pound white truffle sold for $150,000 on Nov. 8, 2009 during the 79th White Truffle Festival. In 2001, the Tuber magnatum truffles sold for between $1,000 and $2,200 US per pound; as of December 2009 they were being sold at 10,200€ per kilogram ($28,130 per pound).

The Chinese truffle (Tuber sinensis, also sometimes called Tuber indicum) is a winter black truffle harvested in China. Due to their fast growing nature, Chinese truffles are often exported to the West as an inferior-quality substitute of Tuber melanosporum. Restaurants have been known to serve Chinese truffles and claim they are the real deal.

Urbani has a vast network throughout Italy that supplies the firm with truffles and provides it with competitive information. Farmers keep secret the location of their truffle trees and they have been known to poison competitor’s dogs. Historically truffles were hunted by pigs, but they love to eat the stuff, so dogs have been substituted. Old truffle hunters, known as Cavatori, or extractors, can be recognized by the fingers they have lost to their truffle pigs.

Today more than half the annual black truffle production is farmed. But the illusive and prized white truffles must still be gathered in the wild. As for Urbani, his daughter Olga will carry on the family tradition.
Richard Wottrich

2010-06-29T19:14:00.003-05:00

Mise en place at Il Falconiere, Cortona, Tuscany

2010-06-28T07:23:00.002-05:00

Packing Eggs

Boy packing eggs at Farmers Market. Portland, Oregon (Photo:RLW)

2010-06-20T08:17:00.002-05:00

Methyl Iodide & Strawberries – Oxymoron? Not!

Where do your strawberries come from?

The New York Times reported today on a growing dispute between the California State Department of Pesticide Regulation and a scientific committee over the approval of a new chemical in the growing of strawberries. It is another interesting example of where big agricultural interests trump the safety of you, me and our children.

For decades strawberry growers injected methyl bromide into their soil as a soil fumigant and structural fumigant to control pests before growing strawberries. However this chemical is an ozone-depleting chemical and it was banned by the Montreal Protocol international climate treaty.

Methyl iodide was found as a substitute in 2007. More than 50 chemists and scientists, including members of the National Academy of Sciences and Nobel laureates asked the federal Environmental Protection Agency not to approve the chemical. Nevertheless the California State Department of Pesticide Regulation has bestowed provisional approval for this chemical.

“This is without question one of the most toxic chemicals on earth,” said John Froines, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California.

Breathing methyl iodide fumes can cause lung, liver, kidney and central nervous system damage. It causes nausea, dizziness, coughing and vomiting. Prolonged contact with skin causes burns. Massive inhalation causes pulmonary edema.

But the strawberry business in California is a $2 billion industry. I wonder who will win this battle. I wonder even more about what else they spray on the food you, me and our children eat grown in California?

Richard Wottrich

2010-06-16T07:43:00.004-05:00

Marius Market, Paris (Photo:RLW)

Brown Rice versus White Rice?

A just-released Harvard study came to the stunning conclusion that eating brown rice instead of white rice decreases the chances of developing Type 2 diabetes by about 10 percent compared to people who eat it less than once a month. And those who eat white rice on a regular basis — five or more times a week — are almost 20 percent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those who eat it less than once a month.

This is of course patently clear to anyone with any knowledge of whole foods, versus highly refined foods - as their perishable nutrients have been removed to make them shelf-stable. Hence The New York Times headline today is a sad commentary on the apparent fact that many think this is new information.

What is more interesting in my opinion is that this study reinforces the erroneous “single ingredient” fallacy of our approach to healthy eating. Year after year studies highlight one ingredient or another and make claims regarding their healthy benefits. Highly engineered foods clog our grocery shelves with absurd marketing claims regarding the few nutrients that have been added back into cheap highly refined food commodities such as high-fructose corn syrup, white rice, refined white flour, and de-oiled soy flakes.

In the holistic approach to healthy eating it is preciously the great diversity of whole foods availability that delivers everything the healthy body needs to function. Isolating down to a single ingredient such as brown rice misses the point and misleads people into thinking there is a “sliver bullet” out there that bestows good health.

One of my cooking heroes, Julia Child, said it best, “Moderation. Small helpings. Sample a little bit of everything. These are the secrets of happiness and good health.”

Richard Wottrch

2010-06-14T14:25:00.005-05:00

Quinoa, Rice & Spinach Steamed Pilaf

Quinoa (pronounced "KEEN - wa") is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is not a true cereal, or grain, or member of the grass family. Quinoa is closely related to beets, spinach, and tumbleweeds. Its leaves are also eaten as a leaf vegetable, much like amaranth.

Quinoa originated in the Andes of South America and it has been an important food for 6,000 years. Its name is the Spanish spelling of the Quechua name. Quinoa is generally easily grown and altitude-hardy, so it can be cultivated in the Andes up to about 4,000 meters (over 13,000 feet).

Quinoa’s protein content is very high (12%–18%). Quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest.

I created this particular dish to take advantage of unique crunch of Quinoa with the addition of some flavor notes and nutritional side kicks that result in a very tasty side dish, similar to a pilaf - but steamed instead.

1 cup Quinoa (Nuts On Line)
1 cup premium white rice
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1 large tomato, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh spinach
1 tablespoon butter
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Splash of lemon juice
Parsley as a garnish

In a rice cooker combine the Quinoa, rice, chicken stock, wine, tomato, oregano, spinach and butter. Set the cooker to white rice. When done remove the mixture to a large bowl and fluff with a fork. Add sea salt and pepper to your taste, lemon juice and serve with parsley as a garnish. This presents well with grilled lamb loin chops.

Richard Wottrich

2010-06-12T06:24:00.010-05:00

Relative Nutritional Value - Distance Shipped Plus Time to Market Are Inversely Proportional to Nutrients

Chamonix, France (Photo:RLW)

Why ask where your food comes from? Fresh fruits and vegetables in your supermarket travel an average of 1,500 miles before sale. Fresh fruits and vegetables in a typical farmers' market travel an average of 50 miles.

Fresh fruits and vegetables that come from fields in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, China or any other country may or may not comply with U.S. Department of Agriculture or EPA rules and regulations. What are they spraying on your food in these countries? How do we know?

The antioxidants in fresh fruits and vegetables are there to help the plants ward off insects and diseases. If a plant is grown in the genetically identical mass plantings of an industrial farm it does not need to produce antioxidants to fend off insects and diseases - they have all been killed by herbicides and pesticides.

Fruits and vegetables have been developed to stand up to shipping over great distances. The chief consideration is appearance and long shelf life. There is little if any consideration of nutrient value. In fact, the longer a fruit or vegetable stays on the shelf the lower its nutrient levels are. Nutrients deteriorate over time. That is why the Food Industry breaks foods down and removes active nutrients - to extend shelf life. That is why you have white rice and refined white flour. Those pesky nutrients mess everything up for Food Industry profits.

Donald R. Davis, a research associate with the Biochemical Institute at the University of Texas, Austin, recently analyzed data gathered by the USDA in 1950 and 1999 on the nutrient content of 43 fruit and vegetable crops. He found that six out of 13 nutrients had declined in these crops over the 50-year period (the seven other nutrients showed no significant, reliable changes). Three minerals, phosphorous, iron and calcium, declined between 9 percent and 16 percent. Protein declined 6 percent. Riboflavin declined 38 percent and ascorbic acid (a precursor of vitamin C) declined 15 percent.

A study of the mineral content of fruits and vegetables grown in Britain between 1930 and 1980 shows similar decreases in nutrient density. The British study found significantly lower levels of calcium, magnesium, copper and sodium in vegetables, and of magnesium, iron, copper and potassium in fruit. The report concludes that the declines indicate "that a nutritional problem associated with the quality of food has developed over those 50 years."

Relative Nutritional Value (RNV) equals the nutrient level (n) divided by distance shipped plus time to market (d + t), where the nutrient level is assumed to be 100 at perfection. Hence a tomato that travels 1,500 miles in 10 days to reach market has an RNV of .07, while an organic tomato shipped 50 miles in one day has an RNV of 2. And a sprig of parsley grown in your garden that you pick and eat on the spot has an RNV of 100. This is my own equation and its purpose is purely to highlight the issue of nutrient value in our foods.

This formula supposes that local foods are organically grown. Thus their produce had to develop antioxidants to ward off insects and diseases. It also supposes that the soil these plants were grown in is richer than the chemically maintained and exhausted soils of huge industrial farms. This may or may not be true. That is why you ask. Know where your foods come from and how they are grown. It makes a difference.

Richard Wottrich

2010-06-05T18:05:00.003-05:00

Sautéed Pineapple & Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are a cultivated member of the wild cabbage family, probably refined in ancient Rome. The first written reference to them is in 1587 in what is now Belgium, hence the name. Folks who don’t like Brussels sprouts probably have had them over cooked - overcooking should be avoided because it releases glucosinolate sinigrin, which has a sulfurous odor.

The combination of pineapple and Brussels sprouts at first seems an unlikely one, but the pineapple’s semi-sweet tartness contrasts beautifully with the butter and cinnamon and the fresh crunch of the Brussels sprouts. Pineapple is a good source of manganese (91 %DV in a 1 cup serving), as well as vitamin C (94 %DV in a 1 cup serving) and vitamin B1 (8 %DV in a 1 cup serving). The contrast of the bright green and white of the Brussels sprouts and the bright yellow of the pineapple make this a great summer dish.

1 whole pineapple, skin removed, quartered, cored and cut into pieces roughly the same size as the Brussels sprouts
1 pound of Brussels sprouts, washed, bases removed, cut in half lengthwise
1 stick of butter (eight tablespoons)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Zest from one orange
Juice from one orange, freshly squeezed
sea salt and pepper to taste
fresh mint as garnish

Put the cleaned Brussels sprouts in a large pot of salted boiling water and blanch for three minutes. Shock them in cold water immediately and reserve. In a sauté pan large enough to hold all the drained Brussels sprouts in a single layer, melt the butter. Add the sprouts and sear at high temperature until they just start to turn brown. Reserve. In the same pan place all the pineapple chunks in a single layer and sear until they just start to brown. Put the Brussels sprouts and pineapple chunks into a large bowl. Deglaze the pan with the orange juice, zest and cinnamon for two minutes. Pour the pan butter mixture over the pineapple and Brussels sprouts. Throw in a quarter cup of chopped fresh mint, sea salt and pepper and toss. Serve at once. [The acid in the pineapple will turn the bright green of the sprouts to a dull color if you let this dish sit too long.]

Richard Wottrich

2010-06-04T09:24:00.003-05:00

A Tsunami of Chemicals Hits Your Food

The big food crops globally consist of sugar cane, rice, wheat, corn, soy beans and tubers. These crops account for roughly 80% of everything the world eats. To bring these crops to the worlds’ masses, set to hit 7 billion in 2011, vast amounts of herbicides are used. This is efficient for huge industrial farms because it cuts down on spoilage and weed losses, keeping profit margins robust. We apparently tolerate this as the price we pay for feeding the world. Why?

Most of these industrial crops are broken down into basic cheap derivatives, such as high-fructose corn syrup, that show up in the thousands of engineered foods that populate our supermarket shelves. The food industry churns out advertising that makes absurd health claims about these products. In other words, the nutrients are removed from these foods to be broken into cheap easily shipped bulk commodities, which are then engineered into high value, shelf-stable packaged “food” products we buy to feed our children. Why?

If you look into the world of industrial food crops you’ll see companies like Monsanto, a $10.7 billion giant that sells both crop seeds and the glyphosate-based herbicides (Roundup Ready) that are used to protect them. Monsanto is a fine company. They do a good job for their shareholders and for the farmers who buy their seeds and the chemicals to control weeds. What is missing from this equation are the stakeholders who eat the end products – you and me and our children.

Roundup Ready is an excellent herbicide that has about as small an environmental footprint as can be engineered. Since it was introduced a decade ago it revolutionized farming in that it gave farmers a very effective and relatively safe method of controlling invasive weeds. The trade off for this was the requirement that their crop seeds be genetically engineered with the insertion of genes that made them immune to Roundup Ready. My question is where are the studies regarding the effect of these genetic changes on the nutrients, quality and safety of the resulting food products?

Unfortunately Monsanto lost control of both sides of this equation when the Roundup Ready patent ran out. Chinese companies have been offering look-alike herbicides at drastically lower prices. We all know how trustworthy Chinese chemical companies are. Have you read anything recently about the safety of Chinese herbicides used on U.S. crops?

Mother Nature has changed the game plan as well. Predictably, “superweeds” have appeared throughout the U.S. that are immune to Roundup Ready. Farmers are frantic to kill these weeds. Other herbicide companies are racing to roll out older, more toxic herbicides that can kill them. Monsanto is lowering the price on its Roundup Ready to compete with the Chinese and these older toxic herbicides. Remember, we are talking about the food we eat here.

In order for these older toxic herbicides to work effectively, food crop seeds must be genetically altered again through the insertion of genes to make them immune to these “new” poisons. Rules and regulations governing the use of these herbicides are set by the EPA. The giant herbicide companies obviously lobby congress to influence the EPA rules, many of which were set years ago before genetically engineered foods were so prevalent.

The giant seed companies have petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture to approve these new genetically altered seeds. Often, as in the case of Monsanto, these companies offer both products – meaning they have a special inside knowledge of how they want the rules and regulations to favor their products. We all know how effective government rules and regulations have been in the Gulf of Mexico recently.

Superweeds have opened up the herbicide business in a big way, as companies rush new chemicals and new genetically altered seeds to market. It is an insidious cycle of poison – new seeds – new weeds - new poisons – that is disturbing. Everyone is happy - the food company executives, their shareholders, the farmers, members of congress receiving industry political contributions, EPA and USDA career bureaucrats who have what amounts to tenure – all are happy except the folks missing from this cycle – you and me and our children. Who represents the interests of the people who eat these highly engineered commodity food components?

So what can we do? We can eat whole fresh foods that are not part of the industrialized food industry. We can stop buying the highly engineered shelf-stable food products that clog the shelves of our huge supermarkets. And when you have to buy a packaged food item, study the label. When you see derivative food commodities such as high-fructose corn syrup or de-oiled soy flakes or refined white flour, and other nutrient-barren additives on the label, don’t buy it. If a packaged food product has more than five ingredients, or has any ingredient you do not understand, don’t buy it.

Buy fresh. Buy local. Cook.

Richard Wottrich

2010-05-29T18:27:00.001-05:00

From Teosinte to Maize to Corn to High-Fructose Corn Syrup in 9,000 Years

For most of the past 100,000 years Homo sapiens relied on gathering fruits, nuts, seeds, tubers and other offerings from nature in order to survive. It was a relatively recent 10,000 years ago that humans began to domesticate and raise animals and plant their own food.

Sean B. Carroll of The New York Times reported in an article on May 25th that the origin of domesticated maize has been determined through advances in DNA research. Corn has of course become an important food globally for humans, livestock and energy. Corn is the third largest food crop in the world behind rice and wheat.

In the past botanists have not found any direct ancestor of modern corn. The biological origin has thus been a bit of a mystery. However through DNA matching it is an unassuming Mexican grass called teosinte that is the Rosetta stone of this puzzle.

Teosinte of the genus Zea is a group of five grasses that grow in Central America and Southern Mexico. Its skinny ears have just a dozen kernels wrapped inside of rock-hard casings, like the tail of an armadillo. It is hard to imagine this plant as the ancestor of corn and in fact in the past it has been classified as closer to rice than to corn.

The DNA evidence taken from teosinte plants throughout its geographical range provides evidence that maize originated in the tropical Central Balsas River Valley in Southern Mexico. It is interesting that the geographical origin of maize is almost a template of the ancient civilizations of Mexico – Olmec, Zapotea, Teotihuacan, Maya, Toltecs and Aztecs. Maize was the mother food of these grand cultures and teosinte is the mother of maize.

It is amazing to me that small groups of people 9,000 years ago were able to select and grow the desirable features of teosinte and evolve it into a high yielding and easily harvested food crop. I thank them for the great American tradition of eating sweet corn with butter and salt on a summer day.

And of course today huge industrial farms across our continent grow just a few highly bred varieties of corn for the production of ethanol, feed for cattle and other animals, and for the great crack cocaine food product of the 21st century – High-fructose corn syrup.

Richard Wottrich

2010-05-25T11:11:00.003-05:00

Where It All Began

The Mediterranean Diet, made famous in a study of mortality on Crete by the United Nations published in their demographic yearbook for 1948, is something many of us are familiar with. Cretans lived longer than any other people in the region at the time; hence the interest in their diet. What may not be so familiar is that this diet is largely the result of the influence of the Ottoman Empire, which lasted from 1299 to 1923 (over six centuries) and was succeeded by the modern state of Turkey.

So the natural cuisine of Turkey was dispersed and assimilated and added to throughout the Mediterranean Basin. And Turkish cuisine was influenced over the centuries by its earliest people, the Kurds and their cuisine.

The Smithsonian has an article this month entitled "Heritage Reclaimed" that is well worth a read. In it a quote caught my imagination as the perfect expression of a natural holistic approach to life. A Kurdish woman, Semi Utan (age 82), smiled wistfully as she recalled her childhood.

“In my time we lived a completely natural life,” she said. “We had our animals. We made yogurt, milk and cheese. We produced our own honey. Herbs were used for healing the sick. No one ever went to a doctor. Everything was tied to nature.”

Smithsonian article

2010-05-24T09:15:00.008-05:00

Raita Sauce

Raita (Raitha) is a Pakistani/Indian condiment based on yogurt (dahi) and used as a sauce or dip. The yogurt is seasoned with coriander (cilantro), cumin, mint, cayenne pepper, and/or other herbs and spices as you wish. It is prepared by frying cumin (zeera) along with black mustard seeds (raie) and these mixtures are mixed into the yogurt.

Minced, raw vegetables or fruits—such as cucumber, onion, or carrot, pineapple, or papaya— are mixed into the yogurt. Raw ginger and garlic paste, green chili paste, and sometimes mustard paste, are used to enrich flavor.

Serve Raita chilled. It cools the palate with spicy Indian dishes. Raita is also great with kebabs, any grilled meats, poached fish or roasted vegetables. Raita is similar to Greek tzatziki.

We keep a simple version in the frig that can be added to as your imagination allows:

1 large Cucumber, drained, seeded and chopped
1 cup Greek Yogurt (Fage, Oikos, Chobani)
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped Mint
juice from one lime

Richard Wottrich

2010-05-16T20:26:00.007-05:00

Gazpacho Full Circle

Gazpacho is a tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in Spain in the southern region of Andalusia. Gazpacho is now ubiquitous throughout Latin America and in fine restaurants worldwide.

Upon their arrival in Tenochtitlan the Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valle de Oaxaca, were purportedly astounded by the ninth Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II (1466–1520) and his large gardens. The Emperor had a botanical garden and an aquarium. The aquarium had ten ponds of salt water and ten ponds of fresh water, containing fish and aquatic birds. Several large gardens were irrigated by water channels and had pathways so that visitors could enjoy them.

According to the scholar Francisco Cervantes de Salazar (1514? – 1575): "These gardens contained only medicinal and aromatic herbs, flowers, native roses, and trees with fragrant blossoms, of which there are many kinds." (Granziera 2001:188). Montezuma did not allow his gardeners to grow any edible plants that could be used for food because he believed that only lower classes should grow plants for sustenance. His gardens were only for pleasure; they also served as a collection of plants from all areas of the empire.

Cortez found tomatoes growing in Montezuma’s gardens in 1519, and brought them back to Spain as bounty. Because of its origin the tomato (a member of the Nightshade family) was deemed poisonous and used as a decorative plant. (Who had the strength of character to first eat a tomato in Spain is unknown, but it may have been the brother of the first person to eat an oyster.)

This is my take on this classic cold summer soup:

22 ounces of V-8 juice (four 5.5 ounce cans)
2 pounds of tomatoes, quartered, seeded and finely chopped
3 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced in sea salt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 banana pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons unfiltered extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 cup dry white wine
1 juice from a lime
chives for garnish (or Yellow Chinese chives)
toasted bread points and olive oil

In a stainless steel or glass bowl mix all the ingredients except the garnish. Cool for two hours. Serve the same day it is prepared. Garnish with chives. A dollop of Greek yogurt adds a cool note.

2010-05-11T20:28:00.001-05:00

Thyme

The whole point of a holistic approach to eating is that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. This refutes the entire notion of big food companies that specific ingredients must be purchased from them and ingested - that we need to take supplements to be healthy. It just doesn’t wash.

Herbs are a case in point. Humans have been eating herbs for thousands of years for good reason - it makes them healthy. In the case of Thyme what follows is a listing of just the antioxidants that have been identified in the leaf of Thymus vulgaris or Common Thyme:

Alanine, anethole essential oil, apigenin, ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, caffeic acid, camphene, carvacrol, chlorogenic acid, chrysoeriol, derulic acid, eriodictyol, eugenol, 4-terpinol, gallic acid, gamma-terpinene, isichlorogenic acid, isoeugenol, isothymonin, kaemferol, labiatic acid, lauric acid, linalyl acetate, luteolin, methionine, myrcene, myristic acid, naringenin, rosmarinic acid, selenium, tannin, thymol, trytophan, ursolic acid, vanillic acid

It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature.

2010-05-10T03:21:00.001-05:00

Viva D. Rodriguez Cuba!

I didn’t really plan on being in Miami two weekends in one month, it just worked out that way. I stayed at the beautiful Mandarin Oriental and then at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. The Fontainebleau recently had a one billion dollar makeover (you heard me right, $1 billion) that resembles a rehab center for celebrities.

The nexus of Latin cool, Miami is vivacious, tacky, hot, multilingual, gaudy, tattooed, hipped and hopped, alive, seedy, gleaming, and whatever you want it to be. It is where the tectonic plates of North and South America collide in a cacophony of human diversity.

Close friends in Chicago recommended that we go to the top Cuban restaurant in town, D. Rodriguez Cuba. Opened last December in the art-deco Astor Hotel at 956 Washington Avenue in South Beach, D. Rodriguez is a big space with high ceilings, a live salsa band and with multi-leveled terraces outside. For a quieter dinner dine around 7:00 pm as the live music starts at 8:30.

Cuban cuisine is historically a blend of Spanish, African and Caribbean cuisines. Typical fare consists of rice and beans; a main pork or beef course; vianda that encompass yucca, malanga, potato, plantains, unripe bananas and even corn; and a salad composed of tomato, lettuce, avocado, including at times cucumber, carrots, cabbage and radish. Fruit is often ignored, except ripe plantains, which can be served with the rice and beans. Cuban fare is usually served family style.

Chef Douglas Rodriguez is considered to be the Godfather of Nuevo Latino Cuisine. He has opened restaurants in Miami, Philadelphia, Arizona, and the most recent, D. Rodriguez Cuba at the Astor Hotel in Miami Beach. You may know him as the executive chef and co-owner of the Patria in New York City.

I won’t dwell on his cuisine except to say that his Tapas (crab and lemon with cucumber yogurt Empanaditas), Ceviches (Fire and Ice - Salmon, lemon juice, chives, jalapenos, dill over yogurt and cucumber granite) and Cassabe Flat Breads are not to be missed. The menu is an adventure. And a few puffs of a good cigar out on the terrace afterwards might have you exclaiming, “Who lives better than us!”

Richard Wottrich

2010-05-02T06:51:00.002-05:00

Photo: Andre Baranowski

Slow Cooked Salmon with Leeks in Cream and Red Wine & Pomegranate Butter

I adapted this dish from Gordon Hamersley, the chef and owner at Hamersley Bistro in Boston, who created this to feature wild Alaskan King Salmon. King has the highest fat content of wild Salmon we can source in the US and thus is especially well suited to this method of roasting. The succulent result is an instant “melt in your mouth” moment that causes immediate silence at the dining table.

Salmon available in the US include the Alaskan King, the Coho or Silver, Humpback or Pink, Atlantic or Leaper, Sockeye or Red, and the Chum or Keta. As in all cooking the absolute freshness and quality of your fish selection either makes or breaks this dish. Wild Salmon in my opinion has a better taste.

Recognize that Salmon is an animal protein source and as such should be restricted to 10% of your caloric intake. In January 2004, the journal Science warned that farmed salmon contain 10 times more toxins (PCBs, dioxin) than wild salmon. The study recommends that farmed salmon should be eaten only once a month, or perhaps only every two months, as it can pose cancer risks to the human beings.

Ingredients:
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
6 whole peppercorns
2 shallots
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (6 softened, 2 diced)
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus 1 tablespoon thinly sliced
3 medium leeks, washed and julienned
½ tablespoon fresh marjoram, finely chopped
½ tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tablespoon crushed fennel seeds
1/3 cup vermouth
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 6-ounce skinless boneless Alaskan King filets
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Preparation:
Combine the red wine, pomegranate molasses, chopped shallots, cloves, allspice and peppercorns in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil until reduced to roughly two tablespoons; about 15 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, discard solids. When the sauce is cool add the softened butter and chopped parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. At this point you can refrigerate the butter as is, or put it on a sheet of plastic wrap and twist it into a thick cylinder about 1 inch by 5 inches. This is best made the day before.

Heat the remaining butter in a skillet over high heat. Add the leeks, marjoram, thyme, fennel and season with salt, stirring occasionally until the leeks are slightly wilted – about 2 minutes. Add the vermouth and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add the cream and lemon juice and cook at low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cream thickens, about 20 minutes. Add water if the mixture becomes too dry. Keep warm and reserve.

Heat your oven to 275 degrees. Arrange the Salmon filets on a foil-lined baking sheet or pan. In a small bowl combine the remaining shallots, olive oil and garlic. Rub the filets with the mixture and season with salt and pepper. Roast the Salomon until done to your taste. Medium rare takes about 12 minutes. Done to an even consistency takes about 18-20 minutes. Put a tablespoon of the wine butter on top of each filet and let it melt slightly in the oven.

Presentation:
Spoon the leeks in cream onto the center of the plate and place a Salmon filet on top. Garnish with parsley. As a main course I served seared fresh pineapple slices and Brussels sprout halves (par boiled for 5 minutes and then sautéed in pineapple juice) until both were slightly caramelized.

Adapted from Saveur, July 2008

2010-04-28T23:53:00.007-05:00

We're Talking About Cheese...

Excerpt from the The Belly of Paris, Émile Zola (1840-1902)
(Paris Market, Photo: RLW - click on picture)

All around them the cheeses were stinking. On the two shelves at the back of the stall were huge blocks of butter: Brittany butter overflowing its baskets; Normandy butter wrapped in cloth, looking like models of bellies on to which a sculptor had thrown some wet rags; other blocks, already cut into and looking like high rocks full of valleys and crevices. Under the display counter of red marble veined with grey, baskets of eggs shown like white chalk; while on layers of straw in boxes were bondons placed end to end, and gournays arranged like medals, forming darker patches tinted with green. But for the most part the cheeses stood in piles on the table. There, next to the one-pound packs of butter, a gigantic cantal was spread on leaves of white beet, as though split by blows from an axe; then came a golden Cheshire cheese, a gruyere like a wheel fallen from some barbarian chariot, some Dutch cheeses suggesting decapitated heads smeared in dried blood and as hard as skulls – which has earned them the name of ‘death’s heads’. A parmesan added its aromatic tang to the thick, dull smell of the others. Three bries, on round boards, looked like melancholy moons. Two of them, very dry, were at the full; the third, in its second quarter, was melting away in a white cream, which had spread into a pool and flowed over the thin boards that had been put there in an attempt to hold it in check. Some ports-saluts shaped like ancient discuses, bore the printed names of their makers. A romantour in silver paper suggested a bar of nougat or some sweet cheese which had strayed into the realm of bitter fermentations. The roqueforts, too, under their glass covers, had a princely air, their fat faces veined in blue and yellow, like the victims of some shameful disease common to rich people who had eaten too many truffles; while on a dish next to them stood the fromages de chèvre, about the size of a child’s fist, hard and grey like the pebbles which the rams send rolling down stony paths as they lead their flock. Then came the strong smelling-cheeses: the mont-d’ors, pale yellow, with a mild sugary smell; the troyes, very thick and bruised at the edges, much stronger, smelling like a damp cellar; the camemberts, suggesting high game; the neufchâtels, the limbourgs, the marrolles, the pont-l’évèques, each adding its own shrill note in a phrase that was harsh to the point of nausea; the livarots, tinted red, as irritating to the throat as sulphur fumes; and finally, stronger than all the others, the olivets, wrapped in walnut leaves, like the carcasses of animals which peasants cover with branches as they lie rotting in the hedgerow under the blazing sun. The warm afternoon has softened the cheeses; the mould on the rinds was melting and glazing over with the rich colors of red copper verdigris, like wounds that have badly healed; under the oak leaves, a breeze lifted the skin of the olivets, which seemed to move up and down with the slow deep breathing of a man asleep. A livarot was swarming with life; and behind the scales a géromé flavored with aniseed gave off such a pestilential smell that all around it flies had dropped dead on the marble slab.

2010-04-22T19:38:00.003-05:00

Sinhagad Fortress, near Pune, India (Photo:RLW - click on picture)

Chronic Hunger & Solutions

In the pursuit of our own healthy eating and loving families we all lose sight from time to time of the "other reality" in this world. Over one billion people suffer from chronic hunger, lack of potable water and extreme poverty globally. And these people have children who suffer along with them - the very definition of a living hell on earth.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private charitable foundation in the world and it targets these basic problems head on. In 2009 its endowment was worth roughly $33.5 Billion. Warren Buffett has committed to contribute the bulk of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which should add another $30 billion.

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, joined representatives of the governments of the United States, Canada, Spain, and South Korea at the U.S. Department of the Treasury today to launch a global trust fund to help the world’s poorest farmers grow more and earn more so they can lift themselves—and their countries—out of hunger and poverty.

Initial contributions to the fund total nearly $900 million, including a $30 million commitment from the foundation. Proposed by the G20 last year after the economic crisis and rising food prices pushed the number of hungry people to 1 billion, the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program is a concrete step to translate $22 billion in food security pledges into action.

“Investing in small farmers is an incredibly effective way to combat hunger and extreme poverty—history has proved it many times,” said Gates, whose foundation has committed $1.5 billion to date to agricultural development. “The launch of this fund is an important step forward, but only a first step. Other countries meeting at the European, G8 and G20 summits in June, and at the U.N. Summit in September should join the four founding partners and make good on their pledges. If we all sustain focus until the job is done, hundreds of millions of people will lead better lives.”

This is worth tracking - worth helping - worthwhile...

Richard Wottrich

2010-04-17T08:43:00.002-05:00

Islamic Girls School, Istanbul, Turkey (Photo: RLW) - click picture

April

Latin aperire, "to open," the modern Greek use of ἁνοιξις (opening)

April 16, 2010

Apéritif

Champagne Mango, Ginger & Sparkling Hard Cider with Lemon Grass

Jamie Oliver Tarragon & Grape Salad with Goat Cheese

2006 Saint-Hilaire, Estate Bottled Champagne

Asparagus Risotto & Sautéed Shrimp

2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Helena, Gran Reserve

Pineapple, Melon & Kiwi Italian Ice with Thyme

2006 Riesling, Niersteiner Kranzberg

Slow-Braised Wild Alaskan King Salmon, Leek & Fennel Cream Sauce with Grilled Pineapple & Brussels Sprouts

2007 The Sum, Tuck Beckstoffer

Sharon’s Strawberry Meringue Cake

1996 Chateau Doisy Daëne, Sauternes

2010-04-16T07:20:00.001-05:00

Cocachinos!

Starting in 2010 I decided to give up my mainlining habit of consuming Coca-Cola & Starbucks Frappachinos. My diet beyond those indulgences is pretty good. I cook most everything from scratch and try to keep aninal fats to a minimum. However I knew that my Cocachino addiction was keeping extra pounds on me. My mind's eye did not match my surface tension.

How many? Well I was averaging two cans of regular coke a day and sometimes more. I also had my daily Frappachino sugar fix and averaged perhaps five a week. That works out to roughly 3,500 calories a week, which is roughly how many calories it takes to gain one pound.

In a year that adds up to 182,000 calories, or over 50 pounds! Obviously I burned up most of those calories, but my “calorie deficit” (the difference between calories consumed and burned) was high enough to keep extra pounds on me.

My Body Mass Index (BMI) was an overweight 26.6. I have dropped 12.5 pounds over the past several weeks quite naturally for a BMI of 24.9, considered “normal.” I attribute roughly half of this weight drop to ditching Cocachinos. The rest however is the natural result of a diet of 100% fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and keeping total animal proteins to 10% of total intake.

The real benefit is in better nutrition. But more than that I just feel better!

What do you mainline?

2010-04-14T06:37:00.007-05:00

Spicy Fagioli Cannellini and Swiss Shard in Tomato Sauce

Dried white beans are a wonderful flavor platform for all types of sauces. They are an excellent source of folate, manganese, dietary fiber, protein, iron and Vitamin B1. But not all beans are created equal.

True Fagioli Cannellini white beans are a rare thing, true Italian cannellini beans. Most "cannellini" beans in the U.S. market, even in top-end stores, are American, Canadian or Argentine beans. It's mostly size and texture that make the difference. Fagioli Cannellini are large, white beans, with a beautiful, creamy feel that wonderfully soaks up sauces, soups, meat juices, olive oil. They are great for cassoulet.

The following spicy sauce stands up to grilled lamb chops, flank steak or barbecued chicken quite well.

Ingredients:

2 cups dried Cannellini beans, or two 15-ounce cans, drained
1 15-ounce can roasted chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of roasted red peppers, chopped
1 bunch Swiss chard leaves, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped Vidalia onion
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup chives, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (Aleppo preferred)
1 teaspoon powdered Sumac
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon apple vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Grated Pecorino cheese to taste

Preparation:

Put the olive oil in a deep cast iron pan and sauté the mirepoix (chopped onion, carrots and celery) until soft. Add the garlic and sauté one minute more. Add the chopped Swiss chard and wilt the leaves for one minute. Add the drained white beans after soaking them over night, or the drained canned beans. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste, white wine and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. When hot add the chives, red pepper flakes, Sumac, oregano, vinegar, lemon juice, red curry paste and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for at least 20 minutes, or until the beans are just done. Add more stock if the beans become dry. They should flow like a spaghetti sauce.

Serve with grated Pecorino cheese, fresh bread and the wine you used in the sauce.

2010-04-04T07:01:00.005-05:00

Easter Eggs

The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring. Because the use of eggs was forbidden during Lent, they were brought to the table on Easter Day, coloured red to symbolize the Easter joy. This custom is found not only in Latin but also in Asian Churches.

The symbolic meaning of a new creation of mankind by Jesus risen from the dead was probably an invention of later times. The custom may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. Easter eggs the children are told come from Rome with the bells, which on Thursday go to Rome and return Saturday morning.

Families in some countries give Easter eggs to their god-children. Coloured eggs are used by children at Easter in a sort of game which consists in testing the strength of the shells (Kraus, Real-Encyklopædie, s.v. Ei). Both coloured and uncoloured eggs are used in some parts of the United States for this game, known as "egg-picking". Another practice is the "egg-rolling" by children on Easter Monday on the lawn of the White House in Washington.

The English term "Easter", according to the Ven. Bede (De temporum ratione, I, v), relates to Estre, a Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and spring, which deity, however, is otherwise unknown, even in the Edda (Simrock, Mythol., 362); Anglo-Saxon, eâster, eâstron; Old High German, ôstra, ôstrara, ôstrarûn; German, Ostern. April was called easter-monadh. The plural eâstron is used, because the feast lasts seven days. Like the French plural Pâques, it is a translation from the LatinFesta Paschalia, the entire octave of Easter.

2010-04-01T22:01:00.004-05:00

Chef's garden, Auberge du Bois Prin, Chamonix, France (Photo: RLW)

Sweet Potato & Mustard Greens Pasta Sauce

I have been experimenting with “super” foods lately and came up with this sauce. The name of the game is great taste along with super antioxidants and vitamins. This sauce is a real surprise of intense taste along with all the advantages of super nutrients.

Sweet potatoes contain unique root storage proteins that have significant antioxidant capacities. They are an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), a very good source of vitamin C and manganese, and a good source of copper, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, potassium and iron.

Mustard greens (Brassica juncea) are jampacked with nutrients. They provide good to excellent amounts of 9 vitamins (three notable antioxidants: vitamin E, vitamin C and vitamin A), 7 minerals (folic acid and magnesium), dietary fiber and protein. As a member of the Brassica family along with broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, they also feature the health-promoting phytonutrients known as glucosinolates.

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato (orange flesh), peeled and cubed
1 Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped
1 bunch mustard greens’ stalks, coarsely chopped
1 can roasted chopped tomatoes
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup sweet potato cooking water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (Aleppo preferred)
1 teaspoon powdered Sumac
1 teaspoon apple vinegar
1 lemon, fresh squeezed juice
1 pound Fusilli pasta
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Grated Pecorino cheese to taste

Preparation:
Boil the cubed sweet potato in a large pot of salted water until fork tender, about 8-10 minutes. Reserve one cup of the liquid. Reserve the cooked sweet potato.

In a large sauce pan sauté the chopped onion and mustard greens stalks in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. (Reserve the mustard leaves for a complimentary salad.) Add the chopped tomatoes and chicken stock and bring to a simmer.

In a blender add the cooked sweet potato, sweet potato water and the wine. Blend until smooth. Add the mixture to the sauce pan. Add the grated nutmeg, Aleppo pepper, Sumac, vinegar, and lemon juice and simmer the sauce until it thickens appropriately; about 15-20 minutes.

Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water until just done; about 8 minutes. Drain and put the pasta in a large mixing bowl. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and grated Pecorino cheese to your taste. Pour on the sauce, mix and allow to rest for three minutes. Serve with fresh Italian bread and the white wine you cooked with.

Richard Wottrich

2010-03-29T18:48:00.004-05:00

(Coca leaves, Peru)

Quote of the week: "We make our food very similar to cocaine now"

That remark was made by Dr. Gene-Jack Wang, M.D., the chair of the medical department at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, in Upton, New York. His comment was in response to a new scientific study published published online March 28, 2010, in Nature Neuroscience. The study in rats suggests that high-fat, high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin. When rats consume these foods in great quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction.

According to Paul J. Kenny, Ph.D., an associate professor of Molecular Therapeutics at the Scripps Research Institute, in Jupiter, Florida, doing drugs such as cocaine and eating too much junk food both gradually overload the pleasure centers in the brain. Eventually the pleasure centers "implode," and achieving the same pleasure requires ever increasing amounts of the drug or food. Kenny was the lead author of the study.

The study tracked three groups of lab rats for forty days. One of the groups was fed regular rat food. A second was fed bacon, sausage, cheesecake, frosting, and other fattening, high-calorie foods for one hour a day. The third group was allowed to eat unhealthy foods for up to twenty-three hours a day.

The rats that ate fatty human food quickly became obese of course. But their brains also changed. The researchers found that the rats in the third group gradually developed a tolerance to the pleasure the food gave them and had to eat more fat to experience a high.

The rats began to eat compulsively, to the point where they continued to do so despite applied electric shocks. When the researchers applied an electric shock to the rats' feet in the presence of the food, the rats in the first two groups were frightened away from eating, but the obese rats were not. "Their attention was solely focused on consuming food," says Kenny. In previous studies, rats have exhibited similar brain changes when given unlimited access to cocaine or heroin. Rats have similarly ignored punishment to continue consuming cocaine, the researchers noted.

Coca leaves have been used as a “natural” high for centuries, as Wang pointed out, but people learned to purify or alter cocaine to deliver it more efficiently to their brains. This made the drug more addictive. According to Wang, food has evolved in a similar way. "We purify our food," he says. "Our ancestors ate whole grains, but we're eating white bread. American Indians ate corn; we eat corn syrup."

Of course one cannot transfer these results as a template for human behavior, but the similarities are obvious. Excessive consumption of fatty foods begets itself. You are what you eat.

Richard Wottrich

2010-03-28T13:17:00.002-05:00

(Fennel, Poncelet market, Paris, Photo: RLW)

Roasted Potato, Leek & Fennel Soup

The simplest recipes are the best. A potato and leek soup is a wondrous thing, as it is when served cold as Vichyssoise. But at times I want more depth and flavor in this preparation and this method of roasting the ingredients delivers a deep and rustic soup that is great on a cold and rainy spring day.

Ingredients:
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1-inch chunks
4 leeks, washed, trimmed and coarsely chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 bunch of fennel stalks and fronds, finely chopped
1 bunch of Swiss chard, kale or any dark green-leafed vegetable as you prefer, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ quarts chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup whole milk, cream, sour cream, or Crème Fraîche as you prefer
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
chopped chives as garnish
fresh bread

Preparation:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a large shallow roasting pan and scatter the potatoes, leeks, fennel and dark greens evenly. Pour olive oil evenly across the vegetables. Scatter a pinch or two of kosher salt and grind pepper evenly across the pan. Place in the oven for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Remove the pan from the oven and pour roughly one cup of the chicken stock into the hot pan to deglaze. Move the vegetables around the pan to evenly coat everything. Working in batches, put the vegetables into a blender with additional chicken stock. Coarsely blend each batch and pour into a large soup pot. Pour any remaining liquid into the last batch.

Add the wine, Crème Fraîche, lemon juice, and vinegar and bring to a simmer. Cook until the small pieces of potato are tender. Salt and pepper to your taste. Add additional chicken stock if the soup is too thick, or continue cooking if it is too thin. Serve with the wine and fresh bread. Rye bread with caraway seeds is particularly good with this soup.

Richard Wottrich