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.

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

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

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?

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.

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.

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

(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

(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

Croissants & the Muslims

Is the croissant French? Or do the croissant and the Ottoman Empire share a common thread in history? Perhaps it was to celebrate the defeat of a Muslim invasion at the decisive Battle of Tours by the Franks in 732. Or perhaps it was invented in Vienna, Austria in 1683 to celebrate the defeat of the Turks to Polish forces in the Turkish siege of the city, as a reference to the crescents on the Turkish flags. The city bakers, who arose early to prepare their pastries, purportedly heard the tunneling operation and gave the alarm saving the city. Later during the reign of Marie Antoinette (1774-1792) it is believed that she introduced the croissant to France.

The problem with these historical myths is that they cannot be substantiated. In fact there is no reference to the croissant known until after 1800. An early French reference to a croissant is among the "fantasy or luxury breads" in Payen's Des substances alimentaires, 1853.

As Wikipedia states, The "birth" of the croissant itself - that is, its adaptation from the plainer form of kipfel, before its subsequent evolution (to a puff pastry) - can be dated with some precision to 1839 (some say 1838), when an Austrian artillery officer, August Zang, founded a Viennese Bakery ("Boulangerie Viennoise") at 92, rue de Richelieu in Paris. This bakery, which served Viennese specialties including the kipfel and the Vienna loaf, quickly became popular and inspired French imitators (and the concept, if not the term, viennoiserie, a 20th century term for supposedly Vienna-style pastries). The French version of the kipfel was named for its crescent (croissant) shape.

So it would appear that the French origin of the croissant is safely tucked into a Parisian bakery and there can be no doubt that it reached its pinnacle in France after all. In the French preparation, croissants are made of a leavened variant of puff pastry. The yeast dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a sheet, a technique called laminating. Croissant pastry can also be wrapped around any praline, almond paste or chocolate before it is baked (in the last case, it becomes like pain au chocolat, which has a different, non-crescent, shape), or sliced to admit sweet or savory fillings.

The following recipe is from the SS France (1961), a Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT, or French Line) ocean liner. (sold and scrapped 2006-2008)

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp flour
3 sticks butter (3/4 pound) of butter or margarine, equally divided and softened at room temperature
4 cups all-purpose flour, approximately
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
2 packages dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1-1/2 cups milk, warmed to 80°F to 90°F (27°C to 32°C)
1/2 cup half-and-half, warmed
1 egg
1 Tbsp water

Instructions:

Sprinkle 3 Tbsp flour over butter and blend together on the work surface. On a length of foil, fashion a 6" square of soft butter; fold over the sides of the foil to enclose. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 2 to 3 hours.

While the butter is chilling, prepare the dough. To mix by hand, in a large mixing or mixer bowl, blend 2 cups of the flour with salt and sugar. Dissolve yeast in warm water and add it and the warmed milk and half-and-half to the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon or the flat blade of an electric mixer to thoroughly blend the batter like dough, about 2 minutes.

Stir in additional flour, 1/4 cup at a time, to make a soft but not sticky dough (it will stiffen when chilled.) Knead by hand or under a dough hook for 5 minutes to form a solid mass.

If using a food processor, attach the steel blade. Place 2 cups flour in the work bowl and add the dry ingredients. Pulse to mix. Pour the 1/4 cup water, milk, and half-and-half through the feed tube. Pulse once or twice to be certain that all dry ingredients are moistened. Add the balance of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, turning the machine on briefly after each addition. When the mixture forms a mass and begins to clean the sides of the bowl, knead for 30 seconds. Don't over knead!

This begins the process of cooling the dough and at the same time allowing it to rise. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Determine that both butter and dough are about the same temperature — 65°F (23°C) is ideal. The block of butter should bend but not break (too cold) nor be oily (too warm) when bent slightly. This may mean taking the butter out of the refrigerator an hour or so early to reach workable temperature. Likewise for the dough. Place the dough on a floured work surface and with the hands press it into a 10" square. Unwrap the block of butter and lay the block diagonally on the dough. Bring each point of dough into the center, overlapping the edges at least 1". Press the dough into a neat package. With a heavy rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle, approximately 8" x 18". This dimension is not critical.

Caution: If the butter seems to be breaking into small pieces under the dough rather than remaining solid, allow the dough/butter to warm a few minutes. But if the butter softens, becomes sticky, and oozes while making the turns, put the dough back into the refrigerator for several minutes.

Fold the length of dough into thirds, as for a letter. Turn so that the open ends are at twelve and six o'clock. Roll again into a rectangle. This time, fold both ends into the middle and then close, as one would a book. The dough will now be in 4 layers. Wrap the package of dough in a cloth (an old tea towel is good) that has been soaked in cold water and wrung dry. Place the wrapped dough in the refrigerator to relax and chill for 1 or 2 hours.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on the floured work surface. Unwrap, roll out, and fold in thirds, as for a letter. This is the final turn before it is rolled out and cut into croissants. Dampen cloth again and wrap loosely around the dough. Place the package in a plastic bag so moisture will be retained (not pulled out of the cloth). Leave in the refrigerator 4 to 6 hours or overnight.

Mix together the egg and 1 Tbsp of water. Have ready the egg wash, a knife or pastry cutter, and a wooden yardstick if you wish the pieces to be cut precisely otherwise, plan to cut them freehand. You may have or can borrow a French croissant cutter that cuts the dough into triangles.

Sprinkle work surface with flour. Roll the dough until it is a generous 10"-x-38" rectangle, and, most importantly, about 1/4" thick. This is a crucial dimension, since it determines the size and texture of the croissants. Trim irregularities to make the strip uniform in width. Cut the strip lengthwise to make two 5" pieces. Mark the strip into triangles, 5" wide on the bottom. Using a yardstick as a guide, cut through the dough with a pastry or pizza cutter or knife. Separate the triangles, place them on a baking sheet, and chill for 15 to 20 minutes. Roll the dough into the traditional croissant shape, by rolling the triangle from the bottom to the point.

Place the croissants on a baking sheet and allow to rise for 1 to 2 hours, in which they will double in volume.

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Bake the croissants for 22 to 25 minutes. Allow them to cool on a rack before serving.

Yield: 24 to 30 croissants

Blast from the Past - Beef Bourguignon

I was sitting at The Peninsula Chicago Hotel last week having tea while waiting for a client. At the next table Mario Batali was holding court with one person after another, clearly conducting business. The fact that he is one of my cooking heroes gave me pause. He is a brilliant chef. The fact that I couldn’t bring myself to go over and bother him is another matter.

Chefs as heroes started early for me with Julia Childs and Jacques Pepin. Others would follow, but Julia was on television and therefore accessible from an early age. Last year’s movie “Julie & Julia” tried to bridge the generation gap between Julia’s TV kitchen and the digital texting, blogging, social networking world of today. It succeeded largely because of a brilliant performance by Streep (age 61).

The real star of the movie was however Beef Bourguignon, a timeless peasant dish from France that has evolved into an icon of elegance, but alas seldom cooked. It was originally a method for slowly simmering beef that was too tough to eat any other way. That it has evolved into haute cuisine speaks to improvements in the tenderness of beef and in modern kitchen equipment, but also to our yearning for comfort foods from the past.

The recipe that most of us refer to as an authentic boeuf bourguignon was first codified by Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935). Escoffier was famous as a chef, restaurateur and food writer, but his real genius was to simplify the elaborate and ornate cooking practiced in the royal kitchens of France by Antoine Carême and others. Then Julia came along to simplify and modernize even further so that ordinary Americans could recreate the same dishes at home.

In Escoffier’s’ “Le guide culinaire” Beef Bourguignon is referred to as boeuf à la bourguignonne. Lardons (batons of pig belly) were used to lard the beef of that day, as marbling the meat in giant feed lots with corn had not yet been envisaged. Today we use bacon to achieve that same umami (savoriness) that was once achieved by cooking beef bones and scraps for 24 hours to arrive at a demi-glace.

And that is really the point isn’t it? It is the sauce after all, that nuanced and complex broth of rich nectar that evolves over four hours of simmering in the oven. It is achieved by the perfect union of bacon, beef, garlic, onions, carrots, butter, olive oil, flour, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, beef stock, red wine, salt and pepper. It is a process. It is a dance.

Ingredients:

Kitchen Supplies:
9- to 10-inch, fireproof casserole dish, 3 inches deep
Slotted spoon

Boeuf Bourguignon:
6 ounces bacon
1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. flour
3 cups full-bodied, young red wine, such as Burgendy
2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 tsp. thyme
Crumbled bay leaf
Blanched bacon rind
18 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock
1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms, sautéed in butter
Parsley sprigs

Preparation:
Remove rind from bacon, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.

Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Covet the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

The Swiss Pope of Cheese

Switzerland is the epicenter for many things globally that people do not generally think about. For instance 35% of the world’s wealth is kept in its banking system, the exemplar for discreetness.

Switzerland historically has been ground zero for political neutrality, representing a haven for both sides in many world wars. Even today the Swiss Chambers' Court of Arbitration and Mediation is recognized internationally as a fair and neutral third party.

Less well known is Switzerland’s role in the environment. Its tight regulation of waste sets the standard for all of Europe, and its citizens pay perhaps the highest price for disposal of all types of contaminants. This in turn means that Switzerland sets the standard for all types of packaging, much as California automobile emissions standards set the tone for the US.

Which leads us quite naturally to Swiss cheese and a man by the name of Rolf Beeler (BAY-lor). Beeler is an affineur – a finisher of cheeses. In the entire world there are only a few such people, mostly French. An affineur advises and coaches a cheese maker on aging their cheese, how often to wash and rotate them, and how to “season” them with various bacteria. Think of a top figure skating coach leading his or her charge to the Olympic gold medal.

Beeler advances this art further by “designing” the cheese before the goat or cow is even milked. He alters the animals’ diets by designating the fields they graze on, usually at very high altitudes, and exactly what they eat.

Beeler started this quest for perfection thirty years ago, walking the high mountain meadows of the Alps, talking to the cheese makers, and of course tasting every cheese in the land. Beeler today at age 55 is well known as the Cheese Pope - http://www.rolfbeeler.ch/

Beeler’s cheeses are found in the finest artisanal shops and fine restaurants all over the world – including The French Laundry and Gramercy Tavern. Beeler’s impact is not economic, but rather he is recognized for selecting and developing the world’s finest cheeses. His influence causes ripple effects in the world of cheese. For example, Beeler reinvented the classic Swiss Emmental – pushing its maturation cycle from 7 months to 18 months and washing the rind twice a week until it turned a dark nutty brown, the way it used to be made for centuries. Now the major cheese companies are doing the same.

Just twenty or so cheeses carry the stamp “Rolf Beeler Maître Fromage.” They are made from raw milks and as Rolf says, “I like the farmer to know the name of each cow.” Beeler contends that the Swiss have surpassed the French in the finest cheese making. There is only one way to find out…

Caring for Cheese

We have no problem with the concept of planting and cultivating a vegetable or herb garden, or caring for and cooling fine wines, but for some reason people think of cheese as an inert object. It isn’t. Cheese is about caring for and developing bacteria and they deserve the same attention that any fine food ingredient receives.

You pick cheese by what you enjoy naturally, but once home what do you do with it? Paradoxically “air” is both the enemy and the friend of cheese. Cheese is a living breathing organism, so standard airtight Saran wrap suffocates it. So use wax paper to lightly wrap cheese. Properly wrapped soft cheeses will keep this way for a week and hard cheeses for a month – in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

If blue and green surface molds appear, scrape them off. Keep blue cheeses segregated from other cheeses for this same reason. Cheese is best served at room temperature in most instances, so take them out an hour or two ahead of serving. And final warnings – never bake or freeze cheese.

Richard Wottrich

Blast from the Past – Corned Beef

First there was Salted Beef. The practice of salting meat goes back to ancient times in cold regions when they found that meat didn't spoil if it made contact with enough salt.

The term “Corned” comes from putting meat in a large crock and covering it with large rock-salt kernels that were referred to as “corns of salt.” This preserved the meat. The term Corned has been in the Oxford English Dictionary since at least 888 AD. An early mention of “Corned Beef” goes back to an English Book by Richard Burton in 1621, Anatomy of Melancholy, “...Beef ..corned young of an ox.”

Irish were the biggest exporters of Corned Beef until 1825. The region around Cork, Ireland, was a great producer of corned beef in the 1600s until 1825. It was their chief export and sent all over the world, mostly in cans. The British army was sustained on cans of Cork’s corned beef during the Napoleonic wars.

The term corn is modified from an Old Germanic word “kurnam” that meant a small seed of anything. Since a kernel of rock salt looked like a wheat or oat kernel it became known as a corn of salt.

[In Proto-Germanic (about 500 B.C.E.) the form was kurnam: this became korn in Old High German and Old Norse and corn in Old English (Anglo-Saxon), and that is the immediate origin of the modern English word corn. In classical Latin, meanwhile, the form was granum. This became grano in Spanish and Italian and grain in French, meaning 'cereal grain', and the French word was borrowed into English. The French words graine (seed) and grange (barn) derive from the same Latin word.]

Ingredients

3 pounds corned beef brisket
10 small red potatoes
5 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 large head cabbage, cut into small wedges

Spices

Hand-mixed from mustard seeds, Moroccan coriander, Jamaican allspice, Zanzibar cloves, Turkish bay leaves, Indian dill seed, China #1 ginger, star anise, black pepper, juniper berries, mace and cayenne red pepper.

Directions

Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Add the spices. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound or until tender.

Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes.

Place vegetables in a bowl and cover. Add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want. Slice meat across the grain.

Richard Wottrich

Sprouting Broccoli & Oyster Mushrooms in Ginger Broth with Pumpkin & Nut Dumplings

Serves 4

This Sprouting Broccoli & Oyster Mushrooms in Ginger Broth with Pumpkin & Nut Dumplings is adapted from Cafe Paradiso; Denis Cotter, voted 'Chef of the Year ' by Food & Wine (Ireland) magazine in 2005.

Make a broth by combining the following and bringing them to a simmer for 20 minutes and then strain:

2 pints water
1 chopped Onion
2 chopped celery sticks
1 chopped carrot
4 whole cloves garlic
3 oz sliced Ginger root
1 Serrano chili
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch parsley
3.5 oz soy sauce

Discard the vegetables & herbs & return broth to a pot with low heat. In the time the broth is simmering: Take 8 large wonton wrappers & make them into dumplings by filling them with the following mixture:

3.5 oz cooked pumpkin
1 tsp. chopped nuts (I like walnuts or macadamia nuts)
grated lemon zest
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp finely chopped cilantro

(You make dumplings by wetting the edges with water, placing the stuffing in the center and folding them over to make a packet.)

Fry 4 sprigs of broccolini in oil until soft, add 4 oyster mushrooms, then 4 spring onions slices length wise until gently cooked. Add vegetables to simmering broth for 5 minutes then add the wontons for another 2 minutes. Serve in 4 bowls.

This is simply wonderful fare. And although Clayton Beck insists this is a painting of a squash it will always look like a white pumpkin to me and one that would be perfect for this little stew courtesy of Wild Garlic, Gooseberries and Me.

Don't Eat Anything Your Great Grandmother Wouldn't Recognize (Watch out for GRAS)

As if we needed reminding, engineered foods are never as good for you as natural organic foods. A new report from federal investigators says the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has failed to ensure the safety of thousands of additives manufacturers put in what we eat.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the congressional watchdog agency, singled out a longstanding exception to FDA rules that has concerned consumer and public health advocates for years. Substances "generally regarded as safe" by food companies' own scientific panels are immune from rigorous FDA analysis, meaning that manufacturers that want to include an additive in a product are often spared having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in safety tests and can save years in getting the product to market.

The GAO stated that:

• The FDA generally doesn't know about most of these determinations of "generally regarded as safe," or GRAS, because companies are not required to inform the agency.

• The FDA has not taken steps that could help ensure the safety of additives listed as GRAS.

• Food products may contain numerous ingredients, including GRAS substances, making it difficult, if not impossible, for public health authorities to attribute a food safety problem to a specific GRAS additive.

• The FDA does not systematically reconsider the safety of GRAS substances as new information or new methods for evaluating safety become available.

The GOA reported that it was almost impossible to link adverse effects to GRAS additives because their presence in food is rarely known to anyone beyond those responsible for it.

GRAS designations started in 1958, when Congress amended the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to say that the safety of an additive "does not need to be established with absolute certainty." Instead, the law said, a scientific panel selected by the manufacturer can rule that no harm will result from the intended use of an additive.
In reality, the only ones who know whether the additives are actually safe are the company and its own analysts, or the outside labs it hires.

Thousands of exemptions are granted by panels designated by food industry trade groups. The largest such organization, the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, has bestowed GRAS on more than 2,600 additives since 1960.

So this means that a company can have an additive declared GRAS, and then import that additive from China and put it into their food product. Scary enough for you?

The easy solution is to eat natural organic foods – an apple doesn’t need a label or an additive.

Richard Wottrich

Knowledge Lost: Hors-D'Oeuvres

In the culinary tome "Larousse Gastronomique" (1961 edition) there are thirty-three pages devoted to hors-d'oeuvres, with well over 500 preparations! How many people today under the age of 30 know what a hors-d'oeuvre is? OMGYG2BK!

Historically these were meant to be light and delicate snacks additional to the main luncheon or dinner. In the 1950s no self respecting American cocktail party would be without several hors-d'oeuvres, both cold and hot. Oddly this evolution is French as derived from Russia, following a custom there referred to as "Zakuski" - a kind of dinner-before-dinner, served with Vodka and other spirits (hors-d'oeuvres á la russe).

In fact the language of hors-d’oeuvres sounds today as ancient as Sanskrit – knowledge lost.

Anchovy scrolls á la Nicoise

Free anchovy fillets from salt, scrape and dry in a cloth. Flatten the fillets and coat them with a thin layer of fish purée or any other mixture suitable for cold hors-d’oeuvres. Roll the fillets into scrolls. Hollow some very small raw tomatoes. Marinate them and fill two thirds with the same purée. Place the scrolls in the tomatoes. Garnish to taste, as with chopped egg yolks and egg whites, capers and chopped parsley. Dress with a thin trickle of fine olive oil.

Canapés á la livonienne

Slice a dark rye loaf of rectangular shape; spread the slices with a compound horseradish butter. Garnish with slivers of herring filets alternating with thin ribbons of good tart apples, brushed lightly with oil and surround with a border of chopped chives.

Sausages á la maltaise

Fry small artisan sausages quickly in butter. Cut a sandwich loaf into thick rectangular pieces. Hollow out and fry in butter. Put one sausage on each piece of fried bread. Add white wine to the butter in which the sausages were fried, stirring well. Season with a little chopped shallot. Make a rich demi-glace sauce (reduction). Blanch some orange peel, drain, cut into very thin strips and add to the demi-glace sauce. Pour this sauce over the sausages.

JTLYK

Lefse

This week I traveled to Whalen, Minnesota to participate in my mother's funeral. Many of her dear friends attended, coming up the long hill in the cold bright Minnesota February sunshine to pay their respects and fix a church luncheon. It was so sweet. Many of the ladies were of Scandinavian descent and many carry on the traditions of their immigrant ancestors. One of their favorite foods is Lefse. My mother and these delightful ladies used to produce large mountains of it for the Whalen Stand Still Parade (A Prairie Home Companion favorite) each year. What follows is her recipe, scaled down from the parade sized batch she normally turned out.

5 Large Potatoes
1/2 Cup Sweet Cream
1/2 Cup Flour for each cup of the resulting mashed potatoes
1 Teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Butter

Boil potatoes, mash very finely. Add cream, butter & salt. Beat until light & fluffy, let cool. Add flour. Take a piece the size of the palm of your hand and roll as if for pie crust, rolling as thinly as possible. Bake on a griddle or lefse griddle until light brown turning frequently to prevent scorching using medium heat. Place between flour sack towels to keep moist until they can be slathered in butter, sprinkled with sugar, rolled up and gobbled down.

Five-Spice Powder

To me five-spice powder was always some dried up brown "stuff" in an old bottle in the back of my spice cabinet. I would read about it in Chinese recipes, but never use it. It never occured to me to make my own.

Five-spice powder is found in Chinese cuisine, but is also used throughout Asian cookery. The concept is to encompass all five flavors of sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty. Traditionally it includes star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Szechwan pepper and ground fennel seeds. Another combintion of the five spices consists of huajiao (Sichuan pepper), bajiao (star anise), rougui (cassia), cloves, and fennel seeds. The concept is based on the Chinese philosophy of balancing the yin and yang in food.

Five spice is used with fatty meats like pork and duck. It is used in stir fried vegetables and as a spice rub for chicken, duck, pork and seafood. Five spice also is used in recipes for Cantonese roasted duck, as well as beef stew.

2 tablespoons black peppercorns
6 cloves
1 3/4-inch piece of cassia bark or a 2-inch piece of cinnamom stick
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
5 star anise
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (optional)

In a small pan over medium heat toast all the spices until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Grind the spices in a spice grinder until very fine.

Richard Wottrich

Greek Yogurt & Feta Mashed Potatoes

This delicious variation on mashed potatoes was adapted from "Artichoke to Za'atar", Modern Middle Eastern Food, by Greg Malouf and Lucy Malouf, University of California Press, 2008 edition. Of course the French ideal is that illusionary land of butter and potatoes suspended in time in equal portions - 50/50. But here in the real world where actions have consequences, we search for more reasonable alternatives.

Feta cheese and Greek yogurt have distinctive flavors and do not blow out either the budget or your diet. We served this with a simple roasted chicken, a platter of roasted vegetables, and a medium dry Riesling white wine; with gravy made in the roasting pan with the same wine.

Mashed Potatoes

3 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium yam, white flesh, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk, whole or 2% as you like
1 cup Greek-style yogurt
1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste

Put the peeled and cubed potatoes and yam into a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are just cooked.

As they simmer, put the olive oil, butter, milk and Greek-style yogurt into a sauce pan and blend together. Whisk in the chopped chives. Keep warm.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain and then put them back in the pot to dry on low heat for less than a minute. Put the potatoes in a large bowl and pour over the sauce pan mixture. Mash with hand masher or hand mixer. Adjust the consistency with either more milk or yogurt depending upon whether it is too thick or too thin. Adjust the seasoning to your taste.

Crumble on the Feta cheese and mix well. Serve immediately.

Gravy

Gravy is the thing! What are mashed potatoes without it?

When I roast a chicken I fill the cavity with whatever fresh herbs and onion greens I happen to have - scallion greens, fennel fronds, rosemary, lavender, or as you wish. Then I surround the chicken with all the vegetable trimmings; carrot tops, potato skins, celery tops, onion skins and so on. Added to this are lemon, orange and/or lime rinds as may be left over from other preparations. Throw in a few peppercorns, Allspice berries and Cloves and you're good to go.

After roasting put the chicken on the cutting board to rest for 10-15 minutes. Tip the roasting pan and carefully drain the excess fat into a can or other safe receptacle. Place the pan on a couple of burners on the stove and deglaze with a cup of the wine. Take a can of chicken stock and swirl in two tablespoons of corn starch and pour into the hot roasting pan. Scrap the bottom of the pan and swirl the various herbs, fruit and vegetables around in the liquid until it starts to boil and thicken. Take a large bowl and put a strainer over it. Carefully pour the hot gravy into the strainer, discarding all other ingredients. Salt and pepper the gravy to your taste - it will be very aromatic at this point. If you like you can add a little cream or milk. Serve hot.

Richard Wottrich

E. Dehillerin - Cookware Shop - Paris

That title is akin to saying that Champagne is a carbonated drink, or that filet mignon is cow meat. Founded in 1820, E. Dehillerin is the nexus of cookware in this universe. Over the top? Not really.

The first time I chanced upon the store was back in 2000. All I wanted was a wine corkscrew. I walked into a world of heavy gauge copper pots and gigantic whisks, fiber glass and silicon sheets, molds for pastry cooks, and stainless steel for induction hob (magnetic). Who doesn’t need a duck press for 1,000 Euros?

The store itself is like a Jean-Paul Sartre séance, with opinionated French clerks who have the humor of a winter storm. But the "stuff" is the thing and they have the stuff!

Their web site is passable. You can download entire sections of their catalogue, so if you’re having trouble finding something – try E. Dehillerin.

Richard Wottrich