What we've been reading... 6/14/2009

• Cooking Clams With What's On Hand: Mediterranean Style | Sippity Sup
• Mix an Exploding Drink - Wired How-To Wiki
• Sea Salt, Kosher Salt, Celtic Sea Salt – Guide
• Mussel myth an open and shut case › Dr Karl's Great Moments In Science (ABC Science)
• Mike's Amazing Cakes
• Gluten-Free | A Dash of Sass
• Mealographer - record your meals, set goals, track your diet
• Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwich | Baking Bites
• Home of the Lazy Dog: French Dip Sandwiches
• Broccoli Stuffed Potatoes - Stuffed Baked Potatoes - Recipe for Stuffed Potatoes
• To Poach Chicken Breasts Recipe : Sara Moulton : Food Network
• Lemon And Herb Roasted Chicken With Baby Potatoes Recipe : Tyler Florence : Food Network
• Chicken Tostadas Recipe : Food Network Kitchens : Food Network

Durian Chips!

Dried Durian ChipsI saw these at a local Vietnamese sandwich shop and I couldn't resist. 

I've never eaten durian before and part of my instincts told me that, after everything I've heard about their odor, I shouldn't open them in my house...

but I did anyway. 

To my surprise, there was not any unpleasant smell, let alone one that knocks the wind out of you.

Because of its smell, stories abound about how durian is banned in public places like malls and subways in many parts of South-East Asia. 

It is also rumored to be forbidden in many hotels.

Sometimes referred to as the "King of Fruit," it is said to throw a pungent, sulfuric nose like an athlete's sock or a rotting corpse - but what makes people crave the fruit is that the horrible smell of durian is only to be outdone by its delicious taste.

Quotes pulled from Wikipedia and Urban Giraffe:

• British novelist Anthony Burgess writes that eating durian is "like eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory."
• Chef Andrew Zimmern compares the taste to "completely rotten, mushy onions."
• Anthony Bourdain, while a lover of durian, relates his encounter with the fruit as thus: "Its taste can only be described as...indescribable, something you will either love or despise. ...Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother."
• Travel and food writer Richard Sterling says... "its odor is best described as pig-s#!t, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away.
• Henri Mouhot, Food Naturalist:  "On first tasting it I thought it like the flesh of some animal in a state of putrefaction.
• "The durian's smell is its outstanding feature - it is pungent, a bit like a clogged drain or rotten eggs."  From the Financial Express.
• "It has been likened to rotting onions, unwashed socks and even carrion in custard, but the most accurate description by far is that of a sewer full of rotting pineapples." - BBC

A company called Greenday makes these dried durian chips in Thailand.  Inside the bag were 20 or so thumb-sized bright yellow moons.  They looked freeze dried and had no moisture to them whatsoever.  Some were a little porous, some were smooth.

They smelled more closely to banana chips than anything else, and they tasted quite similar too.  There was a distinct sulfur, eggy-like note but balanced with a complex sweetness.  Although they were dried, they yielded a creaminess when you began to chew them.

I tried pairing them with a lager and a Savignon Blanc.  Both seemed to compliment them well.  I think that the dryness of the drinks countered the sweetness of the durian.  They weren't cloying like dried mango can be, but again, sweet like dried banana chips.  Although the contents didn't look like much, the 50 gram bag was unusually filling.

Although this wasn't the fresh fruit, which I can't wait to try, there was nothing unpleasant to it at all.  I wonder what makes durian so repulsive then before it is dried.  We'll call durian chips a durian primer for me, unlike this 15 month-old who goes straight for the good stuff...

Creamy Collard Greens and Roasted Garlic Soup

This Creamy Collard Greens and Roasted Garlic Soup is a hearty soup with the addition of potatoes and cream.  It takes about an hour and requires only an emersion blender, an oven, and a stove.  It makes for a completely satisfying entrée with a little bread or toast as a side.  I garnished it here with a dollop of sour cream, a drizzle of olive oil, and a dusting of paprika.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of medium-starch potatoes, like Red or Yukon Gold, roughly chopped
• 1 pound of carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 pound of collard greens, washed well, and roughly chopped
• 1/2 pound of asparagus
• 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 quart of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 bulb of garlic, roasted
• 1 cup cream
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350.  Slice bulb of garlic in half into a cross-section, rub with olive oil, salt & pepper, and place into the hot oven for about 30 minutes until it browns lightly.  While that is roasting, wash and chop all your vegetables.  Ensure the greens get a good soak, they tend to have a lot of grit on them when you get them from the store.

Bring a large pot to medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the carrots, asparagus, and onions, salt & pepper, and sauté for 2-3 minutes.  Then add the stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, then turn the temperature down to a simmer and cover.  Cook until the potatoes until they're soft and yield easily to being pricked with a knife, about 15-20 minutes.

Once you have removed the roasted garlic from the oven, squeeze it so that the cloves slide out.  They should have the consistency of pudding at this point and should slide out easily.  Drop them into the pot along with the collard greens and bring back to a boil, hold them at a boil for 5 minutes.

Once the greens have had time to soften, take the pot off the heat and blend thoroughly with an emersion/stick blender, or in batches in a traditional blender.  Once everything is blended, taste to see if you need more salt & pepper, and add the cream.  Mix well.

Serve hot and garnish with sour cream and/or a little olive oil, and a sprinkle of paprika.  Enjoy.

What we've been reading... 6/7/2009

•  No More Chillin' Let's Start Grillin'- Sausages with Arugula Pesto | Sippity Sup

• Chicken or Steak with Balsamic BBQ Sauce Recipe : Giada De Laurentiis : Food Network

Freezing and Food Safety

Mr. Potato Head goes organic | Greenpeace International

Mexican rice and bacon cakes. | What's cooking?

• Mikey HATES Everything!: Asia's Sweet and Savory

• Mashed Potato Casserole Recipe : Recipezaar

• Select the Right Potato for Mashed Potatoes

Champagne, Butter, and Radishes

We received some boisterous radishes from our CSA box, both red and white, and decided that they should be consumed in a way more traditionnelles.  In France, radishes are often consumed with sweet (unsalted) butter, and a little salt, sometimes on a piece of bread.  What would go better with this than a glass of champagne?  I don't know.

It doesn't have to be Champagne, mind you.  Any dry sparkling white wine will do the trick.  The piquant bite to the radishes would, in my opinion, pair well with a Spanish Cava, an Italian Prosecco, Asti, or Franciacorta, a Portuguese Mateus rosé or Vinho Verde, or a bottle of bubbles from California (just keep your André Cold Duck in the fridge for another day).

On a side note: according to the Gallo website, André is the #1 selling sparkling wine in America.  Not surprisingly because it averages around $4 a bottle.  But what's even more interesting is that they can legally call it "Champagne." Despite the fact that André is not made in Champagne France, is not likely made up of traditional Champagne vatietals, and it is most definitely not produced from the méthode champenoise, André was grandfathered in.

The radish (Raphanus sativus) is in the Brassicaceae family which also includes cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, Chinese cabbage, and horseradish.  What gives radishes and many of its "cousins" their punch is a neat little system of the vegetable's version of chemical warfare.

Allyl isothiocyanate is the chemical responsible for the sharp peppery note generated  by some members of the Brassicaceae family and it is what keeps animals from eating the plant.  It is; however, harmful to the plant itself so it stores two otherwise harmless chemicals in separate containers within the cell walls.  When something takes a bite of radish, the enzyme myrosinase is released and transforms a glucosinolate into allyl isothiocyanate.

Mmm, allyl isothiocyanate.  Delicious.

Champagne, butter and radishes with some sea salt - what a great appetizer.  For your viewing pleasure, I found a vintage André commercial, "Greet the season and your friends with the best, André"

Santé!

Bacon or Sausage?

photo by Dave Koch

Bacon or Sausage?

Scrambled or fried?

Hash browns or home fries?

As I sit waiting for my guest at a local diner, I have an epiphany on the what makes us so attracted to the meal in which we break our nightly fast.  Let's talk about breakfast.  Why do we crave it?  Why is it often, "Served All Day"?  What is the root of it's universal appeal?

I suddenly realized that it's beauty is in it's simplicity; but what makes it so special is it's ability to be customized.  At it's foundation you often have eggs, a meat, a leavened bread, a pan-fried bread, some sort of a sweet topping (syrup, jam, etc.), ketchup, and the ubiquitous Tabasco sauce.

What makes it amazing is that the sheer number of unique combination's allow for everyone to eat the same thing, yet completely different from the next person, and also precisely how they like it.  This amalgam makes up most fare served up in the finest morning eating establishments.


Patron:  "Pancake sandwich with bacon, eggs over medium, no runny, sourdough toast."

Server:  "It doesn't come with toast, honey"

Patron:  "OK, no toast then.  Or, could I have some on the side?"

Server:  "What kind of toast?"

And so it continues...

If you turn off your filter at a busy diner, these conversations pop into your head in a continuous stream.  People narcistically order their personal nuances into every distinct piece of the meal, far more than any other.  "Extra this"  "Light that"  "Easy on the..."  "Could I have a side of the ... instead?"  They've had more practice fine tuning breakfast than lunch, or dinner.  Just look at the menu; there may be less than 10 things, all assembled in different ways; like Legos, but for food.

As I sneak glances upon my fellow patrons I see two middle aged women eating pancakes with a light touch on the syrup.  They have only used about a third of their respective tiny pitchers of the dark stuff.  One hasn't even touched her little ball of butter, the other has devoured hers; both are sharing a side of bacon and each are sipping coffee.

The man to my right and a little behind me, as I rubber neck in my stealthily way, is devouring scrambled eggs, hash browns, a biscuit (he hasn't touched his butter either), and washing it all down with a glass of milk. He dines alone, slowing as he eats, the last few bites are deliberate and well planned.  A small bite of egg, then a stab of the biscuit, a small swipe of marmalade from his knife, and then into the mouth.

A foursome of two couples was just seated near me and I have a great vantage point.  They begin with three coffees, a tea, and a round of waters with one woman sipping her water from a straw.  The woman with the tea has a side of fruit immediately.  When they are served, it looks as if something's wrong with the ladies' order, very wrong.  They send it back.

What emerges a minute or so later looks like Benedict, split with her female friend across the table from her.  One of the male counterparts gets eggs that look over easy, white toast, sausage patties, and hash browns.  He likes to break everything up at first rather then before each bite (I know the type), and spends a minute or so preparing the plate.  The other man does nearly the same, only with links instead.

On another note: I just watched a woman pour an unholy amount of sugar into her coffee from the glass jar of sugar.  I think there should be a safety valve on those things.  She could have put a Shetland pony into hypoglycemia with a dose that size.

For me?

I'm going to get one egg over-hard (I've not been digging runny yolks lately...), bacon (I had sausage links yesterday), hash browns, a biscuit (I'm going to smother it with my own little round ball of butter and...), and maybe some marmalade.  I will add a tablespoon or so of ketchup to the side and likely skip the Tabasco.  Coffee with one tub of half & half, no sugar.

My cohort, I'm guessing, will order one egg over easy, bacon (or maybe the sausage patty??), hash browns, and white toast.  He will get two sides of brown gravy and pour it on top of everything.  He will spend 90 seconds or so shaking black pepper on top once the roofing of gravy is down - I've never seen someone put more pepper on their food than him.  He'll order a side of milk for his coffee in lieu of the half & half tubs, no sugar.

[Update: I got the same but I was offered a side of gravy as well and I went for it.  It was mushroom gravy - and it was quite tasty, thanks for the tip.  My cohort got one egg but scrambled, with links instead and an English muffin.  He only got one side of brown gravy, though still with heaps of black pepper, and he put strawberry jam on the English muffin... I was so close.]


So, how do you assemble your ideal "diner breakfast"?


Bacon, ham, links, patty, pork chop, or steak?

Pancakes, French toast, waffle, or silver dollars?

Over easy, over medium, scrambled, poached, or omelet?

Hash browns, home fries (triple cheese for $1 more), French fries, or fruit?

Sourdough, white, wheat, rye, English muffin, crumpet, or biscuit?

Coffee, tea, orange juice, grapefruit, tomato, or milk?

Cereal, oatmeal, granola, yogurt, muesli?

Make Your Own Stock

Making your own stock is easy and can save you a fair amount of money.  There is really nothing difficult about it.  Make a big pot of stock and the key is to freeze it into pre-measured containers.  Pictured above are Ziploc's Twist 'n Loc containers, I used the 4 cup (1 quart) and 2 cup (1 pint) sizes.  That way you can drop them easily into a recipe.

Save all of your vegetable scraps; tough asparagus ends, celery butts, eggplant skins, carrots that have started to go limp, your garlic that's begun to sprout, that onion half that's been sitting in the fridge for the last two weeks.  Don't worry about the texture, soft veggies make a fine stock.  Save and freeze all your bones as well and all your herbs that are about to turn. 

Keep all of these veggies and bones in the freezer until you have a good amount.  I make sure that I have about two pounds of scraps and bones for each gallon of stock that I plan to make.

Throw them all in a pot, bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.  Keep that going on the stove for a few hours.  Cool the stock as quickly as possible.  One method is to fill the sink with cold water and place the stock pot in the cold water. 

Water has an extremely high volumetric heat capacity so use cold water to bring the temperature down more quickly.  Strain and pour into your containers.  Voilà!

Oh Belgian ale, why are you so divine?

Belgian Ale.  Light but full bodied.  A hint of fruit.  Possibly the best BBQ beverage ever.

The other day, a sunny but cool day (unusual for Sacramento anytime after St. Patrick's day) we ventured to the farmer's market and bought some fresh, wild coho salmon (we just missed the wild king).  Next, we headed to Taylor's Market which is known for their old-school butcher shop.

This was our first visit and we enjoyed the charm and friendly, helpful staff.  We did pick out some meats but the treat was their selection of Belgium ales.  I picked out the La Chouffe as I hadn't tried it before and they didn't carry Chimay's white label (just the blue & red).

What caught my attention was the description of a white ale with spice, this is due to the addition of coriander (what makes the Lost Coast's Great White Ale one of our favorites).  My first sip was just as I had hoped.  Full, malty, sweet - and while I finished my glass long before the salmon was done, I was in a great mood and ready to chow down!  Incidentally, we paired the fish with a grilled corn and potato salad with red onion, tomato, ricotta and basil.

Yum-o!

Jello Cities

photo by otherthings

Artist Liz Hickok recreates accurate, scaled-down cities with Jello.  The photo above is San Francisco and they are pouring on the "fog" before they do the photo shoot.  She has done several neighborhoods of San Francisco as well as Wilmington, Delaware and Scottsdale, Arizona. 

Her installations and photography are surreal, you can check them out and purchase them from her website here. 

Liz begins by taking photos around the city, capturing the facades of landmark buildings.  Then she makes tiny models of the structures out of balsa wood and/or foam board.  She pours up silicone molds of the models to make her Jello molds.

The last step in the process is taking a large aerial or satellite photograph of the city and laying in onto a table, making a ton of Jello, and placing the buildings into place. 

Playing with your food?

She has also made videos:

• a tidal wave hitting San Francisco's Marina District
• Godzilla attacking Scottsdale
• the White House's First 100 days (literally)
• My favorite?  San Francisco's Telegraph Hill during an earthquake; complete with fog and the skyline shaking appropriately... like a bowl of Jello.

Here are some more photos of San Francisco...

photo by kwc

photo by jennY

photo by jennY

What we've been reading... 5/31/2009

• Crap That Kids Eat, But Not Adults « THE SURFING PIZZA
• Obama Foodorama: First Lady On The Record At Bancroft Elementary School: Processed and Take-Out Food Is Bad, School Food Needs To Be Affordable, Accesible
• Consumerist - Meet Drank, The Anti-Energy Drink - drank
• I love flavour, me!: Creamy Spinach-a winner with anyone!
• Thai Green Curry Paste Recipe
• Season's Best: Burgers - Video - CookingLight.com
• Extreme Foods: Cabbage and Condoms
• The Sneeze - Steve, Don't Eat It
• encyclopedia of spices
• Fajitas Recipe : Tyler Florence : Food Network
• Chicken Stew with Biscuits Recipe : Ina Garten : Food Network

Cocaine Found in Red Bull Cola

The Associated Press reports that Austria's health ministry found detectable traces of cocaine samples of Red Bull Cola energy drinks... keep in mind that this is Red Bull's Cola and not their ubiquitous Energy Drink.  They use the Coca leaf as a flavoring but are supposed to remove any cocaine.

Before you go out and buy a case, Red Bull Spokeswoman says that any traces are very slight and do not pose a health risk; and the company maintains that its Cola is "harmless and marketable in both the U.S. and Europe."

So how much did they find? - 0.4 micrograms/liter.

To put things in perspective, the EPA allows a maximum threshold of arsenic in drinking water of 10 micrograms/liter.  That's 25 times more than how much cocaine the Austrians found. 

Michael Recchiuti’s "The Taste Project"

This is the Recchiuti Chocolateria - [pronounced "ri-cutie"], located in an unassuming industrial complex in San Francisco's Central Waterfront District, only steps from the Bay.  (It is also home, by the way, to Crush Pad - a state of the art DIY wine making facility.) 

You may never have guessed that on the second floor of this building they are making some of the most exquisite chocolates the world over... but they are

I was recently brought here for a preview for what Michael Recchiuti is calling "The Taste Project."  Many thanks to the Foodbuzz team for inviting me, I was one of about 25 friends and journalists invited and the event was a class-act, all the way.

When I walked in, I was handed a glass of sparkling wine [bonus!] and seated.  They didn't seem to mind that I was 40 minutes late having been stuck in traffic driving back from Napa.

I was immediately handed a tasting menu of what we would be going through:

Dip-it-yourself Graham Cracker Breadsticks
Featuring Recchiuti's custom-blended Valrhona 64% chocolate
on a Himalayan salt block

Salt Course
Stone Fruit Pizza -Puff pastry with fresh peaches, cherries and
shaved chocolate.  Finished with Roasted Korean Bamboo Salt.

Spirits Course
Cherry Bombs - Semi-sweet chocolate shells filled St. George
Spirits Kirsch.  Topped with a chocolate-coated Amarena cherry.

Mushroom Course
Panini Fungi - Shiitake malt chocolate ice cream on grilled brioche. 
Topped with pan fried batons of shiitake.

Bread Course
Bread Pudding - Acme croissant soaked in rum custard.
Finished with Burnt Caramel Sauce.

Here is a rundown of the tasting events they are going to run this summer and fall:

Salt, Caramel & Chocolate with Mark Bitterman
Saturday, May 30th, 2-4:30pm

St. George Spirits & Chocolate with Lance Winters
Saturday, June 13th, 2-4:30pm

Chocolate Obsession 2 - Serious Chocolate
Saturday, June 20th, 2-4:30pm

Olive Oil & Chocolate with Fran Gage
Saturday, July 11th, 2-4:30pm

Piccino Dinner 2
Saturday, July 19th, 6pm

Cheese & Chocolate with Doralice Handal
Saturday, August 1st, 2-4:30pm

Far West Fungi & Chocolate
Saturday, September 5th, 2-4:30pm

Beer & Chocolate with Magnolia Pub
Saturday, September 19th, 2-4:30pm

Bread & Chocolate with Acme Bread
October - date and time TBD

Michael is a great speaker and a natural teacher, I'm positive all the events will be both delicious and inspirational.  I was also completely overwhelmed by the pint of homemade Burnt Caramel Ice Cream they sent me home with.  Only five ingredients (so Michael Pollan would eat it too):  milk, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla.  The best ice cream I've ever had, too bad you can't buy any. 

Michael Pollan on The Colbert Report

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Michael Pollan
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Keyboard Cat

Author Michael Pollan goes on the Colbert Report to explain how the food-industrial complex is destroying what we eat by processing and synthesizing it.  He opines on how reducing a complex food down to a single component is fundamentally detrimental to our health.

One of the tenets of his newest book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, is to only buy things with "5 ingredients or less."  He is steadfast that this is the most simple method for reducing the amount of synthetic food in our diets.

Interestingly, I recently tried Häagen-Dazs' new ice cream that is actually called five.  They boast that it only contains five ingredients: milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks... and then whatever flavor it is.  They make it in make Mint, Coffee, Vanilla, Ginger, Passion Fruit, Brown Sugar, and Chocolate and it's good!

Some of the highlights of the Colbert clip include Michael admitting to eating Yodels; how he got "busted" at the supermarket buying Fruity Pebbles, and he blasts infant formula but his mom is in the audience - and she tells him that he wasn't breast fed.  Zing!

What we've been reading... 5/24/2009

15 Minutes to Fame - Gnocchi for Beginners. And for Braggarts. » delicious:days

Bouchon For Two » Blog Archive » Mangoes and Steel-cut Oats

Maman and Gourmand Smoothie/Shake Recipe Contest! « The Golden Pineapple Blog

FOODALOGUE: Pulled Pork & Tropical Slaw with Plantain Salsa

Holly Hadsell - El Hajji: Count down to Memorial Day - Hot Dog Bar

Not Mushroom For Improvement: Linguine | Sippity Sup

FTC Looks To Regulate Blogger Credibility | Techdirt

The Spanish Kitchen: Explore the ingredients, cooking techniques and culinary traditions of Spain

Keftedes: Greek Meatballs in Pita

Keftedes: Greek Meatballs photo by Amy Koch

 
These Greek-style meatballs are a snap to make, delicious, and kid-friendly.  The mint, vinegar, and nutmeg make them distinctly Greek, all the while playing nice together with the oregano.  Adding them into pita bread with Romaine lettuce and fresh sliced cherry tomatoes with tzatziki (cucumber-yogurt sauce) make a wonderful entree for lunch or dinner.

This recipe was adapted from Cat Cora's but I changed the cooking method and omitted the flour since I wanted to pan fry the meatballs instead of deep fry.

Ingredients

• 3 slices white bread with crust
• 1 cup milk
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 yellow onion, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 finely chopped tablespoons of fresh oregano
• 3 finely chopped tablespoons of fresh mint
• 2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Pita Bread, white or whole wheat
• Cucumber Yogurt Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cube sliced bread and place in food processor, pulse until bread become coarse breadcrumbs. Place the fresh breadcrumbs in a bowl and add milk. Let sit for 1 minute then squeeze out the liquid and combine bread with the beef, onion, garlic, oregano, mint, vinegar, eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper into a bowl.  Incorporate well but be careful not to overmix. Take a heaping tablespoon out at a time and roll the mixture into meatballs.

Add the olive oil to a medium-hot pan.  Brown the meatballs on all sides, cook in batches so as not to overcrowd. Place browned meatballs on an oiled sheet pan (or lined with parchment) and finish cooking in oven for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through.

Serve warm or at room temperature in toasted pita with chopped Romaine lettuce, sliced cherry tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki:

• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 1 cup seeded and small-diced cucumber
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 finely chopped tablespoons of fresh mint
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

49er BBQ

What's a 49er BBQ?

A 49er BBQ is something you can whip up in a small apartment on a foggy day with an electric stove from the 1960s and still have people second guess if it was done on a grill or not. Well, they'll know there wasn't a grill, but it'll be delicious nonetheless.

We made pork spareribs, pinquito beans, and Southern greens on a recent lazy Sunday.

The ribs are done using a technique I learned from Alton Brown. The pinquito beans are, more or less, Santa Maria BBQ style. The greens I kept Southern.

The ribs and the beans take at least 2-3 hours but the greens, once prepped, only take 5-10 minutes to cook - so plan accordingly. I started the beans with a "short-cook method," since I didn't soak the dried beans overnight, they needed to be par-cooked. Then, I made the dry rub and got the ribs into the oven. Last, I prepped the greens and put them aside to finish.



THE RIBS

• 1 slab of pork spare ribs
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 Teaspoon sugar
• 1 Teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumon
• 1 Teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 Teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 Tablespoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Trim fat from ribs thoroughly; these will be done in the oven and excess fat will not render as if it were on a grill. Lay out 2 sheets of aluminum foil, each of which are 8 inches longer than the spareribs. Lay the 2 sheets of foil on your workspace to make 1 extra wide piece of foil. Overlap an inch from each piece and crimp several times to form a tight seal. Place the ribs in the middle. Combine spices in a bowl, then generously rub across the ribs. Don't forget to get both sides.

Fold up the top and bottom of the foil together and crimp in the same fashion for a seal. Do the same with either side. You should have a tight 'bag' made from aluminium foil. Place on a baking sheet for easier transportation and in case of spillage. Place into the oven for 2 hours. Check after 2 hours for done-ness; gently unfurl the foil sides. A bone should rotate easily around the meat, indicating that everything is tender. If not, place back into the oven and check again after 15 minute increments.

Once ribs are soft, open of the foil so that they are exposed and turn the oven to broil. Baste the top of the ribs several times with the juices in the bottom of the baking sheet using a pastry brush. Watch closely because they will burn quickly; this will take about 5 minutes. When a good crust is formed, pull from the oven, close up the foir around them, and let them rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

THE BEANS

• 1/2 pound of dried pinquito beans, also called pink beans
• 1 teaspoon of powered mustard
• 2 tablespoon of brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 yellow onion, minced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of chili sauce (I used Srirachi)
• 1/2 jalapeno (I like it spicy, but you can omit this)

Sort the dried beans on a plate or baking sheet to remove any stones.  Soak the beans in water overnight if you can.  If you are not able to soak, place the beans into a large pot, add a gallon of water [or so] and bring it to to a boil.  Kill the heat, cover, and allow to sit for an hour.  This is called the "short-cook method."

Drain the liquid once complete and continue with the recipe. Once you have soaked or done the "short-cook method" with the beans, add them into a pot and add enough water to cover them by one inch.   Add the rest of your ingredients. 

Simmer uncovered until the beans are soft, about an hour.  The level of liquid should be kept flush with the height of the beans, add water as needed.

THE GREENS

1 pound of leafy greens: kale, beet, collard, chard, etc...
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup dried currants or raisins
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon kosher salt

De-stem the greens and rinse/wash thoroughly. This may take several baths in water and several spins around the spinner. Chop coarsely. Since the greens take only 5 minutes, begin cooking only when the ribs and beans are done.

Add the butter and olive oil to a hot pan, keep the heat on medium-high. Once the butter is melted and begins to brown, add the greens. Add the currants, celery salt, kosher salt, pepper, and vinegar. Stir occasionally until softened and done, about 5 minutes.

Plate everything in neat little piles.

You may touch up a little BBQ sauce if you like. I'm not a total purist and if that floats your boat... then, who am I to blow against the wind?

A Selfish Request

photo by Antoinne von Rimes

This is an open letter to god, the supreme, supernatural being - or to whatever deity handles culinary matters.

Dear Great One:

I, a lowly human, offspring of Adam, request that you create a culinary fairy godmother, jinni, magical elf, or fantastical creature of your choosing to fill in the gaps, and/or black holes that plague the culinary world. My requests are as follows:

1.   I want California barbecue to taste like Southern barbecue. I want the same quality, taste, and awesomeness found in the South to be replicated here in the Golden State. Barbecue here sucks, and mail order Q takes too long and the best places in the South don’t know what the Internet is.

2.   The taste of all bad, retched food should last only three thousandth of a second in your brain before it morphs into the taste of cotton candy or bacon with only a fleeting memory of the afore-tasted bad food.

3.   I want quality Austrian pastry to be the standard for all pastry in the world. Sorry, French people, I love French pastry too, but you guys do so many things so well in the culinary world, whereas, the Austrians had to specialize in one area and command it.

I do not want to walk into another bakery in America and see the same selection of desserts, made in the same way, with the same ingredients, all tasting the same exact way. I want to bite into something new, and have my head explode with flavor and taste, and question myself if I was truly alive before I tasted this magnificent concoction of sugar, fat, flour and flavoring.

4.   I want there to be the equivalent of gourmet soup kitchens for poor gourmands who can not afford to eat at places like the French Laundry, Nobu, Fleur de Lis, Danko, and Le Cirque…. I want famous and talented chefs to operate an establishment where say for twenty bucks you could eat like Bernie Madoff, and enjoy the best of the best of everything in a grand dinning hall with free flowing wine. And this place should be wherever I happen to live.

5.   Every waitress in the world should be no less beautiful than Padma Lakshmi, and she should always give me her (real) phone number when I ask. Ok, that’s not really culinary, but I don’t care.

6.   There should be a global take-out teleportation system where you can get authentic ethnic cuisine from every country in the world within five minutes of ordering.

7.   Apple fritters should be as nutritious as broccoli, less fattening than water.

8.   Sugar should not make you fat, and the more you eat the fitter you get.

9.   Anything deep fried should be good for your heart.

10.   My favorite restaurants should never close---EVER!

 

That is a small portion of my list. I know you are busy creating universes, and making sure the cockroach survives anything thrown at it, but I would appreciate some action on my request. I don’t want to sound petty, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask for.

I mean, if you can make a quantum particle be in two places at the same time you can certainly conjure up a little Kazoo type creature to handle the above mentioned request. I have faith that you will.

Sincerely,

Antoinne von Rimes

Human being

Offspring of Adam

Patiently waiting

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Burger Snob

photo by Dave Koch

When it comes to burgers  I am a snob. I do not put things inside my burgers.  If you put things like salt, pepper, bread, eggs etc. etc., into your burgers then you are not making hamburgers you are making meatloaf…patties.  All a good burger needs is quality meat and some salt and pepper on the top while cooking.

1. The meat is everything.  The meat should be freshly ground. I grind my own with my handy Kitchenaid grinder attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer.  I use 7 bone in chuck (please cut the bones out before you grind), and round (London broil) or sirloin steak.  If the 7bone in chuck doesn’t have enough fat for you, then pick up a package of beef short ribs for more fat content.  Remember fat is flavor.  A lean burger is a dry burger.

2. I go to neighborhood ethnic meat markets for meat.  Here in San Francisco I go to the Mission district or the little Saigon neighborhood and buy my steaks for hamburger.  The quality of the meat is good.  Although, most places carry Standard and Select cuts, not Choice, and never Prime, you will save a couple of dollars per pound by shopping in areas where the clientele is more price conscious and less into a pleasant atmosphere and getting a latte while they shop.

3. Let your burger rest at least three minutes before you bite into it.  Remember a burger is just a chopped steak designed to be eaten with your hands.  By letting your burger rest you retain all that juicy goodness.

4. A thin burger is a wasted burger. Burgers should be at least a half a pound each.  Anything less than a half a pound ends up being dry and tasteless.  Unless, you make them the size of billiard balls, and then they would be called meatballs.

5. The best burger is a flame kissed grilled burger, but if your landlord is adverse to an open flame inside your apartment then use an indoor grill pan, and heat the grill pan until very hot before you slap that precious piece of meat on it.  Putting a burger in a cold pan to cook is the same thing as steaming it.  Hot grill pan, cold meat: tasty burger.

6. As I stated above, I only put salt and pepper on the outside of my burgers, but I use kick-ass salt and pepper.  I use gray salt and coarsely cracked black pepper, think, steak au poivre.  The cracked black peppercorns roast and release an intense earthy aroma, and when you are chewing the burger the pepper and salt kick up the flavor of any condiments you put on the buns.

7. Buns: brioche is my choice.  I buy brioche buns ( I live in San Francisco, remember) split them, butter them and toast them in a medium hot pan.  If you can not find brioche buns use Kaiser rolls, or slices of challah can work too.

If you follow my burger making regime, I guarantee you that the only time you will eat a fast food burger is when you are stranded in the middle of nowhere and your only alternative is eating your shoe, or a “clown” burger

Oh, last point, there is only one time when it is acceptable to eat a fast food “clown” burger, and that is when you are in a foreign country (outside of the U.S.A) and they call burgers things like: hamburgesas, or hambughars, or American style hamburgers.

You can always trust McDonalds to give you a safe, consistent, trustworthy product anywhere in the world. Use them like you would one of those iodine pills you put into suspect water while traveling.

 

Happy burger-ing, people.

Are You Addicted to Bacon?

Created by Recipe Star

We've covered bacon extensively in the past with articles like I Love Bacon - and Bacon Toys, Want to Live Longer? Eat Bacon, and Can Baconaise Save Your Life? - the love affair with our salty friend is no secret. 

So when I saw that the wacky world of recipestar.com made a quiz "Are You Addicted to Bacon?" I needed to find out.  Luckily, it isn't as bad as I thought (64%).

Here is a 5 minutes video from How it's Made on bacon making, very interesting: