2005/12/23

Vacation Time!

Superchefblog rests the cybernetic pen for the holidays from today and will resume publication on January 3, 2006.

Malatya Pazari in Istanbul

(Click here to feast your eyes on more photos of Istanbul's food and other sights, like the Yeni Camii ["New Mosque"] and the Hagia Sophia.)

If you can't make Istanbul, check out our new Turkish friend, pastry chef, and blogger The Baking Fairy.

Best wishes for the New Year!

and see you back here, January 3, 2006



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Meatrix: Seasons Greetings

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Meatrix:  Happy Moo Year

Step right up and get your free online holiday greeting cards from the makers of The Meatrix (see previous article). Yessirree-bob, what we gots fer ya here is one highty-tighty technoid "flash card" version and one reguller ol' "e-card" for you more normal-type folks.

Like the man said:

Season's Greetings from Moopheus!

Previous articles:
Before STORE WARS: The Meatrix
[Humor - complete]
[Chefs & Politics - complete]

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2005/12/22

Foie Gras War: Rocco Saves Seals

By JULIETTE ROSSANT



Efforts in October by Rocco DiSpirito to save hundreds of thousands of seals in Canada from slaughter went rather unnoticed in the press -- except for a press release from the US Humane Society and a few coalition partners. Rocco's pitch to fellow chefs and the general public was to join him in boycotting snow crabs to force Canada to save the seals. The largest restaurant group which imports seafood, Red Lobster, has not joined some 200 other restaurants and companies (including Legal Sea Foods and Whole Foods Markets) in the boycott.

Several factors have contributed to the campaign's weakness.

First of all, in general, Americans have been focused on the hullaballoo of the Foie Gras War here in the States over the past year (see latest article). And let's face it: Canada is a low priority for most Americans, even below Mexico (since Canadians aren't pouring over our borders at the same rate) or semi-American dependencies like Guam -- or Puerto Rico.

Particular to the celebrity chef part in the campaign, sadly the coalition really missed the boat when it chose Rocco as a spokesperson. In their press release, Dr. John Grandy, a senior vice president at the US Humane Society, crows, “We couldn’t be happier that Chef Rocco Dispirito is using his clout with consumers and his friendship with fellow chefs to end the seal slaughter in Canada." What clout? The press release cites Rocco's celebrity -- "known for being the star of the hit NBC reality series The Restaurant, is also the bestselling author of Flavor, Rocco’s Italian American and the upcoming Rocco’s Five Minute Flavor." OK, the cookbooks are enduring, but the Rocco they depicted is the prime time television Rocco of 2004. The Rocco of 2005 is host of a food talk show in the New York City area. His boat is fresh out of steam -- and clout.

Further, Rocco is also former chef of two New York restaurants -- and since he does not have a restaurant with which to boycott Canadian snow crab, fellow chefs are unlikely to take Rocco's token boycott to heart themselves. Not very inspiring. Sort of like George W. Bush urging soldiers to war.

In essence, the message is confusing. Superchefblog tried to straighten out the argument and apeal. Seal clubbers are almost always also snow crabbers. By boycotting the far more prevalent and therefore lucrative snow crabs, we can make our vote known in the pockets of the seal clubbers. For attention deficit Americans, this issue derived from from such mental acrobatics could become awfully "fuzzy" (to use W's technical term). That kind of a message needs to be crystal clear when delivered.

Lastly and most importantly, American coalition partners, of which PETA is the most prominent, have clearly not lent their power and talents to this campaign. PETA & Co. have been focused on foie gras this year. That is, they have been trying to save a few thousand ducks and geese from (willingly and happily) gorging themselves a la gavage, rather than saving hundreds thousand seals from total extinction from the face of this planet -- to use advocacy-style language.

Thank the stars, then, for Paul McCartney, who stepped in to lend real celebrity support to stop the slaughter of the seals (see press release).

(Is this seal support a hint of some kind? Was Paul the walrus in "I am the Walrus, or was it John?)

Slideshows:
US Humane Society

Press releases:
US Humane Society
PRNewswire
Canadian Seafood Boycott
AnimalConcerns.org

Related news:
Baltimore Sun

Previous articles - Foie Gras War:
Gordon Ramsay v James Bond
Foie Gras War: Voodoo and Vigilantes
Foie Gras War: Chicago Slaughterhouse
New York Times on Foie Gras
Before STORE WARS: The Meatrix
Foie Gras War 2: Ban All Poultry?
Foie Gras War
From Boulud's gourmet hamburgers arise... delicate Philly cheesesteaks?
Super Chef vs. Governator: Todd English Fights For Foie Gras Rights

Rocco DiSpirito:
Rossant on Rocco: New York Daily News
Rocco DiSpirito: Super Duper Bowl
"F" is for... "Rocco"?
Xmas Spirits: "Club Rocco" Brand?
Rocco DiSpirito Wins TV Turkey Dinner
Rocco DiSpirito: Pretty in Pink?
Rocco DiSpirito: Ridiculed in the Rainbow Room
More Reality TV Chefs (or Less)?
Video Killed the Radio Star: Can Radio Resurrect Rocco DiSpirito?
Rocco DiSpirito: Be Warned by Me!
Claude Troisgros: Riding de Rocco DiSpirito Star
Rocco Barred from Reality TV Restaurant
Rocco: Trapped in Reality TV's Twilight Zone?

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2005/12/21

Bush Family Cookbook

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Bush Family Cookbook cover There is a lot to digest on the cover of The Bush Family Cookbook (Scribner 2005). The book is by Ariel De Guzman, "Personal Chef and House Manager." A box reads:
Favorite Recipes and Stories from One of America's Great Families with forewords from: Former President George H. W. Bush, Former First Lady Barbara Bush, and Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
Missing, of course, is President George W. Bush's name, since he is currently in office, but above the text box is a photo of Bush 41, wife Barbara, Chef De Guzman, and other family members. The main cover photo, underneath, reveals chicken, chopped tomatoes, and sliced eggs with other garnishings -- almost an afterthought, given the prominent names displayed in the boxes.

The only joy arising from The Bush Family Cookbook seems to emanate from Anti-Bush newspapers -- that is, among the few that have reviewed the it.

The Independent (UK): "Bacon bits over a chicken curry, Cornflakes on a Jewish dessert - served with beef. These are among the dark culinary secrets of America's first family, brought to light in a gut-straining recipe book - and put to the test."

The Village Voice: "What kind of pissant would buy this book?"

National Enquirer logo

The scruffier National Enquirer picked up a controversial angle on the cookbook, cited by several bloggers (Tom Flocco, Dvorak Uncensored, Subzero Blue, Rim of the World, The Huffington Post, Big Time Patriot):
This week’s November 21, 2005 issue of the National Enquirer quotes the elder Bush’s personal chef Ariel De Guzman as saying Bush 43 “never leaves home without his own hefty supply of spirits,” and is protected “from poisoning by secret enemies,” since we take “cases of vodka around the world with us,” according to his new Bush Family Cookbook (Scribner). (Tom Flocco)
Of course, the drinking angle was also cited by The New Republic...

New York Times Magazine logo

All this followed a New York Time Magazine article at the end of October entitled "The Dish on the Bushes" (also available online at Mezomorf), where the real story within a story lay in the chef's own lack of education and training in food (glossing over his sadly poor English):

Asked why he preferred canned vegetables to fresh, Chef De Guzman answered, "As far as nutrition is concerned, canned or frozen vegetables have more nutrition than fresh vegetables. It's added from the companies, the manufacturer." (New York Times Magazine)

Marlboro Country advertisement "God bless you, Chef De Guzman!," countless of American food manufacturers must have exclaimed as they read their morning corporate press clippings. "There are still some believers!" With such claims, Superchefblog suspects he find numerous endorsement deals piling up at his feet.

Someone should really mail Chef De Guzman some tickets to see Good Night, Good Luck -- or does Chef De Guzman also believe that cigarettes, too, are better for your health than, say, mountain air?

In reading The Bush Family Cookbook, then, the reader may want to keep in mind the long-time American control of the Philippines and a lingering educational milieu that smacks of American beliefs from the 1950s and 1960s.

TIME Magazine cover of August 26, 1985 Does Chef De Guzman see himself as a "serious cook"? "No, ma'am, not at all. I wouldn't know what fresh saffron looks like. I'm not into research," he told the magazine. You mean he missed the entire Food Revlution in America? Wasn't he cooking for Vice President Georget H. W. Bush when TIME Magazine's cover story on Food in America came out? Yes, he was -- that was in August 1985.

All told, publisher Simon & Schuster seems to have gotten ahead of other corporations in exploiting Chef De Guzman's admitted inadequacies. Why publish a cookbook from a chef who regards himself as not even a "serious cook"? Maybe they should have named the cookbook Pulp Fiction?

Video & Audio:
GOP.com (video - WMP)
Odeo

Other Blogs:
Daily Kos
Huffington Post
eGullet

Related news:
Globe & Mail (Canada)
Independent (UK)
Village Voice
Bangor Daily News
Boston Globe (AP)
Houston Chronicle
Birmingham News
Guardian (UK)
Reno Gazette-Journal
Grand Forks Herald
Herald News Daily
Canadian press (AP)
New Zealand Herald

Book details:
Publisher
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

Previous articles:
[Cookbook Reviews - complete]

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Cristeta Comerford: Washington Post

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Cristeta Comerford, by Marvin Joseph for The Washington Post The Washington Post reports this morning on the holidays cookings of "the other First Lady," White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford. The "Commander in Chef" faces real challenges in time, the hordes to feed, and a kitchen (never really "designed") that dates back two centuries.

Read what the Post had to say -- and here's what Superchefblog reported, last week.

Merry Christmas, Cris!

Previous articles:
Cris Comerford: 2005 Top Food Stories
[White House Woman Chef - complete]

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2005/12/20

Tyler Florence: New Year Buzz

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Tyler Florence

Perhaps it's all that coffee from the Senseo campaign (see previous article, but Tyler Florence is about to go into overdrive. "2005 was a good year, but 2006 will be even better," he recently told Superchefblog.

What's on his plate?

He is currently in pre-production of a new Food Network television show scheduled to air in April 2006.

His third cookbook will be published in October 2006 by Clarkson Potter (see review of Tyler's previous cookbook).

The biggest news, however, is that Tyler is heading back into the professional kitchen, having just signed a deal last week for his own restaurant in Manhattan. He is bubbling over with excitement about Bar Florence, which will serve rustic Tuscan farmhouse cookery to a downtown New York crowd. Construction begins in January and he expects to open as early as April or May, 2006.

Shades of Todd English, whose restaurant empire is based on a rustic Tuscan cuisine? Although both chefs have worked at Charlie Palmer's Aureole, Tyler's preoccupation with Tuscan cuisine is just as likely to stem from his surname "Florence" -- which is certainly more Italian-sounding than "English"...

Tyler told Superchefblog:
My restaurant has been 750,000 people on the Food Network. I have been doing Food TV fulltime for seven years, first one show and now three. I have been on the road. To do a restaurant maintains a certain level of success. It keeps me creative. It is a different platform where no one can pull the rug from under your feet, no one.
Tyler has made sure that all his projects are Manhattan-based (the television show is being recorded in a New York studio), so that he can cover them all.

Stay tuned for more from Tyler in 2006.

Previous articles:
Christmas Coffee: Tyler Florence & Senseo
Tyler Florence: Eat This Book

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2005/12/19

Mario Batali: Tailgates NASCAR Style

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Mario Batali at NASCAR

It's been on coming toward the horizon for nearly half a year, ever since Food Network star Mario Batali was made honorary starter of the Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway last July, reported New York Magazine (among others): Mario Batali is going NASCAR.

While sometimes it seems that playing sports is a prerequisite for kitchen life (see profiles in Super Chef on Charlie Palmer, Todd English, Mary Sue Milliken & Susan Feniger, and Tom Colicchio, all of whom are athletic), Mario defies the norm. In New York's Central Park at a chefs all-star baseball game sponsored by Food & Wine Magazine in 2003, "Despite demonic shorts and spiffy orange high-tops, Batali pitched so poorly that even first-time play Marcus Samuelsson got a hit off him," (see Super Chef, p. 176).

logo for Mario Batali's Italian Kitchen products OK, so he can't pitch a baseball, but the less-than-athletic Mario may be laughing all the way to the bank with this NASCAR deal. In fact, 2006 may be the "Year of Mario." He has new restaurants (see previous article) opening outside his New York base (which will finally make him a "super chef" -- see definition). He has a major deal with Copco, who sell products under his "Italian Kitchen" banner. He even has a pizza home kit to rival Wolfgang Puck (see previous article).

Don't be surprised if you see an expensive pair of Mario's orange high-top sneakers right next to the Pope's glossy red leathers in a Prada store next year.

So, what does this new relationship entail?

Mario Batali Tailgating

Well, there's the prerequisite cookbook coming out next year, Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style -- the tangible, take-home product for consumers to buy. Michael Garavalia, Director of Retail Sales & Marketing for Sporting News, explained today to Superchefblog that his company's book division had negotiated the publishing deal directly with Mario and then recruited as distributor HarperCollins, who published Molto Italiano earlier this year (see our review) and other books.

Then there are the on-site buys in the form of higher quality (and, one would hope for NASCAR's sake, higher margin) food at NASCAR events. A new outlet is going into the Phoenix International Raceway, where Mario will be hawking wine and sushi, in addition to the more typical fare of beer and barbecue. The venue is to be called Octane, a luxury lounge for wealthier NASCAR fans, opening in April 2006, part of a $50 million renovation over the past five years. "It's like Scottsdale meets NASCAR," Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan Sperber said, according to The Arizona Republic. "It's going to be the place to be seen."

NASCAR has been crunching its marketing numbers, to find that 42% of fans earn $50,000 or more, a few points above the national average. They switched sponsors in 2003 from three-decade support RJR tobacco to Nextel mobile phones (now Sprint).

"Mario will be the 'official' chef of NASCAR, if you will," NASCAR's Director of Business Communications, Andrew Giangola told Superchefblog.

"As our fan base increases, you clearly see more upper-income folks following the sport," The Arizona Republic reported Giangola as saying.

NASCAR has been happy to see their chef appear recently not only in Sports Illustrated and also cite a recent Newsweek article (see previous article).

One thing is for sure: if Mario is NASCAR's chef, he has his work cut out for him:

NASCAR eats, from The Boston Globe


Subsequent articles:
Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style (cookbook review)
Mario Batali: 2 Brothers

Related news:
Fortune Magazine
Sports Illustrated
Newsweek
New York Magazine
Boston Globe
Yahoo! Sports - Sharpie 500
CBS Sunday Morning
Yahoo! Sports - Nascar
Arizona Republic
Dallas-Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
Sacramento Bee
NPR
Chronogram

Previous articles:
Newsweek Cites Juliette Rossant on Mario Batali
Juliette Rossant: Forbes Tastemakers - Mario Batali
Mario Batali: Molto Italiano
Newsweek Bets on Mario Batali's Basting Brush
Anita Lo Defeats Mario Batali on Iron Chef America
Iron Chef Pizza Wars: Batali vs. Puck
Nancy Silverton & Mario Batali's Mozza
Molto Mario Massacres Mahi

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2005/12/16

Cook Until Desired Tenderness

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Cook Until Desired Tenderness Cook Until Desired Tenderness (North Atlantic Books 2005) is a curious and interesting book about food, life and love. The author, Cleo Papanikolas is a painter and the book is filled with her illustrations. Her bio says that she "has earned her living painting pictures, murals, and decorative finishes on almost any surface." The book is described as a fictional journal of a culinary artist and it is written with rich and imaginative prose.

The first chapter takes place in a family's summer digs at a commune named Karma Clan Ranch, previously the MacKlaran Ranch, which the kids nickname Karmicland where the main character, Sugar discovers a tin recipe box in the neglected kitchen. Inside are recipe cards, many reproduced on the page along with illustrations of the dishes Sugar reads about straight out of a 1950s American home: Jell-O molds, sugary salads and Baked Alaska, completely opposite to the non-sugary food she is fed:
The refrigerator never had a functioning light bulb. Inside its dark interior, only useless food: lecitin, tahini, wheat germ, brewers yeast, opened plastic bags of miso paste, Postum, canning jars of blended things like goat's milk or nut milk (whatever it was, it was once frothy but had separated and formed a skin on top).
Sugar longs for the unavailable, processed foods she reads about on the recipe cards.

Among the recipe card are collection of letters and cards by Mrs. McKlaran about how she courted her future husband with food. These letters cover the pages with an elaborate script with so many flourishes and smudges that it's not clear the reader is suppose to spend the time deciphering them or not, and yet they are tantalizing. The recipes have aphorisms from the chef printed on the recipe cards like: "Appetizers are the introduction to the meal, and as the name suggests, are intended to tempt the appetite." Sugar mulls over the aphorisms and the long ago ups and downs of Mrs. McKlaren's as she reads the recipes smuggled into bed with her at night.

The next chapter is about a boyfriend whose favorite food is Jell-O and lives off of packaged foods stolen from fast food restaurants and convenience foods. "He neatly wrapped the marinated chicken in tinfoil packages with some herbed frozen vegetables and popped them into the oven. The food never touched his hands, dishes or counter, which left him free to work on me like the winning calf-tied in the rodeo." (p. 31) Sugar ends up cooking his family a Thanksgiving dinner in the boyfriend's kitchen, creates a mess, and then flees with the food. The rest of the book continues such adventures.

Cook Until Desired Tenderness is lavishly illustrated – spoons hanging from wall and chandelier, drawings of walk-ins and dishes.

This is an adult's novel-cum-picturebook. While you could just read the story, you feel compelled to marvel over the illustrations. Still, Cook Until Desired Tenderness is a coming-of-age story for Foodies that revolves around the way we eat and cook.

Book details:
Publisher
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

Previous articles:
[Cookbook Reviews - complete]

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2005/12/15

Cris Comerford: 2005 Top Food Stories

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Cris Comerford with Laura Bush at 2005 Xmas, from Jay Talbott, Scripps Howard

Yesterday, Hunter PR released its list of the top food-related news stories of 2005. Topping the chart was the US Department of Agriculture' Food Pyramid (see chart, below), and among three Fine Dining-related stories (all of which Superchefblog covered) among the top ten was First Lady Laura Bush's selection of Cristeta Comerford as the first-ever woman and first-ever minority White House executive chef.

Top 10 Survey Highlights of 2005
  1. Food Pyramid expansion
  2. Preemptive reform for trans fat food labeling
  3. Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans food industry
  4. Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. goes bankrupt
  5. Cookie Monster cuts back
  6. Self-imposed restrictions on children’s ads by food manufacturers
  7. Return of Martha Stewart
  8. U.S. Supreme Court lifts wine border ban
  9. First woman/minority to head the White House kitchen
  10. (tie) Fat cats actually getting fat
    (tie) Whole Foods revolutionizes grocery shopping
White House gingerbread house 2005

Meanwhile, Mrs. Bush brought Cris forward to help unveil the White House's holiday dinners: 26 events over 21 days, featuring "festive foods from regions and ethnic groups across the country," according to Scripps Howard. (Here is the White House's 2005 Christmas Day menu.) Executive pastry chef Thaddeus DuBois will roll out 30,000 cookies and a gingerbread replica of the White House for the second year running.

Press releases:
Hunter PR
PRNewswire
Yahoo! Finance: Financial News
PRNewswire
White House

Related news:
CBS Early Show
NBC TV 4 (Washington)
Scripps Howard News Service
New York Times
Indianopolis Start (Cox News)

Subsequent news:
Wall Street Journal
Lexington Herald-Leader
Toledo Blade
Cincinnati Post
Hampton Roads Daily Press
Hartford Courant
Pinoy News Monthly

Previous articles:
Supreme Court Permits Direct Wine Sales
[Hurrican Katrina - complete coverage]
[White House chef - complete coverage]

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Giuliano Hazan: How to Cook Italian

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Giuliano Hazan poses a key quesiton in his preface to How to Cook Italian: With more than 225 Recipes (Simon & Schuster / Scribner 2005): "So, what is it that makes a dish Italian?" (p. x). The answer is in his cookbook -- a practical and thorough guide to Italian food and his approach to cooking. Italians combine certain ingredients together differently from their neighbors, though just how differs from North to South, according to Giuliano. Italians sauces compliment food without overwhelming taste, and they cook with the freshest, local ingredients (the latter common to many cuisines). "Because we love to eat we like to take out time doing it, and it's important to do it together with our families. Family mealtimes are sacred in Italy." (p. xi) American chefs (of last, most notably Michael Schlow in his cookbook It's About Time -- see previous article) agree.

Giuliano Hazan is the son of Marcella Hazan, an authority in Italian food in her own right, so this is as much course as cookbook, and his class is fun. He is careful to explain how a meal is built up of different courses is very different manner than the typical American appetizer, main course and dessert. There are fine easy-to-understand drawings throughout that build on the introductory chapters of My Kitchen (p. 1), Stocking the Italian Pantry (p.11), Bastic Techniques (p.23) and Base Recipes (p. 41). Included is a recipe for Homemade Sausage (p.45) with an interesting headnote that explains that the commercial "Italian Sausage" eaten in the States comes from early Southern Italian immigrants, while the sausage of the North has no fennel and is more mildly spiced. His recipe calls for just rosemary, garlic, white wine, and salt and pepper.

The Appetizer Chapter is full of terrific recipes like Bottarga and Mozzarella (p. 48), the strong mullet fish roe that is enjoyed in different forms all over the Mediterranean. Perfect for holiday indulgence is Piedmontese "Steak Tartare" (p. 57), prepared with veal top round hand chopped and sprinkled with white truffle shavings (or mushrooms). There are also good recipes with clear instructions for Frittate (p. 58-63) and Pizza (p. 64-66) and all its variations.

Giuliano Hazan

As antidotes to this cold season, Giuliano's Italian soups are hearty and traditional (p. 67). He explains the difference between an Italian version of Onion Soup and the traditional French gratineed version: "This Italian version of the classic onion soup is made with olive oil, a light Italian-style broth rather than French stock, and pecorino cheese." (p. 70) For those American Southerners serving black-eyed peas for New Years, he offers a Leek and Fennel Soup with Black-Eyed Peas (p. 74-5) flavored with pancetta and escarole.

Giuliano's recipes in this his third cookbook cover all of Italy: Sardinia, Northern Italy and Rome. There are inviting photographs by Dana Gallagher of pasta dishes, Grandma's Custard Pie and Risotto with Amarone Wine presented in the pots and plates with knives and spoons ready for us to dig in. This is a cookbook to use for family dinners, or special occasions. It is straight forward and fairly complete. The only trick is finding the high-quality ingredients that make Italian food so good. Hazan writes about a recipe for Artichoke Soup (pp. 71-3):
During a week-long stay in Sardinia, we had the privilege of being chaperoned by the noted Italian food-journalist Gilberto Arru. He took us to some of his favorite restaurants, trattorias where the food is as good as home cooking. One was Trattoria Da Ricardo in Magomadas, where we shared an extraordinary artichoke soup. The secret, we are told, was not some unusual ingredient but simply using artichokes at their peak.
This is a book to celebrate ingredients at their peak -- and to rediscover Italian cuisine.

Book details:
Publisher
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

Previous articles:
Michael Schlow: It's About Time
[Cookbook Reviews - complete]

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2005/12/14

Christmas Coffee: Tyler Florence & Senseo

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Tyler Florence Drops the Drip for Senseo

Superchefblog promised a recommended coffee for Christmas breakfast (see previous article), and we found one -- courtesy of Tyler Florence.

When we last checked in with Tyler, he had a new cookbook out (see previous article), but right now he's on a coffee kick.

Tyler called Superchefblog earlier this week to tell us the story of how he became a celebrity endorser for the new Senseo coffeemaker by Philips:
I get requested a lot to speak on behalf of products... They [Philips] sent me one in the mail. I tried it out and really liked it... Senseo makes a really good cup of coffee -- in 30 seconds flat! You don't have to waste a pot or let it boil down... I love the Dark Roast... I'm sending out a whole bunch for Christmas presents.
Drop the Drip logo

Tyler launched Senseo's "Drop the Drip" campaign in New York City, which runs October-December 2005. Customers trade in their "old-fashioned" drip coffeemakers for new Senseos. The campaign extends to 10 other cities across America, and Tyler is involved in other appearances like a dessert-and-coffee pairing cookshow segment, available via satellite to national and local media.

Senseo

Here's how the Senseo works. The coffeemaker uses single-serving, pre-measured pods of coffee (the box comes with pods made by Douwe Egberts), which you place in the sleek machine. Push a button, and out comes an extremely frothy cup of fairly hot coffee -- in about 30 seconds, as Tyler said.

Douwe Egbert medium roast coffeepods For the uninitiated, coffeepods are coffee (!) compressed between two sheets of filter paper. Douwe Egbert currently makes Mild, Medium Roast, and Dark Roast, as well as a handful of flavors, all of which produce mellow, not burnt coffee. Each coffeepod makes one four-ounce cup, and a Senseo also makes a double, to fill up a morning mug. There are no attachments for steaming milk or grinding coffee, or alarm clocks, or any other gizmos: this is a coffeemaker, just like it says on the box. Other companies like JavaOne make Senseo-fitting coffeepods in more flavors than Douwe Egbert, including single-country beans. Bottom line, the pods make the machine easy to use and mess free. (Coffeepods also help shore up the bottom line for coffee manufacturers -- clearly, a coffeepod costs more to consumers for a limited amount of coffee than preparing coffee grounds yourself.)

NOTE: The trick to getting good flavor out of a coffeepod is to moisten it before you use it.



There are other pod-based coffeemakers on the market, including models by Krups, Keurig, Hamilton Beach, and Bunn-O-Matic, but none of them have captured the Apple magic of the iMac and especially the iPod the way the sleek shape and sassy colors of Senseo have. Want proof? Just click here to see a line-up.

So, what's the drop on your drip, bottom line? That is, should you drop your drip coffeemaker? If it's worn out and doesn't produce good coffee anymore? Sure, get a new coffee maker! If you have a large, coffee-drinking family, consider the Senseo as an extra coffee maker for a second cup mid-morning or mid-afternoon drink. After all, the coffee comes out one by one, so in large groups someone is going to have to wait. And if the looks of a coffeemaker have any effect on taste (read carefully -- the coffee's taste or yours?), then you will have to consider a Senseo for your coffeemaking collection -- if not this holiday, then some time, soon......

Tyler Florence:
Tyler Florence: Eat This Book

Photo sources:
Flickr
FPSnewswire
Visuals Newscom

iPod Etc.:
Jamie Oliver on Vodafone Live!
One "Epi To Go," Please!
Emeril Lagasse: iPod ReciPods
Emeril Lagasse Lays Apple iPod

Previous articles:
Christmas Breakfast: Bacon and Sausage
Mother's Day Gift: Finding Betty Crocker
Easter Special: Super Pastry Chefs
Valentine's Knives: Cut to the Heart
Valentine's Tea: Bouquets to Drink
[complete Cookbook Reviews]

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Christmas Desserts: iSi Whip & Recipes

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Rick Tramonto with iSi Gourmet Whip

Imagine Gunfight at the OK Corral -- but set in a restaurant kitchen. The showdown isn't with revolvers. No! Our chefs are slinging iSi Whips, in the quart (iSi Gourmet Whip) or pint (iSi Mini Whip) size. They draw -- and each chef creates light-as-air foams that transform and intensify the taste of sauces, custards, or drinks. Why else do you think Rick Tramonto sits so calmly between his stock of iSi Gourmet Whips? He may be resting -- but that's only after having whipped off 100 savory dishes in a nanosecond. Look out, pardner!

OK, you've got an iSi Whip and pulled it out of your holster. You are ready to show the big boys and girls what you can do in the kitchen. Christmas dinner needs a finale to wow gourmands and gourmets at your table? Sure -- but what is this thing for, besides whipping cream (the only set of instructions that come with the iSi Mini Whip)? No worry: this is the weapon of choice for chefs like Rick and Ferran Adria for good reason: whips aren't just for desserts any more. Pretty much anything that needs foam or mousse at the last minute can use whipping.

Steve Klc

"What is important is opening up a window to thinking and creativity. You can ask yourself, what are my options?" says Steve Klc, Pastry Chef for Jose Andres's Washington restaurants. The same flavor can be made with cream, gelatin, egg whites or starch all in the iSi Whip, although the texture and mouth feel will be different. Steve points out that the iSi Whip is like an ice cream maker. You can put all sorts of liquids in an ice cream maker, but that doesn't mean you'll make good ice cream or that you'll get ice cream at all. You still have to think about what makes a good foam and why you want to serve it.

Superchefblog asked Steve and Gale Gand for recipes that use the iSi Whip and they are both great to end a holiday meal.

Gale Gand

Many of Steve desserts have a foam component. But he warns, "Don't do a foam for the sake of doing a foam. Do it because it helps you cook and create more personally." In his "Turkish Coffee" Chocolate recipe (below) instead of putting cardamom flavor in the coffee he makes a Creme Anglaise and from it a cardamom espuma (foam). "If you didn't use the iSi it would be a sauce or an ice cream, but what makes the dessert special is doing it as a foam." Why? With a foam he is able to add it to a plate, bowl or glass when he wants to without portioning it out ahead of time. That is great if you aren't sure how many people will eat your dessert. Foam looks bigger but actually is lighter and less filling than ice cream; terrific if it follows a goose for Christmas dinner. (All the components of Steve's and Gale's desserts can be made ahead of time and assembled at the last minute.)


Steve Klc's Turkish Coffee Chocolate

“Turkish Coffee” Chocolate
Steve Klc

Zaytinya (Washington)

Liquid Center Chocolate cake:
110 g 61% E. Guittard chocolate
110 g 72% E. Guittard chocolate
220 g butter, unsalted
150 g sugar
120 g all purpose flour
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 450F.
Boil water in a large saucepan.Melt chocolate and butter in a large metal bowl over water. Turn heat down and be careful not to burn or overheat mixture. Grease molds by spraying them once lightly and prepare a piping bag.
Place flour and sugar in another metal bowl, whisk lightly to combine. When chocolate and butter are almost melted, remove from heat. Add eggs to flour/sugar mixture and stir with a whisk to combine. Add warm chocolate to egg mixture and stir gently to combine. Batter should be shiny and smooth. Fill piping bag and pipe into molds until 3/4 full. Set molds in walk-in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before baking.
Bake at 450F for 5 minutes or until a crust forms. (Time will vary based on mold size. Do not over bake.) Remove from heat, place immediately in the fridge to chill molds more quickly. When cool, pop cakes out of the molds: use or freeze.

Cardamom creme anglaise “espuma”:
3 C cream
1 C milk
2 oz sugar
20 cardamom pods, ground finely
10 yolks

Prepare ice bath.
Grind cardamom in spice grinder. Bring cream, sugar and cardamom to a boil. Remove from heat, pour over yolks while whisking. Return to saucepan and whisk 10 times over high heat to thicken or until at least 180 F. Remove, pour into container, set in ice bath. Refrigerate overnight.
(Chef’s notes: It is better to let the cream infuse overnight before straining. If you cook the creme anglaise too far, too hot, and some of the eggs “cook” into scrambled eggs, set in the ice bath and whiz with an immersion blender.)

Espresso syrup:
100 g espresso
30 g sugar
2 g pectin
1 g cardamom
1/2 t Ouzo (or 1/8 t anise oil)

Simmer espresso--the beverage not espresso powder or espresso beans-- with the sugar, pectin and cardamom, stirring until dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in Ouzo and set aside to infuse and thicken slightly.

Chocolate Flan:
1 L cream
500 ml milk
200 g sugar
18 yolks
450 g Guittard 72% chocolate

Get a whisk, rubber spatula and the immersion blender out.
Bring cream, milk and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Place yolks in a stainless steel bowl. Pour hot mixture over yolks, whisking constantly.
Return to heat and cook until 175F-180F. Remove from heat and pour onto chocolate.
Whiz with an immersion blender. Pour into a plastic container and press plastic down on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate.

To serve:
Place chocolate flan in cup, drop warm chocolate cake, foam with cardamom, drizzle with espresso syrup, sprinkle with mixture of sea salt, orange rind powder, toasted sesame seed, etc.


Arroz con Leche:
Gale Gand

TRU Restaurant (Chicago)

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
1 cup Arborio rice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 lemon, zested
1 pinch salt
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup sugar
Foamed milk or whipped cream
Cinnamon for sprinkling

In a saucepan, place the heavy cream, milk, rice, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, zest and salt then bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer until the rice is cooked, about 30 minutes. Add the half-and-half as needed if the rice becomes thick (the mixture should be strainable). Add the sugar off the heat and stir to combine.
Strain the milk from the rice, reserve it and discard the cinnamon sticks. Let the milk cool. Puree the rice.
Place the cooled, reserved milk in the cream whipper to make a foam. Spoon the rice puree onto a shallow soup plate leaving a spot in the center empty and garnish with a blob the rice milk foam or whipped cream in the center. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ease of preparation: moderate

iSi Gourmet Whip

You can read more about how to whip with iSI on eGullet Forums.

Previous articles:
Christmas Breakfast: Bacon and Sausage
The Sex in Chrismukkah
Jose Andres: Zaytinya with Ladies in Lavender
Easter Special: Super Pastry Chefs
Gale Gand on Mr. "Easy-Bake Oven"
Gale Gand's short+sweet

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Serves One: Toni Lydecker

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Serves One cover The joys of preparing a meal and enjoying it often seem limited to couples or larger groups -- thus feels the cook for one. Yet, chances are that everyone at some point cooks and eats alone. The solution? Easy: a cookbook full of recipes and tips when cooking for one. "We hear a lot about eating as a communal experience , but the pleasures of solitary dining should not be overlooked," writes Toni Lydecker in the first edition (p. 2) of Serves One: Super Meals for Solo Cooks (Lake Isle Press 1998). This year, Lake Isle Press published a second, updated edition, and beyond the obvious need for such a book, the reissue begs the question of how soon a cookbook needs updating -- and what that signifies for changes in cuisine. The answers are soon and plenty. Cookbooks need to be reissued relatively soon (within a decade) to keep up with changes in general cuisine trends (or changes in a chef's cuisine), because changes in cuisine are a-plenty.

Author Toni Lydecker notes in the revised cookbook, Serves One: Simple Meals to Savor When You're on Your Own (Lake Isle Press 2005): "More than two-thirds of Americans eat a meal by themselves a few days a week or even more often... So why not relax and enjoy the experience?" (p. 12). So, many time-consuming dishes from the first edition are out of the second. The revised cookbook also includes single-serving packages of ingredients to reduce shopping time or trips.

Take the first chapter on salads. Instead of a list of different greens, a description of their flavor, how long they last, or what they pair best with, Toni assumes that in this next millennium of New American Cooking (see previous article) most people have access to various kinds of greens in the market, from mesclun to baby spinach, so she recommends buying by the ounce at a salad bar. The recipes have changed accordingly. The salads are quicker to prepare and range around the world from a French inspired Frisee with Fried Egg and Bacon (p. 34) to a Middle Eastern Tabbouleh to Japannese-Style Marinated Veggies (p. 41).

The soup chapter is also greatly changed. Gone is the chatty story about chefs and cooks like Pat Reppert, the Garlic Queen. In their stead, Toni has added new recipes with short preparation times of around 20 minutes each (like the Three-Onion Soup) and even 5 minutes (like the garlicky Soothing Tortellini-Broccolini Soup). Judging by some changes, however, Toni seems to give prefererence to convenience over excellence. For example, the first edition's Fresh Tomato Soup drops out in the second for Creamy Tomato Soup using canned diced tomatoes. Cream would tend to reduce the demand for fresh tomatoes, yet reasonably fresh tomatoes are far more abundant in supermarkets in 2005 than even 1998, much less two or three decades ago.

Toni Lyddecker

One fairly dramatic change is that the chapter on Beans and Grains has now morphed into Beans, Grains & Soy. Surprisingly, there are only three tofu recipes now that the chapter includes "Soy" -- Gold Fried Tofu, Seasoned Tofu Cake, and Tempeg Burger (pp. 138-139) -- which is a bit disappointing since tofu is good source of low-fat protein. Also, neither tofu nor bean curd are in the new cookbook's index.

There are other interesting changes for cookbook collectors. For instance, the first edition bases chapters on cooking methods, like "Stovetop" and "Oven & Grill," while the second bases chapters on ingredients. This change reflect a general improvement in cookbook design -- given the large number of cookbooks published these days, publishing houses seem to have understood that cooks don't usually think to themselves, "Gee, I think I want to cook on top of the stove today!" Granted, sometimes the weather is so hot home cooks don't want to turn the oven on, but more often we think, "I have fish in the freezer: what can I do with it?" And Serves One has contempoary recipes for just such occasions, like a Simply Seafood chapter packed with recipes like Roasted Halibut with Sweet Miso Sauce (p. 115) and Panko-Crusted Soft-Shell Crabs (p. 123). Ingredients have certainly improved in the American marketplace: Toni now includes miso or panko, whereas they were absent in the first edition.

Unlike the orange duotone of the original version (which, by the way, was handsomely laid out), the new edition includes lush photos (by Dasha Wright) on glossy pages. Overall, the second edition of Serves One retains the tone of cheerful gusto and love of food in the original, with its clear descriptions and easy steps, while offering updated and contemporary, time-considerate recipes to encourage us to more happily cook and serve for one.


tortellini from Serves One cookbook

Book details:
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[complete Cookbook Reviews]

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2005/12/13

Christmas Breakfast: Bacon and Sausage

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Christmas stockings
If you have stayed up too late on Christmas Eve, finishing wrapping the last of the presents and filling the stockings, it is hard to wake up the Christmas morning to the great present-opening stampede. Our remedy? Make some time for a superb breakfast -- like a bacon-and-eggs breakfast (grits, too, if you like them). Eggs should be farm-raised, especially right off a farm if you have that kind of access (or have a breakfast guest who can pick some up en route).

What about the bacon, though? Superchefblog decided to do some research......

Lobel's of New York logo

Of all the bacon we tried, Superchefblog found that Lobel's of New York made the best for the buck.

Lobel's Double Hickory Smoked Bacon comes from untrimmed pork bellies and is smoke with the rib bones still attached. "After curing and smoking twice over hickory wood, the rib bones are removed leaving small ridges of delectable finger meat connected to the streaky belly for a distinctive flavor and look." says Evan Lobel, a co-owning family member. The bacon is smokey (not salty) and extra meaty. Did we say "robust"? It's packed with flavor -- salt only to taste. Cut your rashers fairly thick and fry.

You might want to toss some slices of Lobel's Canadian Bacon into the same pan. The Canadian bacon is moist yet not at all fatty, deeply pork flavored and smokey. The flavor is so pure, it almost tastes like an essence.

Superchefblog also tried Lobel's special Christmas sausage, an Apricot-Cranberry Bratwurst, sweet and mild, but particularly for a Christmas breakfast we preferred their Chicken Supremo Italian Sausage, spicier, for greater contrast to eggs.

NOTE: Lobel's can accept orders by 12:00 EST on December 21 to receive delivery before Christmas Day.

Coffee is on its way (in the next article): meanwhile, Merry Christmas!



Previous articles:
Mother's Day Gift: Finding Betty Crocker
Easter Special: Super Pastry Chefs
Valentine's Knives: Cut to the Heart
Valentine's Tea: Bouquets to Drink
[complete Cookbook Reviews]

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