superchefblog - bloggered

redirect to SUPER CHEF

2007-02-28T19:14:00.000-05:00

Super Chef is up and running: www.superchefblog.com

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Blogger.com - Bloggered

2006-04-25T07:18:00.000-04:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Superchefblog apologizes for publishing late yesterday. The reason is newsworthy in the blogosphere: Blogger was bloggered.

Here is how is unraveled, accordinging to Blogger.com:

Blogger Status
Monday, April 24, 2006

All publishing is broken right now. We’re working on fixing it.

Update, 10:15AM: We have Blog*Spot publishing working again. External publishing coming soon.

Update, 10:41AM: External publishing is working again as well. Plus users, we haven't forgotten about you.

Update, 10:50AM: Everything sorted out now and working fine. Expect possible transient slownesses as we shore up some of the quick fixes that we had to make.
Posted by Pete at 09:42 PDT

Later, though, this further word from Status:

Blogger Status
Blogger.com will be down on April 24 2006 from 4 pm PDT to 4:45 pm PDT due to planned maintenance. We’re sorry about the one-two unplanned/planned outage punch today, but we need to do some database maintenance. You will still be able to view your blogs during the outage. Be assured that when Blogger.com comes back, it will be shinier and happier than ever.
Posted by Pete at 11:32 PDT

In the interim, we had consulted Blogger.com's help page, to discover the following:

Blogger Help
Welcome to Blogger Help, a substantial collection of how-to and help documents to help you get more out of Blogger. Search through our collection with Article Search (to the right) or just browse through the categories below.

If you can't find what you need here, try asking the Blogger Help Group, or send an email to the Blogger support team and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Except there is no email address listed.

What does that mean?

It means that Blogger.com has removed any means of communicating directly with technical support at Blogger.com itself: there are no longer any contacts listed for them, at least not on that page.

Seems like just so much Chinese, mental torture to Superchefblog.

Previous articles:
Bothered and Bloggered by Blogger.com

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Un-Bloggered

2006-03-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Superchefblog has un-Bloggered itself -- no help from Blogger.com, despite their promises of help, never followed up.

Please revert to Superchefblog's regular web address:

superchefblog.com.

We offer our Bloggered designs for general public use.

And we reserve this URL and website for further use during inevitable (it would seem) future Bloggered days....

Previous articles:
Bothered and Bloggered by Blogger.com

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Common Threads' World Festival

2006-03-02T11:15:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Alice Water's Op-Ed in the New York Times on Sunday, February 24, urged the country to move towards the model she has developed in the Edible Schoolyard at the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley: "The study of food, and school lunch, should become part of the core curriculum for all students from kindergarten through high school."

What does that mean practically? Money to support good programs across the country. One of these is the Chicago-based Common Threads:

The mission of Common Threads is to provide a sanctuary for children to find the common threads that embrace our diversity and differences. With food and other arts as our vehicle for change, our children will teach, learn, share, and embrace their own and each others common threads. For these threads will promote understanding of our shared interests and will enhance our appreciation for our cultural diversity.

The organization founded in 2003 by Art Smith, personal chef to Oprah Winfrey, is really focused on teaching needy kids about food through learning about other cultures.

Linda Novick, Executive Director, explained Common Threads to Superchefblog:

We teach children through cooking and food the values that are important to us all.

Common Threads started a World Garden with vegetable varieties from around the globe where children can learn about how things grow. In the winter children can take classes like Indian food followed by yoga, or Chinese cuisine followed by tai chi. Combining hand-on-experience with food from other cultures with exercise tackles both nutrition and obesity.

Common Threads will host the first annual "World Festival" event, on Monday, March 13, 2006, 6:00-9:00 p.m. at the Chicago Cultural Center. The World Festival will celebrate the food, drinks, music and instruments, arts, crafts, artifacts, customs and national costume dresses from countries around the world.

Food will be provided by celebrity chefs including Govind Armstrong, Ming Tsai, Cat Cora, Tyler Florence, Gale Gand, Paul Kahan, Rocco DiSpirito, and Suvir Saran -- all of whom serve on the Common Threads Chefs Advisory Committee.

Previous articles:
Jamie Oliver: School Lunch
Alice Waters: Ms. Smith Goes to Washington

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La Bonne Cuisine

2006-03-01T10:07:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

One way to get an education is to pick someone you admire intellectually, and read everything they've read. Would you become the next Albert Einstein or Nelson Mandela if you read the contents of their libraries? Perhaps, perhaps not. But what if you read (and used) the library books of Julia Child or Daniel Boulud. It would be a great start to really knowing great cuisine.

La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange: The original Companion for French Home Cooking (Ten Speed 2005) is just such a book you might find on their shelves.

Julia Child used it as a model for her classic (check the back cover quote "(A) book that I adore and that was my mentor in my early days in France..."), and it is still a great introduction to good French cooking. It was first published in 1927 and became the cooking bible of 20th century French home. The book's enthusiastic translator, Paul Aratow, one of the founders of Chez Panisse in Berkeley and Hollywood producer of such cult classics as Sheena, used his original French copy as the foundation Chez Panisse's dishes:

I discovered La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange in a little bookstore in the Latin Quarter. I was fascinated by the book. It was so precise, so assured. Every page contained another revelation. I felt that I had found culinary gold. Bridging the gap between her career as a professional chef and her life as a housewife, Madame Saint-Ange finds a sophisticated compromise between professional haute cuisine and the home hearth. (p. 3)

It is that balance that seems often lacking in cookbooks today – they are either written by professional chefs who show off their recipes that no home cook could hope to recreate, or by chefs who oversimplify and talk down to the American abilities.

The Foreward (p. 1) by Madeline Kamman also relates how she came across her first Saint-Ange, her mother's 1929 copy. She puts the book into context of the many cookbooks written by women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, of which this is the best example. It is hard to come up with an American equivalent, for the book is not merely The Joy of Cooking, for it reaches beyond everyday fare and is far more personal and in depth.

The first chapter entitled "What You Need to Know" is full of now-dated information, like how to use a coal-fired cast iron stove but it is fun to read what cooks had to do on a daily basis (that we, thankfully, do not). At times the book is merely a curious historical document. Mme. Saint-Ange warns housewives, "You should never disposes of old papers, trash, etc., in the firebox. If you have something to burn in the firebox, you must add it when the fire is already burning extremely well." (p. 7) But that personal tone is found in the very useful recipes, and brings them to life. Julia Child's recipes for Blanquette de Veau may be even longer and more complete, but Mme Saint-Ange's (pp. 293-295) is more approachable and somehow, more understanding. She suggests how many onions and mushrooms to allow per person (two small onions and one mushroom), what kind of pot to use (she is against cast iron that gives a "grayish off-color tint"), and then, in her very practical way, writes about how to hold and serve the dish, "First, if you have enough cooking utensils and do not mind washing one more, the simplest thing to do is lift out the pieces of veal with a fork, let them drain, then put them in a saute pan" (p. 295).

The chapter on "Cooking Techniques" (p. 25) in the front of the book is full of insights into why different techniques work. Braising is all the rage among chefs like Tom Colicchio (see Super Chef, chapter 5), and Madame gets right to its core:

Braising is much more than a cooking method, it is also about what you put in the pot – such as slices of fatback bacon, poaching liquid, wine, eau-de-vie, etc. These additions are what gives the meat succulence. (p. 25)

She admonishes against the use of meat that is too small and encourages larding, which is thoroughly explained on page 11. One can imagine Madame tapping her wooden spoon on the student's notebook and saying, "Pay attention and follow my directions!" -- with a glint in her eye.

Her recipe for Tradition Pot-au-Feu (pp.84--5), a deeply rewarding hearty soup for this time of year, is full of precise information for the novice soup makers, and yet the details and explanations are not tedious to read for someone well versed in the making of a proper potage. Why arrange bones on the bottom of the pot and the meat on top? "The meat is gradually penetrated by the heat which forces out the impurities in the form of foam that would otherwise cloud the bouillon." (p. 84) Madame instructs on how to skim the foam three times, regulating the boil by adding water, and then finally adding vegetables.

This is a cookbook to read as much for her meticulous instructions and classic recipes as for Madame's voice of authority, which comes through in her own words in her Notice or note to her readers (p. 5): " One last word, and it's personal. In this book, we have condensed the results of more than 30 years of practice and study applied to culinary education. This lengthy effort permits us to have a valid hope in the usefulness of the work." (p. 5) And the hope is justified, for this is a supremely useful and wonderful book.

Book details:
Publisher
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

Previous articles:
[Cookbook Reviews - complete]

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Betty Crocker Podcast

2006-02-28T11:47:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Jamie Oliver is doing it, so is Emeril, so why not Betty Crocker?

All are creating downloadable podcasts of recipes from their books and television shows. Betty's entry is with two shows, Betty Crocker Red Spoon Diaries for Big Red, the colossal, basic cookbook from General Mills that features American cooking at its simplest. The other is targeting young Hispanic Americans who want to cook American food and have picked up the bilingual version of Big Red, Cocina Betty Crocker (click here for previous review).

General Mills told the Minneapolis St Paul Business Journal that since their launch in late November, the podcasts have been downloaded more than 10,000 times -- enough traffic to land them in the Top 100 List of food podcasts on Apple iTunes, though they have not broken that number down between the Spanish and English podcasts.

It is hard to believe that hip Latinos are downloading podcasts for Swiss Steak and Sloppy Joes when they could be choosing the latest hip-hop song or tango... The Spanish podcast is hosted by General Mills employee Ursula Mejia-Melgar, who shares recipes from the book as well as tips and other ideas in seven- or eight-minute segments. The English version features Heidi Losleben, a cookbook editor for the company, who also has a blog about learning to cook using Big Red (which worked for blogger Julie Powell's now defunct Julie on Julia.

Luis Fitch, principal of the U N O advertising agency in Minneapolis, which claims to be the only advertising agency specializing in the Latino market in that market, is surprised by the marketing push to ipods.

It makes sense, it's easy, they (General Mills) have the content, they get it translated and do voice over. And they are getting a lot of media attention, but in English. But for un-acculturated and semi-acculturated Hispanics the last thing they want to learn is American food. It isn't part of our culture: we miss our food, novellas, movies. Why would I want to learn to make apple pie when I can go to a supermarket and buy one? I haven't met a Latino who thinks American food is better.

He says that young Latino kids with ipods won't be wasting their time downloading recipes. Cooking in Latino households is learned from parents and grandparents, not from cookbooks, and still less from podcasts. Fitch also points out that few General Mills brands exist in Latin countries: Betty Crocker is unknown.

The Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal quotes Kim Walter, director of book and online publishing for General Mills' Equity Enterprises publishing division:

Betty Crocker is not just a brand, she's a person. Her persona is so expandable it enables us ... to try these different channels of communication and reach out in different ways.

In fact, Betty Crocker is a brand and not a person, and an unknown brand to most Latino consumers. Podcasts are cheap to produce, but who really is going to listen? Spanish language students?

Previous articles:
The Ethics in Betty Crocker?
Syndicated: Superchefblog on Betty Crocker
Houston Chronicle Interviews Superchefblog
Cocina Betty Crocker: Portent?

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Learn from Japanese Food TV

2006-02-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Imitation is the highest form of flattery -– and now that the Food Network has borrowed sucesful Japanese formulas like Iron Chef and its US spin-off Iron Chef America , are more such shows slated for American airwaves?

According to a Washington Post article (Print versin) by Anthony Faiola:

Food has long been a major staple of Japanese broadcasting. But with most popular cooking and gourmet shows far cheaper to produce than star-powered dramas, TV producers and researchers say food shows now account for an estimated 35 to 40 percent of all domestic programming.

Sounds like there are plenty of hits to borrow. Could NBC by borrowing from Japan, like the Food Network with Iron Chef?

The Post states, "Presentation and visual appeal are as important as taste" -- a standard cliche in the absence of any taste via TV to date, despite a recommendnation for "Smell-a-Vison" by super chef Susan Feniger (see Super Chef, p. 162. This is not to be confused with "Odorama," the special effect used by director John Waters in Polyester).

Of course, the Japanese are fascinated by sophisticated cooking, not the Rachael Ray-brand of peppy and cheap which sells so well in America. Perhaps with more care American food TV can also encourage better eating and better cooking.

"The Japanese love the culture of food," said Yukio Hattori, one of the creators of Iron Chef, now with nine (9) food-related shows on the air in Japan. "But we have to be careful. We don't want to lose sight of the need to eat right."

Good Food TV can and should foster both.

If you can't get it right from Americans, why not borrow more from the Japanese?

Previous articles:
Iron Chef America Meets Survivor
[Food Television - complete]

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FOOD FLICKS: Matrix Cow

2006-02-24T11:36:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

OK, animal rights activists: what would happen if "they" could fight back?

Move over, Meatrix: meet the Matrix Cow, if you dare...

Click here to watch today's Friday FOOD FLICKS feature:
Matrix Cow
(run time: 2 min 33 sec)

Stay tuned for more "Food Flicks" each Friday!

FOOD FLICKS:
FOOD FLICKS: Swedish Chef & Squirrel Stew
FOOD FLICKS: Dan Barber in Blue Hill
FOOD FLICKS: Curry-N-Rice Girl
FOOD FLICKS: Julia Child Interviews
FOOD FLICKS: Gordon Ramsay the Sailor
FOOD FLICKS: Google Video

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Foie Gras War: Bird Flu!

2006-02-23T10:15:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

A quick news sweep reveals that the Foie Gras War -- the war to ban foie gras due to the pain inflicted upon fowl by the process of gavage -- continues unabated.

In Israel yesterday, where conflict with Palestinians makes daily headlines, the High Court of Justice still makes time for geese -- and yesterday, ruled against the Geese Growers Association, ordering an end to gavage with the immediate slaughter of 57,000 geese, a cruel victory for Let the Animals Live and Anonymous for Animal Rights, reports The Globe.

Back here at home last week, the Humane Society asked the Food Network to take foie gras off the air. The Humane Society singled out re-runs of Iron Chef because of its "Battle Foie Gras" episode. Their request should prove relatively easy to comply with, as the Food Network moves further and further away from Fine Dining into lower-cost ingredients and dishes and shows a la Rachael Ray.

It's not that foie gras is gone or even going. It is still a norm in Fine Dining. The New York Times still talks about it as an important part of Fine Dining, as in this recent article about David Kinch, or this article about home dining. In Washington, DC, at the National Gallery of Art, foie gras lollipops were served as part of a fete for the largest-ever Dada exhibit, reports The Washington Post.

No, the joke on anti-foie gras activists is that they may find their banning efforts moot and, worse, the public mood swinging back for foie gras -- as the Asian Bird Flu (or "Avian Influenza") begins to ravage duck and geese stocks, making foie gras rare. According to The Financial Times (also, Print version), the European Union (urged by France and the Netherlands) is already planning bird flu vaccines limited for 900,000 ducks and geese in three high-risk risk areas, "including the Landes region that is a leading producer of foie gras."

So, despite (or, from Mother Nature's viewpoint, perhaps to spite) the costly, exhaustive efforts of anti-foie gras campaigners to humanize gavage through celebrity endorsements and the gorey, bizarre, and often brilliant poster campaigns (e.g., PMAF and Animauzine) of activists, we may soon see a foie gras hunger roll through the world as never before.

Soon, we may be seeing gorey pictures depicting vicious flu-murders of foie-gras-producing geese and ducks, while the rich endulge in a little gavage themselves on scarcity-priced foie gras.

Previous articles - Bird Flu:
Bird Flu Death Count Passes 50 in Asia
Food Vermin -- Bird Flu, Next Course?

Previous articles - Foie Gas War:
Foie Gras War: Liver is for Lovers
Foie Gras War: Rocco Saves Seals
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

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Bones: Jennifer McLagan

2006-02-22T10:46:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Never skip the Acknowledgements section of any book: it is often a treasure trove. It can tell you about who the writer has worked or studied with, befriended or loved, and it can tell you of any special arrangements that made the book possible. It is especially true in Bones: Recipes, History & Lore (William Morrow, 2005) by Jennifer McLagan. She starts by thanking grandparents, aunts and mother and then includes this interesting reference:

Leila Batten and Stanley Janecek at Whitehouse Meats, John Rierkerk at Second Wind Elk, Elizabeth and Peter Bzikot and their sheep, Chang Lin at Pisces Fish, and Mary Lou Dolan at Beretta Organic Farms. My butcher in Paris deserves special mention. Watching Joel Lachable work is a joy and an education. It reveals the art form that is good butchery. I often don't want to cook the meat he has prepared; I am content to just admire its beauty. (pp. ix-x)

Google them all! Then set out on a trip to eat their succulent meat and fish, or just admire it.

In an era of Mad Cow Disease and carbon monoxide infuse plastic wrap for steak (see the terrific article by Marian Burros in The New York Times yesterday), the glories of butchers and farms seem so out of place. And yet, who can forget the physical power of a great butcher who can dissect an animal into such pleasing parts?

What makes bones so special? You can feel your bones in your arms, jaw, or legs. The fact that bones in our own bodies are so easily mentally connected to the bones of a steer or a hen, while muscle itself is given so many other names (beef, chicken, pork, veal and so on) gives bones a special place. We know what they are and yet what is so magical is the flavor they give food when cooked together with muscle.

Bringing back that flavor and bone-in cooking is Jennifer's mission:

Restoring bones to their deserved place in our kitchen will not be easy. Firs, we must fight against the current fascination with fast and quick, boneless food. Then we need to familiarize ourselves with the whole animal, its essentail structure. When we understand where the bones are, we will be able to cook the meat attached to them. (p. 3)

Of course the problem in this age of filet-filled supermarkets is finding that great butcher to provide you with all those bones in the first place.

The chapter on Beef and Veal (p. 7) starts with a wonderful black and white photograph by Colin Faulkner and descriptions of the animals and butcher's cuts. There are fine recipes for stock and consommé (pp. 12-5), and then plenty of recipes for ribs and steak. Four Bones in One Pot (pp. 37-8) is one of the more fanciful recipes with beef shank, short ribs, oxtail and marrow bones and plenty of vegetables. There is a simple straightforward recipe for Roasted Marrow Bones (pp. 44-5) served with either Fleur de Sel (for us Francophiles) or a Parsley Salad (for Anglophiles). Jennifer has an essay on bone marrow, useful for reading while devouring marrow on toast, on page 51, with the extra tip for the cautious: "Spinal marrow is found in the bones of chops and ribs, the neck, and tail. The safest bone marrow is that from the leg bones, because it has had no direct contact with the brain."

There are chapters on Pork (p. 53) with nifty information about ancient use of bones as musical instruments (p. 89) and Lamb (p. 91) with a curious bit of information about lamb bones used as ice skates in the Bronze Age (p. 104) and bone games like jacks (p. 117). In the Poultry chapter (p. 125) among the recipes for duck and turkey, the story of wishbones is explored in several essays, one primarily on the Anglo-Saxon traditions (p. 137) and another on a Persian Wishbone games (p. 153). Although, it is marvelous to see a recipe for Spicy Steamed Chicken Feet (p. 161) an overlooked delicacy, there is no Persian poultry dish like Fesenjan , the walnut-and-pomegranate-syrup-laced chicken stew, mentioned to accompany the wishbone game.

There are also fine chapters on Fish (p. 165) though not mollusks for obvious reasons and Game (p. 199), with no less than four recipes for rabbit including Rabbit in Saffron Sauce with Spring Vegetables, in which the rabbit liver is served as a spread for accompanying bread (pp. 216-7). There is also a great tidbit on Bone China (p. 219) appropriate to read while eating off your favorite (bone china is 50% bone ash).

Jennifer managed to find bone desserts for her final chapter, Bonelogue (p. 239) pointing out that gelatin used in many desserts is made from boiling animal feet. If the idea of a savory dessert made of bones or marrow bothers you, try faux Bone Cookies (p. 243), based on a recipe for osi di morto and shaped to look like Milkbones.(Ruff, ruff, yum, yum!)

Book details:
Publisher
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

Previous articles:
[Cookbook Reviews - complete]

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Juliette Rossant in Heart & Soul

2006-02-21T00:24:00.000-05:00

Heart & Soul magazine has re-launched this month with an article by Juliette Rossant called "Chef Appeal" recounting how three black women chefs are breaking into Fine Dining:

The magazine is available on newstands; the article is available in high-resolution PDF files for download only, compressed in .ZIP (67.3MB) and .SIT (67.7MB) formats.

(You can see Deborah in action on The Food Network's The Next Food Network Star by clicking here.)

Previous articles:
Katrina Relief: Restaurants to the Rescue?
G. Garvin: MegaFest Star
Augustus Jackson: African-American White House Chef
Winner of Next Food Network Star
Next Food Network Star's Multimedia Blitz

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President's Day Holiday

2006-02-20T07:45:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Superchefblog rests for President's Day (technically called Washington's Birthday under U.S. Law).

Please feel free to read previous articles, or search by your own taste by clicking here.

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FOOD FLICKS: Swedish Chef & Squirrel Stew

2006-02-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Once upon a calmer time, during the 1970s, The Muppet Show ruled gently over the land. One of its enduring stars was the Swedish Chef, operated by Muppets creator, the late Jim Henson (read more about him at The Jim Henson Foundation and in TIME Magazine.

Today, Superchefblog invites you to enjoy a few moments of nostalgia -- or, perhaps, to enjoy the thrill of discovering one of Television's greatest chefs.

Click here to watch today's Friday FOOD FLICKS feature:
Swedish Chef: Squirrel Stew
(run time: 1 min 20 sec)

Stay tuned for more "Food Flicks" each Friday!

FOOD FLICKS:
FOOD FLICKS: Dan Barber in Blue Hill
FOOD FLICKS: Curry-N-Rice Girl
FOOD FLICKS: Julia Child Interviews
FOOD FLICKS: Gordon Ramsay the Sailor
FOOD FLICKS: Google Video

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Sustainable Seafood Day

2006-02-17T09:46:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Marian Burros reported in Wednesday's New York Times about confusion surrounding eating fish in the US in her article, "Advisories on Fish and the Pitfalls of Good Intent" (print version). Her article covers the conflicting information consumers are getting about the health benefits and dangers of eating fish.

Today, Australians celebrate the first Sustainable Seafood Day, as reported in The Herald Sun. It is being organized by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to raise awareness of the dwindling supplies of seafood caused by overfishing. The day will focus on the importance of observing responsible fishing practices. Australians are being encouraged by the MSC to eat only sustainably caught fish marked with the MSC label. Duncan Leadbitter, Regional Director of the Asia Pacific for the Marine Stewardship Council, told Superchefblog:

We are asking that people actively select sustinably caught fish and this is easiest done via recognising our label. Secondly they could avoid overfished species.... We are definitely not asking people refrain from eating fish! Fish is great health food and there are sustinable choices.

MSC provided Superchefblog with the following list of species to avoid:

silver trevally
deep sea perch/orange roughy
ocean perch,
redfish
southern blue fin tuna,
blue warehou
broadbill swordfish
john dory
silver dory
jackass morwong (usually sold as deep sea bream)
southern shark - school shark (sold as flake)
eastern gemfish (used to be called hake) described as "overfished and unable to be rebuilt"

The MSC is an non-profit international body with head offices in London whose role is to identify via a stringent certification program well-managed fisheries. There are currently 15 certified fisheries around the world that cover 2 million tons of fish. Over 300 products worldwide bear the MSC logo.

The effort is being promoted by Whiteworks Public Relations in Australia.

Previous articles:
Alice Waters: Ms. Smith Goes to Washington
Todd Gray Champions Mid-Atlantic Cuisine
Profile: Mary Sue Milliken & Susan Feniger for White House Chef
Profile: Nora Pouillon for White House Chef

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Cat Cora Talks Money to Forbes

2006-02-16T07:25:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

For Valentine's Day yesterday, Forbes magazine talked to Iron Chef America star Cat Cora about -- well, money.

Cat managed to squeeze in mention of Chefs For Humanity, family, her latest art purchase, and her upcoming book Cooking From The Hip with Houghton Mifflin, based on column by the same name.

(click here to read the Forbes article.)

Last November alone, Cat appeared in Vanity Fair about holidays kitchen items (same picture, too), The Tony Danza Show (her fourth appearance in 12 months) and on the road in home state Mississippi and over at Millsap College.

Meanwhile, she is promoting herself with partners like McCormick and Olivia Cruises & Resort, aided by All American speakers bureau.

Last year, she also launched her own charity, Chefs For Humanity (see previous article): last month, the UNICEF announced that she would be a UNICEF spokesperson on humanitarian disasters.

This month, she will appear at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and the 20th Annual Masters of Food & Wine.

Cat's on the prowl!

Previous articles:
Juliette Rossant: Forbes Tastemakers
Cat Cora: Chefs for Humanity
Results: White House Woman Chef
Profile: Cat Cora for White House Chef
Cat Cora Wins on Iron Chef America
Cat Cora, Anita Lo: Sexing Up Iron Chef America
Cat Cora: Iron Chef America's First Lady
World AIDS Day II: Iron Chef Cat Cora

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Arab Table: May Bsisu

2006-02-15T11:35:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

The cuisines of the Arab World stretches from Morocco to Iraq and Oman (see map). Syrians, Lebanese, and Iraqis (to name a few) often argue about whose is the greatest Arab cuisine, just as French, Italian and Spanish cooks argue about the greatest European cuisine, and follow suit in borrowing from one another, creating versions of the same dish, and rivaling each other for the best ingredients.

It is best to take advantage of such rivalry and find a book like The Arab Table (Harper Collins 2005) that explores the riches of each tradition.

Lucky for us, May Bsisu is a wanderer. She was born in Amman, Jordan, of a Palestinian father and Lebanese Jordanian mother. She lived in Beirut, Lebanon, during her schooling and then moved with her Palestinian husband to Kuwait, England, and eventually the US in Cincinnati, Ohio.

May starts her book with a brief introduction to the food of each country. For Syria, she writes, "Aleppo, in the north bordering Turkey, is recognized in the Middle East as a temple of haute cuisine and is known throughout the Arab world for making the finest sweets." (p. 7) She has a guide to ingredients, including more unusual ingredients like freka, the marvelous roasted grains of green wheat used in Chicken Freka with Ground Beef (p. 184) and jameed the sour sheep's milk cheese essential for Lamb in Creamy Sheep's Milk Yogurt (p. 205).

May has recipes for spice mixes from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Yemen (pp. 40-41) as well as a recipe for zaatar (p. 38), the spice blend used across the Arab World as a topping for bread and as an ingredient in many cold and hot dishes. The Saudi Spice mixture is used to make kabsa, Saudi Arabian Slow-Cooked Lamb (p. 213) flavored with saffron, cardamom, cinnamon and allspice. She also has a recipe for Grandmother Nazleh's Seven-Spice Mix (p. 73) for use in kibeh nayeh [sic], the steak tartare of Lebanon.

Each recipe has a story attached about how other regions would make the dish or how she came across the best example. May also has in depth sections on the food of religious holidays like Eid Al Adha (the feast ending the hajj or pilgrimage) (pp. 90-1) and Ramadan (pp. 258-66). There is a whole section on kibeh, Middle Eastern ground meat patties, starting with an explanation on pages 224-225, then recipes like Kibeh in the Tray (p. 227) and Potato Kibeh (p. 232-3) followed by a section on kafta, a related meatball dish and its variations (pp. 233-241).

Closing the book is a chapter on drinks and one on desserts featuring some of the splendid sweets from Aleppo and Beirut with intriguing names like Znood Al Sit or Ladies' Arms (p. 305) and the less poetic kunafa bi jibin or Shredded Pastry with Cheese (pp. 307-10) a marvelous confection of crisp shredded dough cooked in butter and stuffed with sweetened cheese. It is crisp and creamy, sweet and decadent. Anyone who has eaten it in a great pastry shop in Aleppo, Amman or Istanbul never forgets where they had their best kunafa:

Appreciation for the traditional techniques and fine ingredients that go into a great Kunafa certainly add to my love for this dessert. And whenever I make it, I am reminded of my father, skillfully manipulating buttery shreds of phyllo in his fingers–attired as always, in a business suit and dress shoes. (p. 311)

The only warning to the reader is to beware the transliterations of Arabic words, in case you know any of the dishes or ingredients form elsewhere. Like most recipe writers of Arab cuisine in English, May does not attempt to standardize her spellings: her "kibeh" would more likely be spelled kibbeh for starters, since in Arabic the word doubles its b's. However, this is a small shortcoming in return for a such trove of Middle East treats.

Sample recipes:
LisaEkus.com

Book details:
Publisher
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

Previous articles:
[Cookbook Reviews - complete]

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Cooking For Life: Vikas Khanna

2006-02-14T11:19:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

There is singles tourism, gay tourism and family tourism. Chef Vikas Khanna wants to make sure that there is also disabled tourism, that is access for the disabled at historical sites around the world.

Vikas was the executive chef at New York's Salaam Bombay Restaurant and is currently a consultant to restaurants like Tamarind, Tandoor Palace, Saffron among others. Several years ago he set up a non-profit foundation called New York Chefs Cooking for Life three years ago to help raise awareness and funds for relief efforts around the world. It has spread nationally and internationally. Cooking for Life has helped organize events for Hurricane Katrina relief, Tsunami relief, and is publishing a cookbook to benefit Save the Children.

Together with the Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality (SATH) he has organized an ambitious series of celebrity chef dinners in premier tourism locations. The first, scheduled for July 20th, is in Cairo at the great pyramids. The dinner will bring together New York chefs from restaurant groups like B. R. Guest, Myriad, and Chanterelle for a dinner at the Oberoi Mena House, located next to the pyramids and built in 1869, now part of the Dehli-based Oberoi Hotel Group.

"We are going to have a series all over the world: the Taj Mahl next year, China, and in all these places we are helping to create accessibility and awareness," says Vikas. "I am not Bono. I can't do everything. But we have bigger voices than just our local customers." Vikas is planning on making the most of the event by creating a cookbook and video to raise further funds. Of funds raised, 100% goes to charities; everyone in Vikas' organization is a volunteer.

Vikas' connection with SATH is personal. He was born lame and then lost sight in one eye after an accident in 1990. He teaches workshops designed for people with visual disabilities to understand the sense of taste and aromas. He also has a separate non-profit called SAKIV to reach out to different EYE foundations around South Asia. SAKIV-world was established in 2005 to host vision expos all around the world.

Previous articles:
Cat Cora: Chefs For Humanity

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Edna Lewis RIP

2006-02-13T12:55:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

With sadness Superchefblog reports the passing of a great American chef, Edna Lewis (April 13, 1916 - February 13, 2006), author of The Taste of Country Cooking (Knopf 1976, 2003) and other cookbooks.

Sheila O’Shea, Associate Director of Publicity at Alfred A. Knopf, informed Superchefblog that Edna passed away in her sleep this morning in Dectur, Georgia. "Her long-time friend and co-author, Scott Peacock, was at her side."

Useful links:
Southern Foodways Alliance Hall of Fame
University of Virginia Press
Conde Nast Traveler
Random House
Virginia Commonwealth University blog
New York Times

Previous articles:
Julia Child: The Queen is Dead

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Walter Scheib: American Chef

2006-02-13T12:26:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Clinton-appointed Walter Scheib, the ex-White House chef, is building up speed for his new venture, The American Chef, "It's a cross between Emeril [Lagasse] and Garrison Keillor," Scheib reently told US News & World Report. Scheib puts on corporate and private events billed as "dinner and a conversation" around his stories and recipes from the Bush and Clinton White Houses.

Since leaving the White House last year, Scheib has been building up corporate publicity, appearing for ClubCorp in the Washington area and Taste of Atlanta last Fall. He even appeared on TV, such as CBS Early Morning. He is represented by YC Media.

Related news:
Baltimore Sun [PDF]
Wonkette

Previous articles:
Kitchen Chat with Walter Scheib
Wanted: White House Chef
[White House - complete coverage]

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FOOD FLICKS: Dan Barber in Blue Hill

2006-02-10T09:58:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Enjoy chef Dan Barber show off Blue Hill in this film short by Perry Street Productions LLC, produced by Jennifer Usdan, and available also at savory wiki.

Click here to watch today's Friday FOOD FLICKS feature:
Blue Hill
(run time: 1 min 19 sec)

Stay tuned for more "Food Flicks" each Friday!

FOOD FLICKS:
FOOD FLICKS: Curry-N-Rice Girl
FOOD FLICKS: Julia Child Interviews
FOOD FLICKS: Gordon Ramsay the Sailor
FOOD FLICKS: Google Video

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Jack Abramoff's Chef Morou of Signatures

2006-02-09T08:34:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

What happens when politics and not food sustain a restaurant? The Washington Post's Judith Weinraub interviewed Chef Morou Ouattara to find out. Chef Morou rose to prominence under super chef Mark Miller at Red Sage, which became a favorite restaurant of President Clinton's in the 1990s, but the kitchen in question of late has been Signatures, the restuarant owned by disgraced mega-lobiest Jack Abramoff (see Post summary), which closed November 16.

To read the full article, click here.

Not to worry much: Chef Morou is now one of the owners of the new but unnamed restaurant. And the restaurant before the Abramoff scandal won serious acclaim (see The New York Times.)

And Chef Morou made news throughout last year, whether connected to (The Boston Globe, Daily Kos, The Hill, Washington City Paper) or separate from the Abramoff scandal (2005 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Today Show). He won a RAMMY Award from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington. The best press of all may be his landing an appearance on Iron Chef America which has gotten him mention from the District of Columbia's Mayor's Office, Washington Life Magazine

PR for Signatures is handled by Linda Roth.

Previous articles:
Plame-Rove Affair: Culinary Institute of America
[first White House executive chef - complete]

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86 Recipes New York

2006-02-08T06:18:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

We have been bombarded by recipes from the beginning of time, from ancient Sumer to the present. There are websites, search engines, magazines, cookbooks, supermarket checkout counter pamphlets with tips on how to cook the ultimate aphrodisiac-filled repast for Valentine's Day. Health-conscious, indulgent, fresh, fruity, meaty, you-name-it-kind of recipe. Do you really need another vehicle for recipes? Yes, if you can't get a reservation on Valentine's Day at your favorite restaurant and yet you and your main squeeze are pining for that one dish you can't find anywhere else – or worse, you are pining for a dish at one restaurant and your partner wants a dish at another.

Remember those old fashioned (read "retro") recipe boxes with smudged index cards of Aunt So-and-So's famous chicken pot pie? Cleo Papanikolas main character in her novel, Cook Until Desired Tenderness, is a recipe box. The recipes are cherished, if a bit dated. That is the idea behind 86 recipe boxes. 86 New York: Recipes from Top Restaurants for the Home Kitchen is a box (laminated cardboard, not metal) with cards (glossy) that promise 86 of the best, most-sought after recipes from New York's top restaurants is an answer to that Valentine's Day quandary. ("86" refers to restaurant speak for a dish that is sold out, thus the idea that you get the recipe and make them at home.)

Each card has a photo of the restaurant, a map of its location, and website and on the back a recipe like Homard Poele – Lobster in a Pan with Julienne Garden Vegetables from Markt, perfect for a Valentine's Day main course. You'll find the chef's name and helpful hints for the recipe, too. But if you don't care for seafood, you could try the Filete con Hongos – Beef Medallions with Mushroom-Tequila Cream Sauce from Rosa Mexicano and serve that with the Manchego-Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms with Piquillo Sauce from Anita Lo's Annisa.

Restaurants like Daniel Boulud's Restaurant Daniel is represented with Guinea Hen Casserole with Morels, Fava Beans and Fiddlehead Ferns and Marcus Samuelsson's Aquavit with Gravlax with Mustard Sauce, but you won't find any of Tom Colicchio's Craft restaurants, or Suvir Saran's Devi though many of Danny Meyer's restaurants (Blue Smoke, Eleven Madison Park, Union Square Cafe), are represented. Many of these New York chefs have their own cookbooks so you could grab one of Tom's or Suvir's, but it's extra fun making a romantic Valentine's dinner from a stack of cards in this nifty box o' recipes.

Previous articles:
[Cookbook Reviews - complete]

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Foie Gras War: Liver is for Lovers

2006-02-07T11:04:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

With Washington (state) and Hawaii gearing up to join the ban on foie gras, this may be one of the last years of plentiful supply, particularly if PETA and Farm Sanctuary get their way.

To counter their efforts, D'Artagnan, America's leading foie gras purveyor, is waging this "Too Good To Be Lega" ad campaign theme.

The heart of Valentine's Day is indulgence, not political correctness, and for this year, D'Artagnan's owner Ariane Daguin urges Americans to throw caution to the wind and order up some Too Good to be Legal Foie Gras for dinner. All you need is a silver spoon, a pile of toast, a bit of fleur de sel to go for this earthly nirvana.

Related news:
Google News

Previous articles:
Foie Gras War: Rocco Saves Seals
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

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Columnists Thumb Emeril

2006-02-06T09:39:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

It started last Thursday in The New York Post, when columnist Cindy Adams reported comments by super chef Emeril Lagasse as follows:

The mayor's a clunk. The governor is also a clunk. They don't know their (nether sections) from a hole in the ground. All my three restaurants got hit. I've reopened Emeril's, but only a few locals come. There's no tourists. No visitors. No spenders. No money. No future. No people. It's lost. It'll never come back.

Enter Times-Picayune columnist Chris Rose. He resented Emeril's comments so much that his article-in-reply is titled "Stay in the kitchen: Shut up and cook" and opens with the recommendation that Emeril's new special should be Foot-in-Mouth, followed by an explanation of how citizens in New Orleans feel betrayed.

Emeril's corporate headquarters sent the following statement to The Times-Picayune's restaurant critic Brett Anderson:

The article is not an accurate representation of the way I feel about New Orleans. I completely support the city, which is the reason I have based both my family and my business operations here for over 20 years. I did, however, express my concerns about the leadership in our city and the state. I have absolutely not lost hope in our city, I just sometimes lose patience, as I feel that things should be moving forward much faster than they are at this time. I did not say that the city or the people will never come back. I am committed to this city, and I have no doubt that New Orleans will be back, and that it will be better than ever. I am also extremely grateful to all of our local customers -- it is because of them that we are able to operate in this unbelievably difficult time. I believe that we are all in this together, and we need to work together to encourage each other, not discourage the positive growth in our city. I will continue to support this great city in the rebuilding effort in any way I can.

Rose notes accurately that Emeril has reopened only two of his three restaurants in New Orleans (Emeril's and NOLA but not Delmonico's), but Emeril has not explained why Delmonico's remains closed at this pont in time, though he did announce his plan to re-open all his restaurants back in September 2005 (see press release). What are further Emeril's plans? So far, he continues to re-open to a greater degree in the city, having just added some lunches back to Emeril's and NOLA late last month (see press release). (See our previous article.)

Rose claims that other restaurants are packed and blames Emeril for not re-opening Delmonico's, too, and for laying off staff. An earlier article notes that Emeril has been missing from the city. What Rose and colleagues are missing is that Emeril is simply not a New Orleans chef: he's a national chef, a super chef -- an "empire-building celebrity chef." This is no defense or excuse but fact: he has many other commitments outside of New Orleans and a schedule that includes TV and other Media appearances. A business empire also means that he has deputies and other staff to delegate to.

If Rose's article speaks for a majority or large number of New Orleans residents, then it would appear that Emeril may need to clarify to the city that while New Orleans is his home base, he has other commitments equally if not more important. Of course, that's a message that would not go down well, either, in New Orleans just now.

Subsequent stories:
Scripps Howard News Service

Super chefs:
Emeril Lagasse

Related news:
Times-Picayune
New York Post
Cleveland Plain Dealer

Previous articles:
Emeril Re-Opens in New Orleans
Halloween: Emeril's Delmonico Cookbook
Emeril Lagasse: Carnivale du Vin All-Stars
Emeril: Miami Rocks for Relief

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FOOD FLICKS: Curry-N-Rice Girl

2006-02-03T07:25:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Wanna see a hot new Indian video? When we say hot, we're talking curry-hot, courtesy of NDN Productions / Fobbed Out Entertainment.

We haven't seen anything like this since Apache Indian hit the scene with his "Raggamuffin Girl."

Click here to watch today's Friday FOOD FLICKS feature:
Curry-N-Rice Girl
(run time: 3 min 35 sec)

Stay tuned for more "Food Flicks" each Friday!

FOOD FLICKS:
FOOD FLICKS: Julia Child Interviews
FOOD FLICKS: Gordon Ramsay the Sailor
FOOD FLICKS: Google Video

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Sufi Cuisine: Nevin Halici

2006-02-01T12:31:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

At a time when it is essential for Americans to gain a deeper understanding of the people of the Middle East, their history, culture, and religions, Sufi Cuisine (Saqi 2005) is a welcome and engrossing book.

The author, Dr. Nevin Halici, an expert on the history of Turkish cuisine, hails from Konya, founded by Mowla-naa Jalaal Al-Diin Al-Ruumii, better known to the West (and Iran) as Rumi and to Turks as "Mevlana". Of Mevlana she writes in her Introduction: "From Konya he transmitted messages of love, friendship and brotherhood to the people of his war-ravage era." (p. 21) Anyone who has a chance to see these mystical dancers and musicians perform gains only a glimpse of what the Sufi order is all about. There are many Sufi orders throughout the Middle East that guide everyday life and thought, and this book illuminate that culture through cuisine.

Middle Eastern cuisine specialist Claudia Roden writes in the Forward to the book:

This book has many facets – it is a cultural history, a book of poetry, a culinary memoir and a collection of recipes. It also gives rare insight into the spiritual wisdom and philosophy that Rumi expressed through ecstatic love poetry seeking to unite humanity in love, respect and brotherhood. (p. 15)

Turks like to say that theirs is one of the great world cuisines along with French, Chinese and Japanese. This book is about the 13th century foundations of that cuisine, which continue on to the present day.

The book begins with a history of Mevlana's life and the rules of the kitchen and dining for the order. "Anyone wishing to enter the Mevlevi Order must observe the workings of the kitchen for three days from a designated area" (p. 31). Nevin Hanim describes the centrality of cuisine to the Mevlevi order. Much like the kitchen brigade of French classical cuisine, there was a strict hierarchy in the kitchen, including a sherbet maker, a coffee grinder and the Kazanci Dede or the Keeper of the Cauldron who was in charge of the kitchen (p. 33).

The book covers recipes mentioned in Mevlana's writings, almost all of which are still made in Konya today, and if not, many are eaten in Afghanistan (where Mevlana was born) and Iran. She includes couplets from Mevlana with each recipe, such as this one that leads the recipe for Fried Fish:

I am like a fish in the market, in the bazaar, in the pan, flipping
from one side to the other, turning over and over, I burn and blaze (p. 47)

Following comes for Sweet Buttery Soup or Balamac Asi (pp. 48-49) which, Nevin Hanim explains, is prepared by the mother of the bride and sent ahead of the bride to her husband's house so that she is surrounded by sweetness in her new home. Again she quotes Mevlana:

But when your soul is intoxicated it has no desire for even that food;
will anyone drunk on the contemplation of your face even look at balamac asi? (p. 48)

This is a truly unusual dish not often found outside of Konya. The facing page has one of the unusual minatures by Ahmet Efe that illustrate the book. The minatures put the food into context of the life of Mevlana and his order.

Subsequent chapters are rich with recipes mentioned in Mevlana's works still prepared in Konya today like the unusual Neck of Lamb (p. 70 )that is actually served in both savory and sweet version. This should come as no surprise to those who have tasted the Turkish pudding Tavuk Gogsu, made with chicken breast. Many dishes are less exotic like the Diced Kebab or Sis Kebab on the facing page 171.

There is a wonderful discussion of Helva ("halva" in Persian, "halwa" in Arabic) in the book, which is not the sesame paste confection common in Middle Eastern Stores in America. In Turkey, helva is made of any kind of flour and is served at all special occasions. Nevin Hanim gives recipes for Almond Helva (p. 120), Honey Helva (p. 121), Snow Helva (p. 122) which is made of snow and grape molasses, Pekmez Helva (p. 122), and Helva Prepared with Sugar (p. 123).

At the end of the book Nevin has all the poetry written by Mevlana about cuisine, food and customs, including these wonderful lines: "Cook, mature, and be spared the fate of spoiling" (208). The pages are filled with his wise verse that still ring true to present day cooks and food writers.

Book details:
Publisher
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

Previous articles:
Cook Like a Kyrgyz
[Cookbook Reviews - complete]

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State of the Union: Food Terrorism

2006-01-31T12:14:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

As President George W. Bush prepares for the 2006 State of the Union address, Superchefblog wondered: what is the State of our Food?

Last year ended on a new lownote of terror-mongering in this country, with the pent-up story finally released by The New York Times due to publication of James Risen's new book, State of War. Five years after the fact, we finally know that the U.S. Government has been spying on us, its own citizens.

Who picks up the check (so to speak) when the National Security Agency starts spying on you through Food?

You laugh? Save your breath and wait until you get profiled by what you order up, because the check is on you (so to speak). After all, "you are what you eat," so there must be a Food Profile for terrorists, right?

All the government has to do is get hold of your credit card history to check what food you've purchased and from where -- starting with those suspicious Arabs down on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn -- or your recent Open Table reservation. "Agent X, we seem to have come across an eating pattern similar to those of Osama Bin Laden......

"MY GOD! OSAMA BIN LADEN IS IN NEW YOUR CITY!" the agent, concludes, remembering certain photos of Bin Laden. Next thing you know, the Department of Homeland Security has raised the national threat level from Yellow ("Elevated") to Red ("Severe") -- just what does that mean? -- and it's nine months under lock and key as a guest of Uncle Sam, courtesy of the Patriot Act.

Then there are all those "foreign" chefs to worry about...... Austrian-born Wolfgang Puck has referred to his salmon and caviar pizza as his "Jew Pizza": does that make him anti-Israeli or even pro-Palestinian? It might be a tougher call than you think for an NSA agent to figure out: while Wolf's ex-wife and business partner, Barbara Lazaroff may be Jewish, his current squeeze Gelila Assifa is Ethiopian -- and we all know that Ethiopia's near-majority is Muslim (see CIA World Factbook). What about all that charity work -- any of Islamic charity? "We'd better check." And where do we start with all those French chefs -- because isn't France where those Muslim riots occurred last Fall?...... Or the Spanish chefs, with their proximity to Morocco and run-in with terrorism on 4/11? Did Superchefblog implicate Jose Andres (pictured above) last year by calling him a "mole" (see previous article)?

If Uncle Sam as Big Brother (the George Orwell concept, not the UK or US television shows) doesn't grab you (literally), how about our own homegrown Food Terrorism? It's bad enough that the government cannot seem to decide which foods are good for you (remember the new Food Pyramid?) and which are not (remember the future's food science in Woody Allen's movie Sleeper?).

Now, we've got vigilantes roaming the country in the guise of Political Correctness police. Such socio-political control is commonly thought to be limited to Muslim countries (in the form of mutawa`a), but apparently PETA and associated organizations feel differently, starting with the Foie Gras War (see latest article and especially "Foie Gras War: Voodoo and Vigilantes").

The legislation against on foie gras producers and consumers in Washington (state), California, Illinois, and New York is disheartening. Some chefs have spoken out strongly against the bans, but too many others are swayed by faulty science, scare tactics and misinformation by the eco-terrorists pursuing these bans. If a product is USDA grade and safe for humans, consumers should have the right to eat what they choose. Legislation needs to be channeled toward proper food labeling and inspection, so that consumers can be forewarned and stil have the right to choose. Bans are for things like cigarettes, which cause health problems not only for smokers but, more importantly, second-hand smokers.

Food rules lead to food police and that leads to gray mush on a paper plate. If we made rules about what we are allowed to eat and what is forbidden, the world would be a pretty dull place.

One highlight from last year arose from a lowpoint in the form of chefs and restaurateurs who rallied to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina and other associated disasters. Cat Cora's Chefs for Humanity has continued to be particularly active in helping victims. And Cat Cora also won the popular vote for Superchefblog's nationwide readers' poll to help get the first woman ever selected as executive chef at the White House -- and now Cris Comerford is both our first woman and first minority chef there (see our complete coverage).

In other news, Food Reality TV continued to crank out new, formulaic shows that teach little and fail to win audience loyalty like Emeril Lagasse. Chefs continue to thrive and expand their businesses. And the number of Super Chefs are expanding -- stay tuned for profiles of new Super Chefs coming during 2006.

Super chefs:
Emeril Lagasse
Wolfgang Puck

Previous articles:
[Chefs & Politics - complete coverage]
[White House - complete coverage]
[Food Television - complete coverage]

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In Style Celebrity Weddings: Bobby Flay & Stephanie March

2006-01-30T09:05:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Super chef Bobby Flay and super star Staphanie March have their wedding featured on ABC's Insight Celebrity Weddings tonight at 9:00 p.m. EST.

The wedding reception was held at Daniel Boulud's Restaurant Daniel.

Super chefs:
Daniel Boulud
Bobby Flay

Previous articles:
Bobby Flay: Married and Motivated

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FOOD FLICKS: Julia Child Interviews

2006-01-27T06:51:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation sponsored a three-hour interview with Julia Child on June 25, 1999, which is available on Google Video in six parts (below) -- just move your cursor over the image, and a title will come up that tells you the contents of that section.

FOOD FLICKS:
FOOD FLICKS: Gordon Ramsay the Sailor
FOOD FLICKS: Google Video

Julia Child:
Update: Julia Child's Channel Saved - For Now
James Beard, Emmys to Honor Julia Child
Julia Child Remember'd, by Judith Jones
Forthcoming on Julia Child: The Spy, the Student, the Master

Previous articles:
Trailer of The Meatrix 2: Revolting
Before STORE WARS: The Meatrix
Star Wars' Super Chef: "Droidmaker" George Lucas
STORE WARS: The Making of the Movie
Year's Most Important Movie: STORE WARS
Inside Scoop on Dinner in the Control Room

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Chinese New Year: Martine's Chocolate Dogs

2006-01-26T13:33:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Remember eating chocolate cigarettes when you were a kid? There was something so tantalizing about eating a sweet that looked like something you should never eat. You could preserve a strong anti-cigarette posture and still practice being a glamorous, grown-up movie star.

Eating a dog isn't quite the same thing -- more like a grown-up's "animal cracker." There is that sadistic but delicious decision facing each bite: snout, tail, legs -- or a bit of all of them?

Martine's Chocolates make exquisite chocolate pups -- perfect for a post-banquet treat on Chinese New Year, which starts January 29, 2006 (Chinese year 4073). Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. In case you haven't heard or guessed, this is the Year of the Dog, so it's appropriate to pop one of these lucky omens into your mouth. Whether you are a dog lover or despise sharing your city street with that genus of mammals, they are sinfully fun to eat.

Martine's dogs come in a whole slew of breeds from Cocker Spaniels to Great Danes to Schnauzers. (Don't forget the Lassie dog, too -- or the French bull dog, pictured above.)

Martine's chocolate dogs are all rich, smooth and intensely flavored. Superchefblog asked Martine Leventer Pechenik where the idea for the dogs comes from:

I started to make "A" dog years ago. I don't remember when, but I know I just melted when I saw a mold for a small Yorkshire: he looked exactly like the one my Mother had, with the same cute look. To this day, he is my favorite one. I added the others little by little, as I "met" them, until I decided to have a whole line of dogs: there are so many different breeds on the streets of New York, it always surprises me(nothing like it in Paris!). So I keep trying to find new molds too. Of course, I love dogs, too!

And Valentine's Day is a great way to show your love.

Previous articles:
The Sex in Chrismukkah
Easter Special: Super Pastry Chefs

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Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Traveling Cookbook

2006-01-25T08:41:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels through the Great Subcontinent (Artisan 2005) is a stunning coffee table cookbook by two globetrotting photographers and husband-and-wife team Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. Ever so lightly, this tome will transport you to landscapes, faces, and cuisines of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The recipes that the authors present are recreations of inspiring dishes they have encountered on their travels on the subcontinent. Each recipe head note recalls where the recipe came from and how the authors changed it and serve it in their Canadian home. The making of the book is the subject of an hour-long documentary by Jacques Menard for the Food Network Canada.

The book wanders all over the subcontinent in no particular order. The table of contents groups recipes by ingredient, but as you leaf through the gorgeous pages, there are other headings like The Winchester with a lovely photo of rice meal mounded on leaves in a mountain village of Orissa, not actually a meal at The Winchester Cafe. On the facing page is an essay about eating at the Winchester in Sri Lanka where the food is south Indian Tamil. One of the authors (whoever is "I" for this essay) writes about eating hoppers (soft steamed skillet breads) and sambhar (tamarind-based soupy lentil stew) rather than the typical heavy meal of "rice and curry". He/she also describes the clear divisions in Sri Lankan society between Sinhalese Buddhists, Tamil Hindus, and Muslims.

But in the Winchester, I somehow didn't notice the little statue of Buddha standing near the cash register, and the food had me fooled. The place had a Sinahalese feel, but the food was Tamil, and so was most of the staff. Then I was told that the owner was Sinhalese. When I finally got to meet her, I learned that she had visited Tamil Nadu, in South India, a few years back. She liked the food so much that she had learned to make it and soon she started serving it in the restaurant, along with Tamil dishes from Sri Landa. This may not sound like a big deal, but here in Sri Lanka, after two decades of civil war, it is a big deal. (p. 146)

You may never want to make hoppers (recipe on p. 121) and lentil stew (recipe on p.188), but you may want to read observations: why eating on holiday matters in more ways than just energy for more fun.

Mangoes & Curry Leaves is full of essays on food memories like the one following a photo of a Hindu shrine near Darbar Square in Kathmandu of a woman making an offering under the title Rebirth. The essay begins with one of the author's mother's death and then a trip to Ladakh noth of the Himalaya. The author goes to a monastery for a festival attended by pilgrims. One day a woman from Dard, a region off-limits to foreigners shares apricots with the author/s:

After I'd eaten the fruit, sucking its tart flesh off the pit, she showed me how to crack the pit and extract the "almond" within. Later, during a break, we walked together to one of the tea stands and had tea and bread, dunking the bread in our tea as we watched the passing scene. And ever since, whenever I bit into a tart dried apricot, that encounter comes back: the sharp bright sun, the shy alert smile of the Dard woman, the scents of dust and goatskin and hot tea. (p. 185)

There is no mention of conversation between the author/s and the Dard woman, and only a little discussion of the disputed territory between Pakistan and India. This is a passage about what food means, evoking memory, place and understanding.

Book details:
Publisher
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

Previous articles:
Manju Malhi's India With Passion
Madhur Jaffrey: Our Lady of India, CBE
[Cookbook Reviews - complete]

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World Woman Week?

2006-01-23T10:16:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

This month, women of the world won presidencies: Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Liberia's Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Finland's Tarja Halonen.

Now, the big question: how many of them will put cuisine and nutrition on their national agendas?

(You remember Tarja Halonen -- the Conan O'Brien look-alike? CNN and others have been following the story -- and now Tarja has won!)

Previous articles:
[White House Woman Chef - complete coverage]

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FOOD FLICKS: Gordon Ramsay the Sailor

2006-01-20T07:52:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

For our first "Food Flicks" feature, courtesy of Google Video, Superchefblog presents England's super chef Gordon Ramsay, ever so British in an interview that discusses his penchant for sailing and cooking, dated November 15, 2005.

Click here to watch our first FOOD FLICK feature:
"Gordon Ramsay on the BBC"
(run time: 3 min 36 sec)

Stay tuned for more "Food Flicks" each Friday!

Super chefs:
Gordon Ramsay

Previous articles:
Gordon Ramsay v James Bond
Gordon Ramsay: Women Can't Cook
Gordon Ramsay: A Chef For All Seasons
Gordon Ramsay: In the Heat of the Kitchen
Gordon Ramsay on Jay Leno: Funnier than Hell
Hell's Kitchen a la Apprentice: You're Fired!
Hell's Kitchen on ICE
Sneak Peak: Hell's Kitchen, with Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay Joins Richard Branson in Fox's Reality TV Hell
[Food Television - complete]
[Chefs & Politics - complete]
[Humor - complete]

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FOOD FLICKS: Google Video

2006-01-19T07:48:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

With the launch of Google Video (see David Pogue's review in The New York Times), Superchefblog is launching Food Flicks each Friday, for some end-of-week video entertainment.

While the technoids argue the merits (see "Related news," below), Google Video is a indisputably step up from Real's RealPlayer, Microsoft's Windows Media Player, or even Apple's Quicktime: if you think it runs quickly and smoothly (if sometimes a bit grainy during these their Beta days), just resize your browser window and see it runs!

First up is Gordon Ramsay: come see tomorrow!

Related news:
International Herald Tribune
O'Reilly MacDev Center
I-Newswire
iLounge
Information Week
Chicago Tribune
San Francisco Chronicle
Sydney Morning Herald
San Jose Mercury News
Los Angeles Times

Previous articles:
AOL Features Superchefblog - Again
AOL Features Superchefblog
Todd English Chefs MTV Video Music Awards
Video Killed the Radio Star: Can Radio Resurrect Rocco DiSpirito?

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Trailer of The Meatrix 2: Revolting

2006-01-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Can a movie sequal be as good as the original? The fans of The Meatrix, Free Range Studios' blockbuster, are about to find out. Be the first one on your block to catch a sneak preview of The Meatrix 2: Revolting.

Click here to watch the trailer, now.

Subsequent articles:
Meatrix 2 Opens Today

Related websites:
GRACE Factory Farm Project
GRACE Public Fund
MySpace: Moopheus
Friends of Rural New York
Sustainable Table Blog
The New Farm

Previous articles:
Before STORE WARS: The Meatrix
Last Supper for Star Wars
Star Wars' Super Chef: "Droidmaker" George Lucas
STORE WARS: The Making of the Movie
Year's Most Important Movie: STORE WARS
Gabby Hayes: White House Chef?
A Bite Out of "The Gates"
Inauguration Spells Alphabet Soup Disaster
Slow Food Thanksgiving, by Alice Waters and Prince Charles
Politics, Billboards & Champagne
Politics, Chefs & Billboards
Inside Scoop on Dinner in the Control Room

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Jamie Oliver New Year: School Lunch

2006-01-17T09:55:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

What is the cost of change? In the UK's countrywide school food revolution brought on by Jamie Oliver, the first victim is fatty food maker Cantebury Foods. The company called in administrators when it was unable to meet its debt payments. Canterbury Foods had supplied processed foods like sausage rolls and meat pies to pubs, restaurants, hotels, fast-food outlets and wholesalers who sold to school caterers.

Paul Ainsworth, the chief executive of the company, told to The Times of London: “We made a lot of fatty foods and a lot of salty foods. There has been a change in the whole industry. Unfortunately events have overtaken us.”

Last week a management buyout saved three of six factories and two hundred employees. A further four hundred workers are yet to learn their fate, according to The Times.

The article goes on to say that Canterbury Foods sales have been declining since last July. “I don’t blame Jamie Oliver,” Mr Ainsworth said. “He’s been a catalyst for change. It’s a good change.” Canterbury Foods tried to change too. It brought out lower-fat sausage rolls but to no avail.

School lunches in the UK and the US have to change. Superchefblog has made its New Year's resolution: to publicize the improvement of school lunches in the United States (see previous article). Chefs: get out there, and rattle your pots and pans, and let's see some change in the New Year! Let's catch up with the UK. Fatty food makers selling to schools will have to change their products or suffer the fate of Cantebury Foods.

Previous articles:
Jamie Oliver on Vodafone Live
Fat Lady Sings Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver: Real Guts
Jamie Oliver: School Lunch
Alice Waters: Ms. Smith Goes to Washington
Wall Street Journal: Beef over Chef Sponsorship?
Amazon UK's Steamy Xmas Chefs

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RIP: Martin Luther King, Jr.

2006-01-16T09:23:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

On this the 38th year since his assassination, Superchefblog pauses publication to remember a national hero by reprinting this epitaph for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968):

Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart,
until, in our own despair,
against our will,
comes wisdom
through the awful grace of God.

—Robert F. Kennedy (November 20, 1925 - June 5, 1968) reciting from the Greek playwright Aeschylus -- two months and one day before his own assassination.

Video:
Last speech of Martin Luther King Jr., April 3, 1968 (courtesy of Google)

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Walter Scheib: ScallopGate?

2006-01-13T13:05:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Let's call it "Scallopgate."

Did President Bush's former top chef Walter Scheib feed scallops to the Commander-in-Chief despite his requests that scallops not appear in the first family's meals? Or is Walter being slandered by some East Wing mischief maker? Can the President's stomach effect world affairs?

What is wrong with scallops anyway?

What is wrong with this story?

David Letterman had this say:

And President Bush fired the guy, the former chef, for serving scallops. I'm thinking, well, gosh, is this the guy he should be firing? What about those guys who got us into Iraq? Why didn't he fire those guys? [source]

The Wall Street Journal reported in an article on Laura Bush:

A hint of the steel behind her smile was evident early this year, when the White House ushered out longtime head chef Walter Scheib. One East Wing official, breaking months of silence on the issue, cited a "level of arrogance" Mr. Scheib displayed in preparing dishes the Bush family detested -- scallops in particular, which kept appearing on menus despite repeated complaints. Mr. Scheib declined to comment.

Now The New York Daily News got into the act, quoting Walter:

There was never any request to take scallops off the menu. If there had ever been any request like that, I can assure you there never would have been a scallop in the building. The chef reckons that the bivalve found its way onto the presidential table only about 11 times - and every time, "The First Lady approved the menu."...

Besides, Walter told NYDN, "It was an amicable parting" and that he was pleased that they hired one of his staff members to succeed him -- Cristeta Comerford.

Maybe Walter is right and Mrs. Bush wanted to put her own stamp on the White House kitchen. Maybe 11 orders of scallops was one too many.

Broccoli, scallops -- maybe food is just that powerful.

Related news:
New York Daily News
Philadelphia Inquirer
Wichita Eagle weblog

Previous articles:
White House Woman Chef: Thanks
Kitchen Chat with Walter Scheib
Wanted: White House Chef
[White House - complete coverage]

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Cook's Companion: Stephanie Alexander

2006-01-11T10:05:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Stephanie Alexander writes on her website:

The nouvelle cuisine movement in France was inspiring ... chefs, the liberalising of the liquor laws allowed for new styles of eating, more of the young middle-class were spending their holidays abroad, the food media grew rapidly and instantly reported everything new, and of course there was the general affluence of the early eighties.

You're forgiven if you think Stephanie Alexander is writing about Northern California or New York State. She is not.

Stephanie Alexander is on of Australia's most accomplished cooks, restaurateurs, food writers, and television chefs. Australia went through a similar revolution in cuisine to America's and Stephanie was in the thick of it. Her latest book, the thoroughly revised and expanded The Cook's Companion (Lantern 2004) is a key to Australian home cooking and ingredients. Throughout are lovely photos by Earl Carter of the land, the produce and the farmers of this rich, sparsely populated country. This is a book about Australian food, but because it is so encyclopedic, it is also a book about Australia.

The Cook's Companion at 1100 pages (300 pages were added to this addition) is organized like the Larousse Gastronomique with over 100 entries on ingredients like Figs (p. 442), Okra (p. 662) and Trotters (p. 991) arranged alphabetically. "For each ingredient there is information on varieties, season, selection, storage, preparation and cooking, as well as recipes and quick cooking ideas." says Stephanie's website. But unlike the Larousse, this is a very personal book, and even if her cooking is largely French, these are her interpretations of classic recipes.

Stephanie have published five cookbooks: this is the second edition of the original, published in 1996:

The Cook’s Companion (1996), was a product of my growing belief that despite all the surface interest in restaurants and ‘fancy food’ we were raising children and young adults with little if any understanding of what to do with fresh food in their daily lives. When faced with independent living these young people were at best anxious or, at worst, unable to cook for themselves.

Sound familiar?

The wonderful cheese section (p. 235) not only describes various kinds of cheeses but includes recipes that feature cheese like Cheese Straws (p. 244) and Gougeres (p. 244) but also recipes for Sally Clarke's Oatmeal Biscuits for Cheddar Cheese (p. 243). There are also recipes for main courses and desserts like Chocolate and Cinamon Cannoli (p. 254)

Check the wonderful section on Kangaroo and Wallaby meat, recently renamed Australus after a country-wide competition that is part of an effort to get Australians eating their local game. "My own great-grandfather's diary records entertaining the local parson with a fine roast of wallaby in the 1870s in Gippsland, Victoria." writes Stephanie (p. 505) Evidently, kangaroo tail makes very good soup and consommé, and chefs in Australia are quite inventive in substituting kangaroo for venison or other game. The recipes include a warm Salad of Roasted or Grilled Kangaroo (pp. 508-9) and Maggie Beer's Barbecued Kangaroo with Anchovy Vinaigrette and Soft Polenta (pp. 509-10).

Not surprisingly, there is a fine section on Lamb, one of Australia's most important products both for wool and meat. The recipes span the globe, just as Australia has lured immigrants from the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa and Europe. Stephanie's recipes include two different marinating pastes, a Seven-hour Leg of Lamb with Anchovy and Garlic (p. 532) and Irish Stew (p. 534) perfect for a St. Patrick's Day feast in two months' time. She suggests two-tooth or hogget neck and shoulder chops for the dish.

A brown brand indicates an age between 15 and 24 months old; this meat is called hogget or two-tooth. Historically, two-tooth was very important, especially to country families. It is rarely seen nowadays other than at fresh food markets, where those on a budget can still buy whole or cut-up sides for very reasonable prices. (p. 521)

There are also additional recipes along the margins and other recipes scattered in different sections throughout the book, like a fine Roman Lamb Stew (p. 883) flavored with rosemary, soffritto and sage.

In Superchefblog's unending search for great rabbit recipes, happily Stephanie has a fat section on Rabbit and Hare (p. 833). These non-native animals without natural predators have wreaked havoc on Australian grasslands and native species of plants and animals. What better way to deal with the problem than eating them? The Cook's Companion has recipes for Hare Pasta Sauce (p. 841), which doubles up as a filling for Hare Won Tons (p. 841). There is also a Roasted Saddle of Hare with Beet roots and Chocolate (p 847) for which you'll need to make Hare Stock (p. 841) and several recipes for rabbit pie. Stephanie even has a wonderful French Ballontine of Farmed Rabbit Stuffed with a Herb Mousse (p. 846).

The recipes in The Cook's Companion are for Australian kitchens so temperatures are given in Celsius, and some ingredients like silver beet (Swiss Chard) or witlof (Belgian Endive or Chicory) have Australian names. There are also several kinds of shellfish native to Australia that might be unfamiliar to Europeans or Americans, but most can be substituted with other varieties. Most importantly, Australian, British, and American volume measurements differ. For instance, 1 cup is 237ml in America, 250ml in Australia, and 284ml in Britain. Stephanie includes a large, helpful section on measurements with several invaluable charts (p. 64-8).

Let this fine book lead you through Australian food and entice you to take a trip "downunder".

Book details:
Publisher
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

Previous articles:
Ozzie Dining Downunder and Bushfood
[Cookbook Reviews - complete]

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Exhibit: Culinary Art

2006-01-10T10:21:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

How do chefs express themselves in other art forms? Well, start first with what forms of art outside of Cuisine, and one answer is not only Painting but the chance to sample some wares at a gallery opening Thursday night in Manhattan.

Rossi, a New York-based humor and food writer, currently a columnist for Bust magazine -- also a bi-weekly radio host on WOMR -- also a catering chef with The Raging Skillet -- and also painter and co-founder of The Lost and Found Gallery in Crown Heights, Brooklyn -- is, in addition to these other exhibitionism-oriented tendencies ("Jewish-white-trash-deviant" is how she describes herself), curating "Culinary Art," an exhibit which opens tomorrow night, Thursday, January 12, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m:

"Culinary Art," featuring Provincetown's Salvatore Del Deo and local heroes Dennis Foy, Miha Juric and Rossi herself, will be on display.

"Culinary Art" runs January 12 - March 12,2006.

The Artist's Room Gallery is located at 335 East Houston Street at the corner of Ridge Street in Manhattan (see map).

Please note: outside of Thursday night's reception, gallery hours are by appointment only, so call (212) 463-0872.

Also, next door is "the gourmet, stainless steel kitchen of The Raging Skillet catering company," so Art-inclined Foodies and Food-inclined Arties might get a two-fer with every visit.

Previous articles:
Food Forever: Pieter Claesz
Food in Painting: Kenneth Bendiner

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Melissa Perello: Boss Before 30

2006-01-09T08:26:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

The February 2006 issue of Marie Claire (a Hearst publicaton) features six women who became their bosses before the age of 30 -- including Melissa Perello, chef of Fifth Floor, located in a Kimpton hotel in San Francisco. At 24, she was executive chef at Charles Nob Hill for the Aqua Development Corp before Michael Mina split with his partner Charles Condy.

Marie Claire promises "the secrets to their sweet success," and part of Melissa's story is starting out young. “I was 8 years old when my mom came home and found me in the kitchen deboning a leg of lamb!" (Available in print only, now on newsstands.)

Super chef:
Michael Mina

Related news:
San Francisco Chronicle
Food & Wine
Wine Spectator
San Francisco Examiner
SF Weekley
James Beard Foundation
California Tourism

Previous articles:
Profile: Melissa Perello for White House Chef

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Wolfgang Puck on 'Las Vegas'

2006-01-06T09:20:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

The NBC Las Vegas episode airing on Monday (January 9, 2006) focuses on a restaurant opening -- by Wolfgang Puck.

With Wolf on NBC, his show Wolfgang Puck's Cooking Class will go on "hiatus," the Food Network confirmed to Superchefblog, with two seasons safely in the can, waiting for re-runs.

(Check your TV Guide for details.)

No chef game (see our left-hand column for "Chef Games") out of this TV show (see previous article), but more NBC poker, if you're into that kind of thing.

Radio Interview:
Bob Rivers Show

Super chef:
Wolfgang Puck

Press release:
WolfgangPuck.com

Related news:
ABC News (AP)
USA Today
Boston Globe
Herald Tribune
Houston Chronicle (AP)
Miami Herald
Las Vegas Weekly
Monterery Herald
Netscape - Celebrity
TiVo
Reuters
Associated Press (AP)

Previous articles:
Rob Kautz: Cursed to 99 Cents Only?
Requiem for Granita
Fly Avion (Wolfgang Puck Included)
Applause for Gamal Aziz and Tom Kaplan
Iron Chef Pizza Wars: Batali vs. Puck
Todd English: Pots and Pans Pucked?
Iron Chef America: Running on Empty

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Mario Batali: 2 Brothers

2006-01-05T11:39:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Is this Heaven? Where else can matches like this be made? A three-way team, a three-way formula, for a three-way win. Plus, plus, plus.

The line-up:

NASCAR with their nationally televised raceway events (Media and event venues)
2 Brothers Brand (food products)
Mario Batali (more Media venue, more food and kitchen products)

You thought Mario was all about authentic Italian?

Mississippi-based 2 Brothers, LLC, is a new company formed by the two cousins, sons of the founders of Bryan Foods "Flavor of the South" brand. That company was sold to Sara Lee years ago, but the two cousins, Wilkes Bryan and Bill Atkins, have resurrected family recipes for barbecue sauce. Their website states:

In honor of John and WB Bryan, founders of the 1936 Bryan Brothers Packing Company, we’ve created recipes that are rich in both taste and tradition. Use our sauce and seasoning to add a distinctly Southern essence to pork, beef, fish, steak, burgers or anything else you cook in the kitchen or on the grill.

2 Brothers barbecue recipes will be part of Mario Batali's Official Cookbook of Nascar (Sporting News 2006). (See previous article.) The cookbook may also include other Nascar licensees like Hellman's, Master Foods, Castellini, and Monogram Foods according to Mike Reilly, President of 2 Brothers.

Nascar selected 2 Brothers as its officially licensed barbecue sauce. What does a Nascar license mean? It doesn't mean that the barbecue sauce is sold at the tracks across the country, which are owned separately. "Our licenses put a Nascar bar on our product, they do some support and help in marketing, selling and positioning of our products." says Reilly.

Why is a Nascar license so desirable? Because unlike other sports, fans of Nascar spend days at a track camping out in anything from a tent to a million dollar motor coach. An average of 150,000 fan show up to races, with some races luring 400,000 or more. The fans are very loyal to Nascar, thus a license is a very desirable addition to a new product in the crowded barbecue sauce market, explains Reilly.

The way Mario got in on the act through his high school buddy, Rich Bodmer. Rich works for publisher Sports News and is a co-founder and principal of Dyno Marketing, a NASCAR marketing specialist. Rich introduced Mario to 2 Brothers.

2 Brothers President Mike Reilly admits he didn't know who Mario was, but he quickly learned after bringing him to a couple of races.

"He resonates with Nascar fans. Mario is a good, approachable guy -- we get that," Reilly told Superchefblog.

In fact, Mario, who loves any Media or public attention, got totally revved up when introduced to the multitude of NASCAR fans. Recently, he prepared an old-fashioned BBQ for the drivers and owners at the Nextel Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway (see photo, above).

Reilly admitted to Superchfblog that barbecue was outside of Mario's traditional area:

It is a push for where his brand has been. It is a new direction. -- That is where we are helping him, moving out of the Italian category he has been in to other products.

In fact, Two Brothers is working on new flavors and products with Mario, targeting him for NASCAR fans niche audiences.

"He is targeting huge group in million-dollar coaches [campers]. They do their tailgating in style. That is the crew he is going to connect with," says Reilly.

Will this have any impact on Mario's TV presence? He has three shows with the Food Network: could his new NASCAR platform pull him away from the Food Network -- or could we see Mario on the Food Network in a new show, like Molto Tailgating? Hey, Food Network: we thought of it first!

So, if you want to get a sneak taste on what Mario's cooking with, get yourself some 2 Brothers Original Barbecue sauce (you'll have to talk to 2 Brothers about options on the 2 girls depicted below).

Press releases:
2 Brothers: NASCAR 3 [undated]
2 Brothers: NASCAR 2 [undated]
2 Brothers: NASCAR 1 [undated]

Previous articles:
Mario Batali: Tailgates NASCAR Style
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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Terrance Brennan: Artisanal Cooking

2006-01-04T11:20:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Are you a sucker for a good rabbit dish? Take "Rabbit au Riesling with Rutabaga 'Sauerkraut' " on pages 249-251 of Terrance Brennan's Artisanal Cooking: A Chef Shares His passion for Handcrafting Great Meals at Home (Wiley 2005), co-authored with perennial cookbook writer Andrew Friedman. Now, this is a spirited dish! The rabbit is marinated in the Riesling and cooked in rich broth that becomes the sauce. Terrance calls the accompanying sauerkraut "beguiling" with a richness coming from duck fat (watch out, Emeril!) and wine. Together the rabbit and the rutabaga make a sumptuous winter dish. It's almost a Fine Dining children's story: Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton Tail, and Peter go rooting in the rutabagas of Mr. McGregor's high-tech, sustainable vegetable patch in East Hampton, NY.

Artisanal Cooking, however, is a serious book about how to cook with a commitment to integrity and a passion for ingredients. This cookbook targets a home cook audience, but keep in mind that it is most definitely the product of a restaurant chef. Which is to say, many recipes, adapted from his New York restaurants, are more suited to special occasion than everyday family fare.

In his introduction, Terrance recalls the great meals eaten at a Loire Valley farmhouse, the wonderful ingredients from the garden and larder as well as the time taken to enjoy the food. This is a book of French recipes, many very traditional and familiar and others inventive and new. The steps are clear and there are plenty of color photos by Christopher Hirsheimer, that illustrate how a dish will be served and occasionally made:

My way of cooking is less about finding hard-to-procure ingredients than maintaining a devotion to a certain integrity and quality in every aspect of the cooking process, even just knowing what to look for when buying meats and produce. Armed with the information in this book, you'll be able to successfully accomplish your own brand of artisanal cooking, even if you do most of your shopping in a supermarket. (p.4)

"The Artisanal Pantry" (pp. 10-17) is a good guide to purchasing ingredients from anchovies to oils and vinegars. Terrance's staple recipes are not confined to the typical stocks: he includes flavored salts like Fennel Seed Salt (p. 20), compound butters like Black Truffle Butter (p. 25), flavored oils like Provencal Oil (p. 28 ) and Sauces, Compotes, Chutney and Marmalades. Check out the recipe for Orange Marmalade (p. 42), which makes a wonderful gift.

There is an excellent bonus chapter on cheese (p. 50) -- not too surprising since Terrance Brennan is an authority on cheese and owns Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro. It is a good introductory course to cheese, not overwhelming for the novice buyer, and includes five sample cheese courses like the All-American Plate (p. 60).

The Hors D'Oeuvres chapter (p. 64) starts with Terrance's superb Picholine's Marinated Olives (p. 65) in which olives (preferably Picholine) are marinated in toasted spices, rosemary, bay leaves and olive oil. He is right that this doesn't take a lot of work and makes ordinary olives spectacular. The headnote describes how important olives are to Meditteranean cuisine, and thus the name of Terrance's New York restaurant, Picholine. There are three recipes for Spoon Hors D'Oeuves (p. 69-71) perfect for those who have an unending supply of teaspoons but very few plates. They are meant to be divided into three teaspoons for each of four guests. If you make all three recipes, that is 36 spoons if you don't double or triple dip. The recipes range from Cauliflower Mousseline with Caviar (p. 69) to Scallop Ceviche with Avocado (p. 71).

There are less cutlery-intensive recipes for croustades (pp. 78-80), minatue grilled cheese sandwiches (pp. 85-86) like the Smoked Salmon "Croque Monsieur" that shows off more of Terrance's playful side, taking a turn at the traditional croque monsieur by replacing the ham with salmon and cutting the sandwiches in to kiddie-size bites. It might sound silly, but the photo on page 84 makes you want to make them for your next meal.

There are many luscious recipes for winter fare, including venison, pheasant and beef, such as the hearty Daube of Beef Short Ribs with Olives and Orange-Cumin Carrots (p. 237-9). It will transport you to that Loire Valley farmhouse as long as you take your time and care in finding the best ingredients.

Previous articles:
[Cookbook Reviews - complete]

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Of Cookbooks and Recipe Theft

2006-01-04T09:29:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Today's Washington Post carries a particularly interesting story about intellectual property, given our attention yesterday to the blogging of food images, namely the theft of recipes in cookbooks. In a special article entitled "Can a Recipe Be Stolen?," by former San Jose Mercury News Food Editor Joyce Gemperlein, who is married to Jonathan Krim, now of th Post-Newsweek group, formerly of TheStreet.com.

The article recounts the experience of teenage girlscouts in the Washington, DC, area, who were collecting recipes last summer for a cookbook to benefit cancer research. 'Twas the Toll House cookie recipe that made the youngsters realize that if the recipe was already online, perhaps it was also copyrighted. Further issues arose, such as whether they could publish tweaked versions of published recipes.

The article raises the question of whether copyrighting stifles creativity, and it provides some guidelines regarding the reprinting of copyrighted recipes, including IACP and eGullet takes on "tweaking" and some candid input from Nora Pouillon. (Click here to read full article.) Superchefblog highly recommends this article for those food bloggers who print (or reprint) recipes -- that's a lot of blogs.

Of course, the basis of copyrighting is protecting the income generated by creativity. Determining the income lost by copyright infringement of one recipe is pretty tough. While this article focused on text-based recipes, Information Technology has already propelled recipes themselves deep onto the Web, courtesy of some current heavy hitters like Emeril Lagasse and Epicurious.com, and even onward into becoming a subset of video demonstrations in the UK, courtesy of Jamie Oliver and Vodafone (see previous articles, listed below).

The action, then, may come from hard-copy cookbook publishers, just as the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) have led charges against online video and music swapping. Don't lose too much sweat over recipies, though: there just isn't as much money in cookbooks as there is in Film and Music, as any cookbook publisher will tell you, even if your name is Julia Child.

Previous articles:
Reflections on Images
Jamie Oliver on Vodafone Live!
Emeril Lagasse: iPod ReciPods
One "Epi To Go," Please!
Emeril Lagasse Lays Apple iPod

Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, ethics, copyright, recipes, cookbooks, publishing, food blogging

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Reflections on Images

2006-01-03T11:53:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Accidental Hedonist published a thoughtful posting yesterday on the blogging of food images.

Chefs and rstaurateurs should examine this issue as closely as publishing bloggers, since they are the group affected by food image blogging, and so Superchefblog shares our comment to Accidental Hedonist by reprinting here:

As an author of previous and forthcoming books and as a publisher of a blog, I use images for both commercial and non-commercial publications and so have come to the following conclusions regarding the issue of blog publication of food images:

(NB: This is not legal advice!)

If you buy food at a restaurant and wish to photograph it, the food is yours to photograph -- the images for your own personal use, just as the food is.

Were you to resell that food, you should cite where it comes from, just as any smart buyer should ask you (who are not a chef, let's assume) where the food comes from. To ensure regular sales, you would most likely try to enter into an agreement with the maker [chef] to get wholesale costs and thus lower your own market price. Of course, the chef or restaurant could refuse to deal with you on such a basis.

If you publish a photo, whether commercially or not, you are using the photo publicly. In the case of a blog, which is effectively non-commercial (remember any advertising, however), I recommend that if you publish such a photo, you mark up the image with Name or Title and Alt which cites the food item's name and the restaurant or chef, that you hyperlink to the a web site of page by the chef or restaurant, and that you send a copy or hyperlink of the article to the chef or restaurant about what you have done. That tells the restaurant that you are crediting them for the image (ever see that term below an image "courtesy of"?), while it gives the chef or restaurant the opportunity to tell you, no, we do not want that image published in public [redundancy intended]. If they tell you no, you should respect their wishes, regardless of how courteously you cite them. After all, you probably did not tell them as you bought the food, hey, I'm going to photograph and publish this dish.
Law -- especially commercial law -- may be verbally abstruse (see!), but if you can manage the language, it usually reflects commonsense -- it's just way over-seasoned with legalese.

Clearly, this is a two-way street.

Superchefblog proposes this standard operating procedure for food-image-publishing blogs, open to your comment.

BTW, Superchefblog typically avoids this entire situation -- by requesting images from chefs or restaurants. Take the Turkish Coffee Chocolate image (above) from a recent aricle, provided courtesy of its maker, Steve Klc. Steve sent us the image to be used, and we emailed Steve with a hyperlink to the article when it was published (and, yes, we will be doing so again, as soon as this article has been published.) In fact, since Superchefblog's readership grew so much in 2005, we have made it our own SOP to email anyone cited in our articles -- a great service to them, since first and foremost they request changes (e.g., corrections).

Overall, then, Superchefblog recommends that bloggers follow sound Journalism ethics -- here are two handy websites (and we welcome your further recommendations): Indiana University - School of Journalism - Ethics and the Society of Professional Journalists - Ethics. By following accepted ethics, there shoudl be no objections regarding food image blogging -- anymore than there can be for verbal comments (though even there, you the publisher would be safer with some short of written permission).

How else can bloggers gain creibility while outperforming mainstream Journalism these days?

Previous articles:
Christmas Desserts: iSi Whip & Recipes
Jamie Oliver on Vodafone Live!
Emeril Lagasse: iPod ReciPods
One "Epi To Go," Please!
Emeril Lagasse Lays Apple iPod

Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, Food and Drink, Food Blogs, Ethics, Carole Greenwood

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New Year's Resolution: Caviar Ban

2006-01-03T10:07:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

It looks like Fine Dining has just been issued its 2006 New Year's Resolution. This morning, all trade in the caviar of wild sturgeon was banned worldwide by the United Nations body Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The rationale is straightforward: illegal trade by poachers far exceeds legal trade (worth $100 million a year, reports Bloomberg) of a species whose global stock is already dangerously low -- down 30% in 2004 alone. The ban producers in the regions of the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Danube River, and the Heilongjiang/Amur River.

More specifically, "We were unable to approve the export quotas for this year," CITES told the BBC. The ban is to stay in effect until CITES obtains reliable stock figures from all caviar-exporting countries -- and until those countries agree to a uniform management plan. "Our recommendation is that there should be no trade at all until these quotas are published,'' said David Morgan, head of CITES' science unit in Geneva, according to Bloomberg.

Compliance on the import side of trade is key, CITES said. So, while latest details are availabe in a CITES press release (click here for PDF), vendors and consumers should beware of the species and countries involved. The following sturgeon species under export quotas are: acipenser gueldenstadtii, acipenser stellatus, acipenser baerii, acipenser rutherus, acipenser nudiventris, acipenser schrenckii, acipenser persicus, huso huso, and huso dauricus. The following countries are affected by the export quotas: Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro/Servia, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine.

The export of farmed sturgeon eggs is unaffected: the United States has been importing three-fifths of beluga caviar -- which the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has attempted to curb by banning Black Sea caviar imports (targeting beluga), effective October 28, 2005 (see Caviar Emptor).

What is the current price of Imperial Special Reserve Persicus at Petrossian (New York) this morning is $7,600/kilo. For such rarities, Petrossian calmly advises "Order early to ensure availability. Limited quantities."

Video :
Euronews

Press releases:
CITES [PDF format]
Caviar Emptor

Related news:
BBC
Bloomberg
Forbes (AFX)
Euronews

Previous articles:
Super Chef vs. Governator: Todd English Fights For Foie Gras Rights

Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, sturgeon, caviar

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Vacation Time!

2005-12-23T16:17:00.000-05:00

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

(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

2005-12-23T16:15:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

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]

Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, holidays, Christmas, sustainable farming

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Foie Gras War: Rocco Saves Seals

2005-12-22T09:09:00.000-05:00

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?

Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, animal rights

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Bush Family Cookbook

2005-12-21T10:08:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

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?"

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...

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)

"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.

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]

Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, cookbooks, Bush

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Cristeta Comerford: Washington Post

2005-12-21T08:56:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

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]

Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, White House, holidays, women, minorities, Philippines, filipinos, Cristeta Comerford

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Tyler Florence: New Year Buzz

2005-12-20T08:51:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

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

Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine

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Mario Batali: Tailgates NASCAR Style

2005-12-19T09:40:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

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).

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?

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:

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

Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, NASCAR

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Cook Until Desired Tenderness

2005-12-16T06:43:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

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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Cris Comerford: 2005 Top Food Stories

2005-12-15T11:14:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

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

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

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

2005-12-15T10:14:00.000-05:00

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.

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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Christmas Coffee: Tyler Florence & Senseo

2005-12-14T11:33:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

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.

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.

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.

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

2005-12-14T10:37:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

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.

"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.

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.)

“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

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

2005-12-14T09:50:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

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.

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.

Book details:
Publisher
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

Previous articles:
[complete Cookbook Reviews]

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Christmas Breakfast: Bacon and Sausage

2005-12-13T12:25:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

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......

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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Susur: A Culinary Life

2005-12-12T10:55:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Chef as Superhero? Bruce Lee of the kitchen? The photograph of a dashing chef on the cover of Susur: A Culinary Life (Ten Speed 2005) is a bold statement about a truly daring book:

Susur Lee does not cook like any other chef. So it seems fitting that his cookbook be as unique as his food. Susur: A Culinary Life is not a mere catalogue of recipes. It is, rather, an account of a life lived through food, the culinary story of one of the most important chefs working today. (p. 10)

So reads the introduction in Book 1 of this "double book" – literally two book with one edge connected so that you can fold it out into a rectangle revealing a double photo of the facade of restaurant Susur in Toronto on the double back cover (see image, below).

With the plethora of cookbooks now published each year, any good cookbook seeks a new way to present recipes, from gimmick to profound new perspective, but in this case, Ten Speed press has started from the binding up. The architecture of this book physically separates and unites Books 1 and 2 in a way that visually captivates and challenges the reader. Within the book/s, food photography by Shun Sasabuchi and Edward Pond is wonderfully vivid -- they almost pop off the page. Since the first book contains photos beyond dishes, they deserve special mention: teaming Chinese markets, fish caught jumping in mid-air, Susur's Food Business Immunization Card, Menus, early days in the business. Then there are Susur's notebooks -- the artist's notebooks, like Leonardo Da Vinci -- including recipes written in both Cantonese and English and rough sketches of dishes that give you a real sense of how a chef creates just as a poet or painter might (pp. 62-64).

This is a chef trained both in Chinese and French Cuisine and able to combine the two skillfully without misstep. His Toronto restaurant, Susur is one of the city's best. If you are a Susur fan already, this biography-cum-cookbook brings out the depth of an already outstanding career. If you don't know Susur yet, then this is an intriguing look into the career of a brilliant chef.

Is this the Food world verson of the Da Vinci Code?

Book 1 was written by National Post restaurant critic, Jacob Richler. He spends the first chapter describing a meal at Susur and the chef's re-thinking of the tasting menu, "The meal ends, and diners can only wonder at the extraordinary culinary journey that has brought Susur Lee to this point." (p. 25) Richler explains how Susur discovered that if he served the most filling dish first, the principle course, rather than leading up to it with increasingly larger portions, diners were more apt to pay attention to each course that followed. In passing Richler mentions Chinese techniques, Japanese ingredients, and French sauces and preparations.

Chapter 1.2 (for the chapters are numbered like an academic book, (read "sophisticated" and "artistic") is about Susur's start in Hong Kong, subtitled: French Lessons 1974-1980. The caption for the opening photograph reads: Roast Squab and Foie Gras Stuffed Squab Legs in Port Sauce, with Lotus Root and Baby Corn, Blueberry Preserves, and Taro Root Fritters. It is a complex dish (the recipe is in Book 2, pp. 79) but illustrative of his mixture of French and Chinese ingredients and cooking techniques.

The recipes in Book 2 are not for the novice cook. They are complex recipes with stunning, sometimes improbable presentations that are given in seemingly random order. There are plenty of dishes of luxurious ingredients. Clearly, Susur loves squab because there are four separate presentations including one for Cocoa Squab liver Pate, with Taro Fritters, Egg and Caviar Creme Fraiche, and Honey Mustard Sauce (pp. 66, 105) a crunchy and smooth presentation. Lobster with Black Truffle, Qianpang Xie-Style Egg White Sauce, Uni Sauce and Crispy Dried Scallops (p. 18), seems to combine every luxury ingredient except foie gras, which makes its appearance often as in Soy-Stained Torchon of Foie Gras, with Beet and Apple Compote Pouches, Pomegranate-Cured Duck Breast, and Wildflower Honey (p. 31. The play of violet in the pomegranate, beet and garnish of small green leaves is beautiful.

Susur delights in bacon towers (p. 45), arrows heads of wild rice (p. 47) encompassing oysters and poka-dots of myriad colors (Potato Croquette Filled with Lobster Mousse, with Prawns and Kungpau Sauce, p. 49). They are like paintings on white canvas. One question does arise: how would anyone actually eat these dishes, when they are not on plates?

Beyond being a cookbook for a seasoned cook, this is a book for anyone to read and admire and aspire to. For looks, it cannot just lie on a coffeetable: it would have to be stood up and opened for display. You may find yourself (to quote The Talking Heads) inspired to undertake masterclasses in cooking -- and don't feel surprised if you find yourself on a plane en route to Toronto to eat at the restaurant.

Previous articles:
Manju Malhi's India With Passion
[complete Cookbook Reviews]

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Hurricane Katrina: Brookings Assessments

2005-12-12T09:12:00.000-05:00

By JULIETTE ROSSANT

Emeril Lagasse may be in the process of reopening his rest aurants (see previous article), but this morning, the Brookings Institute in Washington, DC, published an online package of reports about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina which show that only 31% of metropolitan restaurants in New Orleans have reopened (see p. 39 of "The Katrina Index"). This percentage worked from a base of 100% restaurants open on August 5, 2005, and reported up to December 5, 2005 -- or more than 90 days after Katrina hit -- based on statistics from the Louisiana Restaurant Association.

"Fast-food chains may be passing out signing bonuses, but the metropolitan area has still lost more than 220,000 jobs," The New York Times said.

The Brookings report "The Katrina Index" and a number of other related reports, forecasts, and newspaper articles are all available online (click here). The Katrina Index will be published monthly for the next 12 months.

Super chefs:
Emeril Lagasse

Related news:
Times-Picayune
New York Times

Previous articles:
Emeril Re-Opens in New Orleans
[complete Hurricane Katrina coverage]

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