tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13532532549731778162024-02-06T23:58:07.949-05:00Cooking Up A StormChef Carl Conway's notes & observations on food, adult education & community serviceStan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.comBlogger340125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-5003337549678457752012-10-26T15:03:00.002-04:002012-10-26T15:03:34.378-04:00A Great Recipe1. Take a 10 to 30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant. <br />
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to. <br />
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today. I am thankful for______________' <br />
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. <br />
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.<br />
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day. <br />
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment. <br />
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.<br />
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. <br />
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. <br />
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. <br />
12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. <br />
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present. <br />
14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. <br />
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. <br />
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'<br />
17. Forgive everyone for everything. <br />
18. What other people think of you is none of your business. <br />
19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him. <br />
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. <br />
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will stay in touch.<br />
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. <br />
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________. <br />
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed. <br />
25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it. Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-86386491662984519402012-08-17T20:59:00.000-04:002012-08-17T20:59:57.796-04:00Mexican Lasagna<br />
<h1>
</h1>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">(Yield: 8 Servings)</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">16
corn tortillas </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">1
cup Marinara sauce </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">2
cups whole kernel corn </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">2
cups black beans, cooked</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">2
cups pinto beans, cooked </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">1
cup Garbanzo beans, cooked</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">3
cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Kosher
Salt</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Southwestern
Seasoning</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Fresh
ground black pepper </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Sour
cream (optional)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Scallions,
chopped (optional)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Preheat
oven to 350 degrees F. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Prepare
the tortillas by soaking them in hot water until they are slightly soft. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Coat
the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch pan with about ¼ of the Marinara sauce. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Spread
four tortillas down on top of the sauce in the pan. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Top
the tortillas with about ¼ of the corn, beans and cheese. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Season
to taste with salt, southwest seasoning, and pepper. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Place
four more tortillas on top and repeat with the toppings. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">After
you have four layers spread the remaining Marinara sauce on top.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Finish
by topping with more cheese. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Place
in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Serve
topped with sour cream and chopped scallions</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-88557940256537892302012-05-09T15:27:00.001-04:002012-05-09T15:27:54.953-04:00Chefs and the Charcuterie GapBy Cathy Barrow, Published: May 8
“Move with purpose, not to impress,” the chef begins his tutorial. “A smooth arc, slicing in a clean motion. Move the knife away from yourself, to the right of your hip.” Exposing the pig’s shoulder, teasing a flexible blade against the bone, Jason Story sets his feet just so. To his left stands a tentative, wide-eyed, would-be apprentice.<br />
<br />
It’s after-hours on a weeknight in early April at Three Little Pigs Charcuterie & Salumi, the new charcuterie in Petworth. Yet its spotless, cool workroom below hums with activity. The 27-year-old chef, who opened the small shop in March with his fiancee, chef Carolina Gomez, is midway through breaking down a 200-pound Old Spot from Evensong Farm in Sharpsburg, Md.<br />
<br />
After the evening’s work, Story will spend days and weeks smoking, salting and curing pork and making sausage, as many of the world’s cultures have done for centuries. Although Story graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and has worked in more than a dozen restaurants, including Thomas
Keller’s Bouchon, learning how to butcher a whole animal and how to transform its parts into these traditional foods was not part of his training. Those are skills he has learned on his own.<br />
<br />
“Nobody, not once, showed me how to do this,” he says, wiping the blade of his knife with a clean towel.<br />
<br />
While restaurant chefs enhance their menus with house-made, artisanal meats, culinary schools are just beginning to respond with the broader kind of training required. Most of the schools in the States educate students on the cuts of meat, portioning and buying, as well as garde manger, literally “keep to eat,” which includes pâtés and fresh sausages. But one chef said that a chicken was the only animal he learned to break down at culinary school; another said about 31 / 2 hours were devoted to learning those familiar charts of meat cuts.<br />
<br />
Neither charcuterie nor whole-animal butchery garner much, if any, class time. At the CIA, certain instructors are known to add to the prescribed curriculum here and there. Should a group of students wish to study charcuterie, for example, they are likely to learn through experimentation as part of an unofficial “club,” with a faculty adviser looking on. When there is no such club, student chefs are left to create their own opportunities. And those, due to economics and demand, are few and far between.<br />
<br />
There is an almost palpable need for comprehensive butchery education in this country. Smaller culinary schools, such as the Seattle Culinary Academy, are infinitely more nimble in responding to this, but budgetary restrictions limit their ability. Larger schools remain unable to significantly alter their long-established culinary curriculum without committee meetings and oversight. Chefs interviewed for this story who employ whole-animal butchery in their restaurants receive constant requests from new graduates and line chefs to assist, to work, to watch the butchery in action.<br />
<br />
Read the complete story <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/chefs-and-the-charcuterie-gap/2012/05/07/gIQAZIRqAU_story.html" target="_blank">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-88486359061237168782012-04-21T18:53:00.001-04:002012-04-21T18:53:38.777-04:00From "Baby Gangster" to Aclaimed Pastry ChefEdward Martinez gently places a chocolate orb in the center of a white bowl. To the touch, this confection is hard and impeccably smooth, like a small eight ball.<br />
<br />
His right hand, emblazoned with a skull tattoo, holds a small ladle
of warmed chocolate-infused milk. He drizzles the liquid over the orb,
accompanied by chocolate <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streusel" target="_blank">streusel</a> and toasted hazelnuts. It soon breaks open, revealing a sumptuous filling of hazelnut and <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_chocolate" target="_blank">milk chocolate</a> pudding, mixed with more crispy bits of chocolate and hazelnut. "I
like making pretty food," Martinez said. "The first thing you do is eat
with your eyes. You want it to be beautiful. If the flavors work, it
brings that whole dish together."<br />
<br />
Martinez serves as executive <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastry_chef" target="_blank">pastry chef</a> of Hawks in <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granite_Bay,_California" target="_blank">Granite Bay</a>,
which specializes in seasonal ingredients and is among the region's
finest restaurants. Even in a chocolate-stained apron, Martinez doesn't
look like a guy you'd want to mess with. He stands over 6 feet tall with
a <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/shaved+head/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">shaved head</a>
and a black widow spider on the back of his neck. His body is an
evolving canvas of tattoos, some of which hark back to a past that he's
since left behind: membership in one of <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/California/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">California's</a> most notorious street gangs.<br />
<br />
Learning to make <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastry" target="_blank">pastries</a>
may have saved Martinez's life, or at least spared him a stretch in the
state penitentiary. In 2005, facing three felony charges, Martinez
promised to enroll in a pastry-making program, leading to a reduced
sentence – and perhaps a last chance at an honest life.<br />
<br />
Martinez's
Facebook photos show a collage of the sweet and a bitter taste of his
past. There's a shot of his moelloux of white chocolate, compressed
mandarins, pistachio <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaron" target="_blank">macaron</a>
and mandarin sorbet; an "I heart foie gras" T-shirt sported by his baby
son; and the casket of one of Martinez's homeboys from his <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Fresno/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Fresno</a> gang days being lowered into the earth.<br />
<br />
"I never expected to get this far," said Martinez, who recently turned 27. "I expected … (to be) in jail, or dead."<br />
<br />
Now, Martinez surrounds himself with sugars, ripe seasonal fruits and delicate desserts. He's devouring "<a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Modernist+Cuisine/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Modernist Cuisine,</a>" the six-volume book of cutting-edge cooking techniques. His repertoire at Hawks includes nitrogen-frozen <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/chocolate+mousse/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">chocolate mousse</a> with gianduja crémeux and hazelnut pudding.<br />
<br />
"He's the best working pastry chef I've seen," said <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Pajo+Bruich/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Pajo Bruich,</a> midtown's Lounge ON20 executive chef, known for his complex cooking techniques. "Hands down, nobody in the <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Sacramento/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Sacramento</a> market is doing the creative elements he's doing."<br />
<br />
<h3>
The rise of Baby Gangster</h3>
Baby Gangster was always ready to fight.<br />
<br />
That's what the Bulldogs gang members called Martinez, after he was "jumped into" the gang at age 13.<br />
"I was at the homeboy's house, in the backyard," Martinez recalled, between sips of coffee at a midtown <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Sacramento/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Sacramento</a>
cafe. "I'm telling them, 'I want to be in. This is what I want. I want
to be a Bulldog.' And they said, 'OK, let's do it.' They beat me up for
about 30 seconds. It's weird. You're beating up your friend so they can
hang out with you. I got "<a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Fresno/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">FRESNO</a>" tattooed across my chest about six months after that."<br />
<br />
The
Bulldogs have few friends, except for those also inked with the dog
paws and "BD" tattoos. Bulldogs are recognized as a violent <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/California/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">California</a> gang, based primarily in <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Fresno/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Fresno.</a> <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Law+enforcement/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Law enforcement</a> estimates the gang has more than 6,000 members. The Bulldogs, who take the name and logo from the mascot at <a class=" lingo_link" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/California+State+University/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">California State University,</a> <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Fresno/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Fresno,</a> have no allies and no leadership structure. Crips, Bloods, Norteño and Sureño gangs are all sworn Bulldogs enemies.<br />
<br />
Both of Martinez's older brothers were Bulldogs; so were other close family members. One cousin was nicknamed "<a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Big+Gangster/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Big Gangster,</a>" while an older brother was "Lil Gangster." Baby <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Gangster+Martinez/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Gangster Martinez</a> was "Baby G" for short – and had it tattooed into his left forearm.<br />
<br />
He said his turf was on the east side of <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Fresno/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Fresno,</a> where he claimed "Mariposa Street Gangsters" – or, "MSG" for short. He'd moved there from <a class=" lingo_link" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/San+Jose/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">San Jose</a> at the age of 9, about two years after his mother, Theodora, died in a <a class=" lingo_link" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/car+accident/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">car accident.</a> He said he still thinks of her baking in the kitchen, surrounded by the smells of sugar and frosting.<br />
<br />
His father, <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Joe+Martinez/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Joe Martinez,</a> said his son didn't cope well after her death. The elder Martinez, who earned an economics degree from <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Stanford+University/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Stanford University,</a> had hoped his four children would get educations, but his wife's death fractured the family spirit.<br />
<br />
"With Edward, he kept a lot inside and started getting into trouble at school," said <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Joe+Martinez/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Joe Martinez.</a> "Prior to that, he was doing excellent in school."<br />
<br />
Baby
Gangster developed a taste for stealing. He was charged and later
convicted in 2004 with grand theft for stealing $2,000 worth of <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/DVD+players/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">DVD players</a> and other merchandise from a <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Blockbuster/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Blockbuster</a> Video.<br />
<br />
In April 2005, while at a <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Fresno/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Fresno</a>
fast food restaurant, Baby Gangster thought someone looked at his
girlfriend the wrong way. He attacked, punched the victim and fled.
According to documents in <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Fresno/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Fresno</a> <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Superior+Court/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Superior Court,</a> the victim identified his attacker as a gang member because of his tattoos.<br />
<br />
The victim and two witnesses picked <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Edward+Martinez/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Edward Martinez</a> out of a photo lineup. Martinez was already on parole for the second-degree burglary at <a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/Blockbuster/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Blockbuster.</a> Baby Gangster went on the run for more than three weeks.<br />
<br />
He knew he couldn't hide forever.<br />
<br />
"I
finally got tired of running and went to my dad's house," said
Martinez. "I knew they were going to get me there. When they came to the
door, there were cops everywhere. I was going to jail."<br />
<br />
Read the rest of the story <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/18/4421227/from-gang-member-to-pastry-chef.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<div style="color: black; font: 10pt sans-serif; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-transform: none; width: 1px;">
<br />Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/18/4421227/from-gang-member-to-pastry-chef.html#storylink=cpy</div>
<div style="color: black; font: 10pt sans-serif; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-transform: none; width: 1px;">
<br />Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/18/4421227/from-gang-member-to-pastry-chef.html#storylink=cpy</div>
<br />
<div style="color: black; font: 10pt sans-serif; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-transform: none; width: 1px;">
<br />Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/18/4421227/from-gang-member-to-pastry-chef.html#storylink=cpy</div>Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-62310444558664371862012-03-24T11:41:00.002-04:002012-03-24T11:41:49.642-04:00Must-Have Gadgets for the Kitchen? Think Again<h1>
</h1>
<span itemprop="creator" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><h6 class="byline" itemprop="name">
</h6>
</span><div itemprop="articleBody">
by William Grimes</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
EVERY kitchen has one. The ingenious asparagus peeler. The automatic
paper-towel dispenser. The whiz-bang electric pepper grinder. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
These are the tools that Gail Simmons, a judge on the Bravo series “Top
Chef” and the author of “Talking With My Mouth Full: My Life as a
Professional Eater,” calls “the skeletons in the kitchen closet.” Unlike
the preposterous gadgets that turn up uninvited beneath the Christmas
tree, they were purchased with enthusiasm and high culinary
expectations. Now they languish in the drawer or take up space on the
counter, where they eventually die of neglect. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Sometimes the fault lies with the equipment, which is too often
overengineered, overdesigned or overspecific. Does anyone really need a
kitchen torch with a fuel gauge or a miniature circular saw for cutting
pizza? </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Just as often, the buyer is to blame, a victim of unrealistic
expectations. The kitchen can be a realm of fantasy, after all, and even
seasoned professionals can be seduced by a sexy piece of equipment,
especially if it has an exotic accent. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
“When you travel you get caught up in the moment, and taken with the
idea that in this particular place a certain tool is really important,”
said Christopher Koetke, the vice president of the school of culinary
arts at Kendall College in Chicago. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Fifteen years ago, on a trip to Italy, he bought an automatic polenta
maker. Italians use them all the time, but Mr. Koetke has not gotten
around to plugging his in. His trips to Japan have yielded nearly a
dozen handmade knives, purchased at great expense in tiny shops. Most
are in mint condition. “The truth is, only if you’re slicing fish for
sushi and sashimi eight hours a day is the investment worth it,” he
said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Jack Bishop, the editorial director of America’s Test Kitchen, the
parent company of Cook’s Illustrated, still regards the French escargot
tongs in his kitchen in Sag Harbor, N.Y., with puzzlement. Likewise his
authentic Mexican molcajetes. “I suppose they serve the purpose of
reminding me of that wonderful time I spent in Oaxaca,” he said. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
There’s something about a kitchen tool suited to a single task that
casts an irresistible spell for many cooks. The Williams-Sonoma catalog,
to cite a highly visible example, is a Venusberg of culinary charms,
but temptation lurks everywhere. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Dennis Nyback, a film archivist in Portland, Ore., bought a commercial
butter slicer at a thrift store. At the time, it seemed like a brilliant
acquisition. “It was green enameled metal with stainless blades and had
a sort of mass guillotine action,” he said. “A solid one-pound block of
butter could be made into a few dozen pats with one fell swoop. I
didn’t expect it to change my life, but I did expect that if I ever
encountered a one-pound block of butter I would be prepared. That day
never came.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
It never does. Meredith Smith, an editor of the food blog Serious Eats, once invested in a <a class="meta-classifier" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/pasta/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="More articles about pasta.">pasta</a>-drying
rack but has managed to avoid setting it up in her kitchen in
Somerville, Mass. “I just don’t make fresh pasta enough to merit a
drying rack,” she said. “I’d rather use the back of a chair.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Julia Collin Davison, of Natick, Mass., the executive food editor of the
book department of America’s Test Kitchen, had high hopes for her
salmon poacher. They were dashed. “They’re troublesome to work with,”
she said. “It’s an odd-shaped piece of equipment that straddles two
burners. I’m married to a fishmonger, so I have access to the best, and
still I don’t use it.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Sara Moulton, a cookbook writer and the host of the PBS series “Sara’s
Weeknight Meals,” bought a pressure cooker 15 years ago and soon became
disenchanted. High-heat, high-intensity cooking robbed food of
nutrients, a knowledgeable colleague advised. Not good. Then fear crept
in as she considered the explosive potential of the device in her
Manhattan kitchen. “I always told my viewers, ‘This is not your
grandmother’s pressure cooker,’ but it still made me nervous. I kept
worrying that starch might build up in the vent hole and clog it.” It
went into early retirement. “I hold on to it just in case,” she said.
“But I really don’t think I’m going to use it again.” </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Ms. Simmons of “Top Chef” acquired the skeletons in her kitchen closet
by badly miscalculating the realities of her daily schedule. In pursuing
the perfect cup of <a class="meta-classifier" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/coffee/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="More articles about coffee.">coffee</a>
— just one cup each morning — she acquired a professional-grade
espresso maker and a stove-top drip coffee maker for Vietnamese coffee. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
Unfortunately, she forgot to consider the end user. “It’s sad, but the
truth is, I almost never make coffee at home,” she said. The dazzling
coffee makers are now culinary sculptures in her Manhattan kitchen. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
That quest for the transcendent cup led Sarah McColl, the food editor of
the Shine blog on Yahoo, to buy several generations of milk frothers,
including a hand-pump model and at least two electrics, before facing
facts.<br />
<br />
Read the complete article <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/dining/must-have-gadgets-for-the-kitchen-think-again.html" target="_blank">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-15363080476641803502012-03-15T18:17:00.002-04:002012-03-15T18:17:55.320-04:00Recipe: Loaded Potato Soupby request, here's the recipe for my version of Loaded Potato Soup:<br />
<br />
(Yield: 8 servings)<br />
<br />
<br />
¼ cup Vegetable oil<br />
<br />
2 cups small diced yellow onions<br />
<br />
8 cloves garlic, minced<br />
<br />
4 Tablespoons All purpose flour<br />
<br />
2 quarts vegetable stock or water <br />
<br />
2 cups dry white wine<br />
<br />
1½ Tablespoons dried thyme <br />
<br />
3 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and diced <br />
<br />
2 bay leaves<br />
<br />
2 cups heavy whipping cream (may substitute half and half or milk to reduce fat content)<br />
<br />
Kosher salt<br />
<br />
Freshly ground black pepper<br />
<br />
For Garnish:<br />
<br />
Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded<br />
<br />
Sour cream <br />
<br />
Bacon, cooked and chopped<br />
<br />
Scallions, sliced <br />
<br />
<br />
In a heavy stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat<br />
<br />
Add the onions and sauté until soft, around five minutes.<br />
<br />
Add the garlic and sauté one minute<br />
Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. <br />
<br />
Control heat so that the flour does not brown. <br />
<br />
Add the stock and wine, whisking to make sure lumps do not form.<br />
<br />
Add potatoes, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil over medium high heat. <br />
<br />
Lower heat and simmer slowly for two hours. <br />
<br />
Remove from the heat, remove bay leaves, and stir in whipping cream. <br />
<br />
Season to taste with salt and black pepper.<br />
<br />
To serve, ladle hot soup into a serving bowls.<br />
<br />
Top with shredded cheese, sour cream, bacon, and scallions.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-17825622108888472962012-03-13T16:01:00.001-04:002012-03-13T16:01:42.043-04:00Vegan Chef Wows with Meatless MealsBy Patricia Reaney<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_byline"></span><br />
<span id="midArticle_0"></span>
<span class="articleLocation">NEW YORK, March 13</span> (Reuters) - For chef Chloe
Coscarelli preparing vegan meals is more about being creative
and adding variety with new ingredients and flavors than simply
not using animal products in her recipes.<br />
<span id="midArticle_1"></span>
<br />
Coscarelli, who stopped eating meat while still a child, is
a classically trained chef who shot to fame after winning the
U.S. cooking TV competition "Cupcake Wars" in 2010, after
impressing the judges with a variety of vegan cupcakes.<br />
<span id="midArticle_2"></span>
<br />
In her first cookbook "Chloe's Kitchen" the 24-year-old
California-based chef dishes up 125 recipes and proves that
vegan food can be exciting, delicious and creative, as well as
healthy.<br />
<span id="midArticle_3"></span>
<br />
Q: What made you decide to become a vegan chef?<br />
<span id="midArticle_4"></span>
A: "My love for animals inspired me to choose a vegan way of
eating and cooking. But once I went to college I just decided I
wanted to intern in a restaurant and learn more creative ways to
prepare vegan food because a lot of the old-fashioned notions
are that it is dry or bland or boring. It was my mission to
break those stereotypes and find delicious creative ways of
eating vegan."<br />
<span id="midArticle_5"></span>
<br />
Q: How do you dispel the belief that a vegan diet is bland?<br />
<span id="midArticle_6"></span>
A: "For me as a chef, flavor is the most important thing. It
is not so much about taking away ingredients and making this a
restrictive diet, but instead opening it up to more creative
possibilities and adding more flavors and relying on a more
varied array of produce and vegetables and spices and herbs. And
it is really making sure that no flavor is sacrificed when you
are taking out the animal fat."<br />
<span id="midArticle_7"></span>
<br />
Q: How difficult is it to cook without butter and milk and
cheese?<br />
<span id="midArticle_8"></span>
A: "It is much easier that you think. With just a couple of
tricks you can veganize almost any traditional recipe. For
example, when I make my cupcakes I rely on a very simple
technique, and that is using just a couple teaspoons of vinegar
in the batter. I know that sounds disgusting and I promise you
won't taste the vinegar actually in the cupcake. It is just a
chemical trick. The vinegar reacts with the baking soda and it
binds the cupcake and makes it rise, so it replaces the egg.
That is an extremely reliable technique."<span id="midArticle_byline"></span><br />
<span id="midArticle_0"></span>
<br />
Q: What are the main sources of protein in a vegan diet?<br />
<span id="midArticle_1"></span>
A: "It has been proven that vegetarians and vegans actually
consume more proteins than people who follow a traditional diet
because if you are following a healthful vegan diet you are
eating vegetables, grains, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, all
these different sources that you may have never consumed before
and they are packed with proteins."<br />
<span id="midArticle_2"></span>
<br />
Q: How do you develop most of your recipes?<br />
<span id="midArticle_3"></span>
A: "I have been cooking for a while. My mom is the one who
taught me how to cook before my whole family was vegetarian, and
we took a lot of old family recipes and actually veganized them.
We used some simple techniques that I developed to make them
vegan. I like to get a lot of my inspiration from things that
are not vegan and turn them vegan."<br />
<span id="midArticle_4"></span>
<br />
Q: What would you advise to someone who is thinking about
switching to a vegan diet?<br />
<br />
Read the chef's answer and the rest of the interview <a href="http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFN1E7B70UZ20120313" target="_blank">here</a>. Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-30991514577376676472012-03-12T17:45:00.002-04:002012-03-12T17:47:43.638-04:00Chile Pepper Institute Studies What's HotBy Monika Joshi, USA TODAY<br />
<br />
John Hard, owner of CaJohn Fiery Foods, was not expecting to strike any deals when he visited New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute six years ago.<br />
<br />
But what started as a kind gesture — creating a hot sauce and donating some proceeds to the institute — turned into a collaboration that is a key ingredient in his company's success.
Located in Las Cruces, the Chile Pepper Institute is a non-profit, science-based organization dedicated to everything chile pepper. It conducts research on disease resistance, higher yield and better flavor of the crop. It also fields hundreds of questions a week from growers, producers, researchers and home gardeners.<br />
<br />
"We get a huge range of questions, from fertilizer for a specific variety to culinary questions about what type of chile pepper is used in what dish," says Danise Coon, senior research specialist.<br />
<br />
In 2007, the institute declared the Bhut Jolokia the world's hottest pepper, and Guinness World Records certified it. Upon hearing the news, a few others claimed there was an even hotter chile, prompting many in the spice industry to ask the institute to settle the dispute.
"I received at least 500 e-mails about this alone," says institute director Paul Bosland, a renowned pepper expert and professor at New Mexico State.<br />
<br />
NEW CHAMPION DECLARED<br />
<br />
In February, the institute proclaimed the Moruga Scorpion the hottest chile pepper in the world, and already, the title has proven a draw for chile enthusiasts and the spice industry. Hard has created a salsa and hot sauce using the pepper, and the institute has sold out of seeds.<br />
<br />
For the study, Bosland and his team planted several super-hot varieties of chile peppers, including the Moruga Scorpion and Scorpion, native to Trinidad; the 7 Pot and the Chocolate 7 Pot, hailing from Tobago; and the Bhut Jolokia, found in Assam, India. Ground-up samples of each variety were run through a high-performance liquid chromatography machine that counted capsaicinoids, the heat-causing chemical compound unique to chile peppers. A mathematical formula was then used to generate a number in Scoville heat units (SHU), which translates to heat intensity.<br />
<br />
The Moruga Scorpion rated up to 2 million SHU, unseating Bhut Jolokia, which can be as hot as 1.58 million SHU.
During handling, researchers wore gas masks, goggles, full-body Tyvek suits and two layers of latex gloves. Still, the Moruga Scorpion's heat seeped through to their hands, says graduate student Gregory Reeves, who was a part of the study.<br />
<br />
For most chile lovers, including Bosland, a small sampling of the Moruga Scorpion was all they needed.<br />
<br />
Read the complete story <a href="http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/story/2012-03-11/Chile-Pepper-Institute-studies-whats-hot/53490214/1">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-47593667558509311012012-02-27T12:04:00.001-05:002012-02-27T12:04:30.809-05:00Army Wife, Dietitian Urges Healthy Food for Kids<div class="entry-content" id="story_text_top">
<br />
<div id="story_bycredit">
<span class="byline">By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER</span> - <span class="creditline">Associated Press</span>
</div>
<br />
FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- Kim Milano is the wife of the general who
runs the Army's largest training post, but she's also known on Fort
Jackson as the woman who teaches second-graders how to cook "roasted
monster brains."<br />
<br />
"The kids just loved it," Milano said with a laugh, describing her cooking demonstration for roasting cauliflower.<br />
The
53-year-old pediatric dietitian has spent two years at this military
installation in South Carolina helping military families learn to cook
and eat healthy food.<br />
<br />
"I tell people that if they eat better, they will feel better, and they will be able to handle stress better," she said.<br />
Milano
has taken her passion around the globe while raising two boys and
managing 17 moves during her husband's 33-year military career. Repeat
moves, last-minute, no-notice deployments and life on military bases
often far from large cities means many military spouses find it
difficult to maintain any kind of full- or part-time job, let alone a
career.<br />
<br />
Milano said she has been able to work or volunteer at
various military schools and local hospitals during their many moves, so
she has kept abreast of research and trends in her field and maintained
her accreditation.<br />
<br />
"Parents are much more willing to change for
their children than for themselves, so I've focused on kids as much as I
could," she said.<br />
<br />
Her message of proper nutrition and eating is timely, given the military's health issues and budget concerns.<br />
The
Department of Defense reports that nearly a quarter of entry-level
candidates for military service are too overweight to serve or make it
through their first enlistment. And medical care related to excess
weight and obesity is costing the Defense Department $1.1 billion a
year.<br />
<br />
Earlier this month, first lady Michelle Obama joined Pentagon
officials at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas to introduce a
program to serve more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dishes in military
dining halls. It is the military's first major attempt in 20 years to
help its men and women, their families and retirees make better
nutrition choices, said Jonathan Woodson, the assistant secretary of
defense for health affairs.<br />
<br />
Fort Jackson, located outside Columbia
in central South Carolina, is the largest of the Army's basic training
bases, with more than 60,000 soldiers annually attending its schools and
courses. More than half the Army's female soldiers are trained there.<br />
<br />
On
the post, Milano holds cooking classes for spouses and helped develop
the school course that introduces new fruits or vegetables to students
over several months.<br />
<br />
The children took a survey to find out which
foods they didn't like or knew little about, so unfamiliar foods like
cauliflower, beets, spinach, apricots and blueberries were chosen.<br />
<br />
Milano
said she talks about how each food is grown, why it has the name it
does, and shows them how to cook or prepare various dishes. Recipes
including the ingredient go home to parents, the commissary puts the
ingredient on sale when it's being studied and it's served in the school
cafeteria.<br />
<br />
Read the complete story <a href="http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2012/02/26/2682886/army-wife-dietitian-urges-healthy.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<div style="color: black; font: 10pt sans-serif; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-transform: none; width: 1px;">
<br />Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2012/02/26/2682886/army-wife-dietitian-urges-healthy.html#storylink=cpy</div>
<br />
<div style="color: black; font: 10pt sans-serif; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-transform: none; width: 1px;">
<br />Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2012/02/26/2682886/army-wife-dietitian-urges-healthy.html#storylink=cpy</div>
<br />
</div>Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-91333110245690663702012-02-25T00:44:00.000-05:002012-02-25T00:45:07.129-05:00Wounded Vets Regain Bit of Camaraderie in Kitchen<div class="firstGraph">
HYDE PARK, N.Y.—Julio Gerena is
in a wheelchair, his long career in the U.S. Navy and Army forever
behind him. But the 52-year-old recaptured some of the old military
camaraderie while peeling potatoes and chopping cilantro in a crowded
kitchen.</div>
<div class="articlePluckHidden">
Gerena
was among the first 16 wounded veterans who served during the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars to take part in a healthy cooking "boot camp" sponsored
by the advocacy group <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Warrior_Project" target="_blank">Wounded Warrior Project</a>. Former service members once consumed with patrols and sentry posts learned how to poach and saute at the <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culinary_Institute_of_America" target="_blank">Culinary Institute of America</a>, the renowned cooking school on the Hudson River.</div>
<div class="articlePluckHidden">
The
veterans learned some kitchen tips, but seemed to enjoy even more the
chance to spend four intense days with people who have faced similar
hurdles.</div>
<div class="articlePluckHidden">
"There are some
things you can't really get into words, but the Wounded Warrior program
is to me what being in uniform was before: the camaraderie, the trust,"
Gerena said after a long morning in the kitchen. "I met some of these
people just a few days ago, but I share what they went through."</div>
<div class="articlePluckHidden">
The
Jacksonville, Fla.-based organization runs a range of programs for
wounded veterans at locations ranging from college campuses to ski
slopes. The group brought its first batch of veterans into the kitchen
last week in partnership with the culinary institute. Most of the
students served in the Army, but the Navy and the Marines were also
represented. Their service-related wounds ranged from spinal cord
injuries to post-traumatic stress disorder.</div>
<div class="articlePluckHidden">
Over
four days, they were lectured on the finer points of knife work or
braising before heading to a classroom kitchen to turn the lesson into
something edible for lunch or dinner.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="articlePluckHidden">
On a recent morning, the veterans scrambled to pan-sear salmon and saute chicken breasts under the guidance of <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mitzewich" target="_blank">Chef John</a>
DeShetler. As they clattered pans and joked about a return to kitchen
patrol duty, DeShetler shouted out tips on carrot dicing and meat
slicing.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="articlePluckHidden">
"Now this is a
flank steak! There's only two per animal, that's why they're so damn
expensive...! They used to give this away!" DeShetler bellowed.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="articlePluckHidden">
As DeShetler walked the kitchen, 24-year-old Steve Bohn carefully sauteed mushrooms for a ragout in a pan.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="articlePluckHidden">
The Peabody, Mass., resident had cooked for a Whole Foods Market
before the death of close friend in Iraq inspired him to join the Army
in 2007. Bohn was severely injured the next year in Afghanistan when a
dump truck packed with explosives collapsed the building he was in. He
suffered severe spinal injuries and required reconstructive bladder
surgery.<br />
<br /></div>
Bohn no longer
needs a leg brace but he still had a hitch to his step as he moved
through the kitchen. He knows that he cannot resume his old kitchen
career because he can't stand for long or lift heavy boxes. But he liked
the feeling of pushing his limits and being behind a burner again.<br />
<br />
<br />
Read the complete story <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2012/02/22/wounded_vets_regain_bit_of_camaraderie_in_kitchen_1329928799/" target="_blank">here</a> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="continued"></span>Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-21762735668581112172012-02-19T14:16:00.000-05:002012-02-19T14:16:03.673-05:00A Culinary Journey Propelled By Presidents' TastebudsPresidents. Have you ever wondered about the tastebuds of these powerful
gentlemen who ran our country? You might be surprised. In honor of
Presidents’ Day <a href="http://www.travelsintaste.com/" title="TravelsinTaste">TravelsinTaste</a> created a virtual culinary roadmap throughout <a href="http://www.forbes.com/places/nv/las-vegas/">Las Vegas</a>, a city where people and presidents alike can find a modern adaptation of their favorite bites.<br />
<br />
Our Founding Father George <a href="http://www.forbes.com/places/dc/washington/">Washington</a>
may not have actually cut down a cherry tree, but his tie to cherries
has lasted for centuries. For these reasons, he’d most likely enjoy
libations such as the non-alcoholic house-made cherry yuzu soda at <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Georges" target="_blank">Jean Georges</a> <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steakhouse" target="_blank">Steakhouse</a> or the Cherry Limeade at <a href="http://www.travelsintaste.com/fine_dining_las_vegas__dining_at_mandalay_bay-listing392.aspx">Fleur</a> by <a href="http://www.travelsintaste.com/hubert_keller__fleur__chef_secrets-listing3191.aspx">Hubert Keller</a>.<br />
<br />
Thomas Jefferson and John F. Kennedy were both major fans of fine French
cuisine, who isn’t?, and often had it served in the White House.
President Kennedy even hired renowned French Chef Rene Verdon to run the
White House Kitchen. If they visited Vegas, we think they’d be
delighted by Le Cirque at Bellagio’s new Executive Chef Gregory Pugin,
formerly of <a href="http://www.travelsintaste.com/Veritas_New_York_NOTEWORTHY_DINING-listing1628.aspx">Veritas</a> in <a href="http://www.forbes.com/places/ny/new-york/">New York</a> City, a protégé of Gault Millau’s Chef of the Century <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo%C3%ABl_Robuchon" target="_blank">Joël Robuchon</a>. They might even try the classic Terrine de <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foie_gras" target="_blank">Foie Gras</a> Poire Belle Hélène which is lillet marinated foie gras
terrine with poire williams gelee, almond and orange blossom bavaroise,
and a chocolate nougatine, Better yet try the Chef of the Century’s
signature La Langoustine, a truffle langoustine ravioli with chopped
cabbage, at <a href="http://www.travelsintaste.com/fine_dining_las_vegas_nevada__dining_at_the_mgm_grand-listing397.aspx">Joel Robuchon Restaurant</a>.<br />
<br />
Theodore Roosevelt was a traditionalist who preferred simplicity in hearty helpings and might have truly enjoyed a meal at<a href="http://www.travelsintaste.com/vegas_fine_dining__mgm_grand_restaurant-listing131.aspx"> NOBHILL TAVERN</a> by <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Mina" target="_blank">Michael Mina</a>
at MGM Grand. Perhaps trying either the Shelton Farms Chicken Breast
with cauliflower puree, roasted cauliflower, golden raisins and chicken
jus or a 12 ounce wood-fired <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://api.getsmartlinks.com/r?app_id=opencandy&guid=B4795CBB-5C1D-96EC-9E6B-79EC20A1CACC&time=132967853&link_id=7592649&cid=437&pid=1&sense=2ezcg_6_VrD2iS00YD0g8Q&hash=d4a553ca8499343b281b124a20451d1c&url=http:%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FRib_eye_steak&ref_hash=da79930a&v[link_target2]=_blank" target="_blank">ribeye</a>.
Two of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s favorite foods were cheese and fish, so
perfect restaurants for him would be Onda Ristorante & Lounge at The
Mirage for its extensive cheese menu and signature seafood dishes or <a href="http://www.travelsintaste.com/julian_serrano__citycenter__spanish_cuisine__vegas_restaurants__travelsintaste-listing2277.aspx">Julian Serrano</a> at <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aria_Resort_&_Casino" target="_blank">ARIA Resort & Casino</a> where Chef Serrano lovingly prepares ceviches and a Spanish cheese platter celebrating his homeland.<br />
<br />
Lyndon B. Johnson was a big steak eater, so he’d love <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Georges" target="_blank">Jean Georges</a> <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steakhouse" target="_blank">Steakhouse</a> at ARIA, especially with its special <a href="http://www.travelsintaste.com/blog/index.php/2012/02/14/rich-flavors-and-extraordinary-cuisine-showcased-in-arias-february-signature-tasting-menus/">February Beef Tasting Menu</a>.
Executive Chef Robert Moore has created an exquisite five-course
tasting menu highlighting beef from Rangers Valley in Brisbane,
Australia. The region’s cooler climate provides a stress-free life for
the cattle under the watchful eye of certified Japanese Kobe ranchers,
allowing for the production of extraordinary cuts of beef. Chef Moore’s
menu features Rangers Valley Angus 300 beef prepared in four cooking
styles: Hand-Cut Wagyu <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak_tartare" target="_blank">Steak Tartare</a>, Charred Chili-Rubbed Angus 300 <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rib_eye_steak" target="_blank">Rib Eye</a>
Skewers, Angus 300 Braised Short Rib and a 21 Day Dry Aged Grilled
Angus 300 NY Strip. The divine JG Candy Bar adds a sweet, finishing
touch for dessert.<br />
<br />
Read about other presidential culinary traditions <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisamogensen/2012/02/15/a-culinary-journey-propelled-by-presidents-tastebuds/" target="_blank">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-48652267725182353922012-02-06T22:12:00.000-05:002012-02-06T22:13:48.237-05:00Food Trucks Spread 'New' Cuisine, Shake up Restaurant ModelMovement Is Helping to Expand America's Palate While Offering a Lesson in Social-Media Marketing<br />
<br />
By: Maureen Morrison<br />
<br />
Ethnic food -- from Korean to Thai to El Salvadoran -- has become more familiar to the average U.S. consumer, and increasingly people are finding out about these cuisines not from mom-and-pop restaurants or specialty stores, but via food trucks.
The movement is helping pave the way for the increasing popularity in ethnic street cuisine "because of how food trucks work.<br />
<br />
They've allowed those flavors to more easily surface and spread through cities and allow more people to try them," said Kazia Jankowski, associate culinary director at Sterling Rice Group, an agency that tracks restaurant and culinary trends. "They've allowed for those flavors to enter the mainstream via a different way and we're seeing those kinds of flavors make their way into more brick-and-mortar establishments."<br />
<br />
Ms. Jankowski pointed to Chipotle's test concept, Shop House, and Spanish chain 100 Montaditos, which now has a small U.S. presence (with hopes of opening another 4,000 American units in the next five years), as larger players that are leading the way for this new style of "global street food."<br />
<br />
"Food trucks have changed the conversation about the way international casual food has been able to become part of our regular dining experience," she said.
Phil Lempert, a food-industry expert who runs Supermarket Guru, said that part of the appeal of food trucks for consumers is that often the operators are cooking their own culture's food, thereby making the fare more authentic. And food trucks and their cuisine are important to millennials, a demographic that likes to experiment with new tastes.<br />
<br />
In the Technomic 2011 Food Trucks Innovation report, 42% of consumers surveyed ages 18 to 30 said they visit food trucks at least once a week; 38% of consumers ages 31 to 40 answered the same way.
Of course, food trucks are not solely responsible for the interest in ethnic street-food, but they've helped create the supply to satisfy the demand that the popularity of food and travel programs has helped generate, said Kevin Higar, director-research and consulting at Technomic.<br />
<br />
For now, so-called international food is largely untapped by most fast-food chains (Jack in the Box is one exception), but there are two areas of potential growth for food-truck operators looking to expand their own franchises: brick-and-mortar establishments and a move into supermarkets.<br />
<br />
After leaving the fast-casual chain he founded, Spicy Pickle, Kevin Morrison in May 2010 started a food truck in Denver called Pinche Tacos. The truck sold what he called "Mexican street food," and was a precursor to the permanent Pinche Tacos that opened five months later. "It was a very inexpensive way of getting into the business to kind of test out the market to see what kind of feedback I got before I went brick-and-mortar."<br />
<br />
Read the complete story <a href="http://adage.com/article/news/food-trucks-shaking-restaurant-model/232532/">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-75632700540109123452012-01-09T18:52:00.000-05:002012-01-09T18:52:06.101-05:00Chefs Looking to Start Small Carve Out Temporary Quarters in Established Kitchens<br />
by Naomi Martin<br />
<br />
Facing high risk, stiff competition and the need for expensive startup
capital, entrepreneurs opening new restaurants in New Orleans have never
had it easy. But now, with the recession causing banks to tighten
lending, financing a new restaurant can be harder than ever.<br />
<br />
Enter the "pop-up restaurant."<br />
<br />
A chef "pops up" a temporary restaurant -- usually just one night a
week -- inside the shell of another restaurant during its off-hours.
Using the host restaurant's silverware, linens and cooking equipment,
the pop-up's staff serves customers a limited menu of usually five
options. Having swept through New York and Los Angeles, the phenomenon
is now emerging in New Orleans.<br />
<br />
For some chefs, pop-ups are a way to test-drive the local market and
gauge demand before investing in a full-scale restaurant. For others,
it's a way to try out life as a chef, while still maintaining a day job.<br />
<br />
"Eleven years ago I opened up Dante's, and that was a hell of a
challenge," said Eman Loubier, owner of Dante's Kitchen in Uptown New
Orleans. "But the timing then was better than it is now. Banks were a
little easier with loaning. It was a little easier to get financing." <br />
<br />
Loubier
recently opened a pop-up restaurant called Noodles and Pie, serving
items like braised duck noodle soup and honey-pine nut pie with lavender
whipped cream. Noodles and Pie opens Monday nights inside Coulis, a
breakfast restaurant Uptown that typically closes at 2 p.m.<br />
<br />
"It was really just a matter of necessity, not us wanting to do
something trendy or cool," said Mike Friedman, who runs Pizza Delicious
every Sunday and Thursday night out of a shared Bywater kitchen.<br />
<br />
So far, there are about a dozen pop-ups on any given week in the
city. Many are so popular that they routinely sell out of food within
hours, a lofty goal that many traditional restaurants can only dream of.<br />
That popularity owes much to the rise of social media. Each pop-up
has hundreds of Facebook fans and Twitter followers, making it easy to
update a mass audience on the upcoming week's location, hours of
operation and menu. Even just a few years ago, it would have been nearly
impossible for an unofficial restaurant to attract enough customers to
stay viable, said chef Peter Vazquez, who runs a pop-up out of Stein's
Deli on Magazine Street every Sunday night.<br />
<br />
Read the complete story <a href="http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2012/01/chefs_looking_to_start_small_c.html">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-664275259823420592011-12-14T21:08:00.000-05:002011-12-14T21:08:30.140-05:00Farewell to Argentina's Famed Beef?<span style="font-size: x-small;">by Nancy Shute</span><br />
<br />
When I think of Argentina, I think of beef from cows that graze on the endless pampas, tended by watchful gauchos. That <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_feeding" target="_blank">grass-fed beef</a> has been the centerpiece of Argentina's most famous dish, a slow-cooked <em><a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asado" target="_blank">asado</a></em> on the <em>parilla</em>.<br />
<br />
But while in Buenos Aires last week, I discovered that the pampas-raised beef of my reveries is practically a thing of the past. Today, most cattle in Argentina are raised in <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112767649">feedlots</a>, just like in the U.S. That transition has been driven by soaring prices in the global grain markets over the past decade, making it far more profitable to raise soybeans, wheat and corn than herd cattle.<br />
<br />
That may be good news for grain farmers, but it's not a welcome change for the chefs of Buenos Aires. "It's politics, not gastronomy," says Javier Urondo, chef and owner of <a href="http://urondobar.com.ar/">Urondo Bar and Restaurant</a> in the Parque Chacubuco neighborhood.<br />
<br />
Urondo would much rather buy <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_feeding" target="_blank">grass-fed beef</a>, but says it's impossible because the industry doesn't identify meat by production method. "There's no way of knowing," the affable 54-year-old told me over a late lunch at <a href="http://www.barseis.com/">Bar Seis</a> in the Palermo Soho neighborhood. "Even my butcher doesn't know."<br />
<br />
And because the change has been gradual, Urondo says, most customers don't notice the difference. (That thought was seconded in a September report on <a href="http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Livestock%20and%20Products%20Annual_Buenos%20Aires_Argentina_9-14-2011.pdf">Argentina's beef production</a> by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service.)<br />
<a href="" name="more"> </a> <a href="http://www.saltshaker.net/">Dan Perlman</a>, an American chef and writer living in Buenos Aires who runs his own "secret" restaurant, <a href="http://www.casasaltshaker.com/">Casa SaltShaker</a>, has also noticed the difference. "When I first came to Argentina, I said, 'This is what beef is supposed to taste like!' Now, it's just steak," Perlman says.<br />
<br />
How exactly does grass-fed beef taste difference from <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_feeding" target="_blank">grain-fed beef</a>? As NPR's Allison Aubrey <a href="http://www.npr.org/2010/04/08/125722082/the-truth-about-grass-fed-beef">has reported</a>, the meat from cows that dine on grass may be chewier and less fatty. She also cites a <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/solutions/smart_pasture_operations/greener-pastures-faqs.htmll">recent analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists</a> that found that grass-fed steak has about twice as many <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid" target="_blank">omega-3s</a> as a typical grain-fed steak.<br />
<br />
The flavor used to be a selling point for Argentina, which has a long, proud history as the world's great exporter of beef, starting way back in the 1800s. But in recent years Argentina has ceded that crown to <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/04/25/135697179/brazilian-meat-producer-grows-into-global-powerhouse">Brazil</a>.<br />
<br />
Government policies are also helping shrink the country's beef exports. For years, the price of beef was kept artificially low to encourage domestic consumption.<br />
<br />
But that didn't suit the cattlemen too well. "The producers have responded by saying, 'we're going to switch to producing grains'," says <a href="http://www.apec.umn.edu/people/FacultyDirectory/MikeBoland/index.htm">Michael Boland</a>, director of the Food Industry Center at the University of Minnesota. He's been following the transformation of <a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_beef" target="_blank">Argentine beef</a> closely, both as a researcher and as someone who loves to eat. "The Malbec and the beef," he recalls wistfully. "That, to me, is Argentina."<br />
<br />
Read the rest of the story <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/12/08/143362233/farewell-to-argentinas-famed-beef">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-38373536118108736612011-12-05T13:20:00.000-05:002011-12-05T13:20:34.781-05:00Turning Star Chefs into Must-See TVAt a recent meal at Jean Georges restaurant in New York, Charles Pinsky pushed a dish of foie gras on brioche with spiced fig jam toward his dining companion. "You eat mine. It's delicious, but I've had it about 200 times," said Mr. Pinsky, shrugging. Describing dining at El Bulli in Spain shortly before it closed, and attending the restaurant Chez Panisse's 40th-anniversary party, he waved his hand, muttering, "Yeah, yeah. I'm over it."<br />
<br />
<a href="" name="U5032219973000YC"></a>Being cynical about star chefs and immune to the glamour of haute cuisine may sound like the kiss of death for a producer and director of food television. But being easily bored may be Mr. Pinsky's greatest asset.<br />
<a href="" name="U503221997300WHD"></a>Throughout his 20-year-plus career, which has included four James Beard awards and dozens of public television cooking series and specials—with chefs and celebrities like Mario Batali<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://www.nndb.com/people/047/000044912/" target="_blank"></a>, Jacques Pépin and Gwyneth Paltrow—Mr. Pinsky, 61, has been on a continual search for the "the next new idea."<br />
<br />
<a href="" name="U503221997300CAF"></a>Before he takes on a project, Mr. Pinsky said, he asks himself how it will be different from what he has done before. This principle pushed him into a series that he is developing with Phil Rosenthal<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1249010/" target="_blank"></a>, a comedy writer and the creator of the television show "Everybody Loves Raymond." The attraction to Mr. Pinsky is figuring out how to combine comedy and food.<br />
<br />
To flesh out an idea, Mr. Pinsky schedules many long conversations with a potential collaborator, often over restaurant meals. In late August, he went on a four-day eating journey through Los Angeles and San Francisco with Mr. Rosenthal, whom Mr. Pinsky describes as "a skinny guy who can out-enthusiasm and out-eat just about anybody." The pair began at Mozza restaurant in Los Angeles, then flew to San Francisco to eat eggs with pork and kimchi at Boulette's Larder. Over the next couple of days, they came up with a series idea in which Mr. Rosenthal will accompany famous chefs as they live out their ultimate food fantasies, while providing comedic, direct-to-camera narration.<br />
<br />
Each series begins with a scouting trip. As he scouts, Mr. Pinsky takes pictures with his BlackBerry of interesting characters or scenes, and writes a two-to-three-line description about who and where they are. Then he emails these mini-portraits, sometimes one or two per day, to a list of about 20 friends, including chefs Mr. Batali and Gary Danko<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Danko" target="_blank"></a>, cookbook authors Mark Bittman and Julia Turshen and Mr. Pinsky's two sisters. There's little science to this method—Mr. Pinsky doesn't count votes—but he said that a big cheer from his list will usually lead him to shoot the story.<br />
<br />
<a href="" name="U503221997300MH"></a>Scrolling through his BlackBerry, Mr. Pinsky landed on a picture of an elderly Korean woman in traditional dress stooped over a cauldron. She was demonstrating how to make cabbage and pork soup, a combination of ingredients that Mr. Pinsky's star, Jean-Georges Vongerichten<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://www.nndb.com/people/843/000141420/" target="_blank"></a>, grew up eating in France. Mr. Pinsky said that his email panel loved the image and the idea that a world-famous chef and an old Korean lady had a comfort food in common. These scenes became a high point in a show he produced in Korea about the chef, his Korea-born wife and actors Heather Graham and Hugh Jackman.<br />
<br />
Read the rest of the story <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203802204577066290840472640.html?mod=dist_smartbrief">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-50127614352842714202011-12-02T11:05:00.000-05:002011-12-02T11:05:34.808-05:00Kitchen Ink: Tattoos A New Part of Culinary CultureStephanie Izard looks like the girl next door, all T-shirt and curly pony tail. Until she wipes the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. And then you see it.<br />
<br />
The fish tattoo.<br />
<br />
“Cooking is an art and tattoos are another form of art,” says the chef-owner of Chicago’s acclaimed Girl and the Goat restaurant, showing off the delicate drawing on the inside of her wrist. Roll up her pants and a pea tendril struggles up her calf, a tiny plant becoming strong. A bright green gecko sits on one hip. A dolphin resides somewhere unshowable. And across her back, the piece de resistance — a blossoming basil plant encircled by cartoonish flying pigs.<br />
<br />
“People come into our restaurant and say ‘Do you only hire line chefs with tattoos?’” says Izard, the first and only woman to win Bravo’s “Top Chef.” ‘’No, we just happen to have lot of them covered in them.”<br />
<br />
Once considered the province of sailors, bikers, ex-cons and, of course, college hipsters, tattoos have become standard attire in professional kitchens, a symbol of culinary culture as surely as a toque. Whether the drawings are egg beaters, lemon meringue pies or ancient tribal motifs, body art in the kitchen is now so mainstream that everyone from lowly kitchen rats to celebrity chefs proudly display their work on television, magazine covers, high-end catalogues and in the pages of their cookbooks, making culinistas ever more like rock stars.<br />
<br />
“It used to be those cockamamie chef hats that denoted an expertise with a spatula,” says Rocky Rakovic, editor of Inked magazine, a publication dedicated to tattoo culture and that has featured several chefs. “But now time in many kitchens is represented by the amount of tattoos one has.”<br />
<br />
Meat cutting diagrams — the different cuts of a pig or cow denoted by dotted lines — and kitchen knives done like daggers are popular with chefs, tattoo artists say. Cupcakes, hot dogs, pies, equipment — a stand mixer showing a reflection in the stainless steel bowl receives raves from tattoo connoisseurs — are standard when you’re talking food tattoos. Food Network chef Duff Goldman, also known as The Ace of Cakes, has a whisk.<br />
<br />
Hugh Acheson, chef-partner of three acclaimed Georgia restaurants, who has four tattoos himself, including the names of his wife and children, as well as a Mayan god he got during a trip to the Yucatan peninsula when he was 16 (he swears he was sober). His favorite is the radish on the inside of his left forearm, which commemorates the first plant he grew at his house more than a decade ago, and which gets the spotlight in his new cookbook’s food photos.<br />
<br />
But lots of chefs make little or no reference to their profession. In those cases, the ink — and the reasons for getting it — are as individual as the chef.<br />
<br />
Bryan Voltaggio, the 35-year-old chef-owner of Volt Restaurant in Frederick, Md., and a finalist (along with brother Michael) on season 6 of “Top Chef,” has six tattoos, including a nautical star to guide him. The names of his children and their Chinese zodiac signs celebrate their births. And his lightening bolt — a tattoo he shares with even more heavily tattooed Michael — celebrates their friendship with childhood buddies (who also have the same tattoo).<br />
<br />
Marc Forgione’s eight tattoos represent turning points in his life or career: the Navajo art that inspired him to open his own restaurant; the “1621” on both biceps documenting his recreation of the first Thanksgiving, the meal that cinched his 2010 win on the Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef”; the tribal infinity symbol his parents gave him on his 18th birthday.<br />
<br />
“I use them almost like a roadmap of my life,” says the 32-year-old chef-owner of Restaurant Marc Forgione. “They all have their own little story. It’s a badge of memory.”<br />
<br />
Chefs with tattoos are nothing new, Rakovic says. What is new is their emergence from the bowels of restaurant life onto television and into the spotlight. But industry watchers like Dana Cowin, editor-in-chief of Food & Wine magazine, say the volume of ink has definitely increased during the past five years or so — and it should be no surprise.<br />
<br />
“If you look at a chef with beautiful tatts you might also be looking at a chef that presents very beautifully plated food,” says Cowin, whose July 2009 cover featured the elaborately inscribed arms of chefs Nate Appleman and Vinny Dotolo and drew fire from a few readers who thought it was in poor taste. “So the opposite conclusion can be drawn: not ‘They’re heathens,’ but, ‘They must be appreciators of art.’”<br />
<br />
Which is exactly why chefs like them. “Chefs are artistic people who get inspired by things and that has a lot to do with tattoos,” Forgione says. “We’re kind of artistic, rebellious, a little crazy.”<br />
<br />
Read the complete story <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/kitchen-ink-tattoos-have-become-the-new-must-have-accessory-in-restaurant-kitchens/2011/12/01/gIQAVsY6GO_story.html">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-53491852657709483322011-11-24T10:53:00.000-05:002011-11-24T10:53:34.937-05:00George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation (1789).....Happy Thanksgiving<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF<span class="text_exposed_show"> PUBLICK THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:" <br />
<br />
NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us. <br />
<br />
And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. <br />
<br />
GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.</span></span></span></h6>Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-89240319169052633142011-11-14T14:09:00.000-05:002011-11-14T14:09:11.696-05:00No Need to Gripe About TripeThe French term <i>jolie laide </i><em></em>translates to "pretty ugly," and refers to the striking beauty found in what would conventionally be deemed unattractive.<br />
<br />
Bandied about in the fashion world, the phrase has a place now in food too. Suddenly, the ugly ducklings of ingredients, such as odd meat cuts, are the gourmet swans. Case in point: tripe—a word with sour enough connotations. Calvin W. Schwabe's "Unmentionable Cuisine" describes it as "the beef stomach…actually all four stomachs of cattle, sheep and other ruminant animals."<br />
<br />
<a href="" name="U503124224547SDG"></a>Among the four digestive chambers hoofed creatures possess, it is the cow's reticulum lining that is getting all the culinary play, particularly its protein-rich "honeycomb" lining (shaped and textured like the bee variety).<br />
<br />
<a href="" name="U503124224547MM"></a>Recently, Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi of Manhattan's Torrisi Italian Specialties teased the cow tummy into a calamari-like state. "It is very thinly sliced tripe that has been boiled for several hours," said Mr. Carbone. "We toss it with currants, peanuts, fermented chili and an emulsion of lemon peel."<br />
<br />
Andrew Carmellini, chef of the Dutch in Manhattan, serves Barrio Tripe, cooked "low and slow with a lot of love and attention," he said. Simmered in beer—then garnished with avocado, lime and a Fritos dusting—his tripe dish has a Mexican foundation.<br />
<br />
<a href="" name="U503124224547NTB"></a>Meanwhile, in Oxford, Miss., John Currence of City Grocery Restaurant Group, is cooking tripe like chitterlings<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://api.getsmartlinks.com/r?app_id=opencandy&guid=B4795CBB-5C1D-96EC-9E6B-79EC20A1CACC&time=132129738&ref_hash=e6a2b3aa&url=http:%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FChitterlings&pid=1&cid=437&link_id=7326865&score=0.61&fb_id=02gmkb&src=Wikipedia&sense=UChV9rtRg8vxB-c4q4elIQ&hash=597753ef42440c6d09862f0349c8f616&prepared=true&img=http:%2F%2Fapi.getsmartlinks.com%2Fimages%2Fcallout%2Fsources%2Fwikipedia.png&todo=[object%20Object]&v[link_target2]=_blank&v[tt714]=tt_1" target="_blank"></a>, frying the whole piece and serving it with either a Creole-spiced romanesco or a Southern-spiced harissa. (Chitterlings, or "chitlins," are pig intestines.)<br />
<br />
<a href="" name="U503124224547C8C"></a>San Francisco's offal overlord Chris Cosentino takes tripe still further. "We grill it, fry it crispy, even make dessert with it," he said.<br />
<br />
<a href="" name="U503124224547JLE"></a>In Italy, according to Jacob Kenedy, chef of London's Bocca di Lupo, tripe is an omnipresent cut served distinctly in each region. From Lazio, in central Italy, his is one of the most straightforward preparations -Trippa alla Romana balances the gut's strong taste with tomato, guanciale, mint and pecorino.<br />
<br />
<a href="" name="U503124224547UED"></a>The cardinal rule of "tripery"? Pre-cook it for at least two hours. (Fill a stockpot with water, add lemon juice, some salt and turn on the gas.) A savory, warming bowlful proves the sumptuous ends justify the malodorous means.<br />
<br />
Find a great tripe recipe <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204190704577024230447513476.html?mod=dist_smartbrief">here</a>. Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-70020107387758226552011-11-11T09:16:00.000-05:002011-11-11T09:16:55.475-05:00Say Goodbye to 'One of the Good Guys"The message dated Nov. 6 was simple and poignant: "Your Neighbor's Garden is closed."<br />
<br />
The email and Facebook post made the rounds of the local food community following the death of Your Neighbor's Garden owner Ross Faris after a bicycle accident last Saturday.<br />
<br />
As the message explained, "The family and staff have decided it best to end our season early and close the market as we take time to grieve."<br />
<br />
It's OK. We understand.<br />
<br />
We're grieving, too.<br />
<br />
Anyone who met Ross at a local farmers market or stopped by Your Neighbor's Garden over the years can't help but feel the loss.<br />
<br />
<br />
The City Market's Stevi Stoesz certainly does. She met Ross in 1996 when he helped her develop plans for the popular Downtown farmers market.<br />
<br />
"He was my very first vendor and biggest cheerleader," said Stoesz, "for not only the farmers market at the City Market, but all the great area markets."<br />
<br />
Local food activist, writer and consultant Wendell Fowler said simply, "I'm heartbroken. Ross was one of the good guys."<br />
<br />
And R Bistro's Erin Kem spoke for all local food fans when she said, "I can't imagine a growing season without him."<br />
<br />
Read more of Jolene Ketzenberger's tribute to this amazing and inspirational man <a href="http://www.indystar.com/article/20111111/LIVING23/111110306/-1/nletter10/Your-Neighbor-s-Garden-owner--Say-goodbye-to--one-of-the-good-guys-?source=nletter-food">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-7991829698671324802011-10-31T19:56:00.000-04:002011-10-31T19:56:19.110-04:00Good Old American Cooking — the Way the Native Americans Used to MakeFor years, unless you lived on or near a reservation — or happened to be visiting the cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian — you were unlikely to be able to go out for Native American food. <br />
<br />
But now, residents of Denver, Colorado, are able to feast on Indian tacos, green chile stew, wojapi (a thick berry dessert) and more, thanks to Osage Indian Ben Jacobs and his restaurant Tocabe: an American Indian Eatery.<br />
<br />
"I want native food to be much more in the public eye," says Jacobs, 28. "Feasting is a big part of our culture, and eating together is important to us, just like for many other cultures." Judging by Tocabe's success, Jacobs is getting his wish for many more Americans to experience indigenous eats.<br />
<br />
Read the complete story <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2098045,00.html">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-76171350427526009182011-10-31T19:41:00.000-04:002011-10-31T19:41:18.171-04:00Top Military Cooks Embrace Week at Culinary School<span id="articlebody"></span><br />
When Sgt. Arturo Torres joined the U.S. Marine Corps five years ago, he wanted to be an infantryman. After all, the Marines' reputation is largely built on the expertise of its infantry.<br />
<br />
But the 18-year-old's mother didn't like the idea one bit - especially in wartime.<br />
<br />
When Torres explained that to the recruiter in his hometown of Dallas, the recruiter made a suggestion: food service.<br />
<br />
At first it didn't seem that exciting. But when Torres was deployed to Iraq three years ago and got to cook for then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, food service took on a whole new shine.<br />
<br />
Air Force Senior Airman Ashleen Cacciatore thinks her last name might have had something to do with the reason she's now feeding 500 people a day at McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, a joint military base in Trenton, N.J. The 26-year-old originally wanted an assignment in mental health but was sent to the kitchen. Now, getting told "35,000 times a day that Air Force food is so much better than any of the other armed forces' grub" has more than convinced her it was the right decision, she said.<br />
<br />
Torres, Cacciatore and 23 other cooks from the Marines, Air Force and Air National Guard were selected by the Hennessy Travelers Association's Educational Foundation for the annual Armed Forces Forum for Culinary Excellence at the Culinary Institute of America Greystone campus in St. Helena.<br />
<br />
For a week the military cooks hone their skills at the venerable chefs school, learning everything from chopping techniques to how to prepare healthful meals. And Hennessy, an association of volunteers from the food-service and hospitality industries that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars from private donors each year, is picking up the entire tab, said Carmen Vacalebre, a Connecticut restaurateur and president of the group.<br />
<br />
The group's mission is to promote educational opportunities for members of the armed forces serving in hospitality as well as help military cafeterias run more efficiently and effectively. The organization also helps former military cooks pursue careers in food service in the civilian world.<br />
<br />
"These 25 individuals chosen for the forum have been identified as the cream of the crop," said Jack Kleckner, a Hennessy group member.<br />
<br />
The hope is that the young cooks will go back to their mess halls and motivate others with their food and proficiency, said Art Ritt, an officer with the association. "We're trying to teach them how to think out of the box," he said.<br />
<br />
One day this week, they were learning how to tart up leftovers, with Greystone instructor Tom Wong showing them how to use up yesterday's tomatoes by making salsa.<br />
<br />
"It's a chance of a lifetime," said Jamie Schoewe, a staff sergeant in the Air National Guard in Milwaukee who spends one weekend a month cooking for the troops. "I can take everything that I'm learning back and teach everyone else."<br />
<br />
Schoewe, 24, said she requested her kitchen assignment, which sometimes involves cooking meals for as many as 1,200 troops a day.<br />
<br />
"There's something about preparing a meal for the people around you," she said. "It's nurturing."<br />
<br />
She got some kitchen training in the Air Force's technical school, "but it was nothing like this," she said about the courses she's attended at the Culinary Institute.<br />
<br />
Read the rest of the story <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/29/BUIJ1LN6VU.DTL">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-5585568936110021352011-10-16T18:15:00.000-04:002011-10-16T18:15:56.713-04:00Food Trend Alert:: Ancient recipesHad enough bacon ice cream and Korean barbecue? The next food trend-in-the-making may be for you—Ye Olde Recipe.<br />
<br />
Chefs are raiding ancient Roman texts, Renaissance manuscripts and 19th-century American cookbooks in search of authentic old recipes with which to tempt jaded foodies<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foodie" target="_blank"></a>. Many of the recipes call for unfamiliar—and somewhat unappetizing—ingredients like songbirds, veal brains, the ancient herb hyssop and "preboggin" (pray-bo-ZHAWN), a fancy name for wild greens, also known as "weeds."<br />
<br />
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An Italian restaurant in Chicago prepares a meal inspired by a 4th Century gourmand. Is history really worth resurrecting? Alina Dizik has details on Lunch Break.","relatedLinkHref":"","guid":"F1E06C34-4985-45D9-AA9F-65F97A1789B7","doctypeID":"115","video1064kMP4Url":""}" data-video-size="D"> <a class="videoClickThru" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203499704576624851086404190.html?mod=dist_smartbrief#"> </a> </div><div class="targetCaption">Some chefs have an insatiable appetite for recreating really old, hard-to-get recipes. An Italian restaurant in Chicago prepares a meal inspired by a 4th Century gourmand. Is history really worth resurrecting? Alina Dizik has details on Lunch Break.</div><div class="targetCaption"><br />
</div></div></div>With food-truck cuisine, Asian fusion and other blockbuster trends starting to feel a bit stale, adventurous foodies are drawn to the back stories and unusual ingredients of historic cuisine. In many cases, the trend overlaps with the slow-food movement's interest in unprocessed, home-prepared foods. For restaurants, recipes unearthed from the past are a fresh way to attract attention and boost sales.<br />
<br />
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, open since January in the Mandarin Oriental in London, specializes in dishes from Britain's past: Rice and Flesh (c. 1390), Savoury Porridge (c. 1660), Roast Marrowbone (c. 1720) and Spiced Pigeon (c. 1780). At Next, a creation of Alinea's Grant Achatz<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Achatz" target="_blank"></a> that launched earlier this year in Chicago, a rotating prix fixe<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_d%27h%C3%B4te" target="_blank"></a> menu features dishes such as Duck with Blood Sauce, in which duck parts are put through an antique duck press. The dish is based on a 1906 Paris preparation inspired by August Escoffier's 1903 text <em>Le Guide Culinaire<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_guide_culinaire" target="_blank"></a></em>.<br />
<br />
At Pensiero, a modern Italian restaurant in Evanston, Ill., chef Brandon Baltzley is putting together an historic menu for a 10-course, $140-a-person dinner later this month. The inspiration is the 10 tomes of Apicius<em><a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apicius" target="_blank"></a></em>, a collection of Roman recipes believed to date from 4th and 5th centuries. "[People] are bored," says Mr. Baltzley who found the books in a university library. "They like to do something they can say no one else is doing."<br />
<br />
So far, Mr. Baltzley has confirmed he'll prepare the Meat Mincer, a gory second course of langoustine sausage, spelt and veal brains. For other dishes, he wants to experiment with pig udders and pig wombs—although they are highly unlikely to appear on the final menu because they aren't inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and farmers can't sell them. "You need to find a crazy farmer that will give it to you," Mr. Baltzley says.<br />
<br />
One recipe he won't bother to explore: Stuffed Dormouse.<br />
<br />
But with historic-menu ingredients costing as much as double those of a regular meal, chefs are pursuing the trend mainly in reservations-only tastings and other events during hours when a restaurant is usually closed.<br />
<br />
Sarah Lohman, founder of Four Pounds Flour, a blog devoted to "historic gastronomy," recently posted recipes for Baked Alaska and a tamale recipe dating from 1890s New York. "We want to be eating the food that our forefathers ate," Ms. Lohman says.<br />
<br />
If some old recipes sound less than scrumptious, here's why. People "ate more parts of the animal and more parts of a plant that today we'd throw away," says Francine Segan, author of "Shakespeare's Kitchen," a 2003 book of updated Renaissance recipes. The idea that cinnamon and nutmeg hid the taste of old meat isn't true, she says. "They wouldn't put expensive spices on top of rotten meat."<br />
<br />
Marco Frattaroli, a Portland, Ore., chef, recently hosted a dinner inspired by the Renaissance at his restaurant, Bastas Trattoria, where he spit-roasted pig, rabbit and quail, rather than the robins and other songbirds specified in the old recipe. He is basing future menus on dishes from the Roman era and the Jewish Diaspora in Italy.<br />
<br />
Read the complete story <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203499704576624851086404190.html?mod=dist_smartbrief">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-11047680717174782592011-10-11T09:59:00.000-04:002011-10-11T09:59:20.581-04:00Grilled Chicken, That Temperamental Starby David Segal<br />
<br />
THE sauce will not behave. <br />
<br />
It is supposed to drip twice, on cue, from the bottom right-hand corner of a forkful of tortellini — first as the fork is lifted above the plate and, second, after the fork pauses briefly in the air and starts to rise again.<br />
<br />
Two drips. A sequence that lasts a second and a half, tops.<br />
<br />
A dozen men at MacGuffin Films, a studio in Manhattan, are struggling to capture this moment. For more than an hour one recent afternoon, they huddle around a table rimmed with enormous stage lights, fussing over a casserole as if it’s a movie star getting primped for a close-up. <br />
<br />
“Lights. Roll. Action. Drip!” shouts Michael Somoroff, a veteran commercial director who has shot television ads for Red Lobster, Burger King, Papa John’s and dozens of other fast-food and casual-dining chains. A specialist in the little-known world of tabletop directing — named for the piece of furniture where most of the work is set — Mr. Somoroff is hired to turn the most mundane and fattening staples of the American diet into luscious objects of irresistible beauty.<br />
<br />
If you watch television, you’ve seen his work, and the work of the five or six other major players in this micro-niche of advertising. These men — yes, they’re all men — make glossy vignettes that star butter-soaked scallops and glistening burgers. Their cameras swirl around fried chicken, tunnel through devil’s food cake and gape as soft-serve cones levitate and spin.<br />
<br />
Few outside the business know their names. But given the more than $4 billion in television air time bought by restaurant chains and food conglomerates each year, these directors arguably have some of the widest exposure of any commercial artists in the country. In a typical week, tens of millions of viewers see their work.<br />
<br />
“Aside from movie directors,” Mr. Somoroff says during a break in shooting, “I don’t know anyone with an audience as large as mine.”<br />
<br />
On this particular afternoon, he is filming a commercial for a chain that did not want to see its name in this article. And you can sort of understand why. If you’ve ever been to a restaurant and thought, “This does not look like the dish in the ad,” here’s the irony: The dish in the ad doesn’t look like the dish in the ad, either. <br />
This casserole shot, for instance, is an elaborate tango of artifice, technology and timing. The steam wafting over the dish comes not from the food, but from a stagehand crouched under a table with the kind of machine that unwrinkles trousers.<br />
<br />
The hint of Alfredo sauce that appears when the fork emerges from the pasta<a class="meta-classifier" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/pasta/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="More articles about pasta."></a>? That’s courtesy of tubes hidden in the back of the dish and hooked to what look like large hypodermic needles. Moments before each take, Mr. Somoroff yells, “Ooze!” That tells the guy with the needles, standing just outside of the frame, to start pumping.<br />
<br />
As for that quarrelsome drip from the fork, it is the responsibility of Anthony DeRobertis, a special-effects rigger who holds his own hypodermic of sauce and is having a hard time synching with a hand model, a young man with a military haircut who is clutching the fork.<br />
<br />
“Anthony, the second drip is about 10 minutes after the shot is over,” says Mr. Somoroff after five or six takes, sounding faintly annoyed.<br />
<br />
“I’m right on it,” Mr. DeRobertis says.<br />
<br />
“You’re on it, but it’s not dripping when it has to drip.”<br />
<br />
A break is called and a tube is attached to Mr. DeRobertis’s sauce injector, which is then taped near the bottom tine of the fork, in a way that’s invisible to Mr. Somoroff’s immense Photo-Sonics camera.<br />
<br />
Sauce and fork are finally in unison. After a few more tries, Mr. Somoroff has a take he likes enough to show to reps from the client and its ad agency, a group of whom are waiting in a nearby room that is decked out with a large high-definition TV. The pasta appears moist, the steam organic and the minuet of drip and hand nothing more than a diner on the verge of a blissful bite.<br />
<br />
“I make my living basically taking food and painting a reality with it,” says Mr. Somoroff, leaning back in a chair in his office as the team preps another set-up. “And if I succeed in a given moment, you’re going to go buy that dish because you’re going to identify with the experience we’ve created. To do that with something as banal as food is the challenge. I mean, it’s easy to go out and shoot a beautiful sunset or a beautiful girl. They’re beautiful, O.K.?”<br />
<br />
He gestures toward the middle of the studio.“I’ve got a noodle over here.”<br />
<br />
THIS is a good moment to be a tabletop director in the big leagues, particularly if you specialize in food. Low- and mid-priced chain restaurants are one of the few segments of the economy that decided, during the recession and in its aftermath, to spend as much or more on advertising than they did in the years before. <br />
Fast-food, casual-dining and pizza chains, as well as what are lumped together as “doughnut and coffee restaurants,” spent $300 million more on TV ads in 2010 than they did in 2007, according to Kantar Media, a market research firm. If patterns hold, the numbers will be even larger this year.<br />
<br />
“Generally speaking, restaurant chains spend about 3 percent of revenue on advertising,” says Michael Gallo, an analyst at C. L. King & Associates. “Because these restaurant systems are large and have density, television is an easy way to reach customers in a cost-effective way.”<br />
<br />
And any restaurant chain that forswears TV ads is in serious trouble.<br />
<br />
“If you come off television, when your sales dip, it takes a long time to get them back to where they were before stopped advertising,” says Michael Branigan, vice president for marketing at Sizzler. “There are a ton of studies that show this. You lose brain share of your customers, and it is expensive to get revenues up again. If I stopped advertising, Sizzler’s revenue would be down, minimally, 10 to 15 percent for the year.”<br />
<br />
Typically, companies use television commercials to introduce new products or to remind consumers about old ones. Regardless, the goal is the same: show the product, and do it in a way that makes people want to eat the TV.<br />
<br />
Tabletop directors don’t handle the part of the ad where the family walks into the restaurant, or where Mom looks for a whisk. That’s farmed out to someone else. But say you’re the Checkers chain and you want to unveil “Chicken Bites,” a fried-chicken offering. You need to distinguish these “poppable” treats from a few dozen others on the market. And you need to give a hint of what they taste like.<br />
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“It’s breaded, seasoned chicken, so to the naked eye you can’t really tell,” said Kris Miotke, senior director of marketing at Checkers. “The question was, How do you define a fun, bite-size product in a way that shows both the inside and the outside?”<br />
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How about a hand tearing open a Chicken Bite? “Me, personally, I don’t want hands in my shot. I want the food to speak for itself.”<br />
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To solve this problem — how to create a hands-free, fried-chicken reveal, if you will — Checkers hired Michael Schrom. For 11 years, he has worked in 16,000 square feet of space in silvercup Studios<a href="http://www.silvercupstudios.com/" title="Web site of the studio."></a> in Long Island City, Queens, in the same building where “30 Rock,” "Gossip Girl" and other shows are filmed. Nearly all his clients sell food or beverages, among them Domino’s, McDonald’s, Applebee’s and Smucker’s.<br />
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“That took about 40 takes,” says Mr. Schrom of the Chicken Bites shot. There was no sleight of hand; each bite was cut open, pushed back together, then dropped on a table. The goal was to see moist white meat when it bounced.<br />
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“It’s far harder to get a cookie break with chocolate chips,” Mr. Schrom says. “We went through 100 cookies for Nestlé’s on one shoot. We knew when we got it because we could hear the clients in the other room, applauding.”<br />
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Mr. Schrom has the eyeglasses of an architect and the relaxed, contented air of a man highly entertained by his job. On this day, he is filming for a national chain — one that also requested anonymity — capturing what he calls “flavor cues.” In one shot, a stagehand pours chocolate syrup over a sheet of caramel. (You can almost hear a voiceover purring, <em>“Chocolate.”</em>) In another, cream bubbles up in a cup of coffee. In real time, these moments barely register. In slow-motion playbacks, with a digital camera that shoots up to 1,600 frames a second, the images are almost erotic. Which is no accident.<br />
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“You’re using the same part of your brain — porn, food,” Mr. Schrom says during a break. “It’s going in the same section; it’s that visual cortex that connects to your most basic senses. What we’re trying to do is be the modern-day Pavlovs and ring your bell with these images.”<br />
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He has several food stylists who work in a huge kitchen next to his set. They start with the very same food and recipes used in the restaurants and stores.<br />
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In part, this is a truth-in-advertising issue. Everyone knows that in 1970, the Federal Trade Commission settled a complaint against the Campbell Soup Company after its ad agency slipped marbles into a bowl in ads featuring its vegetable soup, apparently to force more veggies to the surface. That put a scare into the industry that endures to this day.<br />
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Anything that flatters the food, of course, is fair game, and that includes gimmicks you’re unlikely to find in a fridge. Glue is used to keep spaghetti on forks and pizzas in place. The ice in a beverage might be made of acrylic and cost $500 a cube. The frost coming off a beer could be a silicone gel, mixed with powder and water.<br />
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The difference between enhancement and fakery, though, becomes a little murky, and some directors tiptoe right up to, and well past, the marbles-in-the-soup line. If the tomatoes in a client’s red wine reduction aren’t visible, some fresh ones may be sliced up and tossed in. On rare occasions, the food you see on screen is merely a facsimile of the product.<br />
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Read more about the production of food porn, a.k.a. food styling, a.k.a."tabletop directing" here. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/business/in-food-commercials-flying-doughnuts-and-big-budgets.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all">(N.Y. Times, tiered subscription model) </a>Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-41958471213801740012011-10-08T10:12:00.000-04:002011-10-08T10:12:12.174-04:00Chef Paul Bocuse Harks Back to His Youth<h2 class="subhead" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">At Age 85, the French Icon Reflects on the Traditions, Influences and Events that Have Shaped His Expansive Culinary Career</span></h2><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="articlePagination" id="article_pagination_top"> </div><h3 class="byline"><span style="font-size: small;">By Jemima Sissons</span></h3>As we enter a vast hall in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or outside Lyon, France, a fairground organ booms into action, its high-pitch circus tunes almost deafening. Paul bocuse<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://www.nndb.com/people/564/000163075/" target="_blank"></a>, short, with a slow gait and clad entirely in black, shuffles toward a towering contraption at the end depicting brightly colored carnival scenes. All at once, four other organs in the room bearing the name "Bocuse Circus" start, creating a surreal, discordant, almost dream-like air. Mr. Bocuse, considered one of the finest chefs alive today, spreads his arms in wonder and is reduced to a childlike rapture.<br />
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<a href="" name="U502946064856ZMB"></a>It is a somewhat bizarre setup for one of the world's most traditional chefs, yet Mr. Bocuse explains that like much in his life, the brightly hued organs are rooted in his childhood. "When I was a child, the fairground was very exciting in the village, so when the chance arose I bought the lot," he says.<br />
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<a href="" name="U502946064856ZXH"></a>At 85 years old, Mr. Bocuse now has the time to indulge his childhood passions. Although he still oversees his three-Michelin-starred restaurant L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges, as well as seven brasseries and a small hotel in Lyon, he isn't in the kitchen anymore. He also has restaurants in Tokyo, New York and Disney World Orlando.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomtqYmIMIhf3UmIaF7CvaozfKk7h29LWGyrq_6B8qoQts9hdpAsKKrtYSG_mdTFvy5jGaByg2-_v6OsMylFJ-shiXRn8zr5vhUEswk06KN6kSWncNnLmnBnTCQsILAfClMNPLTn9GG-Q/s1600/Bocuse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomtqYmIMIhf3UmIaF7CvaozfKk7h29LWGyrq_6B8qoQts9hdpAsKKrtYSG_mdTFvy5jGaByg2-_v6OsMylFJ-shiXRn8zr5vhUEswk06KN6kSWncNnLmnBnTCQsILAfClMNPLTn9GG-Q/s320/Bocuse.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />
His food continues to inspire others; for its 20th anniversary, D&D London's restaurant La Pont de La Tour will run a tribute menu from Oct. 12-31 that will include some of Mr. Bocuse's most famous dishes, such as his truffle and foie gras soup and Bresse chicken.<br />
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Mr. Bocuse talks a lot about his origins and growing up in the same house that is now L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges. Times were hard, even before the war, he says, but the family never starved. His father came from a long line of chefs, and the first thing Paul Bocuse<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://www.nndb.com/people/564/000163075/" target="_blank"></a> cooked as an 8-year-old boy, under the watchful gaze of his mother, was a rognon de veau with a potato puree—the type of food he still serves today.<br />
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"I had a very free childhood," explains Mr. Bocuse, who still sleeps in the same room he did as a child. "We lived by the river and loved it. I was always playing outside, hunting, fishing. When I got bad marks at school, I would go fishing and cook it straightaway."<br />
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Mr. Bocuse still cherishes the role the river played in his life. "Whenever I go to bed, wherever I am in the world, I always want to know which side is the Saône. It is my savior river. This river has been the rhythm of my life."<br />
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<a href="" name="U502946064856TQG"></a>He was conscripted during World War II when he was 18. After being wounded in Alsace, he ended up in a U.S. Army hospital, where a blood transfusion saved his life. And since 1944, he recalls, "I have always had a U.S. flag flying outside my restaurant."<br />
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Read the rest of Chef Paul Bocuse's story <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204138204576602493173193076.html?mod=dist_smartbrief">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1353253254973177816.post-42538457898014259842011-10-05T11:18:00.000-04:002011-10-05T11:18:57.763-04:00Michelin Stars Align for Seven NYC RestaurantsAccording to the latest edition of the Michelin guide<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_Guide" target="_blank"></a>, dining in New York got a little finer over the last year.<br />
The city is now home to seven restaurants that earn the French dining guide’s three-star designation, its highest rating. Last year, the culinary guide said that five New York restaurants merited three stars.<br />
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Restaurateur Danny Meyer’s Eleven Madison Park, which has made dramatic changes to its menu under chef Daniel Humm, is arguably this year’s biggest winner, jumping from one to three stars in Michelin's view. The new guide, to be released Wednesday, also bestowed three stars on Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, an 18-seat restaurant that is part of a Downtown Brooklyn<a class="ml-smartlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Brooklyn" target="_blank"></a> grocery store. Chef’s Table was last year’s sleeper surprise when it earned two stars. Other restaurants in three-star territory include Daniel, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin and Masa.<br />
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Now in its seventh edition in New York, the guide’s anonymous inspectors review hundreds of restaurants. This year 62 city restaurants received stars, up from 57 last year. The guide is closely watched by chefs and food-world insiders. While chefs frequently grumble about the guide’s sometimes arbitrary designations, celebrations nearly always ensue when a restaurant receives a star.<br />
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Read the complete story <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/10/04/michelin-guide-in-new-york-city-three-stars-for-eleven-madison-park/">here</a>.Stan Denskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15202688980275241342noreply@blogger.com0