July 2005 Archives

This is so great, I can't believe I just found this site:

The International Federation of Competitive Eating, Inc. supervises and regulates eating contests in their various forms throughout the world. The IFOCE helps to ensure that the sport remains safe, while also seeking to achieve objectives consistent with the public interest -- namely, creating an environment in which fans may enjoy the display of competitive eating skill.

I have to say, I was really surprised that they all aren't morbidly obese. How I envy their metabolisms, being able to eat that much and not turn into a total blimp. Of course, dipping hot dog buns in a cup of tepid water then cramming them in my face isn't exactly something I would want to have to practice.

Go on. Click on it, you know you want to.

Who's your favorite competitive eater? I'd have to go with 105 pound Sonya Thomas, for eating 65 hard boiled eggs in 6 minutes, 40 seconds. What a woman!

Plans for the first Tomato Toss have been mashed to a pulp. The city of Fairfield, CA, famous for its proximity to the San Andreas fault, had planned a 15 minute tomato fight as part of its Tomato Festival. The city signed Maytag as a corporate sponsor, who was going to film the event as part of an advertising campaign for a new washer.

Sounds good, right? Well, don't get juiced yet. Although they won't officially cite a reason, Maytag has puréed its support for the event. Stemming from merger talks with Whirlpool, they probably have no incentive to film anything now.

This is lame on so many levels. First of all, a tomato toss is nothing new, they've been doing a huge event in Buñol, Spain on August 28th for years now. And what's up with a 15 minute event? Weak.

Secondly, shame on Maytag for planting a seed of hope and then letting it go rotten. This will certainly leave a bad taste in the mouths of Fairfield citizens for a long time to come.

And finally, I have to put a pie in my face for shamelessly working so many tomato references into a straight news story.

Wow, they're going to the mattresses! After New York barely beat out Chicago in a National Hot Dog and Sausage Council survey of the favorite hot dog town in America, Chicago is fighting mad:

"People are absolutely outraged," says Vienna Beef chairman and owner Jim Bodman. "We've had calls from people telling us we need to defend Chicago's honor."

Vienna Beef has challenged New York to a taste test.

"We challenge any New York hot dog to a taste-off any place, anytime. It's time to set the record straight about the world's best hot dog."

I really like Vienna Beef and I've eaten a bunch of them and I like Nathan's, but have never been to the original Coney Island stand, but my favorite is Pink's in Hollywood. Good stuff.

What's your favorite hot dog?

I have to admit, this is something I don't know much about but I find it interesting. Just in the U.S. millions of people have Celiac Disease, which is a chronic condition caused by the body's intolerance to gluten that if undiagnosed and untreated can be fatal.

What is gluten, you might ask? Okay, you might. Assuming you did, and if you're still reading, gluten is a combination of protein chains found primarily in grains. Without getting overly technical, wheat does the best job of producing gluten because only wheat has the 2 most efficient proteins for forming gluten. This is why even bread recipes like rye and other more exotic breads have at least some wheat flour in them. By kneading wheat flour to develop the elastic properties of gluten, air bubbles trapped in the gluten enable a dough to rise.

So knowing what we know about the power of wheat, how do you work around it? Food scientists are constantly improving the quality of gluten-free baked goods by using rice, nut and potato starches. These, as we know have little gluten in them so they must be bound to trap air which is done with products like cornstarch, arrowroot and more recently with Xanthan gum and Guar gum, though Guar gum can cause digestive 'distress' in some people.

The gums actually do a pretty good job and more good tasting gluten free products are finding their way on to grocer's shelves, according to an article I stumbled across.

As pervasive as it seems, I don't think I know anyone with Celiac disease. Do you?

Update 7/29 In case you didn't see it in the comments, I just wanted to point out Shauna's blog, Gluten Free Girl as a good resource for those concerned about Celiac Disease. Check it out!

This has made me aware of a condition that millions of people deal with daily and it's motivated me to produce gluten-free products wherever possible over at Desert Island Foods™.com.

These turned out pretty well for a first attempt. I've been updating the "How to use Survival Spice™" page to try to keep up with all the suggested uses I get from customers. One of the suggestions was on roasted potatoes, so I thought I'd give it a try. I would do it slightly differently next time, so I'll tell you what I did and what I'll do next time. The recipe is in the extended entry.

Save your money, guys. The ladies aren't buying it, according to an Imperial College London study:

"Guys are less likely to offer expensive gifts to females they don't have a long-term interest in. And girls won't be impressed with cheap gifts. By offering expensive but worthless gifts, such as dinner and theater trips, the male pays no cost if the invitation isn't accepted," said Dr Peter Sozou, of University College London (UCL).

If women are not interested they are unlikely to accept the invitation, according to the research published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B.

What do you think, is food the way to a woman's heart? What's your dream romantic dinner?

The Museum of the American Cocktail is a work in progress but very cool:

A global network of the most passionate and talented bartenders, collectors, historians, and writers on the subject of drink are in the process of establishing the world's first Museum devoted to the American Cocktail. It is a huge undertaking that is rapidly gaining momentum and generating excitement among restaurateurs, chefs, mixologists and cocktail enthusiasts throughout the world.

"The museum's goal is to establish a self-sustaining, non-profit museum and tourist attraction that celebrates and preserves a truly rich aspect of our culture: the American Cocktail," says Dale DeGroff, one of the museum's primary founders as well as the world's premiere mixologist.

They're raising money to find a permanent home to set up the museum. Not a lot of content on the site yet, but some links to some really good mixology books if you're a cocktail lover or a home bartender looking for some new recipes.

Get pickled and help preserve our heritage!! Thanks to Jason for the link.

(TPCs "Cowboy Cupcake", v1)

Here's a dessert I've been working on. I'm calling it a "Cowboy Cupcake" for now, but it's actually more like a soufflé with a cowboy twist. I'm using Scharffen Berger chocolate and I'm fooling around with ancho and pequin chiles, toasted pine nuts and coffee with this one. I'm actually pretty happy with this, it has a really decadent molten center and just a nice background touch of heat, now to figure out what to serve with it. I'm thinking about maybe some sort of creme anglaise or a whipped cream. Any ideas?

It's been a real chore having to eat one of these every day, but it's all for science...

Update: The actual Cowboy Cupcake recipe can be found here.

(Photo: Scharffen Berger)

In a move to enter the burgeoning and lucrative gourmet chocolate market, Hershey has issued a press release annoucing their purchase of Scharffen Berger, a fast-growing chocolatier. From the press release:

"The premium chocolate segment represents a strategic opportunity for Hershey based on increasing consumer demand for distinctive, high-end chocolate and for the antioxidant benefits of dark chocolate," said Richard H. Lenny, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hershey Company. "Scharffen Berger's exceptional, on-trend products and entrepreneurial spirit have made it one of the fastest-growing companies in the $1.7 billion premium chocolate segment. We look forward to leveraging our extensive distribution network and technology to broaden consumer reach and expand our leadership position in the confectionery market."

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Scharffen Berger," said John Scharffenberger, Co-Founder, Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Inc. "With Hershey's resources we can accelerate our growth and leadership in the premium chocolate segment. Hershey's heritage, values and deep commitment to social responsibility are a perfect match for Scharffen Berger. The acquisition will enable us to preserve the artisanal roots that have made Scharffen Berger so successful, while introducing a wider range of consumers to our unsurpassed, high-quality dark chocolate."

I'm working on a recipe using Scharffen Berger now. It's good stuff and it's great to work with, but it has such a high cacao content you really need to taste your recipe before baking, as it can be a bit overwhelming the first time you use it.

I did quite a bit of cooking this weekend because I'm working on a few recipes for a party at the end of the month and I'm updating some content on the Desert Island Foods™.com site. The first version of the 'Survival Fries' I made are here.

Dinner Saturday night was my quick Franco-Phoenix version of a classic- Steak au Poivre with a Bordelaise sauce. I've been thinking about it since Dr. Biggles had made a cool version from an old cookbook last week, so I thought I'd see if I could do a quick version of one of my favorite sauces without an important ingredient, veal demi-glace.

It turned out really well and was an interesting experiment. I'll do a quick summary here and I'll do a more comprehensive recipe later if enough of you are interested.

With the impending storm on the horizon and not having any demi-glace, I decided to make it indoors so I could maximize the use of pan juices. I rubbed the steak with whole-grain mustard and a quick rub of smashed black peppercorns, brown sugar, coffee and kosher salt while my cast iron skillet was heating up. In a bit of oil and butter I cooked the steak to rare, knowing that carry over heat would bring it to medium-rare, then removed it from the skillet and wrapped it in foil while I made the pan sauce.

I added enough flour to the skillet to soak up the juices, then added a bit more oil and butter and sweated a few minced shallots until translucent. I deglazed with a cup or so of good red wine (a Penfold's Shiraz) and reduced it 50%, whisking to incorporate the roux and pan drippings. For a Southwestern touch, I added a teaspoon of adobo sauce for some extra depth of flavor and some background heat. The resting beef at this point had released some juice, so that went in as well.

After adding a few sprigs of fresh thyme, I added a can of chicken stock. A good beef stock would been my preference, but you use what you've got and it worked out fine because of all the beef flavor in the cast iron and from the steak. I cranked up the heat and reduced this 50%, until it was starting to thicken up a bit. I turned off the heat, whisked in a few pats of butter and some chopped parsley.

Meanwhile, I did a quick sauté of Asparagus, Crimini Mushrooms, and Pine Nuts.

Good stuff.

What did you cook this weekend? Leave it in the comments and email me a dish you're particularly proud of.

View from "The West 40"

Chance of losing power (again)- 60/40, I'm guessing.

Here's something to round out the week. There is a gourmet club called The Single Gourmet in California, a dating service without the long questionaires, apparently. From the press release:

"The best way to not only meet people but get to know them is over dinner at a table with six or more people," said McCarthy, an Irvine resident who started The Single Gourmet in Orange County nearly 15 years ago. "Single Gourmet members are upscale business and professional people who prefer keeping their private lives private." McCarthy does not disclose personal information for members. Instead, members who pay an annual fee may attend any of the events to meet others and disclose through conversation whatever information they choose to share.

According to Dan Lewis, a long-time Single Gourmet member in his early 40s, food and wine draw out the best in what he is looking for in a companion. "If she's adventurous with eating food, then she's probably adventurous in life," he said in an article published by the Orange County Register, on February 3, 2005.

What's your take on this? Is this a better approach than traditional dating services, or would you prefer to know more about someone before you met them for the first time?

(Photos: Dr. Biggles)

This is a great dish. One pan, no fuss. Dr. B used Survival Spice™, which I love to see, but don't feel like you have to have to use one of my products to send in your dish. This is all about giving people ideas for simple, amazing weekday dinners. Though I really feel that my stuff really makes that easy, I'm not going to stand on a soapbox with a frickin' megaphone. Here's Biggles' email:

Here is tonight's meal. What with Gout in the forefront of my mind, using mostly vegetable matter is what I need to be eating. So far, I've found roasting those nasty things the best way to go. No vegetarian dinner would be complete without two slices of horizontally sliced thicky bacon within the veggies and a whole chicken roasting up on top. After putting, carrots, celery, onion, shallot and broc in to a bowl and tossing with extra virgin olive oil, I sprinkled in a large amount of Survival Spice. I did this because I wanted a sweet and spicy return on those little bastards. The darned broc is pretty tender so I piled it high under the chicky. Everything is better when it comes from under a chicken's wing.

The bird got some extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and an assortment of herbs. Since I can't eat most of the chicken, I put some Survival Spice on the chicken wings, those MINES. Add about 3/4 cupfuls of natural chicken broth and install in to a preheated 375 degree oven.

Every half hour pull out and toss the veggies. At this point you could put a lump of butter over the chicken or baste with good dry white wine. Hells bells, do boff. As with any basic roasting meat, this goes on the bottom rack. Serve this, if necessary with some starch. Fresh corn located on the cob would be a good choice.

The important thing to remember here is to roast your vegetables, use your roast or bird to marinate and not use too much broff in the bottom of the roaster.

ps - As far as the size of your roaster goes, you want most of the vegetables to be exposed to the heat. Leaving them under the bird will steam the them and while this isn't a bad thing, it isn't what we want. We're looking for blackened portions of your food, something tasty.

What did you have for dinner tonight? Email Me a dish you're proud of.

(Photo: Ed Donaldson.com)

Dr. Biggles has been tearin' it up going through some of the old cookbooks he has, making some old fashioned recipes. We all got to chatting, so I posted something from one of my old resources, and it referred to the picture above.

This is called a spider. This particular one is from the late 18th century, according to the really cool website that I found it on. Used to cook over a wood fire in a hearth, this cast iron baby is really functional.

Man, would I love to have one. This thing is seriously cool.

(Photo: John)

Reader John from Chicago sent me this a while back and I'm finally getting around to posting it. He describes it as: A chilled, grilled wild caught alaskan king salmon on a bed of greens w/shitake mushrooms, grape tomatos and a balsamic thai dressing.

Wow, it looks really good. A nice salad and a good bottle of wine, what else do you need?

I'd love to know what else was in the dressing, if I find out I'll let you know.

Email Me a dish you're proud of.

The Japanese government will spend the next 5 years trying to promote its culture to the world, according to an article I read:

If the effort is successful, within five years 1.2 billion people around the world will dine on sushi, tempura or other Japanese dishes at least once a year.

The 14-member private-sector panel led by Yuzaburo Mogi, chairman of the world's top soy sauce maker Kikkoman, got to work in the wake of a government report on better marketing of Japanese brands abroad.

"The Japanese food culture is a speciality that we should spread around the world," Kikkoman spokesman Takaharu Nakamura said.

But he said the campaign has one big obstacle: raw fish.

Nakamura said some non-Japanese cooks were not careful enough in handling raw fish, causing problems over freshness or parasites.

"In terms of food safety, we need to solve these problems. Otherwise they would worsen Japan's image," he said.

Duh.

How about you? Do you love sushi or hate it? And what's up with the fake plastic grass thingees anyway?

Gerry Thomas, widely credited for inventing the TV dinner, died here in the Phoenix area Monday of cancer at age 83.

From the AP release:

He recalled that the inspiration came when he was visiting a distributor, spotted a metal tray and was told it was developed for an experiment in preparation of hot meals on airliners.

"It was just a single compartment tray with foil," he recalled. "I asked if I could borrow it and stuck it in the pocket of my overcoat."

He said he came up with a three-compartment tray because "I spent five years in the service so I knew what a mess kit was. You could never tell what you were eating because it was all mixed together."

Since interest in television was booming, he added: "I figured if you could borrow from that, maybe you could get some attention. I think the name made all the difference in the world."

Read the whole article, but I thought it was interesting that he got so much hate mail from enraged husbands when they first came out. No word if he will be buried on an aluminum tray in a cardboard casket, but I'm guessing not.

(Photo: TPC reader Michael from LA. The mushrooms were cooked on a side burner but I included them here so you could see them. My P-shop chops are slowly getting better.)

Michael sent in this picture of a tri tip he grilled with Survival Spice™. There's so much I like about his dish. I love tri tip, which is a beef cut a lot of people, especially those of you back East aren't familiar with, but the main thing I was happy to see, other than the fact he's a fan of our rub, is that he has a smoker box setup for his gas grill.

I recommend these highly and I like the cast iron model he selected. You can get these for around $10 and it allows you to use wood chips to add a lot flavor to whatever you're grilling.

Wow, Michael. Nicely done!

Email me a dish you're proud of to me here.

For those who aren't familiar with the term, a Supreme sauce is an incredibly rich sauce traditionally based on chicken velouté that is terrific on roasted chicken or even pork. A bit time consuming but the WOW factor is huge if done properly. It's sort of a very upscale country gravy in a way.

The recipe is in the extended entry.

(TPCs easy weekday Chicken en Molé)

I love to make molé. Technically, since 'molé' is derived from 'mulli', the Nahautl word for 'sauce', this is a real molé, but a traditional molé has lots of ingredients that combine to create a wonderfully textured sauce with layer upon layer of flavor.

This ain't it by a long shot, but since the pantry and my time were both equally lacking, I made do with what I had. I took some chicken thighs I had grilled off the day before and simmered them in some chicken stock and some of the chili pureé I had left from the Traditional New Mexico Pork Chile I made recently, which gave me a big head start.

I added some more dried oregano, a bit of cumin, a pinch of cinammon, a few bittersweet chocolate chips, a squeeze of honey and simmered it until it thickened up to the right consistency. A classic molé gets its texture from pureéd nuts and tortilla but none of that here today. I took the kernels of a few ears of fresh corn and added that too for a bit more sweetness and texture. Grilled off a few flour tortillas and you have a very decent molé in less than an hour.

This looks like a pretty good molé if you've got the time to check it out. I wouldn't use as much oil as they call for, I'd replace some of the cloves with allspice, substitute almonds instead of peanuts, etc. but the recipe gives you a pretty good representation of the techniques involved.

What did you have for dinner last night?

A dovetail joint is a strong, efficent way to join 2 pieces of wood. Dovetailing is also a restaurant term you may have never heard but probably do without knowing it. To dovetail your menu refers is to efficiently use of your ingredients in inventory to reduce (and ideally eliminate) waste.

In the molé dinner, I had used chicken thighs that were cooked but not eaten the day before, the chile pureé was made in bulk earlier to fully utilize the large bag of New Mexico chiles I got a great deal on, the dried oregano was once fresh home-grown, and I had bought the tortillas to make grilled quesadillas the day before.

Restaurants must do this to keep food costs down, and you should, too. Knowing how to dovetail will keep your grocery bills down, and challenge you to create new dishes with what you have, which will make you a better cook!

(Photo: Hotel Hershey)

A chocolate massage? Why not!

I found this story about the latest trend in high end spa treatments:

"Chocolate is very rejuvenating for your skin. It is moisturizing and good for cell renewal," said Howard Kohlenberg, owner of Manhattan's Le Petit Spa (search), an upscale oasis that features chocolate-based manicures, pedicures, body scrubs and massages.

Kohlenberg's is only one of many spas preaching chocolate's health and beauty benefits. And customers agree: taking care of one's skin never felt or smelled so good.

Purely for the sake of research — or so my editor thinks — I decided get a taste of what this chocolate trend is all about. This mild-mannered reporter transformed into ... the Human Bonbon.

My first stop was the spa at The Hotel Hershey (search), in Hershey, Pa., where signature services include a Chocolate Fondue Wrap ($105), Whipped Cocoa Bath ($45), Chocolate Bean Body Polishing ($60) and Cocoa Massage ($50-$150).

I've actually stayed at the Hotel Hershey a few times but never visited the spa, though the hotel is nice and the restaurant is very good. The writer, however, visited a lot of spas researching the story, and I have to say she was very thorough. The benefits of an expense account! Well worth reading the whole article.

Just when you think you've seen it all:

-- Oooh lala -- Steam-grilled onions lovingly draped with melted French onion cheese and a savory French onion sauce. Is your mouth watering yet? The newest product to hit the White Castle menu will be available beginning July 17 for a limited time and has a bit of a French flair.

Building on our classic hamburger, the combination of French onion cheese and creamy French onion sauce gives this sandwich a unique flavor that is like no other. It is just one of the newest limited time only sandwiches from White Castle this year that is bound to make your mouth water. Available only until August 13, Cravers will have to act fast to savor this bold sandwich.

Honestly, I can't imagine this thing being edible unless you're completely sloshed. I'd love it if someone could try one and give a report. Pictures are a bonus!

Update: Okay, I can't stand it anymore. I've got a free tin of Survival Spice™ for the first email I get with a picture of you eating it and your review. Make sure you enclose your mailing address.

(Photo: Paul)

This was sent in by reader Paul in the Bay Area. Here's Paul's dinner:

Have you ever been to Lockeford Ca? It is located about 2 hours from the Bay Area . It is near Stockton about 10 miles East of highway 99. The downtown area is about 3 blocks long. It is not a memorable town unless you see the Lockeford Meat Co. All of a sudden this town is the "Mac Daddy". You walk in and there is a sausage for everyone. Tonight we are going to have Basil Sausage. I also recommend trying their Dakota Sausage. It is a blend of Veal, Pork, and Turkey. It is a really mild and delicious treat. You may not have heard of the Lockeford Meat and Sausage Co if you live in the Bay Area. They stay fairly local through the Sacramento- Stockton corridor. They are at all the festivals and events in this area. (Asparagus, Crawdad,and a lot of county festivals).

Lockeford Meat & Sausage
PO Box D
19775 N Cotton
Lockeford CA 95237-0160
(209)727-5584 Fax: (209)727-5585
Bob Pettersen

Menu

Basil Sausage
Green Salad (Homegrown Carrots, Beets and Cucumbers)
Corn on the Cob
Chipotle Corn Bread (Pinole Farmers Market)
Grilled Portabella Mushroom
Chardonnay (Edgefield , Troutdale Oregon)

Thanks, Paul. Always fun to get these! You can share your dinner by emailing it here.

What a moron. A manager in the meat department of a Budapest, Hungary grocery store is under arrest for suspected fraud. From the AP story:

The manager, who was in custody for suspected fraud, is accused of telling meat-counter staff without a supervisor's approval to put the tenderloin on sale for $4.40 per kilogram, instead of the usual price of $13.95.

A few hours later, the manager's wife showed up at the store in the southern city of Kecskemet and tried to buy the beef at the discounted price. A cashier, aware the meat wasn't on sale, alerted security guards who called the police.

His wife bought 47 pounds of tenderloin, but they're still "not sure" if she was an accomplice.

Or what? Getting on the Atkins diet in a big way? Oh, brother.

The Carnival of the Recipes #48 is hosted this week at One Happy Dog Speaks. Check it out and make something new this weekend!

I stumbled onto this a while back. A lot of bloggers contribute a recipe every Friday, some sophisticated, some not.

How cool is that? Pick a recipe that suits your cravings and your level of cooking skills and go for it!

I've been working on a second all-natural spice blend to complement Survival Spice™. I can't tell you exactly what it is yet, but it will be a very different blend, needless to say. I thought I'd ask you for some input, being as you're the experts!

Any requests? Is there a blend that you think should be on the market that isn't yet? What do you see over and over that just doesn't work for you? You can respond in the comments or use the DIF Contact form.

I also wanted to thank everybody that's ordered so far. DIF is a dream I've had for quite a while now, thanks for helping to make it come true. I'm no Paul Newman, especially in the looks department, but I do want to help support some great charities as things move forward. Okay, they're going to have to really move forward, but that's a big part of the dream, too.

(Photo: Paul McCann, of Per Se's "Rillettes of Hallow Farm's Young Rabbit
with Mission Fig Relish, Field Mizuna, and Rabbit "Jus")

The Per Se review at Kipblog I mentioned a few days ago generated a discussion on "diner's rights", for lack of a better term.

A commenter named Jerry weighed in on the restaurant's right to protect the images of its dishes, and I found myself on the side of the consumer. An interesting debate, I think, and important enough to mention here.

What do you think? Does a restaurant have the right to ban discreet photography of its dishes? Does a restaurant have the right to ban photography altogether? Does the consumer have the right to photograph a dish they have paid for and to take pictures of their restaurant experience, to commemorate their night out?

Please go back to Paul's original post and read the discussion in the comments section, then come back here and tell me what you think.

(Photo:NRN -At 26 brix chef-owner Mike Davis combines seared diver scallops with locally grown micro greens and flowers, Oregon black truffles, shown in spoon, and basil pistou.

Nation's Restaurant News has a good article on a trend that while not new, is certainly worth celebrating- local chefs using local small farm products. (Free one-time registration required to read the whole article but worth the trouble to register, as it's an excellent resource for what's going on in the restaurant world, IMHO.)

This particular article spotlights the Northwest, but it's great to see chefs getting back to basics.

"We've tried to use small purveyors," says Mike Davis, chef-owner of 26 brix Restaurant, the 1-year-old, 110-seat French bistro located in Walla Walla. "With our style of food, if you start with mediocre products, you end up with mediocre products."

It's not just the indie restaurants, either. Smaller chains are getting into the act:

Burgerville, the 39-unit sandwich chain owned by Vancouver, Wash.-based The Holland Inc., has a large following for seasonally promoted and regionally produced specialty items. They include milk shakes and smoothies flavored with Northwest fruits and Walla Walla sweet onion rings.

Along with the onion rings, which are now in season and sell for $1.99 for the "semi-huge" size and $2.99 for the "huge," Burgerville this month is selling raspberry lemonade made with local berries for $1.89.

It's great to see this 'back to basics' approach. While I like a lot of the fusion/smashing together of different types of cuisine, I think we've gotten away from pure indigenous food- using what is produced locally.

It's the availability of ingredients that gives different regions of the world it's unique flavors. A great example is the gradual transition of food as you go from Japan to India. Each country in between- Korea, China, Vietnam, Thailand, etc. all have different indigenous herbs and spices that have defined each country's cuisine.

Smash 'em up and combine them? Sure. But I think a lot of 'nouveaux foodies' have started with the fusion stuff before they've studied each cuisine in and of itself. I think it's important to educate yourself in the basics to really enjoy what you're tasting.

Am I wrong?

Dr. Biggles at MeatHenge is looking for new dinner dishes for the family so he's having a recipe/photo contest. Winner gets a cool book. Check it out!

(TPCs Organic Basil Pesto with Shrimp and Spaghetti)

It was 115º here in Phoenix yesterday and the basil in my herb garden took a bit of a beating, so I threw together this pesto dish. Not my finest picture, sad to say, but it really tasted good, at least!

The name pesto, for those who don't know, is a derivation of "pounded" and the word pestle, as in mortar and pestle. A traditional Italian dish, it is an uncooked sauce and is terrific on hot and cold pastas and in pasta salads. It is typically made from basil along with garlic, toasted pine nuts, olive oil and grated parmesean cheese but spinach, cilantro, mint and parsley pestos have made their way into the marketplace over the years.

The important thing with pesto is that it must be made just before service to keep the bright green color. Without getting too technical, as basil is crushed chemicals inside and outside the cell walls are combined, creating a black result. A good way to cheat if you have to make it ahead is to use some Italian flat-leaf parsley in your pesto along with the basil. It will not brown quite as deeply so this is done a lot in restaurants. Parsley also gives a nice aromatic lightness that a lot of people like.

You can make pesto in a food processor, but this will really accelerate the blackening process because of the high speed and heat of the blades so be careful. Use a mortar and pestle! It's easy, very theraputic and it has a great Wow factor if you make it front of guests, just prep your ingredients in advance.

Here's my very 'scientific' technique:

1) Crush 4 or 5 cloves of garlic in your mortar, using your pestle. If you aren't garlic crazy, cut it down because raw garlic will become quite sharp with all the pounding.
2) Add 2 big handfuls of basil, grinding them down gradually to a rough paste.
3) Add a handful of toasted pine nuts and smash 'em up a bit. I used my toaster oven to toast these for the first time per Dr. Biggles excellent suggestion, though I found my toaster oven is a bit uneven so you might want to give them a shake halfway through.
4) Add a couple of handfuls of grated parm cheese, enough olive oil to make it somewhat pourable, stir then season TT.

I've been playing around with peccorino romano cheese a lot lately. It's a sheep's milk cheese I really like the flavor of but it's quite salty, which is why you should season your pesto at the very end.

Embellish with meat if you want. I had done a quick pan fry of some shrimp I had and tossed them with the pasta. Grilled chicken is terrific, too. Toss with your pasta and you're done.

What did you have for dinner last night?

Update- Someone asked me if I had used the Tibvrtini Extra Virgin Olive Oil I carry at Desert Island Foods™.com in the pesto.

Nope. That oil has so much character that although I could maybe see drizzling a bit of it on the top, it's a waste to use about a quarter of a bottle of an expensive oil in a pesto because there's so much other flavor there already. In a dish for dipping crusty bread in, absolutely, or drizzled on an organic green salad on the side would be amazing.

It would be decadent, though. I might have to try it next time...

(Photo:AFP)

Australian attorney Malcolm McBratney is McTicked off. Sponsor of a local rugby team called the "McBrats", McDonalds has challenged his right to use the term, alleging a conflict with a trademark they own on "McKids".

According to an AFP article:

"What it boils down to is that McDonald's seems to be trying to own not only the McDonald name but everything beginning with Mc," said McBratney, who is a specialist in intellectual property rights.

"There are a lot of people with Irish and Scottish heritage who'd dispute that, including me, and I'm prepared to take them on."

McDonald's maintains it is only protecting intellectual property, but McBratney is trying to throw out McDonald's trademark, claiming it was filed in 1987 and has not been used in recent years.

"I think it smacks of corporate arrogance that even though McDonald's is not using the McKids trademark in Australia, it still thinks it can block the registration of a separate trademark that has nothing to do with its business," McBratney said.

I think he has a case. I don't know anything about Aussie law, and very little about law in general, but I know from experience from registering some of my trade names like Desert Island Foods™ and Survival Spice™ that when you register a trademark or service mark here, you have to demonstrate current use or intent to use. A trademark is not granted in perpetuity, and once the conditions for filing are not met it is challengable in court.

(Photo: Courtesy Paul McCann, of Per Se's Rib-Eye of Nature Fed Veal)

Terrific review of 'Per Se' over at Kiplog. Done with a terrific photographer's eye and a true food lover's palate, it's the next best thing to actually getting to eat there, and a lot less expensive.

Per Se, for those who don't know, is a Manhattan restaurant offering by Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame, which consistently receives a 5 star rating as well as 'best restaurant in the world' in 2003-2004.

Here's a link to the French Laundry cookbook, too. While a beautiful coffee table book and a great representation of perfection in food, don't expect to be able to re-create any of these dishes exactly unless you have serious kitchen chops, a lot of the right equipment, and some serious time and cash to throw at it.

Wow, 40 years of 'Brain Freeze®'. It's an interesting story of a broken soda fountain becoming a happy accident. From the Slurpee® website:

When Omar Knedlik's soda machine broke at his drive-in hamburger restaurant, he began serving icy-cold bottled soft drinks from his freezer. Customers fell in love with the slushy drinks, sparking Knedlik to come up with the idea of creating soft-serve frozen drinks.

...

The Slurpee mark was created in May 1967 during a brainstorming session at 7-Eleven's in-house ad agency. While drinking the product through a straw, agency director Bob Stanford commented that it made a slurping sound. The Slurpee® drink phenomenon was born. For the past 32 years, Slurpee® drink has evolved from Fulla-Bulla to Fire Water to Shrek-a-licious. But no matter the flavor, it will always be The Coolest Drink on Earth™.

I don't get the 40 year thing, though. It was created in 1959 and was named in '67. What's up with a 40th birthday?

Read the whole story, especially if you've ever staggered around a 7-11 parking lot as a kid, with a frozen mouth and a cherry red tongue.

I have to say that Coke was my favorite flavor, though. How about you?

(Photo:Smoked Salmon wrapped around Chardonnay-marinated onions and English cucumber tied with chive with crème fraîche, chive oil and caviar. Googled from Wendy Brodie.com)

Okay, after getting a few emails, I'll expand on my amusé bouche reference in the Chirac post below.

Amusé Bouche literally translates to "Amusement of the Mouth". Presented to a guest usually as a gift from the chef, it is traditionally rarely more than a bite or two. They have become larger and more elaborate in some establishments over the years, which to me gets away from its true function, to awaken the palate before the first ordered dish comes from the kitchen, a sort of pre-appetizer appetizer.

I haven't seen this book, but the reviews seem very favorable and Rick Tramonto is a respected chef. This book is not for the faint of heart, though, not a peanut-butter stuffed celery stick or Vienna sausage anywhere to be found:

Hey, this looks great! Sent in by readers Jerry and Audrey, this is a terrific summer meal. And the drinks sounds great, too!

So, last nite we were about to eat this fabulous meal when I remembered to take pics. Here is a grilled top sirloin with Survival Spice™, grilled veggies with my own special blend of spices, and then we made a grilled sirlon, veggies, spinach, and shredded carrots salad. Taste that!

And for the cocktails, We had a 3 M, that would be a Mango Margarita Martini, yeah ya rite.

Nice job!

If you have a submission to "What did you have for dinner last night?", email it to the pragmatic chef™.

After you click on this email link, you need to delete 'REMOVE THESE WORDS' before sending your email. They have been added to minimize spam.

Okay, that's not a real picture but you'll 'see' where I'm going with this.

In association with the charity Action for Blind People, 3 restaurants have opened in Paris, Berlin and Zurich called Dans Le Noir, which translates to "In the Dark". The concept, I suppose, is to increase empathy for the challenges blind people face by paying big bucks to coat yourself with food in a totally dark room.

The Reuters article states:

Diners rub their eyes as they emerge from behind a curtain after eating at France's only pitch black restaurant.

For nearly two hours they have relied on blind guides who helped them reach their table, pour wine and find their way to the lavatory.

Some of them are not even sure what they had for dinner as they pay the bill...

Customer reviews are mixed and my sense is that the novelty would wear off really quickly. Hey, but at least you wouldn't have to worry about what to wear!

The president of France, Jaques Chirac has good-naturedly retracting his recent comments regarding British cuisine. From the Sunday Mail:

That was in stark contrast to remarks he made last week to Schroeder and Putin.

Chirac said to them of British food at a separate summit: 'You can't trust people who cook as badly as that. After Finland, it's the country with the worst food.'

He was also picked up on microphone saying Britain's only contribution to European agriculture had been mad cow disease.

While attending the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, Chirac joined other world leaders in a feast of Scottish smoked salmon, lamb and caviar. After taking a lot of guff from the other leaders, he apparently sent for 41 year old executive chef Andrew Fairlie and offered his compliments on the meal, saying "Your food was fantistic."

I would have offered an amusé bouche of crow tartare, myself...

Paul's Chinatown Roast

Second prize this time went to Paul from Rodeo, CA. Paul entered a sirloin roast, which is on the far end of the loin from the blade roast Biggles used in his dish. The sirloin end does not have as much fat content, and the higher ratio of bone gives you a lot of potential to develop deep, intense pork flavors. However, because it's more lean, it can dry out if you just blast it in an oven.

What I really liked about Paul's entry was the care he took in cooking this properly. By brining his roast the night before, he increased the roast's capacity to retain moisture. By smoking it 'low and slow' and using an instant read thermometer, he guaranteed a great result.

Paul wins a a DIF T-shirt, a tin of Survival Spice™, and a DIF refrigerator magnet.

Congratulations again! The recipe is in the extended entry.

The next Food Fight will start in a few weeks. Start thinking about your dish and work on those food photography skills!

Whoo hoo, Friday! I scoured the Internet checked my email for these, so get ready to say "Jeepers, I didn't know that!" over and over to yourself. Throw in a "Hmmmmm.....!" or two if you're so inclined.

These are pretty interesting, they have not been checked for accuracy, nor do I feel there is any point in doing so! Thanks to Val, I don't know where she gets this crap but I'm glad she does.

It's a long list, so I've put them in the extended entry. Have a great weekend, cook something special, won't you?

This is not a political blog by any means, and it will stay that way, but I can't let the day end without extending my condolences and best wishes to the people of London.

I hope everyone will take the time to pray, send good karma, or whatever you believe in doing to the victims and their families of this tragedy.

Biggles' Survival Stuffed Pork Roast

We have a winner! Congratulations to Dr. Biggles, whose fine food blog MeatHenge is frequently filled with succulent goodies like this, really did a good job with his entry.

Second place goes to Paul for his "Chinatown Pork Roast." Two winning pork recipes this time, both done with similar cuts of meat but completely different cooking techniques. I'll post Paul's entry later today or tomorrow. Both dishes are great and it was a tough decision, as both of these as well as quite a few others this time were really good.

My take on the winning dish:

The blade end roast is a great choice for this kind of technique. It's fabbed out from the front part of the loin nearest the shoulder, so you can see a few ribs and the end of the shoulder blade in the pictures, hence the name. That bit of T-shaped shoulder blade in the top is what is sliced and sold as "country spare ribs", in case you didn't know. Lots of bone=lots of flavor.

The choice of chard is good. Chard has a bit of background bitterness, so it supplies depth of flavor and moisture to the pork as it cooks. I like to use pine nuts a lot too, for their crunch, saltiness and character, and toasting them as Dr. Biggles did is an absolute must, his toaster oven trick is a really good one.

His note on it needing a bit more salt is perfectly valid. Survival Spice™ contains far less salt than a lot of spice blends on the shelf. A lot of blends out there have more salt than anything, and I chose to go a different route. Survival Spice™ contains a well-balanced amount of quality kosher salt and no more. Salt is inexpensive so why pay more when you can later season to your own taste anyway?

Congratulations again! Biggles and Paul both win a DIF T-shirt, a tin of Survival Spice™, and a DIF refrigerator magnet.

Thanks to everyone who entered, this was the best contest yet. And keep sending in those great pictures in! I'll post a few more reader food pics this week.

So without further ado, Dr. Biggles recipe, rich with great photos, is in the extended section:

I love getting emails like this. Yesterday someone let me know about using Survival Spice™ in their egg salad. Why not? I do like it in eggs after I heard about that, and a customer tipped me off to macaroni and cheese a while back.

This is part of the reason why I dislike products with specific names, beef rub, etc. If you like a specific spice on a particular cut of meat or veggie, who am I to tell you that's wrong? I spent a lot of time working on the Survival Spice™ formula so that it would be versatile. Experiment and have fun with it!

Another email from a new customer (names withheld on request, and I do respect that):

First off, we made fresh burgers for lunch with your Survival Spice™ and they were so good, we grilled a few T-bones with a generous rub down for dinner. Two big thumbs up from the entire house. My wife loves it too (and she's real picky).

Thanks Chef, it's the bomb.

You can email me with what you come up with at the DIF site- Contact Us.

{Photo: White Castle)

I thought this was amazing. A New Jersey White Castle location is 75 years old this week, one of two White Castles to reach this venerable old age. From the press release:

During the week of July 4 - 9 the Castle will be in proper celebration mode with balloons and streamers decorating the Castle. Customers will be treated with cake throughout the weeklong gala and a local radio station will be at the Castle on July 9, inviting customers to stop by and join in the celebration! The White Castle home office sent their congratulations out to the Castle by signing a banner that will be displayed. Customers will also receive customized magnets (while supplies last) if they visit the Castle during the anniversary to serve as a reminder of the Castle's celebration.

How about that picture of the Slyder above? That's the first slyder I've ever seen that wasn't dripping with grease, but that's part of the charm, I guess.

Giving away magnets. How tacky. Heh.

There weren't any in my area when I was growing up but I've had a few. Is White Castle part of your burger heritage?

I saw a cool press release yesterday announcing the "United States Dutch Oven Champion" cookoff to be held in Murray, Utah this Friday. From the release:

Wheeler Historic Farm hosts the competition, where each two-person team must prepare a main dish, bread and dessert using Dutch ovens. The event is the perfect culinary complement to the Days of '47 activities.

The winning team will receive $1,000 in cash from Camp Chef, a Logan, Utah-based manufacturer of Dutch ovens and other outdoor cooking products. The Utah Beef Council will also present the winning team with a check for $500 for cooking with beef, a staple for nutrition among the pioneers. Teams will also go home with the largest gift packages awarded in Dutch oven competitions, with more than $6,000 in gift certificates, products and prizes from local and national companies.

The winner from the cook off wins a chance to compete at the International Dutch Oven Society's World Championship Cook Off in early 2006.

Sounds like fun. I have a few large cast iron dutch ovens I use for chile, pulled pork, BBQ beef, baked beans and cornbread. Some people are put off by the maintenance of cast iron but they're inexpensive and they last forever if you take care of them properly.

How about you? Are you a cast iron devotee? What's your latest cast iron dish?

Just a reminder that the Red, White, Black and Blue Food Fight entries should be in by the end of Wednesday. I've seen some really good previews, so I think this will be a good one!

Rules and regs, etc. here.

(tpc- Grilled NY strip w/ancho-poblano cream sauce and carmelized onions)

I had an email over the weekend asking if Survival Spice™ was good for grilling steak.

The answer of course is yes, but the intriguing part of the email is that he went on to mention his frustration in being able to "seal in the juices" so meats would stay juicy.

It drives me crazy when I hear that phrase so I thought I'd rant about that a bit, because I've heard similar remarks from other similarly frustrated people.

First of all, you can't 'seal' in the juices in a piece of meat or anything else with moisture in it, for that matter, but let's use a steak in this example. As the internal temperature of the steak rises, the juices in the meat will expand and make their way to the surface. Don't believe me? Next time you're grilling, watch the top of your steak after you sear it and flip it. You'll still see blood rise to the top of the now 'seared' side. Short of anodizing your Porterhouse, there's no way to stop it.

Still, there are plenty of valid reasons to sear a piece of meat when you first put it in a pan or on the grill. The color is appetizing, the mouth feel of crispness yielding to a tender interior, etc. But is there any difference in flavor, knowing what we know now?

Indeed there is, due to an interesting phenomenon known as the Maillard reaction. Discovered in 1912 by a French chemist named Louis-Camille Maillard, he noted that when amino acids and sugars such as glycerol were heated in a test tube, a brown color was obtained. In addition to the color change, hundreds of new chemical compounds were created. (An interesting side note, Maillard actually had no interest in how these new compounds tasted.) So at any rate, the answer is yes, sear away, friends!

But how? Here's a few tips:

• Your meat should have no water in its surface. Water creates steam, which is an enemy of browning and will contribute to the loss of juices. Oil is fine, but if you've marinated your steaks, blot them dry with paper towels. I like to season with kosher salt just before grilling, it really helps to create a nice crust because it will 'raise the grain' of the meat by drawing out a bit of the remaining water.

• Put your meat on presentation (nicest looking) side down first.

• There are a few valid schools of thought on this, but I only flip meat once. Put your steak on, once you peek and see it's got nice grill marks turn it 90º (I actually prefer 60º, but 90º is what I was taught. Theoretically 90º makes the piece look bigger, but I think it looks like a tile job). Once your presentation side is looking good, flip and finish. This is important- any time you turn/flip, always put it on an unused spot on the grill because the grill where your meat was when you picked it up has cooled somewhat.

• Always have a hot end/cooler side to your grill setup. (Roughly twice as many coals to the hot end). If you finish your steaks on the slightly cooler side, the expansion forces won't be as great so you won't lose as much juice. If you're cooking a bunch of steaks, get your most well-done requests on first. Sear 'em off and move them to the cooler side to finish, where they won't bleed out completely. Do your mediums next and then sear-only your rares and medium rares. This way all your steaks are done at once. What a concept, eh?

• Let your meat rest for a few minutes! As your steak cools a bit, the internal pressure will lower , making it easier for juices near the edge to redistribute back into the center.

I hope this helps. It's just an overview and your mileage may vary but that's part of the fun, isn't it?

--tpc

This is about as political as this blog gets, but the Telegraph has an interesting story about the thrashing Jacques Chirac gave British food:

The president, chatting to the German and Russian leaders in a Russian cafe, said: "The only thing [the British] have ever given European farming is mad cow." Then, like generations of French people before him, he also poked fun at British cuisine.

"You can't trust people who cook as badly as that," he said. "After Finland, it's the country with the worst food."

"But what about hamburgers?" said Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, referring to America.

"Oh no, hamburgers are nothing in comparison," Mr Chirac said.

No official reply from Britain, though I understand a line of concrete trucks 4 miles long was seen headed for the Chunnel this morning...

These guys are nuts! How to burn up 40 pounds of charcoal in 3 seconds with 3 gallons of liquid oxygen. No permalinks, so click here, then scroll down to the fun.

Now you can get your grilling and fireworks done at the same time...

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

found via commenter Terry at protein wisdom.

The Carnival of the Recipes #46 is up over at Anywhere But Here. Check out some great color-coded recipes, from basic to more time-intensive choices like my Traditional New-Mexico style Pork Chile.

Have a great Fouth of July weekend! Please take a minute to remember what this holiday is all about.

Blogging will be light but remember to take some food pics for the latest Food Fight competition, which ends on the 6th.

the pragmatic chef's™ Corn Risotto

This is basically an upscale Southwest version of creamed corn, with a nice cheesy kick. Thanks to Lesley for the original idea.

3T unsalted butter, though salted will work.
1 small onion finely chopped
2 cups fresh tender corn kernels, about 4 ears. Fresh is best but use a good quality frozen corn (thawed and excess water drained off) if corn isn't in season or you're feeling lazy.
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup shredded Fontina cheese (2 ounces) Monterrey Jack is a reasonable substitute.
1 tbls minced jalepeno or serrano chiles, roughly 1 pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper TT (to taste)
Cilantro for garnish, coarsely chopped. You can skip this if you don't care for cilantro or you're out (as I was the day I made it for the picture).
 
Preheat broiler on low.  On the stove top, melt butter in skillet and saute the onion til lightly browned.  Add the corn and cook until hot stirring often.  Pour in the cream and bring to a full boil.
 
Cook, stirring, until the cream has reduced a bit but it still has the loose quality of traditional risotto.  Add the jalapenos, warm them up and then season to taste. If you don't let your chiles warm up enough, you may not realize how spicy your dish is going to be.
 
Pour the mixture into a shallow baking dish.  Scatter shredded cheese over the top.  Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the corn is bubbling slightly. Don't overdo it!
 
Serve on warm plates garnished with salsa fresca or in pasta bowls with Traditional New Mexico pork chile and warm tortillas.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

Now this is a hot dog stand! A commenter over at Hog on Ice, which although extremely political is also extremely funny a lot of the time, mentioned Hot Doug's and I'd never heard of it. Come to think of it, it's also where I heard about the Belgian Fry site I mentioned yesterday.

Hot Doug's is the ultimate gourmet hot dog joint and a Chicago treasure. Check out the specials, Cognac-Infused Smoked Pheasant Sausage with Apricot-Orange Mustard Cream and Crumbled Blue Cheese, Cherry Ostrich Sausage with Fruity Port Sauce and Chopped Smoked Almonds, and more. More traditional choices are available for the less adventurous. Don't skip the hand-made french fries, which are fried in duck fat on Friday and Saturday.

I mean, this is a frickin' sausage, right? Amazing.

What's your favorite hot dog?

(Photo of a Langostino Amarillo)

This is an interesting lawsuit.

A woman is suing Rubio's for deceptive advertising. In the suit filed in California June 28th, Lisa Marie Meier is seeking for a refund to all Rubio's customers who have purchased a lobster burrito or taco since their introduction.

From the Reuter's article:

Rubio's Chief Executive Sheri Miksa said Chilean langostino is classified as a lobster in seafood literature and by industry groups like the National Fisheries Institute.

"We had always believed that the product we were serving was lobster," Miksa said in an interview. Rubio's has changed the name of the product to the "Langostino Lobster Burrito".

Rubio's is using Chilean langostino, also known as a langostino amarillo, or yellow prawn. They have the claws of a lobster, although they're quite small. Technically, the prawn is a member of the lobster family and indeed, the Spanish word for prawn is langostino.

But to me, Rubio's was a bit disengenous in that when a customer sees the word 'lobster', they think of the large type. Langostinos aren't ubiquitous enough for most people to be aware of the similarities and differences.

Rubio's has now added Langostino to the name of the dish, which is I think is adequate as the taste, especially combined with other ingredients, is very similar to a regular full-sized lobster and certainly close enough for a frickin' taco.

Does she have a case? What do you think?