January 2006 Archives

(TPCs Slow-baked pork chop with roasted red potatoes and brussel sprouts, with sausage/pine nut/Bosc pear dressing and home made demi-glace.)

This was all about slow cooking. I had some dressing in the freezer from Thanksgiving already, so all I had to do was prep the brussel sprouts (wash, peel and cut an 'X' in the base to help them cook evenly) and potatoes. I lightly oiled then rubbed the nice, thick pork chops with Survival Spice™, and put it all in a roasting pan, drizzle it with some good olive oil, then baked it at 300º for about 90 minutes.

Normally, I would either sear the chop first, or cook them at 250º for even longer, but I was curious to see how this would work out, and it was really good. You lose a bit of flavor development by not searing it first, but this gets you a really tender, moist chop that I enjoyed eating. If you wanted to, you could brown one side first, or just throw it under the broiler for a minute at the end.

After everything was done, I poured the fat out of the roasting pan, hit it with some home made demi-glace I made Saturday, and finished the sauce with a pat of butter.

I'm going to post on the demi-glace later this week. This was made from odds and ends I had stashed in the freezer, but it turned out really well.

Sorry, didn't mean to sound like a bad "Cop Rock" episode, but a new FTC press release reminds us that we need to be vigilant about our purchases. The article is here, but I'll post the whole release below the fold, because I think it's important.

The article mentions that online fraud accounts for 46% of the complaints filed last year which, as the owner of a business that sells online, makes me redouble my efforts to stay informed on these issues.

I thought I'd take a second and tell you a bit about our security measures:

1) Our Desert Island Foods™.com site is secured via an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate.

2) Our system does not store your credit card information once your transaction is complete. This means you have to enter your credit card number every time you order, but after thinking about it a lot, I decided that the small inconvenience is worth the extra level of security. I hope you do, too.

3) Our customer information is never sold or passed on to marketing companies.

So be vigilant, and do business only with companies you trust, and if you get a 'spoof' email from a company, please do us all a favor and take the time to forward it to the legit company the email is spoofing.

Thanks to John for sending me the link.

I try to cook a good breakfast at least once each weekend. I know you didn't think a lot of my bacon sandwich last week, but someday in a weak moment you'll try it, and then you'll thank me, silently. I'll know...

I love omelets. Fast, easy, and endlessly versatile. Here's one I made from some leftover salmon, flavored with Survival Spice™. If you haven't tried Survival Spice on salmon yet, you can see the great color it adds here. I chopped some chives from the garden, cut up some pepper jack cheese, and it was done. Easy.

You might think this took a lot of eggs to make, but it's only a 2 egg omelet with some milk added. The trick to getting nice volume to an omelet is a hot pan. Eggs are leaveners, activated with heat, so you need to be a little aggressive with the fire. It's important to also have all your fillings cooked beforehand, so they don't cool the eggs and you're not waiting for your filling to cook while your eggs burn. Saute everything in your pan first, then remove to a plate, wipe the pan out then assemble your omelet.

This is a great combination of flavors. The salmon already had great flavor and pairs really well with eggs, the pepper jack added a bit more heat and creaminess, and the chives contributed flavor, texture, and the familiar onion quality you typically enjoy with lox.

A great Friday Funny from Janella, with a food reference. Ya just can't have enough food jokes, I think.

If you have a joke worthy of being a Friday Funny, email me!

Have a terrific weekend, everyone. Cook something good and let us know about it!

(Photo: Jim Galante, whose site is full of great photographs.)

You have to give Frank Bruni, NYTimes food critic, four stars:

I usually spend my nights on the other side of the table, not only asking the questions and making the demands but also judging and, I concede, taking caustic little mental notes. And it's been 20 years since I walked in a waiter's shoes, something I did for only six months.

But last week I traded places and swapped perspectives, a critic joining the criticized, to get a taste of what servers go through and what we put them through, of how they see and survive us. My ally was Chris Schlesinger, a well-known cook and author who owns the East Coast Grill, in Cambridge, Mass., and has no business interests in New York. So that my presence in the restaurant wouldn't become public knowledge, he introduced me to his staff as a freelance writer named Gavin doing a behind-the-scenes article to be placed in a major publication.

Read the whole tale of Frank's week as a waiter, I really commend him for making the effort to see how the other half lives. The vast majority of restaurant patrons have no idea how demanding waiting tables is, physically and mentally.

Is it any wonder that I've always preferred the back of house?

Update 9/6/07: The Rotal Barby discussion continues here.

Man, a busy morning here at Desert Island Foods™.com, so I'll raid the Inbox for another cruel yet drool-worthy email from Paul, aka Chilebrown:

Tonight we are cooking a 'beer can chicken'. It is on a Weber setup which I cannot begin to praise. You rub it, (Survival Spice), impale it, and forget about it. An hour or so later it is done! I also threw in some home made Bratwurst!

Survival Spice™ is a natural for beer can chicken. Paul didn't send a picture of the finished bird, but Jerry sent a pic of some birds that he did last year that looked absolutely amazing, put your bib on and check out these!

One thing we're researching here at Desert Island Foods™.com is Stevia, to use in some new products in development.

Stevia is controversial stuff, and a real political hotspot. Let's start here:

From the first time he tasted a Stevia leaf, Jim May was impressed with its sweetness, which is said to be at least 30 times as sweet as sugar. He first thought he was being offered an illicit drug in 1982 when a man who had just returned from a stint with the Peace Corps in Paraguay showed him a cellophane bag with leaves in it.

He finally tasted a leaf and discovered that the longer it stayed in his mouth, the sweeter it became. May was so impressed with the Stevia herb that he invested his life savings to order more leaves and began selling Stevia-sweetened herb teas out of his garage in Phoenix.

Read the article. More on the FDA controversy can be found at the Stevia.net site in the FDA section. Interesting stuff, and a classic example of established industries fighting innovation tooth and nail.

A marketable ingredient or a potential albatross around my neck? Would you avoid products that contained Stevia or seek them out?

We're proud of Survival Spice™, our 2006 Scovie Award winning barbecue rub, but it really picks things up around the office when we get customer emails. Here's a great one from a customer in Mesa, AZ:

My 6 year old daughter is a Vegan (for the most part, a matter of taste). Her favorite dinner food is Tofu, sliced thin (1/2 inch), brushed with an Herb Flavored Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar with Survival Spice sprinkled on it - Broiled til golden brown in the oven - with MORE dipping oil on the side. I ran out of Survival Spice a while ago and tried different "Mrs. Dash's", my own sorry mixtures - she knew. She KNEW!

In fact, last night's dinner was the motivator to order more Survival Spice; "Mama, this isn't like it used to be, it smells wrong and it isn't pretty". ROFL!!!!! I knew exactly what she meant.

Have something to say about Survival Spice™? Let us know!

(Photo: Wikipedia, which has some good information on currants.

The BBC reports:

A study shows blackcurrants and their US cousins, boysenberries, are full of potentially beneficial anti-oxidant compounds.

Research in the Journal of Science Food and Agriculture found these compounds could block the cell damage which leads to Alzheimer's disease.
...
The berries contain a cocktail of chemical compounds including anthocyanins - which cause the deep colour in blue and purple fruits - and polyphenolics - which can be found in red wine and chocolate.

Other studies have found blueberries to be a powerful anti-oxidant as well, for the same reasons.

I like to use currants in scones, but I can't remember any other uses off the top of my head...

(Photo: TPCs Bacon Sandwich on Whole Wheat)

I can't believe I did this. If you think it's time for an intervention, fine, I probably need one.

So... Saturday morning comes, and the cupboard's pretty bare. I've got some good whole wheat bread and there's thick-cut bacon in the freezer, so a bacon sandwich it is. I'm envisioning a Dagwood-sized portion, but there's not much bacon left.

The challenge: Getting monster bacon flavor out of not a lot of bacon. The method: I slowly rendered the bacon in a skillet, getting it really crispy, and leaving a lot of bacon grease behind. I toasted my bread, and instead of butter or mayo, I dipped each slice, briefly, into the grease in the skillet, then assembled the sandwich, adding a bit of ketchup. Okay, mock me and my childhood love of ketchup, but I dig it on bacon sandwiches. Shun me, see if I care. Wait, come back!

It worked well, too. Max bacon flavor without soggy bread. Whew. Glad I got that off of my chest.

This gave me the idea for a really good mayo just for BLTs. I've put it in recipe form below the fold. I haven't tried to make it yet, though I've made lots of mayo over the years with this basic technique. Let me know if you try this!

Take another look at my slightly out of focus picture. See the bacon grease permeating the bread about halfway? Pure love, man. Pure love.

Man, isn't that the saddest thing you've ever seen? Okay, don't click 'send' on that nasty email you were going to send, Old Yeller was really sad, too...

C'mon, all of you back East, fire up those grills! You don't have much snow back there at the moment, and apparently it'll cheer you up!:

Chef, cookbook author and TV Food Network star Bob Blumer, aka "The Surreal Gourmet," says that winter grilling with pork is an easy way to head off the winter blahs and invigorate your appetite for mealtime adventure. "I refuse to let winter weather dictate monotonous menus. My solution? Bundle up and beat the chill by firing up the backyard grill. As far as I'm concerned, grilled pork recipes are never out of season," says Blumer.

Blumer is not alone. Americans surveyed said that in addition to snow flurries, they also would be willing to brave rain (41 percent), falling snow (37 percent) and below-freezing temperatures (32 percent) in order to grill. Nearly one in 10 grillers (8 percent) is even brave enough to grill in blizzard conditions, taking on squalls or Nor'easters, all for the great flavor of the grill.

I haven't lived in the Midwest for a long time, but my friends and I used to cook out on the patio, freezing our butts off. The tricky part was compensating for the low ambient temperature, which bred good grilling habits. Opening the lid too often would really drop the grill temperature and lengthen cooking times, not to mention letting out all that good smoky flavor.

(Photoshop: TPC)

Happy Friday, everyone! Today's topic is stinky cheese, inspired by this:

SCIENTISTS NAME WORLD’S WHIFFIEST CHEESE

"Vieux Boulogne, a soft, yet firm French cheese made from cow’s milk and matured by washing with beer, tops a list of the smelliest cheeses reveals scientists today. The artisan-made cheese was tested for its smell along with other known pungent cheeses by Cranfield University on behalf of Fine Cheeses from France.

“Love it or loathe it, the sign of a fine cheese is often its characteristic smell as well as its flavour and texture and we wanted to find out if France’s reputation for producing smelly cheeses was true,” said Sally Clarke from Fine Cheeses from France.

Interesting read, I didn't know that the smelly cheeses are enhanced like this.

How adventurous are you? I've grown to really like brie and camembert, and I'm easing into blue cheeses. I have to say I've never tried limburger, but Barrett over at Too Many Chefs has a limburger/red onion/mustard sandwich he really likes. (Note to Barrett, 'A' - you rock, and 'B' - Man, that's one hardcore sandwich!)

Sorry, ladies, I thought this was funny. I guess that Kathleen, the joke-mailin' machine, thought so too!

A few reminders- I'm still looking for suggestions for the "What should I make for Dinner contest. Give me a few ingredient ideas, a recipe you'd like me to troubleshoot, or ask me to give you some tips on a dish you'd like to try!

We've got a 4 or 5 people interested in the next Food Fight, but I'll wait for a few more before we get going. This one will be easy, let me know if you're interested.

And buy some stuff, wouldja??

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Have you ever had a beer flavored ice cream? I saw a recipe for Guinness Ice Cream I thought I'd pass along.

It looks like a pretty good recipe, though I'd add a good pinch of salt and use a real vanilla bean if I had one handy. I've also never added molasses, but it might be a nice touch. And I have to say, as much as I like the flavor that Guinness imparts to this, I've had even better luck using Samuel Smith's Oatmeal stout.

While I love Guinness, and I've tried hard to drink the Guinness brewery in Dublin dry a few times, the Oatmeal stout gives just a little more depth of flavor, and doesn't have the bitterness that the American version of Guinness has. The Oatmeal Stout has more of a sweetness, too, which I feel makes it pair a little better with ice cream. For those of you who aren't beer drinkers, while I won't say that it has no beer affectations at all, it does a surprisingly good job of adding a richness and complexity that makes vanilla ice cream seem, well, vanilla by comparison.

Try it, or tell me what an idiot I am for suggesting it in the comments!

In another imported beer-related story, I think this is a smart move (h/t Fark):

Free beer while shopping -- it's a new idea launched in Atlanta.

While shoppers browse $150 jeans at the Bill Hallman Boutique in Virginia-Highlands, they can sip an imported beer from Italy.

Sounds like what might be expected in an upscale designer clothing store. There's plenty of foot traffic in the Virginia-Highlands neighborhood. Good exposure for the store, good exposure for the beer.

I like this idea, and we're going to see more of this cross-marketing in the next few years. It's a good way to keep men in the stores while their significant other is shopping, and it's a terrific way to get a window shopper into the store.

Plus, Peroni is good stuff. It's definitely my beer of choice when in Italy, though as far as major brands go, I like the Moretti dark as well.

This article has me thinking this morning about the visual appeal of the pragmatic chef™ and the Desert Island Foods™.com sites:

In just a brief one-twentieth of a second -- less than half the time it takes to blink -- people make aesthetic judgments that influence the rest of their experience with an Internet site.

The study was published in the latest issue of the Behavior and Information Technology journal. The author said the findings had powerful implications for the field of Web site design.

While this doesn't surprise me, it has reinforced the need to step back every so often and take an honest look at what we're doing, and on the way readers, current and potential customers evaluate us.

So, what do you think? We're working on a customer survey, but for now any honest feedback is appreciated. Please post it in the comments, email me, or use our private Contact form. If you want to comment on anything beyond the look of the websites too, products, pricing, shipping, that would be great.

Thanks, I really appreciate it. I might even send out a few tins of Survival Spice™, our 2006 Scovie Award winning barbecue rub, to thank you for your time!

Paul, aka Chilebrown, whipped up a great looking batch of home made pasta recently and was nice enough to send some pictures. Or is he just torturing us?

Whatever. Paul's technique is spot on. In the first pic, which also shows off the amazing Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgine di Oliva we carry at Desert Island Foods™.com, he's using a traditional 'well method' to mix his eggs and flour. He didn't send his recipe, but classically it's about 1 egg per cup of flour, then adjust it bit to the humidity as necessary. It yields about one portion per egg.

Happy MLK Day! Please take a minute to reflect on the message this great man gave to the world.

Okay, so I've got the blogging blahs. Let's have some fun.

This isn't exactly a Food Fight, but let's play "What should I make for dinner"? Suggest an dish here or by email, entrée, starch and veg along with a sauce if you like. Pantrywise, I'm set up mostly for American/Southwest/Italian/Chinese kinds of foods, but if it piques my interest, I'll buy what it takes to make it. Got a recipe you'd like me to interpret? Send it along, or I'll make one up and post it. I'll pick 5 entries and make them in order as I get a chance over the next month or so.

Top 5 suggestions get a tin of Survival Spice™.

(Photo: The Shoal Grass Lodge's Beef Tenderloin with Benjamin Port Wine, portabello mushrooms and Peppercorn sauce. Not a bad looking entree, and I'm not terribly snobby about table settings, but what's up with the blue plate on that charger? Sheesh.)

Do you like port? I love port, but my appreciation of it has only developed in the last 5 years or so. I think that's because I always drank really cheap port before, which is kinda like pouring Ripple into some cough syrup. Kinda. I particularly like tawny ports, which unlike ruby ports, are aged more than two years, and up to 40. There are also white ports and vintage ports, but I like tawnys for the bang for the buck.

Ports pair beautifully with food, which is why you see them served with fruit and used in sauces. Cherries, blackberries, cranberries and pear, amongst others are magical with port.

I saw an article at Nation's Restaurant News written by Erica Duecy that put port into my mind again. Free registration required, so I'll get you drooling with some of the dishes the chefs in the article are featuring this month:

Ah, Friday again! To get you laughing, or in this case groaning "how frickin' true is this?", here's something sent in by Kathleen, who must moonlight as a joke farmer.

Have a great weekend! Email me if you've got some funny to share with everyone.

Oh, brother:

A shrimp a hibachi chef tossed at a man eating at a Japanese steakhouse ultimately led to the diner's death, his family claims in a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit against the restaurant chain Benihana.

Jerry Colaitis wrenched his neck when he ducked to avoid the shrimp in the chain's Munsey Park restaurant, attorney Andre Ferenzo said in opening statements Wednesday.

Months after the January 2001 incident, the 43-year-old Long Island man died from complications caused by neck surgery he required afterward, the lawyer said.

Benihana lawyer Charles Connick said it was unlikely a chef who works for tips would toss food at customers after being asked not to, as Ferenzo claimed. Even if that happened, Connick added, the cause of Colaitis' death was an infection or neck injury unrelated to the shrimp.

Every time I think about opening a restaurant, I'm going to read this.

(Photo: Double Double, which I worship.)

I'm setting up a burger bar for Saturday football, just because the last one was such a hit, and I'm looking for some new garnish ideas. I'm already going to heavily carmelize a bunch of shallots and maybe roast some pasilla chiles, along with some of the other usual stuff, but I'm asking all of you for ideas.

What's your dream burger? Beef, turkey, chicken, portabello, tofu? What kind of bread? What do you like to top it with? What do you serve with it? And quit drooling already, it's beneath you!

...Have you ever done it?:

Almost a third of young Britons have passed off a ready-made meal as their own creation in order to impress someone, according to a survey by the Department of Health on Monday.

Women were the worst offenders, with 40 percent saying they had claimed food bought in a shop as their own, compared to 22 percent of men.

Me? Nope, but then I have Survival Spice™ in the pantry! Ever had anybody pass off something that they didn't make?

Now that the holidays are over and things are settling down a bit, I'm thinking that it's just about time for another Food Fight. Food Fight Four featured a lot of really great dishes, in both original and interpreted versions, and I'm really thrilled with the amazing job everyone did. It was a lot of fun, and I'm sure we can top it!

I'm still finalizing the 'cruel twist' this one will take, and it will depend on how many people can join in this time, so comment or email me if you're interested, or if you know you can't participate. Let's get some of the new readers involved, too!

Update: A few have entered by email so far, and I can say that this Food Fight will much less time-intensive. Definitely only one round, for one thing.

I haven't had a chance to talk about this yet, but a customer turned me onto the E-Z Hook® last year and gave me one to try out. I was so impressed that I decided to carry it at Desert Island Foods™.com.

The E-Z Hook® is made of hardwood with a stainless steel hook. I'm carrying the smallest size right now, but they make a 14", 19", and 27" version, too. It's based on a South African 'gaffel', and these are handcrafted and made in the U.S.

It's really versatile, and it's just amazing how little space it takes up out by the grill and in a drawer. Really easy to clean, too.

What's your take on organic farming, and organic food in general? I'm in the middle of some research on sources and methods because I'm working on a new spice blend that I'd like to produce organically, if possible, so it's been on my mind a lot lately. Once again in May I'll be attending the Organic Expo in Chicago, where I met a lot of interesting people from companies that create some really exceptional products.

Keep reading, if this stuff interest you.

The Friday Funny this week comes to us from Sheri, thanks! Do you have a Friday Funny, a "What did you have for dinner last night" pic, or a question about the wide world of food? Email me!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Here's the standing rib roast we had for Christmas dinner. I posted some pictures and the marinade here, in case you missed the original post.

It turned out really well, the extra day I spent marinating it was well worth the effort. This was pulled from the oven at 130º, rested for a few minutes, then I carved it into indiviual portions. My family doesn't care for medium rare beef for the most part, so I've had good luck placing individual slices onto a sheet pan and putting it back into the oven for a few minutes. This also creates a nice bit of au jus as well, so everyone's happy.

A full year of food-bloggy goodness is ahead of all of us! Back in the office now, and relieved that things have gone smoothly around here while I was gone.

Lots to catch up on. What's new with you? Did you cook anything good over the holidays? Email me some pictures and let's get everybody drooling!

I don't know about these, especially for over $20. With the amount of wasabi I add to my soy sauce, they'd clog up like my arteries after one of those 72 ounce steaks you can get in Amarillo.

How about you? Think I should sell 'em at Desert Island Foods™.com?