foodguy's blog

It's A Wonderful Explanation

Frank Capra's description of the last great bank crisis may be simplified and idealized and there's no simple solution or explanation to what's happening now...but this scene comes eerily close to explaining how our money system works even today. 

Technorati Tags: bank crisis,bailout,depression

Apple Economy

Hopefully we won't get back to this condition again anytime soon...but just in case part of your recovery plan includes a little apple entrepreneurship, then you should know it's the peak of the apple season and this economic hiccup we're in couldn't have happened at a better time.

Plus if your' e in Minnesota, like I am, you couldn't have picked a better place. Here's an excerpt from the Minnesota listing on the web site All About Apples.com;

"Minnesota orchards offer the most distinctive assortment of apple varieties in the country. Some of the varieties you will find in Minnesota that are rare or absent in the rest of the country: Oriole, Mantet, Keepsake, Fireside, Honeycrisp, Wealthy, Beacon, Prarie Spy, Sweet Sixteen, Honeygold, Haralson, Zesta, Chestnut, Centennial, Red Baron, and Malinda. Part of the reason for this is the extensive program of research and development carried on for over 90 years at the horticultural research center of the University of Minnesota. Fruit varieties developed at the research center now represent two thirds of the state's fruit production. The program started in the 1880s. Peter Gideon from Excelsior, who discovered the Wealthy apple, is the first of Minnesota's illustrious apple breeders. His success with Wealthy was used as an example by the state's horticultural society to show the legislature what the results could be from a well-funded research and breeding program. The result has been dozens and dozens of successful varieties suited to the state's harsh climate.

Haralson is the number one apple in the state, representing 50% of production. Of all the Minnesota varieties, Honeycrisp is generating the most enthusiasm, both in the states and abroad. It is probably the most talked about variety in the country right now. The Honeycrisp, introduced in 1991, is the product of a 1960 cross of Macoun and Honeygold by the University of Minnesota research team. While Honeycrisp is an especially good "keeper" in storage, demand is much greater than supply, making it hard to find."

Well supplies of Honeycrisp have finally caught up since that was written as have the Haralson apples, which in my book are the best pie or dessert apples around, so here's a recipe for using the Haralson in very unique, but simple way. That's if you haven't sold them all.

TARTE TATIN

Makes 1 9" tart

1 stick + 3 Tblsp. Butter (5 oz.)

1/4 Cup Sugar

pinch salt

1 3/4 Lbs. Apples, peeled and cut roughly into quarters

8 oz. Puff Pastry

Pre-heat an oven to 375°

Butter a heavy high-sided pan. A cast iron skillet would be ideal, but choose any pan that can withstand the high temperatures needed for caramelizing the sugar. Coat the butter with the sugar. Place the apples side by side with the curved side down in a concentric pattern. Fill in the gaps with large slices.

Set the pan on a low flame for 10 to 15 minutes, to begin caramelizing the sugar. Then place the pan in the oven for approximately fifteen minutes. Meanwhile roll the pastry slightly larger than the pan.

Remove the pan from the oven and lay the pastry over the apples, let the pastry drape over the side. Return to the oven and bake for another fifteen minutes, or until the pastry is brown and puffed.

Remove the pan from the oven and let rest about five minutes. Place a serving dish over the pan and turn out the tart quickly.

Serve warm with whipped cream flavored with Calvados (apple brandy)

Download more_apple_facts.doc

Technorati Tags: apples,Honeycrisp,Haralson,Minnesota,Tarte Tatin,autumn

Tequilas, Tacos and Tahari

Who'd of thought there'd be low riders on Nicollet Mall or Brooks Brothers suits being replaced by top buttoned shirts and colors stuck in back pockets. Well, we still haven't. But you' ld think we'd be one step closer with a joint called Barrio on the street. If your a home-boy hankering for a little bit of East L.A....this isn't it. The word barrio means district or neighborhood. It can also mean a cohesive place of sharing which is more of what Barrio Tequila Bar is all about. Tucked into a former Dunn Bros. coffee store next to the venerable Irish Pub The Local, Barrio has carved out a cute little spot for the good looking and well healed downtowners to get their taco fixes along with the chance to sample over 100 tequilas.

I happened to walk in the same night the Vikings were playing a Monday night game and was a little surprised to see t.v.'s. Besides the obligatory flat screens poised at the corners of the bar, there was a giant projection screen covering almost an entire wall. Barrio is a long narrow space and the big screen was only directly visible by a few tables, but the reflection in the massive back bar mirror made the images available to practically everyone in the space. But just so not to turn Barrio into a sports bar on nights like this, they kept the hip Latin jazz cranked instead of the banal banter of the t.v. announcers. The crowd ranged from work shirts and jeans to stylish club wear that night seemed rather oblivious to the game. I liked the mix though, it kept everyone relaxed and having a good time.

Let's start at the bar. As we entered we were greeted by my favorite hot downtown bartender from Solera (a cousin of Barrio by the way). Jane was waving madly until we spotted her and responded. It took me awhile to see her because my eye was caught by the massive collection of tequila bottles. I'm a bit of a tequila snob and have tried to keep up with all the newest labels flooding the market in recent years, but this was confounding even me. There were names and bottle shapes I had never seen before. There were even some varieties of certain brands that I didn't even know existed. I wanted to start at the top of the list and taste my way down. Knowing the inherent danger in that I decided to start somewhere in the middle and just be happy with one or tow taste that night. I wasn't ready to end the night doing flaming shots while running down the mall howling at the moon. (I'll tell that story some other day.) Most tequilas in most bars are served in Margaritas. But the occasional shot is usually accompanied by a salt shaker and wedge of lime. Or training wheels as its know in the industry. Barrio has done there research and offer a group of tasty "compadres" to with your shot of tequila. The classic compadre found in many bars in Mexico is Sangrita, a blend of tomato, orange and lime juices spiked with a little hot chiles. They offered some unique and interesting flavors for the tequila novice of adventurous like Apple Ginger Soda and White Grapefruit Cherry Soda. The large, larger than the food menu, drink list even lists some well though out combinations of tequila and comapdre to get you started. There are also rum, tequila and sangria cocktails listed along with a solid list of local and Mexican beers as well as Spanish and South American Wines.

As I said earlier Barrio is cousin to Solera and a vision of the most solid and creative restaurateur team in the Twin Cities, Josh Thoma and Tim McKee. They are focused and detail oriented and it shows. From the hip looking servers in logo'd denim or tee shirts to the dancing marionettes on the wall to the finely tuned menu. The menu may be small in stature, but awfully large in flavor. Simply organized into Small Plates, all priced at $7.50, Tacos and Enchiladas ranging from $3.50 to $4.00 and half a dozen Larger Plates. Chef McKee has taken his cues and style of cooking, preparation and presentation from what he has successfully developed at Solera and used it quite effectively at Barrio. He's created a menu with honesty and has avoided some of the obvious cliches that might have tempted a lesser experienced Chef. There are not nachos, chicken wings or fried ice cream. What there is, is a list of foods like the rich Queso Fundido done with a soft and stringy melted cheese (I'm guessing Chihuahua) that is miles from the orange gloop found elsewhere. We had it embellished with a spicy chorizo that added to its richness while at the same time offering a compatible counter punch of garlic and vinegar.  The tacos we tried were all soft corn and filled with great roll ups like carnita, (braised pork), fried mahi or spiced shrimp. At $3.50 each you could easily get out of there with a couple of tacos and a beer for under $10. Not bad in this economy. Our favorite was a Crab Empanda, little fried pillows of red corn dough filled with fresh blue crab set against a tomatillo salsa and an avocado pico. We finished with a chocolate Tres Leche, or three milk cake that was just ok... I would have preferred the classic white version instead.

You don't need to wear you colors to get into Barrio. You don't even need to be wearing a designer's name either. But when your downtown and in the mood for a little of the "hood". Slip into Barrio and order a shot or two and maybe a little bite to go with it. Leave your low rider with the valet.

 

Technorati Tags: Barrio,Josh Thoma,Tim Mckee. tacos,Nicollet Mall,tequila,Solera

"It's The Economy Stupid"

In a way we're all children of The Great Depression. My father regaled us with stories of hardship and survival. As a nation we now have Social Security, welfare for the less fortunate, jobs programs etc. all elements of our great society now that were born by the men and women who found a way out of a collapsed economy. We must find visions similar to those again. They may not be the same, but the need to be fixes for our time. Our fixes will not come in the form of bail outs alone. We must also find a way to save the family house while at the same time help that family find a way to start buying "stuff" again. The state of our economy now is setting our retail sector up for the worst Christmas season in modern history. Even those families with savings and real equity in their house are afraid to spend any real money. It's the real money that will save our economy.

So what are the two guys politicking for the job of leader of this mess doing or saying? McCain keeps bouncing around the issue trying to find his voice. All he's been able to do is take jabs at Biden's tax comments and Obama's concern for the little guy. I have looked high and low and listened to every bit of video I could find and seriously that's all I could find. Really? Both Obama and Biden have been talking straight abut the issue. They've both talked about how the government has got to make sure it does whatever it can to hold things together. How there has to be a way to get the economy stimulated from the bottom up...not the top down. How without tax cuts, mortgage help and incentives to spend. There will be not be a turn around of any kind. They get what a real market economy is about. A real market economy is about the demand for goods and services, not the creation of goods and service based on speculation. It's certainly not about treating Wall Street like a Vegas casino. In the words of a Southern governor who was once looking for the same job they are now...It's the economy stupid!!!

 

 

Technorati Tags: Obama,McCain,economy,Clinton,depression,politics,Republican,Democrat

Cooking With A Conscience

Why bother! Restaurants are supposed to be a fun relaxing experience. We should not be held accountable to anything more than serving safely prepared food. Restaurants, Chefs, Cooks, Managers, Food and Beverage Directors, no one for that matter that have any say in what appears on a menu...are responsible for what you choose to eat. If we choose to menu foods that are high in fat, too laden with sugar or processed to the point of unrecognizability, then that is our problem. As our guest, you have the right and the ability not to order it. In fact, if you really don't like the fact that we serve abused veal, liver from force fed geese, potatoes fried in trans-fats and beverages loaded with high fructose corn syrup...then don't walk through the front door. Please don't think you need to legislate against bad behaviors like that. The market will take care of it all by itself. If no-one orders them...we won't sell them. It's really that simple.

The trans-fat debacle is not a unique case. It's really nothing more than 19th century science seeking a solution for the common good but instead, creating a 21st century monster. Mankind has had many missteps like this on its path of culinary discovery. The hallucinations and destructive behaviors of the witch hunts and inquisition have been traced to a naturally occurring bread mold. A mold that was related to a later 20th century discovery turning it into the super drug known as penicillin. It wasn't until late in the 17th century that a clever physician discovered that it was the lead in drinking vessels that were routinely killing nobleman and peasant alike. He noticed that sober monks were healthier than their wine sotted brothers who all seemed to develop a similar case of cholic, a symptom of lead poisoning. At the dawn of the industrial revolution, canning foods was a gamble before pasteurization was fully understood and widely practiced. Early canned food was just as likely to kill you as nourish you. As an organized life form on this planet, we've made it passed these plus countless other comestible pitfalls on the way to our current culture. And each of these were settled by the marketplace and not a well meaning  legislature.

 

What line do we cross when politics invade the kitchen?

 

Technorati Tags: trans-fat,healthy cooking,food bans,legislation

Congratulations Tina...I Mean Sarah, Or Is that Really You Ms. Fey?

It was one of the most brilliant comedic bits I've ever witnessed. Not once did Ms. Fey break character. Not even when she made some rather nasty comments about the Dems. I knew it was her the moment I heard the hockey mom joke. (What's the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom....lipstick!) She delivered it with all the shtick of a seasoned comedienne, even grazing her lips with her finger just in case we didn't know where the lipstick went.

Tina has proven herself on SNL, in great movies like Baby Momma and even on the much awarded NBC's 30 Rock. But I think her performance at the RNC will go down in entertainment history. Decades from now rising comics will be using bits of that performance to hone their craft.

Well Done Tina....or (wink wink) Sarah.

Technorati Tags: Sarah Palin,Tina Fey,John McCain,RNC