foodguy's blog

Time To Wake Up Your Inner Locavore

Besides dodging errant snowflakes or attending State Tourney games, March is an excellent month to start thinking about what your having for dinner this summer. You don't have to plan out the entire menu now...but if you want an inexpensive way to partake in the locally produced bounty of organic foods, you better start thinking about the source. Sure there's always the produce aisle at the supermarket, you see all those organic signs all over the place these days. And there's the hippie co-ops they're a good source of organic foods. Great but both of these can get rather pricey if your interested in doing a lot of home cooking this summer.

The answer is; join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), that is if your ready to commit to receiving about 30 pounds of fresh produce every week. A CSA is cooperative of sorts. Your membership fee acts as a purchase a guarantee for the farm. The catch is most, if not all, the local CSA's depend on you taking vegetables you may know very little or care very little about. There are some programs that will allow you to select specific varieties and quantities of fresh goods, but these can be just as costly as the grocery. There are also some smaller CSA's that poll their members for a list of vegetables they'd like to have grown. But this all takes some work to find out.

Your first step is to go to your local food co-op and talk to someone in the produce department about it. Their generally very knowledgeable about which CSA's they deal with or which ones use their stores as drop off points for members to pick up their weekly allotments. The next step is to go online to the Local Harvest web site (link below). Local Harvest is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable agriculture and acts as a national clearing house connecting farmers and end users.

But whatever you do, you've got to act fairly quickly. Getting produce from a CSA is a commitment you need to make well in advance of the growing season. The process of joining a CSA will vary slightly from group to group, but generally, they all ask for the money up front (to pay for seed etc.). The price of a membership is generally $350 for a half membership, that means taking half a bushel a week and about $600 for a full membership that guarantees you a full bushel of fresh goodies every week. That's about 50 pounds of produce. Now for the average family of four, that's very doable. I know several people, who are too busy to worry about cooking 50 pounds of produce a week, split the membership with one or two neighbors. Most CSA's will start delivering the end of May and continue until the growing season ends or mid October, whichever is later.

Local organic and sustainable food that's reasonably priced is possible. You just need to do a little homework and be ready to make a commitment.

More Info on CSA's :

Local Harvest.org

Minnesota Department of Agriculture

Harmony Valley Farm

Rock Spring Farm

Molecular Gastronomy, Isn't It Really Just Culinary Boredom?

Are we so bored with our food that we need to find new and sometimes freaky ways to deliver the very same flavors we've gotten extremely used to over the last millennium of eating? I understand the artistry behind Molecular Gastronomy but I've always wondered why it was neccessary for the diner to surrender himself to the experience in order to partake in the particular "magic" the kitchen was producing. Now I've yet to make my way to El Bulli outside Barcelona, Ferran Adria's world class restaurant and undisputed Mecca of MG. (It is a primary mission in my life by the way to get there) I gladly join the throngs of culinarians hailing Ferran Adria as a genius. After all, he was the brave and forward thinking first cook to imagine the possibilities of this new way of cooking. I'm not calling all the other disciple of the practice charlatans either. Wily Dufrense and Grant Achatz are among the elite club of molecular practitioners who deserve every bit of praise they've received. They are just a few of the artistic pioneers who truly understand this new art form and have helped pushed it's boundaries like any good visionary artists should. But (and its a big one folks) the process put forth, first by the master himself Ferran adria of El Bulli, was to perform this culinary prestidigitation in a two and sometimes three hour showcase comprised of several dozen tastings, one more spectacular than the other. Each dish a work of art on to itself. In his pictorial journal "A Day At El Bulli", you begin to understand the hard work and dedication it takes to be an artist of his metal. But I always wondered tow things. Why can't the guest order from a menu and why are so many of the dishes artsy analogs of ordinary food.

Jose Andres has finally broken this mold, somewhat at Bazaar. In a recent review by New York Times critic Frank Bruni, he lauds Chef Andres for finally taking that first step showcasing the cutting edge his cooking style side by side with more traditional methods. For instance, Bruni waxes poetically on a dish of old world stuffed olives paired with orbs of olive essence trapped in a thin membrane (of what we're not sure) each orb delicatley placed in its own porcelain spoon. Bruni describes this dish as an attempt by the artist/Chef to allow us to compare the two worlds of cooking side by side. Ok, but what I got out of it was why bother with the orbs of olive essence if all the Chef is trying to do is fool us into thinking these are really olives. Why not just give me olives!! The way I see it it's kind of like trying to make a violin sound like a french horn. Sure it may be possible on some level, but why try. If you want to listen to a French horn, play a French horn. If you want to eat an olive...well you get the point.

So is it just culinary boredom that's opened this window into a world where Chefs try make things taste and look like their real counterparts? Wily Dufesne is famous for his eggs. Concoctions made of coconut whites and mango yolks, ok that's fun but what's the point other than the novelty. Great cooking should be more than just novelty. The last real breakthrough in cuisine was nearly 100 years ago when August Escoffier took us from the pomp and contrived cooking of Careme to the style of cooking we have today. Escoffier's cuisine demanded the Chef must understand the flavors, textures and characters of his ingredients. A cuisine who's simple rules demanded that everything on the plate be edible and the presentation of the food be recognizable as food. As an artistic force Molecular Gastronomy is expected to break these rules. All I've got to say is why? If it's art for art's sake, then I understand. But a cuisine needs to be more than that if it's going to be called cooking. Sure it's beautiful, fun, different and new...but for now I see it taking the same path as Nouvelle Cuisine that made a big splash nearly 40 years ago, then faded into anonymity leaving behind a method for making lighter sauces (good) and a presentation style (bad) that still reverberates like a fading echo through the kitchens of many old school Chefs. Molecular Gastronomy may be hurtling towards the same fate faster than Nouvelle Cuisine ever did because the specialized tools, equipment and chemicals are expensive and inaccessible to the average Chef. Besides in the latest issue of Saveur, their Dining in America issue, they listed their 12 restaurants that mattered. Not one sported a kitchen with a tank of liquid nitrogen.

 

Technorati Tags: Molecular Gastronomy,Ferran Adria,Wily Dufresne,Grant Achatz,Nouvelle Cuisine,cooking,cuisine

All Things Irish

I cant' tell you how often I've seen this twisted nose look on people's faces whenever I talk about Irish cuisine. The general consensus out there, even by some Irish ex-pats, is that there is no such thing. To them an Irish kitchen is where you go to boil your food...and not much else. I can't tell you how far from the truth that is. Irish cooks have a rich tradition of cooking with some of the best local ingredients you can ask find anywhere. Produce of all sorts, fish and seafood from the North Sea, pasture grazed beef, etc etc. Once I started to dig deep into research, I found flavorful, heart warming foods that truly reflected the Irish culture of hospitality. Fortunately we're seeing a growth of Irish pubs and restaurants, not only around the Twin Cities but around the world. Irish food is breaking out of the boiled corned beef and cabbage mold.

So with that and the advent of St. Patrick's day just around the corner, here are some old classic Irish recipes. And yes, one is for corned beef, but it's got a twist. Raise a pint and head for the kitchen, you may see what I see in the flavors of Ireland.

Irish Brown Soda Bread

Makes 1 large loaf

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 cups All Purpose or Bread Flour
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Baking soda
1 Tsp. Brown Sugar
2 ¼ cups Buttermilk

Pre-heat oven to 400°

Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Scoop up handfuls and allow to drop back into the bowl to aerate the mixture. Add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough. Now work quickly as the buttermilk and soda are already reacting. Knead the dough lightly - too much handling will toughen it, while too little means it won't rise properly.

Form a round loaf about as thick as your fist. Place it on a lightly-floured baking sheet or in a lightly floured 10 inch cake pan and cut a cross in the top with a floured knife. Bake near the top of a pre-heated oven, 400°, for 45 - 55 minutes. When baked, the loaf will sound hollow when rapped on the bottom with your knuckles. Wrap immediately in a clean kitchen towel to stop the crust hardening too much.

Serve warm.

Colcannon

Serves 4

1 lb. Cooked mashed potatoes (season well with salt and pepper and add a pinch of ground nutmeg or mace if you like) Also, make sure your Hot, cooked potatoes have been mashed and beaten till light and fluffy with the addition of 1/2 cup warmed milk.

1 lb. Well cooked (no time for al denté here) shredded cabbage or Kale

2 small Leeks, or spring onions finely chopped
1 oz. Unsalted butter plus some extra butter for serving

Salt and pepper

Fry the leek or onions very gently in the butter until softened. Then add the cabbage, coating them with all the buttery juices. Heat through and then add the contents of the frying pan to the hot mashed potato. Check for seasoning, this dish needs salt and a good grind of black pepper.
Serve in a warm dish, hollowing the center a little and add some extra butter in the hollow to slowly melt into the vegetables

 

Boxty Cakes

(Potato Griddle Cakes)

Serves 8

1/2 pound Raw potato

1/2 pound Mashed potato

2 cups Plain flour

1 ½ cups (approx.) Milk

1 large Egg

Kosher salt and Fresh ground black pepper

Grate raw potatoes and mix with the cooked mashed potatoes. Add salt, pepper and flour. Beat egg and add to mixture with just enough milk to make a batter that will drop from a spoon. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a hot griddle or frying pan. Cook over a moderate heat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve with a tart apple sauce: or as part of an Ulster Fry, with fried bacon, fried sausage, fried eggs, fried black pudding, fried bread, fried soda bread...

 

Irish Whiskey Glazed Corned Beef

Serves 8

2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
¾ cup dark molasses
1/3 cup honey
3 oz Irish whiskey
Combine ginger, molasses, honey and Irish whiskey. Heat over low heat to infuse ginger, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve at room temperature.

7 lbs. Corned Beef, Boiled and trimmed

1 cup Whiskey glaze

1 cup Brown Sugar

Coat the beef on all sides with the whiskey glaze. Arrange the beef in a baking pan with about 2 inches of water. Rub half the sugar into the top of the beef. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, turn the corned beef and coat with more glaze and the remaining brown sugar. Return the pan to the oven, without the foil cover. Bake 30 minutes more. Remove the beef from the oven and tent with foil to keep warm. Slice and serve with Colcannon or Boxty Cakes and Soda bread.

Download and Print  Irish Recipes

Kitchen Knife Essentials

This is the first in a series of guest articles about various kitchen essentials from my friends at Cookware.com.

Posted by; Jon

There are a few essentials that every chef needs.  If you’re outfitting a gourmet kitchen on a limited budget, the first things you put on your list will probably be cookware sets and baking pans.  I would argue that your first and best purchase for an affordable gourmet kitchen should be a good set of knives, and more specifically, a good chef’s knife and paring knife. 

What constitutes a good chef’s knife?  You should look for a knife that provides a good rocking motion for chopping vegetables and mincing garlic and herbs.  The handle should feel good in your palm, and be easy to clean.  Smooth plastic handles are generally easier to sterilize than wood.

A paring knife is another kitchen essential to select carefully.  A small paring knife is perfect for peeling fruits and veggies, cutting tomatoes, or doing detailed tasks with precision, like deveining shrimp.  Look for a flexible, sharp blade and a comfortable handle.  A paring knife doesn’t need to be expensive to be good!

Investing in a good knife requires some maintenance, so be prepared to care for your knives carefully.  Purchase a good knife sharpening kit, or do what top chef’s do and send your knives to a local sharpener at least twice a year, and more often if you’re an avid cook and use your knives heavily.   Be sure to practice safe knife handling, and keep a first-aid kit handy when working with sharp knives.

Good knives should be stored safely so that the blade is protected and maintains its sharp edge.  You can make your own knife sheaths using a piece of cardboard and some staples.  Just fold the cardboard over the knife, with the fold on the blade edge, and staple at the top. 

Starting your kitchen with a good chef’s knife and paring knife will prepare you well for most culinary adventures.  If you’re able to expand your knife collection beyond the bare essentials, slicing knives, serrated knives and a Santoku knife should be your next additions.