posted by admin on May 14
Like all serious foodies, and chefs-in-training, I fantasize about opening up my own restaurant. Although at this point, it’s just a fantasy, in moments of melancholy, I allow myself to go down that road. So I went online to play around with restaurant design plans and found Top 10Restaurant Design Trends That need to Go. It’s interesting to see what’s going on in the restaurant world.
posted by admin on May 12
Daniel Boulud has just opened up a gourmet market called Èpicerie Boulud. It offers cheese from Brooklyn cheesemaker Anne Saxelby, charcuterie from next-door Bar Boulud, and prepared foods. It’s also a café and in the evenings, the space will transform into an oyster bar.
Èpicerie Boulud
1900 Broadway
New York, NY 10023
212-595-9606
posted by admin on May 1
I love food. There’s just no way around it. Of course, the problem with loving food is that sometimes there’s no way around ME! But I digress.
The beauty of food is that it engages all your senses: taste, feel, smell, sight, and even hearing (think about how your mouth waters when you hear that sizzling platter of fajita being brought out of a restaurant kitchen or the crack of the top of a crème brûlée when you stick your spoon into it ).
Presentation has become just as important to the dining experience as taste (Japanese have known that for centuries!) and for foodies, taking a tour through a beautiful photo gallery of food is almost as good as tasting it. So here’s a photo tour of Chef Daniel Boulud’s Hard Hat Tour & Taste: Boulud Sud and Epicurie Boulud in New York City.
(photo courtesy of Chef Daniel Boulud’s Hard Hat Tour & Taste)
posted by admin on Apr 29
I can’t believe April is over! But since it is, it’s time to start planning for those delicious May food Festivals. This list is taken from FoodReference.com, and it contains fests for the U.S. and Canada only. For international fests, visit FoodReference.com.
posted by admin on Apr 21
I had lunch with a friend today and we had Japanese food. As usual, I had a little trouble with my chopsticks. I mean, I can wield them well enough to get most of my food in my mouth but I do so quite clumsily sometimes. It’s a skill I haven’t quite mastered…yet.
So, for those of you who are like me—chopstick impaired—here a couple of websites and a video that might help. The photo at right is of disposable chopsticks in the cafeteria of Waseda University, Japan. I just found it so interesting. A western pail would contain plastic forks, spoons, knives, and <shudder> sporks.
Itadakimasu! (that’s bon appetit in Japanese)
posted by admin on Apr 12
Have a favorite food blog? You can nominate it over at Saveur’s 2011 Best Food Blog Awards. With so many of them out there, it will be tough competition. Good luck to all the nominees!
posted by admin on Mar 31
A friend and I were eating in a Japanese restaurant in the West Village this evening and we had a table by a window. The windows in this place are floor to ceiling, so it makes for great people watching. Anyway, this van pulls up to the curb and a family piles out and enters the restaurant, evidently to get some dinner to take out.
As we’re sitting there, my friend says, “You know, at this angle and with this light, it looks like the chef is cooking in that van.” I turned around and she was right! The reflection of the chef on the window was positioned in such a way that it did indeed look like he was cooking in the van. We were entertained by this for quite a while. The picture doesn’t do the illusion justice.
posted by admin on Mar 22
Hey, folks! Came across Food Reference, a great site that lists events related to food and drink around the world, provides food-related quotes, and just fun info about food.
Coming up in the next few days, for example, is the 3rd international Fair of Food, Drinks, and Innovative Gastronomy in Croatia, in conjunction with the 16th annual Fair of Wine and Equipment for Viniculture, also in Zagreb? Or how about the Craft Brewers Conference and Expo in San Francisco? The National Barbecue Association is meeting in Greenville, SC this year. And the New Orleans Roadfood Festival is coming up this weekend.
Point is, there is ALWAYS something foodish going on. So check out Food Reference to see if anything’s in your neck of the woods.
posted by admin on Mar 11
Hi, all. It’s been a long, long week. I’m finally getting over a virus that knocked me on my butt for the last couple of weeks, so my head is clear for the first time in a while. This week’s classes were fun and informative.
Saturday, lunch and dinner were delicious. We got to roast up a lot of yummy veggies—including butternut squash, potatoes, parsnips, mushroom, and carrots, plus baked apples stuffed with walnuts and raisins. We braised shallots, fennel, and endive, and made some really good baba ganouj with seasoned pita chips. (We broke up into four groups to make all these items and, judging from the instructor’s comments, I think my group made the best baba!)
We also did an experiment with mashed potatoes. The four groups mashed up some potatoes, each group using a different implement: a hand masher, a ricer, a food processor, and a food mill. The rule of thumb about not using a food processor to mash potatoes proved true—that group wound up with gluey, nasty potatoes. All the others turned out pretty well.
On Wednesday, we had a food service lecture, which was an overview of place
settings, how to serve, and the different styles of service. There are several different types of service: American, French, Russian, Wagon, Butler, Family Style, Buffet, and Fast Food/Cafeteria. The last three are obvious styles that everyone understands, but I didn’t know about the others.
These are the definitions of each style, in a nutshell:
American—Food is made completely in the kitchen and the server brings out finished food.
French—Food is partially prepared in the kitchen with final preparation done in front of guests.
Russian—Food is placed on a platter. Server then transfers the food from the platter to the guests’ plates.
Wagon—Server finishes preparation at the table. Almost like French but faster. Gives the illusion of French style. (Ex: carving the meat at the table, but no actual cooking). Also refers to the fact that food is brought out on a wagon for guests to choose from.
Butler—Combination of Russian and family-style serve-yourself.
Family Style—Large platters set on table; guests serve themselves.
Buffet—Food is prepared ahead of tine and served from steam tables.
Fast Food/Cafeteria—Self-service, pre-cooked.
Then we took a look at the different protein groups (where cooking is concerned)—that is, fish, poultry, ruminant meat (animals that chew their cud), non-ruminant meat (pigs), and dairy. It was a long night.
Anyway, I’m trying desperately to catch up on my sleep. Don’t ask me how or when I’m going to do that. So, that’s it for now. Have a great week.
posted by admin on Oct 21
Hi, fellow foodies. We are in full pumpkin swing and candy is popping up all over the place! If you haven’t already, start stocking up because those trick-or-treaters will be knocking on your door in about a week. And you don’t want your house toilet papered, do you?
For any of you having ghoulish gatherings and sinister soirees, there are lots of horrific recipes out there that will make your guests scream…or at least look twice at what they’re eating and drinking. Some good places to check out are…
Decayed Corpse Chips: Britta.com
Scary Skulls: BHG.com
If you stopped by last week, you’ll know that I promised you a recipe for pumpkin ravioli. So, if classic cooking is more your thing, go with that, rather than the demonic creations suggested by these sites. You can use canned pumpkin for the ravioli but nothing beats the flavor of fresh pumpkin.
Here’s a tip: If you and/or your kids do any pumpkin carving, use the pumpkin that’s being removed from the jack-o’-lanterns.
I say this knowing full well that processing fresh pumpkin is a bit of a job. But if you’re up for it, here’s the step-by-step process. (P.S. Make sure everyone’s hands are clean when scooping out pumpkins. Also, wash the outside of the pumpkins and make sure the utensils being used are clean, too.)
Tombstone Brownies: BHG.com
1. If you’re starting with a whole pumpkin and it’s small enough to fit in your oven, bake it. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and use a knife to poke holes all around the pumpkin (you don’t want that sucker exploding in your oven). Place it on a baking sheet and bake until you can pierce the pumpkin easily with a knife. The pumpkin may collapse and that’s okay. Remove it from the oven and let it cool. If the pumpkin is too big for your oven, cut it up and steam as instructed below.
If you’re starting with large pieces (cut from a jack-o’-lantern), cut them into chunks. Cut away the skins and fibers and put in a bowl; set aside. Place the chunks in a steamer rack and steam until soft.
2. Scoop or cut the flesh away from the skin. If it was baked, cut away the seeds and fibers and place in a bowl. Place some of the pumpkin flesh in a food processor and puree. You may need to nudge it with a rubber spatula now and then. If you need to add liquid, add as little as possible to get it going. Transfer to a bowl. Add the next batch, and so on, until all the pumpkin is pureed. Combing all the batches in the bowl.
3. Transfer the puree to a strainer set over a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least a few hours). If possible, give it a stir and let it sit in the refrigerator another day or two. It’s now ready to use in a recipe.
To Toast the Seeds:
Separate the seeds from the fibers. Discard the fibers and rinse the seeds in a strainer under cool running water. Drain well. Spread them out on a baking sheet. Sprinkle salt over them and stir. If you want, you can add seasonings to them, such as chili powder or cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
Now, without further ado, here is Pumpkin Ravioli, courtesy of Recipeland.com. Note that I’ve changed the sauce from the original Pumpkin Seed Sauce to the more traditional Butter-Sage Sauce. Also, the recipe says to use canned pumpkin, but you can substitute your own freshly made pumpkin puree. Have a great weekend, everybody.
1 cup ricotta cheese
½ cup pumpkin canned
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups flour, unbleached all-purpose
½ teaspoon salt
1/4cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large eggs
Mix the cheese, pumpkin, 1/2 tsp salt and the nutmeg. Set aside.
Mix the flour, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour. Beat the tomato paste, oil and eggs until well blended and pour into the well in the flour. Stir with a fork gradually bring the flour mixture to the center of the bowl. Do this until the dough makes a ball. If the dough is too dry, mix in up to 2 tbls of water.
Knead lightly on a floured cloth-covered surface, adding flour if dough is sticky, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for another 5 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll the dough, one part at a time, into a rectangle about 12 x 10 inches.
Drop the pumpkin mixture by 2 level tsp onto half of the rectangle, about 1 1/2-inches apart in 2 rows of 4 mounds each. Moisten the edges of the dough and the dough between the rows of pumpkin mixture with water. Fold the other half of the dough up over the pumpkin mixture, pressing the dough down around the pumpkin. Trim the edges with a pastry wheel or knife.
Cut between the rows of filling to make ravioli; press the edges together with a fork or cut with a pastry wheel sealing the edges well. Repeat with the remaining dough and pumpkin filling.
Place ravioli on towel, let stand turning once, until dry, about 30 minutes.
Cook ravioli in 4 quarts of boiling salted water (2 tsp of salt) until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes; drain carefully.
Serve the ravioli with the Butter-Sage Sauce spooned over.
Butter-Sage Sauce
8 tbsp (1 stick) butter
6 to 8 fresh sage leaves, minced
¼ tsp nutmeg
Melt the butter in a small pan. Over medium-low heat, let it sizzle until it turns brown. Add the sage and nutmeg and cook about 1 minute. Turn off the heat; keep warm until pasta is ready.
