mizchef

posted by admin on Oct 8

I was visiting a friend in Alabama this weekend and the Alabama National Fair was just getting underway. (Not the State Fair—that, apparently, is a different thing). Anyway, my friend and I went and our one goal was to check out a new dish we’d heard about, the most heinous of culinary concoctions: the donut burger.

What is a donut burger? you might ask. It is a beef burger with bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion sandwiched between a split, glazed Krispy Kreme donut.  I kid you not. The inventor of this monstrosity clearly was not taking into consideration the national obesity epidemic.

Seriously, this burger clocks in at 1,500 calories. The average person who engages in moderate activity should be consuming approximately 2,000 calories per day. This thing uses up three quarters of your daily calories, and with the best possible elements!

So, that’s the health aspect. Let’s talk about the culinary aspect of it. It’s a sugary glazed donut on beef, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and onion. Um, I’m sorry but I just don’t get the appeal. But then I also don’t get the appeal of pineapple on pizza, bacon in ice cream, or cumin in candy. Maybe it’s just me but one does not go with the other.

This abomination was supposedly invented by a bar owner in Decatur, Georgia, who ran out of buns for his burgers and grabbed some donuts to sandwich the meat patties in. Now, some of the best culinary inventions happened by chance. Take, for example, the ice cream cone: For that wonderful summer treat, we have some quick-thinking vendors at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. According to legend, an ice cream vendor ran out of cups and took waffles from a waffle vendor, rolled them up, and put his ice cream in them, thus creating a permanent fixture in the culinary landscape. Another example would be the ice cream soda, invented in 1874 by Robert M. Green, who ran out of ice for his sodas at his eatery and started using ice cream, hoping it would go unnoticed, and instead created a much-loved American beverage.

Somehow, I don’t think this accidental gastronomic creation known as the donut burger was quite as serendipitous as those others. Or as appetizing. Some things were meant to be; some things should never be.

What cracks me up is that the concession sign at the fair boasted: “Fresh, Never Frozen.” As if this was supposed to make me want to eat it. “Oh, wow, it’s fresh, not frozen! Well, then, it must be of the finest quality and good for you, too!”

Right. And next I’ll head out to Wisconsin where I hear they have chocolate-covered bacon on a stick.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

posted by admin on Aug 21

Anyone out there from Hawaii? I heard about the Hawaiian Chip Company and have been wondering if their products are as good as they sound?

Their sweet potato/taro chip mix sounds good and so does the barbecue taro chips. Just curious.

posted by admin on Jun 27

Phew! My mid-terms at the Natural Gourmet Institute are finally over.  I can take a breather, at least for a little while. Then I have to start prepping for my finals because there’s a lot I need to know. (By the way, have you checked out my blog about Greenmarkets over at the NGI blog site? Click HERE.)

The exam was in two parts: a practical and a written. For the practical, we had to make creamy carrot soup, a salad with a vinaigrette, and a poached pear. For the most part, I thought everything came out really well, except that my vinaigrette was too salty. Precisely the things that I thought I had done wrong was pointed out by the instructor:

1. My soup was too thick. (I didn’t know if we were allowed to get more stock. I should have asked and the fact that I didn’t is my own mistake However, my personal feeling is that cream soups should have some body to them, and I thought mine was perfect.)

2. My vinaigrette was too salty. (I forgot to taste it first, and as I’m putting it on my salad, I realized my mistake. I tasted it and it was waaaay too salty. But I would have had to make a whole new salad at that point and time was running out.)

3. As I pureed my soup, I thought about putting my towel over the top, the way they pointedly told us to. I thought about it, but didn’t do it. I knew I’d get nailed for it. And I did.

But he also said that my soup was a little starchy and that he would not have ground the spices into the soup the way I had.  While it gave the soup a nice complexity, he said, it dulled the color of the soup. I disagreed―I thought my soup was a lovely creamy orange color. But I kept my mouth shut because what I thought didn’t matter.

On the other hand, the apple juice that my pears were cooking in dried out too soon and I had to add more, and I thought for sure that he would deduct points for that. I don’t think he did. Phew!

As for the written exam, I’ll find out probably on Saturday.

Today I was finally able to get back to my hunt for untried foods. And I wasn’t disappointed. I found a black velvet apricot. It was truly almost black, with almost the appearance of being coated with charcoal. The actual color is really more a deep purple, and when you

Pluot (Foothill Produce Farm)

bite into it, a winey hue lines the underside of the skin and tints the flesh. It was juicier and a tad sweeter than regular apricots, as if a dose of plum had been shot into it. (Oh, wait, they’ve already done that. Those are pluots.)

I love finding new foods. It’s like going on an exotic adventure without having to check your luggage.

posted by admin on Jun 2

The other day, a co-worker of mine walked into the office with a mesh bag full of some kind of round, dark fruit. I knew it was fruit because of the kind of mesh bag it was and because this person is always bringing in interesting foods to eat. Her background is Asian, so she can be relied upon to bring in things like Malaysian sweets, Chinese noodles, and natto (Japanese fermented soybeans).

So, she came up to my desk and pulled out one of these fruits and handed it to me.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Mangosteen,” she responded.

Mangosteen?! No way. I’d been hearing about this exotic fruit for years but had never actually had one. The reason is that up until 2007, mangosteens were banned from the U.S. The FDA feared that mangosteens harbored the Asian fruit fly and would damage American crops. The ban was lifted because —and here’s the sad part—the FDA approved irradiated mangosteens, which means that gamma rays are shot through the fruit to kill bacteria and pests. So, while it’s great to have access to this fruit, there’s a price we pay for it.

But even after the ban, I still never saw any because they are very hard to find, and if you do find them, be prepared to pay a hefty price. My friend paid $20 for the bag she brought in, which probably held about 10 mangosteens. However, it’s not unheard of to see $45 a pound. Originally from Southeast Asia, the mangosteen is believed to be an antiinflmmatory, and it can be found as a juice, in cans, and frozen.

I didn’t try the mangosteen right then and there. I decided to take it home, where I could really experience it (and take pictures of it). The outer shell looks thick and hard, and it is. But you’d be surprised and how fragile it is. I was told to smash it with the palm of my hand to break it open, but it took a lot less force that I thought was needed. The shell is a purplish color, much like an eggplant (although, it also comes in reddish hues). The inside of the shell is ruby red, and the flesh is white and separated into segments, like an orange. A couple of my segments were smashed from the force of my hand, but its flavor was unaffected. And what was its flavor?

It was like nothing I’ve ever tasted. It was creamy, juicy, and delectably sweet with a flavor that was―to me―a cross between a sweet plum and a ripe strawberry. It was truly a treat for my tongue. And although it’s called The Queen of Fruit because Queen Victoria offered 100 pounds sterling to anyone who could deliver to her fresh mangosteens, it’s tempting to think that it was nicknamed that because it truly deserves royal status.

For some great mangosteen recipes, visit Samartfoods.com. They have a Mangosteen Yogurt Panna Cotta, Mangosteen and Lime Sorbet, and Mangosteen Jelly. Below is their recipe for Mangosteen Mousse. But before you try out any recipes, have a mangosteen fresh. It truly is the Queen of Fruit.

Mangosteen Mousse

Ingredients:
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin
¼ cup mangosteen juice*
2 cups Mangosteen Puree
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

In a medium saucepan, combine gelatin with ¼ cup of the mangosteen juice. Stir to soften, about 1 minute

Cook over low heat 1 to 2 minutes until gelatin dissolves. Add Mangosteen Puree and cook, stirring, over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Remove mixture from heat and set aside to cool completely.

In a large bowl, beat the cream, sugar, and salt until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

Whisk in vanilla extract.

Whisk about ½ cup of the cream mixture into the cooled mangosteen mixture until fully incorporated.

Add about a quarter of the mangosteen mixture to the whipped cream, whisking until fully incorporated.

Repeat 3 more times until all of the mangosteen mixture has been incorporated into the cream.

Spoon mixture into small individual serving dishes and chill until set, at least 2 hours. Makes about 8 cups.

*Note: This is not in the original recipe ingredients list, but it appears in the instructions, so I added it. To make the puree, juice put puree mangosteen (or frozen, thawed mangosteen) in a blender until smooth.

posted by admin on Sep 9

Hi, all. If you’ve joined me here before, you know that I consider it my duty as a foodie and a food writer to experience local cuisine whenever I go anywhere. You know, when in Rome…

This time, I was visiting friends in Alabama, and here’s my foodie report.

Read the rest of this entry »

posted by admin on Jul 31

Hi, gang. How’s everyone’s summer? I know, I know. Hot. Apparently, it doesn’t matter where you live—it’s just hot. When it gets really bad for you, just remind yourself of the long, cold, bitter winters we’ve been having and maybe the heat won’t bother you as much.

Anyway, if you’ve visited my blog before, you know that I like to pick up random things sometimes and just give them a go. Well, this time it was soda. Specifically, Goya coconut soda. To some of you, it may sound strange. To others, it may sound yummy. It’s kind of both.

This coconut soda is part of Goya’s line of tropical soft drinks, and like other Goya sodas,  it comes in a long-neck bottle and has a rather tropical (of course) logo. It gives you (okay, me) the illusion that you’re drinking a beer. It’s clear in color and lightly carbonated.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but how does it taste? Like carbonated, sweetened coconut water. And like coconut water, the coconut flavor is very light, rather than overpoweringly “coconutty.” For people who like natural coconut flavor, I think you’ll like this. For those who like a strong coconut flavor, it may seem weak. The nice thing about it is that it’s not overly sweet, either.

Don’t misunderstand me. When I say “natural coconut flavor,” that doesn’t mean that it’s a natural soda. Nope. It still has high-fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors. I’m not a big soda drinker and it wouldn’t be the first thing I’d reach for, given a choice of beverages (I’d much rather drink alcohol). But I do enjoy a glass of cola with lime once in a while, and the occasional experiment with something “exotic.” To people in the Latino community, coconut soda is hardly exotic, but coming from a culture (Italian) that doesn’t use coconuts that often in its cuisine, I consider it unusual and different. Next on my Goya list is guaraná and cola champagne.

So, that’s it for this week, my friends. I hope everyone has a great (and comfortable) weekend. Ciao for now.

posted by admin on Jul 10

Hi, gang. First, I want to remind anyone in the Staten Island area that I’ll be doing a cooking demonstration on Saturday, July 17, in front of Bent Pages bookstore, at 391 Van Duzer St. July is Van Duzer Days, a month’s worth of weekend street fairs! Woohoo! Anyway, I’ll be there around 2:00, cooking up some yummies. Come taste some samples, and, if you feel like it, you can pick up a copy of my book, What, No Meat?

Now, here’s the main show: Mamey.

Read the rest of this entry »

posted by admin on Jun 11

Hi, all. Summer’s rolling in and we’re finally able to do all those things we love to do in beautiful weather. One of the nice things about summer is being able to stroll leisurely around the neighborhood after a good dinner.  (I suppose you can do that in winter, too, but who wants to?)

The other evening, I had dinner with a couple of friends in an area of Brooklyn called Carroll Gardens. It’s a really cute little area, reminiscent of Greenwich Village, only more intimate and with a “local” feel to it. Anyway, after dinner at an excellent vegan restaurant called Wild Ginger (more on that another time), we strolled Smith St. I picked up menus from restaurants I wanted to try, window shopped, and caught the strains of various types of music coming from different bars  (I really must try the Zombie Hut one of these days). On this stroll, I encountered a tiny little gourmet shop called Stinky’s Cheese. It’s aptly named, I realized as I stepped inside–the aroma of the cheeses they offer permeates the entire space.

Read the rest of this entry »

posted by admin on Jan 30

Hi, all. I hope everyone’s sage and warm in the latest wave of winter wonderland-ness that’s hitting various parts of the country and the world. All I have to say is, “BRRRRRR.” This is the kind of weather that sends people running to comfort food, stuff that’s warming and that reminds us of our childhoods. Of course, comfort food means something different to everyone.

Which brings me to my topic for this week: February is National Snack Food Month! Now, snack food is not necessarily comfort food, but for some, it is. And it’s particularly appropriate that I’m writing about snack food today because I’m craving it for an entirely different reason, and it is a source of comfort for me during those times. I think you know what I mean. Moving on…

Read the rest of this entry »

posted by admin on Oct 30

Hi, gang. I decided to do a product review this week because I enjoy trying new (or new-to-me) products on the market, and when I encounter something that could be useful to others, I like to share.

Read the rest of this entry »