Supper's Ready

Attack of the Lobster!

2008-06-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

I have to confess, I'm not a lobster fan. Give me shrimp, fried clams, calamari if you must, mussels in a pinch, but forget lobster. Part of this goes back to my time attending Sayville United Methodist Church. They used to hold a "Clam Fest" fundraiser on the Saturday of Sayville's Summerfest weekend (August 1-3, 2008). We'd spend several days cooking endless gallons of clam chowder and bake countless clam pies; and on Clam Fest day we'd take orders for Lobster dinners. One year I brought one home for my wife and managed to spill it on the floor mat of my car. Let's just say that you cannot get the smell of lobster out of automotive upholstery - I had to buy new floor mats! You know how hot your car gets during the month of August; well add in "eau de homard" and you've got yourself a real smelly situation. I've never been able to stand the smell of cooking lobster since.

Back in 2007 my older brother introduced one of his grandsons to a lobster, and from the attached picture it looks like it wasn't a happy event!

Earlier this year I was doing a series of cooking classes for a client, and pretty soon he wanted to learn about cooking lobster. I bought the wee beasties, put them on ice in a cooler and headed to the client's home. The client's young son, maybe all of three years old, was home and wasn't content to leave his dad alone to cook with the chef. Somewhat sadistically (must run in the family) I suggested he introduce his son to the contents of the cooler, figuring the child would beat a hasty retreat once the lobsters started moving, thereby letting us get on with our cooking. Just to show you how much I know about children, the kid couldn't keep his hands off the lobster, wanting to pet it and pick it up! Mom eventually took the boy out to run some errands, and his father & I cooked the lobsters. Upon his return the child resumed pestering his father, so I tried to divert his attention back to the lobsters, which were now fully cooked, red & steamy, resting on the kitchen table. I got my wish in dramatic fashion - the boy ran screaming from the room, now terrified of them!

You can't blame me, though; I'm simply a product of my education. During a seafood lesson at my culinary school, the instructor - a sarcastic French chef who probably watches each episode of "Hell's Kitchen" with glee - introduced our class to the technique of 'hypnotizing a lobster'. He stood the thing on its head and rubbed it, causing it to completely relax. A bizarre concept I grant you, but when butchering meat you want the animal to be as calm and relaxed as possible; it is said that agitation can cause the meat to come out tough (in the beef industry it can definitely cause a "dark cutting" where the meat turns deep purple instead of bright red). Anyway, our sadistic chef then simultaneously described how to dispatch the lobster while rather loudly thumping the thing flat onto a cutting board and driving a knife through its head. This caused all the girls in the class to swoon, and no doubt gave our Gallic goofball chef his jollies for the day.

So what have we learned today? Diapers and lobsters do NOT mix, and cooking lobster should probably be left to women, instead of men who seem to enjoy playing with the damn things!

June - Burgers and Donuts?

2008-05-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

Welcome June! Here’s to great weather and lots of time spent with family around the barbecue grill! Throw a steak on the grill to celebrate National Beef Steak Month. Or get creative and dream up the ultimate burger with a chance to win $50,000 in the “Build a Better Burger with Sutter Home” contest www.buildabetterburger.com now through August 18. What could be better with the ultimate burger than a cold glass of iced tea (yep, it’s National Iced Tea Month).

If your sweet tooth is calling you, go ahead, have a donut on the first Friday in June – it’s the Salvation Army’s National Donut Day. You may well ask “why donuts?” Back during World War I, some Salvation Army personnel, including women, were sent to the front lines in Europe. They conducted religious services, held concerts, and provided a “home away from home” for our soldiers. From limited rations, they chose to make donuts as a special treat, frying up to 9,000 each day. During subsequent wars, a donut from the Salvation Army has been a comforting treat for many a soldier.

Some other reasons to celebrate in June:

National Flag Day June 14

Father's Day June 15 (always the third Sunday in June)

Native Americans call the full moon in June (18th) the Strawberry Moon - local straws are at their peak around then, so why not enjoy Strawberry Shortcake for dessert that night? I hesitate to suggest a single recipe for Strawberry Shortcake because there are so many different versions: my family always had it with a slightly sweet biscuit (Bisquick, until I became a chef), but some people use spongecake, angelfood cake, and sometimes even just yellow cake. Fresh berries are a must - frozen just won't cut it here. Then add whipped cream. Any way you choose to make it, enjoy this ephemeral taste of summer!

Food Fun in the Merry Merry Month of May

2008-04-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it’s nearly May already? Winter never really happened this year, and Spring has just flown by. While for most people the summer “season” doesn’t begin until Memorial Day (from 1868-1970 Memorial Day was celebrated on May 30; since 1971 Congress has decreed it be observed on the last Monday in May), for my family the first Saturday in May has always been special – it’s Kentucky Derby Day. While I have never made the pilgrimage to Churchill Downs, my family has long joined in the festivities by enjoying a special feast, then watching race coverage on television, eagerly awaiting the bell that signals the opening of the starting gate and “they’re off!”

More often than not we prepare a variety of appetizers and hors d’oeurves. It’s a nod to the idea of watching the race from the grandstands with food in hand. My wife has absolutely no idea why Kentucky Derby day is important to me, and yet she & I have carved out our own special traditions for Memorial Day & Labor Day. I guess for her, a horserace isn’t cause for celebration. I watch a sum total of three races each year; the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. I even watch the Belmont when there is no hope for a Triple Crown winner, so I consider myself a loyal viewer!
We do share one horseracing moment, though. Back during our first year as a married couple we lived in a basement apartment. Our landlord lived in the house above us, and sound insulation was apparently never considered during construction. Our landlord was something of a gambler, and often watched the horses on television. He must have had a hot tip and bet a bundle on #7 during one particular race. From our basement abode we heard him as he watched the race, growing ever louder and more excited as the race went on – “come on 7…..faster….come on 7….COME ON 7….COME ON 7…..oh, @#$%!” We assume #7 didn’t win!

I encourage you to create your own special times with your family. Don’t wait for “the season” to begin. Start your own “Ultimate Hamburger” contest during National Hamburger Week (2nd week in May). Take a nurse to dinner on Nurse’s Day (May 6th – my wife is a nurse!). Or enjoy Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo (May 5th).

It doesn’t matter what you do, so long as there’s good food on the table and you enjoy it with family or friends!

My Wife’s Favorite Chicken Nachos (Cinco de Mayo is May 5th)
(For all my culinary training and experience, this is what my wife asks for time and again)
2 tsp olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
White corn tortilla chips
Shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 Tbsp minced cilantro
2 scallions, minced
favorite salsa, to taste

In a large skillet, heat the oil and add the chicken breasts. Cook about 5 minutes. Add garlic & lime juice, then turn chicken over. With two forks, begin shredding the chicken as it continues to cook. When all the meat is shredded and fully cooked (no longer pink), remove from heat.
On a microwave-safe plate, make a single layer of tortilla chips. Top with shredded chicken. Add a good handful of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Sprinkle with cilantro & scallions. Finally add a few dollops of your favorite salsa. Microwave on high for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted. Serves 4-6.

March should be Duncan Hines Month

2008-03-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

March is a great month for food promotions, from marketing co-ops hyping National Frozen Food Month, to the federal government designating the second week of March as National School Breakfast Week. There are “extremist” groups as well, promoting the evils of caffeine during National Caffeine Awareness Month® (those of you who can’t function without your morning cup are most certainly aware!) to a call for vegetarianism and saving animals on The Great American Meat Out Day (March 20, or the first day of spring).

And you thought there were only St. Patrick’s Day and the obligatory corned beef & cabbage dinner!

However, there is another food-story during March that few Americans know: Duncan Hines was born (March 26, 1880) and died (March 15, 1959) during this month. You didn’t realize Duncan Hines was a real person? Not surprising, considering the attention given Betty Crocker (a purely fictional persona).

The biography Duncan Hines: The Man Behind the Cake Mix by Louis Hatchett provides a fascinating look at the life of arguably the most powerful man on the American food scene during the mid 20th century. Although slightly dry and scholarly (it started as Mr. Hatchett’s thesis for his Master’s degree), the book is definitely worth seeking out. It provides glimpses of American life from 1936-1959 that are in many ways still relevant to us in 2008. We still purchase travel guides to help us find lodgings and restaurants (think Fodor’s and Zagat), and we still purchase convenience foods to make our lives easier (think Duncan Hines cake mixes).

Duncan Hines was a salesman and his hobby was seeking out good, local places to eat during his travels. Other salesmen who knew of Hines’ hobby eagerly sought his advice on where they might a good meal. Demand for this information eventually forced him to publish it in the form of a guide book, and in 1936 he self-published Adventures in Good Eating, a guide to roadside restaurants. The success of his book was predicated on the trust people placed in his recommendations. Duncan Hines did not accept paid endorsements from any restaurant, and went to great lengths to ensure that those establishments he recommended had consistently good food and sanitary kitchens. Why should this have been so important? Back in those days, refrigeration and widespread food safety knowledge were not the norm. Travelers who ate in restaurants literally took a chance with their lives; death from food poisoning was not uncommon. (This may sound almost comical to today’s traveler, who typically partakes of chain restaurant food, regulated by public health departments nationwide.) If a restaurant refused his request to inspect their kitchen he not only would not recommend it, he would not even eat there. So great was his influence on public opinion that both the restaurant industry and the hotel/motel industry were forced to maintain his high standards, or risk losing the patronage of his readers, often representing a significant portion of their business.

A natural companion guide, Lodging for a Night was published in 1938. Both guides experienced tremendous sales at the close of World War II, when returning GI’s and the general public took to the American roads with renewed vigor.

In 1939 he published a cookbook, Adventures in Good Cooking and the Art of Carving in the Home, featuring recipes from the restaurants he recommended in his guide books, a fairly unique format at the time.

The Duncan Hines that most of us know, the name on the box of cake mix, did not come about until he was 68 years old. Hines agreed to lend his endorsement to a variety of food products – over 60 brands ranging from bread to canned pears. However the first Duncan Hines branded product to hit store shelves was ice cream, not cake mix. Imagine, Duncan Hines was the nation’s first super-premium ice cream!

In 1956 Procter & Gamble purchased Duncan Hines (yes it was happening even back then), eventually selling the brand to Aurora Foods in 1998. The brand was sold again in 2004 to Pinnacle Foods and the product line is limited to cake, brownie, muffin & cookie mixes; canned frostings, and the new “oven ready” brownies.

Though “big business” appears to have dealt rather roughly with the brand name Duncan Hines, his native state of Kentucky and Pinnacle Foods (as a financial sponsor) treat the memory of the person rather well. Bowling Green, the town he was born & died in, pays homage to their native son with the “Duncan Hines Festival” (August 14-16, 2008), and since 2007 The Kentucky Library and Museum has featured the exhibit “Recommended by Duncan Hines” where visitors can learn about “the man behind the cake mix”.

Cooking for One

2008-01-15T07:35:00.000-08:00

Possibly the greatest challenge people face in the kitchen is cooking for just one or two people. Why should this be so difficult? You know what you like to eat, so you don't have to worry about comments from the peanut gallery like "you KNOW I don't like fettucine!". What then, is the problem?

For those who don't like or don't want leftovers, simply finding a recipe that is written for one or two portions is a challenge. With a little math, you could easily halve the recipe, which could be very easy or a real pain, depending on the recipe. People invariably ask "How do I get 1/2 of an egg?". That's simple enough, though some will view it as wasteful: Take one egg and beat it, like if you were making scrambled eggs. Now simply pour 1/2 of the egg into your recipe. Toss out the remainder, or store it for tomorrow's breakfast. Therein lies the biggest objection to halving a recipe: even if you will not have leftovers from the meal, you will very likely have leftovers from the ingredients. Half an egg, half a can of chicken stock. Food companies do not, for the most part, package ingredients in small quantities. They certainly package prepared foods in single serving portions, but not ingredients.

Now, I am one of those who embrace leftovers, that buys the larger size container because it is more economical. But it is only economical if you can actually use the entire large container; if you forget about it and it spoils in the refrigerator you haven't realized any savings at all. A little planning goes a long way. Maybe you'll use half the ingredient in a recipe this week. Will you use that ingredient in another recipe later this week? Next week? If not, can the leftover ingredient be frozen?

I'm sorry to have to tell you, but cooking even simple recipes does require some planning, some thought. If you are unwilling to make that kind of commitment, then you face two choices: eat out, or head to the frozen entrée section of your grocery store!

For those of you who want to cook just one or two portions, here are some tips:

1. Halve a recipe yielding four portions. I recommend writing directly in your cookbook (assuming you own it) right next to each ingredient, so that you are not doing the math on the fly, when it is all too easy to forget to halve an ingredient (been there, done that).

In addition to halving the ingredients, don't forget to consider the size of the pots & pans the recipe uses. If it calls for sauteeing four chicken breasts in a large skillet, but you are only cooking one or two, you'll want to use a smaller skillet. There are a couple of reasons for this: one, too large a pan will get excessively hot and could burn the food; two, if you are creating a sauce in the same pan, the halved ingredients will be "lost" in the large pan, and could easily
evaporate away to nothing, leaving you with a ruined meal.

2. What to do about ingredients? Probably the most difficult part of cooking for one or two is buying ingredients in small enough quantities.
Meats: You can buy individual steaks and chops; but you'll likely have to buy three or four chicken breasts (simply freeze what you don't use). You could always ask the butcher if they'd repackage just the quantity you need; they'll simply use the leftover in the next "family pack". Just realize they are not likely to cut open meats that were prepacked before they reach the store. If the butcher is uncooperative, ask the management.
Seafood: very easy, whether fresh or frozen. Fresh fish is usually sold in small packages just right for one or two portions. Frozen fillets and frozen shrimp often come in 2- or 4-lb bags. Simply store them in the freezer and thaw only one fillet or exactly how many shrimp you want.
Fresh Produce: What if a recipe calls for just one carrot, and you don't want to buy an entire one-pound bag? Check the fresh salad bar - they will likely have a variety of fresh vegetables (pre-cut, so you'll need to do even less work) and you can take exactly how much you need! Yes, a bit more expensive than buying in bulk, but to you it may be worth it.
Canned Goods: First, is it something that may be found on that salad bar? A recipe may call for a little bit of black olives but you don't want to buy a whole can. Many salad bars sell olives. Is it a pickled product, like marinated artichoke hearts? After being opened, these jars will keep quite a while in the refrigerator. Can the leftover be frozen? Half a can ofchicken stock can be frozen; if you like to cook, you'll probably need more stock soon!

3. Get a cookbook written for one or two servings. That's right, they exist! Visit your library or bookstore. Eating Well magazine (www.eatingwell.com) has a book titled "Eating Well Serves Two", and also has a monthly column "Serves Two" written expressly for two servings.

Curses! Foiled again!

2008-01-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

So I'm going after a chocolate bar the other night. I've been dieting with my wife the past three months, and it isn't bad. After the first two weeks, I'd lost the terrible cravings for snacks and sweets. I've even lost over 10 lbs. But every once in a while, something short-circuits in my brain and I've just gotta snack. This was a chocolate moment (as opposed to the "I'm-watching-college-football-bowl-games-and-I-NEED-Cheetos" type of moment) and I hit my emergency stash. Now, I don't know about you, but my stash is located in the drawer where I keep my sweaters. Convenient enough that I can access it at a moment's notice, yet out of sight, because while my brain is fully convinced about dieting, my eyes betray me every time.

First you have to get past the colorful paper wrapper. Fine, I KNOW what brand of chocolate this is; what I need is to EAT this chocolate soon! Now you have to get past the aluminum wrapper. Foil so thin it appears to be way thinner than the roll of Reynold's in the kitchen. And here comes the problem: it won't tear. There is less than 1/100th of an inch separating me from chocolate bliss, and THE BLASTED FOIL WON'T TEAR OPEN!!

This is in such drastic contrast to using aluminum foil to wrap your leftovers. You can make a pretty nice cover over your leftovers, nice shiny smooth top, edges crimped under to make a nice tight seal, protecting your meal from who knows what inside your refrigerator (maybe from unexpected company?) So let's say you want to actually eat some of those leftovers, instead of just admiring the shiny aluminum. And let's say you know you won't be able to eat all the leftovers (creating left-over leftovers?, or would that be leftovers squared?) so you will want to re-use the nice shiny aluminum foil. So you go about carefully un-crimping the foil from the edges of your dish. And that's when it usually happens. The foil tears, and bang goes your ability to re-use that piece. Even if it doesn't tear (which it probably will) I defy you to replace that foil on your dish and have it make a nice tight cover. It just doesn't work. Which is why I use storage containers with lids, or sometimes plastic wrap (and why does regular Saran Wrap not cling to your dish, but Saran Cling Wrap works great? What good is regular Saran Wrap?) .

But getting back to the point (you're surpised that there IS a point?) why is it that when I WANT to keep the food covered with foil it will tear if I so much as look at it, but when I want to unwrap a bar of chocolate in a hurry, that aluminum foil displays the tensile strength of steel?
This is the kind of stuff that just drives me round the bend. Other people concern themselves with more important laws of physics, or get government grants to study the effects of say, cows belching, and get principles named after them to be remembered for centuries.

So here goes, Burgess' principle #44 - Aluminum foil, when used to wrap chocolate, takes on many of the properties of Kevlar, owing to a molecular-level reaction between it and the chocolate it is wrapped around.

All government agencies interested in providing grant money to further research this phenomenon may send checks to the usual location.

Apologies to Reynold's and Saran Wrap; you make wonderful, life enhancing products. Feel free to pay me scandalous amounts of money to endorse same.

Sadly, some chocolate was hurt during the making of this blog. Not to worry, it was eaten in the most humane way possible.

Men's Health Living Article

2007-12-02T05:05:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to tell you that I got my first mention in a nationally published magazine!
Men's Health Living, a splinter magazine from the publishers of Men's Health, has an article in the Winter/Spring 2008 issue featuring my turkey roasting technique.
To be mentioned on the same page as Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin is an honor indeed.
The article is aimed at getting all you guys who love summer grilling to keep on cooking during the winter - using your oven.
So come on all you guys out there - turn on the oven (hey, with the cost of heating oil, it will help warm up the house!) and get cooking!

You've got a pear...

2007-11-23T07:51:00.000-08:00

I'm a big fan of pears. Pears are the unsung hero of the autumn produce section of your local grocery store. Sure, there are dozens of apple varieties; apples have a better PR rep. But pears, ah pears, these require more than a casual fondling to check for bruising. No, pears require, nay DEMAND, a more intense relationship. They may appear inviting on the display, yet when brought home they may resist ripening. Or they may present an appetizing exterior, only to reveal a heart riddled by decay.

Yes, pears are almost certainly female, luring us in with tempting curves and succulent fragrance, whetting our desires only to disappoint us at the crucial moment.

Pears suffer from identity crises that an apple would never stand for. People invariably think of pears in terms of color: "green, brown and red". Oh, and "those cute little ones..." Would a Granny Smith apple stand for generic identification as a "green apple"? I tell you no, it would not.

Neither should you settle for an anonymous pear. There's more to a pear than its color. Here's a quick buyer's guide.

1. "Green pears" - often considered the pear for eating out-of-hand

D'Anjou - gently rounded often without a "neck", stays green even when ripe. This pear also cooks well.

Bartlett - smaller than a D'Anjou, the bartlett is the most common variety found in canned pears. Turns yellow when ripe. Bruises very easily. Known as "Williams" pear outside of the US.
This is what the eau-de-vie "poire Williams" is made from.

Packham - distinctively "chunky" looking, closer to a Bartlett, slightly different season.

Comice - typically much larger and of a short, round shape, the Comice is often called the "queen of pears" and frequently commands high prices in the produce department. It has delicious flesh but when overripe, it can have an overbearing floral scent.

2. "Brown pears" - generally considered a cooking pear

Beurre Bosc - Up until a few years ago, there was just the brown Bosc variety. Unripe it has a greenish tinge underneath the brown skin, which is quite thick and tannic. When ripe the tinge changes to yellow giving the pear a more golden brown appearance.

Taylor Gold - discovered in 1986, New Zealand began exporting this wonderful new brown pear. It is thought to be either a natural mutation of the green Comice pear, or a cross between a green Comice and a brown Bosc. Available during the summer in North America, this is a FANTASTIC eating pear with juicy flesh and lots of floral scent. I prefer to peel mine, finding the peel distasteful. I'd much rather eat this pear than it's green cousin.

3. “Red pears” - often identified only by color, the average consumer might not realize there are several distinct varieties

Red D'Anjou – Discovered in the 1970's, most texts simply regard it as a red colored cousin of the green D'Anjou. I disagree, and hold the red D'Anjou as my second favorite pear, behind the Taylor Gold.

Stark Crimson – an eating pear, with smooth flesh and a bright red skin.

Red Bartlett – Considered nearly identical in flavor to a green Bartlett "the small pears" - diminutive in size, considered a good snacking fruit.

4. "the SMALL pears" - small & very sweet, great for eating and for fruit & cheese platters

Forelle - green with a red blush in a distinctive pattern reminiscent of a Rainbow trout (trout translates into "forelle" in German). Green area turns yellow as it ripens. Very sweet.

Seckel - green with a red blush. Very sweet.