Monday, November 21, 2011

Seasonal Pairings: Truffle, Parmesan, and Rosemary

Seasonal Pairing: Truffle and Parmesan Popcorn Paired with a Rosemary Moscow Mule

Why this pairing works: The rosemary complements the truffle and parmesan ingredients of the popcorn; the flavor of the pepper comes alive and contrasts the sweetness of the ginger beer component of the cocktail.

Recipes:

Black Truffle & Parmesan Popcorn
1/2 stick of butter
2 tblsp of truffle oil
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Preparation
1.  Melt the butter and the truffle oil over low heat or in the microwave.
2.  Take off the heat.
3.  Drizzle over popcorn, and add Parmesan cheese.

Rosemary Moscow Mule
2oz Russian Standard Vodka
4oz Ginger Beer
1oz Rosemary Syrup
Fresh Lime
Rosemary as garnish

Preparation
1.  Build in Collins glass and add thyme & fresh squeezed lime.
2.  Stir, add ice, stir again.

(Recipes supplied by entertaining expert, Linnea Johansson.)

Friday, November 18, 2011

Seasonal Pairings: Kale and Cranberry

Seasonal Pairings: Kale Salad Paired with a Sparkling Cranberry Bellini

Why this pairing works: The cranberry Bellini picks up the more subtle flavors presented in the salad.  A sparking cocktail like this is a better accompaniment for the dish than a spirits-heavy drink because of the lightness of the salad.

Recipes:

Kale, Mushroom, Hazelnut & Cranberry Salad 
1 head of kale
1 cup chopped hazelnuts
1 cup hard cheese, such as Parmesan, cut into chunks
2 cups of mushrooms
2 tbsp of olive oil
Handful of dried cranberries

Dressing:Juice from 1/2 lemon
3 tbsp of olive oil
Salt/black pepper to taste

Preparation
1.  On the stove bring a large pot of water to boil with 2 tbsp of salt in the water. Chop the head of kale into thin slices and wash well in a colander. Once the water is boiling, add the kale and let it boil for 2 minutes. Pour into the colander and cool with ice cold water, let dry. Add into a large salad bowl.
2.  Chop the hazelnuts roughly, and roast in a pan over the stove on medium heat till golden about 5 minutes. Ad to the salad bowl.
3.  In the pan, add the 2 tbsp of olive oil and sauté the mushrooms for about 7 minutes over medium heat till golden, salt and pepper lightly to taste. Ad to the salad bowl.
4.  Mix the lemon juice and olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the salad and finish with the Parmesan chunks.

Thanksgiving Bellini
1 oz Russian standard vodka
3 tables fresh cranberry sauce (with whole cranberries inside)
Sparkling Wine or Prosecco (on the dry side)

Preparation
1.  In a shaker, combine the cranberry sauce and Russian Standard vodka. Shake well till the cranberry sauce is completely dissolved.
2.  Pour with cranberries into a champagne flute, and fill with sparkling wine. The cranberries will float as decor.

(Recipes supplied by entertaining expert, Linnea Johansson.)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Seasonal Pairings: Chevre, Fig, and Agave

Seasonal Pairings: Chevre with Candied Figs, paired with a Coconut & Agave Refresher




Why this pairing works: The juices pair well with the sweetness of the fig and also work to mellow the out the rich saltiness of the goat cheese. The cocktail also contains coconut water and agave nectar which are refreshing and work to cleanse your palette after the earthy flavors of this dish.

Chevre with Candied Figs
3/4 pound chèvre or other goat cheese
4 fresh figs or 1/2 cup dried
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp of brown muscovado sugar or brown sugar

Preparation
1.  Slice the chèvre log, and place on an oven pan. Cut the figs into rounds.
2.  Pour the balsamic vinegar and sugar into a small pot, and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer until the mixture is reduced and sticks to the back of a spoon.
3.  If you are using dried figs, place them in the vinegar mixture and let them absorb some of the fluid while the mixture cools.
4.  Heat the chèvre cheese slices quickly by using your oven's broiler function for about 3 minutes, or until the cheese has slightly started to melt. Place the cheese on a serving plate, and top it with the candied figs and vinegar mixture. Serve warm.

Simplify: You can replace muscavado sugar with brown sugar, honey, or regular sugar. Always taste the mixture since the different sugars have different sweetness, and you might want to add more.

For a challenge: With their peppery honey flavor, Black Mission figs are the best money can buy. Fresh Black Mission figs are only available a few weeks out of the year, so if you happen to come across some, make compotes and freeze for later use.

Muscovado sugar: The sugar is available in light and dark flavors, and is a raw sugar made from sugar canes. Compared with regular refined sugar, it is less processed and high in mineral content. The darker sugar has a liquorish flavor, and the lighter version has a toffee flavor.

Coconut & Agave Refresher
2oz Russian Standard Vodka
2oz Coconut Water
1oz Lemon Juice
1/2oz Agave Nectar
8 Grapes

Preparation
1.  Muddle the grapes with the agave syrup.
2.  Add the lemon juice, Russian Standard Vodka.
3.  Add coconut water to a shaker and shake all with ice.
4.  Strain into a highball glass and serve.

(Recipes supplied by entertaining expert, Linnea Johansson.)

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Urban Fruit Pickers Win Grant


Awesome Food is delighted to announce its second microgrant of $1,000 has been awarded to Concrete Jungle, a volunteer-run Atlanta-based organization that distributes urban crops to homeless shelters and other charities. Concrete Jungle  is among the nearly 800 applicants from around the world for grants from Awesome Food, which made its first micro-grant award in October.

“We picked Concrete Jungle because of what they’ve picked as their expertise — finding uses for fruit across Atlanta that otherwise would go to waste,” said Micki Maynard, creator of CulinaryWoman and an Awesome Food trustee. “At every step, this awesome project is helping someone or something. It aids the environment, by keeping the trees bountiful and healthy. It helps community groups with its donations of fruit, and allows them to do their work helping the hungry.”


Concrete Jungle was started in Atlanta in 2009 by Craig Durkin and Aubrey Daniels. Durkin, Daniels and several friends had noticed a large amount of apples growing on neglected trees all over Atlanta. The group decided to an annual gathering, nicknamed Ciderfest, to turn them into apple cider. But after several years of increasing apple harvests, the scale of fresh produce going to waste in Atlanta became apparent. That led Durkin and Daniels to start the organization.


Nearing the end of its third year, Concrete Jungle has now documented nearly 1,000 fruit-bearing trees across the city, and has donated nearly 6,000 lbs of produce to local homeless shelters and charitable organizations.

“This food comes from the hundreds of fruit and nut trees growing in the Atlanta area — in yards, on the side of the road, next to buildings,” Daniels explained. “Most of these trees are untended and ignored, with their bounty being wasted to wildlife, while only miles away many poor and homeless struggle to include any fresh produce in their diet.  Concrete Jungle works to fix this sad situation in a fun and efficient way.”

Before going out on a “pick,” the group documents the tree to make sure that it is bountiful and yielding healthy fruit, Daniels explained. If it is on private land, the group gets verbal permission, and then gives the owner a heads up when the group arrives to pick the fruit.

In deciding what to donate, the group reviews how much fruit it has; whether it’s an easy fruit to work with, such as apples, or a more complicated kind, like persimmons; the size of the shelter and the work the shelter is doing. “It’s very much a utilitarian calculation with bonus points for shelters that do a good job,” Daniels said.

The grant will be used for an eclectic set of tools to make fruit picking easier and more fun: bow and arrows to get ropes over high branches; sticks made by Nerf to hit high fruit; inflatable pool rafts to cushion fruit that falls from up high; a baby pool for people to sit in while they scrub apples; and hard hats to protect from falling fruit.

In addition, with leftover money, the group hopes to buy mini-apple grinders and juices to make cider. This way they can use apples that can’t be eaten whole.

Lastly, they hope to buy fruit trees to plant in public places for future picks, which the group say they believe they can get the city to sanction.

One of Concrete Jungle’s clients is the kitchen at Mercy Community Church,  which has received about 500 pounds of fruit this year, said the church’s pastor, Maggy Leonard.

“What Concrete Jungle offers us is truly unique,” she said. “They have figured out a simple, seemingly obvious, means of addressing the problem of hunger that plagues our city.  While most of our donations come from the waste of others, Concrete Jungle offers us delicious, fresh fruit that is fit to be eaten by anyone.”


Concrete Jungle pre-sorts, checking it for worms and bruised spots, and washes the fruit it donates to the church, she said. “They do all that they can to ensure that the food will last as long as possible once they give it to us.”

The church uses the fruit both whole and in jam that is used at breakfast and lunch, Leonard said. “There is no doubt in my mind that they would do good and responsible work with grant money,” she added.


Silly Turkey

Around this time of year, many food bloggers and chefs get really serious about giving out tips for preparing for Thanksgiving.  I have some tips, but I think you'd rather see silly Thanksgiving food instead.  Am I right?






Source: womansday.com via Elle on Pinterest




Are you making anything creative for Thanksgiving, or are you sticking with the old standbys?

Thursday, October 27, 2011

For the Rest of My Life

Maine Lobster from EricIf I had to choose one food to eat for the rest of my life, it would be pork, every bit of it.  A lot of people feel that way – hey, pork is delicious! – so I started to think about what food I could go without for the rest of my life.

If I could never see, eat, or cook with a certain food again for the rest of my life, it would probably be lobster.  It is usually not prepared well, and, even when it is, it’s boring to me.  Lobster is “destined” to taste good before a chef ever comes into the picture, so it really doesn’t take much to make it delicious.  Try grilling a raw beef tongue for two minutes per side, then squirting lemon juice on it and calling it delicious.  Not going to happen. 

I can’t remember the first time I had lobster, but I can remember a specific time I had it.  I was young, 11 or 12, on a trip with my parents up the east coast to visit family.  During the trip, we stayed at a hotel where my father had formerly been the Director of Food and Beverage.  We had dinner in the hotel restaurant one night and were met by the current Director of F&B, a man my father knew quite well (who, coincidentally, would become my General Manager at the Sanderling Resort 16 years later). 

While I was looking at the menu, the F&B director asked what I thought looked good.  I said that I was really hoping for a lobster but there wasn’t one on the menu.  He said, “Let me see what we can find for you,” grinning a grin I would later grow to hate.  As our meal arrived, a steamed, six pound whole Maine lobster on a platter was placed in front of me.  I had never seen a lobster even close to that size.  That was a pretty cool dinner. 

I couldn’t tell you the last time I had lobster.  I am confident that since I started cooking professionally I haven’t ordered it once.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Where Our Oysters Come From

Like most things, if you pay attention, oysters taste exactly like where they come from.  At Pinzimini, we serve endless oysters (all you can eat) every Friday afternoon for $15.  This video takes you on a tour of the marshes and country around the Chesapeake Bay, where our oysters are grown.