Gourmet Food

Posted by Jacqueline Church

Don't know what it says that I actually get and agree with the ex-hippies now leading major corporate entities applying some of my favorite corporate consulting principles to the issues of sustainable food...

I try to remind people to forget about New Year's Resolutions. Waste of time. Goals as vague as "eat better" have zero chance of being met. SMART goals are the way to go:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable, Agreed upon

Realistic, Reasonable

Time-based, TangibleSo, I watch and listen as Gene Kagn of General Mills talks about his hippie off the grid organic farmer days and his current role shaping the Global Sustainability policies of General Mills. What I like about what he has to say is this:He talks realistically not idealistically but sets Targets, Timelines, Goals and Measures. He talks about what his mistakes and mistaken assumptions and is willing to entertain a certain amount of criticism, while still sticking to his current beliefs about the good he is able to achieve from his current vantage point.Panelists including Gene talked about creating a true dialog and stewardship and understanding that "green" or "sustainable" is not an end-state but a dynamic state of continuous improvement. And many reminded us, that ultimately, food produced this way and eaten seasonally and locally JUST TASTES BETTER!I'm going to go have an organic or biodynamic glass of wine and think about tomorrow's agenda.

Posted by Jacqueline Church

Hotel Casa Munras - renovated old Mission style property with award winning tapas style restaurant, Esteban. Last night's late check-in nosh: local baby squid, chorizo, potatoes, cherry tomatoes and arugula and three perfect oysters, one glass of albarinho.

Walk through the town today to wharf. Forgot how loud seals can be!

In maritime visitors center near hundreds of years old lighthouse with working mechanism old guy in sun shades telling less older guy about the "kid" who used to live across the street. Kid's job was tying down the lashes on the dirigible. One day, a huge gust caught the dirigible and all the guys got thrust off into the wind. He was the last one hanging on. Fell 800' to his death. Phew. Happy story, Pops, thanks.

Today's infused water: orange and lemon slices, star anise, cinnamon stick and mint. Yummy.

Posted by Jacqueline Church

Don't forget to check my Technorati Profile newly linked here...doh! You can see what else I'm tracking and writing about there.

On my way to Cooking for Solutions. Looking forward to what I'll be learning, rubbing elbows with chefs, stars, SlowFood mavens, conservations scientists, and more. Stay tuned ...

Posted by Jacqueline Church

It happens like that sometimes. You find yourself in the midst of coincidence after coincidence. Soon you're feeling almost as if you're in a house of mirrors.

So it was with my recent trip to Seattle. Coming on the heels of a family wedding in Vancouver (congratulations Sharon and Dave!), my husband wanted to re-discover Seattle for the first time, together. Prior to leaving, we had just gorged ourselves on fine stone crab.

Then, in Seattle, we saw terrific specimens everywhere. From Alaskan King Crab (careful) to Dungeness, to beautiful oysters. Pike's Place Market is a riot of fresh seafood and we couldn't resist going there every day. One morning when hunger was starting to fray our nerves, we stopped at Pure Foods and asked the friendly fishmonger, where he would go for lunch if he were not working. He thought about and told us to go to the restaurant 94 Stewart Street. He said "She's in here every morning and she's one of our toughest customers. You'll definitely get a good meal there." How right he was. Right across from the original Sur la Table, where I scored the perfect tongs, is 94 Stewart. Just take a look at their cheese menu alone. Of course we had crab there, too.

Then the May Saveur Magazine features guess what: crab. See various types of North American Crabs here.

On my way to Monterey for the Cooking for Solutions Event and it's seafood, seafood everywhere. Can't wait to share everything I'll be learning there.Top conservation scientists, award winning chefs, authors and foodies. And me. Wow. It's an amazing opportunity.

Tomorrow, before I leave, I think I'll have a big, fat steak.

Posted by Jacqueline Church

Finding Japanese food in Chinatown

Adventures, disappointments (aiyaa!), and sometimes - bliss.

In our Chinatown most of the restaurants, even the Japanese ones, are owned and run by Chinese. There are relatively few Japanese in Boston, so if you're looking for real Japanese food, it can be a challenge.

Discover our gem of a Chinatown.

And speaking of real Japanese food, how many types of Japanese food can you name besides sushi? Have you dipped your chopsticks into Shabu Shabu yet? Boston is blessed with two Shabu Shabu restaurants: Shabu Zen and Kaze. Both are terrific. Both are run by Chinese.

So what, you may ask? Well for one thing, I miss the traditional Japanese greeting "Irashaimase!" Joyfully greeting diners entering Japanese restaurants is traditional. It's a warm welcome that is delightful. Other things I miss: oshiburi - hot towels to clean your hands before the meal. Good, hot tea. There are a million little things that can get lost in translation.

But let's focus on what works: the food! There is nothing more pleasurable than sharing a wonderful meal with good friends. Make the food superlative, add liberal amounts of sake/and or beer and you can begin to see what I'm getting at. Years ago I toasted my Mother not with the usual "Kampai!" but with my new Über-cool "Cin Cin!" picked up from South American friends.

Mom blanched. Who knew cin cin is Japanese slang for penis? Imagine how much fun my brother had when I took him to a favorite watering hole and he toasted me, with "Penis!" In front of my regular bartender, to whom I'd just introduced him as my brother.

Okay, so you've got the proper toast down. Now pick up the chopsticks or your little strainer basket and away we go...

Posted by Jacqueline Church

You think sustainable food choices and environmental stewardship have nothing to do with baseball? Nothing to do with food?

If you serve over:

• 20,600 hot dogs
• 5,800 bags o' peanuts
• 4,800 sausage and pepper subs
• 3,500 slices

and other things like crab rolls, lobster rolls, fruit cups...on opening day alone...

...wouldn't it make a difference if your paper products were made of recycled material? What about the sustainability of the seafood? How local is the fruit? The potatoes used for 3,000 pounds of fries?

How far do things have to be trucked to Fenway Park? What's the environmental impact now?

Read about how the Sox are going green, and how sourcing and other practices make ARAMARK a leader, here.

The Red Sox owners are making fans, community members and partners proud. Tip o' the cap to you, Sox!

Posted by Jacqueline Church

Truc: I never could find the word or an explanation for it in the cookbook in which I discovered it. Seem an odd editorial oversight to me, using a culinary term unknown to most and not defining it first. I checked with Merriam-Webster, Foodreference.com, a few other tried and true sources, and then gave up.

In the recipes, the word "truc" preceded helpful notes on technique or timing. Nothing so dazzling that the origin of the mysterious term held my attention for too long.

Then, I came upon an article on cooking schools and culinary vacations. We know culinary travel is here to stay. The article that caught my eye: A Cook's Tour in Provence.

Linda Danneberg describes a six day tour of the French countryside, dicing and braising along the way. "Carole is a good-humored and accessible teacher, her recipe instructions punctuated with a wealth of helpful chef's trucs (technical tricks and tips.) We are juicing lemons..." Then she goes on to share the instructor's truc for juicing a lemon: slice at about 3/4 inch down, slice the flesh of the lemon into a tic-tac-toe grid, squeeze, juice, no seeds.

Mystery solved: truc is a fancy-pants cheffie word for a trick or tip.

Though I have noted the worrisome trend of cookbooks being "dumbed down" in 75th Anniversary of Joy of Cooking, it still seems we could hope for a balance. Enough guidance to understand the terms used, without having to explain that greasing a pan means only the inside.

To learn about a unique cooking school in Ireland and a terrific book about a family adventure in food self-sufficiency read Culinary Travel Meets Slow Food. Both provide a host of trucs for traveling or homebound cooks.

Posted by Jacqueline Church

Okay - first things first: you know I loved, loved, loved the food at Momofuku. But the Big Brother complacency "surveillance is okay if it's only because our insurance company asks us to do it" bothers me. I cannot see anything good coming out of rolling over for insurance companies. Ever. And then there's the civil liberties erosion...you can read about the issue and the restaurant's response here.

But let me get back to David Chang's food. It's pretty remarkable that any critic on one visit would issue a four star rating but this is exactly what Adam Platt of New York Magazine did.

Whether it's Momofuku or Momofuku-ko...I say, go, go, go...just know someone's watching.

Posted by Jacqueline Church

Umami is the so-called "Fifth Taste" - discovered by a Japanese scientist some decades ago. Many chefs and home cooks alike know it, we've just never been vindicated until recently. Interesting how knowledge accumulates in culture...

Anyway, the cool thing is that you can enhance the flavor of nearly everything you cook with a natural umami-rich salt. I wrote about it here and shared links to the favored cookbook by David and Anna Kasabian, The Fifth Taste.

The Kasabian's recommend keeping these Umami-rich ingredients in your pantry, along with Eric's Umami Salt:

• Soy sauce,
• worcestershire sauce,
• Asian fish sauce,
• canned tomatoes or tomato paste in a tube,
• parmigiano-reggiano, dried shiitake mushrooms.

I'd add Marmite to the list. Swirl a bit into a soup for an instant additional depth of flavor.

Eric Gower is a blogger, chef and writer to know. His Breakaway Cook blog has new posts regularly that include familiar dishes with new twists that add flavor in healthful ways.

Try this Umami Salt as a way to add savory depth to your dinner. Similar to other finishing salts, this one adds a lot of oomph to your food.

Posted by Jacqueline Church

Momofuku-Ko or child of Momofuku, as we might translate it....lovingly and rapturously described here by the Wandering Eater. This is the latest love child of David Chang, head chef at the happy temple of pork.

If my review singing its praises, or your perusal of Eater's dinner, don't have you drooling, then I can't help you. Just listen to the descriptions of the tastes, textures and the ingredients combining thrills with comfort. You can't beat it with a stick, or a rice paddle...leaves me wanting Mo-Mo-Mo...