Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Lards to be happy about




I recently went on a trip to a Virginia Bed and Breakfast for my anniversary. The inn was a farm that specialized in free-range beef and chicken (we heard about them via the farmer's market and friends).

As we spent time walking around the farm with the turkeys (literally), checking out the chickens, and even stopping by the inn’s pasta making basement, I realized we shouldn't go home empty handed. Right before we left I asked our friend Ruth for some goodies to take home. Eager to please, Ruth led us to the "store", a small one roomed house with rocking chairs and two white refrigerators, and a fireplace. As she opened the first door and asked us which pastas we wanted, I saw a stack of 8 oz round plastic containers of lard.

"OH, look at the lard" I said out loud and intentionally. And with that, Ruth handed over two home-hand made pastas and a container of lard and told us it was on the house. I was giddy with excitement.

You might be thinking: "Why is she so excited about lard? I could see the homemade pastas but the lard? Really?"

Ya. Really. Lard is an amazing thing when you know how to use it. Lard is rendered and clarified pork fat. My lard was processed which means it's firmer, milder, and has a long shelf life. The unprocessed is firmer and has a stronger taste.

Because of lard's richness in fats, it basically is nothing but fat, it makes a great ingredient for making tender flaky pastries and also to insert into meat, making it more tender and juicy. You can substitute it for butter too. But if you do, make sure you reduce the amount by about 25%. You can store your lard in the refrigerator or at room temp but it depends on how it is processed. Your pastries will be fabulous and your guests will love it!

Bring on the lard!

Labels:

Sunday, October 28, 2007

"Coming Home to Eat"

A weekend free of writing assignments, recipe making and practicing, laundry, and grocery shopping had suddenly come upon me. My girlfriend was out of town and the house would be lonely this weekend. So with a swift change of plans (so unlike me), I jumped out of work early on that Friday and headed north on 95 to my home away from home; New Jersey.

It's nice to go home a lone sometimes. I quickly remembered the comforts and distresses that made my body relax as soon as I walked in the door. My dad's special dish of the day; whatever room my parents were remodeling; and my brother's obnoxiously large black and sticker full truck in the drive way, and of course,the dog....Coby!

The pleasures of coming home to eat are, much like author Gary Paul Nabhan says, rewarding and heartfelt. I can't remember the time I had Swedish meatballs with a nice Robert Mondavi or went out to dinner with my parents...alone.

Between giving Coby a run and driving to pick up farm fresh eggs I realized I couldn't wait to be back home for Thanksgiving.

Cheers.

Labels:

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Beautiful Bouquet




The bouquet garni is a bundle of importance for chefs. It's a cheese clothed and string wrapped flavor basket that is submerged in stocks, soups, sauces, and even reductions. The beauty of this simple tool is to add flavor to what ever dish you are making. Once the dish is finished the bouquet is removed and thrown away. Traditionally, the bouquets have parsley leaves, thyme leaves, and a bay leaf. It may include any other herbs like basil or rosemary depending on what flavors you want in your dish.

Labels:

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Fall into pumpkins: a warm soup for the season




Pumpkins go through the season so easily with Halloween and all that we don't have time to taste them. Here's a great recipe for pumpkin soup that will warm you up!

WHAT YA NEED:
1 five lb. pumpkin (if smaller or larger, adjust the amount of liquid)
Cut a lid off the top, scoop out the seeds and stringy parts, and rub the inside
flesh with salt. Set the pumpkin on a large roasting pan. Save the seeds.

3/4 quart chicken or vegetable stock
3/4 quart milk
3 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tsp. sea salt
Pepper to taste
Pumpkin seeds
Parsley
Bay leaf

THE HOW TO:
Combine garlic, liquids, and bay leaf in a large pot, heating the milk slowly, as not to burn it.
When the pumpkin is ready, fill with liquid and replace the lid, putting a sheet of foil between the pumpkin and its top so it doesn’t fall in. Bake the filled pumpkin at 375° for 1-2 hours, depending on
the thickness of your pumpkin. Occasionally open lid and check with a spoon,
carefully scraping some inside flesh into the hot liquid.

On a baking tray, scatter pumpkin seeds and sprinkle with salt. Place in oven with pumpkin. Remove after 10 minutes or whenever the seeds are toasted.

After the allotted time, remove the pumpkin and pour the liquid into a large bowl. Cut the pumpkin in sections and carefully remove the skin of the pumpkin. Discard the skin and cut the pumpkin’s flesh into small pieces.

Place liquid and pumpkin in blender in small amounts (this may take a lot of times to puree with a large pumpkin but be patient!) Puree till thick and smooth. Add salt to taste. Serve hot and garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds and parsley

Labels:

The "cure" to brining: the difference between the two

Back before refrigerators existed, fish and meats were preserved using dry aging. Though there are a few types of dry aging, (smoking, brining, curing, confit-ing) two of them are very similar; brining and curing.

Curing food can be done a few ways. One is smoke curing where cold smoke smokes the food between 70-90 degrees. The other is hot smoking. This cooks the food by treating it at temperatures from 100-190 degrees.

A brine is a type of cure. It involves preserving the item with a solution of water and salt. For example, pickled foods are soaked in acid based (usually vinegar) brines. Popular cured foods are smoked ham and pickled herring.

So if you were confused between the two, I first used to think they were synonymous, then there you have it!

Now go be ambitious and cure something!

Labels:

Monday, October 8, 2007

For a good time....go cake tasting

I recently had to review a popular bakery in my town. The owner also happens to be famous; he has his own show on the food network. So I jumped to try and share the experience with anyone who loves cake. I gathered six of my closest friends and invited them over for a cake tasting.

Tasting should be fun and serious. They should have an audience with decent palates and a keen eye for good food. I think 40% of my panel met the requirements.

But all aside, we sat down at our table with glasses of milk and water and one by one reviewed the slice of cake laid in front of us. At first it was going well. They thought about their answers and wrote them down on the scorecard. But slice-by-slice the high viscosity of the cake began to alter their personalities in such a way that...well...their opinions were no longer just on the scorecard. Mty favorite comments were " Frosting yay; cake boooo", "kill who ever made this", and " I think it was actually alright but I already feel like vomiting"

Over all the cakes were not positively viewed and needless to say, these six people will not be returning to this bakery ever again. Who thought cake could be so bad?

Labels: