"Bartender, this cocktail taste s a little fresh. Have anything that's been sitting around?"

It's a natural progression I suppose. First came the rebirth of cocktails in the 1990s. Soon to follow came the "mixologists", because obviously who would want a mere bartender mixing their drinks? Besides me, I mean. Now we have celebrity mixologists, because why should Food Network chefs have all the fun? And with celebrity, as we know all too well, comes freedom and license to create. Whether what they're creating needed to be created is debatable. Of course the same could be said for most of the consumer goods we're told we can't live without.

This all comes to mind because of this article I read in last weeks NYT. We've all heard of barrel aged bourbons. Now, taking it to its next logical step (this is where the "does it need to be created" part comes in), bartenders at trendy (read high $$) bars are now barrel aging whole cocktails. That negroni I dearly love, which I consider a perfect drink, apparently isn't good enough. The new alcohol alchemists behind the bar are throwing it and other drinks into small barrels and aging them for up to 3+ months. Supposedly this adds complexity and character as the ingredients oxidize (particularly vermouths and other botanicals). Not to be a closed minded old barfly, but please would you just give me a fresh, well-made drink. The old classics are classics for a reason. I really don't think a light will go on in some unknown darkened corner of my liver if I drink a 3 month old Manhattan. To me a classic case of just because you can do it doesn't mean you should. Thoughts?

accompanying photo of Clyde Common bartender Jeffrey Morganthaler from the NY Times

Braised Artichokes: get thee to the farmer's market!

I just came across this recipe in Mark Bittman's "Minimalist" column on the NYT site today (plus watch a video of the ever entertaining Bitty making the dish). This is the first time I've ever posted a recipe without first making it, but this is so simple and reads so perfectly that I can't imagine it not being delicious. Plus Bittman has built up a pretty good credibility reservoir in my consciousness. So if you're looking for inspiration as to what to grab at the weekend farmer's markets around you, a half-dozen or so fresh artichokes might be just the thing to add to your list.

As always, thanks to the NYT for letting me "borrow" another picture (this one by staff photog Evan Sung). It made my mouth water just looking at it!
*** *** *** *** ***
Braised Artichokes
from Mark Bittman/NY Times
time: 45 minutes

ingredients:
4 medium artichokes
4 tablespoons butter ( 1/2 stick)
1 cup chicken stock, or more as needed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Zest and juice of 1 lemon.

method:
1. Cut each of the artichokes in half; remove the toughest outer leaves,
use a spoon to remove the choke, and trim the bottom.

2. Put 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large, deep skillet over
medium-high heat. When it melts and foam subsides, add artichokes, cut side
down. Cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add stock (it should come
about halfway up the sides of the artichokes), bring to a boil, and cover;
turn heat to medium-low. Cook for about 20 minutes or until tender, checking
every 5 or 10 minutes to make sure there is enough liquid in the pan, adding
more stock as necessary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and transfer
artichokes to serving platter.

3. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid
is reduced to a sauce. Stir in lemon zest and juice and remaining tablespoon
butter; taste and adjust seasoning. Serve artichokes drizzled with sauce.

Yield: 4 servings.

Do this, don't do that.....

This was a thread I came across from the NYT restaurant critic Sam Sifton, who referenced another NYT blogger, Bruce Buschel, who is chronicling his efforts in opening his own restaurant. Buschel wrote this column about the "One Hundred Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do". In part one he lists the first 50 "don'ts". Now having both owned and been a waiter in my restaurants, I kind of get where Buschel is coming from, but if he is really that hard-assed about how his employees comport themselves, then that might be the worst restaurant job ever. But from my waiter's perspective I actually appreciate this point by point rebuttal even more from the Waiter Rant blog, because, well, it's really funny....and mostly true. I would read Buschel's column first then the Waiter Rant. Would love to hear your thoughts, too!

Pan Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad, because you care about others!

In my continuing effort to rid your pantries of those pesky piles of excessive seasonal produce and give you fabulously satisfying reasons to spend quality time in your kitchens, may I supply you with another recipe that I guarantee will draw admiring looks and choice compliments from those lucky enough to share it with you. This isn't something you share with just anyone. This is for people you really, really like. And when their tongues are hanging out of their mouths in astonishment and they are begging for the recipe, you absolutely DO NOT want to tell them how ridiculously easy this was to throw together. Just promise to print out the recipe when you get a chance and then conveniently "forget". You may be asking "well then why are you sharing it?" Because I am a great humanitarian who is filled with nothing but altruistic impulses and cares for nothing more than your happiness, that's why! Geez, have you read anything I've posted??

Okay, this isn't just about me being so nice. Actually it is more about Mark Bittman's altruistic impulses and way with an easy food fix, as I grabbed the recipe off of the New York Times site. So with that disclaimer, and with everything (almost) you need at your local farmers markets right now, this is the side salad you MUST SERVE this holiday weekend! Happy Labor day everyone!!
*** *** *** *** ***
Pan-Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad
from Mark Bittman

ingredients:
1/4 pound bacon, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
4 to 6 ears corn, stripped of their kernels (2 to 3 cups)
Juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
2 cups cored and chopped tomatoes
1 medium ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and chopped
2 fresh small chilies, like Thai, seeded and minced
Salt and black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, more or less.

The bacon and corn commingling in a most holy union!

method:
1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to render fat; add onion and cook until just softened, about 5 minutes, then add corn. Continue cooking, stirring or shaking pan occasionally, until corn begins to brown a bit, about 5 more minutes; remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Drain fat if you wish.

2. Put lime juice in a large bowl and add bacon-corn mixture; then toss with remaining ingredients. Taste, adjust the seasoning and serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 4 servings.

No, I won't be eating this anytime soon, dammit!

Hmm, yes, this sounds lovely....
"a five-piece row of single-bite amuse bouches, one with foie gras, another with salmon and another with sweetbreads nestled in a crunchy cornet."
And why not try the....
"lavender honey-glazed duck for two"
Perhaps followed by......
"Poached prawns dressed with crème fraîche, diced green apple and lime juice and then molded into a thin horizontal column surfaced with thinly sliced, vivid avocado."
And since I still have room, let's have....
"a slow-poached egg with a brown butter hollandaise and a Parmesan foam boasted not only crisp, beautiful asparagus but also a Parmesan tuile."

Click here to read all about why the NYT's Frank Bruni, on his way out the door as the most influential restaurant critic in America, bestowed an über-coveted four star rating on NYC's Eleven Madison Park restaurant. Sadly New York City has never seemed further away from Portland.

Pic from the NYT review

I'm feeling super, man!

Too bad most of America isn't, or shouldn't be, as is made evident in this series of photos from a New York Times story about how our fellow countrymen get their grub on. Photographer Susana Raab, who coincidentally was born on the same day that the Big Mac was invented but had never eaten one until she started this series she calls "Consumed" (although she said when she did try one: “I’m embarrassed to say that the thing is tasty". Can't argue with her there). So click on the highlighted "Consumed" link and remember that if you're reading this or are really into food, you/I are still in about the 10%-15% minority in the good 'ol USA who actually care about what they eat. Ronald McDonald smoking, a trio of Col. Sanders, and a kid who is gnawing on a disturbingly long corn dog. God bless America!!

Curried Duck Legs With Ginger and Rhubarb

I would never claim to be the most insightful guy out there when it comes to food, but some things I just know. I know, for instance, that at some point today I'm going to look across the street from my desk at the wine shack at Kiko's taco truck (that's the view from my desk at VINO at left) and think that a carnitas taco is going to make me incredibly happy. I also know that just one taco will not be enough. I also knew, as soon as I read it, that the curried duck leg recipe I saw in the NY Times recently was going to be money. How could it not be? Duck, which is good. A curry sauce, which I always love. And unusually flavored with rhubarb, which is all over the markets now. You don't need to be The Amazing Kreskin to know this was very promising.

The article in the NYT was written by Melissa Clark, where she was extolling the virtues of using rhubarb, and had three different recipes to prove its versatility. She was making a duck curry from a Madhur Jaffrey recipe, and brilliantly came up with the idea to use naturally acidic rhubarb in place of the called for vinegar. Talk about insightful! This was unbelievably delicious. She nailed it when she wrote "...the rhubarb melted into the sauce, thickening it and lending a deep and delightfully piquant flavor." I absolutely loved it, as did our friends Denise & Keith. Very easy to pull together, and if you can find duck legs she says you can also sub chicken legs (Clark says the sauce will be "slightly less rich"). Another 'wow" dish that I would make again in a heartbeat!
*** *** *** *** ***
Curried Duck Legs With Ginger and Rhubarb
from Melissa Clark
ingredients:
4 pounds whole duck legs, with thighs (about 8), or whole chicken legs (5 or 6)
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, diced (about 4 cups)
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 4-inch-long piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 pound rhubarb, sliced 1/2 -inch thick (2 cups)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Chopped fresh cilantro or chives, for garnish.

method:
1. Using kitchen shears, trim away all fat and skin that hangs from sides of duck legs, leaving only skin on top of meat. Toss duck legs with 1 teaspoon salt.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over high heat. Add as many duck pieces as fit easily. Brown on one side, about 7 minutes. Turn and brown other side. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat if necessary.

3. While duck browns, combine 1 cup onion, garlic, ginger, garam masala, vinegar, cayenne, turmeric, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water in a blender, and process until smooth.

4. When duck is done, spoon out all but about 2 tablespoons of fat from skillet. Add remaining onions and a large pinch of salt. Sauté until soft, 5 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and cook until most of the liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes.

the duck beginning its braise

5. Add coconut milk and 2 cups water, and bring to a simmer. Add rhubarb, brown sugar, duck legs and any juices that may have accumulated in bowl. Bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low, and simmer gently for 1 hour, turning duck pieces halfway through. Uncover pan, turn duck again, and let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

6. Spoon fat off sauce and serve duck or, better, chill duck overnight and degrease sauce before reheating all on a low flame. Serve garnished with cilantro or chives.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: Bar Avignon opens in Portland. I rejoice! BTW-their one year anniversary party is June 28th!

And I thought I KNEW you!!

You know how devastating it is when you've established a relationship with someone, a person you thought you could trust COMPLETELY, and then there is....an INCIDENT. I had that happen to me recently and I'm struggling to get over it. But since bloggers are supposed to put themselves out there, I'll look at this as cheap therapy. I'm a little uncomfortable talking about him....oh, did I mention it's a man?...but to save others from blindly falling for his charms, here it is......
The "he" in this story is none other than Mark Bittman, he of NYT and Minimalist fame. You know, Mr. "How to Cook Everything". I've had a string of successes following his advice, to the point where I read his baking instructions for this Lemon-Poppyseed pound cake, and even though I couldn't believe he'd bake a loaf cake that long, as in one hour and 15 minutes long, I suspended disbelief, because Mark wouldn't possibly let me down. Surely he made this several times in his own kitchen before committing it to print, right? Or at least one of his assistants who actually did the testing would have said "Excuse me, Mr. Minimalist, maybe we should cut back the oven time on this bad boy because this is one dry motherfucking pound cake." But apparently no one dared question his eminence, although when I put it in the oven I dialed back the timer by ten minutes. Even that didn't save the cake from being slightly dried out with a thicker than desired crusty edge (although truth be told the crusty edge was pretty damn tasty). So here is the corrected version, which I, wiser but with rose colored glasses in pieces on the kitchen floor, present for your enjoyment.....
*** *** *** *** ***
Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake
adapted from "How to Cook Everything"

ingredients:
9 oz. all purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter softened
1 cup sugar
5 eggs, separated
1-1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 cup poppyseeds

method:
1-Preheat oven to 350*. Butter a 9"x5" loaf pan. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

2- In a mixing bowl cream butter with mixer. Add about half the sugar and combine well. Add rest of sugar and combine. Then beat in egg yolks one at a time. Add dry ingredients and mix in by hand. Add lemon juice and zest. Beat egg whites until they hold soft peaks and fold by hand into butter mixture with the poppyseeds, combining completely.

3-Spread batter into loaf pan. Insert onto middle rack in oven. Bake until toothpick stuck into middle comes out clean. Start checking at around 45 minutes. When done remove from oven and let cool for five minutes. Carefully invert onto plate, then gently turn over once more onto serving dish.
##### ##### #####
one year ago today @ E.D.T.: things you need to know in Life is Meals!

Bordeaux Blowup?

Interesting article in the NYT in case you missed it a couple of days ago regarding the market for Bordeaux futures and the global economic meltdown. You mean all those wealthy wine drinkers won't pay whatever you ask and actually are trading down? Well, at least they won't and are until the market goes back up, then it will be "let the good times roll" once again in Bordeaux (you read how SUV sales went up when gas went from $4 a gallon to $2. Same thing will happen with wine when the economy turns positive). Here's a quick quote from the article, which shows the classic Gallic inability to accept that they are part of our world:
Angélique de Lencquesaing, one of the founders of iDealwine, an online auction site in Paris, said it was hard for producers to accept lower prices. “In England and other countries people have a view of wine as a financial product that can go up or down in value,” she said. “In France, wine is sacred.”
Bien sur, Angélique! The article makes a lot of good points, and from someone who sells wine retail for a living, I can only tell you that the high end market is dead for wines from all around the world. Of course, I've never catered to those who need their egos stroked every time they pop a cork, so the VINO Wine Index is just fine, thank you. Cin cin!

Hog Heaven

Aren't they SO cute? Too bad they're also supposed to be freakishly delicious! The furry pig-like creatures pictured actually are pigs. They came to my attention in this story in The New York Times. Mangalitsa pigs from Hungary, a breed once near extinction, are apparently capturing the attention of chefs around the world. Fattier, with meat that is more marbled than the ubiquitous Berkshires that are the staple of the American pork industry, providing pork belly that once only inhabited the fever dreams of pig-o-philes.

Check this out from Herbfarm chef Keith Luce: “One night,” Mr. Luce continued, “it was the neck, sous vide 24 hours stuffed with dried plums and Armagnac and served with tenderloin. Then another we did the loin along with a three-day brined shoulder, cooked 24 hours sous vide, and belly 18 hours sous vide. We were laughing when we tasted it. We couldn’t control ourselves. The taste, the texture was so unbelievable.”
That pretty much defines not just something I WANT to try, but something I NEED to try!

photo from NY Times
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: Piedmont pleasures at Alba Osteria!

Restaurant wine service: what do you think?

A good post on the NY Times wine writer Eric Asimov's blog today about restaurant wine service that hit several chords, among them:
-Waiters who encourage you to order your wine before you've even had a chance to look at the list or menu or consult with your dining companion(s). Just a tad pushy, although it is my understanding this is one of the reasons martinis were invented.
-Wine that either comes to early or too late for your intended use, i.e. my glass of white I ordered some time ago that comes when I'm halfway through my crab appetizer, or the bottle of red that by the time the entrées arrive is halfway empty
-And my biggest pet peeve, waiters who insist on pouring your wine for you, much less without asking whether you're ready for more or not. Whether they are doing this as a service or a way to get the glass full and bottle empty as quickly as possible (in hopes you'll need more), I really find this annoying, and invariably tell them I'm quite capable of pouring my own, thanks. Asimov's post also links to this great essay on this very subject by Christopher Hitchens.
##### ##### #####
one year ago today @ E.D.T.: dinner with mom at Caffé Mingo.

I'll ask what Asimov asked: any comments from you on this subject?

They're vertically challenged, appendage deficient, AND they vote!

Some things can't go by uncommented upon, so taking a quick break from the travelogue/food adventure of Juneau, I was reading last Sunday's Frank Rich column in the NYT about the hopeless scramble that is the Republican party message (where to be bipartisan he also had warnings about the pitfalls that could lie ahead for "that One"), and he linked to a story in The Washington Times about RNC chair Michael Steele, who said that to win back young voters who cost them states like North Carolina and Virginia, he is planning an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party's principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.” Steele went on...“We need messengers to really capture that region - young, Hispanic, black, a cross section ... We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles. But we want to apply them to urban-suburban hip-hop settings.” Now doesn't that sound like a well thought out plan?
And showing his true compassionate conservative cred, he finished with this bit of warm-hearted humanity:
But, he elaborated with a laugh, “we need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets.”
Ah, the Grand Old Party. I'm sure that short people everywhere, even those with BOTH arms, are jumping right in line.

Less water, better pasta?

Another interesting article in the NYT by the man whose job I almost envy above all others, food scientist/guru Harold McGee. He is proposing, to the tsk-tsking of Italian grandmothers everywhere, that maybe we all could cut back on the amount of water we use to boil pasta. His experiments seem to point out that using as little as 1-1/2 quarts of water does just as good a job as the usual 4-6 quarts we all usually use. Now when he actually presented his findings to über-Italian cooking grandmothers Lidia Bastianich and Marcella Hazan they reacted with lukewarm enthusiasm. Still very interesting info contained herein, with the point that not only do you get good results, but the energy savings are not insignificant. A rather delicious way to burnish your "going green" cred.

Regional Recipes: Goan Shrimp Curry

I've mentioned this dish a couple of times before (here and here), and both times it has been freakishly good. I'm mentioning it again as it is my entry in the Regional Recipes blogging event over at Blazing Hot Wok, where authoress/Regional Recipes El Jefe Darlene has chosen the food of India for this month's theme.

I got this recipe from NY Times author Elaine Louie who was doing a One Pot column last year, where food you can make in, you guessed it, one pot, was featured. This is a recipe from NY chef Suvir Saran who makes it at his restaurant Devi. The state of Goa where Saran had this, is India's smallest, and known for its fiery cuisine. Every time I've had it I'm reminded of how with the simplest prep, Indian food delivers such huge flavor. If you haven't made this, then might I suggest you give your palate a thrill!
*** *** *** *** ***

Goan-Style Shrimp Curry
Adapted from Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur, Devi

Time: 25 minutes

ingredients:
1 1/3pounds large shrimp (16-20 per pound), peeled and deveined
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1/8teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4cup canola oil
4 dried red chilies
1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups canned chopped tomatoes, with juice
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro.

method:
1. Place shrimp in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag, and add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper and cayenne. Mix well and refrigerate.

Chilis, onion, and ginger creating aromatic magic!



2. In a deep skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat, combine oil and chilies and stir 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and cook for 1 minute longer. Add ginger, onion, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt and sauté until onion is soft and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, ground coriander and turmeric and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomatoes. Stir, scraping sides and bottom of pot, for 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.

The skillet of steaming curry deliciousness just before stirring in the cilantro.


4. Stir in curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add coconut milk, bring to a boil, and add shrimp. Bring to a simmer and cook until shrimp are opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cilantro. If desired, serve with rice.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.
Cooks note: in her article, Louie mentions how Suvi Saran, who created the dish "sometimes poaches scallops and salmon in the sauce, or blends it with potatoes, cauliflower and green beans." In other words, feel free to riff off the basic sauce.

Is absinthe over?

According to this amusing article in this mornings Sunday NYT it is. Being compared to the band Interpol, laceless Converse sneakers, and a soul patch as author Eric Konigsberg did can never be good PR......
"If absinthe were a band, it would be Interpol, third-hand piffle masquerading as transgressive pop culture. If absinthe were sneakers, it would be a pair of laceless Chuck Taylors designed by John Varvatos for Converse. If it were facial hair, it would be the soul patch."

Is free really worth it? A definite maybe.

The sadness, or expense, or saving grace, of living in a liquor controlled state like Oregon. The NYT online reports that a website called myopenbar.com lists bars that are serving free drinks in New York City. According to the story, "The site also has listings for five other cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami and Honolulu)". Are times really so hard you would want to drink with a 23-year-old who is quoted at a Drambuie giveaway as saying “Normally I could not afford this fine liqueur,” she said, taking a sip of a Drambuie fizz." Fine liqueur? Drambuie fizz?? Frat boys and toilet huggers rejoice! The question remains: Is free Drambuie better than none at all? As an experienced liver just reported to me, the answer is defintely the latter!

Paris and Chocolate....

......two great things that go great together! If you have plans to visit what I consider the greatest city in the world anytime soon...or not so soon...biking from chocolatier to chocolatier across the city sound like the perfect afternoon. I came across this article on the NYT website today detailing writer Amy Thomas own Le Tour du Chocolat. To her two-wheeled itinerary (and what a way to rationalize indulgence!), I would suggest adding the remarkable artistic caloric creations at Chocolatier Joséphine Vannier (some of whose "pieces" are shown with this post), which w and I visited on our last trip. At so many of these shops, it's almost like you're eating art, which is a fabulous concept!

Pasta With White Sausage Sauce...how so few can give so much!

We had this super simple, light yet really satisfying pasta the other night that really drives home the point that a few well placed ingredients can combine to produce something really special. I saw it on Mark Bittman's bittenblog at the NYT site. It defines his whole minimalsit ethos. I added some baby spinach to the recipe because it seemed it needed a little extra lift, and it worked perfectly. Arugula would also give it a nice peppery lift. If you ever want to make something quick that I promise the whole family will get with, this is it!

Sorry about the lame-ass photo. I was so hungry that night I just kind of dumped and shot!
*** *** *** *** ***
Pasta With White Sausage Sauce
adapted from Mark Bittman/ The New York Times
yield 4 servings
time 20 minutes

Mark Bittman's summary: "You can make this sauce stronger or more complex by adding a touch of minced garlic to the butter as it melts, or by using wine -- especially red wine -- as the liquid." (I used red wine and it was perfect! I was worried it might be too "winey", but it combined beautifully. -bb)

ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage (if using link sausage, remove it from the casing)
1/2 cup water, white wine or red wine
1 pound cut pasta like ziti
2 cups fresh baby spinach, washed and drained
1/2 cup or more freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

method:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.

2. Put the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. As it melts, crumble the sausage meat into it, making the bits quite small, 1/2 inch or less. Add the liquid, and adjust the heat so that the mixture simmers gently.

3. Cook the pasta until it is tender but not at all mushy. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

4. Drain the pasta, and dress with the sauce, adding a little of the reserved cooking liquid if necessary. Toss with spinach, salt, pepper and Parmesan, and serve. Variations: There are a couple of ways you can make this sauce stronger or more complex. A touch of minced garlic added to the butter as it melts helps a lot. A handful of parsley thrown in at the last minute contributes freshness and color. Another interesting twist is to use wine — especially red wine — as the liquid. The wine's astringency perfectly offsets the sweet richness of butter and meat.

Cook's note: Bittman called for ziti pasta. I would use regular penne rigate or farfalle instead the next time. The ziti's smooth surface did nothing to hold the light sauce.

Averting Meat Madness

Had enough turkey yet from the Thanksgiving throwdown? Maybe need a little protein break? Yeah, me neither! In fact I was just looking up recipes for this 5# hunk 'o pork shoulder that's calling my name. Like pork products are ever bad! But just in case OD'ing on meat may be your current state, relief is at hand. I have to share this recipe from the NYT's Health writer Martha Rose Shulman. I've found her stuff to be ever reliable (her caponata recipe is spectacular), and a few days ago, for a pre-Thanksgiving, post-standing rib roast dinner feast we had with friends, w was begging for something, anything, that was made from ingredients that weren't walking the earth, waiting their turn in my Le Creuset. I, like every other right minded eater, loves me some good butternut squash soup. It is one of the reasons that cold weather was invented, if I'm not mistaken. This version is awesome, with a nice added richness from the sweet potatoes and a health inducing, head snapping bite from the ginger (I bumped up her recommended dose of ginger by half). Silky textured after a spin in the blender, rich and creamy, you would never guess this has no cream or butter. Plus, this is one of the easiest soups you'll ever make, and it is vegetarian friendly. It coud also be made vegan friendly (Like I care. Vegans...don't you just want to wrestle their emaciated, protein deprived bodies down and stuff bacon into their mouths and watch their eyes do a guilty swoon of pleasure?!) if you use veggie stock.
I opened the newly released 2007 Patricia Green Cellars Sauvignon Blanc from Oregon, whose freshness and bright acidity played very nicely with the richness of the soup. By the way, 2007 was a great vintage for Oregon white wines. The best have beautifully ripe fruit paired perfectly with high acids from the cooler than usual growing season.
*** *** *** *** ***
Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup
from the New York Times/Martha Rose Shulman

ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 pound butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium-size Yukon gold or russet potato, peeled and diced
6 cups chicken stock, or vegetable stock
Salt to taste

method:
1. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and stir together until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the squash, sweet potatoes, regular potato, and water or stock, and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, or until all of the ingredients are thoroughly tender.

2. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup (or you can put it through the fine blade of a food mill or use a regular blender, working in batches and placing a kitchen towel over the top to avoid splashing). Return to the pot and stir with a whisk to even out the texture. Heat through, adjust salt and add pepper to taste.

Yield: Serves 6
Advance preparation: You can make this a day ahead and refrigerate. Reheat gently. The soup freezes well. Once thawed, whisk well to smooth out the texture, and reheat.

picture at top from the New York Times
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one year ago yesterday at E.D.T. : sweet and savory together with Apple-Fennel Soup and a fabulous Pumpkin Mousse!

Doing Battle Over Dinner: Keller vs. Achatz

I was alerted to this carnival of food excess by Michael Ruhlman's blog. Apparently Thomas Keller, he of French Laundry and Per Se fame teamed up with Chicago chef Grant Achatz of Alinea to put on a 20-course, Mentor-vs.-Protegé culinary throwdown that I was shockingly not invited to. Not that I would have coughed up the $1,500 to be front row center at what must have been the dining event of the year, but geez, I would have at least liked the opportunity to turn them down! In any event, my petty and Fantasy Island-like grievances aside, Ruhlman linked to the NYT's Pete Wells comments about the dinner are a fantastic and riveting blow-by-blow description of high end, ultra-high pressure restaurant service. Very well written...you can feel the tension and urgency. And all the special needs diners! Why do they leave the house??

I've listed the links here to his series of posts. I would click through them top to bottom (also have a link to the menu....gee, that food wouldn't suck, now would it?!).

Part 1
Part 2 (with menu)
Part 3
Part 4

Picture from the New York Times
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One year ago today @ E.D.T.: A mashed potato primer!