Today I went into the kitchen and had no idea what I was going to make for dinner. I had gorgonzola cheese left over, and a few mushrooms, and hey, those go together great, I thought. Maybe a cheesy base of some kind with a mushroom sauce on top? But what to put it on? I went to the pantry, where I found a variety of half-empty boxes of pasta. One was lasagna noodles. Hey, thought I, I could make a lasagna out of that. So I got to work.
I usually make lasagna with tons of cheese and a simple tomato sauce. Sometimes I add veggies. But I have never made lasagna bechamel before. Bechamel, as you all know, is a basic white sauce made from butter, flour, and milk (or cream). In the northern parts of Italy, lasagna made with bechamel is common, unlike the central areas of the country, where tomato sauce is more prevalant (as I've learned by looking it up on the interwebs just now). Apparently, there are other areas where lasagna is frequently made with pesto instead. The variety is, apparently, endless.
So anyhooo, I got to work on all my sauces as my lasagna noodles cooked. I made a mushroom ragu with finely minced carrots, celery, green pepper, and garlic, plenty of olive oil, some dried herbs, and of course the mushrooms, sliced. I also add some smooshed tomatoes. I made a gorgonzola sauce similar to a bechamel with milk, flour, and olive oil, beaten egg, and a few miscellaneous things. Then I made a classic bechamel also.
I layered the lasagna with pasta, bechamel, pasta, gorgonzola sauce, pasta, bechamel, pasta, mushroom ragu, pasta, gorgonzola, pasta, and topped the whole thing with more bechamel, and into the oven it went. I had a small pan of it, so I cooked it at a medium-high temp (about 400) for about 25 minutes; if making a full lasagna pan, I would bake it at a lower temp for longer. When it looked done (meaning the edges were golden brown and bubbly), I pulled it out and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then we dug in!
And, happily, it was delicious! I guess you can't go wrong with cheese, mushrooms, and white sauce. The egg in the cheese sauce helped thicken it and give it structure, and the bechamel was creamy in the center and nice and golden brown on the edges. The mushroom layer was garlicky and delicious. I was worried that the gorgonzola would be too strong and overpower everything else, but actually it was extremely subtle and subdued. I could have added a lot more, actually.
I am thrilled with the way my lasagna experiement turned out. My parents are coming to visit next month, and I think I might make this, or a version of it, when they are here. I'll definitely have to add it to my repertoire. So, take it from me, lasagna bechamel needn't be intimidating - it's actually just as easy as regular lasagna, and certainly just as delicious!
Happy eating!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Ice Creamy
I love the show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on the Food Network. This evening I watched the episode entitled, "The Best Thing I Ever Ate... Ice Creamy." Lots of gut-busting sundaes and frozen concoctions on this episode, that's for sure!!
Perhaps it's the fact that I just visited my parents and grandmother, who have a history in the Ludington-Scottville area; or perhaps it's because I spent part of the week enjoying summer fun at a beautiful Lake Michigan beach... but I gotta call it: House of Flavors in Ludington, Michigan.
When I was a kid, we spent lots of time in Ludington. There is a beautiful State Park there. There are plenty of cute little cabin-rental resorts. And there is a great old mini golf course. We would enjoy all of that. But I still can't mention Ludington without talking about House of Flavors. House of Flavors is an old ice cream parlor in downtown Ludington (the 3 blocks which count as "downtown"). We didn't visit Ludington without going there. It had the cutest interior, very old-fashioned ice cream parlor-looking, bright white and primary colors. House of Flavors was the one place our family went where my sisters and I were allowed to choose something from the ice cream menu in lieu of an actual meal.
They have always had a thing at the House of Flavors called the Super Pig which is 7 scoops of ice cream plus a load of toppings, which comes in a trough. If you finish it you get a button. There are smaller versions, too. As fabulous as that is, that's not my favorite. The Best Thing I Ever Ate... Ice Creamy is: The Cherry Bon Bon sundae, at House of Flavors Ludington Michigan, BUT (and this is VERY important) with Black Cherry ice cream instead of the standard vanilla which normally comes on the Cherry Bon Bon sundae. Black Cherry ice cream is my favorite by a long shot. Seriously, a good black cherry ice cream is so good that I could almost call that as the best ice creamy thing I ever ate. But, add hot fudge, cherry sauce, and whipped cream, and really, it's the best possible ice cream combination I can think of. I honestly can't think of a sundae that could be better than that. And I'm not an ice cream person, at all.
So that's my vote. What is the best ice creamy thing you ever ate?
Perhaps it's the fact that I just visited my parents and grandmother, who have a history in the Ludington-Scottville area; or perhaps it's because I spent part of the week enjoying summer fun at a beautiful Lake Michigan beach... but I gotta call it: House of Flavors in Ludington, Michigan.
When I was a kid, we spent lots of time in Ludington. There is a beautiful State Park there. There are plenty of cute little cabin-rental resorts. And there is a great old mini golf course. We would enjoy all of that. But I still can't mention Ludington without talking about House of Flavors. House of Flavors is an old ice cream parlor in downtown Ludington (the 3 blocks which count as "downtown"). We didn't visit Ludington without going there. It had the cutest interior, very old-fashioned ice cream parlor-looking, bright white and primary colors. House of Flavors was the one place our family went where my sisters and I were allowed to choose something from the ice cream menu in lieu of an actual meal.
They have always had a thing at the House of Flavors called the Super Pig which is 7 scoops of ice cream plus a load of toppings, which comes in a trough. If you finish it you get a button. There are smaller versions, too. As fabulous as that is, that's not my favorite. The Best Thing I Ever Ate... Ice Creamy is: The Cherry Bon Bon sundae, at House of Flavors Ludington Michigan, BUT (and this is VERY important) with Black Cherry ice cream instead of the standard vanilla which normally comes on the Cherry Bon Bon sundae. Black Cherry ice cream is my favorite by a long shot. Seriously, a good black cherry ice cream is so good that I could almost call that as the best ice creamy thing I ever ate. But, add hot fudge, cherry sauce, and whipped cream, and really, it's the best possible ice cream combination I can think of. I honestly can't think of a sundae that could be better than that. And I'm not an ice cream person, at all.
So that's my vote. What is the best ice creamy thing you ever ate?
Monday, July 18, 2011
Picada
I learned of a new thing the other day that I just knew I needed to add to my repertoire. I was watching a show about Spanish food and a man made a paste in his mortar and pestle that looked and sounded delicious. They called it a picada. I asked Dan if he'd ever heard of a picada and he said yes, it's a name for a preparation of some meats - and I said, oh, no, that's picata, like 'veal picata.' I hadn't even realized that of course, it's pronounced the same.
This new 'picada' is not the name of a preparation, but a paste used in cooking. It was made with fresh garlic, almonds, stale bread, parsley, and a little of the cooking liquid from the dish he was making. The man went to town on it in the mortar and pestle until it was a beautiful, smooth paste. He also added some saffron.
I was so entranced by this thing that I looked it up right away. It turns out that the picada is an important part of Catalonian cuisine. It's always made with bread, nuts (usually almonds), and cooking liquid, and sometimes also with garlic, parsley, and saffron; sometimes it is made with other things, but that's the standard. It is usually used to thicken and/or season a dish, or sometimes as a a topping, such as on top of a casserole while the dish finishes, but isn't eaten raw - always used to cook with. At least, that's what all the stuff I looked up said.
All I could think was that it sounded freaking delicious. I actually made some that very night. I used it as a topping for a layered eggplant dish I made. I didn't get it as smooth as I wanted, and I'll just blame that on my weak little arms - I actually used my mortar instead of a food processor, because I was trying to be authentic. I could get it smoother if I used the processor, and I'll try that next time. So it was a little chunky, but it was tasty. Very garlicky!
I think I will try making something like that as a thickener one of these days when I make soup. That could be interesting. At any rate, I've learned something interesting about Spanish food that I'd never heard of before. I hope you have, too.
Happy eating!
This new 'picada' is not the name of a preparation, but a paste used in cooking. It was made with fresh garlic, almonds, stale bread, parsley, and a little of the cooking liquid from the dish he was making. The man went to town on it in the mortar and pestle until it was a beautiful, smooth paste. He also added some saffron.
I was so entranced by this thing that I looked it up right away. It turns out that the picada is an important part of Catalonian cuisine. It's always made with bread, nuts (usually almonds), and cooking liquid, and sometimes also with garlic, parsley, and saffron; sometimes it is made with other things, but that's the standard. It is usually used to thicken and/or season a dish, or sometimes as a a topping, such as on top of a casserole while the dish finishes, but isn't eaten raw - always used to cook with. At least, that's what all the stuff I looked up said.
All I could think was that it sounded freaking delicious. I actually made some that very night. I used it as a topping for a layered eggplant dish I made. I didn't get it as smooth as I wanted, and I'll just blame that on my weak little arms - I actually used my mortar instead of a food processor, because I was trying to be authentic. I could get it smoother if I used the processor, and I'll try that next time. So it was a little chunky, but it was tasty. Very garlicky!
I think I will try making something like that as a thickener one of these days when I make soup. That could be interesting. At any rate, I've learned something interesting about Spanish food that I'd never heard of before. I hope you have, too.
Happy eating!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Canning Queen
I am not a Canning Queen, and most likely never will be. When I was a kid, my mom canned things occassionally. She also did things like bake homemade bread, and make homemade applesauce, etc. We didn't eat much packaged foods. Cakes, pasta sauce, pretty much everything, was from scratch.
When we were a little older and my mom went back to college to get her degree (go mom!), more packaged foods found their way into our lives. Eventually it became just normal instead of 'convenience food.' I suppose it's like that for everyone now. Even those of us that grew up eating nothing out of a box, eat things out of boxes all the time. And canning food? Who does that anymore? Not me, that's for sure. I don't think there's ever been a moment in my life when I was at the grocrey store and saw a great deal on tomatoes and thought, hey, I could can those, and save myself some money, and help the environment. We don't can things! We are not a canning people.
I freeze things, though. I freeze things all the time. If I have extra veggies, I chop them and throw them into a baggie, into the freezer. When I have leftover veggie peels and veggie bits I boil a pot of stock, divide it into baggies, and into the freezer. I suppose canning isn't much different in principal. Why shouldn't I be canning things once in a while? Technically, canning is better for our health, even better for the environment, than buying veggies at the grocery store that someone else canned.
I actually already have a bunch of canning jars in the pantry because I needed a couple for something last year. Maybe I'll give this canning thing a try. I don't have a pressure cooker so I apparently have to stick to "high-acid" stuff like fruit and pickles, but this vegetarian wasn't about to try to can meat anyway, so it's all good. I think today I'm going to try out a recipe for giardinerre (is that how you spell that?) - spicy pickled veggies. If I can get the recipe right, maybe I'll can a few jars.
Does anybody out there can anything? What do you can? I bet you don't. Nobody cans anymore. We are not a canning people!
Happy eating!
When we were a little older and my mom went back to college to get her degree (go mom!), more packaged foods found their way into our lives. Eventually it became just normal instead of 'convenience food.' I suppose it's like that for everyone now. Even those of us that grew up eating nothing out of a box, eat things out of boxes all the time. And canning food? Who does that anymore? Not me, that's for sure. I don't think there's ever been a moment in my life when I was at the grocrey store and saw a great deal on tomatoes and thought, hey, I could can those, and save myself some money, and help the environment. We don't can things! We are not a canning people.
I freeze things, though. I freeze things all the time. If I have extra veggies, I chop them and throw them into a baggie, into the freezer. When I have leftover veggie peels and veggie bits I boil a pot of stock, divide it into baggies, and into the freezer. I suppose canning isn't much different in principal. Why shouldn't I be canning things once in a while? Technically, canning is better for our health, even better for the environment, than buying veggies at the grocery store that someone else canned.
I actually already have a bunch of canning jars in the pantry because I needed a couple for something last year. Maybe I'll give this canning thing a try. I don't have a pressure cooker so I apparently have to stick to "high-acid" stuff like fruit and pickles, but this vegetarian wasn't about to try to can meat anyway, so it's all good. I think today I'm going to try out a recipe for giardinerre (is that how you spell that?) - spicy pickled veggies. If I can get the recipe right, maybe I'll can a few jars.
Does anybody out there can anything? What do you can? I bet you don't. Nobody cans anymore. We are not a canning people!
Happy eating!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Pea Soup With Crispy Chickpeas
Most people's idea of pea soup is that it is extremely salty and porky. It always has ham, bacon, or some other pig item in it, adding not just saltiness but also smokiness. As a vegetarian, obviously my pea soup doesn't end up that way. I'd like to think mine is a little more refined - since I am not hitting you over the head with cured pork flavor, the flavors of the seasonings and veggies can really shine. I also like to make pea soup that is a little thinner than traditional pea soup.
I use specialty salts to mimic some of the expected flavors of salted pork. In particular, smoked salt really adds a nice smoky flavor. I have a Hickory smoked salt which is very strong, and is perfect in this type of application. I also like to add some very mineral-y sea salt which helps to add more flavor. I have a black Hawaiian lava sea salt which is nice to use for this. I also keep it around to sprinkle on the top of the soup when serving, which is really beautiful.
The soup itself is pretty simple. Dried split peas can take an hour or more to cook, but once they are soft, it's just a matter of blending the soup, and then seasoning it. The soup can be served hot, of course, but it also is fine chilled. Dollop the chilled soup with a spoonful of sour cream and sprinkle it with your decroative sea salt, and it's quite a charmer. As a garnish for the hot soup (don't use sour cream on the hot soup), I like crispy fried chickpeas and a drizzle of the seasoned chickpea oil. Delicious!!
Pea Soup With Crispy Chickpeas
1/2 lb dried split peas
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
6 cups water
2 cups vegetable stock (or water and boullion)
2 bay leaves
2 peppercorns
1 tsp smoked salt
1 tsp flavorful sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp lemongrass curry powder (or other mild curry powder)
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Crispy Chickpeas:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained well
1/4 c veg oil
1/8 tsp each: black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic, dried chile flakes, cumin, cinnamon, dried parsley, dried dill, salt
Pick through and rinse the peas. In a medium soup pot, melt butter over high heat and add carrot and onions. Cook a few minutes, until caramelized on the edges. Add garlic clove and cook until just golden brown on the edges. Add water and veggie stock and bring to a boil. Add peas, bay leaves, and two peppercorns, reduce heat, and simmer until peas are very soft, one to one and a half hours.
In the meantime, cook the chickpeas. Heat veg oil in a small nonstick pan, and add the seasonings. Be sure the chickpeas are very dry by patting them with paper towels. Add the chickpeas to the oil and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Carefully scoop out the chickpeas and drain on paper towels. Reserve the seasoned oil to use as a garnish.
When peas are soft, scoop out bay leaves and discard. Scoop out about a half cup of cooked peas and set aside. Using a blender or immersion blender, puree the soup until very smooth. Pour reserved peas back into the soup. If needed, add more water or stock to make a thinner soup, or thicken soup by either reducing it or adding a little corn starch slurry. Season soup with salts and seasonings. Taste and adjust salt or seasonings as necessary.
Ladle hot soup into bowls and drizzle with seasoned oil. Sprinkle with a few chickpeas and extra chickpeas on the side. To serve the soup chilled, top instead with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of black sea salt.
Happy eating!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
I'm Supplying My Restaurant
Yesterday Dan and I were up at an unusual time - 8am - because we've been living through a plumbing/water leakage disaster and our schedule is all wonky. We decided to get some errands done, one of which was to find a new olive oil dispensing bottle, because mine has fallen apart and I badly want a new one. The other day at an Italian restaurant, I was tempted to grab theirs off the table. (Don't worry, I didn't.) At any rate, we found ourselves driving all the way to the north side of Denver to a restaurant-supply store. I'd been wanting to check one out for a while now anyway, and here we were with an actual morning to fill, so what the heck.
The restaurant-supply store was awful. It was extremely quiet, which made for very awkward shopping, but mostly it was just... nothing. I thought there'd be giant aisles with stacks of inexpensive pots, pans, dishes, and giant whisks, but they barely had a thing. They had a couple of very tiny oil bottles, but they weren't big enough, nor were they a deal. I looked at a $40 fine mesh strainer in the section titled "Asian Cooking," and a plastic pitcher in the "Pizza Making" section... let's just say, not organized. Nobody helped us or asked us if we needed anything. We knew of a different company, on the other side of town, so we trekked over there, hoping for better results.
We were so glad we trekked across town! As soon as we walked in to the second store we were like, ooh ahh. It was huge, and most importantly, it was filled with giant aisles with stacks of inexpensive pots, pans, dishes, and giant whisks. They had two huge aisles with just the super-discounted stuff. After walking up and down those two aisles we had half the items on my shopping list - all very cheap. We also found several other items on my list. This place is great - it is well organized, they have just about everything you could want, and the prices of the things we looked at (we couldn't look at everything, it was too large a store) were either good or great. For instance, I got a salad spinner for $3 and a fine mesh strainer for $6. Also, we got friendly help from the employees, and the cashier was extremely nice. After the horrible previous store, this one was a dream.
I'm thrilled we found this store in the Denver area. I will definitely head there first the next time I need something for my kitchen, rather than going to Bed Bath & Beyond or something like that. For those in the Denver area who want to give it a shot, it is called Standard Restaurant Supply and they have one in Lakewood and one in Denver proper (we were at the one in Lakewood). The "bad store" was called Restaurant Source. Don't go there unless you are a restaurant.
Happy shopping!
The restaurant-supply store was awful. It was extremely quiet, which made for very awkward shopping, but mostly it was just... nothing. I thought there'd be giant aisles with stacks of inexpensive pots, pans, dishes, and giant whisks, but they barely had a thing. They had a couple of very tiny oil bottles, but they weren't big enough, nor were they a deal. I looked at a $40 fine mesh strainer in the section titled "Asian Cooking," and a plastic pitcher in the "Pizza Making" section... let's just say, not organized. Nobody helped us or asked us if we needed anything. We knew of a different company, on the other side of town, so we trekked over there, hoping for better results.
We were so glad we trekked across town! As soon as we walked in to the second store we were like, ooh ahh. It was huge, and most importantly, it was filled with giant aisles with stacks of inexpensive pots, pans, dishes, and giant whisks. They had two huge aisles with just the super-discounted stuff. After walking up and down those two aisles we had half the items on my shopping list - all very cheap. We also found several other items on my list. This place is great - it is well organized, they have just about everything you could want, and the prices of the things we looked at (we couldn't look at everything, it was too large a store) were either good or great. For instance, I got a salad spinner for $3 and a fine mesh strainer for $6. Also, we got friendly help from the employees, and the cashier was extremely nice. After the horrible previous store, this one was a dream.
I'm thrilled we found this store in the Denver area. I will definitely head there first the next time I need something for my kitchen, rather than going to Bed Bath & Beyond or something like that. For those in the Denver area who want to give it a shot, it is called Standard Restaurant Supply and they have one in Lakewood and one in Denver proper (we were at the one in Lakewood). The "bad store" was called Restaurant Source. Don't go there unless you are a restaurant.
Happy shopping!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
10 Annoying Food Trends
This article outlines a certain food critic's take on some recent food trends that he is not a fan of, to say the least. Like I did for the homemade-versus-packaged-food list, I had a few thoughts about this one and figured, what the heck, maybe I'll blab about them here. You guys can share your thoughts, too.
1. Restaurants refusing any and all substitutions - Once some peeps and I were in the U.P. at a bar, having beer and snacks. I wanted something more substantial but their menu was not vegetarian-friendly. I saw a ham and cheese sandwich on the menu so I told the server I'd like just the cheese on it. She literally told me no, and said that that's how it came and there was no freaking way they would bring it to me without the ham. What the heck? I totally agree with the chef on this one, both that it's annoying for customers to go all circus on a menu and that it's annoying for a restaurant to be excessively stingy about reasonable requests.
2. Sous Vide - apart from the annoying infomercials that I've seen for one particular brand of Sous Vide machine, I have no reason to be annoyed by anything Sous Vide, because I'm not a meat eater. I can't say if it's good or bad since I don't eat meat, so I'll stay neutral on this one.
3. Untranslated Menus - A restaurant needs to do what it has to to serve it's customers, and that includes communicating with them. If they decide to ostracize a huge portion of the population by not including whatever language that population speaks, then that is their potential loss. It's not wrong, it's just a strange business decision, in my book.
4.$5 Tap Water: I don't know if this is what this particular writer is referring to, but there was a big news story recently about an Australian restaurant chef who is getting hate mail because he is serving what people perceived to be "$5 tap water". It was actually that he removed all bottled water from his restaurant and replaced it with a fancy filtration system, so when you order the $5 water you get a specially filtered glass of water with unlimited refills. You could also order the unfiltered tap water for free. He wanted to replace the bottles with his own filter system to be more green. Why are people going nuts over this? I don't see him doing anything wrong. Besides, a huge portion of the bottled water you drink is just tap water that goes directly into the bottle, but as long as it's in a bottle we think we should pay more for it. This guy is filtering it; that's at least a service to pay for. He got threats of bodily harm. Let's all just get a grip, people.
5. Bartender Overreach: Agreed. Annoying.
6. Chef Overreach: Agreed. Annoying.
7. Serving Depleted Seafood: Very much agreed.
8. Truffle Oil: Truffles, perhaps the most expensive food on earth, don't make oil. "Truffle Oil" is any sort of oil, sometimes olive or some other vegetable oil, which is infused with truffles to take on their flavor. Except these days it's usually not actual real truffles, it's synthetic truffle flavor made out of other things. I have learned in the last few months that when a chef has an opinion about truffle oil, s/he REALLY has an opinion about truffle oil. I saw a tv chef chew someone out for several minutes for using it. It is apparently evil incarnate and anyone who would dare touch it is the dumbest person to ever live. I wouldn't know, I have never used it, nor have I ever been priviledged to eat a real truffle. I have heard that there is the "real thing" out there, made with real truffles, so it's feasable to me that some truffle oil somewhere tastes good. But, again, I just don't know. Maybe one day when I have two thousand dollars lying around I'll buy some real truffles and a few types of truffle oil and give it a taste test. But then again, I'd rather buy two thousand dollars' worth of cheese.
9. Fancy-schmancy coffee: Sortof agreed. Like many indulgences, there is a time and a place for the fanciest version of something, but 99% of the time most of us will not be any happier with a $10 cup of coffee than we will with the $2 one. Mind you, he's not talking about lattes and Starbucks - but about the trend in very fancy roasting and brewing techniques in extreme specialty shops. The type of thing you find at Blue Bottle, for instance. Not that there's anything wrong with Blue Bottle - it's just that the truth is, you can get good quality coffee quite easily for pretty cheap these days. Which is why, I suppose, these places are suddenly popping up... when everybody can make their own quality coffee, you have to do something unique if you want a customer. Hmmm. I just realized that.
10. Molecular Gastronomy: Ahh, Molecular Gastronomy! I was WAITING for this one. I didn't know that "chefs prefer Modernist Cuisine." I always just say Molecular Gastronomy. I've actually talked about it with Dan a lot, because it's been popping up here and there, and everybody seems to have their own opinion about it - including me. I don't want to get into the whole thing so I'll try to hit a few basic points.
The other day I heard somebody talking about MG say, "that new science stuff belongs in the lab, not the kitchen" I thought, if baking soda or gelatine were invented today they would be considered Molecular Gastronomy. I think the problem with MG is that some chefs take it too far and make the process the focus, rather than the food, like, "look at the cool thing we are able to do." Just like every other cooking technique, which at one time or another must have seemed very science-ey, the point is to have delicious, appealing food, and everything you use to get there is just a tool. If you make the tools or the process the main event, then it's no wonder the food is not so great at the end. My prediction is that certain MG techniques will get incorporated into most cook's repertoires and become more commonplace and nobody will think it's a big deal anymore, while other techniques will still be weird, because they are weird. So I guess my answer is, that I really don't mind MG, but I do mind the chefs who make it the entire focus.
Feel free to blab all your own thoughts about any of the above in the comments.
Happy eating!
1. Restaurants refusing any and all substitutions - Once some peeps and I were in the U.P. at a bar, having beer and snacks. I wanted something more substantial but their menu was not vegetarian-friendly. I saw a ham and cheese sandwich on the menu so I told the server I'd like just the cheese on it. She literally told me no, and said that that's how it came and there was no freaking way they would bring it to me without the ham. What the heck? I totally agree with the chef on this one, both that it's annoying for customers to go all circus on a menu and that it's annoying for a restaurant to be excessively stingy about reasonable requests.
2. Sous Vide - apart from the annoying infomercials that I've seen for one particular brand of Sous Vide machine, I have no reason to be annoyed by anything Sous Vide, because I'm not a meat eater. I can't say if it's good or bad since I don't eat meat, so I'll stay neutral on this one.
3. Untranslated Menus - A restaurant needs to do what it has to to serve it's customers, and that includes communicating with them. If they decide to ostracize a huge portion of the population by not including whatever language that population speaks, then that is their potential loss. It's not wrong, it's just a strange business decision, in my book.
4.$5 Tap Water: I don't know if this is what this particular writer is referring to, but there was a big news story recently about an Australian restaurant chef who is getting hate mail because he is serving what people perceived to be "$5 tap water". It was actually that he removed all bottled water from his restaurant and replaced it with a fancy filtration system, so when you order the $5 water you get a specially filtered glass of water with unlimited refills. You could also order the unfiltered tap water for free. He wanted to replace the bottles with his own filter system to be more green. Why are people going nuts over this? I don't see him doing anything wrong. Besides, a huge portion of the bottled water you drink is just tap water that goes directly into the bottle, but as long as it's in a bottle we think we should pay more for it. This guy is filtering it; that's at least a service to pay for. He got threats of bodily harm. Let's all just get a grip, people.
5. Bartender Overreach: Agreed. Annoying.
6. Chef Overreach: Agreed. Annoying.
7. Serving Depleted Seafood: Very much agreed.
8. Truffle Oil: Truffles, perhaps the most expensive food on earth, don't make oil. "Truffle Oil" is any sort of oil, sometimes olive or some other vegetable oil, which is infused with truffles to take on their flavor. Except these days it's usually not actual real truffles, it's synthetic truffle flavor made out of other things. I have learned in the last few months that when a chef has an opinion about truffle oil, s/he REALLY has an opinion about truffle oil. I saw a tv chef chew someone out for several minutes for using it. It is apparently evil incarnate and anyone who would dare touch it is the dumbest person to ever live. I wouldn't know, I have never used it, nor have I ever been priviledged to eat a real truffle. I have heard that there is the "real thing" out there, made with real truffles, so it's feasable to me that some truffle oil somewhere tastes good. But, again, I just don't know. Maybe one day when I have two thousand dollars lying around I'll buy some real truffles and a few types of truffle oil and give it a taste test. But then again, I'd rather buy two thousand dollars' worth of cheese.
9. Fancy-schmancy coffee: Sortof agreed. Like many indulgences, there is a time and a place for the fanciest version of something, but 99% of the time most of us will not be any happier with a $10 cup of coffee than we will with the $2 one. Mind you, he's not talking about lattes and Starbucks - but about the trend in very fancy roasting and brewing techniques in extreme specialty shops. The type of thing you find at Blue Bottle, for instance. Not that there's anything wrong with Blue Bottle - it's just that the truth is, you can get good quality coffee quite easily for pretty cheap these days. Which is why, I suppose, these places are suddenly popping up... when everybody can make their own quality coffee, you have to do something unique if you want a customer. Hmmm. I just realized that.
10. Molecular Gastronomy: Ahh, Molecular Gastronomy! I was WAITING for this one. I didn't know that "chefs prefer Modernist Cuisine." I always just say Molecular Gastronomy. I've actually talked about it with Dan a lot, because it's been popping up here and there, and everybody seems to have their own opinion about it - including me. I don't want to get into the whole thing so I'll try to hit a few basic points.
The other day I heard somebody talking about MG say, "that new science stuff belongs in the lab, not the kitchen" I thought, if baking soda or gelatine were invented today they would be considered Molecular Gastronomy. I think the problem with MG is that some chefs take it too far and make the process the focus, rather than the food, like, "look at the cool thing we are able to do." Just like every other cooking technique, which at one time or another must have seemed very science-ey, the point is to have delicious, appealing food, and everything you use to get there is just a tool. If you make the tools or the process the main event, then it's no wonder the food is not so great at the end. My prediction is that certain MG techniques will get incorporated into most cook's repertoires and become more commonplace and nobody will think it's a big deal anymore, while other techniques will still be weird, because they are weird. So I guess my answer is, that I really don't mind MG, but I do mind the chefs who make it the entire focus.
Feel free to blab all your own thoughts about any of the above in the comments.
Happy eating!
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