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Good and Lovely Christmas Ice Cream

Last night I had the great fortune of not only seeing The Good Lovelies in concert during their Christmas tour , but making dessert for the band. I wanted to make something holiday-ish to fit with the theme of the night and came up with this. The word is that the band loved the ice cream, hence the name. The method for the ice cream is from Homemade Vegan Pantry , and the method for sugaring the chestnuts comes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World . The recipe works best with a high powered blender like a Vitamix. If you don't have one, just make sure your cashews are nice and soft before blending INGREDENTS Ice Cream - 1 cup whole raw cashews - boiling water - 1.5 cups non-dairy milk of your choosing - 1/2 cup packed brown sugar - 1 tsp cinnamon - large pinch of salt - 1 can coconut milk (light, or regular) - 2 tsp vanilla Sugared Roasted Chestnuts - 1 cup chopped roasted chestnuts (about 3/4 lb whole chestnuts) - 1/3 cup sugar - 3 tbsp maple syrup - pinch of salt METHOD Ice C...

Unusual Cookbooks of 2015

Looking for something different? These are some of the more unusual cookbooks I came across this year.  The Food of Oman  is one of the most exciting cookbooks I saw this year, because I am so unfamiliar with the cuisine and the influences are so varied. The book includes Bedouin meat and rice dishes, South Asian curries, East African vegetable dishes and Indian style tandoori seafood as well. There are recipes for quickly made flatbreads, Sweet Vermicelli with Salty Egg, Yemeni Style Roasted Chicken and Saffron Rice, Swahili Coconut Shrimp Curry, some hot tea-like beverages, and plenty of snack foods like Chile-Lime Chickpeas and Chili Spiced Potato Chips. For the cook who seems jaded and world weary this is the perfect book to inspire.  Who’s it for? Anyone looking to cook something different, but expecially fans for Southeast Asian and African food. Do you need a book about what to serve on toast? No. But  Better on Toast  is a really fun book loaded with cool ideas for snacks, ap...

French 75 Cocktail Recipe

Whether you are saying goodbye to the previous year or hello to the new one, Champagne or anything bubbly is traditional for New Year’s Eve. It’s light, refreshing and pairs well with many kinds of festive meals from briny oysters and caviar to rich and creamy cheeses and just about anything fried. Should you happen to have a splash of Champagne leftover or better yet, a bottle, consider a Champagne cocktail for brunch the following day. While the classic mimosa is fine, I am a big fan of the French 75. The French 75 dates back to World War I and is named for the French 75mm field gun, the “Soixante Quinze” thanks to it’s kick from gin. It’s as simple as can be, just gin, lemon juice, sugar or simple syrup and Champagne or another sparkling brut wiine. There are some other versions of the drink and some prefer cognac or brandy, but I think gin is really the way to go. The gin you use is important. I am particulary fond of London dry gin, and Plymouth in particular although you are wel...

Jewish Cookbooks 2015

Are you suffering from an overload of everything Christmas? Shabbat Shalom! Here are a few books worth taking a look at, whether you are Jewish or not. The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen   is the book that could make anyone fall in love with Jewish food. Amelia Saltsman  has Iraqi and Romanian heritage and manages to take the best from both of those cuisines along with her own wonderfully creative ideas and California sensibility to craft a cookbook full of “keeper” recipes. The photography is fresh and modern.  The crazy good recipes in this book make me think I could actually give up my beloved pork and go kosher! I mean we’re talking about things like Lamb Kebabs with Parsley, Mint and Tahini Sauce, Yemenite Pumpkin and Carrot Soup, Curried Roasted Cauliflower, Freekeh with Kale, Butternut Squash and Smoked Salt. Recipes like Tunisian Lemon Rind Salad condiment and the Blood Orange and Olive Oil Polenta Upside Down Cake are reason enough to treasure this book.  Food, Family and Tradition...

Bison Rib Roast

For a big celebratory meal, a rib roast is very impressive, especially with the bones in. While beef might be a common choice, bison is also available in a rib roast. I’ve shared my experience cooking several different cuts of bison and how much I enjoy it. I like the texture and flavor but also really appreciate how environmentally sustainable and how healthy it is, particularly when compared to beef. It's lighter and less fatty so I find I'm able to enjoy it more. When Durham Ranch offered me the opportunity to try one of their products I decided to go with a rib roast. Durham Bison Ranch is one of largest bison operations in the US, with a 55,000 acre ranch in Eastern Wyoming with around 3,000 bison. Unlike some producers, the bison from Durham is not completely 100% pasture raised. It’s finished on a feed lot where it is fed mostly grass based silage and very little grain, since it is not part of their natural diet. Why are their animals finished this way? Drought condition...

New Dessert Cookbooks Winter 2015

This holiday season there are several new dessert cookbooks, here are some of my top picks. Home Baked isn't strictly a dessert book, it also contains savory baked goods, but the vast majority of the recipes are for sweets with just one section dedicated to breads (and a few recipes for dog biscuits). This book is mammoth! It has over 150 recipes for everything from Viennoiserie to cakes, cookies, pies and patisserie.  What sets the book apart is that the instructions are incredibly clear and well written and for the most part feel very easy to accomplish. The photographs are appealing as are the creative flavor combinations like Zaatar, Carrot Banana Cake, Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Grapefruit, Peach and Berry Tarts with Buttermilk Custard and Fig, Apricot, Stilton and Goat Cheese Tart. Who's it for? Any baking enthusiast or as the author says, "domestic adventurer."  Marie Asselin the author of  Sweet Spot : Modern Better-for-You Dessert Recipes, with Clever Tips...

NOMA: My Perfect Storm movie review

Even after reading the NOMA:Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine cookbook and going to see chef Rene Redzepi speak , I am still curious about the restaurant and the chef. Short of flying off to Copenhagen and dining at the restaurant (it’s on my bucket list!) I really enjoy reading anything I can about this restaurant that has been chosen “ #1 in the world ” four times. The latest attempt to dig deeper into the Noma phenomenon and psyche of chef Rene Redzepi is the feature length documentary, Noma: My Perfect Storm. Towards the beginning it’s easy to fall under the spell of the chef and his concept for the restaurant. It’s a concept which has had and will continue to have a ripple effect. Because really, this is more than just about one chef or one restaurant, it’s about a philosophy that is changing food, cooking and how we approach it everywhere. It's about creating a cuisine that reflects time and place in the most authentic way possible. Not surprisingly, it’s also about the proc...

Moringa Chia Pudding with Raspberry Recipe

A current food trend is the emergence of exotic superfood ingredients such as elderberry, aronia, haskap and moringa. Moringa is a plant native to South Asia and grown throughout the tropics. It's considered a superfood because the powdered leaves provide protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Peace Corps volunteer Lisa Curtis discovered it when she was living in West Africa and suffering from malnutrition. Now back in the US, she is the founder of  Kuli Kuli Foods , a company that sells moringa based product in the US and helps to improve the lives of women like the ones she worked with, in Africa. When I met Lisa I was inspired by her story and also curious to try experimenting with moringa, which comes in a powdered form, looking a bit like matcha but tasting more herbal with a slight bitter but not unpleasant edge. Aside from adding it to smoothies or using it bars, I thought it might be good in a chia pudding.  Lots of chia pudding recipes use coconut or almond milk ...

The Three Must Buy Cookbooks of 2011

I always write a series of "best of" cookbook posts around this time of year. I've recommended a lot of cookbooks in 2011*, but there are three, you simply must add to your collection. They are written by three amazing women who I admire tremendously and feel honored to have gotten to interview or at least meet. They are not just wonderful cooks and writers but cultural anthropologists who dig deep into how people cook, preserving traditions and making food from other places accessible. These books would make great gifts, but really, I recommend buying them for your own collections, that's how good they are. There are lots of books about Spanish food. I know, because I have plenty of them, but The Food of Spain is truly the mother of all Spanish cookbooks with over 600 pages. It has stories, history--it's a true treasury that took years of work to complete. I know this because Claudia Roden told me about the work that went into the book when I interviewed her las...

Lattice Top (and other Ways to Make a Funky Pie)

Last pie post (for now!).  I had a great deal of fun exploring the world of pastry, and I mean to do it again when the crisp autumn weather demands that I bake something savoury in a crust.  As I mentioned in my last post , fruit pies follow a pretty standard formula.  And, once you have your crust down, you are off to the races.  With the basics perfected you can work on making your pies as pretty as possible.  That's what this post is all about. LATTICE TOP A lattice top is a great idea for juicy pies like peach and cherry, and it will impress all your friends. 1. Roll out the dough for the top crust into a square, large enough to cut into at least 16 strips of about 1/2" width (for a 9" pie).  Cut into strips with a knife or a pastry cutter. 2. Lay 8 strips across the pie, leaving some space in between.  Fold back every other strip halfway (i.e. strips 2,4,6,8).  Lay one of your remaining eight strips across the middle of the pie, perpendicular to the first eight stri...

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About


As I mentioned in my last post, I'm just back from West Virginia where I attended the Certified Angus Beef conference. It was a great opportunity to meet with chefs, talk to butchers and learn more about beef--the trends, the choices and what's on the horizon. When it comes to beef, just like chocolate or wine or coffee, the more I learn, the more I realize there is to learn. 

First a few common misconceptions, when it comes to beef:

Only some beef is grass fed. Actually all beef is grass fed. It's just a question of how it's "finished" Certified Angus Beef is finished on a feed lot and eats grain to bulk up in size and improve marbling of the meat. If you want to buy grass fed, pay attention to how it's finished. Some beef being sold as grass fed is not the same as "grass finished." 

Grass fed beef is healthier. I used to think so, but it turns out the evidence is mixed. While grass fed beef does have higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, it's not a great source of them. And as an article in the New York Times concluded, " it’s not clear whether the nutritional differences in the two types of meat (grass fed versus conventional) have any meaningful impact on human health." Meanwhile other research challenges the benefits of grass fed over grain finished. I think the jury is out on this one.

Fresh beef is better than frozen. Not really. Freezing actually improves the tenderness of beef, since ice crystals penetrate muscle and research shows there is no real moisture loss difference between fresh and frozen meat. Beef, like chicken and pork are expected to go up in price in the coming year and since meat prices vary throughout the year, take advantage of the cost savings and consider buying frozen beef. You won't be sacrificing quality. 

And the trends….


Bone in steaks! I saw this when I dined at Sidecut at the Four Seasons Whistler where a 52 ounce porterhouse, a 36 ounce rib eye and a 36 ounce strip steak are all served bone in and carved table side. This is a fun way to dine! I haven't done a side by side taste test of steak cooked on the bone versus off the bone, but generally speaking, meat on the bone tastes better. 


Signature grinds are a trend that is due to the popularity of gourmet burgers. It's not just the coarseness of the grind, but the very mix or meats such as short rib, prime rib, brisket or strip steak. What makes some burgers taste better than others? One secret is oleic acid. Oleic acid is the primary mono- unsaturated fatty acid in beef and accounts for about 33% of the fatty acid in beef (it's also found in olive oil) research shows that monounsaturated oleic acid does not raise cholesterol. It's this fat that is partly responsible for making meat taste so good and is found in higher percentages in very marbled beef. There is some very interesting research on this topic. Other ways burgers become "gourmet" include seasonings, fillings and toppings. My favorite to date has to be the marrow burger which is off the menu at Luella. But burgers with bacon, cheese and caramelized onions (and ground bacon in the grind), like the one at Marlowe are pretty spectacular too. 


Smaller portions. Hallelujah!  When I go to a steak house I typically order the smallest steak, or hope someone will share a large one with me (bone in perhaps?). Frankly I get tired of eating beef after about three to four bites. And I really get tired of having filet mignon be my only option for something more petite. As demand grows for smaller steaks, different cuts are showing up such as the culotte or top sirloin cap, filet of rib, cap of rib, sirloin end, chuck eye and they are very flavorful unlike the less flavorful yet tender filet mignon. For me good quality beef is a treat and a little goes a long way.

New cuts. The way beef is butchered or fabricated, is constantly evolving. Some cuts you may not have seen yet include the braison and merlot, also known as "heel" of the beef round. Both will be less expensive cuts, the braison is best for braising and the merlot can be grilled or cooked whole. 

It strikes me that there is something for everyone whether you want a big hunk of meat on the bone a gourmet burger or just a smaller portion. Which trends are you most excited about?

Disclosure: I learned about the trends at the Certified Angus Beef conference where I was a guest and my travel expenses were covered. I was not paid to write this or any other post. Special thanks to Kyle Miller and Michael Ollier for their terrific educational session and meat cutting demonstration.
 
shamila
writer and blogger, founder of The kitchen table .

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