i8tonite

Category: Author

i8tonite with Philosophy Professor and American Foodie Author Dwight Furrow

San Diego Mesa College Professor Dwight Furrow specializes in the philosophy of food and wine, aesthetics, and ethics. He is also a Certified Wine Specialist with certification from the Society of Wine Educators and an advanced level certification from the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust. Furrow is the author of Edible Arts, a blog devoted to food and wine aesthetics, and evaluates wine for the Sommelier Company. I am fascinated by his writings on Mindful Eating, and since discovering them, have enhanced my dining experiences with thoughtful practice.

Furrow’s new book, American Foodie: Taste, Art, and the Cultural Revolution, will change the way you think about food. In this book, he shares:

* How food preparation and consumption is both an art form and one of life’s essential pleasures.
* How slow and purposeful approaches to food can improve our lives as opposed to fast and convenient.
* Elements of American history that have kept the nation from developing its own respected cuisine – until now.
* The philosophy of the foodie craze as a search for aesthetic authenticity in our increasingly pre-packaged world.
* 10 reasons to eat mindfully (that have nothing to do with losing weight)
* Why food bloggers are the heart of the food revolution.

It’s time for a new way to look at food and how we eat – and Furrow does just that.

Food People Questions:

What is your favorite food to cook at home?
Soups. They can easily be adapted to any situation, are the perfect medium for creativity in the kitchen, and hard to screw up.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
A good cheese, preferably a little stinky.

Parmesan crisps with soppreseta and Radicchio

What marked characteristic do you love in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?
A belief that the most important thing in the world is a good meal.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?
A mile-long checklist of foods they don’t like. (Exceptions for health issues, of course.)

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Oh, definitely wine. Nothing goes better with food than wine.

Your favorite cookbook author?
Peter Kaminsky and Gray Kunz. To my knowledge they only wrote one cookbook, The Elements of Taste, but it was a revelation for me.

Your favorite kitchen tool?
Cast Iron Frying Pan. Versatile, indestructible, and holds up to high heat.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
Spanish (especially Tapas), Italian, Mexican

Peanut sesame noodles with Sichuan pepper

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
Pork – nothing beats braised pork. Why is tofu on this list?

Favorite vegetable?
The ones that are really fruit: avocado and tomato

Chef you most admire?
Ferran Adrià. A genuine artist in the kitchen. Of course, his restaurant El Bulli closed. Knowing when to quit is a virtue.

Food you like the most to eat?
Tapas-style, lots of flavor sensations in one meal. If you don’t like something, you can just move on.

Food you dislike the most?
Eggs. They are fascinating, fun to cook, and I hate that I don’t like them. But I just don’t.

What is your favorite non-food thing to do?
Read, especially philosophy. No, I’m not a masochist.

Who do you most admire in food?
Artisan winemakers, brewers, coffee-roasters, and small build-from-scratch restaurant chefs/owners. They are doing it for love.

Where is your favorite place to eat?
Home. It’s where I can be creative and where my most appreciative audience resides.

What is your favorite restaurant?
Juniper and Ivy (San Diego), Uchi (Austin), Curate (Asheville), Pok Pok (Portland)

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
No

Recipe: Pan-Fried Fish Filet with Radish and Citrus Sauce

The red radish is an afterthought – a colorful garnish or peppery accessory to a salad, but seldom the star of the show. This strikes me as a great injustice. After all, the radish is brightly colored, pleasingly plump, crunchy, and distinctively flavored. It’s not boring, offensive, or unwelcoming. It doesn’t deserve to be ignored.

I will make it my mission in life to rectify this injustice. The problem is that radishes lose their crunch and peppery flavor when you cook them. Boredom looms. But with just enough heat, they acquire a pleasing nutty/earthy flavor that pops when you pair them with caraway seeds.

So here is the launch of the Radish Redemption Project. Plenty of citrus and ginger, some soy to provide umami depth, and gently roasted radishes enhanced by the pungent notes of caraway make a fascinating sauce for buttery pan-fried fish.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
8 radishes, cleaned and trimmed
2 tablespoon olive oil (divided use)
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1/2 small onion, minced
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon caraway seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper
4 fish fillets, mildly flavored, such as tilapia or halibut
2 tablespoons butter
cilantro for garnish

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice radishes in half, pole to pole, then place the cut side down and cut each half into thirds. (Each radish is cut into 6 equal portions)
3. Toss sliced radishes with 1 tablespoon olive oil and roast in the oven for 6-8 minutes. Reserve. (Radishes should still have some crunch but lose their raw flavor. Be careful not to overcook)
4. Warm olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until soft.
5. Add ginger and cook briefly, then add citrus juices soy sauce, honey, caraway seeds, and cumin and stir. When sauce begins to simmer, reduce heat to low then cover so the sauce does not reduce too much.
6. Pat fish dry and put seasoned flour on a dish or pan.
7. Heat frying pan to medium high and melt butter (be careful not to burn the butter).
8. Dredge fish in flour and fry in frying pan until fish is lightly browned and cooked through. (If your frying pan is too small for 4 filets, cook them 2 at a time and keep warm in the oven.)
9. While fish is cooking, adjust consistency of the sauce if necessary, add radishes to the sauce and increase the heat briefly so they will warm.
10. To serve, distribute sauce on plates with radishes on the border, top with fish filet and garnish with cilantro.

The End. Go Eat.

March 25, 2016
i8tonite: with America’s First Culinary Couple, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough
NOTE: This is an original post we wrote in October 2015. We like to pull a Saturday Night Live, and occasionally have rebroadcasts. Heh.

Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough are America’s first culinary couple sort of like Julia Child and Jacques Pepin except, they are married, like Lucy and Desi. As a business partnership, they have written 26 cookbooks and ghost-written six more for star vanity projects. Ham: An Obsession with the Hindquarter (2010) and Vegetarian Dinner Parties (2014) were nominated for the coveted James Beard Award for “Best Cookbook”. As a couple, they have been together for 19 years – meeting in an AOL chatroom while living in New York City. Even then, they were ahead of their time.

There isn’t a comparative food coupling in the culinary world like Bruce and Mark. Certainly, not cooking in a restaurant, on a Food Network or Cooking Channel show. Or for that matter on PBS or Logo. Instead of going through today’s star-making channels – YouTube and reality television – the pair did it the old-fashioned way. Hard work.

You might say, “What about so-and-so?” They started on reality television running around the world.

“What about the Food Network’s blah?” They stick to one food type.

“What about…?” Nay. She was a well-known actress before she met her husband.

Bruce and Mark are a team, having written and eaten their way to a successful career and a country Connecticut home. They finish each other’s sentences in the adoring, long-time love affair way and they laugh at each other’s jokes. If Woody Allen were casting for a movie during his Annie Hall days, Bruce and Mark would embody the perfect museum-going Manhattan pair. Smart. Literate. Witty.

The type-A personality couple spends almost 24 hours together but maintain separate endeavors to keep the relationship strong. Weinstein, the cook of the couple, knits runway-ready sweaters (of course, he does) and has written a book about it (of course, he has). Scarbrough, the writer and academic, teaches Chaucer (of course, he does) and has just created an iTunes podcast for the couple (of course, he has). Supposedly, they do play a mean game of bridge as partners in their off-time from the stove and computer.

Somewhere – amongst over two dozen cookbooks written –the prolific twosome has time to appear on QVC hawking mass cookbooks about pressure cookers to mid-Western cooking hobbyists. There’s also the column contribution to Weight Watcher’s online and they can be viewed on Craftsy.com espousing on – what else? – cooking.

Photo by Eric Medsker

Like fellow comedic pairings before them, such as Gracie Allen and George Burns, making the audience laugh is much a part of who they are as what they do when whipping up garlicky mash potatoes. It’s a blend of entertainment and cooking.

To the outsider looking in, their relationship seems to embody a lot of laughter….and eating. And drinking…. with lots of laughing. For Bruce and Mark, it all appears to be about having fun and enjoying life. After all is said and done, the inspiring pair is enjoying it all except they would like to have a little bubbly with all that love.

Food People Questionnaire:

What is your favorite food to cook at home?

Ham: An Obsession with the Hindquarters. Photo by Marcus Nilsson

Bruce: Oxtails, beef tongue, or veal cheeks—tough choice.

Mark: As you can see, there’s no need for me to cook at home. I write the books. I get fed. It’s a great trade-off.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?

Bruce: See the above answer.

Mark: Skim milk—because I think it actually makes the best foam for my morning four-shot latte.

What marked characteristic do you love in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?

Bruce: A nice shirt—I’m going to be looking at it all night.

Mark: Well, maybe not, Bruce! I really like good conversation skills. Give-and-take. Back-and-forth. First time someone says, “Another thing about me is . . .” I’m out of there.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?

Bruce: Slurping solid food.

Mark: Texting. Please. Stop.

Beer, wine or cocktail?

Bruce: Cocktail to start, wine with, beer after.

Mark: Wine. I hear they’re making it in other colors besides red these days. Wouldn’t know.

Your favorite cookbook author?

Bruce: Fuchsia Dunlop. My Sichuan master.

Mark: Abby Dodge. It’s right every time.

Your favorite kitchen tool?

Bruce: My hands.

Mark: His cleaned and dried hands.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?

Bruce: Anything east of India. Crazy about Sichuan these days. Want to come over for a ten-course tasting dinner?

Mark: Worcestershire sauce. Seriously. I make the best.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu?

Bruce: If only tofu had bones.

Mark: Well, lately, salmon fillets. Cilantro, mint, sliced fresh jalapeños, olive oil, crunchy salt. Trust me.

Favorite vegetable?

Bruce: Artichokes, preferably trimmed and cleaned by someone else

Mark: Winter squashes as so much. I had a roasted Blue Hubbard the other night that was orgasmic.

Chef you most admire?

Bruce: Tony Wu. Ever see this guy hand-pull noodles? Check out his youtube videos.

Mark: Right now, Daniel Eddy at Rebelle in New York City. Kick. Ass. Food.

Food you like the most to eat?

Bruce: Grilled burger any day of the week.

Photo by Edsel Little.

Mark: I have a healthy appetite. Enough said. But my choice indulgence is Époisses de Bourgogne.

Food you dislike the most?

Bruce: Root beer. I have to wipe it off my tongue with a rag.

Mark: Jell-O. Period. Also, panna cotta, its evil twin.

What is your favorite non-food thing to do?

Bruce: Play Chopin preludes.

Mark: Read lyric poetry. I have a podcast on it. Check it out: Lyric Life on iTunes.

Who do you most admire in food?

Bruce: Bill Niman. He changed the way we think about food in this country.

Mark: My agent. Twenty-seven cookbooks sold for us ain’t too bad.

Where is your favorite place to eat?

Bruce: Siena. No questions.

Mark: Joucas, France. (There’s only one restaurant. See below.)

What is your favorite restaurant?

Beach Point Coast, Prince Edward Island

Bruce: Richard’s Fresh Seafood on Covehead Wharf in the national park on Prince Edward Island, Canada

Mark: The restaurant at Le Mas des Herbes Blanches in Joucas, France. Go in the summer when the lavender fields are in bloom against the red cliffs of Roussillon down in the valley.

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?

Bruce: Some things you have to leave to the imagination.

Mark: No. And I still have things you can imagine.

Ricotta/Spinach Dumplings, Parmesan Cream Sauce (6 servings)

Photo by Eric Medsker

From Bruce and Mark: Winter weekends are made for dinner parties. As the sun sets early and the darkness creeps over our yard, we banish the cold by lighting the candles and serving hearty, warming fare like this casserole. The tender, spiced, even lemony dumplings are baked in a simple cream sauce that emphasizes their luxurious texture while softening some of their sweetness. It’s best minutes out of the oven, so plan your timing carefully.
- One 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 8 ounces regular or part-skim ricotta
- 4 ounces Pecorino Romano, finely grated (about 1 cup)
- 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup semolina flour, plus additional for rolling the dumplings
- 1 tablespoon minced chives
- 1 tablespoon minced dill fronds
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole or 2% milk
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine, such as a California Chardonnay
- 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (about 1/4 cup)
1. Squeeze the thawed spinach by the handful over the sink to remove excess moisture, then crumble it into a large bowl.
2. Stir in the ricotta, pecorino, egg yolks, semolina, chives, dill, zest, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, the salt, and nutmeg to form a wet but coherent dough. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. Spread more semolina flour on a large plate. Use damp, clean hands to form the dough into 24 balls, each about the size of a golf ball, rolling them one by one in the semolina to coat thoroughly before setting them on a large lipped baking sheet.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Working in batches, add 5 or 6 dumplings and boil for 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop them out, drain them, and transfer to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
5. Position the rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.
6. Make the sauce by melting the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until a creamy paste. Slowly whisk in the milk in a steady, fine stream until the paste has dissolved. Whisk in the wine and continue whisking over the heat until thickened and bubbling, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, then pour this sauce over the dumplings in the baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper over the casserole.
7. Bake until lightly browned and bubbling, about 20 minutes. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Ahead: Complete the recipe through step 6 up to 2 hours in advance; store, lightly covered, at room temperature.

Garnish: Although we’re not a fan of side dishes at dinner parties, this casserole could use a little contrast. Spoon the baked dumplings and sauce onto plates, accompanied by grilled asparagus spears, drizzled with a flavorful but light vinaigrette.

Note: Make sure the lemon zest is in fine bits. If you don’t use a small-bored microplane to grate the zest, mince it on a cutting board to make sure no one ends up with a big thread in a single dumpling.

The End. Go Eat.

(Correction: Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough’s monthly column was incorrectly attributed to Fine Cooking Magazine. It is Weight Watcher’s Online.)
February 26, 2016
i8tonite with Food Person Bob Warden: QVC Pioneer and Cooking Legend

There is no arguing that Bob Warden is one of leading figures in today’s food world. His presence on QVC shopping network has pushed several billion dollars in sales, ranging from small kitchen appliances such as a pressure cooker, the Ninja bullet, and countless cookbooks. Furthermore, he is a pioneer in television shopping – selling the FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing Systems in 1986 ushered in the first kitchen product infomercial.

Born in the Midwest, Warden studied to be an accountant. However, with the adage of being in the “right place at the right time,” opportunities began opening up in the food world, taking him to Alaska, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City. Now, residing in New England and Pennsylvania, the seventy-one year seems to have no bounds and endless energy, starting a new project, The Perfect Portion Cookbook with actor and food entrepreneur Anson Williams and nutritionist and co-author, Mona Dolgov.

Flatbread Pizza for Perfect Portions Cookbook 2015

Warden has collaborated with a variety of kitchen companies, bringing over 1,000 products to the consumer. From 1998 to 2014, Warden was instrumental in developing QVC’s private label Cook’s Essentials® and Technique® cookware and small electric appliance lines. During that span, Warden personally appeared as a celebrated QVC on-air chef for more than 5,000 live presentations.

Warden and his team have authored, developed, printed, and published over 30 cookbooks, totaling over 3 million books sold. By doing so, he has become the recognized international expert in creating cookbooks specifically designed to support specialty housewares products, such as pressure cookers, Ninja blenders, slow cookers, steam ovens, etc. It’s quite an accomplishment, as he may be better known than Elvis, Madonna, and The Beatles.

Grandpa Bob needs help

Asked what his greatest accomplishments are, he replies, “My six children and fourteen grandchildren, but I’m almost proud on a professional level about bringing breakthrough kitchen concepts to the consumer.”

Food People Questions (with a nod to Proust):

What is your favorite food to cook at home?
My over-researched and over-tested Short Rib recipe served over Risotto

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Fresh Berries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries

What marked characteristic do you love in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?
Intelligent, witty conversationalist!

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?
Rudeness, especially talking on the phone, texting or reading email

Bob Warden’s perfected potroast

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Yes, Yes, and Yes. If only one, a really good red or white table wine to fit the occasion.

Your favorite cookbook author?
Americas’s Test Kitchen – I use their work as my reality check.

Your favorite kitchen tool?
My Sarah Weiner chef’s knife, because I am a snob when it comes to knives.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
Discovery food, trying new ethnic combinations in old comfort food recipes

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
Pork! I was raised on a pork farm and know how to pig out!

Favorite vegetable?
Eggplant, because it is so versatile

Chef you most admire?
So many for different reasons. If I could pick one to be my private teaching chef, it would be Eric Rupert.

Food you like the most to eat?
Flat Bread Pizza, because you can put and endless array of tasty food on a pizza, and always have crunch.

Food you dislike the most?
To look at: Overcooked Asparagus. I never eat it!

What is your favorite non-food thing to do?
Play Tennis so I can eat more food!

Who do you most admire in food?
Anthony Bourdain, because he is brave enough to try the food that I am not brave enough to try.

Where is your favorite place to eat?
My local Pub, its like being wrapped in a comfortable warm sweater of food and people I know.

What is your favorite restaurant?
Le Bernardin because there is no better combination of food, service, ambience, and grandeur in America.

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
No, but if I were to get one, I would wear a radish in the right place.

Recipe: Berry Good and Nutty Whole Grain Cereal Breakfast

Recipe: Berry Good and Nutty Whole Grain Cereal Breakfast

1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill 10 grain cereal mix
1 cup water
7 walnut halves
5 pecan halves
1 pinch pumpkin seeds
1 pinch flax seed
1 cup of berries I like four at once: raspberries , blueberries, blackberries and strawberries
1 tablespoon demerara or brown sugar

Bring water to boil in a small saucepan.
Add cereal mix and stir, reduce heat, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add all remaining ingredients to a cereal bowl, spoon cereal over the top, and stir together.
Eat, feeling good about yourself, because you have all the darn grains, fruit, seeds, nuts, and fiber out of the way for the day.

The End. Go Eat.

February 12, 2016
i8tonite with Abby Dodge, Pastry Chef and Cookbook author … and her Lemon Ginger Mousse Soufflés
What began as a love for baking at a young age, developed into a passionate and successful career for Abby Dodge. A widely respected, award-winning expert in baking and cooking for both kids and adults, as well as a popular food writer, instructor and media personality, Abby has a simple mission: To streamline baking and cooking for home cooks of all ages.

She studied in Paris at La Varenne and worked under superstars Michel Guerard and Guy Savoy, specializing in pastry. She has held food editorial posts at Parents and Woman’s Day, and has contributed to over seven dozen special-interest publications focusing on baking and family cooking. Abby is currently a contributing editor at Fine Cooking magazine, where she has been on the masthead since its first issue in 1994. She founded the magazine’s test kitchen, has written and contributed to over eighty articles to date, and serves as the magazine’s guru for all things baking.

In addition to her regular blog postings, Abby hosts a Baking Boot Camp video class on the popular site Craftsy.com, where she teaches and encourages an international group of bakers of all skill levels to become better bakers.

Her tenth book, The Everyday Baker ~ Recipes & Techniques For Foolproof Baking (The Taunton Press, Dec. 2015), has just been released to much critical praise – including my own! I love this book – and have recommended it far and wide. It’s the most comprehensive – and interesting – baking cookbook I’ve ever seen (and I own more than 5,000 cookbooks). I love the detailed instructions (with photos), as well as the creative, intriguing recipes (176 of them!). I’ve reviewed many of Abby’s cookbooks through the years – they are all amazing, and keep getting better. Highly recommended.

Abby’s Ten Popular and Award-Winning Cookbooks:
- The Everyday Baker ~ Recipes & Techniques for Foolproof Baking, 2015 (Washington Post Top Ten Cookbooks of 2015; Dorie Greenspan Top Baking Cookbooks of 2015)
- Mini Treats & Handheld Treats ~ Delicious Desserts to Pick Up & Eat (September, 2012)
- Desserts 4 Today – Flavorful Desserts with just FOUR INGREDIENTS , 2010 (a viral & critically acclaimed sensation)
- Williams-Sonoma Mini Pies, 2010
- Around the World Cookbook, 2008 (Good Morning America Top 10 Cookbooks of 2008; Parents Choice Recommended Award 2008; Cordon d’Or Culinary Academy Award 2008)
- The Weekend Baker, 2005, reprinted 2008 (Food + Wine Top Ten Cookbooks of 2004; IACP Cookbook Award Finalist)
- Kids Baking, 2003 (Over 347,000 copies in print, translated into Spanish)
- Williams-Sonoma Dessert, 2002 (Over 300,000 in print, translated into Spanish)
- The Kid’s Cookbook, 2000 (Over 368,000 copies in print)
- Great Fruit Desserts, 1997 (Translated into six languages)
Abby has also contributed or co-authored many cookbooks, including:
- Baking Out Loud (Hedy Goldsmith, Clarkson Potter 2012)
- B. Smith’s Southern A to Z (Scribner, 2008)
- The Joy of Cooking, 75th Anniversary Edition, 2006
- Savoring America, 2002 (James Beard Award finalist; Ben Franklin Award winner)
- Cookies for Christmas, 1999
- The All New Joy of Cooking, 1997
Banana Rum Truffle Tart

Food Questions (with a nod to Proust):

What is your favorite food to cook at home?
Eggs. Easy & options abound.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Unsalted butter.

What marked characteristic do you love in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?
Keeping it real – no posers at my table.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?
Open-mouth chewer.

Beer, wine or cocktail?
Yes, please.

Maple Pear Slab Pie

Your favorite cookbook author?
I’m promoting a book so.. me.

Your favorite kitchen tool?
My Oxo kitchen scale

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
French… Italian… Greek… Spanish… don’t make me chose.

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
Easy: Chicken

Favorite vegetable?
Brussel sprouts but ask me again tomorrow, I happily bounce all over the veggie aisle.

Chef you most admire?
Alfred Portale – insanely gifted, a bear to work for & surprisingly shy.

Food you like the most to eat?
Cake. Make mine chocolate and in big pieces, please.

Food you dislike the most?
I’ll take some heat for this one but… beets. Chalk it up to a bad childhood experience.
Don’t ask.

What is your favorite non-food thing to do?
Watching RHOBH with my darling daughter- a guilty pleasure.

Who do you most admire in food?
Michael Rulhman. A straight talker and brilliant writer worth listening to.

Where is your favorite place to eat?
On a warm day, I’ll be sitting at an outside table, preferably by the water. Please pass the Rose.

What is your favorite restaurant?
See above.

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
My Motto: Don’t answer questions that you don’t want your kids to read.

Lemon Ginger Mousse Souffle

Recipe: Lemon Ginger Mousse Soufflés from The Everyday Baker

Serves 6

These light, billowy individual soufflé-like mousses are a variation on a pie filling in my book, The Weekend Baker. Instead of adding heavy cream to the mousse, I use puréed ricotta (for a smooth texture) to add richness without heaviness. The lemon and fresh ginger make for a refreshing flavor profile, but it’s the ginger cookies hidden inside that are the surprise ingredient. Softened by the mousse, they bring texture and a burst of ginger flavor.

Adding a collar of parchment adds additional height to the ramekins. This way you can mimic the impressive height of a baked soufflé without the need for any last-minute fussing.

Neutral oil (safflower, canola, vegetable, or corn), for the
ramekins

For the mousse
3⁄4 cup (180 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 envelope (1⁄4 oz./7 g) unflavored powdered gelatin
11⁄4 cups (111⁄4 oz./319 g) ricotta (part skim is fine)
3⁄4 cup (51⁄2 oz./156 g) granulated sugar
1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
2 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger
Pinch of table salt
4 whites from large eggs (4 oz./ 113 g), at room temperature
1⁄2 tsp. cream of tartar
1⁄2 cup (2 oz./57 g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted if lumpy

12 gingersnap cookies + more for the crushed cookie topping
(I use Nabisco or homemade molasses cookies)

Blackberry Compote (recipe in the book) or other berry sauces, optional

Have ready six 6-oz. (180 ml) ramekins (31⁄2 inches wide and 12⁄3 inches high/9 cm wide and 4.25 cm high) arranged on a flat plate or quarter sheet pan. Cut parchment into six strips 21⁄2 inches (6 cm) wide and 12 inches (30.5 cm) long. Wrap one strip around each ramekin so that the paper covers the ramekin and stands 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the rim; secure with tape. Lightly grease the inside of the paper rim (I use a paper towel dipped in a bit of neutral oil).

Make the mousse
1. Pour the lemon juice into a small heatproof ramekin (or keep it in the measuring cup) and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the top. Set aside to soften. Once the gelatin has absorbed the liquid and is plump (about 3 minutes), microwave briefly until it is completely melted and crystal clear, 1 to 2 minutes. This can also be done in a small saucepan (instead of the ramekin) over low heat.

2. Put the ricotta, granulated sugar, lemon zest, ginger, and salt in a blender. Scrape the lemon–gelatin mixture into the blender, cover, and process until the ricotta is smooth and the mixture is well blended, about 11⁄2 minutes, scraping down the sides once or twice. Pour into a medium bowl and refrigerate, stirring frequently, until the mixture is cooled and thickened, 20 to 30 minutes. It should be as thick as unbeaten egg whites. For faster cooling, set the bowl over a larger bowl filled with ice, stirring and scraping the sides frequently until cooled.

3. Put the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a medium bowl and using an electric handheld mixer fitted with wire beaters) and beat on medium speed until the whites are frothy, 30 to 45 seconds. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the whites form soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue beating while gradually adding the confectioners’ sugar, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat until the whites form firm and glossy peaks when the beater is lifted.

4. Scoop about one-quarter of the whites into the thickened lemon mixture and, using a silicone spatula, gently stir until blended. Add the remaining whites and gently fold in until just blended.

Assemble the mousses
Arrange one cookie in the bottom of each ramekin. Using a large spoon, fill the ramekins halfway with the mousse. Arrange a cookie on top of the mousse and evenly portion the remaining mousse on top of the cookies. Using a small offset spatula, smooth the tops.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 1 day.

To serve
Using a sharp paring knife, carefully peel away the parchment from the ramekins (up to 3 hours ahead). Just before serving, place each ramekin on a small plate and top with some of the crushed ginger cookie or a little of the blackberry compote, passing the remainder at the table.

MAKE AHEAD
The soufflés can be prepared, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days before serving.

– The End. Go Eat. –

Recipe and author photo courtesy and copyright Abby Dodge. Recipe photos courtesy and copyright Tina Rupp [finished dishes] and Sloan Howard, Taunton Press [how-to photos]
January 29, 2016
i8tonite: Chef’s Questionnaire with Michelin-Starred Chef and Author Greg Malouf
Michelin-starred chef and cookbook author Greg Malouf has inspired a generation of cooks, transforming the global restaurant scene with his love for the flavors of the Middle East and North Africa.

He was born in Melbourne, Australia of Lebanese parents. After serving his formal training in several of Australia’s finest restaurants, he went on to work in France, Italy, Austria, and Hong Kong. Drawing on his cultural heritage and European training, Greg has forged a unique style of cooking that combines Middle Eastern tradition with contemporary flair. Greg is in constant international demand for chef master classes, media interviews and guest-chef appearances in leading hotels of the world.

He is the co-author, with Lucy Malouf, his former wife, of the multi-award-winning cookbooks Arabesque, Moorish, Saha, Turquoise, Saraban – and his latest book Malouf – New Middle Eastern Food. In 2014, Greg and his co-author, released their new vegetarian Middle Eastern cookbook, New Feast.

Greg currently resides in Dubai and has opened his signature kitchen, Clé Dubai.

‘But it’s not just brave, it’s clever…. Dishes like hummus, moutabel, muhammara, fattoush and tabbouleh are recipes we eat constantly in the region, and those which many of us will gauge a restaurant’s capabilities by. They set a benchmark, and by giving us his versions, Malouf has painted his own standard.’ – Sarah Walton, The Hedonista

From the United Kingdom Michelin Guide: While Malouf has rolled out such touches slowly at Petersham, they have not gone without notice. The editor of the 2013 Michelin Guide to Great Britain & Ireland, Rebecca Burr, says Michelin’s reviewers had been impressed with Malouf’s originality. ”The star was retained solely on the food and it was an easy decision to make,” Burr says. ”Greg Malouf has stamped his own mark on Petersham Nurseries and we are delighted to highlight his original cuisine to our readers.”

How long have you been cooking? It frightens me to think this but I started cooking at the age of 17 (1978). 37 years!

What is your favorite food to cook? My favorite cuisine is Lebanese and I love to cook with all its exotic ingredients.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Yogurt, olives, and eggs.

What do you cook at home?
I spend most of my time in my kitchen at work. However, when at home cooking, it’s usually for friends. Lentil tabbouleh, salmon kibbeh nayee and chicken in saj (mountain) bread are a staple for a dinner party.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? The willingness to leave a part of their mother’s food at home and understand what a restaurant experience offers.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? Customers who aren’t open to any interpretation in a restaurant.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?
Glassware = Pyrex
Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Wine and champagne

Your favorite cookbook author?
Claudia Roden – her inspiration book called The New Book of Middle Eastern Food

Your favorite kitchen tool? Mortar and pestle. Smashing garlic with sea salt and blending it with spices and olive oil.

Your favorite ingredient?
Murray River Crystal sea salt.

Your least favorite ingredient?
Brussels sprouts.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Kill and skin live eels.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Lebanese, Italian. and Cantonese.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu?
Grass fed beef from Scotland, Bresse chicken from France and UK old breed pork ….. I don’t eat tofu!
Favorite vegetable?
Eggplant (aubergine).

Chef you most admire?
Raymond Capaldi. He is an unmarked bottle of poison. He’s such an explosive character and you never know what you’ll get from him and on his plates.

Food you like the most to eat?
Late night Lebanese mezza

Food you dislike the most?
Capsicum. (Bell peppers.)

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
One tattoo – a scar that produced two heart transplants

Recipe: Pigeon tagine with Dates and Ginger (Or Cornish Game Hens)
- 4 squab pigeons, breasts and marylands removed (Or Cornish Game hens)
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup of sherry
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon saffron (1/2)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 2 cups dates, chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 6 cups water or chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Prepare the pigeons or hens by cutting them into quarters. If you don’t feel confident about doing this yourself, ask your butcher to prepare them for you.

Briefly sauté the carcasses to add colour, then add the vegetables and sauté a few more minutes. Add sherry and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour on the water and bring to the boil. Skim off any surface fat, then lower heat and simmer for an hour, skimming off any fat from time to time.

Melt the butter and oil and fry the onions and garlic over a medium heat until softened. Add the pepper, saffron, cinnamon and ginger and stir well. Season pigeon pieces with salt and sauté in the spicy mixture for about 2 minutes, until well coated. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Then add the chopped dates and stir in well. Cover again, and simmer for a further 20-30 minutes – check to see when pigeon pieces are nice and tender. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with plain buttered couscous or a simple rice pilaff.

The End. Go Eat.
December 1, 2015
i8tonite: New Zealand’s Annabel Langbein’s Chicken and Leek Gratin
Several weeks ago, I was sent a cookbook The Free Range Cook: Simple Pleasures by a lovely celebrity cook, Annabel Langbein, from New Zealand. From the onset, Ms. Langbein seems to be the country’s answer to Martha Stewart – prettier, younger, and from a whole different continent.

She has a line of cookbooks – 21 and counting — a television and radio series plus her own line of products. Her television series has been seen in 70 countries. New Zealand, as a country, has a population of under five million. The United States has a population far beyond that number, and she wants to conquer it.

She means well and seems like the real thing. Before Langbein became a cooking superstar, she was a food writer for a variety of Australian magazines. She met her husband while she was a possum trapper and he was a farmer. Her trademark term – free range – means organic living and gardening. She lives off the land, taking daily walks into her garden, locating what’s ripe, and deciding whatever is picked will be dinner that evening.

It’s a little idyllic and hard for me to believe that Langbein gets her own veggies from any garden. She’s perfectly coiffed along with an impeccable manicure. I just can’t imagine Ms. Langbein, or Martha for that matter, sending business emails from their garden. It kills the romantic ideal of owning a lake house, which Langbein mentions often. (Admittedly, in the back of the book, she acknowledges the assistants who create this picturesque lifestyle.)

Aside from being a little too picture-perfect, the recipes are easy to recreate. The idea of a Halloumi (the Greek cheese) and Papaya Salad sounds deliciously refined. There is also a Salmon Confit made with a liter of olive oil.

It’s a beautiful cookbook. I made a delicious and fairly easy, Chicken and Leek Gratin. The topping looked interesting and fun for a variety of dishes including a coating for chicken or on top of poached eggs. Simple and easy – or maybe I should say free range.

All Photos Courtesy of Annabel Langbein Publishing

Chicken and Leek Gratin (Serves 6)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 large leeks, washed and thinly sliced
- 12 boneless and skinless chicken thighs (No need to go out to your garden and do your own butchering. Your local grocery store has them in a yellow styrofoam package.)
- 3 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons worchestershire
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon thyme (She doesn’t specify from her garden. I bought some at my farmers’ market.)
- ½ cup cream or chicken broth
- And Provencal crust. (1 to 2 cups of dried breadcrumbs, 1 handful of torn parsley, zest of 1 lemon, 2 garlic cloves, 2 oz butter, coarsely grated Parmesan, 1 anchovy filet. Place all into a food processor and pulse until mixed together.)
Let’s make this puppy:

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add leek and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes until softened and translucent.

In a bowl, add the chicken thighs, mustard, thyme, worchestershire sauce and a couple pinches of salt. Mix well and set aside.

Remove leeks from heat and stir in cream or broth. Pour this into an oven proof casserole dish or shallow baking pan. Arrange chicken on top. Cover with the Provencal Crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. It should be fragrant, bubbly and a golden topping.

The End. Go Eat.
November 18, 2015
I8tonite with Food Person: Sasha Martin, Author of “Life from Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family and Forgiveness
“Most people who have had a rough background will admit there’s something unsettling about finding happiness after difficulty – that even after we unwrap this gift, we don’t know how to stop searching, rummaging, pilfering for something else. We walk haltingly through life, ready for the other shoe to drop. The question is not if, but when.” – Sasha Martin, “Life from Scratch” (National Geographic Society, March 2015).

I had never heard of the food blog GlobalTableAdventure.com until I read Sasha Martin’s engaging food memoir “Life from Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family and Forgiveness” (ISBN 978 – 1- 5462 – 8, National Geographic Society) published in March of this year. Martin’s blog is about cooking globally and bringing that experience of culture to the table, but it’s her book and story that’s the winner. “Life from Scratch” begins light-heartedly enough but as Martin’s life progresses from child to teenager, it becomes disquieting and uneasy. Once, Martin moves to Tulsa, Oklahoma as an adult, I breathed a sigh of relief. To Ms. Martin’s credit, it’s her calm style of writing that gives the reader emotional balance to understand the truth of what’s transpiring. Otherwise, one might get squirmy reading in the Lazy-boy.

Speaking with Martin on the phone is a pleasure. Her voice is like her writing — soft, easy with hints of apprehension. (Apprehension because she’s talking to me. I make people wary.) She disclosed that
Life from Scratch came about in an unusual manner. Martin was approached by a literary agent who liked GlobalTableAdventure. The agent shopped the proposal around to a variety of publishing houses — they all loved it — but Martin felt a “kinship” to National Geographic Society (NGS). Interestingly, her NGS editor really liked the story of the blog and global cooking up until the first draft. But she felt that Martin wasn’t forthcoming with her childhood history…. that she was holding back. Martin admitted she was. She explained to her editor about growing up, the death of her brother and the twelve European countries she visited with her legal guardians. She details the story of her mother letting her and her brother go into foster care. Once, the real story of Sasha Martin was out, it was the truth and book the editor wanted.

Martin said, “I never expected so much of this book to be about my past. It was supposed to be a lighthearted exploration of world cooking but digging deeper made me realize the real story wasn’t how I cooked the world but why. Being forced to face my past was a gift. I have so much more understanding and perspective now.

Punctuated with loving memories of home cooking with her mother, a lonely teenager in European and global cuisine from her blog, GlobalTableAdventure.com, such as Hungarian Paprika Chicken, German Cake and Maldivian Fire-Roasted Fish, “Life from Scratch” may turn out to be my favorite book of 2015. It offers hope and fulfillment on a spiritual scale.

“There’s a difference between poverty of resources and poverty of spirit.” – Sasha Martin, Life from Scratch.

(Correction/Revision: Previously, it was noted that Ms. Martin lived in twelve countries her foster parents. She visited twelve with her legal guardians. A correction and revision to the original post was made. )

Food People Questions: (with a nod to Marcel Proust)

What is your favorite food to cook at home? Argentinian Acorn Squash Salad with baby arugula and aged goat cheese.

The Marshall Islands.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? Spicy mustard.

What marked characteristic do you love in a person with whom you are sharing a meal? Warmth.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a person with whom you are sharing a meal? Treating their cellphone like a guest at the party.

Beer, wine or cocktail? Any cocktail with grapefruit or a Riesling spritzer with a wedge of orange.

Japanese Bento Box for kids

Your favorite cookbook author? I’m a huge fan of what Christopher
Kimball does – very methodical, reliable recipes. Every single time.

Your favorite kitchen tool? Microplane.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Cooking a meal from every country in the world taught me to love trying recipes from obscure-to-me parts of the world.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Tofu.

Favorite vegetable? Brussels Sprouts.

Date Balls

Chef you most admire? Nigel Slater – he overcame a rough childhood and has the most beautiful way with words. Tender and Ripe are masterpieces

Food you like the most to eat? Hmmm… on most days a hearty salad, like Malaysian Herbed Rice Salad, with a crusty loaf of homemade artisan bread.

Food you dislike the most? I’m not much for eating something just for the shock value. My goal is to share international food that’s easy enough for a weeknight and elegant enough for the weekend.

What is your favorite non-food thing to do? Write or paint.

Who do you most admire in food? The millions of families struggling to make ends meet. My own mother struggled to make ends meet and yet she scrimped and saved so we could eat foods like 19-layer German Tree Cake. She taught me that food can help us see beyond our circumstances; there’s a real difference between poverty of resources and poverty of spirit.

Where is your favorite place to eat? Any patio, 75F.

What is your favorite restaurant? I have fond memories of eating at Vietnamese restaurants in Paris. Go figure!

Martin and her daughter cooking.

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? No. I have a theory that I could never truly be naked if I ever got a tattoo.

Sasha Martin’s Recipe: Mongolian Carrot Salad (Serves 4 hungry people)

Ingredients:
- 1 lb carrots, grated or julienned (on a mandolin is easiest)
- 1/2 cup raisins, soaked in hot water
For the dressing:
- 1 large clove of garlic, grated
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar
- salt & pepper, to taste
Toss everything together and refrigerate until needed. Best after about 30 minutes. Check seasonings before serving (be sure to use plenty of salt to bring out the flavors).

– The End. Go Eat. –
October 16, 2015