Recently in Food & Wine Category

(Click on picture for larger version).

(Click on photo for larger version).

One of my favorite food blogs is Khymos edited by Martin Lersch. Khymos is the source of the best food-blog post ever: "Towards the perfect soft-boiled egg" (really, it is!) and is also where you can find the newest release of Martin's invaluable work-in-progress - "TEXTURE A hydrocolloid recipe collection." In addition to over 300 recipes using colloids (gels), it has a extremely valuable set of appendixes detailing gelling agents, their characteristics, and suppliers. This is a must have for anyone who is interested in molecular gastronomy. I know first hand, that you can find copies of this little jewel in some of the best restaurant kitchens in the world. Here's your chance to upgrade your kitchen, and it's a lot cheaper than a Molteni stove!

One of my goals... no, let's be honest: fantasies, was to eat at El Bulli. I went through the reservation process and like most people, didn't have any luck. However, considering the number of people trying for a dinner reservation, I was mightily impressed that I got an email politely saying there was no room at the inn. Perhaps I should print it out in gold ink and frame it. It is as close as I'll ever get to El Bulli, now that they are closing to become a cooking school.

So, as they used to say every now and then: "The King is Dead! Long Live the King!" making this the time to wonder whose restaurant will ascend to the top of the world ranking. This article: "Who Will Fill El Bulli's Place?" picks Alinea. This is great news! Although I've never been to Alinea either, I did have a reservation there once, and I have (more or less) successfully cooked out of the Alinea cookbook.

This isn't original with me, but the news is so important to the foodie community that it bears repeating here.

The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin.

Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, The California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch.

The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described him as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.

Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers.

He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes.

Despite being a little flaky at times and a crusty old man he was still considered a positive roll model for millions.

He is survived by his wife Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven.

He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

A favorite Mexican sauce of mine is made from tomatillos and chilies.

Remove the dry outer husks from approximately one-half pound of fresh tomatillos. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the tomatillos for five minutes. Drain, then put the blanched tomatillos into the blender with two dried chilies (seeds removed; I had Chihuacle and Chipotle chilies lying around, but use whatever mildly or moderately-hot chili that you may have ). Add a pinch of salt, and two small crushed cloves of garlic. Blend on the puree setting for about two minutes. Strain the sauce into a bowl, and then transfer to a squeeze bottle. The sauce seems to last two or three weeks if kept refrigerated.

I love putting this on grilled chicken breasts, steaks, and scrambled eggs, but intend to continue experimentation to find other yummy uses.

Summer must be here... STONEFRUIT!

As I previously reported, Manresa will be celebrating the Iron Chef America victory by offering the winning dishes with a six-course Iron Chef menu for $135 per person. The menu will be available on three consecutive Sundays, May 10, 17, and 24. This is a special menu, so if you want it, please request it when you make your reservation.

More information is available here on the Manresa blog.

Manresa
320 Village Lane
Los Gatos, CA 95030
+1 (408) 354-4330

An occasional feature:

Food scientist works alongside chefs to dream up new ideas [LA Times]
Peet's attempts to eliminate weak coffee from the world [Atlantic Food Blog]
How I learned to love goat meat [NYT] [Ed: not me!]
California Spice Firm Recalls (Salmonella) [Chron]
SF Weekly Foodie Blog Pans San Francisco Foie Gras resolution [SFoodie]
Mr. Know-it-All mistakes Copain Syrah for a Pinot Noir [NYT]

Gerald Hiragoyen had a book release party Saturday, March 15, for his new book, Pintxos: Small Plates in the Basque Tradition at his Bocadillos restaurant. The event was held as a fund raiser with book sale proceeds going to Food Runners, a San Francisco charity that picks up excess perishable food from businesses and delivers it to shelters and neighborhood programs that feed the hungry.

All of the tables had been removed and guests were treated to wine and an endless supply of fresh tapas, presumably from recipes in the book.

Since Bocadillos is my favorite Basque place in the city I bought a copy of the book and had it autographed. (Note: do not call Bocadillos a "Spanish" restaurant within earshot of Chef Hiragoyen. You will be corrected!). I've been going through it and trying things out. This is my favorite recipe so far...

I grew up with Lipton tea bags and percolator coffee. For some reason, my parents thought tea was okay for a child, but coffee was not. I'm not sure if they were more concerned with a threat to my moral well being or to my health. As soon as I got a taste of the two beverages, I thought their choice was the correct one, though I think my conclusion might have been influenced by the quality of that 1950's cup of coffee.

It wasn't until many years later, when I started collecting Chinese oolongs and practicing traditional brewing techniques, that I finally learned what fine tea was. Former tea bag users are always delighted to learn that fine tea is given multiple infusions and carefully noting the changes in the beverage for three or four steepings with the same leaves. Of course, you use more tea than you would for a single cup, and you steep for a shorter time.

Finally not being able to take the nonsense any longer, Incanto owner Mark Pastore has published a thoughtful and reasoned essay on why Incanto, an Italian restaurant with no obvious reason to serve foie gras, decided to offer it on the menu. They did so to weigh in on "whether or not as a society we will permit the views of a vocal minority to trample our personal right to choose what we will and will not eat."

He also makes that point that the campaign against foie gras is an opportunistic and cynical ploy using anti-elitist and demagogic populist rhetoric to allow folks to feel they are morally superior and helping to make the world a better place, when they aren't doing any thing of the kind.

He also provides a link to the recent Village Voice article: "Is Foie Gras Torture?" where the initially morally superior reporter, after doing some research isn't so sure any more.

Pastore also makes the argument that passing foie gras legislation while the State of California hurtles towards insolvency is the height of stupidity and arrogance.

Human beings are at the top of the food chain. They got there by eating protein. You need to kill things to harvest protein. There is no way the current human population can be supported without a food industry. The anti foie gras movement and its cynical followers would enslave us and lead us back to the dark ages.

POULARD MADO (Roast Chicken Mado)

Madame Marie-Louise Point, whom her husband affectionately called "Mado," is the inspiration for this recipe. When Fernand Point wrote it out in his notebook, he also wrote the following in a corner of the page: "I dedicate this dish to the most beautiful woman in the world, my wife."

Stuff a fat young roasting chicken from Bresse with truffles and roast it slowly. Make a little bit of sauce from the pan juices. Arrange the bird on a heated platter surrounded by ortolans and some slices of foie gras quickly heated in butter. Pour over the pan juices and serve with a bottle of Romanée-Conti from a happy year.

From: Ma Gastromonie by Fernand Point

The notion of terroir, which originated in France and was first applied mostly to wine, is that the special qualities of the land and climate in any given location affect and distinguish the taste and quality of the food grown on it. Potatoes can be spoken of in terms of terroir, too. A specific variety will not taste or cook up the same if it is grown in Lyon instead of the island of Norimoutier. The island's sandy soil and muck impart a special flavor. The ratte from Touquet has its devoted disciples, as does the ratte of Lyon, which is also called a "quenelle."

From The Complete Robuchon.

On this day in 1943 an order of Federal Government banned the sale of sliced bread as an economy measure to free up resources and assure the winning of World War II.

No, I'm not kidding. Wikipedia has the story here, and they reference this fine article about other edicts that came out of Washington during the war.

Rubber and gasoline rationing lasted the entire war, but the ban on sliced bread was both resented and ridiculed so it only lasted about two months before being rescinded.

Now things have come full circle and here in food-obsessed Northern California no one would dream of getting their Acme, Boudin, or Tartine bread sliced. Oh, the horror!

Update: for trvia fans here is a good blog post about the history of sliced bread.