Gorgeous

I can't even image how much time, patience, and practice these took. See a whole gallery of melon art. Via World on a Plate.

Culinary Mythology: Searing Meat

This is a myth that I have known about ever since reading Harold McGee's excellent On Food and Cooking, some twenty years ago. It always amazes me how many different authors still ascribe to the idea of searing meat to keep juices in.

EFFECT OF SEARING MEAT
Harold McGee (1990) introduces and deals with this myth succinctly:

It's in the best of cookbooks and the worst of cookbooks, the simple and the sophisticated. "Sear the meat to seal in the juices," they say. This catchy phrase is probably the best-known explanation of a cooking method. It originated with an eminent scientist. And it's pure fiction.

A nineteenth century German chemist, Justus von Liebig, conceived the idea that high temperatures quickly coagulate proteins at the surface of a piece of meat, and that this coagulum forms a juice-trapping shell that keeps the interior moist. The cooking technique that Liebig accordingly recommended -- start the meat at a high temperature to seal it, then reduce the heat to cook it through -- ran counter to the traditional ways of roasting and boiling. Despite this, or perhaps exactly because it offered a modern "scientific" alternative to tradition, the technique caught on immediately in England and America and eventually in France. Unfortunately, Liebig never bothered to test his theory by experiment. When home economists did so in the 1930s, they found that seared beef roasts lose somewhat more moisture than roasts cooked throughout at a moderate temperature. But Liebig's brainchild continues to turn up in many recipes for roasting, frying, and grilling. It refuses to die.

McGee also explores the question of why it refuses to die; and explains how easily, by simple visual observation, even the most stubborn adherent may be convinced that the myth is indeed a myth.

The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson

Didja Want Fries With That?

A couple of sources have the low-down on high profile chefs who are fronting for products. Via World on a Plate, we have the Wall Street Journal story by Kelly Crow.

At the Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, Mass., one typical East-West fusion offering is "Miso Risotto with Shrimp Mousse and Roulade of Seared Monkfish." With its fancy name and $28 price tag, diners might expect the seafood is all fresh off the boat.

But the shrimp that gourmet chef Ming Tsai uses in that entree and others is frozen. And that's no coincidence: Mr. Tsai cut a deal with a big supplier of frozen shrimp, which pays more than $550,000 a year to sponsor both of Mr. Tsai's TV cooking shows. The company also sells him frozen shrimp at "below cost." Under the deal, the underwriter asks that Mr. Tsai features shrimp on two or three episodes.

"For me, frozen is a tastier shrimp," says Mr. Tsai, who on occasion buys shrimp fresh from other vendors. "Fresh is not as fresh as frozen, I think."

While that may be true wouldn't we all feel better if Mr. Tsai was upfront about it? Disclosures abound in the article.

This brings us to Too Many Chefs who focus on Rick Bayless' Burger King commercial (a scandal in the foodie community) and consider the question of celeb chefs fronting for products is a problem. Guess what their answer is.

Bayless stated his goal was to "help Burger King customers “take steps toward honest, seasonal, natural flavors [by] starting with them where they are". Oh, and get paid. That, too.

He got paid, but the WSJ reports that Bayless was so pressured by the foodie community and media to renounce the Burger King spot that he gave the $300,000 he earned for the commercial to charity.

Nutrition Basics - Protein/Amino Acids

The basic building blocks of protein are known as amino acids. The multitude of proteins found in a human cell are composed of about twenty amino acids, most of which are produced by the body. The eight essential amino acids that cannot be produced in the body must be supplied by the diet. All protein-rich foods contain some or all of these eight. Certain other amino acids are considered to be conditionally essential -- normally the body can produce these from the eight essential ones, but when intake of the latter is insufficient, a dietary source of conditionally essential amino acids becomes important.

Foods are categorized as containing either complete protein or incomplete protein. Those providing complete protein contain all eight essential amino acids. Meats, poultry, fish, and other animal products are good sources of complete protein, but they are not necessarily the healthiest sources, as many of these foods also contain high amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol.

Vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts do not contain all the essential amino acids. However, each of these food groups contains different types and ratios of the essential amino acids, and when combined, they provide complete proteins. This process of combining complementary proteins has been referred to as mutual supplementation. The traditional dishes from cuisines that rely on plant foods as their major source of protein are excellent examples of this practice: lentils and rice, pasta and beans, tortillas and beans, tofu and rice, or hummus and pita bread.

Recent studies have shown that the body does not require that all eight essential amino acids be consumed in the same meal. A diet balanced over the course ofthe day with various complementary protein sources normally supplies all the amino acids required by a healthy individual.

The Professional Chef, 7th Edition by The Culinary Institute of America

Vanilla Brownies

I no longer remember where I got this recipe but it is sooooo good!

Step 1:
12 ounces vanilla milk chips (white chocolate chips)
1/2 cup butter
Heat until just melted (may curdle). Cool.

Step 2:
1-1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
Stir into chocolate-butter mixture. Spread in greased/floured 13x9” pan. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350°. Cool and top with Vanilla Glaze. 32 quantity.

Vanilla Glaze
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix until smooth.

Chicken Sauté with Vinegar

There I was with half an hour to dinner and a whole chicken ... hmmm, so I cut up the chicken and while trying to think of something interesting to do with it, remembered The Supper Book which I had just finished reading ... and handily was on the counter right behind me. The Chicken Sauté with Vinegar was really easy and pleased everyone, including Hannah (now that's a real home run!). And I simmered a saucepan of water with the wings and back ... voila chicken broth for the freezer!

You can use different kinds of vinegar making this so see which acidity pleases you best. We had this with egg noodles, salad, and lima beans.

One 2-1/2 pound frying chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
Salt and pepper to taste (I didn't use any, the vinegar was seasoning enough)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick butter)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried tarragon (I didn't have any)
1 tablespoon minced parsley (I didn't have any)

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and put the chicken pieces in, skin side down. Brown on one side, turn over, and brown on the other. This takes about 8 minutes.

Pour in half of the wine vinegar and all of the water, and cover. Turn the heat to low and cook abut 10-15 minutes more. Check for doneness after 10 minutes -- don't overcook. The chicken is done when the juices run clear when the flesh is pierced with a sharp knife.

Transfer the chicken to a platter and cover to keep warm. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the remaining 1/4 cup vinegar and boil quickly to reduce slightly, about 1 minute.

Add the tomato paste, and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Cook a few seconds, pour the sauce over the chicken, and sprinkle with the tarragon and parsley. Serve right away.

Nutrition Basics - Protein

Like fats and carbohydrates, protein is an essential dietary component, providing calories that can be used by the body as a source of energy. It is also essential for the growth and maintenance of body tissues; for the productionof hormones, enzymes, and antibodies; and for the regulation of bodily fluids. Protein should account for about 12 to 15 percent of calories; in a 2,000-calorie diet, that translates to approximately 240-300 calories (60 to 74 grams). Children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers will require more protein to support growth. Illness, infections, attacks on the immune system, and malnutritiion can also affect how much protein the body needs and how well it can use the protein it receives.

The average American eats 100 to 120 grams of protein daily, nearly twice the recommended level. Too much protein can be as detrimental to the body as toolittle because excess protein is linked to osteoporosis, dehydration, and gout. An excess of protein can also damage the liver and kidneys.

The Professional Chef, 7th Edition by The Culinary Institute of America

Weekend Joke(s)

What do you call a cow with no legs?
Ground beef.

What do you call a cow with two legs?
Lean beef.

Thought for Food

Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And, cooking done with care is an act of love.

Craig Claiborne

Carnival of Food ...

... is up at Countertop Chronicles.

The Parisian Kitchen ...

... is not exactly what you may imagine.

When you move into an unfurnished apartment in Paris you can expect to find power and water hook-ups, walls, a floor, and a ceiling. That's it. No cabinets, countertops, certainly no appliances, and maybe not even a sink - just a bare room. Gas is highly uncommom - and considered very dangerous by the French - understandably given the ancient nature of most of the buildings.

Read the rest at Movable Feast, the adventures of an American chef who is living and working in Paris.