Son of A Bisque

Breadsticks (and other pet peeves)

2009-02-28T11:37:00.001-08:00

as a surprise, I was taken out to dinner last night by a few friends. Nothing fancy, just Pizza Hut on 21st street...but in the process of chowing down, I came to a few realizations:

My extreme aversion to Pizza (thanks COSI on Wheels) is slowly going downhill. I certainly won't go out of my way to PAY for pizza... (unless it's a BBQ Chicken) , I'm certainly never going to turn down pizza that's free. I dunno, maybe it's that fact that Pizza is so... uncreative... that keeps me from eating it. Seriously, Take a minute and look up the top 10 pizza toppings:

Pepperoni, Cheese, Sausage, Mushrooms, Pineapple, Ham, Shrimp?!, Green Peppers, Onions, Bacon.

Personally, I would have liked to see Cheese separated out into different categories (much in the same way meats were on this list) but that's besides the point. Corporatism has made us think of pizza as just dough, meat, and cheese. And even then, it's TYPICALLY limited to cow's milk cheese, and meat from a pig or a cow. Why not try a sheep or goat's milk cheese on a pizza, how about Duck, Venison, Lamb, or *GASP* Fish/Crustaceans on a pizza? Why be so damn narrow minded when it comes to construction. I find it almost shameful that the most creative things to come out of mass-marketed pizzarias in the past 10 years are stuffing cheese in the crust and--most recently--using Natural (OMG, NATURAL) ingredients.

And then there are the things they choose to serve with pizza.. most notably. Breadsticks. Ugh... Breadsticks. Now, certainly, there's something to be said for simplicity, for food that IS what it says it is. Here we have the lowly Baton de Pain, Palillo de Pan, i.e. the stick of bread. To be a little more concise, I don't HATE Breadsticks (I'll even eat my fair share of them at Olive Garden or an equivalent restaurant), I just dislike the idea or serving breadsticks WITH pizza or pasta for that matter). Again, think about this: what is a breadstick? It's the basal part of a pizza, not rolled out and flatted but instead covered in butter and herbs. Call me a cynic (you wouldn't be the first) but I really think that if Pizza Hut offered a combo involving a drink, order of breadsticks and Pizza w/o sauce covered in butter and herbs... that people would order it en masse? *sigh* are we really in such dire straits that we need to overpay someone to mix flour, water (and perhaps an egg or two) then melt butter over then and put them in the oven?

Testing

2009-02-25T12:10:00.001-08:00

Conversion Charts

2009-02-14T09:05:00.000-08:00

No, this doesn't have anything to do with food.. but ya know... sometimes we cooks have to convert recipes to Metric and need a comparison off of which to go. Here's a handy reference I found on one of my favorite sites:

It's-a Me-a Mario...

2009-02-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since my last post. Culinary school is going well although it has gone through mind numbingly boring stretches now. Just got done with my double practical of making N.E. Clam Chow-dah and Consomme (90%, booya). Anyway, my recent taste has steered me toward making a type of Neapolitan Pizza:

Included on said pizza is Prosciutto, Cappicola, Spinach, and Large Slices of Mozzarella cheese. I also made up a nice Tomato sauce (hey, what's a Stocks and Sauces class for) . The pizza turned out decently, but was a little runny due to a slight oversight on my part (and one I should have taken into account), namely

Thick Pizza Sauce + Thin Pizza Crust = soggy dough. *sad face*

I see your corn dog, and raise you 2 badass points

2009-01-27T14:17:00.000-08:00

Someone has FINALLY made a french-fry-encased hot dog -- on a stick:

Not to be confused with Korea's tater-tot-encased hot dog on a stick....

Food Rants from in (and on) an Elevator

2009-01-22T12:07:00.001-08:00

Last Thursday being my Birthday, I was again privy to the annual "taking of Eric out to dinner" by my father and stepmother. Weighing my options between Spagio and THE ELEVATOR , (and cursing how much Rosendale's and the Refectory cost) I chose the latter because I'd never been there. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed with my choice.

Located on High Street near the Arena District, the Elevator has good food, great ambiance, and "eh...mediocre service"

Walking in, we were escorted toward the back of the restaurant. Normally I would be irked by being relegated to the back of the establishment but wasn't really bothered this time because a.) it was freaking cold Monday night and b.) the back of the Elevator has decor like this:
a stained glass window (1 of 2 of in the joint), a large painting that made me think of a prohibition-esque speakeasy, and two pool tables dating back to the late-19th century.

After taking in the view, we were greeted by our waiter, Chimchi (sort for Chimichanga I presumed), who was an amicable fellow whose speech was sadly nigh-impossible to decipher due to his prolific use of slang and volume button that didn't really go above a 3. Nonetheless, we all managed to order our dinners post haste.
To the left, you see "R"'s order of Malt Pomegranate Salmon: Grilled Atlantic salmon brushed with malt pomegranate extract, served over Israeli cous cous, with spinach, sundried tomatoes, and parmesan. "R" forgot that Israeli couscous is bigger-grained that what we typically dine on in the States (it is also a little less firm/grainy) and wasn't as fond of it as she though she would be. She did, however, rave over the pomegranate glaze used on the chicken. I myself was impressed with the presentation.

Below that is my father's Wedge (i.e. Wedge Salad). Yes, it looks simple, and yes, it is, but there's always something to be said for simplicity. In this case, dad's wedge of lettuce is topped with bacon, tomatoes, red onions, and a creamy Roquefort dressing. Jane and I also opted for some soup with our meals; she the French Onion Soup and I the Sweet Potato bisque. The Elevator's French Onion soup turned me off (mainly because I'm a french Onion purist) but Jane seemed to enjoy their take on it: using sweetbread and a Gruyere cheese instead of the typical French Bread. My sweet potato Bisque was very smooth, and the cranberries and walnuts with which it was topped provided a
complementary, yet not overpowering, flavor.
And last but not least is the picture of my meal and Jane's Meal. Jane opted for the Almond Crusted Chicken Salad: (I know, a salad?!) Boneless breasts of chicken rolled in almonds and Japanese breadcrumbs, lightly fried, served over mixed greens, bacon, white cheddar and apples, with a maple-shallot vinaigrette and honey mustard drizzle.

Deciding to be a tad more adventurous, I opted for the "Rock Filet," a 7oz portion of Ahi Tuna served with 3 dipping sauces and served alongside a Finnish Tulikivi stone heated to 450deg. The idea is that you are then able to slice off as big--or little--a chunk of Tuna as you like and then sear it or cook it to your desired doneness. Though, my first few cuts of the fish were a tad gristly, once I progressed into the main part of the tuna, the quality was superb and the flavor was excellent.

Of the 3 sauces, I enjoyed the Hoisin sauce (far left) and the Wasabi Honey & Ginger Sauce (middle) but could have done without the mango salsa sauce (far right) that didn't really add anything to the dish aside from a somewhat awkward mouth feel.

Not pictured is Dad's choice of Fish & Chips, which he said were excellent but which I thought were plated and presented to look like fried chicken with fries.

Overalll, I give the food and service at The Elevator a B+. It's not in my top 5 restaurants to frequent in the Columbus area, but it's certainly worth checking out if you're in the mood for moderately upscale dining without having to get dressed up. As a parting note(s), the Elevator is also known for their in-house microbrews, of which I didn't get to partake, so I recommend plopping down a few bucks and your fanny at the bar in order to try that (the Dopplebock and the Bleeding Buckeye being options that jumped out at me). The Elevator also has parking options directly past the restaurant, so don't spend more money than you have to by parking at Nationwide.

Modern Food Commercials = EPIC FAIL !!!

2009-01-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Aside from word of mouth advertising, one of the best ways to learn about food products is through Media Advertising. And, considering that most of you probably don't peruse your magazines "for the articles," you may be relegated to getting your food information from FoodTV or--to a lesser extent--commercials.

Now, call me old-fashioned, but I think food commercials nowadays are heavily lacking. We've come from the genius of eating ads like this:

But now we're being patronized by trite bullshit like "The Whopper Virgins" (and most other BK adverts, IMHO). Let's look at the concept behind this crap: Burger King, in order to prove their infinitesimally small advantage in taste over the Big Mac (again, an advantage that doesn't exist if you ask my palette) they go out to some remote area, feed the indigenous people of that region both burgers in a "double blind test" and then have them report which slab of pre-processed dead meat they prefer. I'll get to my objections with the campaign, but I'll let ABC World News start off:

Aside from the whole "starving kids in Africa" plea that everyone seems to be touting now. Let's think about this from a more heartless, logical/pragmatic vantage point:
Who are the people eating this food? People in underprivileged countries. I'd be willing to put $$ on the fact that there is no real; "haute cuisine" in any of these countries. They very well could be the same people with whom Anthony Bourdain ate beating cobra heart, seal eye, or Warthog rectum. So, basically, what you're saying is that you're meat is preferred by people whose tastebuds are used to things the general US populace wouldn't touch with a fork on a 10' pole. You want to convince me that your burger is better?? Hire a master taster like Scott McMartin (from Starbucks*) to taste the two. However, I doubt he would do this.. why? Because both burgers, in all reality are shit. You want a real burger?? cook it yourself? You want a real burger recipe?
Here ya go: http://tr.im/3zwh

The other thing that concerns me is the large amount of food chains now hocking their "suddenly" healthy products: A few years ago, McDonald's had their White meat McNuggets; now, Pizza hut suddenly has whole wheat pizza dough, real tomato sauce and REAL pepperoni. And, as many of you may suspect, yes..the unsuspecting masses are going to rush to these places and eat minimally healthier food whose food cost price has probably been raised 7-10% higher to accommodate something they should have been serving in the first place. Me, I've just gotten to the point that I try not to eat at those places anymore (though, admittedly, Angus burgers are a vice). My mind basically says: if they're only serving these products NOW, what the fuck were they serving before, and why should I reward them for doing so for so long?

So, there's that; and with all my ranting and raving on said topic I'm sure some of you are wondering what my idea of a GOOD marketing campaign would be. Well... much as it pains me to give good press to Starbucks (whom I blame for bankrupting many a good Mom & Pop Java joints in my neighborhoods over the years), they have the right idea.
Free Large (er, Grande *rolls eyes*) Coffee when you pledge 5 Volunteer Hours. Sure, people are probably going to pledge these hours without following through, but I'm sure that there are a good number of people who will actually put time into their community. So at the very worst, we're giving some people who already do free work a free cup o joe while hopefully goading other corporations into following this trend

On the plate and Spread 'Em..!

2009-01-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

Here in my neck of the proverbial woods, the snow is coming down something fierce. The roads are already a sloshy mess of grey and white. And, I'[m stuck inside because my propensity for making snow angels is severely curtailed by the neighbors' dogs and their habit of pooping in our yard instead of their own.

So, here I am, all but sequestered in the house with a super-cute dog and a copious amount of culinary toys I received for Xmas. In cases like these, the only thing to do seems rather obvious: you eat spreads:
Here you see some hummus in the foreground with a Kalamata Olive Tapenade in the background. "R" considered the spread so good that she took a good majority of it--and the rest of the pita chips with which to eat them--to work with her where everything got rave reviews. And R, if you're reading this, no hard feelings about my lack of pita chips ;) , a good reward of cooking is knowing that people enjoy your work. If you're interested, here are the recipes:

HUMMUS
* 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed, plus more for garnish
* 1/2 lemon, juiced
* 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled
* 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon dark Asian sesame oil
* 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 12 to 15 grinds black pepper
* 1/4 cup water
* Paprika, for garnish

Directions:
In a blender combine all the ingredients except the parsley and paprika to be used for garnish. Blend on low speed until smooth. You'll have to stop the blender often to push down the ingredients. If the mixture is too dry and you're having trouble blending it, add a few more tablespoons of olive oil to help things along.

Scrape the hummus onto a plate. Sprinkle the paprika over the top, drizzle lightly with olive oil, scatter some parsley on top, and serve. You can make the hummus up to a couple of hours before you serve it. Cover the top with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature.

========
TAPENADE
* 2 cups Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives (about 16 ounces)
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/4 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Directions:
In a colander rinse olives. Working with several olives at a time and using flat side of a large heavy knife, press olives to crush them, and remove pits. In a food processor pulse olives with oil until coarsely chopped. Tapanade may be made up to this point 3 days ahead and chilled in an airtight container.

Chop parsley and stir into tapenade.

I'm not trying to impress you, I just want you to eat with me

2009-01-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

Alton Brown has some really insightful words on how the meaning of the word "hospitality" has changed over the years, especially from a culinary standpoint

*Thanks to foodsite seriouseats.com (r) for this video

Sex and eating in a "Goodnight Moon" kind of world...

2009-01-08T12:32:00.000-08:00

Because I can't properly elucidate my culinary philosophy quite yet, I thought I'd share the beliefs of Kenny Shopsin with you. Kenny owns a small diner in NYC and typically describes himself as a "self taught chef who colors outside the lines and then uses the crayons in his pancakes". To my knowledge, he's also the only chef in the world to make up an imaginary country (Indomalekia) and subsequently serve his customers the indigenous food thereof. Here's his take on things gastronomique:

Everything I cook, every time I cook, is an event in an of itself. It's like when you have sex: you approach it each time to do the best you possibly can; as if it were both the first and last time you would be experiencing such a thing. You don't have to think about what you're doing because you are 100% in the moment--and each time it turns out just a little bit differently. That's how I cook, and I think that in order to enjoy cooking, that's how you have to cook.

I, in addition, often compare my ideas about cooking to the children's book "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown , where the little boy discovers that everything he needs in life is in his life already, and in fact in his very own room. In a "Goodnight Moon" world, it's pretty easy to be a good home cook. It's really not about having some terrific skills or exotic ingredients or expensive high-tech equipment. It's not even about having the right secret recipe. To be a good cook, to turn out good, honest food that satisfies your individual tastes, is all about having the kind of confidence and self-awareness that comes from "Goodnight Moon" living, in which you are happy with what is already in your life.

It's about using ingredients that you know and that you like. As an eater, the advantages to cooking are obvious, but there are also advantages as a cook. When using ingredients you're familiar with, you are a lot less likely to mess up what you're cooking. If you like melted cheese, for example, you probably know that if you put cheese under a broiler that it's going to melt; and if you leave it there long enough it's going to get brown and bubbly on top. So you not only know why you're putting the cheese under the broiler, you also know what to expect depending on how long it's left there. On the other hand, if someone asks you to add peach juice to a beurre blanc, you not only have no idea why you're adding it, you additionally have no idea how the juice is going to react. You may not even know what the fuck a beurre blanc is; as a consequence, your chances of screwing it up are pretty high.

This note brought to you by: BLECH! (#1)

2008-12-28T11:18:00.001-08:00

For every good recipe, it only stands to reason that there be a few, *ahem* not so good ideas and failures that brought them into fruition. I, for one, have certainly undergone a vast number of "blech" moments... take for instance the following faux pas I just put my taste buds through:

Note To Self...

Foods NOT to be put in a food processor
- Shrimp
unless, ya know, that shrimp is going to be used for a filling.. like in Egg Rolls or the like

Remedy:
-- Nothing really, it's not like I can clump the shrimp together again and pretend it's tasty (I'm not Long John Silver's am I??) However, a Peppermint Milkshake from the new blender will certainly suffice as a concillatory prize.

Ask and ye shall receive

2008-12-26T06:36:00.001-08:00

It's been a busy couple days around the house. Wednesday took the puppy and I to dad's house where we cooked a nice entree of Chicken Saltimbocca (pounded chicken cutlets with a prosciutto, spinach, and parmesan filling) with what I call "Stoplight Salad" (Romaine with chickpeas, avocado, roasted peppers, and pomegranate). Dad and Jane loved both of the offerings, which meant a lot to me. I also scored a 7" Santoku knife and a high quality mandolin which we used to make potato chips and fries later on in the evening. (Having worked at a KFC early in his life, Dad is pretty good w/ frying things)

Christmas Day brought with it an almost interminable stream of food-related swag for me (and R) to open. Take a look at what we ended up with when all was said and done:
Current Haul:
***14 Speed Food Processor
**Wooden Spoons (because, IMO, you can never have too many wooden spoons)
***Coffeemaker (helpful when culinary school starts at 6:30 AM)
***Blender (with smoothie spout)
***Iced Tea Machine (ok, ok, ok... we bought this for ourselves)
**Apple Corer
**Apple peeler/slicer/corer wunderkind thingie from Pampered Chef
**Shaker (which will get heavy use come New Year's)
*Mini-mixer (w/ quasi-suggestive mini-attachments)
*Green Bags (for meat, veggies, & bread)
*Monogrammed-Sandstone Coasters
*Peeling Paws (abrasive ove-gloves that peel potatoes for you)
And..
* A smelly stone, some metal thing that looks like a ped-egg and take the fish and garlic smell out of your pots and pants

and ya' wanna know the best part. I still have 1 more Christmas left to go: the Xmas to end all Xmases at my maternal grandmother's in Chicago. Knowing their predilection for spoiling the nephews and grandkids... I'm sure I'll be updating this post at a later date. I'll also try to demo some of the more *ahem* unusual products I received.

Until then, eat deliberately and with others

Mom's here: That means Seafood

2008-12-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

For as long as I've known her, my mother has been an avid (if not unequivocal) fan of seafood. As an example, we annually have a feast of Lobster, Crab, shrimp, or mussels when her birthday rolls around. I also credit my mother for fostering in me at a young age a love of crustaceans and things from Davy Jones's locker. I'd like to think I'm a little more adventurous in my seafood tastes, having tried Octopus, Shark, Eel, and some other things I'd rather not remember. I've also developed an almost unhealthy love of seafood (mercury poisoning?? what mercury poisoning?) that I may try to use to open mom up to some more "unusual" offerings from the sea.

But I digress... the real story here is that "R" and I welcomed Mom to our home for the kick-off to this holiday season, and what else could we have possibly had but Crab Legs.

For what it's worth, a friend of mine from college (and follower of this blog) commented that I should include something "easy" to make on this particular blog. Well, look no further Jess. Crab legs are about as easy as you can get; just procure some crab legs from your local fishmonger (I suggest Columbus's North Market if you're close), fill a deep pot about 1/2 - 3/4ths way with water and the jucie of two lemons. Bring to a boil, throw the crab legs in, wait about 4-6 minutes, then pull them out and enjoy with some clarified butter. It's about as simple as it gets; and, as with everything, the fresher, the better and make sure to serve them hot.

Forthcoming Recipes:
Dad's house serves host to an Xmas Eve dinner. I plan on making a Stoplight salad including crab (I'm not too proud for leftovers!), avocado, chick peas, roasted yellow peppers, and pomegranate seeds. Entree will be Chicken Saltimbocca (a la Giada's recipe). Not to worry, we'll have pictures :)

Thanks for reading; and remember: Eat Deliberately and with others.

Christmas Dinner: Trial Run # 1

2008-12-21T07:27:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Chef Chris Cosentino's "Recovery Meal", I decided to try my hand at a Fra Diavolo rub. It also seemed like a perfect time to try out the Mustard's-inspired Salad I had planned on incorporating into my mother's Christmas Dinner (Dandelion Greens, Beets, and few other tasty surprises). The first step, of course, was preparing the Fra Diavolo Rub...

using 4 cloves of garlic, chili peppers (chopped and dried), and a few serrano and anaheim peppers. Some sweet paprika was also added and spread onto a nice slab of beef (because Cornish Game Hen isn't exactly readily available in my neck of the midwest)

In retrospect, I should have spread the rub over the entire area of the meat to provide a nice, spicy crust; but oh well: live, learn, and eat right?

The rub out of the way, I turned my attention the the Salad. My mother is a big fan of organic and healthful food (and I'm sure this lifestyle will rub off on me one of these days) and one food she eats quite often is beets, so I figured I would try to incorporate beets into her salad. I decided to get some fresh beets from the local supermarket and roast them in the oven (375 deg F. for 45 minutes) after cutting off the stems.

after cooking, I peeled the beets and trimmed the root end off before cutting the bulbs into eights and soaking in a lovely balsamic vinegarette sauce (homemade or not is really up to you. I prefer homemade myself, no Offense to Mr. Newman R.I.P).

The remainder of the salad was comprised of Dandelion greens, Goat Cheese, Candied Chopped Walnuts, and some Anise/Fennel (roughly chopped). As a sidenote, if you've never had the opportunity to smell fresh or freshly chopped anise/fennel you don't know what you're missing. It's got this wonderfully aromatic licorice smell that reminds me, personally, of my maternal grandmother, a lady who consumes black licorice by the jarful yet still remains uncharacteristically sweet. The final product looked something like this:

Verdict: I'm not really a fan of beets, and would perhaps add a berry to the salad instead. Nonetheless, the combination of the walnuts and the goat cheese is far tastier than I had anticipated and I recommend it for anyone looking to do a small hors d'oeuvres platter for the holidays

and I know, I know... there were brussel sprouts. I'm sure I don't have to tell the majority of you how to cook them, but they are simply included to expand "R"'s palette. Besides, Brussel Sprouts in boiling water provide ample opportunity for some amazing photos.

As always (for the first time), Eat Deliberately and with others

Possibilities for the next recipe include:
Crab Salad with Avocado, Chick peas, and roast pepper. Topped with Pomegranate seeds
--or--
Couscous with garbanzo beans, tomatoes (small dice), and edamame

A simple introduction

2008-12-21T07:20:00.000-08:00

I guess it's only proper and customary to introduce myself when starting a new blog. Welcome, first and foremost, to Lush-Fu, an ex-English Literature major and current fledgling culinary student's attempt to chronicle his successes--and failures-- in cooking for himself, his family, his friends, and occasionally, when he gets a little sloppy, his dog. For both the sake of anonymity and desire not to take anything away from the food, I'll simply go by the name of "E." Anyway Let's get started shall we?

**P.S. - For those interested, the vast majority of pictures were taken on a Canon Rebel XSi. Subsequent thanks go out to "R" for letting me use this wonderful piece of equipment in addition to being a fantastically tolerant guinea pig.