Monday, March 31, 2008
Reader mail
Hollywood star hearts Capriotti's
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Are you hungry for a J-Roll?
The backstory on the today's story about the J-Roll:
Looking for something fun to do to kick off the start of Monday's baseball season, the News Journal features department started brain-storming ideas.
The idea for today's "J-Roll" story came from an editor's confusion over Phils shortstop Jimmy Rollins' nickname. A couple of editors and reporters at the paper are huge Phillies fans and often talk baseball. The topic of J-Roll came up and an editor, not from the Philly area, asked
"What's a J-Roll?"
It was pretty funny - and, well, an idea was born. We decided to ask a few chefs, a deli owner, a baker and a sushi maker what they thought a J-Roll should be. The results were way beyond our expectations and very tasty. Talk about root-root-rooting for the home team!
I gave the group no guidelines - other than "it should be some kind of roll and capture the spirit of Jimmy Rollins." That's no easy task, but their imaginations ran wild.
My great thanks to Michele Mitchell at the Hotel du Pont (jelly roll); Mark Daggett at Eclipse Bistro (pork spring roll); Nancy Durney at Timmy D's Deli (chicken wrap sandwich); Tom Guzzi at Bing's Bakery (jalapeno-roasted red pepper roll) and Al Chu at Mikimotos (maki roll.)
Some of the establishments featured in the story said they may begin offering their version of a "J-Roll." For instance, Mikimotos says they will have offer the "J-Roll" as a $12 special; Timmy D's will likely have the delicious sandwich as a special, and Tom Guzzi of Bing Bakery was so happy with his J-Roll, he says they may begin selling them at the Newark bakery.
If you visit any of these places - ask for a J-Roll!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The cheese stands alone
Italy is having a health scare - and big public relations nightmare - with its Buffalo mozzarella.
Top Chef recap
"As far as me going home, you need to drag me out with security guards. This is my house."
He wasn't - dragged out - and he didn't go home. But the producers should make sure there are no sharp knives around Andrew when he goes in front of the Judges Table. The crazy act sure makes good TV but he seems unhinged. (Andrew, wrap your head with aluminum foil; it will drown out the voices and thwart the aliens that are trying to control your mind....)
Still don't have all the chef's names down and still not yet rooting for anyone. The egos and arrogance of some of the contestants so far is a turn-off, and not at all funny like it was with the always entertaining Hung in Season 3.
And isn't it kind of weird, and a little disturbing, that they have some of these chefs sleeping in BUNK BEDS? After the age of 14 or whenever you stop going to summer camp, I don't think you should sleep in a bunk bed.
Quickfire challenge - with Mexican food authority Rick Bayless as guest judge - was about transforming and elevating the humble taco. Pretty good challenge and pretty tough judge. Bayless is one of my favorite chefs - his Frontera Grill in Chicago is a fab casual restaurant. (Had the best margaritas in my life there. Yep, better than Mexico.) He's soft spoken but he definitely knows good food and will tell you when yours isn't. Some of the chefs, like Erik, he of the Hairy Spider Eyebrows, didn't like that so much.
Take this exchange:
"I thought the plate looked like a train wreck," Bayless said about Erik's sloppy plating.
"He can go screw himself," Erik said.
Didn't see any lengua (tongue) tacos, but I guess that's too street. Manuel's face dropped when Rick didn't chose his taco. You know he so thought he had it in the bag. Richard's jicama taco was innovative (he won the challenge), but I think I'd rather eat Crazy Eyes Andrew's duck tacos.
Elimination challenge: Split into two teams, steal food from people's houses (OK, raid their pantries) and create food for a neighborhood block party.
This is where the arrogance of the chefs began to bother me.
Ryan: "I thought we kicked their [other team's] ass."
Padma: "You didn't."
Some chefs didn't want to elevate the food because that's not what "Middle America" wants.
So glad Bayless's comeback was: "Good food sells to everyone."
And Tom's: "That means you should be dumbing down what you're doing?"
Some of the sad, sad food served to those poor Middle Americans was soggy corndogs (Erik), soggy Waldorf salad, made with white balsamic vinegar instead of mayo! (Ryan), mac and cheese that tasted like "a brick" (Nikki), paella that was more like rice pilaf (Richard) and oily pasta salad that was apparently WORSE than supermarket salads (Zoi).
But the corndogs fried way too far in advance did Erik in - dude, don't screw up hot dogs in Chicago! - and he was sent packing. Much deserved in my opinion.
Next week: Daniel Boulud is on board as guest chef. Good stuff.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Only a flesh wound
Phillies food
Monday, March 24, 2008
See Tony slur
Reason No. 2,336 why it's probably NOT a good idea to give an on-camera interview after you've knocked back a few:
Check out Anthony Bourdain's boozy and pretty darn hilarious interview about his hatred for the Food Network - ain't that mug worth a 1,000 words? - with some New York based blogger. Click here.
(Hmmm, Tony's an Ina Garten fan? Who knew?)
The video also includes shots of deep-in-conversation Mario Batali and Jamie "the Naked Chef" Oliver who totally ignore their wine-swilling buddy's rants. Kind of get the feeling they're both thinking: Been there, done that.
What's cooking....
Took a spiral ham - from Costco (thanks for the suggestion Joanne!) - and glazed it with a jar of Flower Market mustard and brown sugar. Family went nuts. It was crazy good, if I must say so myself. (What is the secret ingredient in Flower Market mustard?? I always stock up on a couple of jars when the Wilmington Flower Market rolls around.)
Saturday night, I made homemade pizza dough. I tried a couple of recipes but was really happy with the Dan Butler pizza recipe . (Click on pizza recipe and scroll to second item or click on pizza label below.)
But this time I subbed King Arthur white whole wheat flour for the bread flour in Dan's recipe. At first, the dough seemed really heavy. (Uh, oh, leaden pizza ahead!)
But I let the dough rise for an hour and then rest in fridge for another 30 minutes to an hour. Rolled it out thin and baked it on a pizza stone in a 550 degree oven for about six minutes. (Toppings - thin layer of marinara sauce, along with fontina and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses.)
When it came out, I added fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil to the top. Wow. Incredibly crispy and delish. It even impressed the skeptic who normally doesn't like whole wheat anything.
Sorry, no photos. We were almost finished eating before I thought about snapping shots. (Same with Easter ham.)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Woo-hoo!
I've got to get back to the kitchen, finish some pre-Easter dinner preparations....and I have a homemade pizza to bake. (I'm testing out a new whole wheat pizza dough recipe, but I'm not sure yet what to think of it. The dough seems heavy.) I'm thinking maybe I should have mixed half whole wheat flour and half bread flour. We'll see in about an hour.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Frustration!
Reader reaction to antipasto - MORE UPDATES
Regards,
Joe Bunce
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Bear with us.....
Yep, tech services knows that the blog looks a little funny - and they're working on it....
Stay tuned. Go eat a cookie, get a cup of coffee and check back.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Top Chef recap
Typical Top Chef. One week you're up (Stephanie) and the next week your down (Stephanie).
Or vice-versa (Mark.)
Not a bad episode at all, though was a little surprised that the guest judge still has not been a Chicago chef. (Next week, though, yippee, Windy City celebrity chef Rick Bayless lends his palate.)
But this week's guest judge, molecular gastronomy king Wylie Dufresne of New York's WD-50 is certainly no slacker.
Quickfire Challenge called for the 15 remaining chefs to shop a farmers' market and then use only five ingredients in a dish. (Salt, pepper, sugar and oil didn't count as one of the five.) Must have been filmed in July/August - lots of tomatoes and peaches on those market tables.
Richard's braised chicken with eucalyptus - sounds kind of bathroom freshner-esque to me - smacked of trying waaaaaay too hard.
Mark's turnip/peaches combo was the winner. So was his facial hair. "Nice sideburns," said Dufresne, who also sports a mean pair of lamb chops. Dudes with 'burns stick together.
Crazy eyes Andrew didn't mince words when told he used too many ingredients in his dish. "Poop," said the gifted speaker.
Spike also reached for a potty reference this episode. "Nikki's mushrooms look like turds. And who wants to put a turd in their mouth?" (Spike must be a cat owner. Dogs owners know better than to say that.)
And even Gail - Elegant Gail! - took a turn in the toilet. "That (mushroom) looked like something a bear would produce, not eat." Oh, Gail. What would your Food & Wine magazine editors say?
Elimination Round: Chefs break into teams - named for animals - and cook appetizers for a party at the Lincoln Park Zoo based on the diets of lions, vultures, penguins, gorillas and bears. (Who knew lions ate BEETS and vultures chowed rabbits and lambs? Hey kids, watch Top Chef! It's almost as good as the Discovery Channel.)
Nikki's turds, er, mushrooms - overcooked mushrooms, blueberries and pecorino cheese - weren't to anyone's liking. Gee, wonder why? Soggy crab salad (Stephanie) and cold, precooked blinis with undercooked rutabaga (Valerie) also got forks down.
But it was Valerie's bleechy blinis that turned off most tastebuds. And in Top Chef world that means your 86-ed.
Best lines this episode:
"I'm molesting the produce section." - Spike.
"The olive pancake tasted a little like dirt." - Random zoo party guest.
"We'd like to see the vultures and the penguins." - Padma.
"The rutabaga was immediately, like, ewwww, that's really bad." - Tom.
"A fundamental error...not tasting your food." - Wylie.
Have you eaten here?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Easter eggs
Here's one at Winterthur:
Brandywine Prime Seafood & Chops, 1617 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, Pa., (610) 388-8088, has a brunch buffet from 10-2 featuring slow roasted prime rib carved to order.
Dinner starts at 4 p.m. Along with the usual dinner menu, the restaurant is featuring a March Madness, Restaurant Month menu 3-courses for $30. For this Sunday only, they've added the usual Sunday night special of House Roasted Prime Rib with a popover to the $30 3-course menu.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Brother, can you spare a meatball?
Why don't take-out orders of spaghetti come with more meatballs?
Friday, March 14, 2008
Reader mail, St. Pat's and Easter food tidbits
I jotted down your email and now can't find it.
Best,
KFDMedia
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Top Chef recap
Top Chef returned last night at 10 p.m. with 16 aspiring cheftestants.
So what did you think?
First thoughts: I have no one to root for - just yet.
My, my isn't this season one big cocky EGO FEST? Actually, I was savoring the smackdowns to come.
Andrew, the profanity spewing, do-you-kiss-your-mom-with-that-mouth guy actually cracked me up. (Though those crazy eyes of his made me wonder if he was off his meds.) My favorite Andrew line of the night was when Richard pulled a mini smoker out to flavor crab cakes: "You're like Felix, dude, a whole bag of tricks."
Wasn't at all surprised about the deep-dish pizza Quickfire Challenge, so why were the contestants?
Um, you're in CHICAGO. Deep-dish pizza is as much a part of the town as the Cubs. Don't these people do their homework?
Right now, I kind of like earnest, funky hair - again contestants with weird hair, what's up with that - Richard, the peach/Taleggio/sweet tea pizza guy. I usually hate pizza with sweet toppings. Sorry, but Hawaiian pizza is a travesty and should never have any place in a pizza oven. (Just say no to pineapple and pizza!) But I think I'd give Richard's pizza a try.
Some of other toppings - butternut squash, marmite (!) one of the most ghastly tasting food items on the planet - didn't really do much for me. (And Stephanie, putting proscuitto in the oven??. In Italy, they always drape it on top - after the pizza comes out of the oven.)
Elimination round: Two chefs each try to make a classic dish such as souffle, lasagna, chicken piccata, steak au poire. Now, this is what makes Top Chef so cool. If you're going to be a Top Chef, you have to know the classics.
So - wow - it was downright painful to hear Ryan give his version of chicken piccata - breaded?? no lemon??? tomatoes?? dude what are you smoking??? - and he couldn't have been more wrong. Loved, loved, loved Colicchio SLAMMING him for being such a dunce. (And Ryan was the guy patting himself on the back for cooking since he was 11.)
The souffle showdown was so sorry. Erik - Mr. Hairy Spider Eyebrows - turned out pepperjack souffle -uh, ugh - that was made with MASHED POTATOES? Is this a joke? So was his sloppy plate.
But Nimma's shrimp scampi and side dish of CAULIFLOWER FLAN OR SCRAMBLE was the sorriest excuse for a classic dish of the night. And, rightly, she was shown the door.
I'm no big Rocco DiSpirito supporter, but the Big Roc stepped up to the plate last night as guest judge. Maybe, I'll forgive him now for endorsing gourmet catfood.
And, any episode with Bourdain is a winner in my book.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Top Chef very soon....
Just got back from Chopped Salad Palooza with some friends. Well, that's what I'm calling our get-together. I'm doing a story soon on chopped antipasti salads. We chowed on three different ones tonight.
Woo-hoo. I'm home in time for Top Chef. It starts in an hour.
Looking forward to seeing Colicchio & Company. (Hope it's a Ted Allen judging night and not a Gail Simmons episode.) Look for a recap tomorrow.
What a ham!
I work with some super-talented people. Page designer and all-around great artist Howard Johnson is one of them.
Today's Life cover of "The Ham" is Howard's creation and I think it's so cool, creative and hilarious. (I've gotten a couple of phone calls today on how funny this was.) Howard took what could have been a really boring story - ho-hum Easter ham - and instead of putting a photo of a baked ham with pineapples on top on the page, he jazzed things up.
Howard and I talked about "the ham story" a couple of weeks ago and began brain-storming.
(Why is there always so much ham leftover at Easter. Geez, Louise, it's like a holiday leftovers horror show!)
I started thinking about horror movies and the Terminator, but Howard came up with the idea of doing a riff on the old movie poster from "The Blob."
I love the people fighting off the ham with a fork.
Now, that's funny stuff, people. And very creative. (One of the editors asked if the G rating was for Glaze. I wish I thought of that earlier.)
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Jill Scott and cheesesteaks
Return of Top Chef
Colicchio said Bravo couldn’t attract such talented people in the past because the show was taken lightly in culinary circles, and few with major cooking aspirations wanted to risk their reputation in a venue as derided as a back-stabbing reality show.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Don't Rent This Movie
But, in a moment of weakness and in need of what I thought would be a good laugh, I recently rented said dumb flick.
Big waste of moo-lah and time. (It would be much better spent on, oh, say "Michael Clayton" or "La Vie En Rose.")
In other words, "No Reservations" was more stinky than week-old salmon.
Zeta Jones, who sported a sour puss throughout the movie, was about as believable and passionate about food as one of those super-skinny, scary-looking Olson twins.
Catherine, pack up your knives and go.
Out of luck with Mexican, in luck with Japanese
I had dinner Saturday night at Okura Japanese Cuisine in Hockessin. Wonderful shumai (pronounce it shoe-my) - little, juicy pork dumplings (definitely order it) - along with very fresh tasting sashimi and sushi rolls. I liked the kamikaze roll and anything with eel.
Wow, was it crowded. The very flustered host had a hard time keeping up with customers waiting for tables. At first he wouldn't take names or let anyone know how long the wait would be for a table. I actually found it kind of amusing, though it also left a couple of customers steaming.
We almost left but then just decided to cool our heels for maybe 10 to 15 minutes and I'm glad we did.
This was our second attempt at a restaurant for the night.
Our first stop was to the Hockessin Mexican restaurant Palacio Maya.
It was closed. On a Saturday night.
That's not a good sign.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Reader mail
Send us your emails. You ask. We answer. Every Friday. (And, yeah, well, sometimes a day early)
Hi Patricia,
A recently purchased pizza stone has put me on a mission to find a pizza crust recipe that I can actually make and like.
After a lot of research, the number of different techniques is overwhelming. And I'm not happy with any of the ones I've tried.
I sure would appreciate any suggestions from you or your readers.
Thank you, and love Second Helpings!
Regards, Patty
Hi, Patty. Woo-hoo. We snagged another reader. Tell all your friends! Thanks for reading!
Here's some information from a pizza story I wrote back in December 2005. The pizza crust and recipes come from Dan Butler, owner of Toscana Kitchen + Bar in Trolley Square.
A FEW NUANCES HELP MAKE THE PERFECT PIE
Preheat the oven to its highest heat level - the hotter, the better. Allow at least 30 to 40 minutes for it to heat fully.
If using a pizza stone, preheat it along with the oven. If you don't have a baking stone, you can form and bake a pizza on a flour- or cornmeal-dusted inverted sheet pan.
Have your baking peel ready and form the dough on it. (A peel, available at most kitchen-supply shops, looks like a long, flat shovel.)
Don't have a peel? You can improvise by forming the dough on another inverted sheet pan. Just remember to dust the peel or pan first with flour or cornmeal so the dough won't stick and the pizza will slide easily onto the stone.
Make and chop all toppings ahead of time.
Don't use too thick a sauce on a pizza; it will turn to paste when baked. Make the sauce thin and well-seasoned.
Always use the best ingredients you can find, such as freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese. Mix them with good melters such as whole-milk mozzarella, Monterey Jack, aged cheddar or Gruyere.
Fresh herbs and some toppings, like precooked chicken or duck, should be buried under the cheese so they do not burn. Sprinkle fresh herbs, such as basil or chives, and fresh arugula on the pizza when it's finished baking.
Sausage, pepperoni and most other meats should go on top, since they taste best when crisped.
Use sauteed mushrooms, not raw ones. The pizza isn't in the oven long enough for the mushrooms to cook. Lightly precook other vegetables and marinate them in a flavorful olive oil.
Experiment with figs, Gorgonzola cheese, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, goat and feta cheeses, ricotta, cooked spinach, roasted garlic and andouille and other sausages.
Sources: Dan Butler, chef/owner Toscana Kitchen + Bar; Peter Reinhart's "Crust & Crumb" cookbook (Ten Speed Press, 1998) and "Pizza" (Chronicle Books, $18.95) by Diane Morgan and Tony Gemignani.
The foundation of all great pizzas is the crust. Dan Butler, chef/owner of Toscana Kitchen + Bar, says that you shouldn't rush the proofing (rising) of the dough. "The dough will be ready when it's ready," he says. (It may take slightly longer than the suggested two hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen and amount of flour used.)
Butler also provided four recipes for pizza toppings. (The photo at the top are slices from each of the four pizzas.)
DAN BUTLER'S BASIC PIZZA DOUGH
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons instant active dry yeast (about 1 1/2 envelopes)
4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Cornmeal
Mix warm water and sugar in a stand mixer with a dough hook. Pour in the yeast and let it dissolve. Leave it alone for a few minutes and fermentation (bubbling) will begin. Let it ferment for about 10 minutes. Add flour, oil and salt. Turn the mixer on low until a ball begins to form. Let the dough mix for about 5 minutes. Pull it out and continue to knead the dough on a floured surface; until the dough is smooth and uniformly tense (a couple of minutes). Place in an oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Leave in a warm part of the kitchen to rise for about an hour (the dough should double in size and be quite pliable; it may take a little longer than an hour). Cut six even dough balls, place on a board or cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal and refrigerate, covered in plastic, for one hour before rolling and topping.
At least 30 minutes before you're ready to bake, preheat the oven, along with your pizza stone, to 500 degrees or higher. If you have a peel, roll or lightly press each dough ball onto the peel into a flat round, lightly flouring the work surface and the dough as necessary. (Do not use more flour than you need.) You may need to let the dough sit a few minutes; it will relax and be easier to roll out. Roll or pat the dough as thin as you like it, turning occasionally and sprinkling with flour, if necessary. If you're using a baking sheet, dust it with flour or cornmeal, then press each dough into a flat round directly onto the sheet. Roll or pat out the dough, as thin as you like. Top the pizza with your favorite toppings. Slide the pizza from the peel onto the stone. If using the baking sheet, set it in the oven. Bake anywhere from six to eight minutes or longer, depending on the heat, until nicely browned. Using the peel, remove the pizza from the oven, slice and serve. Makes six 9-inch pizzas.
PIZZA PIADINA
PIZZA QUATTRO FORMAGGI
Domestic Gorgonzola, crumbled
Grated whole-milk mozzarella
Grated fontina
Nine Big Mistakes
Mistake # 2: You're stashing foods in see-through containers
Mistake # 4: The only time you eat avocados is in guacamole
Herbs and spices not only enhance the flavor of your cooking without adding fat or sodium, many of these fragrant ingredients also protect you from food poisoning. After testing 20 common seasonings against five strains of bacteria (including E. coli, staphylococcus, and salmonella), researchers found that the higher the antioxidant value of the spice, the greater its ability to inhibit bacterial activity. Cloves, cinnamon sticks, and oregano were the most effective at fighting off these food-borne pathogens. A separate study shows that rosemary, thyme, nutmeg, and bay leaves are also antioxidant-rich Of course, you can't ignore standard food-safety practices, but adding half a teaspoon of herbs or spices to salads, vegetables, and meats can give you extra peace of mind and boost your intake of disease-fighting antioxidants
Most of the antioxidants and polyphenols in produce are located very close to the surface of the skin or in the skin itself. Most fruit peels exhibited two to 27 times more antioxidant activity than the pulp of the fruit. Many of us remove the skins from eggplant, bell peppers, peaches, apples, and nectarines while preparing recipes, but we're really just tossing away nutrients and fiber. Gently scrub potatoes and carrots rather than removing their skin, and using a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to pare away as thin a layer as possible from fruits and veggies that must be peeled.
Boiling may seem like a simple, no-fuss way to prepare vegetables without adding oil, but this cooking method can cause up to 90 percent of a food's nutrients to leech out. Minerals like potassium and water-soluble vitamins like B and C end up getting tossed out with the water. To keep these essentials from draining away during the cooking process, try steaming (use a minimal amount of water with a steamer basket), microwaving, or stir-frying. A study showed that when certain vegetables were prepared using these techniques, most of the nutrients they contained were spared. And stir-frying scores even more points when you're cooking dark green or orange vegetables. These are rich in beta-carotene, and the oil you use in stir-frying them can increase the amount of the antioxidant you absorb by up to 63 percent. You don't need to use a lot of oil; even just a tablespoon will do.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Skip Arden Steak Shop
"I checked it out.... definitely cleaned out and closed. Curiously, the paper in the window reads, "Not for sale or lease. Private property. Please do not trespass."
Monday, March 3, 2008
Happy Birthday to us!
Second Helpings is celebrating its first birthday. Hard to believe. (I brought in red velvet cupcakes today.)