The Buffalo News - Taste http://www.buffalonews.com Latest stories from The Buffalo News en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 05:24:16 -0400 Wed, 22 May 2013 05:24:16 -0400 <![CDATA[ Swiss Chalet lovers trek over the border to get their fix ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130511/CITYANDREGION/130519805/1070
They got their passports ready, pointed their vehicles toward Canada and planned pilgrimages to the land where Swiss Chalet was born.

“Lots of Americans come once a week,” said Robyn Hildebrand, manager of one of the Niagara Falls locations, a shiny standalone store on Montrose Road with a drive-thru. “Some come multiple times a week. They usually have a list with them, of friends, people they know, orders to bring back for people in the neighborhood.”

The border guards were among the first to notice the trend, followed by the staff at the Swiss Chalet on Lundy’s Lane in Niagara Falls, Ont.

“I have a couple that comes once a week, from Rochester, an hour and a half’s drive,” said manager Wayne Deline.

For the Western New Yorkers who worship at the Swiss Chalet altar, Facebook is the minaret, the platform most often used to call the faithful.

It goes like this: An Internet-capable fan of the Canadian chicken chain posts a photograph lovingly detailing the holy trinity: a quarter chicken, fresh-cut french fries and brick-red dipping sauce.

If they grew up around here, a certain part of the audience will feel a stirring, a hunger whose source they cannot always name, but with its roots in their childhood; a hunger amplified by the fact that since 2010, satisfaction has required international travel.

Today, Americans account for 5 to 10 percent of the volume at the two Niagara Falls, Ont., stores. If the Department of Homeland Security scanners at the border checkpoint sniffed for Swiss Chalet’s signature dipping sauce, a lot more trunks would get popped. “A lot of people, they’ll come over and order 20 large sauces,” said kitchen manager Matt Stewart. “Lord knows how they get it back over the border, but they do.”

Lord knows.

“A lady came over with those plastic gallon jugs – milk jugs? – and filled up 30 or 40 of them,” said Deline. “She was going to auction them off at the church bazaar.”

Bizarre is what the passion of the Swiss Chalet pilgrims is to nonbelievers, which is to say most people. Rotisserie chickens have proliferated in restaurants and grocery stores, satisfying most customers’ pressing poultry needs. Cara Operations, the Canadian company that owns Swiss Chalets among its 700 restaurants, didn’t turn out the lights for nothing.

When you ask the pilgrims to explain the pull, though, you end up talking about more than money. You end up talking about the pure childish joy of dunking fries in sauce.

Raised on Buffalo’s West Side, in a family of six, Connie Berti was introduced to Swiss Chalet on Main Street, in the former Laube’s Old Spain space. “Even in elementary school ... Swiss Chalet was affordable, it was reasonable, and you got a nice meal.”

There was nothing comparable, she said. “You didn’t eat much chicken out those days. Then they make fresh-cut french fries. Never been frozen. That’s the other factor: a delicious french fry.”

The sauce sealed the deal. “It wasn’t something your aunt made, or your mother, or your grandmother,” said Berti, who is Sicilian and knows her way around a sauce. “It was just different and explosive on your taste buds when you dipped chicken in it.”

The most unusual thing “was that at the end of your meal, they would bring you a little bowl, with warm water and lemon in it, to wash up,” she said. “Guess what? They still do that.”

Berti and her husband, Bob, brought their children, and another generation of Swiss Chalet fans were imprinted on the sauce. When the last store closed in 2010, after “lots of tears and unhappiness,” Berti said tongue-in-cheek, “I searched the Web to find if there was another one.”

Which brought her to the border – four times in 2012, and once this year. Sometimes, in a pinch, she oven-roasts a chicken “with a little smoke flavor on it” or buys a ready-made rotisserie bird, and pulls a packet of Swiss Chalet dipping sauce powder from her emergency stash, to simmer her own. “We have that in a pinch,” she said.

The packets are available at Canadian supermarkets such as No Frills for about $1 each, or at Redlinski’s in Cheektowaga. “I give them away to other Swiss Chalet addicts,” said Berti. “When I was ordering them online, I was very careful about who I gave them out to. Now I dole ’em out like candy.”

To Canadians, Swiss Chalet’s main appeal is the food. Freshness is the mantra. If a chicken hasn’t been sold in 45 minutes after coming off the roaster, it’s turned into chicken meat for soup and sandwiches. The fries, fresh cut and cooked twice for a superior crisp? Five minutes unsold and they go into the trash, said Stewart, the kitchen manager. “The head office comes in to make sure,” he said. “Fresh is guaranteed.”

Swiss Chalet had about two generations for the sauce to seep into the locals’ DNA. That was enough.

“As somebody who considers [himself] a pop historian of Western New York and Buffalo, there was something very Buffalo about that place,” said Steve Cichon, news director for WBEN 930. His family were regulars as he grew up in Orchard Park, and it was part of the “dating rotation” with Monica, now his wife of 12 years.

“It was one of those places you think of when the plane lands, and people ask, ‘Where are you going to go first?’ ” Cichon said. “We all became ex-pats, in a way, when Swiss Chalet closed. It was part of the taste of Buffalo, for so many people, that was gone.”

So Cichon’s heart goes out to the hungry who holler every time he posts a photo to Facebook.

“People go crazy,” he said. Needlessly, in many cases, he pointed out. “It’s not that far away, if you have a passport or enhanced license,” Cichon said. “It’s 25 minutes from the [Peace] bridge. There is a border between us, but it’s not that far away.”



email: agalarneau@buffnews.com ]]> Sat, 11 May 2013 23:46:05 -0400 Andrew Galarneau
]]> <![CDATA[ For better mac and cheese, it’s all in the technique ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130430/LIFE01/130509986/1070
There is more to achieving the best texture and flavor, says Ellen Brown, author of “Mac & Cheese: 80 Classic & Creative Versions of the Ultimate Comfort Food” (Running Press, $20).

“The difference between a good mac and cheese and a great mac and cheese is technique,” says Brown, cookbook author, food columnist and former USA Today food editor. And the key elements of that technique are cooking the pasta to the proper doneness and stirring up a smooth sauce.

“If mac and cheese is oven baked, you have to undercook the pasta and it has to look really soupy when it goes in the oven,” Brown says. “You want that soupiness so after 20 minutes or a half hour you’ll have exactly the right consistency.”

With those elements conquered, the third is an ingredient, not method, and is, of course, that cheese. You want to use flavorful cheese, certainly, but you also want a combination of two or more for complexity.

Whether stove top or baked (better, thank you), classic or with add-ins of various vegetables (greens, broccoli, artichokes) or proteins (lobster, chicken, bacon), a mac and cheese’s greatness is built upon this foundation. Brown – along with Laura Werlin’s “Mac & Cheese, Please!” – breaks it down below.You must undercook the pasta before baking the casserole because the pasta cooks more in the oven. Start with a dried pasta high in durum semolina, choosing short shapes (less than 2 inches). Brown and Werlin list more than a dozen, but start with penne, gemelli, elbows or orecchiette. Skip expensive artisan imported varieties, Brown advises. Then cook that pasta in plenty of well-salted boiling water until it begins to soften but is not yet al dente – about 1 minute short of the low end of the maker’s suggested cooking time. Taste to check doneness.Go for quality. Go for complexity. Get the latter by using a combination of cheeses. “Your dominant player is a cheese you would sit down and eat by itself: all forms of cheddar, Gruyere and Gouda,” Brown says. “Cheeses that are not overwhelming.” The supporting player will have stronger flavor, like a blue cheese or Parmesan. You’ll use less of this.

The Sauce

The key to a velvety-smooth cheese sauce that coats the pasta and other ingredients uniformly is a simple roux. That mixture forms the base for a bechamel, a simple-to-make sauce. Yet Brown has found in her years of food journalism that few people know how to make it. Here’s how: Cook butter (or other fat) and flour together over low heat so the flour loses its uncooked taste; slowly whisk in the milk (warm it first, she says) over medium heat to avoid lumps; cook gently until the sauce begins to thicken; add the cheese gradually.



Mediterranean Mac and Cheese with Olives

Prep: 30 minutes

Cook: 40 minutes

Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Adapted from “Mac & Cheese,” by Ellen Brown, who adapted the recipe from S’MAC (Sarita’s Macaroni & Cheese) in New York.

8 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil

6 ounces baby spinach

1/2 pound penne

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 and 1/2 cups whole milk, warmed

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

2 ounces Muenster, grated

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, diced

3 ounces provolone, grated

1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss garlic with oil; wrap in foil. Bake until cloves are soft, 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool. Pop cloves from skins; mash into a paste.

Meanwhile, heat a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the spinach; cook just until wilted, 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain. When cool, squeeze out liquid. Add pasta to boiling water; cook until just beginning to soften; it should not yet be al dente. Drain; rinse the pasta. Return it to the pot.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat; stir in flour. Cook, stirring, until mixture turns slightly beige, is bubbly and appears to have grown in volume, 1 minute. Increase heat to medium; slowly whisk in the milk. Heat until just beginning to bubble, whisking frequently. Reduce heat to low; stir in thyme and lemon zest. Simmer, 2 minutes.

Add goat and Muenster cheeses by ½-cup measures, stirring until cheese melts before adding more. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir garlic, spinach and olives into pasta. Pour sauce over pasta; stir to coat. Transfer to a buttered 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Combine provolone and breadcrumbs; sprinkle over dish.

Bake until cheese sauce is bubbly and topping browns, 20-30 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

Per serving (for 6 servings): 490 calories, 27 g fat, 14 g saturated fat, 56 mg cholesterol, 42 g carbohydrates, 21 g protein, 666 mg sodium, 4 g fiber



Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Prep: 30 minutes Cook: 40 minutes

Makes: 4 to 6 servings

This recipe from “Mac & Cheese,” by Ellen Brown, is adapted from Rockit Bar and Grill. It combines two favorite bar foods of chefs James Gottwald and Amanda Downing, mac and cheese and Buffalo chicken. Serve with celery sticks to complete the metaphor, says Brown. She calls for cooking the dish on the stove top, but we’ve changed it to an oven-baked dish, which we prefer. Finally, the original recipe called for melting the cheeses into cream instead of making a bechamel sauce. We’ve changed it to the latter method for a lighter dish.

1/2 pound cavatappi

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 and 3/4 cups whole milk

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup firmly packed grated Monterey Jack

1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 to 2 tablespoons hot sauce

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1 large grilled or broiled boneless, skinless chicken breast half, diced

2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta until just short of al dente. Drain; rinse under cold water. Return pasta to pot.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat; stir in flour. Cook, stirring, until mixture turns slightly beige, is bubbly and appears to have grown in volume, 1 minute. Increase heat to medium; slowly whisk in the milk. Heat until just beginning to bubble, whisking frequently. Reduce heat to low. Whisk in the Parmesan and Monterey Jack; stir until melted. Whisk in the Gorgonzola. Simmer, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the butter, hot sauce and vinegar in a small skillet; add the chicken. Stir to coat evenly with the sauce. Season to taste.

Add the cheese sauce to the pasta; stir well. Fold in the chicken and chives. Pour into a buttered 13-by-9-inch baking dish or 2-quart casserole; sprinkle with the breadcrumbs. Bake, 20-30 minutes.

Per serving (for 6 servings): 420 calories, 19 g fat, 12 g saturated fat, 61 mg cholesterol, 41 g carbohydrates, 20 g protein, 605 mg sodium, 2 g fiber. ]]> Wed, 1 May 2013 06:56:24 -0400 By Joe Gray / Chicago Tribune

]]> <![CDATA[ Cook of the Month: Bert Gambini cooks up a storm ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130522/LIFE01/130529816/1070
Looking back now, that was where his love of cooking began, but they didn’t make it easy.

“They never wanted me too close,” said Gambini, The News’ May Cook of the Month. “My mother would say, ‘Don’t hover,’ and my grandmother would just run me over if I got too close.”

That did nothing to lessen his fascination. “It was kind of neat, because it was kind of like watching a ball game through a knothole in a fence,” said Gambini, the former WBFO Morning Edition host and music director, who now works for the University at Buffalo’s communications office. “You get to see some of the action, but not all of it. You have to fill in the gaps with your imagination.”

What he could not miss was the happiness that resulted from their efforts, which would eventually fuel his own desire to expand his culinary efforts, he said. “I don’t necessarily know if it was something that I saw them making specifically, as much as everyone enjoyed what was made, the pleasure and the spirit that came from food.”

That spirit was strong when the extended Gambini family gathered for Sunday dinner at his grandparents’ West Side home. They shared dishes like his grandmother’s stuffed artichokes and veal cutlets pan-fried in olive oil, “not loaded with cheese, either, not spaghetti house parm,” Gambini clarified.

At that early age, he recognized the connections between good food and great times. “The company, too – just sitting around the table passing the dishes,” he said. “Those are great memories.”

It wasn’t until after he graduated from UB in the late 1980s, and moved out of his parents’ house, that he really started cooking for himself.

“It was just out of necessity,” he said recently in his Cheektowaga home, as a batch of homemade pasta dried on the kitchen counter.

Peppers and onions was the beginning. “You’ve got peppers, you’ve got onions, fry them up and do something with them,” he said. It turned out that he enjoyed the adventure of not knowing exactly where a dish was headed. “Don’t be afraid to just grab something and combine the ingredients.”

Yes, he could have asked his mother, Janet Gambini, for detailed instructions. But he didn’t. “I don’t think I wanted to. I have cookbooks in the house, and I enjoy reading the narrative, but I don’t follow the recipes. I’d just rather feel my way through it.”

His feelings, when it comes to cooking, have become plenty acute. Today, Gambini serves as co-host of Nickel City Chef, Buffalo’s live cooking competition series, an experience that put him in close contact with top Buffalo chefs, arming him with the knowledge to fine-tune his kitchen chops.

While talking about other things, Gambini swirls together a batch of pasta dough, rolls it out with his pasta machine and feeds it through the cutter so it emerges in delicate strands.

He cooks the pasta, drains it and drops the steaming noodles onto a bed of fresh spinach, cooking the spinach just enough. “Otherwise the spinach gets lost, and leaves lose their color,” he said.

Tossed with lemon juice, lemon zest, and grated cheese, it’s a light, flavorful dish, he said. “It’s a great heading-into-summer dish.”

Stuffed Artichokes

4 large artichokes

1 cup breadcrumbs

½ cup grated cheese

Basil, parsley and garlic powder

Salt and pepper

Trim tops and clip pointy leaves. Wash and pull any dark leaves from the base.

Mix crumbs, cheese and spices, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the leaves of the artichokes and stuff with the breadcrumb mixture. Pour a dash of olive oil over each of the artichokes. Put the artichokes in a stockpot with 1½ inches water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes, longer for larger artichokes. (Or bake in a pan with a half-inch of water about 60 minutes at 375 degrees.) You know they’re done when outer leaves pull off easily. Serve with an empty bowl to collect discarded leaves.

Steamed Mussels

2 pounds mussels

1 tablespoon butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 clove garlic, chopped

¾ cup dry white wine

Scrub mussels and pull off fibrous attachments. Discard any mussels that are open or have broken shells.

Saute onion in butter until soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and parsley, then wine.

Add cleaned mussels. Steam for about 5 minutes, or until the shells have opened. Discard unopened ones. Serve with crusty bread for dunking.

(You can transfer mussels to platter and thicken sauce in pot by adding 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat, sprinkling in 1 tablespoon flour, another splash of wine, and stirring to combine. Simmer to thicken. Pour over mussels.)

Lemon Garlic Pasta with Spinach

For pasta dough:

3½ cups of flour

4 eggs

For pasta:

1 bag washed baby spinach

Juice of one lemon

Zest of one lemon

2 cloves of finely chopped garlic

½ cup of grated Pecorino Romano cheese

¼ cup of olive oil

Mix dough first. Put the flour in a mound, make a hollow in the middle, and crack in the eggs. With a fork, start working the flour shore into the egg lake until it’s combined into a ball. Knead for about 4 minutes, wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough into two or more pieces to make rolling easier. On a floured surface, roll out the pasta as thin as possible, and cut it into strips. (If you have a pasta rolling machine, follow its directions.)

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and stir. Fresh pasta cooks quickly, 1-3 minutes.

Put fresh spinach in a bowl. When pasta is ready, drain and immediately put the drained pasta in the bowl with the spinach. Do not mix. Add lemon juice and zest, garlic, cheese and olive oil. Cover the bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. Uncover, mix and serve.



email: agalarneau@buffnews.com ]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 01:59:41 -0400 Andrew Galarneau
]]> <![CDATA[ Buffalo chefs invited to show their moves in Manhattan ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130521/LIFE01/130529828/1070
For the first time, the James Beard House has invited a foursome of Nickel City Chefs to present a dinner Oct. 16. Plus, leading Buffalo chef Mike Andrzejewski has been booked for May 30 at City Grit, a less formal but much-lauded kitchen stage that opened in 2011 at 38 Prince St. in Chinatown.

The October Beard House dinner, coordinated by Nickel City Chef founder Christa Glennie Seychew, recognizes the skills of Buffalo-area chefs who have participated in the cooking competition series, Buffalo’s answer to “Iron Chef America.”

The current “home team” will each cook a course at the October dinner. They include JJ Richert of Kenmore’s Torches, Brian Mietus of Bacchus, Jennifer Boye of The Mansion on Delaware Avenue and Adam Goetz, who recently moved his restaurant, formerly Sample, to 1472 Hertel Ave., and renamed it Craving.

Jon Karel, a drinks whiz at Vera Pizzeria, will offer cocktail support and wine pairing advice.

“Being asked to cook at the James Beard House is a little like winning an Oscar. It’s national recognition for our city’s chefs and finer food,” said Seychew, Buffalo Spree food editor, whose Feed Your Soul company organizes food events. Andrzejewski has cooked at Beard House several times, and last fall, chef Ross Warhol of the Athenaeum Hotel at the Chautauqua Institution offered a dinner there.

“In terms of its dining scene, Buffalo has begun to experience an evolution – a new wave, if you will – over the last three or four years,” said Seychew. “This invitation from the Beard House signifies and validates the importance of this transition, and, in my eyes, offers encouragement for other local chefs and restaurant owners to follow suit.”

Seychew said she was planning a September dinner in Buffalo to help raise money for the Beard House excursion, the costs of which are largely borne by the chefs themselves.

Next week, Andrzejewski will offer New Yorkers a little taste of how Buffalo cuisine is evolving beyond its reputation for chicken wings. He’s the featured chef May 30 at City Grit, a showcase led by chef Sarah Simmons, which hosts “well-known and emerging guest chefs from around the world looking to showcase their culinary talents,” its website says.

Tickets to the $65 dinner are available through citygritnyc.com.

Andrzejewski said another Beard House dinner, featuring Mike A’s at the Lafayette executive chef Edward Forster and himself, is scheduled for July.



email: agalarneau@buffnews.com ]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 02:14:47 -0400 Andrew Galarneau
]]> <![CDATA[ Wine by Fred Tasker ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130519/LIFE01/130519204/1070
For fun, he set up a tasting in a restaurant and invited local wine and food writers and other journalists to try to duplicate his new wine from bottles of its constituent wines.

The winning blender: an out-of-town gossip writer who confessed she knew little about wine.

We wine geeks were humiliated, of course, and put it down to blind luck.

The real lesson that day, however, was how much a wine could be changed by the addition of just a percent or so of wine from a different grape.

The other lesson: It must be great fun to be a fiddling, tinkering winemaker.

Blending of wines, both red and white, has gone on for centuries, usually using one wine to compensate the weaknesses of another. Adding, say, a muscular, tannic wine to a wimpy one to create a well-balanced whole. This trial-and-error method can be painstaking, involving tasting hundreds of lots of wine.

Other times, I suspect, they toss in everything but the kitchen sink just to see how it turns out.

Here are some examples of blending:

Barefoot Cellars, of Modesto, Calif., is blending four red grapes – grenache from Spain, shiraz from Australia, malbec from Argentina and tempranillo from California – to make a nonvintage red blend called “Impression.”

•  Nonvintage “Impression,” by Barefoot Cellars: deep red hue, very fruity, with aromas and flavors of blueberry pie, spice and milk chocolate, rich and sweet and soft; $7.

Alamos Winery in Argentina’s Mendoza Region is blending malbec, bonarda, tempranillo and syrah to create a user-friendly, approachable wine it calls simply “Red Blend.”

•  2012 Alamos Red Blend, Mendoza: dark hue, aromas and flavors of black cherries and black pepper, rich and hearty and very slightly sweet; $13.

In Italy, Bella Sera has created a red blend from merlot, syrah, bonarda, lambrusco, sangiovese, montepulciano and other grapes it also calls “Red Blend.”

•  Nonvintage Bella Sera Red Blend, Italy: soft and slightly sweet, with aromas and flavors of black raspberries and mocha, very fruity; $8.

In California’s Central Coast, Bridlewood Estate Winery is blending cabernet sauvignon, syrah, petite sirah and viognier to make its “Central Coast Blend 175.” This is unusual because viognier is a white grape noted for its aromas and flavors of peaches and vanilla and for its seeming sweetness even when it’s dry.

•  2011 Bridlewood Central Coast Blend 175: very dark hue, hint of oak, crisp and fruity, with flavors of black raspberries and black coffee; $15.

In Santa Rosa, Northern California, Adler Fels Winery is creating a “National Parks Wine Collection,” with both white and red blends, with $2 per bottle donated to America’s parks system. Its white blend is viognier, moscato, symphony, semillon and sauvignon blanc. Its red blend is zinfandel, syrah, merlot and petite sirah.

•  Nonvintage Adler Fels “Yosemite” Artisan White Wine, Sonoma Valley: intensely fruity, with aromas and flavors of ripe peaches and oranges and a hint of minerals; $16.

•  Nonvintage Adler Fels “Yosemite” Artisan Red Wine, Sonoma Valley: intensely fruity, with aromas and flavors of black cherries and spice; $16.

Biltmore Wines, based at the North Carolina estate created by George Vanderbilt, is creating blends not only of different grapes, but in some cases of grapes from California and North Carolina. Such wines must be labeled “nonvintage” by law, even though the winery says they’re both from grapes harvested in 2011.

The white is a blend of muscat canelli, riesling, gewurztraminer and malvsia, with 99 percent from California’s Mendocino and Monterey counties and 1 percent from North Carolina. Grapes in the red blend are all from California’s Cienega Valley, Sonoma and Lake County.

• Nonvintage Biltmore Century White, American: floral aromas, quite sweet flavors of mangoes and citrus, crisp; $16.

• Nonvintage Biltmore Century Red, American: hint of oak, flavors of black plums and spice, very lightly sweet, full body; $16.



Fred Tasker has retired from the Miami Herald but is still writing about wine. He can be reached at fredtaskerwine@gmail.com.) ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 11:11:15 -0400 <![CDATA[ Beard Awards Split Top Title Between N.Y, Chicago Chefs ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130515/LIFE01/130519502/1070
The Outstanding Restaurant prize went to Blue Hill, New York; Rising Star Chef was Danny Bowien, of Mission Chinese Food, San Francisco and New York; and Best New Restaurant went to State Bird Provisions, San Francisco.

Among the regional Best Chef winners, Wylie Dufresne of WD-50 triumphed in New York, and Stephanie Izard of the Girl & the Goat won in Chicago. Outstanding service went to Del Posto, New York.

The awards are the main event in the U.S. culinary calendar and are accompanied by a weekend of parties and other events attended by chefs and restaurateurs. They were established in 1990 to celebrate, preserve and nurture America’s culinary heritage and diversity, the foundation’s Website says.

The winners were announced in a ceremony at Lincoln Center in New York.

Chang, a Korean-American, has restaurants in New York, Sydney and Toronto. He’s worked in the kitchens of Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Daniel Boulud and Tom Colicchio and is known for his creative gastronomy as the chef-founder of Momofuku. Kahan represents a new wave of Chicago chefs. His father owned a delicatessen and a smokehouse.

The Book, Broadcast & Journalism awards also were recently announced. Cookbook of the Year was “Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America,” by Maricel E. Presilla (W.W. Norton & Company). Other winners included British-based Nigel Slater for “Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard” (Ten Speed Press); Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi for “Jerusalem: A Cookbook” (Ten Speed Press); and Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding, and Jose Vouillamoz for “Wine Grapes: a Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties” (Ecco).

The winners:

Best Chef, Great Lakes: Stephanie Izard, Girl & the Goat, Chicago.

Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic: Johnny Monis, Komi, Washington, D.C.

Best Chef, Midwest: Colby Garrelts, Bluestem, Kansas City, Mo.

Best Chef, New York City: Wylie Dufresne, WD-50.

Best Chef, Northeast: Melissa Kelly, Primo, Rockland, Maine.

Best Chef, Northwest: Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland, Ore.

Best Chef, South: Tory McPhail, Commander’s Palace, New Orleans.

Best Chef, Southeast: Joseph Lenn, The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tenn.

Best Chef, Southwest: Jennifer Jasinski, Rioja, Denver.

Best Chef, West: Christopher Kostow, The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, Calif.

Best New Restaurant: State Bird Provisions, San Francisco.

Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional: Merry Edwards, Sebastopol, Calif.

Outstanding Pastry Chef: Brooks Headley, Del Posto, New York.

Outstanding Restaurateur: Maguy Le Coze, Le Bernardin, New York. ]]> Tue, 14 May 2013 16:44:18 -0400 By Richard Vines

Bloomberg News

]]> <![CDATA[ TV Chef Fabio Viviani to greet fans at BJ’s ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130514/LIFE01/130519496/1070
Saturday, the hunky television chef from Florence will welcome fans at the BJ’s Wholesale Club in Amherst. From 11 a.m. or thereabouts, he’ll have brief chats with strangers from behind a table and sign copies of his new cookbook, available for sale nearby, at a price significantly lower than the $24.99 printed on its cover.

The event is free for the public and enriching for Viviani. He’s getting paid for being a professional cook, without spending 12-hour shifts on his feet, skidding on greasy floors amid blisteringly hot stoves, razor-sharp knives and vats of boiling oil.

The only oil Viviani will concern himself with will be Bertolli olive oil, produced by the world’s biggest olive oil conglomerate. The scheduled four-hour event will include Viviani offering a pitch for the virtues of Bertolli, whose jumbo-sized bottles will be, not coincidentally, available deep inside the new warehouse store’s corridors. He’ll repeat the performance at a new North Carolina BJ’s next month.

That Saturday’s event is only marginally remarkable is a testament to the power and reach of food television, one of the most efficient solvents of human attention spans in recent history.

Viviani is of the newly familiar breed of television celebrity chef. No longer chained behind their stoves, they surf the country on waves of marketing dollars, flitting from ribbon-cutting to morning show TV appearance to cookbook signing, pausing only long enough to pose with fans for cellphone snaps.

He’s paid for his personal magnetism, literally: to draw people, like iron filings, from their couches. After so much time spent with him on their living room screens, fans are stirred to finally meet him in the flesh.

That urge isn’t new, certainly, but ex-quarterbacks and television stars used to get those roles. Just 20 years ago, the only chef in America with a national profile was Chef Boyardee, whose chunky mug was printed on every can of ravioli. Then came Wolfgang and Emeril, Bobby and Tyler, and Paula.

Though the excesses of their marketers make me cringe at times, like the Paula Deen-branded flour, or Rocco DiSpirito’s smirk on a box of salt, I have to say: more power to them. Chefs who have reached stardom through the kitchen door are no Kardashians. They have held down a physically demanding, pressure-packed job, for years; showed up on time; did the hard thing; got paid, for longer than a season of “Storage Wars.”

Viviani has worked in restaurants since his teens, owning and operating five Florence restaurants before he was 27, his website said. Maybe you’ve eaten at his restaurants in Los Angeles and Chicago, or read his cookbook, or watched his cooking show on Yahoo.

You might remember Viviani’s Italian accent and roguish looks from 2009’s “Top Chef Season Five,” where he was a fan favorite but washed out in the quarterfinals.

His work as an advertising pitchman was harder to miss. A central character of Domino’s 2011 “artisanal” pie rollout, his was the face that launched a million pizza deliveries. He holds down a regular slot on QVC, the shopping channel, lauding the merits of items such as “my brand new Bialetti 8-Piece Nano-Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set!” He has a line of ceramic cookware at Bed Bath & Beyond. He’s also taken contracts to flog Chianti wine, Pellegrino water and German frozen pizza.

He has been quoted saying he turned down seven figures to pitch soda, because he doesn’t think it’s good for kids. In the same 2011 interview, with New York magazine’s Grub Street blog, he mentioned his new Twitter account and being “done” with “Top Chef.”

Viviani returned to Bravo last year, nonetheless, in “Life After Top Chef,” Bravo’s follow-up series, and there are no signs of him stopping.

Why should he? With the American cable television industry apparently bent on proving that any knucklehead who draws breath can be a television personality, no wonder television audiences are drawn to the Fabios of food television.

Click. Guys in jogging suits ham it up while waiting to unlock storage spaces. Click. Dudes with beards wrestling big fish that are not sharks. Click. Charming cook whipping up a dazzling dinner, seasoned with authentic accent? Yes, please, and I don’t need to see a menu.

...

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Viviani will be at BJ’s Wholesale Club, 3056 Sheridan Drive, Amherst. He’ll meet fans and sign copies of his new cookbook, “Fabio’s Italian Kitchen.”



email: agalarneau@buffnews.com ]]> Tue, 14 May 2013 23:45:48 -0400 Andrew Galarneau
]]> <![CDATA[ Tarator, tahini sauce, adds flavor to simple vegetables ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130514/LIFE01/130519498/1070
The most common use of tahini in this country is hummus, where the ground sesame paste adds richness and gloss to the ground chickpeas. It also provides similar balance to the eggplant’s sharpness in babaganouj, or roasted eggplant dip.

The dairylike creaminess makes it a natural for people who are avoiding dairy. During Lent, Greeks make tahinosoupa – you guessed it, tahini soup – a simple soup with pasta and lemon.

It’s not just for lunch and dinner, but dessert too. The Greeks will use it in cake, though, and the Israelis will make another dessert, halvah parfait, bearing its distinctly nutty richness.

Stir it up: The solids in tahini tend to settle, leaving a layer of sesame oil on top of the jar. Like a jar of natural peanut butter, it might require some blending to get the oil mixed back in before you measure it out. Since it’s oily, use a jar in a few months or keep it in the refrigerator to retard oxidation.

After hummus, tahini’s most famous use is as tarator, or tahini sauce. It’s the Ranch dressing of the Arab world. Not only does it enliven falafel, shawarma and kabob sandwiches, it can make a plate of plain steamed vegetables tasty enough to enjoy.

The following recipe is from local author Faith Gorsky’s “An Edible Mosaic.” As with most simple recipes, you should play with it a little to find a version you enjoy most. More lemon or less, more garlic or less, more water until it’s as thin as you like, and of course always salt to taste.



email: agalarneau@buffnews.com½ cup (120 g) tahini

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ cup (125 ml) plus 2 tablespoons water

2 cloves garlic, crushed in a mortar and

pestle with ½ teaspoon salt

Whisk together the tahini and lemon juice in a medium bowl. (The sauce will thicken).

Whisk in the water drop by drop at first, and then in a thin drizzle. (The sauce will thicken even more at first, and then thin out.)

Stir in the garlic and refrigerate until serving. (Or use a food processor.)

(For a thicker version that can serve as a dip, omit about 2 tablespoons water, and add ½ bunch fresh parsley leaves, minced. Both versions keep well for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.)



On the Web: Check out how easy tarator with steamed cauliflower is at video.buffalonews.com/player ]]> Tue, 14 May 2013 23:45:00 -0400 Andrew Galarneau
]]> <![CDATA[ Glazing, what good vegetables deserve ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130514/LIFE01/130519500/1070
But a lot of them have never even heard of one of the most basic techniques of cooking, one that requires no special equipment or expensive ingredients. In fact, you can probably do it in just a few minutes with what you have in your kitchen right now.

It’s called glazing vegetables, and it’s as fundamental to a cook’s repertoire as roasting a chicken.

In fact, it may be more so. Learn to roast a chicken and you can probably extrapolate that knowledge to, well, roasting a turkey. But glazing works for all sorts of vegetables, and particularly now, when we’re enjoying the full flush of the spring harvest, it’s something you ought to master.

Here’s how you do it:

Cut the vegetables into equal-sized pieces, so they cook at the same pace. Place them in a skillet just big enough to hold them, one that has a securely fitting lid.

Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan (roughly ½ cup – very dense vegetables will take a little more; soft vegetables will take a little less). Add a little bit of fat: a thumb-sized knob of butter or a couple of glugs of olive oil. If you have seasonings that need to be cooked – minced onions, shallots or garlic – add them, too.

Place the pan over medium heat, cover tightly and cook. Stir every couple of minutes, checking to see when the vegetables are becoming tender. If the water gets low too quickly, add a splash – just 2 or 3 tablespoons.

Just when a paring knife penetrates easily, remove the lid and turn the heat up to high. Cook, tossing and stirring fairly constantly, until the liquid is gone and the vegetables are shiny and just beginning to brown; it’ll take only a couple of minutes.

Add the final seasonings – a sprinkle of salt, chopped herbs or spices, and a splash of acidity from a squeeze of citrus or a spoonful of vinegar – and serve.

Seriously, that’s all there is to it.

Here’s why it’s so great: As the vegetables cook under cover, they release moisture of their own (most vegetables are more than 90 percent water). When you uncover the pan and turn up the heat, the water evaporates and the flavor essences left behind mix with the fat to coat the vegetables with a delicious glaze.

At one time, I insisted on calling this “braising” because it is very similar to what happens when you stew a piece of meat. That little bit of added liquid serves to soften the cellulose structure of the vegetable, releasing the juices inside, which are then reduced to a sauce. In the case of vegetables, it’s just done backward; you soften with liquid first, then brown at the end.

But at this point I’m willing to reconsider. Partly it’s a bow to the wisdom of my betters. If Thomas Keller says it’s “glazing,” not “braising,” who am I to argue? Mainly, though, “glazing” just sounds prettier. No doubt that’s at least partly the result of decades of drably colored and dully flavored overcooked stewed vegetables. That association is not at all appropriate for these sparkling gems.

Glazing doesn’t work with all vegetables. They need to be firm enough so they won’t fall apart during cooking. But for the ones it does work for, it’s almost infinitely flexible. Master this one technique and you have learned dozens of “recipes.”

The only thing it requires is a certain amount of minding – getting the vegetables perfectly done (cooked through but not mushy) requires paying attention. But that’s one professional skill that every home cook needs to acquire. ]]> Tue, 14 May 2013 16:45:01 -0400 By Russ Parsons / Los Angeles Times

]]> <![CDATA[ Sweet, fruity sherbet is a cool treat ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130514/LIFE01/130519501/1070


Strawberry-Rhubarb Sherbet

1 to 1 ½ pounds fresh rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces (5 cups)

1 cup water

2½ cups superfine sugar

2 cups fresh, hulled strawberries



Have two loaf pans at hand; 9-by-5-inch or slightly smaller will be fine.

Combine the rhubarb and water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once the water starts to bubble a bit, cover and cook for 5 minutes. The rhubarb should be softened. Let it cool slightly.

Transfer to a food processor along with the sugar; puree until smooth, then pour into a mixing bowl. Puree the strawberries in the food processor until smooth. Press through a fine-mesh strainer, letting the result fall into the bowl with the pureed rhubarb. Discard the solids in the strainer.

Divide the mixture between the loaf pans, which will be about half-full; cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and freeze for 20 to 30 minutes, until mushy. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer; beat until smooth but not melted. Return to the loaf pans and freeze for 20 to 30 minutes. Repeat the mixing and freezing step.

At this point, the sherbet is ready to be transferred to a long-term storage container. Freeze for at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days. Defrost in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.

Makes about 6 cups (6 generous servings).

Note: The mixture needs to be frozen twice, for 20 to 30 minutes each time, before the sherbet is ready for a final freeze (at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days)

– Adapted from a decades-old food magazine recipe by Jean Janssen, founder of Smart Markets in Northern Virginia.

Per serving: 330 calories, 1 g protein, 88 g carbohydrates, no fat, no saturated fat, no cholesterol, no sodium, 3 g dietary fiber, 84 g sugar ]]> Tue, 14 May 2013 16:44:21 -0400 Special to Washington Post

]]> <![CDATA[ Slate’s You’re Doing It Wrong: Enchiladas not limited to Cinco de Mayo ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130514/LIFE01/130519503/1070
The ratio of people who have made enchiladas at home to those who have only eaten them in restaurants is surely small. (Roughly equivalent, I suspect, to the ratio of people who saw Elliott Smith in concert to those who saw him at the 1998 Oscars.) Like lasagna, enchiladas require cooking multiple elements separately, combining them fastidiously, and then cooking them again. The potential for wasted energy is significant enough that you want to choose your approach carefully. To that end, I recommend that you make enchiladas with mole sauce – also known, succinctly and delightfully, as enmoladas – to maximize the return on your efforts.

Mole sauce, like ATM machine or PIN number, is pleonastic: The root of mole, the Nahuat molli, simply means sauce. (Think also of guacamole, from ahuacamolli, ahuacatl meaning avocado.) Being a generic term, mole in Mexico refers to a several diverse sauces made from various kinds of chilies. But since Cinco de Mayo is largely an American distortion of a Mexican occasion, we will focus our efforts on an American distortion of mole: a mélange of Oaxacan traditions, featuring tomatoes, spices, nuts and seeds, dried fruit and chocolate.

There are other good reasons to make the kind of mole sauce you might find in Tex-Mex restaurants instead of an authentic mole negro or mole colorado. For one thing, this kind contains ingredients that are easy to find at most grocery stores. (Pasilla and guajillo chilies, traditional in Oaxacan moles, may require a trip to a specialty retailer; ancho chilies, otherwise known as dried poblanos, are more accessible for most.) And, more importantly, it tastes superb: simultaneously smoky, spicy, sweet and savory. I could (and do) eat mole sauce with a spoon. I’ve never yet met a salsa roja or verde that makes me want to do that.

Though the ingredients list below is lengthy, the process for making mole sauce is relatively simple. You must soak your anchos before pureeing them and simmering them with the other ingredients; they will lose many of their seeds in the soaking process, but that’s OK. (If you want a less spicy sauce, take care to remove all of their seeds and inner veins while you’re removing the stems.) This is one of the few occasions when your immersion blender should remain on the shelf; a proper, upright blender is not only easier to use logistically but also results in a smoother, creamier sauce (and thoroughly pulverizes all those tiny anise and sesame seeds).

Assembling enchiladas is not difficult, but it does require one possibly unfamiliar step: flash-frying corn tortillas just enough to soften them and coat them with enough oil to protect them from the mush-ifying power of the sauce. You cannot skip this step: Unfried corn tortillas are not nearly pliable enough to wrap around filling. And speaking of that filling: As a vegetarian, I opt for the obvious and easy – cheese – but chicken makes perfect sense for omnivores. Just substitute about 2 cups of shredded, cooked chicken for the Monterey Jack in this recipe.



Enchiladas con Mole

4 large ancho chilies

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons grapeseed or peanut oil, or lard, plus more for greasing the pan

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

Salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons sliced almonds

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons raisins

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

¼ teaspoon anise seeds

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2 fresh Roma tomatoes, chopped

16 corn tortillas

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped

8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 2 cups)

Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Put the chilies in a medium bowl and add enough of the boiling water to cover them by 1 inch. Soak the chilies until soft, about 30 minutes. Remove their stems, transfer them to a blender or food processor, add 1 cup of their soaking liquid, and process until smooth.

Meanwhile, put 3 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the almonds, pumpkin seeds, raisins and sesame seeds and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the anise seeds, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, oregano, thyme and bay leaf and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, puréed chilies, and 1 cup water. Cover partially, bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate. Cool slightly, then transfer the sauce to the blender or food processor and process until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

(At this point, you can store the mole sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to several days.)

Put the remaining 1 cup oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add one of the tortillas to the pan; it should sizzle immediately. Cook for a few seconds, then turn and cook on the other side just until it begins to puff up, another few seconds. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Put about 2 tablespoons of the cheese in the lower third of one of the tortillas and then roll it up tightly. Transfer the tortilla, seam down, to the greased pan. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas. (It’s OK to nestle the tortillas snugly.) Pour the mole sauce over the tortillas, spreading it evenly to the edges of the pan. Bake the enchiladas until hot and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Garnish with cilantro if desired and serve hot or warm.

Makes 16 enchiladas (4 to 5 servings). ]]> Tue, 14 May 2013 16:44:14 -0400 By L.V. Anderson

Slate

]]> <![CDATA[ Wine by Fred Tasker ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130512/LIFE/130519938/1070
English poet John Yeats was musing on romantic love, but, in my mind, it could have been an ode to the red grape and wine called pinot noir.

Pinot noir, in its youth, is brash and crisp and lush and silky, with exuberant flavors of black cherries, pomegranates, even blueberries, often with a background of mocha.

It goes well all by itself; with its lightness and approachability, it’s the perfect aperitif. It avoids the astringent tannins that relegate cabernet sauvignon, petite sirah and such to drinking with food.

With age, pinot noir can develop that elusive Japanese characteristic called “umami” – the fifth flavor element that recently joined sweet, sour, bitter and salty among hedonists.

Defined by some as “savory,” by others, preciously, as “yummy,” umami is found in roast meats, sautéed mushrooms, truffle oil, parmesan cheese.

Umami is the reason America’s prime steak restaurants advertise “dry-aged” meat and European restaurants boast of “well-hung game.”

Pinot noir has umami in the same way, over time taking on the bouquet of mushrooms, truffles, fallen leaves, damp earth, sometimes called “forest floor.”

In other words, funky.

Pinot noirs lack the tannin to strip the palate of the fat from a bite of extra-well-marbled steak. So it’s the wine for lean, expensive filet mignon – leaving fattier rib eye steaks to cabernet or barolo.

Pinot noir is the wine for complex wine-based beef stews, lean cuts of roast pork, for chicken or veal in madeira sauce, for flavorful fish like salmon or swordfish. For anything with a mushroom sauce. For macaroni and cheese fancied up with drops of truffle oil – and if you haven’t tried this, you should.

Because of its crisp acids, it is not the wine for raw citrus salads or vinegar-based salad dressings. Because of its sweetness it cloys with sweet desserts.

So pinot noir is not all things to all people. Like everything beautiful – it must be in its context.

Pardon me for waxing poetic, but couldn’t Yeats have been referring to pinot noir as well when he wrote this description of love?

“An endless fountain of immortal drink, pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.”• 2011 Rodney Strong Vineyards Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley Estate Vineyards: hint of oak, black plum and blueberry flavors, smooth, long finish; $25.

• 2008 Gloria Ferrer JSF Pinot Noir, Carneros: oak and red berry aromas, concentrated flavors of black raspberries and cloves, silky body, long finish; $40.

• 2011 La Crema Pinot Noir, Monterey: intense floral aromas, concentrated flavors of black cherry, anise and mocha, silky and smooth; $23.

•2011 Morgan Winery “Twelve Clones” Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands: toasty oak and floral aromas, black cherry and black plum flavors, silky, lively and crisp; $32.• 2011 Veramonte “Ritual” Pinot Noir, Casablanca Valley, Chile: hint of oak and floral aromas, full-bodied and rich, with black cherry and spice flavors; $19.

• 2011 Garnet Vineyards Pinot Noir, Monterey County: hint of oak, flavors of black raspberries and spice, soft tannins, long finish; $15.

• 2011 Byron Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County: floral aromas, black plum and mocha flavors, big, ripe tannins; $19.

• 2009 Waterstone Pinot Noir, Carneros: aromas of vanilla and oak, intense flavors of black plums and coffee, rich and smooth; $22.

• 2010 Gloria Ferrer Pinot Noir, Carneros: hint of oak, black cherry and mocha flavors, soft tannins, crisp acids; $27.

• 2011 Frank Family Vineyards Pinot Noir, Carneros: subtle oak and flower aromas, flavors of black plums, spice and earth, soft tannins, full body; $35.

• 2010 MacMurray Ranch Reserve Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: floral and toasty aromas, intense flavors of black raspberries, silky and lush and ripe; $37.

• 2010 Lost Canyon “Morelli Lane” Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: aromas and flavors of black cherries and bittersweet chocolate, crisp and smooth; $45.



Fred Tasker has retired from the Miami Herald but is still writing about wine. He can be reached at fredtaskerwine@gmail.com. ]]> Fri, 10 May 2013 12:36:22 -0400 <![CDATA[ Exploring a world of flavor at the West Side Bazaar ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130507/LIFE01/130509366/1070 During the opening weekend of the West Side Bazaar, I headed over to 25 Grant St., to sample its new international food court – five food vendors selling traditional dishes from Ethiopia, Burma, Thailand and Peru.

The shared kitchen space was going full steam ahead as smiling family members dished up native comfort foods from a tangle of pots. The cooks serve you from a tiny lunch counter, each with a single range, a few shelves and prep spaces overflowing with ingredients: lentils, greens, potatoes, cilantro, fish, pork and the ubiquitous Chinese noodles. (It’s open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.)

A friend had brought her stepdaughter along for a culinary crash course, so we sampled everything we could get our hands on. Each vendor taps out your order on an iPad, and most offer weekend specials.

A few long tables in front of the takeout windows served as a communal spot to plop down and chow down among the boutiques selling handmade jewelry, shea butter cosmetics and colorful clothing.

Those who have spent time in the San Francisco Bay area have probably come across Burmese cuisine, a Southeast Asian fusion of Vietnam, China, Thailand and India that somehow remains distinct and delicious.

Take dishes like mohinga ($4), an intense fish soup with rice noodles that’s a favorite at Burmese breakfast tables, and oh no kauswer, a mild coconut curry soup, also with noodles and some shredded chicken.

Our oh no kauswer ($5), from Specialty Burmese Cuisine, came with the traditional hard-boiled egg. Like many Burmese soups and stews, it’s thickened with chickpea flour, a nod to its Indian heritage. Without heavier starches like wheat flour or cream, it tastes both hearty and light.

The mohinga tasted like a funky pho, with white fish nuggets (probably catfish), several fish cakes and some fresh cilantro swimming in a bath of fish-sauce scented broth. I added some chili flakes and pounced.

Next came Abyssinia Ethiopian Cuisine. To sample it in one go, we ordered a combo platter ($10) sight unseen. In minutes we were handed a heaping, four-person serving lined with injera, a spongy sourdough bread you use as a fork, and filled with kik alitcha (yellow split peas), kale, peppers, carrots and a boiled egg. There was beef, chicken and lamb cooked either as tibs (sauteed meat) or wat, a rich stew with onion. The sauces were complex, and the vegetables beautifully spiced. The doro wat, stewed chicken drumsticks, was the star, and my friend said that the entire dish was better than other Buffalo Ethiopian she’s tried.

We even tried some Japanese maki sushi served by the folks behind the Rakhapura Mutee and Sushi counter. As we munched a few spicy Buffalo rolls – “American” flavors are their specialty – owner Khaing Thein explained how they are not Burmese, but Arakanese, an ethnic majority living along the coast of what is now called Myanmar.

At the Pure Peru counter, our 8-year-old taster approved of the lomo saltado ($8) – one of several dishes Peruvians call “chifa” for their combination of Chinese stir-fry technique and South American ingredients. Red onion, tomato, pepper, broccoli and chicken, all lightly spiced and well-seasoned, were served over hand-cut potato wedges. OK, so they were French fries, but served with Latin American spicing, it was hard to call them that.

Pure Peru is run by Martha Sosa, a friendly woman who also owns a catering business. We tried the tamale with chicken, olives, egg and, interestingly, peanuts. I also ordered a crispy stuffed potato ($4), which came skinned, mashed and filled with chicken, olives and a savory gravy. Neither dish was spicy.

As we finished, Sosa handed me a cup of emoliente, a refreshing Peruvian “health drink” made with fruit juices, natural sweeteners, and in Peru, with barley, flax seeds and llantén, or plaintain leaf.

Sosa’s version was based on apple juice, lemon and membrillo, a paste made from the quince fruit. It is “good for women,” she assured me. She pointed to a cob of blue corn sitting in a bowl on the counter, and explained that she makes different emoliente flavors each week, including her favorite with the corn, membrillo and pineapple juice.

Pure Peru serves ceviche ($13) on Saturdays, and you can always get salchipapa ($5, a sliced and pan-fried beef hot dog with fries), papa huanchíana ($5), a salad of boiled yellow potatoes with a creamy cheese sauce, and several traditional chicken and rice dishes ($7-8) with spinach, cilantro, mushroom or a yellow pepper cream sauce. She also offered us some fish with asparagus.

Full to bursting, we waved our hands and promised “next time.” Our education must continue. ]]> Wed, 8 May 2013 08:02:27 -0400 By Lauren Newkirk Maynard

special to the news

]]> <![CDATA[ Orlando is testing ground for restaurants’ new ideas ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130507/LIFE01/130509364/1070
Orlando-area residents have recently sampled new Chick-fil-A salads, a healthy Cracker Barrel menu and Red Lobster’s pay-at-the-counter option before most other American diners.

New products or menus often are tried out in Orlando because it’s a big city filled with chains, a diverse population and millions of annual visitors. It is also home to several national and regional restaurant companies, which like to test close to corporate headquarters.

“Orlando gives you the geographic diversity; people from all over the country go here,” said H.G. Parsa, a former University of Central Florida restaurant professor now on the faculty of the University of Denver’s business school. “That’s the beauty of it.”

And Orlando may get even more trial runs soon. Trying to keep up with rapidly changing consumer tastes, restaurants have dramatically ramped up new menu offerings, said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of restaurant-research company Technomic.

At the same time, casual-dining companies such as Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster, are experimenting with new approaches as they fight to keep customers wanting faster, cheaper fare.

Restaurants learn many things from the testing process. They don’t just consider whether the new dish racks up enough in sales. Can it be prepared relatively easily? Will it cannibalize sales from more profitable offerings?

“A menu item that has … a very thin margin, that doesn’t draw any new traffic, that pulls people away from a more profitable item is a loser,” said Dennis Lombardi, a restaurant consultant with Ohio-based WD Partners.

Companies also may tweak the final product based on what they hear from customers in test markets.

Chick-fil-A knew it wanted to sell its new Cobb, Asian and grilled market salads even before it started analyzing them recently in Orlando and Raleigh, N.C. Chick-fil-A’s across the country plan to replace their current salads with the new ones Monday.

But the Atlanta-based chain made some changes based on consumer feedback. Pretzel rolls that originally accompanied the salads are gone because they didn’t seem to tempt diners’ taste buds. Customers did want more chicken nuggets in the Cobb and Asian salads, however. So the salads will now have eight nuggets instead of the original six.

Orlando is one of about a dozen Chick-fil-A test markets across the United States. The area has many experienced operators who can offer insights, said David Farmer, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of product strategy and development. For instance, Chick-fil-A heeded the suggestion of a Winter Springs, Fla., store manager who wanted color-coded packaged-salad condiments, so employees in a hurry don’t mistakenly hand the garlic-and-ginger wontons for Asian salads to customers who ordered the Cobb.

Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel has been trying a “Wholesome Fixin’s” menu featuring items with fewer than 600 calories at several Central Florida restaurants, including one near Orlando International Airport. Cracker Barrel would not say what other markets are sampling the menu, which it plans to introduce to the entire nation this summer.

Atlanta-based Wing Zone and Miami-based Pollo Tropical have tested in Central Florida. And McDonald’s used 180 Orlando-area restaurants as a testing ground for Garden Wraps, a precursor to the Premium McWraps that made their national debut last month.

Meanwhile, companies such as Darden and Tony Roma’s, which also bases operations here, often use Orlando to assess new methods and products.

In two area locations, Darden’s Red Lobster is trying out “Seaside Express,” where diners order and pay at the counter. Olive Garden is testing out an online ordering system in a few parts of the country.

After testing them here first, Tony Roma’s is rolling out online ordering and new menu items. Diner questionnaires completed online or on in-house tablets helped the chain determine that grilled focaccia bruschetta and a new flat-iron-steak dish would succeed. A salmon with Sriracha butter, however, didn’t make the cut.

Lower-to-mid-priced chains find Orlando especially appealing because the region’s median income is a little less than the U.S. average.

“They demand value for the money,” Parsa said. “If [products] can make it in a value-conscious market, they can make it easily.” ]]> Tue, 7 May 2013 23:52:17 -0400 By Sandra Pedicini

Orlando Sentinel

]]> <![CDATA[ ‘Rose Petal Jam’ author Zatorska to speak at Broadway Market ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130507/LIFE01/130509365/1070
“The book knocked my socks off, and I thought I have to get that woman to Buffalo,” said Lawicki. “Beata captured the essence of Polish culture, and for someone who can’t go to Poland, this book takes you there.”

Zatorska’s talk is part of the Second Saturday of the Month Lecture Series held in the Community Room at the Broadway Market, 999 Broadway.

“Rose Petal Jam” – generously sprinkled with photographs taken by Simon Target, Zatorska’s husband – is a collection of recipes and stories from the author’s childhood in Poland.

“The book started out as my memoirs, and I realized writing it that my memory of food is the strongest one,” Zatorska said during an interview early last year. “I felt food has a story to it.”

Recipes in the book are introduced with personal stories and illustrated by well-composed portraits of Polish cuisine, including the cover photo of Rose Petal Jam. The coffee-table cookbook is the first in a series of four cookbooks that will be written by Zatorska and photographed by her husband.

Eileen Koteras Elibol is art director at WNED-TV/WBFO-FM Buffalo-Toronto. As a professional photographer with a treasure chest of Polish family recipes, Elibol has read “Rose Petal Jam” cover to cover.

“It’s not just the recipes, but the book’s images capture the soul of Poland,” Elibol said. “All those wonderful details – an old barn in the mist or the author with her grandmother – make you feel like you are there.”

Zatorska’s appearance at the Broadway Market will speak to a vibrant culture with roots deep in Western New York.

“Our whole goal is to educate people and help keep Polish culture alive,” said Lawicki. “People hear Polish food and they think pierogi and kielbasa. The reality is there is so much more. The richness of the food from various areas of Poland is what Beata brings out wonderfully.”

Polish culture takes a front seat in the Zatorska kitchen, judging from the pages of “Rose Petal Jam,” where stories of poet Adam Mickiewicz can share a chapter with recipes for Roast Duck with Apples and Daisy Eggs.

“These are the recipes that were passed down from her grandmother to be carried on and enjoyed by generations of Polish families,” said Elibol. “The details of the photos strike you on an emotional level. They’re not all of the typical screaming sunny day. There are moody images that capture the beauty of one flower and the natural beauty of the Polish countryside.”

The market is also offering a prelecture breakfast with the author that includes a light breakfast, a signed copy of “Rose Petal Jam” and a 125th Broadway Market anniversary mug and rose.

Reservations for the breakfast may be made by calling 479-2342. The cost is $40. Make checks payable to BEST Community Association, 180 Sheffield Ave., Buffalo, N.Y. 14220.

This event is coordinated in partnership with the 125th Anniversary Celebration Committee, the Broadway Market and the Polish American Congress-WNY.



email: jkwiatkowski@buffnews.com ]]> Tue, 7 May 2013 23:51:40 -0400 Jane Kwiatkowski
]]> <![CDATA[ Slate’s You’re Doing It Wrong: Stir-Fried Tofu ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130507/LIFE01/130509368/1070
Stir-fries can accommodate many different kinds of meat and produce – but that doesn’t mean you should dump the entire contents of your refrigerator in your skillet or wok. In fact, the best stir-fries are restrained: They combine two principle ingredients – one protein, one vegetable – with a trio of essential aromatic seasonings and a simple, delicious sauce. The below recipe, featuring chewy tofu (made chewier via freezing, if you have time) and vernal asparagus, is the ideal stir-fry iteration. But it can serve as a blueprint for virtually any stir-fry, so long as you remember three fundamental rules.

The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. Protein – whether chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or tofu – should be stirred minimally so that it maintains undisturbed contact with the hot pan and acquires a nice, seared exterior. Meanwhile, vegetables must be stirred fairly often so that they cook through quickly without any part getting mushy.

A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Not all vegetables cook at the same rate, and getting two vegetables to hit that cusp between tender and crisp at the exact same time is pretty much impossible. Furthermore, crowding your pan with vegetables will result in their releasing more liquid, which threatens to make them soggy instead of crisp. Though you should not combine more than one vegetable in a stir-fry, you may combine your vegetable with a fungus: Mushrooms cook through quickly but never really become overcooked, which makes them a great companion to any vegetable. You must combine your vegetable with three important aromatics – ginger, garlic and chile – without which your stir-fry will taste flat.

Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking. A proper sauce for stir-fries combines something salty – soy sauce, usually, though fish sauce also works – with something a little bit sweet. Mirin, sweet Japanese rice wine, contributes a wonderful fermented flavor, but if you don’t have any, substitute a teaspoon of honey or sugar combined with two teaspoons of water. Soy sauce and mirin both burn if cooked for much longer than a minute, so plan to leave them on the heat just long enough to coat the other ingredients and thicken into a glaze.



Stir-Fried Tofu, Asparagus and Shiitakes

1 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry

2 tablespoons peanut oil

Salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 medium jalapeño or bird’s eye chile, seeded and minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound asparagus, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch segments

3½ ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon mirin

Cooked short-grain brown or white rice for serving (optional)



At least one day before you plan to make the stir-fry, cut the tofu into ½- to ¾-inch slices and cut each slice into 1- to 2-inch triangles or rectangles. Freeze the tofu overnight, then thaw it in the refrigerator.

Put 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the tofu, season with salt and pepper, and cook, turning every 3 to 5 minutes, until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the tofu to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil to the pan. When it’s hot, add the ginger, jalapeño, and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the asparagus and mushrooms, and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are just tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

Return the tofu to the pan, and add the soy sauce and mirin. Cook, stirring gently, until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Serve hot, over rice if desired. (Store leftover stir-fry in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a few days.) Makes 2 to 3 servings. ]]> Tue, 7 May 2013 23:46:51 -0400 By L.V. Anderson

Slate

]]> <![CDATA[ A jam tart that’s easy and quick ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130507/LIFE01/130509369/1070
There’s only one problem. The fruit selection at the supermarket is similar to what it was in the middle of February, dominated by mangoes from Mexico and grapes from California, with some shriveled Spanish clementines and a few bins of New York State apples left over from the fall. It’s not a crime to make a pie with peaches imported from Chile, although they won’t be as fragrant as farm stand peaches in August. Frozen fruit is another option, but frozen fruit just doesn’t have the romance of fresh seasonal fruit at its peak. Instead, think about using a jar of jam to make a shockingly easy and satisfyingly fruity tart.

With jam, there’s no peeling, no slicing, no cooking, no cleanup. Simply twist off the top, measure a cup and a quarter of your favorite flavor and spread it over your tart shell. Unlike canned pie filling, which contains ingredients many of us would like to avoid, such as modified food starch, food coloring and high fructose corn syrup, high-quality jams and fruit preserves are made with nothing more than fruit, sugar and natural fruit pectin.

When my filling is coming from a jar, I don’t want to kill myself making a complicated pastry crust. A simple shortbread dough doesn’t require a rolling pin or even an electric mixer. Combine some ground nuts, flour, sugar and cornmeal with melted butter, and mush everything together with your hands (you can use a spatula if you don’t like getting your hands dirty) until large crumbs form. Then press some of the mixture into the bottom of the pan, spread the jam on top and drop the remaining crumbs over the jam. The cornmeal and nuts give the crust some flavor and character.

If you don’t already have one, consider making a modest investment of between $10 and $15 in a tart pan with a removable bottom. I prefer a pan with a traditional shiny metal finish to a dark nonstick pan, since crusts tend to overbrown in darker pans.

Finally, here’s a trick for removing the tart from the pan sides. Don’t try to balance the bottom on the palm of your hand. Chances are, the tart will wind up on the floor. Instead, place a large (24-ounce) can of beans or tomatoes on the countertop. Set the tart pan on top of the can, letting the ring fall to the counter. Then carefully lift the tart from the can and place it on a serving platter.



Jam Tart with Cornmeal-Almond Crust

1½ cups whole almonds

1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ cup yellow cornmeal

∏ cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

¼ teaspoon pure almond extract

1¼ cup best-quality jam



Place a rimmed baking sheet on middle rack of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom with nonstick cooking spray.

Place almonds in bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse several times to grind. Do not over-process.

Combine ground nuts, flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Pour in melted butter and almond extract. Pick up handfuls of mixture and rub between your palms until all the ingredients are moistened and the mixture forms large crumbs.

Spoon ¾ of the mixture into the prepared pan and pat firmly into an even layer across bottom. Use a small metal spatula to spread jam over the bottom crust, about ½-inch from the edge all around. Scatter remaining crumbs over jam. Press lightly on them so they stick to the jam.

Bake until tart is light golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer tart pan to a wire rack and let cool completely in pan. When cool, remove the sides of pan, cut into wedges and serve.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Note: A preheated rimmed baking sheet helps crisp up the bottom of the crust and catches any drips as the tart bakes. ]]> Tue, 7 May 2013 23:46:38 -0400 By Lauren Chattman

Newsday

]]> <![CDATA[ Monster suing SF city attorney over energy drinks ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130507/LIFE01/130509370/1070
The company, based in Corona, Calif., says it’s being unfairly singled out by City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who late last year had asked Monster to produce documentation showing that its drinks are safe. Since then, Monster says Herrera has asked it to reformulate its drinks and change its labels and marketing materials.

Herrera said in a statement last week that he would aggressively push for Monster to reform its practices, and he noted that his office had been in good-faith negotiations with the company until recent weeks.

“Monster Energy is claiming an unfettered right to continue marketing its products to children and youth,” he said. “I strongly disagree with Monster’s legal contention, and I intend to litigate this case aggressively to reform their irresponsible marketing and business practices.”

The suit comes at a time when the energy drink industry has come under intense scrutiny. Herrera’s office got involved in the issue after the Food and Drug Administration said last year that it was investigating reports of deaths linked to energy drinks, which sparked a wave of bad publicity for the industry. The federal agency has noted that the reports don’t prove the drinks caused the deaths.

New York’s attorney general has also subpoenaed Monster – as well as the maker of 5-Hour Energy shots and PepsiCo Inc., which makes Amp – as part of an investigation into how energy drinks are made and marketed. In addition, the family of a 14-year-old girl is suing Monster; the family says she died after drinking two 24-ounce cans of Monster in a short period.

Monster, meanwhile, has stood by the safety of its drinks. Earlier this year, the company hit back at the lawsuit, noting that there was no blood test performed to confirm that the girl died of caffeine toxicity.

In its lawsuit against San Francisco’s city attorney, Monster Beverage Corp. cites a letter from Herrera dated March 29 asking the company to reformulate its product to “lower the caffeine content to safe levels” and to provide “adequate warning labels.”

Monster’s current label says people should limit themselves to one can every four hours and a maximum of three per day. It also says the drink isn’t recommended for children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant women or women who are nursing.

But the city attorney said in his letter that three cans amount to 480 milligrams of caffeine, nearly five times the recommended maximum for adolescents and more than the 400 milligrams per day the FDA has indicated is safe for adults.

Although some brands of coffee contain more caffeine than Monster’s energy drinks, Herrera also noted that coffee is typically served hot and consumed slowly. Energy drink makers, by contrast, specifically market to youth and encourage them to “pound down” their drinks in large quantities, the letter said.

Even as soda consumption has flagged in recent years, energy drinks including Red Bull and Rockstar have surged in popularity. In 2011, sales volume for energy drinks rose by nearly 17 percent, according to Beverage Digest, an industry tracker. That growth slowed to about 14 percent in 2012 and has slowed even more dramatically for the early part of 2013, said John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest. ]]> Tue, 7 May 2013 23:46:21 -0400 By Candice Choi

Associated Press

]]> <![CDATA[ Beer-Braised Pork and Carrot Stew ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130507/LIFE01/130509371/1070
The key is to use cuts of meat that benefit from slow cooking. Those are usually the least expensive cuts, such as beef chuck roast and pork butt. I like to buy a whole piece and cut it up myself, so I can remove any chunks of surface fat or tough parts. Aim for 1-inch cubes. You can buy pre-cut stew meat; just make sure it’s not too lean, or the meat in the stew will be dry.

Choose a beer with a little more flavor than a pale ale. If you’d rather not include beer in a dish to be shared with children, substitute chicken broth.



Beer-Braised Pork and Carrot Stew

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds boneless, trimmed pork shoulder or country-style pork chops, cut into roughly 1-inch cubes

½ cup water

3 medium onions, finely chopped (about 2 ¼ cups)

Salt

1 tablespoon double-concentrated tomato paste or 2 tablespoons regular tomato paste

¼ cup flour

2 cups beer (see headnote)

2 cups no-salt-added or homemade chicken broth

2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard

¼ cup light brown sugar

Freshly ground black pepper

1½ pounds carrots, peeled and cut into chunks no bigger than ¾ inch at their thickest point (about 4½ cups)



Position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven; preheat to 325 degrees.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large, nonstick saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the pork, taking care not to crowd the pieces. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, turning the pieces once or twice, until they brown and lose their raw look. Transfer the cubes to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining cubes, adding oil if needed.

When all the pork has browned, increase the heat to high under the (empty) saute pan or skillet and add the water. Use a wooden spatula or spoon to dislodge any browned bits, then remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven or ovenproof saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt; reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft but not browned. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, then add the flour and stir to incorporate; cook for 1 minute.

Add the reserved liquid from the saute pan or skillet, the beer, broth, mustard, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste; stir to combine. Stir in the carrots and the browned pork. As soon as the liquid begins to bubble slowly, cover the Dutch oven or saucepan and transfer it to the oven. Bake for 2½ hours.

Remove the pan from the oven, uncover it and let it sit for 10 minutes. Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve right away; or cool quickly in a water bath or in a shallow metal pan or bowl in the refrigerator. When the stew has cooled, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Makes 9 cups (6 to 9 servings).

Per serving (based on 9): 360 calories, 32 g protein, 21 g carbohydrates, 15 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 105 mg cholesterol, 290 mg sodium, 3 g dietary fiber, 10 g sugar ]]> Tue, 7 May 2013 23:46:06 -0400 Special to The Washington Post

]]> <![CDATA[ Wine: Try a California chardonnay ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130505/LIFE01/130509739/1070
Late frosts and a cool, rainy start to summer in some areas had growers worried, but a September heat wave saved the day.

In fact, it created a long growing season with plenty of “hang time” that made sure full flavors had developed by the time technical sugar measurement said it was time to pick.

Chardonnay always has been a chameleon grape – changing character readily by climate, ripeness and fermenting technique.

In California’s cool, foggy Russian River Valley it turns crisp and intensely fruity; in warmer climes it can be creamy and lush, spicy and caramel scented.

Aging in oak barrels can give it vanilla flavors; a secondary “malolactic” fermentation can soften its acids and create complex and creamy texture and buttery flavors.

Aging in stainless steel tanks, without oak exposure, on the other hand, can create crisp, purely fruity wines.

For example, Kendall-Jackson ages its “Vintner’s Reserve” Chardonnay in new oak barrels seeking a rich, creamy style; it makes its “Avant” Chardonnay mostly in stainless steel tanks for a crisp, intensely fruity style.

Shafer Vineyards grows its chardonnay in Napa’s cool Carneros area for intense fruit, foregoes the secondary fermentation, but ages 75 percent of it in expensive French oak barrels, achieving a superb complexity of flavors.

Put them all together and you have a varied crop of chardonnays – something for every taste.

It’s why chardonnay, despite increasing competition from other varieties, remains America’s favorite white wine.• 2011 Shafer Chardonnay, “Red Shoulder Ranch,” Napa Valley, Carneros: subtle hint of oak, complex, shifting aromas and flavors of ripe tropical fruits and citrus, flan-like opulence, crisp, tart finish; $50.

• 2011 MacMurray Ranch Chardonnay, Russian River: rich and fruity, with aromas and flavors of ripe pears and peaches, opulent; $20.

• 2011 La Crema Chardonnay, Russian River Valley: rich and creamy, with flavors of ripe golden apples and spice; $30.• 2011 Rodney Strong Vineyards Chardonnay, Sonoma County: hint of toasty oak, full aromas and flavors of golden apples and citrus, crisp acids; $15.

• 2011 Lost Canyon Chardonnay, Ruxton Vineyard, Russian River Valley: hint of oak, aromas and flavor of ripe apricots, crisp and citrusy finish; $35.

• 2011 Carmel Road Chardonnay, Arroyo Seco, Monterey: crisp and fruity, with ripe pear and lemon aromas and flavors; $18.

•2011 Cambria Estate Winery Chardonnay, Katherine’s Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley: hint of oak, crisp and fruity, with flavors of ripe pineapples and lemons; $22.

•2011 Amapola Creek Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Joseph Belli Vineyards: hint of oak, intense ripe pear and apricot flavors, crisp and minerally; $45.

•2011 Landmark Vineyards “Overlook” Chardonnay, Sonoma County: hint of oak, rich and creamy, with tropical fruit flavors; $25.

•2011 Kendall-Jackson “Vintner’s Reserve” Chardonnay, Calif.: hint of oak, rich tropical fruit flavors including ripe pineapples, creamy and smooth; $15.

•2011 Kendall-Jackson “Avant” Chardonnay, Calif.: intense fruit aromas and flavors of Granny Smith apples and lemons, lean and crisp; $15.

•2011 Clos LaChance Chardonnay, Monterey County: aromas and flavors of ripe tropical fruits and peaches, crisp finish, lush fruit; $11.



Fred Tasker has retired from the Miami Herald but is still writing about wine. He can be reached at fredtaskerwine@gmail.com. ]]> Fri, 3 May 2013 11:57:17 -0400 <![CDATA[ DIY crackers make nice hostess gift ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130501/LIFE01/130509967/1070
Crisp Rosemary Flatbread Crackers

1¾ cups flour, plus more for the work surface

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped rosemary

½ cup water

1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing

Flaked sea salt, such as Maldon



Place a heavy baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven; preheat to 450 degrees.

Lightly flour a work surface.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and 1 tablespoon of the chopped rosemary in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center, then add the water and oil, gradually stirring them into the flour until a soft, shaggy dough forms. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and knead gently 4 or 5 times to bring the dough together into a soft, smooth ball.

Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Work with one piece at a time and keep the remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap. Divide the first piece into 4 equal pieces; roll each one out on a sheet of parchment paper into a long oval shape, roughly 2 inches wide and 9 inches long, or into a circle with a diameter of at least 5 inches. The dough should be very thin. Use the tines of a fork to prick the cracker several times.

Alternatively, and for crisper results, use a pasta machine to roll out each piece of dough until very thin, usually the fifth setting on the machine. Transfer to a sheet of parchment paper.

Right before baking, lightly brush the top of each cracker with oil. Scatter a little of the remaining chopped rosemary on top, then a little of the flaked salt, pressing slightly so the flakes adhere.

Slide the parchment onto the preheated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the crackers to a wire rack to cool.

Repeat to use all of the remaining dough.

Makes 24 2-by-9-inch oval crackers or 5-inch round crackers.

Note: The crackers can be stored in an airtight container for up to five days.

– Adapted from a recipe in the July 2008 issue of Gourmet.

Per cracker (based on 24): 80 calories, 1 g protein, 9 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 135 mg sodium, no dietary fiber, no sugar. ]]> Wed, 1 May 2013 06:59:45 -0400 Washington Post

]]> <![CDATA[ Asparagus gives dish the taste of spring ]]> http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130501/LIFE01/130509968/1070
In today’s dish, the trio is paired with roasted chicken thighs and legs, asparagus and sweet mini bell peppers.

You can’t go wrong with any asparagus dish this time of year. My local grocery store has huge displays of this harbinger of spring.

Asparagus is simple and easy to prepare – and that’s what’s so enjoyable about it. You can roast or steam it and grill or broil it. You can eat it hot or cold and even raw. Go ahead, pick up a spear with your fingers for a tasty snack.

Because asparagus goes with just about anything, I roasted it and mini bell peppers in today’s dish. The mini bell peppers are a favorite because they, too, require little prep work. A 2-pound bag costs about $5.

For this recipe, I roasted the asparagus and the sliced peppers together. The technique I like to use to roast these vegetables is to preheat a sided baking pan that’s drizzled with olive oil before I put the asparagus and peppers in. Doing so gives them a quick little sear and sizzle and both are crisp tender in about 7 minutes.

When it came to the chicken, I decided on thighs for this dish because I picked them up at a good sale price. Chicken thighs have tons of flavor and are a nice change from lean boneless, skinless chicken breast. Yes, the thighs and legs have more fat, especially if you factor in the skin. But you can remove it to shave off some fat and calories.

The chicken thighs I bought were in a family pack that contained about 12 thighs.

Today’s recipe rocks because you can put it together in the morning and let the chicken marinate all day. Pop it into the oven and get some asparagus and mini red peppers ready to roast while the chicken is roasting. This way, you can have dinner on the table in less than an hour.



Roasted Lemon Chicken with Asparagus and Peppers

Chicken:

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

4 chicken legs with skin

1/3 cup olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Glaze:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons Dijon or favorite grainy mustard

2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Asparagus and Peppers (see note)



Pat the chicken thighs and legs dry. Remove any excess fat from the chicken thighs. In a glass measuring cup, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Reserve a few tablespoons of this mixture for the asparagus. Place chicken pieces in a large bowl and drizzle the olive oil mixture over, tossing to coat. Refrigerate 2-8 hours.

In a small bowl, whisk together all the glaze ingredients. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the chicken pieces in a roasting pan, skin-side down. Roast the chicken 25 minutes. Turn chicken skin side-up, brush pieces with some of the glaze and roast 10 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from oven and place chicken on a platter; tent with foil.

Pour off as much fat as you can from the roasting pan and set the pan over two burners. Heat, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the remaining glaze and heat through. Pour sauce into a small bowl (there won’t be a lot of it) and serve with the chicken.

Note: To make the asparagus and peppers: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and trim tough ends from ½ pound asparagus. Slice 8 mini bell peppers into strips. Drizzle a sided baking sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil and place in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes. Using oven mitts, carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven. Add the asparagus spears and pepper pieces to the pan; they will sizzle. Place in the oven for 7 minutes or until just barely tender. Remove from oven and drizzle with the reserved olive oil/lemon mixture or simply season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4.

Chicken only: 399 calories (72% from fat), 32 grams fat (6 grams sat. fat), 9 grams carbohydrates, 19 grams protein, 741 mg sodium, 69 mg cholesterol, no fiber. ]]> Wed, 1 May 2013 06:58:30 -0400 By Susan Selasky

Detroit Free Press

]]>