Matters of Taste

When "Yuck" Turns To "Yum"

Yesterday’s New York Times article, “A Taste You Hate? Just Wait” by Frank Bruni is a must-read, full of humor, insight, and a welcome prodding of our personal food memory banks.

"Are there really foods that we don’t like, or just foods that we haven’t liked yet?" Bruni asks, suggesting that it’s never too late to develop a taste for foods we think we abhor. He concedes that most people are convinced that they hate broccoli, parnips or calf brain. 

“All of them assume that their predilections are as rooted as redwoods, as fixed as eye color. And all of them are wrong, because appetite isn’t just or even mainly physiological. It’s psychological. Emotional. It’s a function of expectation, emulation, adaptation.”

Over my bowl of oatmeal this morning (a food I disliked as a kid, preferring “Markie-wants-his-Maypo), I got to thinking about the foods I once shunned that became my “can’t-live-withouts.” 

                              


Growing up in Boston, I hated the rhubarb pies my Nana routinely trotted out at Sunday family noon-time dinners. Slimy. Stringy. Yuck. I didn’t give a hoot that the rhubarb was picked from the backyard garden hours before. That the crust was handmade with lots of Crisco. All I wanted was an ordinary hot fudge sundae. (Photo above from FineCooking.)

But when she died in 1981 – she was 86, I was 33 – my cousin Wendy baked fresh strawberry-rhubarb pies for the reception after the funeral. Somehow, during an afternoon of comforting our Grandpa, crying about our loss, laughing about the good ol’ days, and, yes, eating pie, rhubarb became one of my favorite flavors.  Just ask my friends, who know that if the rosy stalks are in season, they will be on the table -- in crisp, crumble or pie -- every time they come for dinner.

I experienced another Age of Enlightenment when I lived in Austria for a year. There was sauerkraut, sauerkraut everywhere.  In open wooden barrels in stores, on restaurant menus, on our friends’ tables, where feasts were built around a steaming mountain of the stuff with sausages and meats poking out.

The smell alone nauseated me, bringing back disagreeable memories of one Christmas Eve, when my sister Marcia and I refused to eat the sauerkraut on the dinner table --- what kind of stinky foreign stuff was this anyway? –-- and got sent to bed without the traditional singing of Christmas Carols. I hated sauerkraut before that night and hated it even more after.

                               

However, as a 30–year-old in Innsbruck, experiencing a new culture, speaking a new language, and making new friends, I allowed sauerkraut to slither its way into the whole exhilarating experience.

Today I love it. And my family loves our traditional Christmas Eve dinner.  Bauernschmaus, which I discovered in Austria’s many farmhouse restaurants, is a heap of sauerkraut, cooked with apples and onions, then baked with sausages, smoked pork chops and dumplings called Knödeln, and served with a half-dozen types of mustard.

In his article, Bruni regales us with yuck-turned-to-yum tales from his friends and colleagues. Please dig into the food memory bank and share your stories with us too.

 

Chefs as Diplomats -- I'll Drink (and Eat) to That

Forget the tapenade. Thanks to the recently announced Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, some American chefs are now more interested in the olive branch, as in extending that classic sign of peace and compromise to other peoples around the world.

                                     
   

Two weeks ago, the U.S. State Department formalized a culinary relationship with the James Beard Foundation, whose mission is to “educate, inspire, entertain, and foster a deeper understanding of our culinary culture.” (This photo of the event is from the Philadelphia Inquirer.)  I was lucky enough to attend the reception in Washington, D.C. to announce and celebrate this new Diplomatic Culinary Partnership and to introduce the 2012 class of State Chefs.

Held in the State Department’s elegant Benjamin Franklin Room, within sight of the Capitol and Washington Monument, the event was attended by dozens of well-known chefs from around the country, members of the State Department staff, government dignitaries, members of the James Beard Foundation’s board, and food journalists (including this one) from the Association of Food Journalists, who were in D.C. for their annual conference. As befits a gathering of card-carrying foodies, the evening's "menu" was a stellar line-up including the Heirloom Bean and Bacon Tostada pictured here.

                                              
                                     
The Diplomatic Culinary Partnership aims to use America's culinary talent as a means of diplomacy. To achieve this, the Department has tapped prominent U.S. chefs to join the American Chef Corps, a group of 80-plus food-and-wine professionals who have "agreed to serve as resources to the Department of State in its efforts to incorporate culinary engagement into its ongoing public diplomacy efforts." The chefs will be called upon to prepare various state dinners as well as to travel to other countries to spread American food traditions. (Chefs will donate their time and energy, and travel on their own dime.)

U.S. Chief of Protocol Capricia Penavic Marshall summed up the concept in her remarks:

"By showcasing the best of American cuisine and creativity, we can show our guests a bit about ourselves. Likewise, by incorporating elements of our visitor's culture, we can demonstrate respect and a desire to connect and engage."

U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton also spoke at the gathering, via a video message, saying

“Food isn’t traditionally thought of as a diplomatic tool, but sharing a meal can help people transcend boundaries and build bridges in a way that nothing else can.” 

The illustrious group of chefs includes José Andrés who oversees an empire of Spanish restaurants in the U.S., Todd Gray of D.C.’s Equinox, Chicago’s Rick Bayless, seafood master Rick Moonen, L.A.’s Mary Sue Milliken of “Too Hot Tamales” fame, San Francisco pastry chef Emily Luchetti, and Ming Tsai of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA.  More than 50 of the chefs were present at the announcement, and some of them were cooking their signature appetizers for the reception guests who circulated through the formal rooms and the large terrace with its breathtaking view.

In addition to a lavish buffet of American cheeses and charcuterie, there were a dozen food stations and bars, along with a non-stop array of passed hors d’oeuvres.

Mary Sue Milliken’s tiny tostada with heirloom beans, avocado and bacon was a standout, as was the yummy Maryland Blue Crab Crostini by Food Network personality Amanda Freitag. Bryan Voltaggio of Volt in nearby Frederick, MD served a meltingly tender bison shortrib with figs, smoked almonds and charred onion.

                                    

Of the passed hors d’oeuvres it was the precious little piggies playing on a verdant serving platter that stole the show. The old-fashioned pigs-in-a-blanket, along with the newfangled pig-shaped smoked salmon canapes, topped with tobiko, were created by chef/caterer Peter Callahan. Widely credited with the invention of such mini comfort foods as the “slider,” Callahan also sent trays of mini burgers; mini pizzas (each in its own Diplomatic Culinary Partnership pizza box); and mini grilled cheese sandwiches around the room. Further stoking the buzz: mini drinks to accompany each two-bite appetizer. And near the close of the event: mini cotton candy cones.

                                                   
                                  

Drink offerings were equally impressive with a wine bar featuring vintages from lesser known wine regions such as Michigan, Maryland, Virginia, Arizona, New York and Texas, as well as specialty cocktails mixed by some of the area’s best known bartenders.

                                                  

I especially liked the bright, herby cocktail dreamed up by Todd Thrasher of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, VA. (Photo from Restaurant Eve.) Using sauvignon blanc that he infused with several fresh herbs, Thrasher (who Wash Post critic Tom Sietsema calls “one of the best mixologists anywhere”) shook up a pale, puckery drink, dubbed the "Thymes Like These," that seemed to me the perfect way to toast the future efforts of the American Chef Corps.

James Beard Awards 2011 --- U.S. Diners the Real Winners

Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune restaurant in New York City spoke for many of the 2,000 audience members at last week’s lavish James Beard Awards ceremony when she accepted the award for Best Chef  New York City. The feisty Hamilton declared: “I’m proud to be part of my industry. We don’t spill oil on shorelines. We don’t steal people’s money. We do honest work,” Hamilton said to roars of applause.

Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, pictured here, was the scene of the 21^st annual James Beard Foundatiion Awards, the Oscars of the food world. Super-chefs such as Jose Andres, Guy Savoy, Emeril Lagasse and Daniel Boulud, mingled with winemakers, restaurateurs, journalists, Food Network personalities and even a pair of well-dressed pigs making the rounds with their handler from Whistlepig Straight Rye Whiskey.

The black-tied audience hooted and hollered for their favorite winners, many of whom shared attention-grabbing stories in their acceptance speeches.

Tony Maws, chef of Craigie on Main in Cambridge Mass., and winner of the 2011 Best Chef Northeast award, talked about how he opened the original Craigie Street Bistrot in a basement on a tiny residential street near Harvard Square. “I had one cook and one dishwasher, and the dishwasher told me one night that he was quitting. I asked when, and he said ‘right now.’ He was on the next train.”

Maws teared up as he recounted how his mother showed up next day to do the dishwashing, and he  thanked her for the countless times she has bailed him since opening day in 2002. The restaurant was renamed Craigie on Main when it moved 2 ½ years ago to a more “urban” section of Cambridge.

Maws’ win was a particularly satisfying one for me. I first visited Craigie Street Bistrot in 2002 when our  son was in college in the area. Back then, Maws’ menu was a pretty traditional French affair with coarse pates, smooth rillettes, coq au vin and confit. I loved the simplicity and authenticity of the food and the low-key atmosphere and attitude, and we visited several times.

But last year, on my first visit to the new Craigie on Main, I was blown away by the elevated level of sophistication of the operation, both in terms of décor – there’s a quiet sense of style and sophistication – and food. Some of the original Gallic standbys are still there – viva the frisee salad and paté campagne. But, in addition, there’s now a robust pasta with suckling pig confit; elegant daikon milk-poached loup de mer with rock shrimp, bok choy and horseradish; my favorite “Vermont Organic Veal two Ways: Bacon-Wrapped Loin and Slow-Roasted Short Rib” with red beets and crispy red quinoa; and the supremely satisfying Bourbon Pecan Ice Cream with salted chocolate sauce and a bacon pecan crust. Menus, both a la carte and tasting, are seasonal and change frequently.

Maws, who was doing farm-to-table and snout-to-tail cooking long before it was trendy, continued his fairly lengthy but captivating acceptance speech. “It’s a lot of hard work. We don’t stop. And (turning out outstanding food) isn’t going to stop,” Maws went on. “We work our asses off and anytime someone applauds I think it’s fantastic, but it’s not why we do it. I'll be back on the line tomorrow night….our goal is always the same, to make people happy."

Lastly, Maws graciously acknowledged the other finalists in his category who included Tim Cushman of o ya in Boston and Matt Jennings of La Laiterie in Providence, RI, saying “There are no losers here tonight.”

Other award winners included Belinda Chang of The Modern for Outstanding Wine Service;  Gabriel Rucker of Portland Oregon’s Le Pigeon for Rising Star Chef (given to a chef age 30 or younger); Outstanding Chef Jose Andres;  Best Chef Pacific Michael Tusk of Quince, San Francisco; and Per Se, New York City, for Outstanding Service.

  After the glitzy three-hour program, guests circulated among 40-plus stations featuring food and drink by a star-studded cast of chefs and winemakers. In keeping with this year’s theme “Melting Pot,” it was a smorgesbord of “artichoke & black truffle soup with toasted brioche” from Guy Savoy; lobster carpaccio with sea urchin and osetra caviar from Luciano Pellegrini of Valentino, Las Vegas;  a way-out bahn mi sandwich with pork belly, kumquats, pistachios and lardons from Octavio Becerra of palate food + wine in Glendale, CA., and these luscious "Steamed Thai Pumpkin Rice Cakes with Shallots" by Chef Andy Ricker of Pok Pok, Portland, OR. (Photo by StarChefs.)

 

 

 

ABC Kitchen. Dinner. Dazzling. Delicious.

Talk about timing. I was lucky enough to snag a reservation at ABC Kitchen on the first night of our recent trip to New York City. A week later, the barely-year-old  eatery by Jean-Georges Vongerichten won the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in the U.S., beating out such touted places as Menton in Boston and Benu in SanFrancisco. My chances of getting into ABC now, I suspect, would be slim and none.

Opened last summer on the sprawling ground floor of ABC Carpet & Home, ABC Kitchen is a stunning wonderland of elegant “beach house” furniture, light wood floors. lush plants and flowers, flattering lighting, and other trappings of the good life. There’s a feeling of Hamptons-style wealth here, but, miraculously, not a whit of pretension. The highly animated crowd is having a great time; the servers are polished and knowledgeable, but, again miraculously, totally at-your-service. From the dramatic table pictured here our jolly group of seven had front row seats for Vongerichten’s impressive new production.

As one might expect, the menu is loaded with all the buzz words of the day --- organic and sustainable, fair trade, recycled, consciously sourced. They make a statement, to be sure, but the menu’s most important statement, in my opinion, is that Jean-Georges is a genius, and executive chef Dan Kluger knows how to translate Vongerichten’s visions into fabulously delicious food. (Alsace-born Jean-Georges reigns over a vast and varied empire of restaurants including a half dozen in New York, plus outposts in Las Vegas, Bahamas and Shanghai.)

We plunged enthusiastically into the fray with sips of Grey Goose, Porter Creek Chardonnay and Maysara Pinot Noir along with bites of toasted country-style bread topped with sweet crabmeat and a spunky lemon aioli, and another crusty hunk spread with fresh ramps (spring onions that are the rage in NYC right now) and goat cheese. Pretzel-dusted calamari sported a perfect crunchy cloak and a devilishy good mustard aioli but were a bit on the chewy side.

Appetizers included a sensational riff on the ubiquitous pork belly, this one crisped and served with shaved radishes, chilies and a Meyer lemon glaze; and an impressive parade of original salads that involved roasted carrots, spinach, sugar snap peas, shiitake mushrooms and avocado, with nary a leaf of lettuce  in sight.

But it was in the Entrees act that Vongerichten won the loudest applause at our table. His signature black sea bass, perfumed by the marjoram and mint, basil, dill and jalapeño tucked under the seared skin, was one of the most delicious fish dishes I’ve ever tasted. Presented with baby potatoes that are said to be cooked in water infused with rosemary and tarragon, lemon zest and ginger; and wilted spinach dressed with lemon confit, it was a triple triumph of taste, texture and scent. (This photo appears on a very read-able blog called PeekAndEat.com. Check it out.)

The end of our three-hour-plus dinner brought all kinds of nice surprises. First,  a scrumptious rhubarb tart and an over-the-top sundae of salted caramel ice cream with candied peanuts and popcorn, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. And then, the surprisingly gentle bill. No, ABC is not cheap…big-name-chefs’ eateries rarely are.  But considering the creativity and quality of the food, and the uniquely fanciful atmosphere, (and considering that NY is home to plenty of eateries peddling $250 prix-fixe affairs), ABC offers very good value.  Appetizers, large enough to share, range from $9 to $15; entrees, from $14 to $28. Even the wine list is reasonable with plenty of good choices under $60.

ABC Kitchen. Letter perfect.

Look, Up in the Sky....It's...Scrambled Eggs????

Normally I would have skipped over the article on page 2 of today's New York Times special "Business Travel" section.  Entitled, "Ground-Level Tastings of the Best Food in the Sky," it sounded like a re-hash of all the other articles I've read over the decades that tried to convince me that there really IS good food up there at 30,000 feet.

But today I took a second look at the story because, based on my flight from San Diego to New York last week, I think there may actually be something better being whipped up in the airlines' kitchens. Last Thursday, the breakfast menu in American Airlines' First Class (thank God for frequent flier miles) included scrambled eggs. I said "no, thanks" and dove into my zip-lock bag of Kirkland Cashew Clusters from Costco (I never leave home without them.)

But my husband ordered the scrambled eggs and we were blown away by the fluffy cloud of eggs that appeared. Whipped up with cream cheese and fresh chives and served with perfectly grilled asparagus spears and a smooth goat cheese sauce, it was the first of two lovely surprises AA had for me that day. (The second surprise was our checked bags appearing within 15 minutes of touchdown.) This photo, a little grainy but you get the idea, is from a site called Smugmug.com.

The article, by Mickey Meece, recounts the efforts of major airlines to woo new customers with "roving trucks and pop-up lounges that offer passers-by a taste of what's being served in the air." It recounts how Air France rolled food trucks through Manhattan recently passing out free sample of the buckwheat crepes and French macaroons served on Air France flights. Next week, according to Meece, Austrian Airlines will dispatch chefs on bikes through NYC to hand out wedges of guglhupf, a type of bundt cake.

"The airlines’ deployment of food trucks with social media is an example of what is known as experiential marketing, Mr. Kollau said. “As people are bombarded with marketing messages,” he said, “real-life interaction with products and brands has become increasingly valuable for airlines to get their message across.”

Even if your normal mode of transport is coach, and the skinniest rows of coach to boot, this is an interesting phenomenon. Check it out at NYTimes.com.

 

 

 

Happy 108th Birthday to James Beard

You may think that this coming weekend is all about Mother’s Day.  But the nation’s diehard foodies are, instead, focused on a rotund, jovial gent with a foppish bow-tie, a bald head, a picturesque townhouse  in Greenwich Village, and a reputation as the Father of American Food.

That would be James Beard, and today would have been his 108^th birthday if he were still on this earth eating and drinking with his trademark gusto. (Photo from website Sweetpaprika.com.)

To celebrate Beard's important contributions to the development of a distinctly American cuisine and his efforts to promote the use of seasonal, regional foodstuffs, the not-for-profit James Beard Foundation sponsors workshops, classes, conferences, nightly dinners prepared by chefs from around the country and served at Beard’s West 12^th Street home, and this annual spring weekend of award ceremonies.

Tomorrow night, the JBF, which explains its mission as “celebrating, nurturing and preserving America’s diverse culinary heritage and future,” will host the JBF Media & Book Awards. Awards will be given for best cookbooks (in multiple categories); best writing in such areas as Health & Nutrition, and Food Culture and Travel; Best Restaurant Criticism; and for accomplishments in broadcast journalism such as Best Television Program.

On Monday evening, thousands of black-tied food professionals – chefs, restaurateurs, winemakers, journalists, publicists, cheesemakers, farmers and more – will converge on Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall for the annual Restaurant & Chef Awards, when kudos such as Best Chef: Northwest; Best Chef: New York City; Outstanding Pastry Chef; and Outstanding Wine Service are bestowed. Considered the “Oscars” of the food world, the glitzy program is followed by a dazzling reception of food and drink provided by an all-star cast of chefs.

This afternoon, I visited the JBF LTD  “Pop-Up Restaurant” a temporary restaurant and food pavilion at Chelsea Market. The pop-up, which is in place until May 14^th, features nightly dinners and lunches by high-profile chefs, free tastings and seminars, giveaways, and demos by on-air and Food Network Kitchens talent.

Today’s program featured a spirited panel discussion, moderated by national restaurant consultant Clark Wolf, on the subject of Beard’s life and his impact on America’s food world. Joining Wolf were NYTimes columnist Melissa Clark, artisanal butcher Jake Dickson of Dickson’s Farmstand Meats, Café Boulud chef Gavin Kaysen(who was voted James Beard Rising Star Chef in 2008), and JBF vice-president Mitchell Davis.

Each regaled the audience with stories of personal connections to Beard. Clark reminisced about a childhood spent skimming through her mother’s Beard cookbooks and testing recipes on her own, including the maddening process of beating eggwhites for meringue. Dickson spoke of his job at a butcher shop when he was in high school and his fascination with the artistry of shaping meat into things like crown roasts. Wolf himself remembered the day in 1976 when he was working at a San Francisco cheese shop and Beard blew in the door. “He was an enormous man, dressed in a floor-to-ceiling black trenchcoat,” Wolf laughed. “He said his cardiologist wouldn’t let him come into a place like this but did I, by the way, have any St. Nectaire." 

At the panel’s conclusion, a handsome birthday cake was served to everyone in the audience. Said to be one of Beard’s favorite desserts, the Pithivier was a wispy puff pastry concoction with almond paste prepared by renowned pastry chef/chocolatier Jacques Torres.

Check out this site in a few days for the results of the Awards ceremonies.