A strange fruit...

This ingredient may not be as strange as cactus leaves or other interesting plants but I thought about the strangeness of this fruit, while I was preparing them for a tamale' sauce. The tomatillo is a round, firm, green fruit that is usually found still wrapped in its casing.

This green fruit is found within the tomato family and is often a bit tart and used in most, if not all, of Latin American green sauces.  The fruit ripens and grows within the husk, and then it splits it open finally at the end. 

The tamale sauce, requires that you peel off the husk, wash them, chop it in half and then bake them till they are good and roasted (375 degrees F for 45 minutes.)  You then blend them in the blender with some tomatoes and some peppers and it makes for a very nice sauce.

The mighty and powerful flan

A flan is a rich custard that normally has a caramel sauce on it.  It is rich and is the prime dessert for those south of the US border.  The flan, usually is made from a lot of fat and a lot of sugar.  I had requests to try to find and make one that did not have the bad stuff in it.  After searching, I found a good recipe.

From www.gastronomie.kalys.com

You needed:
3 grams Agar
750 ml whole milk
50 grams cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
30 grams of sugar

You take everything and place in a pan to bring to a boil.  When a boiling point is reached, you add the flavoring.

You then let boil for a bit longer and pour into rimekins or muffin molds.

Now, I have them all done and they taste good, using the agar as a gelling agent.  What I have to do now, is come up with a sugar free caramel sauce and make this sugar free.  I think once that is finished, I will post a follow up on here.

Top chef insanity

Like most cooking shows, Top Chef has sustained itself by showing the world how chefs in America cook their food and what is the newest way to prepare dishes.  It has become a media goldmine as it is a Bravo network creation but other networks try to copy it with their own cooking reality contest shows.  Although none of them come into comparison with the Top Chef series.  Even though the first season was still the best, like any series, it is still fun to watch.  The thing about contests is this: these chefs have been hand picked.  So, when the best group of 20 or so signed up, they were the best at that time.  What I think is that the chefs from this past season and so forth seem to get lesser skilled each season.  That is why during this last episode, Hung was able to do almost all of Angelo's work and still have enough time and energy to help final preparations with Angelo. 

Now, what I find to be very humorous on the whole deal is the start of the new show: Top Chef desserts.  I didn't think there was the need for one until I remembered that some of the best chefs in the world, cannot make simple desserts.  I remember reading that Bobby Flay could not even make a cookie.  What gets me is that next year will we see a Top Chef Sugar Free or a Top Chef Cocktails?  A chef is a chef and the Top Chef should be one who can execute a dessert and a savory dish.

So, Top Chef desserts episode one:  We are introduced to the challengers in what reminds me of a group of challengers from Project Runway.  The group is so ego centered and filled with the Queen of the Universe attitude that it makes me wonder if I should ever pursue a baking degree as to be thrown in with this lot.  The head judge is a James Beard award winner in pastry and he has some delicious looking food. Johnny Iuzzini, is the head judge and his skills are what will make him perfect for judging the challengers.

The first challenge, the quickfire, was one that had me puzzled at why the producers picked these people.  The challengers had to make their signature dish and then twist it into a cupcake.  Easy right?  Well, you had a guy who eventually won, who had last made a cupcake in Home Ec, a woman who decided to make a meringue piped in the shape of a cupcake and a guy who only makes frozen or cold desserts.  You had some normal dishes turned into cupcakes with things like strawberry puree's inside and other good flavors.  The woman with the meringue didn't turn on her oven and so she didn't even finish.  The guy who calls himself the Snow Queen, I think it was, didn't make a cupcake but a gellato in a glass and called it his version of a cupcake.  So, right off the bat, you have at least one person who cannot bake, in a dessert competition.

The next step, is to work and make something that can be described as chocolate decadence.  What comes to your mind when that is spoken?  They had a table covered in every type of chocolate, well maybe not every type, but dark, milk and white.  What would you do?  A lot of people did simple things and didn't use that much chocolate.  I know what you are thinking now.  It is a chocolate challenge, so the idea would be to use as much as possible, yet people did not do so.  The loser was sent home for making a flour less chocolate cake with a broken mousse on top.  She screwed up as the mousse  didn't set and broke and instead of making another, she just left it be.  She lost for bad decision as they tell everyone on the regular Top Chef show: if you are not happy with it, don't serve it.

Does this show look good?  Well, the first challenge was nice, making what looked like a good start.  But with the preview of this show, what took place and was shown was nothing but crying, screaming, and drama.  Which is why I said it reminded me of project runway.  I don't know if I will be watching as I know that shows like this do keep the most drama -causing person as it makes for good ratings, but for people like me, I won't watch anymore.  So, I may watch an episode here or there, but overall, the tone that it set was one I could enjoy, but not with those contestants.  Should I be on the show?  Yes. 

What would I have done?

Well, maybe a coconut flavored cupcake with a vanilla cream icing on top with pie crust crumbles.
Elimination challenge would feature a flour less chocolate cake selection, maybe 3 of them stacked on each other with a nice raspberry spread on top, to help bring some moistness and bold flavors in.  I would do a dark chocolate layer, with a milk chocolate one on top and then a white chocolate one.  That much chocolate is great and should differentiate itself from one another.  The raspberry topping gives a burst of bold contradicting yet complimentary flavoring to the chocolate dish.  Just like a dollop of whipped cream would do also.  

Food porn part 3

Bacon, bacon, bacon.  Homer Simpson would agree with me that there is no way that there is a magical animal that gives us ham, pork chops and bacon all at once!  I am a fan of bacon and here we have a picture of candied bacon.  It looks like they covered bacon with brown sugar before cooking it.

 

http://www.baconbabble.com/index.php/2009/09/25/candied-bacon/

A lot of people love chocolate.  Some people love the taste and the flavor and others take their obsession to new heights and LOVE chocolate. I know at some spas, like Mist Spa, they even have a chocolate massage.  From their website: "Feed your skin with your choice of four delicious flavors of chocolate oils: Chocolate Raspberry, Chocolate Cherry, Chocolate Mint, or Chocolate Cake. Your first treatment is a Chocolate facial, using Eminence Chocolate Mousse hydrating masque and moisturizers. Next, our therapist will give you a one hour massage using the chocolate oil of your choice. Following your massage, you will move to our exclusive Oceana spa capsule where you will enjoy a Chocolate Oil Salt Glow Exfoliation. Then, chocolate oil is mixed with Moor Mud for a detoxifying and hydrating 30 minute session in the Oceana. To complete the experience, Chocolate Oil is lightly massaged over your body so you can enjoy the flavors for hours."

 
Whether you want to wear it:

http://oygirl.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/chocolate-shoes/

or eat it:

http://www.newsandreviews.in/index.php/KnowNow/?title=eat-chocolate-improve-your-maths&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Chocolate is a wonderful thing to have.  Dark chocolate has been shown to be good for you, containing certain antioxidants that help rid your body of free radicals and toxins.

Butter is one of the most natural fats that is actually good for you as well and the best for cooking.  Don't let people fool you.  It adds a flavoring that nothing else can replace and in the long run is better for your body than other oils.  It is a natural dairy fat and things from nature are the best.  By the way, who doesn't like butter?  Here we have a statue of butter, a life-size Marilyn Monroe statue of pure butter.

http://echostains.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/melt-in-the-mouth-sculpture/

 

 

So, these are examples of my idea of food porn.  What do you like?

Fod Porn part 2...

I don't know how many of these there will be, but lets just fill the week with them.  Think of them as in honor of the 100th episode of No Reservations.

I found a copycat recipe for Hostess cupcakes and this is a big bowl of that white, rich creme filling.  I had a container of this in the fridge and used it for everything.

This is my 18 inch in diameter cinnamon roll.  At 18 inches across it was probably close to 3 pounds of cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter goodness.

Bacon brownies.  That's right, vanilla brownies flavored with bits of bacon and bacon grease.  If you love bacon then this is the best thing.  Well second to a basket of bacon.

Alright Angela, this is some chocolate fudge brownies, right out of the oven.  Notice the cake-like outsides and the gooey chocolate near the center.  Full of sugar and other terrible things.  But it tastes so good.

Be on the look out for the next batch of food porn where I peruse the net for the best in food porn online.

XXX- Food Porn -XXX

I love food and always have been a lover of food, but it wasn't until a few years ago when I heard the term 'food porn' used by Anthony Bourdain and I love it.  What better way to describe the feeling you get while looking at or eat great and delicious food.  So, below are some things that I have made or saw that is so much food porn for me.

100% cocoa mass, that is pure chocolate.  No sugar, preservatives or anything added; just chocolate.

Lemon meringue pie, just out of the oven

My 9 inch in diameter chocolate chip cookie

A closeup view of buttery and syrup covered French toast

Stay tuned for part 2.

No rats helped me here...

Everyone loves Pixar movies, but when Ratatouille came out with a fancy rat chef who helped a janitor cook wonderful food, everyone loved it: Foodies even more so.  When I saw a movie about cooking and the love of cooking making you who you are no matter your race or species, I loved it.  After seeing it though, I clamored all over the internet to look up a recipe for the title dish.  I found it.  Below is my version of the recipe and what I did:

1 red pepper

1 orange pepper

1 yellow pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tsp minced garlic

1 cup finely diced onion

2 16oz cans of chopped tomatoes

3 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp parsley

1 bay leaf

1 lb of Roma tomatoes

1 lb of zucchini

1 lb of carrots or parsnips

1 lb of yellow squash (can use eggplant instead)

1 pinch of chervil

2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Take each pepper and cut it in half, place it on a foil lined baking sheet and roast in the oven until the skin loosens, which is about 15 minutes. When it is finished, peel the skin off of the peppers and chop nicely.

Take the oil and place it in a pan with garlic and onion, cooking on medium high heat. Cook until garlic and onion start to turn brown and caramelize. When it starts to turn clear, add tomatoes, thyme, parsley, and 1 bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the chopped peppers with a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Make sure to take out and reserve about 4 tbsp of the mixture for later.

Take the four types of vegetable you have chosen and slice each one into circles about 1/4^th of an inch thick. Place the above mixture into a cooking dish and then layer the vegetable slices on top of the mixture. Layer them so that one is on top of the other allowing the bottom one to slightly stick out a bit. Arrange in a spiral around the dish. Repeat until pan is filled. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Take1 tsp of minced garlic, 2 tsp of oil, 1/4^th tsp of thyme and salt and pepper to sprinkle over the top of the dish and the vegetables. Cover with foil tightly and place in the oven for at least 2 hours.

As it is cooking, take the reserved mixture and place into a small pot. Add tbsp of oil, 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar, a pinch of thyme, chervil and salt and pepper. Warm a bit, stirring.

When the dish is finished and out of the oven, serve dish using a spatula. Scoop some onto the spatula and then place on plate, turning spatula 90 degrees to fan out the vegetable dish. Place a little of the sauce on around the dish. 

Now, if you look at the recipe and the top picture, you will see that there are carrots in this recipe.  The real one does not have carrots but has eggplant.  My wife is allergic to eggplant, so that is why there is a switch.  This rustic French meal is the perfect thing to prepare and eat on these cool and rainy St. Louis days.