…and I admire them for it!

The Cocktail Hour in Boston Carries on as Well

I’ve been trying to participate virtually in the 6th annual Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. I’m reading the daily blog updates here.

It isn’t nearly as much fun as being there, but, then again, I didn’t have to put one smidge of makeup on today. I am both thrilled, and green with envy, reading the posts of my fellow/sister bartenders/bloggers and barflies from Boston who are there.

I’m annointing the virtual cocktail lounge “B4″ which has some appeal…Imagine all the ways you could complete the following sentence:

“I’m going to the Bar B4…(fill-in-the-blank.)”

In honor of the Boston contingency and the “juniperlooza” gin tasting (ten samples plus an exploration of Ernest Hemingway through cocktails), I got my drink on with a new cocktail tonight.

I give you the Cucumber Lemongrass Martini.

For those who actually measure things…I did bring out my little measuring thingee.

1.5 oz Aviation Gin

.5 oz cucumber water

.25 oz lemongrass simple syrup.

Shaken over ice and garnished with Japanese cucumber slice.

A Burger and a Be-ah

Moose sliders may not be on the menu at the ICA - but you can get some terrific (Wolfgang Puck) sliders there. To see about the real deal Bullwinkle Sliders see here.

Boston Uncorked - Craft Brews at Goody Glover’s

North End bar “Goody Glover’s” named for the Goodwife “Goody” Ann Glover - Hanged on November 16th 1688, she was the last woman to be hanged in Boston as a witch. An Irish laundress, this North End resident was wildly accused in 1688 of practicing witchcraft by the infamous Reverend Coton Mather, pastor of the old North Church.

Berklee School of Music- 2008 Free Summer Concert Series

We really enjoyed the Juan Chavez group that played at the ICA last night (Thursday). Here’s the summer schedule. Venues include Derby Square in Salem; Kendall Square in Cambridge; the ICA; Symphony Hall; O’Day Park in the South End; and more. These concerts are a great time and free!

The New ICA at Sunset

Juan Chavez of Berklee

The ICA at night from the HarborWalk

And mark your calendars now for the Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival September 25-27. See Beantownjazz.org for more info and complete list of venues.

Nature’s viagra? Maybe.

As if the news of geometric fruit weren’t exciting enough…

Turns out this miracle fruit may be the next resveratrol. You remember that thing in red wine that was supposed to be so good for us? Turns out it’s good for mice who ingested it, in quantities that would kill our livers before they protected our prostates.

Rind Will Make You Randy- Or Will It?

As with that “scientific discovery” (as reported by lame local news) this one should be greeted with some skepticism. To read a more balanced reporting of the watermelon news, see here in The Science Daily.

The good news is that Lycopene has a new champion. Move over tomatoes, hail the watermelon. That’s right; in addition to the citrulline - arginine

“…Almost 92 percent of watermelon is water, but the remaining 8 percent is loaded with lycopene, an anti-oxidant that protects the human heart, prostate and skin health.

“Lycopene, which is also found in red grapefruit, was historically thought to exist only in tomatoes,” he said. “But now we know that it’s found in higher concentrations in red watermelon varieties.”

As I try to tell my skinny friends and family, a little fat is a good thing. The nutrients that are so heart-protective need oil to become bio-available. A little easier sell with the runner up tomatoes, but let’s see some creative salads with melon.

And remember, the rinds make wonderful pickles.

Apples of Love - Heirloom Tomatoes

Don’t forget - the one and only Tomatofest is this September 14th at the gorgeous Quail Lodge Resort. Gary Ibsen (read his bio, here) the founder of the heirloom festival, is retiring after 17 years. Top chefs, foodies and gardeners will turn out to sample food, wine, and heirloom tomatoes of all varieties.

Read some tomato love stories here, and find out more about this wonderful celebration of my favorite: Apples of Love.

Mark your calendars for this terrific event.

From snow capped peaks to skyscrapers.

Sunset is pretty late, see the moon? This was midnight.

I’m dragging a bit but a red-eye will do that to you. Well, that, and days of eating, drinking, and seeing the sights.

Brandy was a fantastic host, driver, tour guide down to the last minutes of the trip - quite generous!

Brandy Johnson, Exec. Dir. Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Assoc.

Thanks to everyone in Cordova, for a great time.

The Prince William Sound/the Copper River Salmon and the Alaska Seafood Marketing folks all did a great job at welcoming our happy crew of writers and chefs. Our hosts at the Reluctant Fisherman, and people all over town were terrific and enthusiastic in welcoming us.

As Carolyn said, we’ll always think of you and our time in Cordova when enjoying Copper River Salmon.

I’ll be posting more here and on Suite101. This was just a quick post and maybe an excuse to look at the hundreds of pictures of that beautiful little village again before bed.

(standing, l - r) Bill Webber, Gulkana Seafoods Direct; Adam Newton, Executive Chef The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Atlanta; Julia Rutland, Coastal Living Magazine; Chef Jeremy Storm, Cordova; Trevor E. White, Executive Chef The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Houston; Chef Dominic Cerino; Carolyn Jung, The FoodGal.com; (front) Chef Regan Reik, Pier W, Lakewood; Lia Huber, Prevention,Cooking Light

Burgers Everywhere

8 oz Burger Bar, on Melrose Ave in Los Angeles. Bouchon, Ad Hoc, BLT. Everyone is doing burgers now. Boston’s not left in the dust for once. Kingston Station and Pops (see review here) both make fantastic burgers. Four Burgers by Michael Bissanti (of the Paramount on Charles Street) got a good review from the Globe.

Moose sliders, anyone?

Oh yeah. Delicious.

Researching moose recipes turns up a pretty interesting array of sites. One thing came up a couple of places: Moose Nose. I couldn’t help but wonder if this is similar to cock’s comb we had jellied in our Head to Tail dinner at the Astor Center. Chef Cosentino is in August Food and Wine. See the article here: A Carnivore’s Cookout. It’s also referred to as a Cowboy Picnic, but I’m not sure if the cowboys had bagna cauda and pureed burrata but hey, who knows?

In fact, sustainability, eating locally and giving back took on new meaning, each and together. Cordova Alaska opened her doors and gave us a seat at the table in such a welcoming way. Read about the menu here in my burger post on Suite.

I noticed his recipe for Salmon en Papilotte is featured in the new Capitalle Grille Newsletter (but is not hosted on their site, linking wasn’t possible.) Posting it here should solve that. I’m looking forward to bringing more salmon information and ideas back from Alaska. Until then, this will get you started.

• For more information on the cooking in parchment technique, don’t forget to check my article on Suite101, en Papillote, Cooking in Parchment.

Now, here’s Chef Nuetzi’s recipe:

More than simply a unique combination of flavors, this recipe combines two unique cultures. Typically a French dish, Chef Nuetzi has infused this Salmon en Papillote with distinctively Asian ingredients to create a surprising and memorable entrée. Serve in the parchment bags they’re cooked in for a presentation that would be dramatic in any culture.

Ingredients

Ingredients (serves 10)
8 inch Parchment Circles 8 ea

• Wild King Salmon 8, 8-oz portions
• Julienne Scallion (white portion) 1 C
• Sliced Shiitake Mushrooms 1 C
• Freshly Chopped Cilantro ¼ C
• Lemon Zest 2 Tbsp
• Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice ¼ C
• Freshly Chopped Ginger 1 Tbsp
• Star Anise 1 ea
• White Soy 1 C
• Kecap Manis (available at
• online gourmet retailers) 1 Tbsp
• Butter ½ lb
• Sesame Oil ¼ C

Preparation
1. Warm the lemon zest, lemon juice, fresh ginger, star anise and white soy over low heat
2. Remove from the heat and chill (can be made up to one day in advance)
3. Remove the chilled citrus soy and stir in the kecap manis
4. Lay the parchment circles out
5. Toss the scallion and shiitakes with cilantro
6. Place approximately ¼ C of the scallion mixture in the center of each parchment
7. Place a portion of salmon on top of the scallion
8. Ladle 2 oz of the chilled citrus soy over and around the fish
9. Dot the fish with butter and a drizzle of sesame oil
10. Seal the parchment circles and place in the refrigerator (this step may be done up to two hours before serving)
11. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
12. Place the fish in parchment on a clean baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes
13. Remove from the oven, open the parchment and serve (be careful when opening the parchment, there will be large amounts of steam)

I’ve got a confession to make. I’ve been sitting on this post for a bit. It’s about a really smart, witty writer. My reticence to share it proves two things are true:

1. We never really mature beyond the age of 14.

2. I am no better than the rest of you that make up that collective “we.”

Oy vey, this hurts.

Recession-proof Your Kitchen and Have a Laugh

Lucky for you, dear readers, I cannot stand between good, smart writing and you. Even if it comes at my own expense. What if you only want to sit with Joel at lunch now? Silly, I know but it feels just like that.

So, I sat on a draft of this “Meet Joel Stein” piece (Not to be confused with the lesbian love story Kissing Jessica Stein. A good enough movie, but if you’re looking for hot girl-on-girl action, it’s not for you.)

Then, I see this piece “Recession Gourmet” where Joel gets Tom Colicchio to cook with him. For a family of four, on a $10.00 budget. You might think that’s enough to make me crazy. But no, our boy Joel goes one better. He gets Tom to agree to quote him saying perfectly Tom-like things such as:

“Wow, pasta is more expensive than I thought it was,” he says, scanning the shelves of the Ralph’s supermarket on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Colicchio, the head judge on Bravo’s Top Chef, hires people to buy food for his Craft, CraftSteak and ‘wichcraft restaurants across the country. Plus, he’s rich.

and this is classic Joel:

Because Colicchio volunteers with Share Our Strength, a charity that fights childhood hunger, he knows how hard it is for families to get by on a low food budget. “You can do this, but it’s tough,” he says. “Look how much time we’re spending. If you’re a working mom, you don’t have time to look around like this. And you have to know how to cook and grow your own herbs.”

The next paragraph begins “After half an hour, he chooses a pork loin…” ending the piece with:

The food turns out great, and it actually feeds five for lunch: Colicchio, me, my wife, the photographer and his assistant. And we down it with a $2 bottle of Charles Shaw, which is actually just fine. I’m going to make it through these tough economic times. Because my job leaves me more than enough time for shopping and growing herbs.

Classic Joel. And here’s two additional recent gems. These two are the ones that got me started on this “Meet Joel Stein” post. They’ve languished in the Drafts folder a bit, but they hold up well over time, as good writing does.

One is about wine snobbery and the other, about trying to eat in vs. eat out. (See Linda, I told you he is married….) It’s hard to share these because I fear you’ll enjoy reading him so much more than me. When push comes to shove, when you’re pressed for time, I’ll have your footprint on my ass. You’ll forget about coming back and reading me.

I’d almost forgive you. After all, it’s Joel.

Other Choices for Those of us without a Top Chef in the Kitchen, or a Colicchio-sized Bank Account

Lest we forget there’s a food point here…Joel notes that chefs he queried all reverted to chicken or pasta when faced with the severe budget question. Even on Tom’s show “Top Chef”, when contestants were faced with the challenge, not one of them chose grains or beans or tofu.

There’s miles of satiety, satisfaction and good nutrition in meals that are not meat-centered. We just forget about that because our diet here is more influenced by lobbyists than nutritionists or cooks. Look outside our borders at how many other cultures thrive on diets that use less expensive and more healthy proteins:

• Try a good pot of New Orleans style red beans and rice. (Okay, I know that New Orleans is not beyond our borders. I had to give a nod to this delicious dish from one of my favorite food “culchas.”
• In Italy (or my kitchen) a green salad gets added boost from farro or quinoa, goat cheese, and dried fruit. Farro and garbanzo beans can be star ingredients in a main dish summer salad.
• Octopus is eaten throughout the Mediterranean. It’s both plentiful and inexpensive.
• Looking to the East: all types of legumes are used in Indian foods adding protein, fiber, minerals and iron to spicy, saucy dishes. In Japan, tofu and inexpensive fish have been far more essential to the diet than sushi which more people here are familiar with.

My Gift for Staying with Me. Call it a Thank You, a Bribe; Whatever. Just Come Back After You Read Joel.

A link that you will thank me for: Raghavan Iyer’s 660 Curries Blog. The blog is beautiful and contains recipes. I had the pleasure of meeting the award-winning Chef Iyer in Monterey and can attest to his skills as a teacher and as a chef. I am in the process of reviewing his book (buy it here) and will share more about it when I return from Alaska.

Iyer is Saucy and Sensational, like his food. Case in point: about cooking with your hands. This is how Indians are taught to cook traditionally. (I was reminded of this watching a Diary of a Foodie episode showing how delicious and healthy parathas being made by hand.) Chef Iyer said cooking with utensils “is like making love through an interpreter. It can be done, but it’s not nearly as effective, nor as satisfying.”

So go on, roll up your sleeves and get on with it!

Can you even believe how weird these look? It just seems wrong to me. Like foot-binding or Bonsai training or ear-clipping for dogs. What’s next? I shudder to think.

They say it’s done for convenience. Convenience? Apparently people are finding round melons take up too much space in the fridge. Why not just cut up the round melon and store the chunks or balls in a square container? I used a melon baller and sprinkled the melon balls with a little St Germain liqueur, covered with some plastic wrap.

If you want to use that rind (square or round) Cochon’s sharing their watermelon rind pickle recipe. This is an old-time Southern favorite.

After the legislature declined to make the Sazerac the official state cocktail (see here, Sazerac Official or Not) (and here, Don’t Be a Douchebag), some wisdom prevailed. An amendment filed declaring the drink the official drink of New Orleans has passed.

See this blurb or listen to the clip on NPR to hear the news.

The NPR story includes a quote from Ti Adelaide Martin, which I love:
“Do have just one, as you won’t be nearly as attractive as you think you are after two.”

Hail to the Sazerac, official drink of Nola.

And, just in time, this filed by John Mariani: The Museum of the American Cocktail.

For once I’ve got good timing. Just after announcing my new semi-regular feature, The Cocktail Hour, I run into old friends, or should I say friends from old haunts. Also, meeting up with green goddess Nancy Civetta of “Beantown is Greentown” fame, I discovered the place we chose happens to employ the North American Rep for St. Germain (remember my granita?)

And speaking of green: how about mint simple syrup? That’s chocolate mint and the mint simple syrup.

Great for cocktails as well as iced tea. (Chocolate mint doesn’t really taste of chocolate but it has a slightly rounder, sweeter profile than peppermint or other mints I’ve grown.)

Kisses this weekend included Beija.

The new premium Cachaça from Brazil. For some unknown reason, the US Govt is requiring that this be labeled as “Virgin Cane Rum”. But Beija is Cachaça. The difference is this: while both come from sugar cane, rum is made from sugar cane molasses whereas cachaca is made from fresh cane juice. In the case of Beija, it’s distilled with organic yeast and they control the cutting, to distilling, to bottling process. Using naturally grown cane and organic yeast, they also draw from the purest part of the distillate.

(Beija is Portuguese for kiss.) I met my husband at Charles St. Liquors and found my way to the tasting bar. “I hear this is where they’re giving out kisses?”

Kevin Beardsley barely flinched. Smooth and welcoming, like his product, this young CEO is the force behind a new beverage whose time has come. As I recounted to Kevin, years ago when the Mojito and Caipirinha craze was in its infancy, I walked into a bar and asked if they knew how to make a Caipirinha. The bartender began to describe a Mojito. Buzzer please, thank you for playing…Don Pardo, tell our guests about their lovely consolation prize…

So here’s Jackson Cannon (what a name) from Eastern Standard, on the Beija website. And here he is in the Globe, and on the DrinkBoston blog. (Of course you were correct, Nancy. I’ve read DrinkBoston!)

My Beija cocktail this week: Beija, mint simple syrup, lime, soda.

Naked Ladies

Who doesn’t love ‘em? (Okay, I can hear my gay friends protesting!) But, for many of us, the vintage photos of the St. Germain women in louche poses pull us right in.

The liqueur itself is a very refined product from a country known for being more on the buttoned-up end of the scale, but hey, it works…

As does the cocktail. This is a truly artisanal product, elderflower blossoms hand picked by les Bohemien (Swiss men on old bicycles who forage for the blossoms and handpick them), alembic stills, individually-numbered bottles. The flavor is described as not quite passion fruit and not quite pear, slightly honeyed. I am reminded of lychee, fresh lychee.

Two signature cocktails were offered by our bartender at Central Kitchen. One with Calvados, the other with prosecco. Go here for tips on making perfect cocktails. Or, go to Central Kitchen and order one.

I added St Germain to my watermelon Granita and next thing I know, NY Mag is running a recipe for Sophisticated popsicles with the lead recipe featuring: you guessed it, watermelon and St Germain! So far, am favoring a light apertif style drink with soda. Have a recipe in mind to test out and a comprehensive guide to St. Germain cocktails courtesy of their North American rep., Kate.

Two quick additional items for you my barflies:

- This Mark Bittman column on the secrets of sour mix. Today’s NY Times.

- This Stuff at Night post on “Eastern” (as in continent) cocktails. Speaking of things Eastern - my next simple syrup will feature lemongrass. Stay tuned!

a TRUE Champion, Mr. Kevin Garnett

First strawberries of the season

And another bumper crop of eggs (thanks to neighbors). A second attempt at lox. Finally, that curly cress. Mmm Mmm.

To answer the nutrition data question (click here for an intro to this terrific site) about curly cress: it is a powerhouse. % in Daily Values. (Wheaties one cup comparison)

A one cup serving contains:

• 69% of your Vitamin A (10%)
• 58% of your Vitamin C (10%)
• 339% Vitamin K (1%)
• 10% Folate (50%)
• 8% Riboflavin (50%)
• 4% Iron (47%)
• 3% Thiamine/Niacin (50%)
• 2% Vitamin E (2%)

All that for only 16 calories! (110 Calories)

My breakfast: a slice of home cured lox on a perfectly boiled farm-fresh egg, curly cress, red onion. And a piece of lightly toasted bread with light boursin cheese and lox. Coffee. Lots of Coffee.