Archive for the ‘Global Cuisines’ Category

North Carolina Food Finds and Good Times!

This is the second year for the North Carolina AgJam sponsored by the NC Department of Agriculture’s Marketing Division. Goodness Grows in NC Members and Commodity Associations are invited to exhibit their products at the Got to Be NC Ag Jam.  This second annual Food and Music Festival will feature country music artists Gretchen Wilson, Jason Jones, Josh Thompson, Johnny Orr and more. The event will be Saturday, September 12, 2009 at the Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleighm North Carolina.

There will be 20,000 tickets available for this day long concert event.  Gates will open to the public at Noon on September 12 and will close at 11:00 p.m. This is an opportunity for members of Goodness Grows in NC and the commodity association to sample and sell products to consumers from across the state.  For more details visit http://ncagjam.com/

If you don’t live in North Carolina you might want to contact the organizers and see how your Ag department might host a similar event in your state.

I love flavorful food. I’ve loved healthy, good food most of my life. (Oh yeah, there were those junk food days.) I’m not big on lots of salt and sugar or Bobby Flay fare.  So when my daughter suggested we go to Rosa Mexicano at Atlantic Station I was cautiously optimistic. The restaurant had more than one location, red flag. There were plants spread throughout, another red flag; and there was a water feature…big red flag.

We had reservations, so we were seated immediately. I won’t start in on all the things I didn’t like, but skip to the things I did. The waitstaff was most attentive,  although trying a bit too hard and the water glasses were clean. The server preparing that signature Guacamole en Molcajete, a freshly made Guacamole was clearly proficient at his job. My daughter and I both ordered the Mole de Xico a.k.a. beef enchiladas served with an exceptionally silky smooth mole sauce.

The beef was well seasoned but a bit too stringy for my taste, otherwise, the dish was quite palatable. My daughter had a Margarita, with that fruit alcohol sludge at the bottom of the glass.  Okay, okay, let me let it rip.

Attention restaurants, hello, hello!!! Can you hear me now! If you can’t afford a good bartender, stick to wine, it’s safer and pretty much foolproof!

Waitstaff! Please check the table before you seat the customer. No one wants to lo0k at tiny bits of food left from the last patron, all evening. No really, seriously, we don’t!

The trick to having a great water feature in a restaurant is to have something that is appealing, peaceful, and “at one” with the food. (Hummmm) This is most difficult. Come on folks this is 2009, the economy is horrid, we’re all reluctant to spend our hard earned cash and when we do, we want to know that  life is good, you know that zen feeling, all is well with the world at least while we’re eating this mole soaked enchilada, stuffin’ Guacamole and tortilla chips down my throat. (Hummmm) Just let me pretend for the next hour or so that Fantasy Island does exist. Da plane, da plane!!!  ….not Jump! Jump!

p.s. You’ll have to go to the restaurant to understand what I mean.

February is all about chocolate. Every chocolate lover knows that and this year Dr. Gabriel Keith Harris of North Carolina State University, a food scientist gave a most intriguing  presentation on Chocolate: Food of the Gods in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The talk took us back through the history of chocolate beginning around 3000 BC and allow us to  stroll through the Aztecs and  South America. Today the chocolate used in U.S. comes primarily from the Ivory Coast, since an insect infestation is killing the cocoa plants in Mexico, although Dr. Harris did share with us his favorite brand of Mexican chocolate (Mayordomo brand) purchased in Oaxaca, Mexico.

It is just amazing what goes into processing chocolate to make it so deliciously divine.  We learned about “Dutching” the process used to reduce the acid taste of cocoa by adding alkali-potash to the nibs before the cocoa beans were roasted.

We learned that white chocolate is nothing more than a blend of cocoa butter and milk solids and sugar and vanilla; and conching is a process used by the Lindt candy company to make their chocolate silky smooth. In Lindt’s case the manufacture warms and grinds the chocolate for five days creating a texture so fine the chocolate melts on your tongue.

The information provided by Dr. Harris left us absolutely spellbound and then when he spoke about the potential health effects of chocolate we were completely mesmerized. Did you know chocolate has been shown to benefit your heart, digestive system, fight fatigue and offer an emotional sense of well being? It’s true. No wonder chocolate is so beloved the world over.

And to think there was a time when chocolate was only enjoyed by men! Yes, it’s true, men only, along with Priest, warriors, politicians, and sacrificial victims.

This was one of the most informative presentations I had encountered in a long time, and the next time I eat a chocolate bar or use it in one of my homemade desserts I will remember that if it were 3000 years prior I would not be able to indulge…unless, of course, I was a sacrificial victim!

***The chocolate truffles pictured above were donated compliments of Azurelise Chocolates in Raleigh North, Carolina.

I have been cooking and baking now for more than twenty five years (dare I say thirty) and although I can say that my mom, grandmothers, grandfathers, friends of my moms and others have been most influential in my culinary journey; there is a man who really helped me see the light when it came to putting dynamic flavor in food. I know this Blog will probably never be read by Chef Prudhomme it is good enough for me to put it out in the universe for God to see. I was first introduced to Chef through his first book titled Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen. I prepared at least seventy-five percent of all the recipes in his books and all were not only reliable but absolutely delicious.I have followed his career being there through the passing of his beloved Kay and as he weaned and leaned his culinary talents. Through it all the favor of the food did not suffer and I respected that enormously.

I know there are people who see his name and think “oh yeah, that Cajun Chef,” but Chef Paul is so much more. He really brought about the need and appreciation for flavor to American food. It is not about cayenne pepper, it is not about spicy food; great Louisiana cooking is about the blending of flavors, the slow cooking and braising that makes food not just good but great.

There was one particular meal I would prepare for my father who lived at 1300 Lafayette in Detroit years ago. We would shop for all the ingredients and then I would go back with my little daughter in tow and prepare dinner for him. The meal was straight from Chef Paul’s cookbook. It was the Seafood Stuffed Whole Fish, with carrots, zucchini and yellow squash. I always served hot butter rolls and a light dessert lemon mousse or his favorite Maple Butter Cake, a simple butter cake with a seven minute maple syrup frosting. He never wanted anything different, the same menu each time I would visit. I have to say the seafood stuffing was spectacular and with the Shrimp Butter Cream Sauce. Yes, the food was rich, but it was not consumed often, usually once a month.

Chef Paul, I would say as I cooked, you are truly a culinary genius. I do not know of many Chefs today who put that much thought into their recipes. It is clear that the man knew exactly how he wanted the food to taste and strived to give the best flavor and texture possible. Today I use his natural syrups to sweeten foods and I enjoy all of his lean recipes. I too no longer cook like I use to, but don’t think I can’t when called upon to do so. I hope to make Chef Paul’s Turducken® this Thanksgiving and serve it to a whole new generation of people who don’t have a clue. I have made it several times in my lifetime and his recipe reins supreme. Last year I saw a Turducken® in a box and my daughter and I both had to laugh out loud and shuddered to think what was inside the box.

Let me end by saying thank you Chef Paul Prudhomme for changing the way I cook, the way I eat and the way I create recipes. It is not about just about the food, but the flavor, texture and technique. You are America’s real Iron Chef.

* Many years ago I met Chef Prudhomme in the parking lot of the Riverwalk while visiting New Orleans, he had just had lunch at Mulate’s. I asked him if he had any advice for a budding chef and he said “yes, try to figure out a way to keep your money.” In other words, irregardless of how much you make it really does disappear like snow in a furnace. Interesting!

I once heard that Confucius believed the most natural needs of human beings are food, sex and more food, in that order. No, this is not a blog about sex; however it is my take on the sensuality of food.

The lure of food, the power it holds over every man and woman. My minister once made the comment that “hunger will make a monkey eat pepper.” Well, if hunger can do that to a monkey, dare I ask what it can do to a human? It is summertime here in North Carolina , which means it is hot, extremely hot. Usually during the summer season people eat less and drink more. This got me thinking about hot steamy nights, and luscious sexy foods, light, flavorful, just down right charming. What could be prepared that would charm the sweat off a lover?

I started to research foods that entice the senses and there are many, but for this encounter I wanted only the most endearing. I selected eggs, avocado and asparagus. Now this might appear to be an odd combination but hear me out. One of the most delicious egg dishes to start any morning or end any evening is Eggs Benedict. There are multitudes of ways to prepare it, but I suggest the good old fashioned recipe that involved English muffins perfectly toasted with butter, poached eggs, thinly sliced layers of Black Forest smoked ham, and the most decadent Hollandaise recipe you can get your hands on, namely mine. Can you picture it? Hot coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice and baby roses floating in a glass bulb.

So that doesn’t do it for you? Well let’s move on to those pear shaped Goddesses of greenness, the avocado. Guacamole is my preferred way to prepare this fruit. I make a large vat that can be shared and consumed with a variety of sides. Corn chips, fresh vegetables, grilled meats, you name it and guacamole will gracious take its place, not over powering but gentle resting to entice and please. Everyone has their own recipe for guacamole, some add tomatoes to the concoction, while others are purist and just mix a dollop of sour cream or mayo and a bit lemon juice. I, on the other hand, perform a symphony with the little jewels and leave parts of it slightly chunky. Whatever your preference, guacamole is the perfect heat-of -the-moment type dish.

The final selection involves those sexy green legs of the vegetable world, asparagus. It may be an acquired taste for some, and for those with a more mature palate, asparagus is one of the most sinuous food you’ll ever consume. When prepared properly, gently steamed with a bit of salt and fresh squeezed lemon juice, asparagus and a lovely bottle of wine can take you places you have never been before. There are not many foods today that when grown in optimal conditions will yield a delicious flavor; but a true to the heart asparagus farmer will tell you a good crop of asparagus is worth its weight in gold. So the next time you are looking for something sexy to share at the dining table consider these three charmers.