Friday, November 6, 2009

Giving Thanks for Gourmet Magazine

I was shocked and dismayed a few weeks back to hear that Condé Nast was doing away with Gourmet Magazine. I vented for several days. Dang. How could they (a big corporation) shut down such a venerable magazine with so much history? How could they dismiss such an interesting and influential editor with a simple phone call? How could they? Impossible to believe.

Then I started to think about it more carefully. Why was I so upset? Yes, it is just awful when something is cut off peremptorily. Yes, I hate corporations when they change the design of a perfectly good coffee maker or a pair of comfortable pants or when they get rid of a food magazine because they want me to buy another more fashionable model so they can make more money. And yes, I really don’t like to be taken by surprise. But what else was going on in me?

Let me go back to the beginning of my relationship with Gourmet.
I started reading Gourmet Magazine in the downtown Berkeley Public Library when I was first learning to cook in the second half of the 1960s. I sat during my lunch hours with my small yellow pad and copied out recipes that sounded delicious and easy enough for a beginner. I have pages and pages of these handwritten notes and used many of the recipes, as my barely legible penciled notes indicate.The one pictured is from the Gourmet of July 1968.
I especially loved the lavish holiday spreads, Thanksgiving in particular. Gorgeous photographs: The beautiful table with elegant crystal and china, elaborate center pieces, and candles with hurricane covers. The exquisite food: Perfectly browned turkey with luxurious side dishes. Chestnuts, lots of cream, oysters in stuffing, many different wines. All well beyond my ability and means. At the time, we were living in graduate student housing on my husband’s modest stipend and my hourly wage at the University of California. None of this was possible. But I could aspire to it. And I must admit, I did aspire to it. I wanted that kind of style, sophistication and elegance.

But our lives continued to chug along. In 1970 we left Berkeley, traveled in Asia for three years, had two kids, and moved to North Carolina. Somehow during that stretch of time, I lost my connection to Gourmet, and it has never been rekindled. I have occasionally bought a single copy with a particularly enticing cover. I bought and use the yellow-jacketed Gourmet Cookbook. But Gourmet Magazine has not been a regular part of my life, my lunch hours, or my menus for forty years. Perhaps I am not alone in this shift from avid to occasional reader.

But here we are in the present moment. My regret and shock at the closing of Gourmet is linked inextricably to a particular time I recall with great fondness. The hours of pleasure in the Berkeley Public Library, the carefully saved yellow sheets of paper with handwritten recipes, the Thanksgiving dinners I longed to replicate or to attend, my desire to be elegant and sophisticated--all these memories contribute to my sadness. Part of my past has been shut down, rendered obsolete or old-fashioned. I choose to believe that the managers of Condé Nast don’t want me to feel irrelevant or shut out; they just want me to purchase one of their other food magazines. Perhaps they felt that Gourmet hadn’t kept up with the times and was too fancy or down right extravagant for this new economy, that lavish Thanksgiving spreads were no longer of much interest, economic or otherwise. I might even agree with them. But let me tell you, it will be hard to buy Bon Appétit knowing that it was chosen over my lunch time companion of many years ago.

In this season of thanksgiving, let me offer a toast to the Gourmet Magazine that educated and inspired a young cook sitting in the Berkeley Pubic Library writing out recipes for Oven-Fried Chips and Melon a l'Indienne. My heartfelt thanks to one and all.

Three Excellent Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Brussels Sprout Chiffonade
Brussels sprouts have grown on me over the years. This one is just great. The slicing takes some time, so if you are doing these for a crowd, get some help.

















1 pound Brussels sprouts
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick)
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, optional
Note: If the rest of your dinner has a lot of strong flavors, you might make your sprouts without the cumin. If it is pretty bland (like roast chicken and mashed potatoes), you might increase the cumin seeds to 1 teaspoon.
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1. Trim Brussels sprouts and halve lengthwise; slice crosswise into very thin slices.
2. Heat the butter in a large sauté pan over moderately high heat until the foam subsides. Add the sprouts, cumin seeds, salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the sprouts are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. You may want to add 1-2 tablespoons of water to hasten the cooking. The water will disappear and the sprouts will be done.
3. Transfer to a serving bowl. Stir in the lime juice and taste for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.

4-6 servings
Adapted from Ruth Reichl’s The Gourmet Cookbook

Six-Spice Squash Purée
This is just incredibly good when the squashes are tender, flavorful, and moist.





















1 large (or 2 small to medium) butternut squash, about 2 pounds
Note: The most recent time I used a mix of delicata, butternut, and kabocha.
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons salt or more to taste
1½ teaspoons Spice Mixture (see recipe below)

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Lightly oil a baking sheet with olive oil or line with parchment paper.
2. Halve the squash lengthwise and remove and discard the seeds. Place the squash cut-side down on the baking sheet and roast until it is soft and easily pierced with a knife, 40-50 minutes. While it is roasting, make the Spice Mixture.
3. Cool the squash for 15 minutes. If the squash looks watery after roasting, squeeze as much of the juice out of it as you can. If it is very dry, be prepared to add a lot more liquid to the mixture (orange or apple juice, stock, even water).
4. Using a large spoon, scoop out the flesh and transfer to a food processor. While the squash is still warm, add the butter, maple syrup, and salt and process until smooth. Add the spice mixture and blend.
Add additional salt or spice mixture to taste.

Spice Mixture

1 tablespoon fennel seed
5 or 6 whole star anise
1 tablespoon aniseed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cloves

1. Grind the fennel seed, star anise and aniseed in a coffee or spice grinder.
2. Combine with the cinnamon, pepper, and cloves and set aside. You will have about 1/3 cup. Store the leftovers in a spice jar; label the jar so you don’t forget the contents.

6 servings
Adapted from Matthew Kenney’s Big City Cooking

Cranberry-Walnut Relish with Grappa
There are many wonderful cranberry relishes. I like this one a lot. You can make this ahead of time and add the walnuts a little before serving.

















½ cup walnuts
1 tablespoon finely chopped orange zest
Juice of 1 orange and enough water or apple juice to equal 3/4 cup
1 cup sugar
1 12-ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1 tablespoon grappa, optional
½ teaspoon salt or to taste

1. Preheat your oven or toaster oven to 400ºF.
2. Spread the walnuts in a single layer in a shallow metal pan and toast, stirring once, until crisp and lightly browned, about 3 minutes in the toaster oven, 5 to 8 minutes in the big one. Watch the nuts carefully. They can burn in an instant. Cool and coarsely chop.
3. In a medium non-reactive pan, combine the orange juice/water combination and sugar. Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the cranberries and simmer, uncovered, stirring once or twice until about half the cranberries have burst, 6 to 8 minutes. Frozen berries will take longer. Transfer to a glass or ceramic container.
4. Stir in the zest, grappa, if using, and salt. Cool to room temperature. The relish will thicken up as it cools.
5. Add the walnuts just before serving. The relish can be used immediately or covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Makes about 2 cups
Adapted from Carrie Brown’s The Jimtown Store Cookbook

Giving Back Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Kelsey -- winner of my Giving Back Giveaway! Contact me with your mailing address at Mrs.RD44@gmail.com and I will mail out the package ASAP (tomorrow, hopefully!).

falling down.....


Aw examination for this intake is coming soon, Man! The judgments day is come around. Uh so bloodcurdling! Suddenly I remind bout my 4 frightening subjects : Business Computing, FOB, LnL, and English. This is it! Stressy Grrrr.
Business computing make me so difficult to understand the abbreviations inside
FOB? I don’t even know what I shud I write on my exam paper later, my analysis skills still in low level and the way i wrote is not fast as what expected! from calculation, i shud answer 8 questions by 12 pages in 3hrs? Gosh!
My grammar are totally bad for English! Actually my vocabs also, i still cant reach the high language widely.
and for LnL, I dunno how to do the second assignment another think is I don’t love art! =_=

Oh My Goodness. Why such things like did sticking on my life??

help me God,
Bismillahirahmanierrahiem...
I need your guidance.... Really... (hopeful)
=(

Camp Cooking

The trip to Mexico was never supposed to be about the food. But two months before the trip, when I received the trip guidebook, there was a menu in it available to review. Chicken mole. French toast. Ceviche. It even listed happy hour drinks and snacks, like pina coladas and chips and salsa. I was as excited for the food as I was for the kayaking! Our meals were almost exactly true to the menu. The guides use the same menu every week so they were sick of it, but it's obviously a crowd pleaser.

So here's a couple of things you can do that taste really good when camping - or any time.
1. Veggie quesadillas for breakfast - Tortillas, monterey jack cheese, sauteed zucchini and onions - serve with salsa.
2. Cream cheese with roasted red peppers on crackers appetizer - use bottled roasted red peppers, dump onto a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers or wheat thins. Awesome.
3. Bake a cake in a Dutch oven - add canned peaches or pineapple to a box cake mix in a Dutch oven. Put heated charcoal briquettes underneath and covering the top and bake for allotted time or slightly longer. It's really good for breakfast the next day too.
4. Make an avocado and cheese sandwich. Fresh avocado, monterey jack, tomatoes and onions on a bread roll.
5. Serve hot sauce with everything.

This is what cooking looks like on an island in Baja:

I take it that means, “no”

November 6

Well, my latest poll was a dud. I asked readers of this blog if they or their customers had changed their food-sharing habits due to fears of the H1N1 virus. Only seven people responded. Five said no, two said yes, everyone else, by their lack of response, I guess were indicating that they hadn’t thought about it or weren’t interested in the question.

That’s fair.

Here’s another one for you, from another of my colleagues, about restaurants’ moves to engage in more environmentally sound practices.
As always, feel free to comment below.

Filet Mignon with Red-Wine Risotto




Some days I might be feeling kind of blue and have a need to find a happy place. Other days are brisk and chilly and I need that warm feeling inside, and sometimes I want to do something special for another. Risotto can fill all of these spaces, physically and emotionally. It’s creamy goodness is so hearty, it warms from the inside out. How can anything started with wine, cooked with broth and finished with butter and cheese not be?

I have entire cookbooks devoted to risottos, but last night I tried a recipe from a new cook book, New York Cooks: 100 Recipes from the City’s Best Chefs. Within, I found this recipe for red-wine risotto. I don’t normally cook risotto in red wine, but a bacon start, port-wine base, and a dollop of mascarpone definitely found my happy place. The original recipe calls for celery root, a root vegetable that tastes mildly like celery but contains less starch than potatoes. I couldn’t find it at my market and so did not include it. Nor could I find brown chicken stock. So, I went with a traditional chicken stock/mushroom stock combination. Feel free to use a different ratio of stocks, or even make your own brown chicken stock if you are feeling extra motivated. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
3 slices bacon, diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
½ small yellow onion, diced
1 cup port wine
2 cups red wine (preferably Syrah)
1 cup short grain risotto rice such as arborio
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup mushroom stock
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
2 6-ounce filet-mignon
2 tbsp shaved Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp mascarpone cheese
1 porcini mushroom, thinly sliced

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan over low heat, add the bacon, garlic and onion and gently cook covered until translucent and tender, 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the stock to a gentle simmer in a separate pan. To the onion mixture, add the port and red wine, increasing heat if necessary to bring to a simmer and reduce until ½ cup remains. Add the rice, stirring and cook for a few minutes to incorporate the wine into the rice. Ladle in stock until rice is covered and simmer gently. Stir the rice frequently to help bring out the starches. Continue adding stock as the rice becomes dry, adding, stirring and re-adding for a total of 20-25 minutes cooking time. If stock runs out before rice is tender, use more stock. Ten minutes into the rice cooking time, pre-heat a skillet to medium-high and add 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil. Salt and pepper the filet, and add to hot pan when butter/oil is smoking. Sear filets 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove and allow to rest covered loosely with foil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat in the pan down to medium-low and saute the mushrooms while the meat rests. Sir into risotto 2 tbsp butter and grated Parmesan. To plate, spoon risotto into a bowl. Slice the filet into strips and lay on the risotto. Dollop a large spoonful of mascarpone onto the risotto. Place half of the sauteed mushrooms on each bowl. Sprinkle the shaved Parmesan onto the risotto. Serve.

the stupid and nice words i've just found...





Money is not everything?
Why?
Because there is still MasterCard and Visa
( i found this at words on facebook apps. LOL!)



Morning Joe Delight!

I blame my coffee addiction on Italy.


When I was a freshmen in college, I wanted to do it all....study, class, hockey, marathoning, partying, dating....everything. There just weren't enough hours in the day, so I cut back my sleep to nearly none and relied on coffee to fuel me through my days...every day. By second semester I had decided that PROBABLY wasn't a healthy way to live (duh)...so I cut the coffee cold turkey. 


Enter: worst headaches of my LIFE x 1 week. And I was still drinking diet soda to get a caffeine fix! Scary!


I remained "sober" (hehe) for YEARS...until I went to Italy with husband. My glorious 10 weeks in Italy reignited my love for coffee, particularly espresso and cappuccino! I've expanded my arsenal to most any form of coffee, just take a look at my kitchen...



My beloved Kitchen Aid espresso machine with frother for cappuccino. Yes, I have a mini Starbucks operation running over here!



And then I have my rinky-dinky Mr. Coffee coffee pot...which I opted for this morning.



Mmmm! And does everyone else have a favorite coffee mug? 
I am blessed to have a set of 6 so I never run out!


And how about coffee's healthfulness, huh? Let's consult WebMD for some truth...


Coffee is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and colon cancer. Coffee can lift your mood and treat headaches...and lower the risk of cavities
...and the more your drink the better!


Harvard researchers found that consuming 6 or more cups of coffee daily reduced mens' risk of type 2 diabetes by 54% and womens' by 30% compared to those who don't consume coffee [1].



The article states [1]:
"Consider this: At least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's, with three showing the more they drink, the lower the risk. Other research shows that compared to not drinking coffee, at least two cups daily can translate to a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in liver cirrhosis risk, and nearly half the risk of gallstones."
 
My take....
Drink in moderation. Too much caffeine can cause insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, stomach irritation, nausea, vomiting, an increased heart rate and respirations. Large doses of caffeine can cause headache, anxiety, agitation, chest pain, and ringing in the ears.
 
Question: Do you drink coffee?? Every day? How much? What's your FAVORITE coffee drink??
 
DON'T forget to enter into my Giving Back Giveaway...just scroll down and leave a comment to enter! Drawing will take place today at 6 pm Central Time. Thanks for your support!

 A HUGE THANKS to Lindsay with the National Peanut Board. I received a most exciting package this week containing this:

Peanut oil, peanut flour, a beautiful letter, recipe cards, and patient information 
(diabetes + peanut butter = heck yeah!!!)
Thank you!!!!!!!

TGIF...enjoy it, bloggies!

[1]. Kirchheimer, Sid. Coffee: The New Health Food? WebMD.


Akhirnya dapet jugaaa....

6 november 2009, jumat

Semalam, mendadak temen chat ajakin pergi ke toko listrik yang baru opening sale besok pagi2, die bilang ada food processor murmer, jadinya tertarik pergi, soalnya ini barang udah kepingin bangetttt dari dulu, blom kebeli2, coz harganya agak lumayan, mikir2 deh.

Paginya temen gw yg lain, chat bilang mo ikutan pergi, soalnya semalem gw cuman ninggalin pesen mini lewat YM yang bikin dia penasaran hihihi. Akhirnya janjian ketemu jam 9.30 pagi Sebelomnya gw sempetin dulu deh masak Hayasi rice buat ntar malam, biar ga ribet masak2 lagi, soalnya hari ini full jadwal.

Nyampe disono, uda rameeeeeeeeee bangetttt...ngantri bok di depan pintu masuk, cuman dsini orang2nya tertib ngantri, ga ada tuh yg main nyelak2 ato dorong dorongan. Pas pintu dibuka, brrrrrrrrrrrr...pada ngibrit nyari barang2 yang pengen dibeli, kita juga ikutan langsung serbuuuuu ke tempat jual2 keperluan dapur kayak microwave, oven, kompor...aaa, akhirnya ketemu juga tuh food processor yang diincer. Barangnya limit, cuman tersedia 20 biji, gile kalo ga cepet2 ga bakalan dapet kan? akhirnya bisa ditangan, ga sia sia deh ngantri panjang bener..

Kita liat2 barang2 lain, emang dasar ce, ga cukup cuman beli 1 barang, liat barang laen yg lebih murah, langsung deh tancep mo beli juga...zzz...gw aja masih sempet beli panci 1 biji, beli cukur jenggot yg listrik [mumpung murmer}buat laki gw, beli termometer buat Mei, coz sekarang lagi musim influenza, tiap hari seblom skul harus ukur suhu badan. Ngeliat handycam, murmer juga kpengen beli, tapi apa daya ga bawa duit hohoho...

PUlangnya kita mampir ke supermaket beli bento, abis uda siang banget, ga sempet masak2 lagi, langsung ke rumah gw, makan di rumah deh. Jam 2 an, gw langsung pergi lagi buat nganterin temen gw, soalnya die beli barang lbh banyak dari gw...mpe full tank deh mobilnya..hihihi...

Langsung gw cabut jemput Mei di skullnya. Dia hari ini ada acara ensoku - piknik ke zoo ma gurunya, jadi pulangnya agak telat jam 15.30. Abis jemput gw langsung meluncur lagi pergi ke Emifull buat jemput laki gw, yang lagi training disana.
mmm capeee, hari ini full jadwal....
PUlang langsung mandi n makan. Jam 8an anak2 uda bobo, jadi gw santai dulu ahhhh

u know i love rainbow




monday - tuesday.
went to lumut, perak. whoaaa. rase cam heaven je dpt tgk pantai. pantai!!!
even just for a day. dang~ i need a vacation mama + abah! uhuu~
dah few times sampai sini. tp, yup, small town, but i like it. peaceful enough.
tgk swimming pool. lamenye x swimming. tp trime kasih je la kan.
sbb nmpk la ade board 'strictly swimming attire' mmg hampeh la T_T

and mlm selasa tu, gi JJ AU ni with kma + kak sally. kwn kak sally, mintak tlg.
tlg belikan teddy bear 4 his gf. funny aite? then. x jmpe yg cambest. so. kma ajak g karok.
grr~ i'm not a karok maniac. tp layan je la. sejak 2 menjak ni ske nyanyi. wahaha.
and, there we go, 1 hour. sempat la sy nyanyi 4 lagu. trust me, itu ajaib. haha.
and the funniest part, keluar je dr karok, tgk hujan lebat gile dkt luar JJ.
we were laughing like... idk. like monkey. HAHAHAHAHAHA. gilo larh~
so i went to watson's, n big apple since mama nak big apple duran duran~ yummy.

and. suddenly. i stopped by - the body shop. and. i SAW and SMELL a...

LOVE ETC from body shop

OMG. i want this so badlyyyyyyyyy.
it was tuesday right? and it's friday now.
and belive me when i said i-think-bout it all the time.
1st reason - sbb die rainbow!!! OMG... grrrr~
2nd -cuz it smells good. alaaaaaa.

siap tnye salesgirl die lg.
"excuse me is't a new product, or limited edition"
and she said, "well it depends on the management & market"

DANGGGG. duit dahlah tgk kering. whoaaa.
1 set for sure hundred ++. hukkk. tlg blh tak?

tlg DOA je sy akan dpt jgk set ni. DOA je. thanks =]]


wednesday-thursday
no class. jap. yup, x de. kot. eh menipu larh! de MCP. ptg-lewat ptg.
MCP was great, so far. En zul sgt ok, so far. nnt shooting nnt, tataw la. thee.

and the next day, which was thurday, full of meeting. VG2 + BJ
VG2, jeng jeng. terpilih jd PA for this week pnye shooting. PA ingt senang?
wahaha. ssh taw. sbb kene scream out loud, and, jage timing btol2. whoaa.
it's ok. i'm trying to train myself to say 'YES' to everything. yes! hee.
and, BJ, seronok. haha. reccee, jalan2 around setiawngsa, keramat, kemensah.
then ambik shot2 utk VT utk shooting BJ nnt.


friday
BJ only. td jd news presenter. bace both tv news + radio news. awww. best.
i mean like, ye larh, mule2 cuak jgk. tp x berdebar plak td. pelik~
last2 senyum je dpn lects, and, bace dgn lancar. alhamdulilah. lucky enough~


overall this week. i should say. erm, ade upside down.
ade bnyk bnde best + happy. tp ade jgk yg sdeyh, plus pilu. huhu.
tp, life. full of drama aite? it's ok. everything happened 4 a reason.

owh ye. lame sy x upload pixca dkt blog kan? sbb.
memory card Mr.cybershot tu senget. sume gmbr hilang.
majuk da dgn die! wawawa. nak gi klcc. nak beli memory card je.
pon x smpt2. tgk movie? ape tah lg. hoho. ok larh.
sape2 tgh final tuh. best of luck =]]