Food Writer’s Diary readers vote differently from Beard Foundation judges

March 21

As you would expect, readers of this blog had a different notion of who should be Rising Star Chef of the year, an award the James Beard Foundation gives to chefs aged 30 or younger who show promise.
Of the five nominees, who were named today, only one, Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City, also was in the top five voted on by this blog’s readers from among the long list of Beard Foundation semifinalists for the award.

Not a whole lot of people participated in the vote, just 49, apparently many of them from the Twin Cities.
I’ll post the results below, and also point out that I have a new poll up with the finalists for Best New Restaurant on the right.

Vote away (write in your own candidate in the comments section below)!

MY CHOICE FOR RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR IS:

Sameh Wadi, Saffron Restaurant & Lounge, Minneapolis — 10

Christina Tosi, Momofuku Milk Bar, New York City — 6

Jonathon Sawyer, The Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland — 5

Kevin Gillespie, Woodfire Grill, Atlanta — 4

Nicholas Stefanelli, Bibiana, Washington, D.C. — 4

Anthony Martin, Tru, Chicago — 3

Sue Zemanick, Gautreau’s, New Orleans — 3

Andrew Ashmore, The Greene House, Scottsdale, Ariz. — 2

Clayton Chapman, The Grey Plume, Omaha, Neb. — 2

Sheldon Simeon, Star Noodle, Lahaina, Hawaii — 2

Benjamin Bailly, Fraîche, Culver City, Calif. — 1

Eric Gabrynowicz, Restaurant North, Armonk, N.Y. — 1

Will Gilson, Garden at the Cellar, Cambridge, Mass. — 1

Greg LaPrad, Quiessence, Phoenix — 1

Matt Lightner, Castagna, Portland, Ore. — 1

Jesse Schenker, Recette, New York City — 1

Bjorn Somlo, Nudel, Lenox, Mass. — 1

Blaine Wetzel, The Willows Inn, Lummi Island, Wash. — 1

Justin Aprahamian, Sanford, Milwaukee — 0

Sean Baker, Gather, Berkeley, Calif. — 0

Sean Ehland, Kaya, Pittsburgh — 0

Sam Gorenstein, BLT Steak, Miami Beach, Fla. — 0

Perry Hoffman, étoile, Yountville, Calif. — 0

Casey Lane, The Tasting Kitchen, Venice, Calif. — 0

Aaron London, Ubuntu, Napa, Calif. — 0

Thomas McNaughton, flour + water, San Francisco — 0

Paul Qui, Uchiko, Austin, Texas — 0

Dan Richer, Arturo's, Maplewood, N.J. — 0

Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland, Ore. — 0

Lee Styer, Fond, Philadelphia — 0

Michael Toscano, Manzo, New York City — 0

Total votes: 49

Open Ended

Defined:

(A)dministration officials and military leaders came under a barrage of questions — raised by members of Congress, outside experts and reporters — about the parameters of U.S. participation and the operation’s goals, especially if Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi does not capitulate.

“There have been lots of options which have been discussed, but I think it’s very uncertain how this ends,” Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged on CBS’s “Face the Nation.’’

Mullen, who appeared on five television talk shows, was pressed repeatedly to define the mission and its objectives. “I think circumstances will drive where this goes in the future,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.’’

Pen-di-di-kan!

Kata orang pendidikan itu penting, apalagi kalau mau merubah keadaan yang buruk menjadi lebih baik. Tapi, kok mau mengecam bangku pendidikan saja, kok, susahnya naujubilah minzalik, alias susah teramat sangat nian dan sekali. Bayar sekolah mahal, beli buku mahal, biaya inui-itu mahal. Yang enggak mahal cuma berkhayal. Sayang, berkhayal tok enggak menghasilkan harga murah.

Beberapa bulan yang lalu, waktu ikutan nonton live di studio salah satu stasiun TV swasta yang memelihara burung elang, talk show paling yahut soal Indonesia dari berbagai sisi, aku menyaksikan orangtua seorang anak yang bunuh diri karena enggak bisa kembali bersekolah. Padahal hanya butuh 25.000 rupiah perbulannya, tapi untuk makan saja perut sering melilit. Hina dan caci dari teman-teman di bekas sekolahnya pun sudah diabaikan demi pen-di-di-kan.

Banyak juga kasus lain, anak-anak yang punya semangat tinggi dan berkehidupan dalam garis kemiskinan, sehabis sekolah kerja keras di jalanan demi mendapat uang untuk sekolah. Semakin hari semakin banyak, semakin susah mendapatkan uang. Makin banyak yang harus putus sekolah.

Belum lagi, sekolah negeri yang dibawahi pemerintah bukannya justru membantu rakyat malah justru menyengsarakan jua. Bagaimana tidak, bayaran dan iurannya juga sama mahal dengan swasta menengah, padahal fasilitas jauh lebih buruk. Guru-gurunya pun terkadang berbuat culas, dengan bermodal statement "ngajar atau enggak pun tetap digaji." Ya, bahkan saya mengalaminya sendiri ketika di SMA.

Sedangkan, cukup banyak sekolah swasta yang bisa memberikan keringanan buat mereka yang berada di garis kesulitan finansial. Sebenarnya, banyak juga sekolah negeri yang memberi keringanan namun tidak sebesar swasta. Umumnya hanya uang pangkal, namun iuran bulanannya tetap sama, berat. Pada hakikatnya, sekolah negeri adalah sekolah yang semestinya mensejahterakan rakyat.

Pendidikan yang lagi-lagi katanya penting, yang menjadi harapan tonggak perubahan bangsa di masa depan, kok kesannya eksklusif? Kemajuan zaman diingkari dengan keotoriteran para pengajar. Memang tidak semua, tapi mayoritas, menerapkan "guru selalu benar." Ada guru-guru yang tidak mau minta maaf pada muridnya ketika beliau bersalah. Ada guru-guru yang menghakimi muridnya tanpa memberikan kesempatan muridnya untuk memberi penjelasan. Ada yang tidak mau menerima masukkan dari siswa-siswinya.

Di balik sisi buruknya pendidikan di Indonesia, ada banyak juga sisi baiknya. Dimana ada guru-guru yang tak mengenal lelah meski daya dan upaya tidak membawakan kesejahteraan lahir. Menempuh jarak yang jauh, memiliki benda dan harta yang sedikit, meninggal rumah dalam terang bulan dan kembali bermandikan cahaya bulan lagi.

Masih ada guru-guru yang bersedia mengajarkan tak kenal waktu, tak pandang bulu, yang sabar dan bijak, yang ramah dan pengertian. Mereka berbagi, mereka bermimpi, menaruh harapan pada anak-anak berseragam, bukan materi jua bukan sanjung puji, sekedar senyum di akhir karir nanti. Memimpikan perubahan yang signifikan, yang sanggup menggetarkan jiwa berbalut raga, yang mampu mengobarkan merah putih bagai sayang garuda nan perkasa.

Tapi semua itu terkemas campur aduk. Sedang populasi generasi muda makin menggelegak, semangat mulai berkobaran, meski banyak jua yang tergilas dan terpadamkan paksa. Harta yang jadi buah bicara. Yang makmur makin sentausa, yang sengsara makin tersiksa. Adil itu bagai tertinggal di zaman yang jauuuuuuh sekali dari peradaban. Dijaga raksasa-raksasa liar yang membuatnya sulit terjamah kembali.

Pada siapa rakyat kecil mengadu? Pada siapa pemimpi-pemimpi besar menggantungkan tekadnya, pada siapa kami mengadu? Katanya kita demokrasi kerakyatan. Dimana rakyat hidup bekerja dan berbahagia bersama demi rakyat dan bersama rakyat. Nyatanya rakyat kan hanya wacana, yang ada korupsi, yang ada ketidakadilan, yang ada ketidaksejahteraan, yang ada manipulasi konspirasi. Hangus terbakar lara.

"Oh lihat ibu pertiwi, sedang bersusah hati. Air matanya berlinang, mas intan yang terkenang..." Penggalan lagu, menyampaikan pada kita, bukan hanya warga yang disebut sebagai warga negara Indonesia saja yang merintih dalam keterinjak-injakan, jua alam Nusantara yang terluka. Tertawalah, bercengkerama dengan keangkuhan sebagai petinggi yang memiliki pundi-pundi uang, kami berdoa adanya mukzizat yang rendah hati ingin menyapamu.

Tapi kini aku ragu, jikalau memang pendidikan itu penting, mengapa orang yang berpendidikan yang kini menjabat di pemerintahan dan departemen-departemen kenegaraan, pengusaha-pengusaha yang uangnya tak berbatas, justru tampil dan tampak bagai tak berpendidikan. Salah siapa? Apa artinya? Mereka bagai tuliiiiii! Mereka bagai bisuuuu! Mereka bagai bayangan-bayangan semu nan palsu. Mereka merusak citra yang mereka bangun sendiri. Mereka kah yang patut kami jadikan contoh untuk masa depan kami?

Tapi kami punya cita, sebagaimana yang tertera dalam panca sila, sebagaimana tersurat di lagu kebangsaan Indonesia Raya. Dan saya tidak akan berhenti bermimpi dan berusaha. Demi pendidikan, sesulit apapun ini, kuhadapi, kuperjuangkan. Dan kiranya perlu kami, aku, kita, membuktikan sendiri, apakah pendidikan sepenting itu?

Salam hangat,
Ketty Tressianah

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La Madeleine cakes

S.Kenney - La Madeleine cakes

With a daughter named Madeleine, you'd think I would have made these adorable cookies long ago.  It was actually for an event for my son that I tried them out for the first time.  I found a Madeleine cake mold and decided to buy it.  My son had one of his "Odyssey of the Mind" meetings so I thought this would be a nice treat for the group.  Don't worry.  My Madeleine, the newly turned 17 year old, had some put aside for her.

"Odyssey of the Mind" is a wonderful team-building group for teens.  My son enjoyed coming up with and building an invention with his group, pairing it with a skit that brought a character of a famous inventor and then competing against other teams from the Houston area.  Every single item involved in building their contraption and pairing it with their skit had to come from scraps that they found at home or in garages.  No adult intervention is allowed in giving technical or artistic advice.  It was a wonderful experience and as the team was working hard, it was probably nice to munch on dainty Madeleine cakes.

Pardon the little chick.  Isn't he adorable?  I just can't help adding him to some photos.  You'll be seeing him pop in and out as we near Easter.  Wouldn't he be so cute on top of cupcakes?  I just might try that.

S.Kenney - La Madeleine cakes

One thing that was allowed was bringing snacks to the kids.  I am good at that.  I was tickled to use this new "Madeleine"mold.  The cookies (or more like little cakes) were easy to make and had just the right touch of sweetness.  With Easter fast approaching, these would be so sweet to have on hand as Easter treats.

La Madeleine Cakes:

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 15 minutes

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup milk

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Beat the eggs with the sugar, vanilla and half of the milk until thick and light yellow. Add the flour and baking powder bit by bit and continue mixing until smooth. Stir in the rest of the milk and the melted butter.

Carefully grease your madeleine tray if necessary. Spoon about two tablespoons of batter into each mold. Bake for 15 minutes at 375°F. Cool on a rack.

Makes 24 madeleines.

You could flavor your madeleines with different things, perhaps orange or lemon zest. A dusting of powdered sugar would look nice as well.

GOBHI MATTAR SABJI

Ingredients:

Cauliflower ..... 1

Green peas ..... 1/2 cup

Capsicum ........ 1 cut into cubes.

Onion ............. 1 ( sliced)

Ginger garlic paste ... 1 tbsp.

Green chillies ........... 1-2

Turmeric powder ... 1/4 tsp.

Coriander powder .... 1 tsp.

Cumin powder ......... 1 tsp.

Amchoor powder ...... 1/2 tsp.

Salt ........................... to taste

Oil.

Coriander leaves ..... to garnish

Method:

1. Wash and cut the cauliflower. Boil water, add salt and leave the cauliflower in the water for 10 minutes.

2.Heat oil in a pan and add the sliced onion and saute until pink in colour.Now add the ginger garlic paste, green chillies.

3. Add the cauliflower pieces and stir fry. Add salt and turmeric powder first. Sprinkle a little water and simmer till it is half done.

4. At this stage add in the capsicum and green peas. Also add the dry masala powders. Simmer on low flame sprinkling little water to cook.

5. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.