Random Thoughts Post #1

I have a few things floating around in my mind right now that I just wanted to BS a bit about them.

First, a year or two ago, cupcakes became a huge popular food fad. I just went to a little cafe that had a whole bunch of these new aged fancy cupcakes and they were actually moving them. I can't tell if this is a cool or not. In some ways I kind of like the idea of food fads. I'm a food centric person and I like it when people join me. However, I feel like a cupcake is a weak and cheap way out of a pastry. I mean I'm an Italian from NYC. A bacon topped cupcake isn't going to get me excited as much as a good "ganole" or Napoleon will. Or a good "bischut" with a cup of coffee or maybe some espresso. There are a hundred different old school Italian pastries that are truly masterfully crafted high art that don't get any love. Hell, it's even hard to find a good rainbow cookie nowadays. We make them ourselves with real almond paste. In this day and age it's tough to find them made this way, they usually make them cakey.

Here's our Rainbow Cookies:

That's a homemade Italian pastry right there. We're very proud of that. It was a lot of work, but the payoff is worth it. Those are 3 layers of almond with raspberry in between in a dark chocolate top and bottom (and sides if you're lucky enough to get that cut). This will cripple you. It's a perfect storm of sweetness and almond and chocolate married in a an incredible texture of substance. Toothsome.

To be indulgent, serve this with a good amaretto mixed with a bit of cream, ridiculous.

CAN YOU DO THAT WITH A CUPCAKE? Maybe I'm just a cupcake hater, but how are cupcakes knocking real pastries out? A cupcake is a small cake. That's fine, I like cake, but I think they're popular because they're popular now. And people are putting bacon on them and decorating them and just making them look new and different.

By the way, Bacon.

First let me say that the salty sweet thing is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Just because the homemakers of the 40's and 50's forgot this trick, doesn't mean that it isn't a long established principle of gastronomy. So is spicing non-spicey dishes. I use a bit of cayenne in some deserts to really stick some tastes to the palate. I learned that probably from Julia Childs. Regardless, none of that is new.

So, bacon. Now this is another largely unspoken trend that bothers me: Flavor Sledgehammers.

A friend of mine coined that term, and I'm stealing it. Bacon is a flavor sledgehammer. Bacon is also super popular right now because it is an internet meme that EVERYONE understands and can enjoy, but it's not like it's new. Now I like bacon too,  but the thing is if you put bacon on something, it tastes like bacon, because it is a flavor sledgehammer much like the mountain of icing on top of the trendy cupcakes. It's difficult to give a hint of bacon because it's so strong and it is very difficult to blend the flavors without scaling things up massively.

I'm not going to qualify anything here because I am painting with a wide brush, but it's my BS post on my blog.

Suffice to say, flavor sledgehammers are big business lately. Cupcakes, with more icing than cake, bacon as a trendy gotcha, craft beers.....

Ah yeah, the hobby of fine drinking now accepts beer with trendy and clever breweries across the US, most of which are owned by Bud/Miller/Coors. I keep a case of Bud Light in my fridge at all times, so I'm not knocking that, I'm trying to say it's big business. The craft beers are great though, most of them, but notice that Pale Ales are taking off? Flavor sledgehammers. The bigger the better it seems, except you might as well say goodbye to your taste buds for a while because you won't be able to taste anything after you have one.

I feel like flavor sledgehammers are popular because of over stimulation. Artificial sweeteners among other things nuke our ability to see and understand what is going on on their palates and the ability to just get one HUGE taste is the right way to go. And oh, they won't eat or drink this or that because they want taste! They DEMAND TASTE! Of course they do.

Sometimes the right way to listen to a song is to turn the volume down.

Late Leftover Lamb

(Fast-forward to the bottom if you don't want to read me rambling about Easter)

Alliteration.

This is a little late if anyone has leftover lamb from Easter. I fully intend to be in control of this blog posting things I know full well how to do and sharing some of my unique (at times) culinary style, however I wanted to get a quick post up to share something I never really thought to do.

Every Easter I put out a spread. I describe it as a cooking holiday for myself. I refuse to travel, I refuse to really do anything other than enjoy being in the kitchen creating good food and drink good wine all day. I tell people to come if they want. They always come.

I always make octopus and scungili salad, Easter bread and a roast leg of Lamb. I put out some cheeses and sopressata and always have a fresh loaf of crusty Italian or French bread too. And wine, lots of wine. This year I also made a Tiramisu mousse that I saw on the Foodwishes youtube channel.

We're so bad at taking pictures of our food (feels toolish), but here's the partially sampled Easter Bread and my Octopus/potato salad (didn't get scungili this year):

And that's all the pictures I have. I wish I got the lamb, but it didn't look that great. A boned leg of lamb is a tough thing to present well in my opinion unless you slice it. Regardless, my guests enjoyed it, I enjoyed it, everything went well and then I had leftovers.

Last year I did this with my leftovers

I posted a really detailed dough, sauce, build and bake recipe for this on another blog last year. If there's interest I can lift it and repost. I have however PERFECTED my pizza dough recipe and bake technique, I will definitely be sharing that in the future.

Anyway, this year (no pics), I did Gyros. As an Italian, I like to steal from the Greeks.... (joke).

It was actually quick and easy and delicious, I really am excited to do it again. I had probably about a pound of lamb roast leftover, so I'll scale this recipe for that. Again, I'm not an experienced Gyro dude at all

Slice the lamb as thin as humanly possible and place flat in the bottom of a large sautee pan and dump about 1/4 bottle of a cab sauv or similar hearty red on it. Bring this to a steam - no bubbles, but if you get bubbles it's no big deal. During this you can prep the lettuce and taziki. I used a few big romaine leafs and stuffed them into both sides of a halved pita.

Then I put about a cup, maybe a little less of plain greek yogurt into a mixing bowl. I dropped in some minced garlic and a whole finely diced/peeled cucumber. I added a teench of nutmeg, and about a tablespoon of olive oil (didn't measure) and a pinch of kosher salt. I mixed that all up and diced a tomato.

Then, grab some tongs, jam the lamb on top of the lettuce in the pita, throw the taziki on top, top with some tomato and serve.

Yes, there is a lot I could have done differently. As a first time gyro builder, I know now that I'd probably use a bit of lemon juice and zest in the taziki and I'd let it refrigerate for a while. The wine was a nice spin that I will continue doing. This is very similar to how I make my "French Dips" with leftover roast beef. So in that manner, I would consider this more of a function "work-week" or leftover recipe rather than a WOW recipe.

Posted during my lunch hour.

Pear Cocktail

Some coworkers of mine brought me back some Pear Cognac from Sweden over 2 years ago. It has sat in my liquor cabinet for a while because while different and interesting I think it's a little sharp and I have not found a way to drink it that I liked.

I've been on vacation for the last week and a few days ago I decided I wanted to try my hand at building a legitimate cocktail. As much work as I do in the kitchen and as creative as I can be in the kitchen, I've never invented a cocktail, not one with any significant staying power anyway.

I love the taste of pear and decided I really wanted to do something with that lonely bottle of Pear Cognac, Xante. However, I knew I'd have to round out that huge alcohol bite and promote the freshness and flavor so I started with all half ounces and built the following recipe that is yet unnamed:

1 Part Xante Pear Cognac

1 Part Whipped Cream Vodka

1/2 Part 10 Cane Rum

1 Part Gingerale

Shake with ice, serve in a chilled martini glass with a pear garnish and an optional light sprinkle of clove.

What happens here is the whipped cream vodka really takes the bite down. The 10 cane promotes the freshness and the gingerale seems to bind it all together. This isn't a sweet cocktail, and it's not bitter, it's a really interesting a complex flavor profile that if you can get your hands on some Xante, you should give it a shot. I think it is sold in the states.

By the way, I didn't shake this when I made this because I was afraid I'd bruise the cognac. Looks like cognac doesn't bruise, but I haven't tried shaking it yet. The colder the better here as I think it will promote the freshness.

Name suggestions? Nothing with "tini" at the end.

***Update 4/18/12

Naming this a "Swedish Blonde" - the guy that brought it back to me in the first place aptly named it after I described the drink to him

And I have an order for more Xante in at my local liquor store. 

Restauranting

When I tell people that I would love to own a restaurant one day, they freak out and tell me how stupid I am. This usually irritates me because I heard the same thing when I went to college and I heard the same thing when I chose engineering.

I took my first job out of military school as a warhead engineer, designing and testing warheads.

Usually, people don't aspire to follow in my footsteps, but if they did, it'd be great poetic justice for me to say the same thing. OH, IT'S WAY TOO HARD! NEVER DO IT!

Bitterness from such shortsighted comments aside, I know owning an operating a restaurant would be a 24hour a day job and according to my research would likely not be profitable for 3 years. This is prohibitive to a large portion of the population for financial reasons alone. Personally, I'm not ready to take that gamble yet either, but it doesn't stop me from dreaming about it.

Yes, I dream about owning a restaurant one day. Hardcore, Disney movie style with sparkling stuff and everything.

My dream restaurant very closely resembles (or could be) Edo's Squid in Richmond, VA and The Library in Myrtle Beach, N.C. They are definitely different from each other, but what I love about them is the intimacy and the craft. These are small places, close to 20 tables each. They are comfortable. Their staff are informed humans. Their food is fresh... I wrote reviews of each of these places on Yelp under Ron V if you're interested:

Edo's Squid: http://www.yelp.com/biz/edos-squid-richmond#hrid:SNYct8rLCig7Biok2bvisw/src:self

The Library - I thought I wrote a review. I guess I haven't. I'll have to do that....

Anyway, there's a lot of things that these places do right that are unremarkable until you see something done wrong. While I may be an amateur at being even a future restaurateur, I consider myself to be very highly experienced restaurant diner. And not just because I like to eat and be served. My wife and I, in a slow start to build up what we hope will one day be that dream restaurant, cater parties regularly. We will cater semi-formal parties up to 50 people and have a good idea what it takes to plate and rotate dishes. However, we just enjoy going. It's like a hobby for us. We love food, we love trying new food, and we love seeing what some of the buzz is about. Sometimes it's not so good though.

In his book, Turning Tables, Steven Shaw, a restaurant critic, mentioned how damaging a negative review could be to a restaurant, particularly when heavy descriptors are used for the sake of art. He gave me the idea that to criticize something like a restaurant, a business with so many moving parts, should be done responsibly. I can tell you, that's all you're going to get from me.

"Pizza is like sex. When it's bad, it's still good."

I can't for the life of me figure out who said that. I thought it was Joe DiMaggio (replacing Pizza for baseball) but I just can't figure it out right now. Point is, this is how I'm going to go into restaurants. This is how you enjoy yourself. The restaurant is a team with a lot of players and it's a shame that one person screwing up could ruin the whole game. Solution: don't let it.

Life's short my friends - if you're super picky about your steak is done, don't order steak. Order fish, order veal. If you don't like those things, order pasta. If you don't like that, you probably picked the wrong restaurant and set yourself up to be unhappy. If you order one of those things and were disappointed, but still want to like the restaurant go back and get something out of that family. Most of the time, the cream rises to the top. That goes for restaurants and their offerings so ask what's popular. If you're pissed because you spent money on things you didn't like, you shouldn't have gone out.

Going to a restaurant is a luxury. A friend of mine constantly tells me I need to open a restaurant because "People need to eat." - people need to eat, but they don't need to eat at a restaurant. Also, I'm going to be posting plenty of recipes and hopefully videos here for you.

When I go to a restaurant, I feel like I'm paying to experience someone's art. The Chef's version of a classic, something new that he made, some exotic thing he got his hands on. But part of everything the Chef is doing is compounded by the atmosphere of the place. The paintings on the wall, the tables, right down to the waiters' uniforms. These types of things really build ambiance and can set the tone for a whole evening. However sometimes they don't go together. A waiter in a tuxedo serving French Fries - well, they're French...

Here's a list of what I consider rookie mistakes for a high-middle end restaurant that takes itself seriously and what I would absolutely drill into my staff in my hopefully future restaurant. In order of importance:

1. First drink.

This is the most important "chumpy" thing to me. When you seat a patron, get their drink order IMMEDIATELY! I don't mean take the order immediately because that should be understood. I mean if they order a martini, a beer, ANYTHING, there should be nothing in between getting to the bar and getting back to that table. Someone without something in front of them looks bad, but it also kind of awkward for them. This is a simple thing that can influence an entire night. A drink can stimulate conversation, give something for people to put their hands on - these things sound silly but they're a very real part of the psychology behind the whole thing.

2. Mispronouncing words

It's cute if a kid can't say "spaghetti" - it's damn ridiculous if the waiter in an expensive restaurant can't say it. If you want to be an Italian restaurant, but your waiter says "Mozzerelli"...

Bam! Judged! Hire literate help. This is one of the few that doesn't apply the chain restaurants except in cases of extreme abuse.

3. Mystery Wine Lists

Not as exciting as it sounds, and this is a 2 part one:

Part 1 - People like me will go to a restaurant with a huge wine list to trying something new. If you have a huge wine list, have someone in the building that is reasonably accessible to speak intelligibly about what you have to offer. As a an educated individual, I can tell when you have no idea. As a wine enthusiast, I can tell when you're totally full of it.

Part 2 - If you have an extensive wine list, that again, people like me will specifically visit your establishment for, know what you're out of, and have some way of making it known.
If I spend a few minutes to pick out a bottle, then you leave to get it, come back and tell me you don't have it, I'm going to be super irritated if you also don't have the second bottle I pick. I'm not talking $10 bottles here, folks.

4. If someone orders a bottle of wine for their entree, bring it out with or before the entree. If you order a beautiful Northern Italian Pinot Grigio to go with your sea bass, you damn well want it out there for it. Not 10 minutes after your entree gets to your table.

5. Coffee/Espresso (not eXpresso, see #2) should be free. WHAT? WHY? $3-$1.50 for a cup of coffee? Please. You're not making money off of it, it's essentially free to make and having people stay in the seats longer for coffee will most likely prompt them to order something else, like desert or a cordial. I also think it's a class move to indicate that you want your patrons to have experience a full set of courses.

Now, 5 I'm not too serious about, but in my dream restaurant, you can bet it would be there. The thing about it is a lot of restaurants want to turn tables, they want that turnover because it's more money. If you make reservations at the Library, you have the table all night. How can they do this? Well, their prices are high, but it allows their quality to soar. It allows their ambiance, their whole creation to really shine. It allows such a personal, intimate atmosphere that you can't help feeling comfortable, and it's worth every penny. Edo's Squid is essentially the opposite in that regard. It's loud and packed depending on when you go, but this isn't a restaurant review. I'm taking all the best things that I learned from my favorite restaurants and packing them into my dream restaurant.

Admittedly, I'm coming off a little harsh here, but I'm fresh out of a restaurant where my wife and I dined for our 3rd Anniversary. It was supposed to be the best in the area and they made these small mistakes that were very irritating. That's not to say they didn't do a lot right, but when you want an evening to be perfect, these things can be disappointing.

My list obviously doesn't apply to some restaurants. In my favorite raw bar in North Myrtle Beach though you can interchange the wine for hot sauce and the coffee for beer. Ha! Okay, the only chain restaurant I visit anymore is Buffalo Wild Wings but what I noticed is that it's still the same situation, the difference is you have a lot of college students who are scared to think out of the box for weird orders. I have a rule about weird orders in restaurants like that anyway, but this always gives people the "Dumb waiter" feeling - it's not that, at least I don't want to believe in it. It's the same work bureaucracy some of us deal with but on a restaurant level and right at the table. These people are inexperienced and young and this is how it will always be.

What I'm trying to say in the last paragraph is every restaurant is unique and don't go into a raw bar and a wing joint expecting a wine list. If you can extrapolate from there, I think you're in good shape.

Anyway, just some thoughts...