Of Southern Contour

new blog!

2011-06-13T09:55:00.001-07:00

Bah.

I hate doing this, but I'm moving my foodie blog to another location. Wordpress allows me to do so much more, so I really hope that you'll continue to follow me there!

Plus, there's some exciting news awaiting you!
Check it out!!

http://southernbelly.wordpress.com/

Much love and thanks,
Josh

the industry

2011-06-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

Usually people find themselves in the service industry on their way to something bigger and better. Some are in school hoping for that sweet spot to open up right as they walk across the stage to receive their 20,000-dollar education. Others are in this line of work because they have no other choice and the economy is pitter-pattering slowly, but surely. Then there are the ones who get pulled in and have a hard time leaving.

I guess I would say I’m somewhere in between them all. My brief stint in the fast-food industry ended in 10th grade when I thought I could work at Wendy’s, only to be frightened by the man (who had just gotten out of jail) turning burgers on the flattop and flipping out because I thought I had locked myself inside the walk-in refrigerator. I had a lot to learn. My work ethic was next to nothing, but luckily… that has changed.

The industry makes you harden up. Sometimes it makes your cuss more and forces you to bite your tongue more than ever. Some are better with customers and others are better at making the products to serve. I’m better at the latter, but learning to fight off my introverted tendencies to feel energized by small talk and the usual “hey-how-are-yas”.

I think the people in the industry do some of the noblest work there is. The cooks, servers, bartenders and baristas face the best and worst of the human condition. People have to eat and drink, so we give it to them. If they don’t like it, we hear about it. There’s a special place in my heart for these people and anyone who knows me well will tell you how intimidated I am about the waiter/waitress. After all, they are the ones to judge whether you are cool or not. I imagine their thumbs, edging up and down, determining whether you’re a decent human being like the final say of a gladiator’s death.

But we all know about the bad ones. The servers and staff who just stink at what they do. And bless their heart. It’s not always their fault [though sometimes it is]. When you get stuck in a rut, it’s hard to act happy. Some customers will eat you alive because their money is in your hands. You better not waste it on a bad experience. I’ve been around some who take this too seriously – patronizing every action of the server when I think it’s just fine. “She totally forgot the bread!” or “I can’t believe how awkward he is…”
Of course, everyone is different. I like the simple small talk and order. The waiter doesn’t need to know where I went to high school or when my sister’s birthday is! We have such odd expectations. Most other cultures wouldn’t give you nearly as much attention as we do here. I just want to be liked by the employees, because I know how it is. When you work in the trenches, you join a special group of people.

You are a part of the industry.

A couple of nights ago, I was serving drinks at a local event. A guy walked up and I gave him his deliciously cold IPA saying, “Here ya go sir…” in a fairly relaxed tone. He responded… “Ahh, don’t call me sir. I work in the service industry too. I’m a chef. Look at my hands. We’re all equals here…” He smiled and walked off. As a person who admires the work, I felt some small pride that I had just joined the ranks of the disgruntled, [at times] over-worked and underpaid folks who make a living feeding other people.

Tip your servers well. You can always tell the kind of folks who have worked for tips because they generally tip well. I can only assume that many believe the restaurant or café pays them well enough to make a living. This isn’t always true. In fact, it’s rarely true. We count on tips as major parts of our income, so we do appreciate it when you treat us well. And as the rule goes in our household, if we can’t afford to tip, we probably shouldn’t go out.

But, I’m only speaking upon myself because we all have our things and this just so happens to be important to me.

After all, in the bigger picture, we’re all equals. Let’s work on treating each other like human beings.

I mean after all, just look at our hands.

OMG PIE!

2011-05-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

What is it about pie that makes us so weak in the knees? There’s the heavenly aroma of butter, sugar and fruits – the golden lattice reminiscent of the plaid tablecloths they’re known to sit upon after Sunday lunch on the grounds or festivals or diners.
Word on the street is that cupcakes are out. (Get back, you! Get back, you cupcake boutique mobsters!)

Since I work in a pastry shop, I’d like to think that my word is good. So, I say unto you, my friends: watch out for the pie revolution! More importantly, don’t get left behind! (Like we were supposed to last week! Thanks a lot, Harold Camping!)

It’s important to know what’s in season when you cook. Strawberries in January are a crime against Mother Nature. She knows what’s best, when it’s best. We should leave it up to Momma Earth to fancy our palates. So, in typical May/June fashion, we’re gonna’ do it up Strawberry Rhubarb style.

To be honest, I’d never tried rhubarb till a few weeks ago. It blew my mind! The tangy mystery vegetable of winter/spring growing seasons – not to mention how cool it looks with its beautiful reds and green webbed tops.

I tried a recipe I found, mixed with a few pointers from our pastry chef and set out to make my first strawberry rhubarb pie. It did NOT suck. In fact, it’s so easy; I think y’all need to give it a shot while strawberries and rhubarb are in season together.
First off, you need a good pie dough. I’ve tried a few and have yet to have one as good as Thomas Keller’s recipe from Ad Hoc.

Most other recipes call for shortening, which is fine, but I much prefer the taste of butter throughout the crust. And while I’m on the topic of butter, you’ll need a lot of it. I make a good amount of biscuits at home, so butter is one of my pantry items I try to keep stocked at all times.

Here’s the recipe for pie dough:

2 ½ cups All Purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt
2 ½ sticks unsalted butter, chilled (if not frozen)
8-10 tbsp. of chilled water, add one at a time

Mix together your flour and salt. Incorporate your butter into your flour. You can either do this by food processor or cheese grater. Lately, I’ve been using our food processor because it’s so much easier. Just don’t overdo it – you want the bits of butter to be about the size of peas and maybe a bit smaller. Once all the butter, flour and salt have been mixed, you can start adding your cold water one tablespoon at a time. I’m still working on my hydration levels, but I’ve found 8-10 tablespoons generally do the job. You can always add flour and water to get the consistency you want. Once the dough has come together [not too sticky, not too dry], divide the dough making one half slightly bigger than the other.

Press down into 1-inch discs, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour so the butter has a chance to firm back up. When the dough has had time to rest, bring out your rolling pin. Start rolling out the bigger half of dough into a good 13-inch circle, respectively. It doesn’t have to be perfect because you will most likely be trimming off the funky edges. Roll your dough over your rolling pin and lay it ever so wonderfully over you pie dish, making sure to press the dough to the sides and bottom of the pie pan.

Do the same for the top crust. You can go either way here and make a sweet lattice or just a straight up flat crust. If you do make a flat crust, be sure to poke a few holes in the top because this pie will spatter a bit.

As for the filling, I’ve found this recipe to be delightfully toothsome:

3 ½ cups of (washed/trimmed) rhubarb, diced
3 ½ cups strawberries, quartered – depending on size
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup corn starch
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice

1 egg + tbsp of water for egg wash

Mix thoroughly and dump into your bottom pie crust. Apply your top crust, paint with egg wash and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 for an additional hour and 20 minutes. Make sure you have a jelly roll or baking pan below the pie because it will cook over a bit and you don’t want that sticky mess on the bottom of your oven smoking up your kitchen.

Once your pie is done, and if you can, let it rest for a while. It’ll give your filling a moment to solidify a bit, giving you better slices. Top with some fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if you want to go over the top – I mean, why not!

Thanks for reading and I really hope you try making pies – I find them restful and enjoyable to make.

And as always, share with your friends – see y’all next week!

Happy cooking and bon appétit!

lentils, beans and peas [and why they're so, so good]

2011-05-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Recently, I wrote on the importance of stock – how to make it and why it’s such a valuable product to have around. I blabbered too much for your attention span most likely, so in this post I’d love to throw out some ideas as to what to do with it.
A good portion of our income in seasonal, so in the winter and early spring months, we’re left tightening our budget and letting go of that hard earned green stuff to pay off our electric bill that heightens over the colder months. So, like any human being looking for a full belly on a small dime will tell you, they tend to revert to eating beans and rice. There’s nothing bad about this. I used to hate beans and rice, but now, we eat them happily (which is a good thing.)

Whether it’s beans, lentils or split peas, we love cooking them with stock. This is why it’s good to pick some up at the store, or save your spare veggie and bone scraps. The ratio I’ve found useful for beans (without cooking them to a mushy pulp) is about 3:1. This is three cups water/stock to one-cup beans/lentils/split peas.

Depending on what your taste is, veggie or chicken stock will be your main cooking liquid. I like to save my beef stock for stews and anything I’m braising with red wine. By the way, lentils are amazing if cooked with red wine and beef stock. It takes a humble staple and jacks them up to a new level of greatness. The way I see it, if you can make beans taste good, then you have nothing to worry about.
This is my recipe for a simple bowl of lentils. It’s filling and really hits the spot.

(Serves two Harrod Casper-sized appetites!)

You’ll need:
1 cup lentils
3 cups chicken, veggie or beef stock
1-2 tsp. kosher salt (or ½ - ¾ tsp. table salt)
Black pepper
1 small yellow onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
½ tsp. yellow curry
¼ tsp. ground cumin
1 bay leaf
A few dashes of hot sauce
A tiny pinch of cayenne pepper (if you want some heat)

What you’ll do:
Heat up a tablespoon or so of oil (or bacon fat, if you have it!) Throw in your onions and garlic and sauté till the onions begin to turn translucent. While the onions and garlic are cooking, add your spices: salt, pepper, curry and cumin. Let them cook into the onions.

You want it to look somewhat pasty. These are your base flavors and will make your house smell utterly ridiculous. (In a good way, of course!)

After your onions are done, add your stock, bay leaf and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer. Add your lentils and cook till tender – about 30-40 minutes. I like a little chew with my lentils, but feel free to cook them however short or long you like them. And let’s be honest, they’re lentils. You can pretty much add whatever you want to them.
Also, you’re salt tolerance may affect the outcome, so start small and add more as you like. Remember, as you reduce stock, its flavors become more concentrated.

If making red beans, I’d generally leave out the curry and cumin, while adding some cayenne and hot sauce. Add to your taste, of course. Always remember to soak your beans overnight, if you can. There is a noticeable difference in the mouth-feel, but you’re not completely up the creek if you forget.

When making split pea soup, I use all of these same ingredients, but really try to use bacon if possible. At our local market, they sell bacon ends and pieces. These are really useful if you don’t want to use a ham hock. I like to render out the bacon fat to sauté my onions with. Then, when the soup is almost done, I throw in my bacon pieces and serve it with a little bit of crème fraiche on top.

I was actually just reading that cultured cream on top of beans, lentils and split peas help you to process their nutrients more efficiently. How rad is that? Plus, it gives your soup an extra creamy layer. What’s not to like!?

So, if you ever have any questions, feel free to comment! I’m a nerd about this stuff, so I’d love to be useful about it.

Happy cookin’ and bon appétit!

the poboy [a way of life]

2011-05-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

“The Poboy is NOT a sandwich – it’s a way of life!” says Steve Zahn’s character in the HBO series, “Treme”. A series that I’ve grown to love and appreciate not only as a testament to New Orleans, but to the people who pressed on and continue to reclaim their city to this day. They are fighters for their way of life – music, people and food. Oh good God, the food. I may or may not have written about Poboys before and if I have, I must not have done them justice.

And like the statement above, a Poboy isn’t just a sandwich compared to the likes of a hoagie or sub – but a beacon of hope to the traditions of New Orleans and my Beloved Deep South. Everybody has their favorite and everybody has a place that does it just right. Once you get out of the Deep South and Louisiana, it becomes harder and harder to find a good Poboy. For one thing, it’s the bread!

It’s not French bread nor is it anywhere close to what they serve at sub joints. Poboy bread is painfully unique. I say painfully because what makes a good juicy Poboy is this elastic, airy, buttery goodness. It’s nearly impossible to find a recipe on the internet because it is such a widely kept secret for so many family run businesses. Don’t let this discourage you from building your own Poboy though – just sayin’, when you’ve eaten a Poboy out of New Orleans, there’s no turning back.

Historically, a Poboy was a way to stretch out your meager groceries. After all, bread is carbs and filler and we can’t deny that most things between it taste pretty damn good. One would simply pile leftovers in between two pieces of bread and feel the angels ascend from Heaven. Okay, it’s not that dramatic.

One of my favorite Poboy joints is located in Picayune, MS. -- my hometown, where Jesus is Lord, according to the big blue sign off the North exit. Most of the women in my family go for their roast beef Poboy. It’s the kind that drips down your elbows as you watch your bottom slice of bread surrender to the salty brown gravy. Here, I prefer the fried shrimp – or fried anything, really. Soft shelled crab, catfish and my mom’s favorite, French fries! That’s right – the French fry Poboy (smothered in gravy)!

We are lucky to live close to a New Orleans style restaurant up here in North Portland called, “Eat: Oyster Bar”. They serve some dang good Poboys. In fact, I have a hard time ordering anything else here besides their debris Poboy. It’s basically a roast beef poboy with the usual fixins of lettuce/cabbage/slaw, tomato slices and either mayonnaise or some form of Creole concoction that brings it ‘over the top’ good.

Those who know… know. Those who have yet to fill their bellies with this beautiful creation of a sandwich, I hope can meet their rightful duties as citizens of this world. And like I said before, it has always been more than a sandwich. It’s about cold Abita and Zapps chips on the side or the sounds of those familiar streets, with those familiar smells. Like the smell of cut grass or the beach; it has the ability to take us back and fill us up.

And when we’re filled up, we’ll talk about what else we’re going to eat. Food and culture go hand and hand, and I’m thankful to have been born into southern food ways. There’s nothin’ like the hospitality that food brings. So if you’re there, do me a favor and remember these words when the gravy drips down to your elbows – the Poboy is NOT a sandwich – it’s a way of life.

Hold Fast, Cooks!

2011-04-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

It can be overwhelming [as a home cook] to discover that after one makes dinner, the kitchen is left in a state of glorious unrest. It’s healthy to understand that cooking your own meals involves dirty dishes, stovetops and caked flour between the cracks of your countertop. (Well, we have tiles for our countertop -- obviously not the best for cleanup. Thank you, brilliant kitchen designer of the 1960’s.)

But I must say unto you, Hold Fast! Do not let it discourage you. Most importantly, you are not alone. It is always a battle when you’re at that point of the day, and like many of us, have been on your feet all day working and taking care of kiddies and babies, to decide upon take out, going out or buying frozen. And let me be the first to say that there isn’t anything wrong with that. Some days, we want take out, so we get it. I’m not trying to come off as though I cook every single day and feel energized at the end. I do, though, find home cooking to be an exciting part of the day…when I do have the energy.

There are a few ways I’ve found to overcome those daily battles of cooking in and ordering out. First, there’s the hassle of having ingredients to cook with. Think about what you have in your pantry and refrigerator to determine if you can even make anything without going to the store. I generally only have to cook for two people, so it’s somewhat easy to throw together a few bits and respectively, chow down.

As a Southerner, I’m almost trained to start thinking about food before it’s time to eat. In general, we are known to talk about lunch after breakfast and dinner after lunch. This is nothing new, but it does help you get motivated to cook. If you have what you want to eat in mind, and you have the means to acquire those ingredients, I’ve found it much easier to ‘want’ to cook.

So let’s say you’ve decided upon cooking – sweet! You will now know everything that goes into your food [generally speaking]. You can feel it with your hands and find comfort in a full belly because of you or the person who cooked it worked really hard at making it taste good!

Clean as you cook. This has been one of the biggest things I’ve learned. If you can clean your utensils, pots and containers as your food is cooking, you have already beaten that dirty monster that comes out to frighten you at night. There’s nothing like eating dinner and knowing that overwhelming kitchen won’t be there to haunt you in the morning.

Think about one-pan/pot dinners. Casseroles are great for this reason. Also, roasting a chicken on top of root veggies or brussel sprouts is generally easy to do. It also allows the fat from the chicken to cook the veggies, which certainly does not suck.

Take pride in your work. Because in the end, it is work that you’re not getting paid to do. In fact, you’re paying to do it. And this is so important – to find value in this way of life. Most cultures don’t have the option of not cooking. After you cook, you clean and you start cooking again. It is time we get over our fear of dirty dishes and frozen pizza and discover the joy that is cooking for ourselves and the people we love.

stock [nerdy and delicious]

2011-03-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Bones. Veggies. Aromatics.

The building blocks of a good stock.

I know stocks may seem like a boring subject, but they’re one of the most important ingredients in many dishes. Stock is the base of many sauces, soups and stews. Plus, they’re just fun to make! (For me, at least.)

So, for the sake of going back to the basics, let’s talk about what makes a good stock. In making it yourself, you’re allowed to introduce many of the flavors you like – such as thyme, rosemary, tomato, garlic, etc.

Ratio is important. You really need a lot of bones. Whenever you roast your chicken, or buy one already roasted from the store, save the bones! You’ll need all the bones you can get. Just put em’ in the freezer. When it comes to vegetables, you’ll need carrots, celery and onions. The ratio for veggies is about 25% carrots, 25% celery and 50% onions. One time, I used a pizza pan to roast my veggies, and made a sweet looking pie chart that put that ratio into perspective.

But, I’m also a total nerd.

Roasting your vegetables will surely give you a darker, more robust stock, but you don’t have to.
A good stockpot is generally something that’s heavy bottomed and taller than it is wide. I don’t have a bunch of space in my kitchen, but I generally have one pot that I use just for stock. As enjoyable as it can be to make stock, it’s a lot of work for relatively little product, so you want to make it count when possible.

This is how I like to throw down.

Veggie stock:
Throw you veggies on a pan, coat with a bit of olive oil and roast on 350° for 30-40 minutes. Once they’ve gathered some color, throw them into a big stockpot, fill with cold water and add the rest of your aromatics. Peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme and garlic. [Follow below instructions.]

Chicken stock:
Chicken bones (back, neck, breast), carrots, celery, onions, a couple of bay leaves, teaspoon or so of peppercorns, thyme, and a few cloves of crushed garlic.

Beef stock:
I can generally find good knuckle and joint bones from the grocery store. They’re pretty cheap, so get as many as you can. If you want, smear a little tomato paste on the bones and roast them in the oven (along with your veggies) at 350° for 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally. Be careful to not burn them; just brown them up a bit. The smell will drive you crazy – well, at least I like it. Then, I add the bones and the same barrage of veggies and aromatics to a big pot.

Fill the pot to the very tip top with cold water and bring to a nice, slow simmer. Generally, I’ll bring the pot up to a boil and turn it down immediately. You never want to boil your stock. It won’t affect the taste too much, but it will disperse the fat too rapidly giving your final product a somewhat greasy mouth feel and will cloud up your stock (which is not really important unless you want a very clean, clear soup).

You really just want to see a few bubbles popping up. Slow and simmering. If you see oil, foam or scum, feel free to skim it off the top. This will help you out in the long run.

After about 4-5 hours, you can go ahead and strain your stock. It’s best to use a fine mesh strainer and cheesecloth, if you have it. The more you strain, the better. After you strain your stock for the first time, you can cool it off and store it for future use. You can keep reducing it, as well. The more you simmer, reduce and strain, the stronger and more flavorful your stock will be.
For beef stock, you can make what is called “demi-glace” which is a highly reduced beef stock (generally veal stock). To get demi glace, you need some red wine at about a fourth the volume of your stock. Throw in a few peeled shallots to the red wine and reduce on high heat till the volume of wine has been cut in half. Once the shallots and red wine have been reduced, go ahead and add you beef stock and continue to reduce.

Your final product will be a dark, intensely flavored brown sauce. You should know it’s thick enough when it coats a spoon.
This stuff is gold (and usually really expensive to find for such little volume). If you want, pour off some demi glace into an ice cube tray and keep for you soups, sauces or stews. It’s sorta like adding bullion cubes, but a million times better. That rich beef and wine reduction adds so much to the final dish.

As you can see, it’s a lot of work for a little product, but I love it.
It makes your house smell so, so good. I’ve heard of people having stock parties, but I’m not nearly cool enough to make that seem fun. (Or maybe I am!)

I love using stock to make rice, lentils and beans. Any time the water you cook with is absorbed into the product, it’s almost always better to cook with stock. It’ll automatically up your final dish.
Mmm. Delicious.

Well, if you’ve made it this far, enjoy making your stock and as always, share your meal with others – after all, you put in a lot of hard work!

cream.

2011-02-28T11:49:00.000-08:00

Cream.

What a gorgeous, calorie filled word.

It should go without saying that cream is to be eaten sparingly. And unfortunately, I reckon’ even ice cream…but for the sake of what I’m about to talk about, use it as much as you want!
Not only is cream a wonderful thing, it has so many uses.

Sour cream on your burrito?
Whipped cream on a piece of pie?
Buttermilk!?
Butter!!??
Yes, yes, yes.
My goodness…what have we gotten ourselves into?

Let’s start off with crème fraiche.
“Crème fraiche” is a fancy schmancy French term meaning, “Fresh cream”. It’s similar to sour cream, sans the tangy bite. Not only is crème fraiche an impressive ingredient included in a dish, but it’s so easy to make and so versatile.

What you’ll need:
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons buttermilk (cultured)

What you’ll do:
Stir them together in a mason jar (or any container with an air tight lid) and let sit at room temperature (65-70 degrees) for 24 hours, stirring every six to eight hours. Since my kitchen is generally colder than the rest of my house, I have to bring the cream/buttermilk mixture up to a tepid temperature either in the microwave or the stovetop. If you want to be 100% sure your cream is warm enough, feel free to do this step. The cultures in the buttermilk keep the cream from going bad, so don’t be afraid, dear ones.

After 24 hours, it should thicken to the likes of sour cream. At this point, you want it to go in the refrigerator for a good chill and voila! You’re ready to use your gorgeous crème fraiche! You can use it to make good, thick buttermilk dressing, dipping sauce or topping for fresh fruit.

With crème fraiche, you can take it so many ways. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup of crème fraiche and use it as a dipping sauce for veggies (or fried cauliflower – my new obsession.) You can also add a tablespoon of honey and a few pinches of sugar to make a super tasty topping to fresh fruit salad. Add a bit of salt and use it as you would sour cream.

Next, let’s talk about how easy it is to make your own fresh butter.

Well, not if we’re talking about “grandma on the front porch with her butter churn”, but if you have a stand mixer/electric mixer and 10 minutes, you’re good to go.

You’ll need a good bit of heavy cream – about six to eight cups. This will give you about a pound of butter.
Using the whisk on your mixer, start mixing at a high speed (as you would when you make your own whipped….cream!) and just keep it steady goin’. Make sure you have some sort of splatter screen up, because it does get kind of messy.

Soon, you’ll start to see it thicken and as soon as you see soft peaks, you have yourself fresh whipped cream. As you continue to mix, it’ll start to separate and you’ll be past the point of decent whipped cream, but on your way to fresh butter.
[As a side note, it isn’t cheaper to make your own butter. I’d say it’s mostly for aesthetic. If you can find great quality cream, you’ll have great quality butter. Plus, it just feels epic to make your own butter.]

After the cream starts to separate, keep the mixer going for a few more minutes. It’ll separate more and more as you mix and all of a sudden you’ll begin to see the yellow solids (aka, the glorious fat!). Under those tiny yellow bits of goodness, you’ll see your buttermilk! So that’s where buttermilk comes from! Maybe you knew that already.

Grab a deep bowl and fine mess strainer. Drain the butter and buttermilk through the strainer and press firmly on the butter solids to get as much liquid out as possible. At this point, it’s all pretty self-explanatory. You have butter and buttermilk. You can add a few teaspoons of salt to the butter if you would like, or leave it unsalted – which is preferred in most recipes. You can also add a tablespoon or so of honey and you’ll have an awesome spread for your buttermilk biscuits or whatever it is in the world you want to putter butter on or in.

Wowza, this was a long one.

But, it just goes to show how fun it is to make your own stuff. It’s good to know where things come from and what resources it takes to do so.

Thank you cows -- for providing us with so many good things.

cookbooks and hot flashes

2011-02-11T16:01:00.000-08:00

I’m a sucker for a good cookbook.

I wrote one time that cookbooks gave me hot flashes. It’s funny, I think, and maybe a little bit true.
Okay, I don’t really get hot flashes, but I do get giddy over new cookbooks. Especially these days, because it seems folks are really coming into their own narrative. Chefs are generally awkward and compulsive jerks [even the ones smiling on TV], but sometimes, you get a glimpse into their story and it makes sense.

I can’t speak well enough of “Ad Hoc”, by Thomas Keller. From what I’ve heard, his other cookbooks are a bit intensive if you’ve never cooked professionally or even understand the ingredients. I struggle with that a lot. Technique and knowledge of ingredients is just something you have to work on constantly. Ad Hoc differs because it’s mostly home-style food…but done really, really well. And it looks so pretty! His opening bit talks about the last meal he cooked for his father, saying, “Always remember to take care of your parents…”
From cooking some serious chicken pot pie and using duck confit as an ingredient, to putting together your basic stocks and vinaigrettes, I can’t seem to put it down.

“Charcuterie” by Brian Polcyn and Michael Ruhlman is a necessary book for folks interested in curing their own meats. I’ve researched books on drying and curing meats and have always been directed back to Charcuterie. It’s where I draw my recipe for bacon – but if you want to get fancy schmancy, they give great recipes and techniques for patés, terrines, sausages and other dishes requiring forcemeat. (Forcemeat generally applies to any meat or meat by-product that is ground and “forced” into another shape. Kind of like hamburgers and hotdogs…kind of… :)

Try buying cookbooks that include recipes you’ll actually want to eat. Not everyone wants to cook classical French or cure their own pancetta. If a recipe requires an ingredient you have to order by mail, you’re probably not going to cook with it too often.
Peter Reinhart’s “Artisan Breads Everyday” is a book I’ve been going to weekly for my gluten fix. I think baking bread can be an intimidating task, but Peter Reinhart seems to be known for making it a lot less daunting. The book does a great job at explaining what dough should look and feel like without making you feel completely clueless.

I think that’s where I’ve always been stuck when it came to recipes. Lots of cookbook/recipe writers don’t explain very well what you should be seeing or smelling. Such as, “Your dough will probably look like a course, shaggy ball. This is good! If it gets too dry, add a little water. Add more flour if it’s too sticky.”

Look for good explanations and realistic recipes.
Smudge it up and don't worry about spilling crap on the pages. It's gonna happen and I think they (and you) look better for it!

Get to cooking, my foodie friends!

in defense of sandra lee (I know, I know)

2011-01-27T11:11:00.000-08:00

Now, most folks probably don’t know who Sandra Lee is or the battle that rages within my conscious about why she deserves her own show on Food Network.

First off, her show is called, “Semi-Homemade Cooking”. She gets 70% of her ingredients from the store and 30% from home. (Which I’m assuming are things like..sugar…flour…and maybe aluminum foil?)

As a proponent of making things from scratch, I am automatically conflicted. I’ve used canned biscuits my entire life, but now that I know how to make them from scratch, it just doesn’t compare. For one, we don’t know what goes in canned biscuits. We know they taste good but what exactly are those words that use letters like z, x and q?
Who actually cares these things are in canned biscuits?

I do.

But I also understand that cooking from scratch takes time. Let’s be honest, we don’t always want to come home every day and put together a pot of chicken stock. Most of the time, I buy it from the store and sleep peacefully at night. In fact, a lot of times it’s good to support the people who just do it better than you. Of course, check the back of the box for what’s in it. If it’s a good source, you can go home knowing you’ve helped someone pay their bills.

So, in defense of Sandra Lee, we have to be realistic of what we can and cannot do. I do not think we should buy boxed ingredients full of MSG, preservatives, trans fats and loads of salt. I believe she’s popular because she’s somewhat realistic of the time most Americans have when they’re the main cook for their family.

I would hope that you don’t trade in your organic [or not organic] veggies for canned or pre-processed foods, but I do encourage that we learn to cook with good ingredients. Personally, I don’t mind taking the time to make these things work. I love doing it and have the spare time. If I had a few kids and a steady 9-5 job, I’m sure it would be different. Even so, I would hope that I would watch the things that go in our bellies.

So no, Sandra Lee, I don’t believe you are an evil spawn from the land of preservatives (generally speaking), but I do hope you realize that a lot of manufactured foods aren’t good for us. I would hope you don’t encourage people trade in their ‘made from scratch’ ingenuity for semi-homemade cuisine.

And please, don’t ever make Kwanzaa cake again. Ever…ever…ever!

(For the unfortunate invention of Kwanzaa cake, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we2iWTJqo98 )

braised is beautiful.

2010-12-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

My last meal was somewhere between my mom’s pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy or buffalo wings with chili cheese fries.

I will, till this day, lean towards the pot roast. I don’t know what it is!

Well…I guess anytime you cook a big chunk of meat over a long period time it almost always results in a good thing. I’m such a huge fan of braised dishes (pork shoulder, shanks, roasts, etc…)

Now those unfamiliar with braising should know it’s a super easy concept and process. I guess a more technical definition would mean to “sear the meat on all sides and slowly cook in liquid for an extended amount of time till it’s ‘fall off the bone’ tender.” So, after you recover from that terrible definition, let me try to explain my favorite pot roast recipe and what I do most of the time I braise a nice piece of protein. (In this case, beef and/or beef shank with some nice marbled fat.)

Fat = flavor

I reckon’ I’ve taken a more “beef bourguignon” technique when making it – though I don’t use nearly the amount of ingredients the traditional and “classic” French versions require. What I’ve taken away from beef bourguignon is the red wine. Yes. Yes. Yes. The red wine makes all the difference. You ever see folks drinking red wine with their big ole’ honky-tonk steaks? It’s because it tastes really, really good together.

But, as I’ve yet to have red wine capture my palette, I generally just cook with the stuff and let other folks who may or may not live in my house finish it off. :) Some grocery stores sell it in tiny bottles for cooking purposes.
Wine gives beef this incredibly rich taste, not to mention it leaves your final product looking reduced to a gorgeous dark brown glaze.

So alas, here is how I like to make it and hope you get to try it sometime!

Ingredients:
3-4lbs chuck roast (will probably just say, “Great for pot roast!” or something…)
2 cups yellow onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and chopped in 1” pieces
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1-2 quarts of beef stock (depending on how much meat you have)
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup red wine
salt
pepper

Directions:
In a heavy bottomed pot (such as a Dutch oven, which is how I usually cook mine), drop about 1-2 tablespoons of canola oil and heat till it just starts to smoke. While the oil is heating, make sure your roast is cut into 2” hunks and is seasoned with salt and pepper (somewhat generously).

When the oil is hot, sear the meat on all sides (about 1-2 minutes a side), but just until it gets to be a nice dark brown – not black!! Make sure not to overcrowd your pot while searing, or the meat will not brown as it should.
When all the meat has been browned, drain the fat and oil into a bowl, and place about 1-2 tbsp back in the pot. This is when you add your onions. Toss them in and scrape up that good “fond” that should be lodged to the bottom of your pot. This is where a lot of your flavor is. It’s also where I add a little pinch of salt to help the onions break down a bit.

Once the onions start turning soft, I add the red wine and scrape up any remaining bits from the pan (also somewhat known as deglazing). Let the wine reduce a bit with the onions to cook out the alcohol. When it has reduced for a few minutes, add your carrots and garlic and give it a good stir.

Now it’s cool to add your meat back into the pot, along with the beef stock (enough to almost cover the meat), bay leaves, Worcestershire and a few pinches of salt and a couple of teaspoons of pepper.
I’ll bring it all to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on medium-low heat for a good 2 ½ - 3 hours – or until the meat can easily be pulled apart with a fork.

It should serve about four people -- or two, really, really hungry people.

I love eating pot roast with boiled or roasted potatoes and greens – but I wouldn’t cook your potatoes with your pot roast…I tried it once and it came out really soggy, but to each their own!
You can add mushrooms to this dish as well (when you add your carrots and garlic) and it would turn out even better – that is, if you like mushrooms.

Pieces of meat like the shank will probably take a little longer because they are a bit tougher, but if you braise anything long enough, it’s sure to come out tasting fan-freakin’-tastic.

Here’s to honoring our ingredients,
Take care, my friends.

respecting the food you eat

2010-11-16T13:11:00.000-08:00

I’ve devoted much of this past year to cooking better. I suppose everybody needs a hobby, so I figured I’d adopt a more useful one. {Not in any way to dismiss your dog sweater-knitting group…}

Now, before you picture a scene from Julie & Julia or something, I need to emphasize that it started in an ideal foodie city that supports and praises its hospitality industry. I came to the realization that I needed to learn how to cook better. I’ve always loved cooking, but found myself cooking the same thing over and over again in different forms. The world just seemed to offer so much good stuff and I found myself limited in skill and technique.

I took a knife skills class. I learned how to properly cut an onion and why certain knives are important to have around.
What it came down to was honoring the food we bought and cooked. It really shifts the way you think about food and what you buy with your hard earned dollars. I was tired of messing up simple things. I grew frustrated with wasting great pieces of meat/veggies with too much salt or mixed them with any bad assortment of things.

With this, I’ve been sticking my nose in books that dive into the world of the professional chef and investing in some really incredible [albeit, intimidating] cookbooks. I can’t often afford great ingredients, but it makes it so much more worth it when you can and actually do it well. I feel like honoring our food is important.

For instance, we roasted a chicken a few weeks ago…and found ourselves saying, “Thanks chicken…for feeding us and tasting so good!” It was funny as we caught ourselves talking to a piece of meat, but for what it was worth, it felt good. It felt good to know we didn’t waste it…that we used it again to make stock that fed us a week later.

If anything, cooking gives me much peace. The kitchen is a great comfort to me because it has allowed me to constantly learn new things and feed others in the process. So, there was nothing more to do than just dive in. Stretching our limits as far as culinary skills go, felt important. It’s something that I’m affirmed in, perhaps coming from a deep Southern heritage of good and simple cooks who love to sit around the table to share a meal.

I saw the joy in feeding others and in return, found that it fed my soul.

And in the end...that's all that matters.

That...and a belly full of good food.

what you eat (and my conviction)

2010-10-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

I decided to take a different route today, but perhaps a more pressing one, at that.

Coming from a Southern brotha, talking about healthy food is not something I care to dive into…but as of lately, it is something I can’t get away from.
It’s not so much about healthy food, as to what kind of food we’re putting into our bodies. And before you say it’s the pot calling the kettle black, I am saying that my eating habits are not very good. But, they’re better than they used to be.

So, I write this as some form of encouragement and not conviction…to help better ourselves as people as we grow together with our family and friends.

Eating well is something I’ve been learning to do. And by “eating well”, I hope you don’t assume that I mean “eating A LOT” or even eating expensive, dainty ingredients. Eating well means eating things that are good for you and even the things that aren’t good, in careful moderation.

I’m not one to skimp on butter or bacon or the occasional deep fried delight, but I do choose carefully when I want/need to cook and eat these things. I am not a nutritionist, but I am seeing the cause of much obesity and as a Southerner, many people I see just can’t say no, nor do they even try something different. Hell, you don’t have to be from the fattest state in the nation to see that all the U.S. has major food culture issues.

Stay away from McDonalds…Wendys…and BUM!BUM!BUM! SONIC! (Except the occasional strawberry limeade… :P) It’s hard when you’re on the road, and what the hell…eat it if there’s nothing better…but try to resist the urge for a quick fix. You know you’ll regret it. I’ve never met anyone who felt good after eating McDonalds…that stuff is so chemically modified -- it’s almost hard to consider it food. That goes for much of fast food culture, or in the words of Mr. Bourdain, "T.G.I. McFunsters".

(Considering I don’t have kids, I will stay away from my opinion, because I know each family differs…but I do hope as families grow, they feed each other well. Kids learn to eat what the adults eat and if they don’t, then they can do what we did…either eat or don’t eat. I know I had to be a stubborn kid and ask [“whine”] for chicken nuggets and pizza all the time…and I’m sorry for that, mom. :)

I’m even talking about packaged meals. Dried noodles in bags with that powdery cheese/herb crap. There’s no way that’s good for you. I’m sure it’s loaded with salt as well…just check your ingredients and see if you want that stuff in your body. (No MSG!!)

I will go ahead and say I will NEVER be too good for any kind of food. I don’t ever want to be picky or judge someone by how they cook...and especially if they’re doing something for me. Never. Never. Never. Like I said before…just encouraging our friends and family to cook from scratch if they can…and buy good ingredients.

I know it takes more time…but it’s so…so…worth it. Regardless of what you’re cooking at home, you know what’s going in it…therefore it’s automatically better for you.
I’m learning more and more that we need to be careful with what we put in our bodies. The things the world tells us to eat is often marketing and economics...fight against it.

Meat consumption. I love...love..love meat. But it is important to love it in MODERATION. You don't have to have meat everyday. It's expensive and probably pretty sketchy unless you get it farm direct. Too much of it can't be a good thing. If you want, take it old school and use meat as a flavoring for a dish, instead of the main course. It's how the majority world does it...and I think we're going to start seeing the price of food sky rocket. We might as wall start learning how to cook with the bottom of the barrel...

Eat greens! Beans are super good for you as well...whole grains...use olive oil instead of butter to help cook what you got goin' on in that pan.

But again, I'm new at all this, so I'd love some feedback as to what kind of foods you eat that are or at least, seem healthy and taste super rad. Feel us in!

It is important that we eat well...for our kids...for our friends and families future.

And most of all, it is important to be a better world.

Bacon,
Josh

The Ole' Larder!

2010-09-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

I like to pretend that I know what I’m doing in the kitchen. Granted, I’ve spent the majority of the past year or so learning to cook better…write better…live better…so I’ve picked up a lot of helpful things.

I watch this video blog sometimes called, “Working Class Foodies”. There was an episode that was devoted to what this person kept in their pantry (though I’m thinking “larder” sounds so much cooler than pantry these days).

It was helpful to see what kinds of things people kept on hand – especially if you find yourself cooking more so than eating out or buying pre-cooked food. I thought it’d be cool to share some things I’ve found useful in my recent excursion of learning to cook well.

First, I’ll start off with kitchenware – knives, pots, pans, etc.
I love my Dutch oven. It’s not the best brand, but it works just fine. It’s great for stovetop braising like making pot roast and pulled pork. It also works just as good in your oven. It’s an incredibly versatile piece of kitchenware that every cook needs. There are beautiful ones out there on the market, just make sure it’s big enough to cook whatever it is you like to cook.
A roasting pan is really helpful as well, but not super necessary.

I also love my stock pot. It's pretty self-explanatory, but stocks are the base for any good soup, stew or braising liquid. Stocks are fun to make as long as you have a few hours to roast bones and skim the top for oil and fat. And like the pros will tell you, DO NOT BOIL YOUR STOCK. Keep it at a light simmer. Reduce. Skim. Strain. Reduce. Skim. Strain. The more you reduce, the better it'll be.

Knives! I like Global knives. They look super rad and are all forged with one piece of stainless steel. The bolster and the tang are right on the money as far as how I hold my knife. I think it's important to have good knives...it'll help you cut better and look much sexier doing it... :P
I have a 5in. cook's knife, 6in. flexible boning knife, paring knife, and a 6in. Santoku.
I also have an F. Dick offset serrated knife. It's great for cutting bread and slicing tomatoes.
All these knives serve different purposes, but really all you need is one good knife and I'd recommend a 6-8in chef's knife. They're all-purpose and look damn good in your kitchen.

I’m still in the process of switching to all nonstick pans to more “all-clad/stainless steel” type kitchenware. Nonstick pans are pretty sketchy to begin with and you should throw them away immediately if they start to chip off that black stuff (which unfortunately is NOT pepper.) It’s good to go with stainless steel if you can. Always keep around at least one or two smaller nonstick pans to cook eggs with or else it can become quite a pain in the ass to clean.

Mixing bowls. I used to think I had too many, now I don't think I have enough. They really come in handy when I have to store dough in the 'fridge, or epic amounts of leftovers. Never underestimate the power of the mixing bowl.

If you ever want to bake your own bread, it’s pretty crucial to have a baking/pizza stone. As the name suggests, it works great for pizza dough and breads all alike. It generates good, even heat that helps give your bread crispy crusts and even cooking.

Tongs are great. They’re perfect for grilling and come to the rescue when you’re figuring out how to turn that hot piece of food. I’ve seen some chefs recommend not using them as much because they can squeeze a lot of the juices out of your food. But I’m sure if you go at it with ease, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

Now on to the pantry/stock items! (I know you're so excited!!)

This is my list of "favorite" things I try to keep on hand at all times:
garlic. (Two heads)
onions. (At least two. One yellow and one red.)
shallots (A few should last you a bit, depending on how often you cook with them.)
sea salt.
kosher salt.
black peppercorns
white peppercorns (two different tastes -- white peppercorns go great in just about everything -- black pepper I use more for finishing a dish)
Tony Chachere's (Of course!)
apple cider vinegar
white vinegar
bay leaves
louisiana hot sauce
worcestershire sauce
unsalted butter
olive oil (and lots of it!)
vegetable oil
milk
eggs
red potatoes
chicken stock
beef stock
white sugar
brown sugar
bread flour
all-purpose flour
yeast
pastry flour
baking powder
baking soda

I know it's a lot of stuff, but once you have it all, you really don't have to buy it all that much. I really can't shop unless I know I have all these things in my cabinet. You really only need a few ingredients to cook once you have all these things.

Good luck, my friends and happy cookin'!!
I'd love to hear what you can't cook without - feel free to post it in a comment or on that handy-dandy Facebook page.

Cheers!
Josh

The Two Fat Ladies [Finally a new post!]

2010-08-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

There was this brilliant show in the late 90s called, “The Two Fat Ladies”.

I remember my dad watching it on occasion, giggling and moaning, while the “oohs” and “ahhhs” fell out of his mouth like saliva from Pavlov’s tormented dogs.

Watching them nearly a decade later, and with a strong curiosity as a newly birthed gastronome, I totally dig it.
You can safely gather by the name of the show that yes, they are fat and they are indeed ladies. And by watching the show, you can see why they claim such a build.

They cook with the good stuff.

Now, I assume they cook old school.
Meat. Potatoes. Parsley. Garlic. Lard. (…aaand end scene!)

If you have never watched their show (which you can get on Netflix), they basically drive around England in a badass Triumph motorbike with a sidecar. They explore beautiful countryside and dig around in rustic gardens. Both with incredibly strong personalities, share small stories and switch back and forth with recipes, banter and fun little songs and prose. Surely they would have never been picked up for long by the Food Network.

They cook at monasteries, nunneries, campgrounds, restaurant kitchens and do so with a variety of stoves, pots and pans. They use heavy old Dutch ovens and always seem to cook in the most amazing kitchens that are garnished with fresh herbs, spices and lots and lots of fat.

And by fat, I mean bacon…lard…drippings…the usual barrage of cholesterol heart-clogging goodness. “Look at all that good fat…” they’d say.

The food is most definitely English, which means…there’s not much to it. It’s mainly potatoes…tomatoes…cabbage…and again, lots of bacon and fat. There are the things like fish gelatin molds, bean and egg salads and “strawberry breasts” that come off as quite unusual. I suppose I find them a bit more odd than the average Brit.

I assume England has very nice game. [Lots of little birds that are good for eating, but don’t have too much going on as far as taste goes.]
For example…Cornish game hens are rather dry and bland unless you jack them up with something good. In typical TFL style, they would stuff the bird with herbs [rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, etc.] and probably some other type of meat like ground pork or something else fat-tastic. THEN, they’d tightly wrap the game hen in bacon and bake it for a couple of hours. And so this goes for several recipes. Cover with bacon [fat] and cook.

“None of that streaky American bacon”, they’d say. “You must get that old country bacon…”

At the end of each episode…they’d take a sit down…one smokes a cigarette and both hold a glass of gin as they tap glasses to the setting sun and wish to one another “good health to you, daw'ling!”
“Here! Here!” and “Cheerio!”

As I read a few days ago, one of the ladies died in 2000 of cancer – most likely from smoking and a bad diet. I believe though, she enjoyed the life she had and most definitely ate very, very well.

So, here’s to you, two fat ladies for singing your own theme song, showing us how to properly cook with fat, and giving us one helluva’ show…

Cheers!

On Cooking Well

2010-08-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

My essay for Anthony Bourdain's new book, "Medium Raw".

Growing up between the southern lines of Louisiana and Mississippi, I was a product of red beans and rice on Monday and potluck casseroles on Sunday. It was here that I found communion with the food I will always be able to call my own. Collards, black eyed peas and fried chicken – the Holy Trinity.

My appreciation of good food was not always so. I didn’t know where ham came from nor did I really care. I just knew it tasted good between two pieces of Bunny bread. But please, just mayonnaise and maybe some of that yellow cheese we call “American”.

Cooking well in the South was not something attainable by average folk. It was something we watched Bobby Flay and Emeril do on our center-pieced television sets. To cook well took time, money and skill. It involved more than canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup and a box of french fried onions. Eating well was a privilege for those who could afford it.

Like many aspiring bohemians and curious 20-somethings do, I moved to Portland, Oregon. Here, along with marrying my wife, I got a job doing what most Portlanders end up doing; I started working in a café. I was trained to make coffee by (arguably) one of the best roasters in the US. I fell hard into the ebb and flow of the food and beverage industry.
I serve food and drink to wealthy patrons of one of the more high-end districts of Portland. I’ve put my hours in cleaning toilets, washing dishes and digging cigarette butts out of coffee residue. I have painfully smiled away disrespectful and demeaning customers when they find it necessary to ruin your day at all costs.

The people I work with behind the counter have become family. We talk shit and give each other a hard time for messing up an order. We grow enraged over messy eaters and bad tippers. And so it goes, the usual talk of disgruntled workers who rely on tips to pay for their earned rations of cigarettes and beer.

It was here in Portland that my palette changed. I began to respect food culture. Who knew Swiss chard tasted so good in an omelet? And not just any omelet, but one made with eggs from free roaming hens! Yes, they do taste better. I grew to learn, along with my belly, that eating well connects you to a location.

Eating well forced me to cook well, and I loved it. I took a knife skills class and learned how to properly cut an onion. Cookbooks give me hot flashes. Now, obsessed with local food culture and pork belly, I have developed a philosophy of my own. I want to cook well for my family. There is a great calm in being able to do that. I resonate with the words of Justo Thomas, "I got a good job. A good family. I live in peace."

Medium Raw Essay Contest

2010-07-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw Challenge

Hey y'all! So I wrote an essay to be entered into this here contest...I would love your support!
I will be putting up the essay as a blog post later on -- thanks so much for your help!!

Josh

farmer's market!

2010-07-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Oh yes.
Portland in the summertime, though the way we've been having overcast and "cooler-than-usual" weather, it wouldn't seem like it.
But, regardless of the temperature, the local farmer's markets are alive and well. Around our neck of the woods, they happen every Sunday. We make sure we're around so we can take advantage of the goodies brought to us from local farms and co-ops.

When the sun is out, you can smell it from a few blocks away - the basil and other herbs warming in the sun...the sound of people conversing on which stand to buy tomatoes from and as always, some folk guitarist singin' and strummin'.
It is what Portland thrives on in the summertime.
It's our time to indulge in the best tasting and most fresh produce of the year.
Direct trade from farmer to consumer.

It generally is not cheap, but it's not really supposed to be. In order for our farmer's to make a living, they deserve to charge what they charge. They work hard so we can cook and eat. It is our honor to pay them fair prices for their hard labor and worries.
From what I hear, the produce this year has suffered because of odd weather patterns in the PNW -- so our hearts go out to the farmers who suffered their usual plentiful yields and our hope is that we can take care of them somehow.

My wife and I went this past Sunday and picked up some beautiful and tasty goods. Here are a few pictures but please, don't get too jealous. :)

I always feel a great sadness as the markets come to a close and we are left to hunker down for the colder season. It is how the world works, though. It is worth it for me to not eat something all year until I know it's just right.
Once you've tasted the way a certain fruit or veggie tastes in its prime, it's really hard to ever want to it again until its season comes. I think that's the way it's supposed to be.

We generally try to buy some meat from farmer's markets, but this past weekend our funds were not as sufficient, so maybe next time. They offer lots and lots of free ranged animals - granted, they are pricey, but for the peace of mind, it is worth it and as always, tastes so much better.

I encourage you, if you have markets in your area, to HIT. THAT. UP.

Support your local economy, and they will support you. It's as simple as that.

Fresh food.
Happy belly.
Good times.

PORK!!

2010-07-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

I remember when the Food Network was in its early days and all people ever wanted to watch was Emeril Lagasse.
It was the Oreos in the freezer and his passion for Southern style cuisine that pulled me in.

I mean, the guy keeps sleeves of frozen Oreos. *Swoon* My herooo..
But Emeril had this saying,

"Pork fat rules."
[..and the crowd goes wild!]

And at the time, I brushed it off. "Yes," I thought, "..fat is bad...very bad."
Pork? Who eats pork? I mean, I like pork chops okay...
Oh, ham too? I forgot and was ignorant where those pink bits between my slices of Bunny bread came from.

Society told me that pork was kind of gross. Many cultures and religions forbid you to eat it...and understandably so.
It is a dirty animal - wallerin' around in the mud all day, eating God knows what.
[I have a buddy who wants to feed a pig strictly hazelnuts, to butcher of course. Though I'm pretty sure he's kidding. I think.]

I know, I know. Animal cruelty.
The thing is, I rarely buy pork these days unless I know where it came from.
I go to a local grocery store that purchases all their pork from a farm in Washington state, which is not too far from us here in Portland.

So, as I've grown into learning the culinary aspects and the various respects of food, pork is becoming my favorite meat.
This is nothing new to millions of others who love the pig because of its versatility.
I mean, you have pork chops, belly, loin, shoulder and all the other odd and tasty bits that I've yet to get my hands for the sake of grossing out my friends.

All I need to say is one word...
The one word that will slowly pull you into the wonderful world of all things pork.

Bacon.

Oh yes. Crispy. Salty. Cured and smoked. The perfect ratio of fat and meat.
And as we should know where most meat comes from on an animal - bacon comes from cured (and perhaps smoked) pork belly.

Also, if you take the belly of the pig and roll it up like a sleeping bag, [gross analogy, I know] you have pancetta. That delicious and often "too fatty for me" but buttery and delicate slice of cured belly. Great with cheese, bread and wine.
The same goes for dry-cured hind pig leg, as most of the world calls Prosciutto. (Which can run you really expensive...but is also where ham comes from..) Definitely not something a person eats everyday unless you're just absolutely obsessed or live in a place where it is daily life. Granted, those kinds of lifestyles can be better for you than eating fast food everyday.

I guess you can pick your poison.

I do realize that animal "for food" culture in America is severely messed up.
I don't however, buy pork from mega-markets where there is hardly a label stating where the meat is from. If it's not local, it's generally from a place that shoves pigs into small sheds and has them eat, sleep and die in their own shit. And this, is nothing ever to be proud of. Our meat culture is dangerous, and has been for some time. But I hope, we are changing. There's no doubt, one of these days, meat will be more expensive and we will be using less of it.

I ask of you, to buy more local, if you can. If you absolutely can't, try eating less of certain product - or eat something that is more seasonal. Happy animals, treated respectfully and given the space to grow, just taste better.
And I also ask of you, vegans and vegetarians, to forgive me. As I have abused animal food culture in the past, I don't generally eat it unless I know where it came from, as I said earlier. Let's work on this for everyone.

As the pig is versatile, it feeds many people of all lands and is rarely wasted.
My favorite ways to cook pork are generally low and slow. Pork shoulder or belly is my favorite when it comes to this method.
Who doesn't love pulled pork?
Or pork tacos?

And there's no doubt Southern culture has an extreme love for this animal.
My recent trip to the South contained a lot of pork. Stemmed much from its roots in African American culture and how that influenced Southern cuisine, we find it in most places and very often on our plates. You can get a lot of flavor for decently cheap parts..

So yes, Emeril, I get it now.
Pork fat does rule.
It brings much to a plate of food and a culture that relies on its versatility and taste.

Mmm.
I'm hungry.

You?

cooking.

2010-06-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

I was recently watching this documentary about a zen priest who happened to be a chef -- it wasn't actually a good documentary...at least to me. The guy was kind of full of himself and really impatient with the folks he was teaching.
He did though, share some interesting thought on the art of cooking.

It was at least something I felt the need to remember.
He said something along the lines of, "When you cook, you put yourself into the ingredients...in the end, it becomes a part of you.."

Set aside the cheesiness and you have something good to work with.
I think for the most part, people who love to cook feel somewhat therapeutic about it all.
There's the cutting, the mixture of spices, the attention to detail and the timing.

Somehow, this works in my head. There's that challenge of having three for four things cooking at the same time, and determining how to make them come out evenly.

However, because I like to cook doesn't mean I'm great at it.
I have my things, like everyone, that I'm good at cooking. Mostly because I cook them so often, I've gotten better and better. This goes the same with cooking in general. I believe the more you do it, the better you'll get. There's so much out there to learn from...cook books and those addictive food network shows. If they inspire you to cook, do it!

This past weekend, I had loads and loads of free time. I decided to try my hand in making bread. Baking, unlike most stovetop cooking, requires careful measuring. It involves yeast and warm water. Timing and mixing. Resting and kneading.

All are so very crucial to the final product. My first few attempts were epic failures. The bread did not rise and tasted like salty flour. Of course, I was trying to make my favorite kind, ciabatta, and there's a lot that goes into it.
The recipe I found that showed the best results [and had creepy Youtube commentary], called for the dough to sit for 18 hours. Good bread is definitely something you should think about a good day and a half before hand. It takes time, and that's what is important.

There's something quite humbling about baking bread. The elements of time and temperature - all for something so simple as a loaf of bread.

This is something that has become so dear to my heart.
Knowing that whatever I'm cooking, I'm putting myself into it. In turn, it is feeding others.
No, I'm not feeding others my soul, that sounds mostly creepy, but I am putting love and who I am into what I cook.

And I hope for your sake, it tastes good.

beans and rice.

2010-06-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

I used to hate beans and rice with a passion.

It seemed boring and lacked what I needed as a kid to be considered an exciting meal. [Which was either chicken nuggets, pizza and french fries...]
Now my mom, bless her heart, would generally buy some Popeyes chicken to go along with it, just to make us happy. I never fully appreciated the means of a hearty portion of beans and rice.
My mom, as most southerners who cook beans and rice, cook it down with some beef sausage or pork sausage. Sometimes incorporated in the beans, other times served on the side.

It's only in the past couple of years that I have begun to regain my roots of this soulful dish and the history it has with my people.

It is a tradition in the South, mainly in Louisiana and Mississippi, that you eat beans and rice on Mondays.
I was confused as to why Monday constituted a day for this simple, but hearty meal.

I recently bought this "soul food" cookbook that has some pretty decent things, but it was the story of why we eat beans and rice on Mondays that caught my attention.

Apparently, it's due to the meal you eat on Sunday - which consists of many things cooked with lots of fat -- but mainly, a ham. The ham fed the whole family. Sort of your typical "meat, taters, veggies and bread" Sunday meal.
When the meal was finished, you'd take what is called the hambone - which is exactly what it sounds like.

You take the hambone and submerge it in a big ole' pot of red beans (or kidney beans). I reckon' depending on if you're cooking with dry beans or canned, you still need to cook them for a while.
Dry beans take a while unless you soak them in water for an extended amount of time.

So, you have your beans and your hambone cooking on a low heat all throughout the night and into the next day. Anybody who loves things cooked low and slow knows the goodness of this science. The juices from the ham and the flavor of the bone incorporate into the beans, filling them with that good salty pork flavor.

There ya have it.
Beans and rice on Mondays.

Now, these days, I don't have the time to cook beans that long, so I buy canned kidney beans.
I saute' some onions, garlic and pork sausage in a skillet till the onions have caramelized a bit.
I drain most of that goopy liquid from the can of beans and dump them into a decent sized pot.
I fill it with water till the beans are slightly covered. Then I add the onions, garlic and sausage.

Lately, I've been buying some raw bacon ends from a local market and cooking that down with the beans as well.
I mean, it's bacon. You don't have to say anything to justify it's part in this meal.
We don't typically eat a huge ham on Sundays here in the Harrod-Casper household, so bacon does the job just fine.

I add some hot sauce, **tony's, salt, pepper, and the usual barrage of whatever it is you like to taste.
I let simmer till the beans have soaked up all the water [typically about an hour -- depending on how much you're cooking] and are a bit mushy when stirred. This is how I like them, anyways.

Make some cornbread. [which could also go several ways.]
Boil some rice and voila.

I want to make this a tradition with my family, someday. I want to learn to make them good and I want to appreciate the value of this cheap, simple and flavorful meal.
Every country has their version of this, and this is mine -- so I'm learning to hold it near to my soul.

After all, the food you make is a reflection of who you are. It's spiritual and most likely, tastes really, really good.
Cheers!

**Tony's is short for "Tony Chachere's".
It's a spice mix I've used my entire life. I guess it's considered a cajun seasoning, but I put it on mostly everything. You can find it at any grocery store in the South, and so I've found, any grocery store in Oregon. Including Safeway and Fred Meyer. **

Working Class Foodie

2010-06-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

It's true.
I've turned into a foodie. [I mean goodness, I have a blog..sigh*]
A full blown gastronome. I don't know if I like it.
Foodies are often obsessed people...who watch Food Network religiously and would consider a show on cheeseburgers to be a kind of "food porn".
(But luckily for me, I don't have cable.)

There's nothing wrong with loving food, especially if you're like me, and you're wanting to learn to cook more for yourself, friends and family. It's important to love the food you cook and eat. It's good practice for the future (for folks like me who don't yet have kids) where I'll most likely try to cook as much from home as I can.

Though I don't have cable, I do have the internet. This means I spend lots of downtime watching indie cooking videos and maybe an episode or two of Bourdain's, "No Reservations". Yes, Yes. Slightly obsessed. But, I feel most foodies are quite obsessed with Bourdain. He knows what's up...

I came across a cooking/"how to" blog called, "Working Class Foodies" and was immediately ecstatic. Hey, I'm a working class foodie...or at least in the working class. I'm still working on the foodie part. There's a lot of food I still have a hard time coming to terms with...but I love the idea of cooking for others...and cooking well at that.

This small webisode/cooking video blog captures the essence of cooking on the cheap. That is, finding locally sourced goods that are decently priced with the intention of bringing everyone into a knowledge of good, fresh food.
The videos are also really well done...and I just like them. Plain and simple.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Tacos de Lengua

Roasting a Chicken

Pig Butchering/CSA Info

Stocking Your Pantry

Enjoy.
And here's to us, the working class foodies.

The State of Hospitality

2010-05-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

I believe, as a born and raised son of Mississippi, that we have in us the innate responsibility of hospitality.

I know, I know. Your state is hospitable too. Kind folks...welcoming homes...but come on, Mississippi IS the hospitality state. (Go ahead, Google it.)

Now, what does being hospitable have to do with food?
I think it has everything to do with food.

My mom, for example, is a shining beacon of hospitality. She raised me in the same philosophy. If you have friends and family over...you cook good for them. You make them feel comfortable...you feed them their favorite things.
Now, I didn't have people over too often. Generally, someone bleeds or gets hurt or ends up inviting way too many people over and it calls for a late night and an aggravated parent.

But we did have people over when we could afford it.
If it was my friends: pizza. fried chicken. dorritos. fudge brownies. cookies. mountain dew. coke. You know, the usual barrage of fat, caffeine and sugar filled goodness. No wonder we never fell asleep before 2am...

This is simple food. Granted, it's junk food, but it is food and we ate it up.
My friends would send compliments to the chef, being my mom and I believe she always liked doing it. Sometimes to the point where she would ask why I wouldn't have people over more often. [Mostly because, when I'm tired, I can go home...not have to somehow kick everyone out...ha!]

I know it's the responsibility of the parents to always have food on hand, but I can remember my sister's friend group never seemed to catch on to the idea of feeding your guests...that is, unless they came to our house in which my mom would bring out the goods again. [Yeah, my mom is quite the hospitable ass-kicker extraordinaire]

I say all this, to paint a picture on how it all rubbed off on me.
This is why cooking and food have become such a joy to my life.
Being an introvert, I'd much rather feed people with love from a distance at times...and cooking is great excuse for this.
When people come over...I feel the need to impress, or at least satisfy their bellies and palates.
I'm not comfortable unless people are snackin' on bits or sippin' on somethin' good.

Sometimes, conversation feels empty without food and drink. Like communion at the holy table -- I think these things are spirit filled -- important to our communion with each other.

And I think that's what it's all about. We correlate food with something that makes us happy...at least if doesn't for you, it does for me. I would never want to take food for granted -- it should always be something celebrated.
This is why being hospitable is important to me.
It's about going out of your way to care for your guest.
It's love in the form of taste and experience and conversation.

It's love for another.
Hospitality is in my blood and I dare not take it for granted.

My G.G. always had a pot of coffee going for her visitors and relatives - a brown bag full of whole pecans and something sweet on the table. [And if you were really special, maybe some fried okra.]

It runs deep down like a river.
So next time you come over...let me put on a pot of coffee and we'll catch up.

[and if you just so happen to bring mountain dew or fudge brownies, I would hardly complain...]

Cooking Techniques with Bourdain

2010-05-25T12:03:00.001-07:00

I've watched this episode several times over and found it to be incredibly useful. I don't recommend watching when you're hungry as it will only deepen your sense of hunger pangs. :P

So many of these things are simple, yet easy to mess up. Bourdain and some of his chef-buddies let us in on their techniques and I found it all to be very enjoyable.

(I'll hopefully update with a real post tomorrow. And by real, I mean with words. And...maybe pictures. :)

The Taco

2010-05-19T00:13:00.001-07:00

I grew up, like most in the US, eating hard shelled tacos made from taco seasoning mixes and with those kits you can buy at the grocery store.

That is all I knew of the taco.

I knew it was hard to eat once you hit the top ridge - and they were completely unstable, especially if you cooked the shells for too long.
Generally it was filled with ground beef. You cook a pound or so of ground 80/20 beef - drain the fat, add a little water and the "seasoning" packet and Voila! You have homemade Taco Bell in 15 minutes!
And God, I did love these things.
I still do.

Until...I moved to Portland.

It wasn't until I dived into my first "legit" taco that I became a fan of one my all-time favorite meals.
The taco-truck style taco.

I was unfamiliar and nervous.
A food truck...generally in the parking lot of some other random business with a few picnic tables and various bottles of hot sauce and condiments.

And cheap.
$1.75 for an asada taco or pollo or lengua or carnitas or anything braised and falling off the bone.
I found salvation in this food.
So simple. So good. It found a home in my heart.

They generally stuff your meat of choice in between two layers of white corn tortillas [never flour] and topped off with a few pinches of chopped white onion and cilantro.
On the side generally comes a few wedges of lime and some sliced radishes...(Usually depending on the season).

There's something about that combination of crunchy white onion, cilantro and lime that infuse all layers of your palate.
The best part is, I've learned to make this dish at home, and I think you should try it.

First, you gotta figure out what kind of meat you need.
For me, it's always pork. Pork has this delicious salty fat that I think brings out a better braising situation. It's also a meat that tends to be a bit more moist in the final product.

I generally buy a 1-2lb pork roast. (Depending on how many people you're feeding) If you can, buy it with the bone. I think it tends to be a more flavorful cut of meat.
1 - Yellow Onion (for braising with the pork)
1 - White Onion (for garnishing your taco)
2-3 tbsp chili powder
2 cups beef broth (if you don't have broth, water works fine.)
A tiny bunch of cilantro (depending on how much you'll use to garnish)
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1-2 tbsp pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic
The juice of two lemons & a few limes for garnish later on.
A bag of white corn tortillas

I use our 4-quart dutch oven, but any big pot with a good tight lid should work fine.
I cut up the pork into 2-inch pieces and drop them into the pre-heated pot with a little olive oil for browning.
I go ahead and throw in the yellow onion, medium chopped.

After the onions have browned a bit, I add the two cups of beef stock and fill the rest of the pot up with water until you barely submerge all of the pork in liquid.
This is also when you add your dry seasonings; salt, pepper and chili powder.
You can also, at this point, add the lemon juice and the cloves of garlic.

The rest just takes time.
I put on the lid of the dutch oven and let it cook for a good 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Check every now and then to make sure the meat isn't sizzling to the bottom of the pan.
After a couple of hours, the liquid will start to reduce, leaving the meat tender enough to pull apart with a fork. And you'll actually want to pull it all apart with a fork and give it a good stir to pick up all those bits from the bottom of the pot.

After the meat is done, I just warm the tortillas up in a pan by sprinkling them with a little water and heating each side for 15 seconds or so. (It's easier if your pan is pretty warm...)

Prepping is pretty straight forward. Place your meat in the tortilla - top with cilantro, onion and squeeze a couple of slices of lime (to taste) and indulge your palate in a wonderful barrage of simplicity and culture.

You should have an end product that looks something like this:

I'm not good at writing recipes, so bear with me if they are super confusing. It's definitely harder than it looks to explain to someone how to cook without actually being there to show them.
There are tons of recipes on the internet and youtube, so don't be intimidated.

Bon Appetit! [...hence my lack of spanish -- which would seem more appropriate than French... :P ]

The Cappuccino

2010-05-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

Since working with coffee, I have fallen in love.

The traditional 5.5oz cappuccino.
An obsession. An art form. A badge of honor.
The perfect ratio of espresso, steamed milk and foam.

And by foam, I'm not talking about globs upon globs of airy frothed milk, but a velvety and creamy crema layer that is in perfect harmony with the other two parts.

While we're on the topic of milk, your cappuccino should not be hot enough to burn your tongue. The pros generally drink it just when it becomes warm to the touch...and that's just the way I like it.
The hotter you steam the milk (or have your preference of steamed milk) the less sweet it becomes.
So every time you order your 24oz Startbucks cappuccino extra hot, a barista looses their tattoos...(and we don't want that to happen!)

Any barista competition has you making the following: two shots of espresso, a cappuccino and a "specialty" espresso beverage.
Therefore, the cappuccino is an important drink to make right if you're any sort of serious barista. I know people who spend 3-4 hours a day practicing the double cappuccino...because there is a very fine line. You're always one second away from either making it too foamy, or two hot. The variables are quite timely.

Here in lies, my obsession.
But I'm not the only one.

This trailer seemingly tells the story of what America's "fast food" culture is doing to this beloved beverage -- and why it's important to stay away from damaging coffee culture.

Another video, showing Kyle Glanville. He was the 2008 US Barista Champion and all around coffee nerd turned rock star. He knows what's up and does it well.

And though, it is only coffee, it IS a livelihood for so many of us.

Ultimately, it's about the farmers.
There is justice in good coffee.
There is justice in good coffee buying.
It's when farmers are able to afford healthcare for their babies.
It's when they can put food on their table and be treated with dignity by being paid fairly.

To me, this is what making good coffee is about. The things we do only take away from the product they pick with their weathered hands.

There is respect in making their products with dignity.

So, after all, I do not feel ridiculous for loving this drink and striving to make it better for others. It is a product that comes full circle and we give thanks to all who are involved in the process...

[except for those gas station cappuccino machines...what are those anyways??]

cafe work. [and why it's addictive to be a barista]

2010-04-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

I never knew coffee culture to be so interesting or have so much power in a city.
As I moved to Portland, I was gratefully given a job at a certain cafe [which I help manage today] with no prior coffee knowledge and a very short lived history of food and beverage service. (Well, minus the Wendy's stint that I talked about a while ago and that I wrote about a while back.)

When I mention to folks in other places that I manage a cafe, more or less, am a barista in the PNW, it's met with, "Oh..that's cool.."
But, I feel sometimes that description is inadequate.
No, it's not some Starbucks or coffee joint that names their sugar filled espresso drinks after movie stars or weather systems.

This is the life of a professional barista.
And this is why I'm addicted to making coffee.

We don't just made damn good coffee...we wake up early in the morning because we know what we make comes from East Africa and South America and Indonesia.
We know that what we make can only damage or mess up the beautiful product of the green coffee plants.
What we do, is find ways to make our products with the least error possible...and this isn't easy.

There are factors.
Temperature. Pressure. Technique. Clean water. Good milk. Passion. Experience.

So goes the ebb and flow of a barista in PNW.

The newspapers wait outside our locked doors. Usually it's news on the economy or well, more news that's somehow related to our hurting economy. I don't read them much. Usually too depressing. But I'm glad we sell newspapers. It's generally nice to see people still reading them....sifting through the garbage that pays the printers bills in order to get to a good piece of writing.

I check around the store and look to see if things are out of place...or dirty. Usually, it's fine.
I hear the espresso machine clicking and hissing and filling itself constantly with water.
I turn on some music. Generally starting out with some slower like Bon Iver, Jose Gonzalez and The Album Leaf...cranking it up mid-day to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Arcade Fire. [Also depends on who's working...]

Music is important to cafe life. I don't like making coffee or food if there's no music. It feels awkward. Like having to dance to something with no rhythm. I believe it goes the same for customers. Customers are more comfortable when there's a little more noise...something to chat with so they don't have to whisper to their friend, business partner, lover, blind date or some combination of the two.

You do your random assortment of tasks...putting away pastries...making eggs...putting on the soups.
If you're on "bar", which means pulling shots and making drinks, you season the espresso machine.
Before you do that, you gather your "mise en place" of barista work - a few towels...one for wiping away moisture and grinds from the previous coffee puck and the other two you keep wet for wiping off your steam wand and cleaning off your tamping area.
Our machine has three groupheads (aka, where the portafilters tighten into) and I pull shots on each grouphead two times to season the spouts. Once I get around to the third 'go' at seasoning the machine, I test my shots.

I taste to check bitterness...overextraction, underextraction.
With our Hairbender espresso blend, we're looking for sweet chocolate, caramel and jasmine. Once I'm satisfied, I move on.

I fill milk pitchers. Nonfat. Whole. Half&Half.
Our customers drink Half&Half like it's goin' out of style.
Can't blame them, it's good.
Damn good.

If you do like a bit of milk in your coffee, I'm right there with you. A little splash of half&half in a hot cup of coffee is next to perfect after not having any milk in a good cup of french press.

I move on to making our drip coffee, which is our Hairbender well, ground for drip.
Then, me grind our single origin coffee (which right now is from a small farm in Guatemala.) for French press.
French press obviously requires more time and more attention.
Grind 7oz for a 12cup press [and we make two presses per airpot]
Fill with hot water [nearly 200F] a little above halfway, and set timer for four minutes.
We give the coffee one minute to bloom, which it will bloom quite a bit if it's freshly roasted releasing those good gases that show us it's fresh.
Fill it to the nozzle and let it sit for the remaining three minutes.
Timer goes off, press the pots, dump into bigger airports and there ya have it.

I crack the doors open, place our sandwich board near a lonely fire hydrant and wait for those first few customers to come in for the coffee...and maybe a bagel with cream cheese. Nothing that takes too long.

And so it goes, as we see the regulars and start making their goods before they tell us what they want...
I catch up with the vendors like Doug, my boy from Sunshine Dairy.
I poke fun at his inability to park his huge delivery truck and it goes back and forth.
I made him toffee nut mocha because he has a sweet tooth and it's common courtesy to treat your vendors well.

You treat your vendors well, and they'll do the same for you.
If your vendors start missing deliveries and are late, you gotta stay on their ass.
I can't be havin' late bagels or messy orders.

A rush comes about 8:30 when all the 9am workers have to be at their desks...
Then we get the folks who do business at our cafe. Constantly walking outside on their cell phones and picking away at their keyboards.

Then you get the few socially awkward customers that force conversation down your throat like some bitter pill.
I hate this.
I know it's good to know your regulars, but some folks...I try to hide in the stock room.

After a while come the folks that hug the counter and look at their watches as you make their drink. You feel their stare and it doesn't help me your drink any faster. You look at me like it's my fault you're going to be late. I know how to do my job quick and right.

And one of the most important things...
Don't mess with folks that make your food.
No we don't spit or feed you things off the floor..but it doesn't make us want to serve you our best.

The customer is NOT always right. The employee knows when they messed up.

Tip.
If you can afford to be a regular or eat out - TIP!
I can usually correlate tips by how much the ticket is.
Higher tickets tip less.
Some people drop 24 bucks on cafe fare and leave 50 cents.
Some people drop 2 dollars and leave a dollar tip.

For those of you who tip your waiters and cafe workers well, thankyou.
I think I'd like to call it bad attitude tax.
We take a lot of mean attitudes because most cafe workers are young and not always at their best.
This is no reason to be angry. If we're working hard and there's a line, you should probably relax and notice we're doing all we can.

If you yell at one of our employees for no good reason, I'm not gonna give you the benefit of the doubt. I know my employees and I know they're all sweethearts.
If I get fired for it, I'm goin' down with the ship.
It's an injustice to treat customers like they're kings if they treat you like garbage.

All of this aside...all the crap you take from people...the heated rushes and crazy customers...it comes down to the love of doing what you're doing. Making food. Making coffee.
Making people feel comfortable and known.

Even when you've had a bad day, you can always rely on a consistently good cup of coffee.

And this is what I do.
Day in and day out.
I love it.
Well, most of the time.
I love the rants with fellow employees that makes the day go by quicker...and legitimize that yes, that person was an asshole.

Oh, the world of hospitality and customer service. A never ending battle of ups and downs.

And always, with everything we do, we give thanks to people who support us and grow our food and teach us how to be better.
Thankful.

Yes. Thankful...

and way over-caffeinated.

"FrosTop" [most guilty pleasure of the South]

2010-04-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

Cheeseburger + chili + dripping roast beef + "fixins'" = Frostop's infamous, Eli Special.

I came across the Eli Special somewhere near my junior year in high school.
It's found at one of the best greasy, little po'dunk joints in my hometown of Picayune, Mississippi called, "Frostop" [Pronounced: Frost-top/Or as my wife has been known to say, "Fro-Stop"]

Whatever you call it, it's damn good.

I had the distinct pleasure of getting one of these babies a few days ago as I visited my native land for a friend's wedding.
Attempt to eat with your hands, but I prefer using the oh so convenient plastic knife and fork. (and plenty of napkins)

What I also noticed was their prices - like, ridiculously cheap. $1.10 for a single burger, .90 for an ice cream cone and a couple of bucks for a hotdog po'boy.
Yeah, you heard me.
Hotdog poboy.
Po'boy bread (generally a more airy french bread - hard to find unless you leave in the deep down south, or find somewhere that makes it legit)
Mayo
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Roast beef gravy
and of course, those cheap red hot dogs bursting at the seams.

Most folks don't come here for a hot dog poboy, but for that infamous Roast Beef Poboy.
It's similar to the Debris Po'boy but not as ripped to shreds.
The juice runs down to your elbows as the bread is soaked to bits.
And there's the usual barrage of po'boy love like shrimp, catfish, crab, and cheeseburger. [Cue saliva glands..]

These are sandwiches that make the gods angry for not being human.

They have some epic french fries too.
I love fries...especially if they're done right. Crispy on the outside, soft and mushy on the inside. Perfect. (and cheap as well..)
They most likely have this stuff down to a science.
I've always noticed this one older woman who does all the grill work. When the line is out of control...she always seems calm and collected. I'm sure she's been doing it for over 30 years - nothing much has changed accept her hair-do, which she keeps so tightly bound in her hair net...which I'm sure isn't so necessary these days.

Great sodas with crushed ice.
I'm convinced crushed ice like they have makes things taste better. Maybe it's colder. Maybe it's texture...maybe it's awesome.

This place is sentimental for me. It's a place I went to with my family for junkfood binges and high school excursions. It is dear to my heart and I hope they stay where they are for some time to come. It's not often you can feed three people for 13 dollars. Maybe that's not a good thing...

But there's something in that food [besides fat] that keeps me happy.
Maybe it's the memories...the warm and fuzzies of comfort food..

Or probably...because it just tastes...really...really good.

A Conviction [in a bowl of Vegetable Soup]

2010-04-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have been on a kick of sorts... watching Jamie Oliver's: "Food Revolution".
Jamie is an English chef who is more so an advocate than famous TV chef personality.
But, it is what it is.

Jamie completely revolutionized the school lunch menu in England. This show, he sets out to do the same here, in the US.
I absolutely love this show and without a doubt, support what he's doing.
His current "revolution" is taking place in Huntington, West Virginia. The nation's most overweight city. [As they correlate Gov't statistics to death by heart disease, diabetes, etc..]

And, it is, absolutely heartbreaking. Hearing children's stories of their parents dying due to weight related issues. It is, most definitely, a silent killer.
Now, I'm not one to always advocate for healthy foods or alternatives.
I love starches. Pork fat is amazing and Coca-Cola may be the nectar of the gods.
But, these things are generally not so good. Nothing new there.

Also I want to say, it's good to eat starches and some fats in good moderation. Our bodies need what the earth produces. [They just don't need it all.]
I'm writing all this to express my own convictions of our food culture...especially in our schools and what we don't know is feeding our kids.

There are strict rules and regulations school cafeterias have to follow. There has to be a certain amount of veggies and fruit and bread. Most often, these veggies are french fries and terrible looking salad creations we all know, we won't eat.
Milk is generally chosen in its most chocolate flavored form, which tends to have the same or more sugar than soda!

And understandably so, we cook food for those kiddies out of convenience with what's easy to cook and easy to serve. But, this "stuff" is killing younger generations -- it's killing our generation. I mean, who doesn't want to stand in the french fry line?
Kids are not being taught what food is and where it comes from. I wasn't taught in school - I didn't know the difference between a potato and a tomato when I was in first grade.
Teachers these days have such strict material matter they can teach in order to make high on those state tests - no wonder they don't have the freedom to teach kiddies about food and how it helps them to grow. (Or, if you're a teacher and you are doing this, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.)

I am becoming an advocate for food knowledge. As my palate shifts from salty and greasy, to bright greens, reds and earthy browns, I sense a shift in our view of food culture.
I recently took a culinary knife skills class - just cutting up veggies in different ways and at the end, we made a veggie soup out of our hacked up goodness.

Now, maybe it had just been a while since I had veggie soup, but it hit my soul [real good]. Simple, delicious and so good for you.
And there, as I was slurping up that heavenly broth and soft vegetation, I understood what it meant.
It's about outlook.
Veggies are like...the math of the food world. It's great and necessary and all, but most of the time, intimidating and we tend to see them as...not very good. [At least in US culture.]

At least, I did. And, still do, most of the time.
But, I'm learning.
Learning to uh, "Eat those vegetables!"

Because something needs to change. Somehow...we need to shift how we grow up eating food. And I do know that some economic and lifestyle circumstances hinder us from eating fresh food, but not if we all demanded it. The people in those big white buildings make a living off of us and will shift towards what we buy and demand.

If we want crap food, that's what we're going to get...and boy, are we getting it.
Limit choices. I feel like, if you put a piece of pizza or a piece of baked chicken in front of a little kid, they're probably going to go for the pizza.
If only we knew how privileged we were to have more than one choice.

As I learn more and more about what food does to my body, the more my views shift on what food means to me. It changes the way I cook food...and my thirst to learn more.
This food we're pumping into our bodies is so..so important. And I speak more so to myself, than anyone else, that something needs to change in our diets. Or else, we're going to be seeing a lot less life...and it may be yours.

So, here's to a good conviction, in a bowl of soup...that we work for that change. May we stand in our kitchens and cook our own food and give a deep thanks to this earth that gives it to us; the farmers that nurtured them and the folks of many miles who handled them. Eat more local. Think more sustainable.

And uh,
EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!!!

Moving Your Life. Bringing Your Food.

2010-03-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about big cities, is the massive amount of different food cultures. Within a few miles...you can find Ethiopian, Indian, Mediterranean, Southern and French. It's sometimes a bit overwhelming and makes your ham sandwich look awfully lonely and boring.
Hey, I enjoy ham sandwiches, unfortunately, I'm not talking about them today.

I am referring to this comfort of having your tastes of home when in reality, you are far away from what you grew up eating [and coincidentally enough, what yo' momma cooked for you your whole life]. When you are displaced [or have moved] from your own country or part of the country, you crave a little bit of normalcy among something so foreign.

I'll take India for example.
When I traveled to India, I had never had Indian food. At least, I don't think I had ever tried it. I don't think I was too worried about it. I think I liked curry, or at least I knew I could handle it.
Luckily for me, my host family cooked very gently for us, supplying us with an everyday breakfast of toast, a couple of fried eggs and a banana. {With the exception of the occasional and celebrated potato & puri - a very heavy breakfast consisting of fried bread with a potato curry mash] I actually, really enjoy Puri - though it's awfully heavy for breakfast.

When Lata Didi finally got our breakfast down, after many uneaten mutton sandwiches (which I felt very bad about not eating - it was just too much for steamy Calcutta mornings) we were met with a nice place of familiar foods. It became very, very comforting. Eggs. Toast. Banana and Cha [bengali chai].

Among the comforts of my time in India, were KFC, Pizza Hut and Subway - though it was rare we would eat at these places.
Mostly, at a joint called Blue Sky Cafe, that had excellent fried fish and chips and grilled cheeses.

I found little bits of familiarity in those pieces of fried chicken and overly-glamoured Pizza Hut pizzas.

I'd imagine that same feeling hits displaced and new implants of American culture - when down the street, they have markets that provide them with all the essentials. And though the sounds and sights and smells have changed, they have one important thing that makes life better: food and each other.

And this is what's important - this taste of home, of childhood and of Momma.
It's finding Gulab Jamun and spinach peneer down the street or freshly made Injera from a local market.

So I love...and encourage this - to try these places within your cities and communities - the local mexican taco stand or restaurant - the hole in the wall or the place that sells words you've never seen before.

It is here that you'll find a piece of what the rest of the world calls...home.

cooking is liberation.

2010-03-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

There's this movie called, "Julie & Julia".
It's lighthearted and funny, involves lots of cooking and lots of cooking with butter.

More importantly, there's liberation.
For Julia, there was learning to cook in a world where men dominated professional cuisine. [And, because she loved to eat.]
For Julie, it was hope and joy -- needing some direction and inspiration when most of her days brought her to an exhausting sense of mediocrity. [And, because she also loved to eat.]

I think liberation is a good word for me.
I don't quite know where this switch turned on. I have this urge to understand why things cook the way they do, and how to debone a chicken or how to make a good hollandaise.
There's nothing revolutionary about any of these things, but there is...liberation.

When I find myself cooking, there is this sense of creation and of coming to a final product. There's rhythm and sounds and smells that I just can't get away from.

I recently signed up to take a basic knife skills class and I'm super pumped about it. Yeah, I can cut things okay, but I wanna learn how the chefs do it, ya know?
I've watched them press the knife against their knuckles so they wouldn't chop off their fingers, but I just can't figure out how they do that! It seems so simple - so, I needed a little guidance.

I can't bring myself to pay for culinary school. Portland has some good ones, but they are {Good-Gracious-Heavenly-Jesus} expensive. A 21-month program at Le Cordon Bleu costs about 41,000. Yep. I told you.
So I've been looking around and finding local cooking classes.
My knife class was $45 for a two-hour course. Not bad. Something I can do.
Other classes are a bit more expensive, say up to $70-100. They teach how to cook various 4-5 course meals. And really good meals, at that.

I find these to be worthwhile - even if it's just to get ideas. I think it's worth it. I'll keep y'all updated on that...because I know how excited you are to know about my knife skills. :P
Let's just hope I still have all my fingers.

There is also liberation in knowledge.
It's good to not be intimidated, but to also not be afraid to mess up. Because, you're going to.
It's nice to know people enjoy the food you cook. It makes you feel good -- especially when they want it again.

There's this freedom when cooking. Anything can happen and hopefully, when we do fail, we learn and make it better and better.

In every essence of cooking, I find this peace. I thank the people who grew it and somehow got it to the store where I bought it. There is a story in everything -- and it's up to us to make those stories fill our hearts and our bellies.

In the words of Miss. Child and most french speaking nations [as I insert the last effort to make the reader chuckle],
Bon Appetit!

Where We Find Each Other

2010-03-13T12:24:00.001-08:00

I love to watch people eat.
Not gawking awkwardly at strangers or constantly asking someone, "How is it!? Is it okay? What could be better!?"

I just like to watch people fill their bellies...and appreciate it.
There's just something unholy about eating crap to get full. Granted, we all do it because we're busy or bored or waiting on our next paycheck to come through.

But there's something odd about shoveling food into our mouths like cattle in a field. There's no thanks, involved. There's no gratitude to the ones who cooked our food (which hopefully more than others, should be yourself..) and more importantly, the ones who grow our food.

There's this odd sinking feeling whenever I drive through a fast food line, which just rarely happens these days. But it does happen. Usually...it's Popeyes. That stuff is like crack! Not that I've had crack, but I'm assured it's heavily addicting and bad for you - So yeah, the same as fried chicken. :D But I do love the stuff.
Back to the drive-thru.
There's not much in that food...well, as far as love and passion goes. In other ways, there's a lot in that food. But, I don't want to go there for the sake of my own bad habits of the fast food world. And when I say fast food, I might as well include most supermarket produce and meat. It's all generally done by the same philosophy as fast food.

When someone hands me a bag through a window...I know it's probably going to taste good [momentarily]. But the folks at the window do this for a living. They don't care about the food their stuffing into paper bags...as long as it pays a few bills, they'll be doing it and I don't blame them a bit. Why should they care? Most people I have known that work in fast food never actually eat the stuff they serve. They know...they know.

My short stint at Wendy's was a glorious expedition of most things unholy.
A good friend at the time got me a job there. I was stoked to wear the hat and shirt. On my second day, I got yelled out right after finishing my training video to tuck in my shirt. The heat was on.
I was hurriedly trying to open a massive amount of pickles with a big knife and nearly cut my pinky off. Then I got stuck on drive-thru burger assembly.
This meant, I had to call out to a guy on the grill making burgers, "Single!" or "Double" and yes, "Triple!" - and said so in my shaky adolescent tone. Apparently the guy at the grill had been in jail for some time and I didn't feel the need to ever offend his ears.
After almost getting stuck in the walk-in refrigerator, I was done. I came home to my mom discouraged and in tears. I couldn't handle it. I had such a sensitive heart and an odd history of people I rarely knew personally yelling into it. You feel flawed and unnatural. Perhaps I should have given it more time...
I'm glad I didn't.

I say all of that, to remind myself of what food represents. Culture. History. Comfort. Familiarity. Mom.
The cooks love to watch others enjoy their food. If you have ever eaten in a village, or have been invited to eat with a family who can hardly afford to feed themselves...you will understand their need to watch you eat...and enjoy it! They love to keep adding rice to your plate....and I love this. Of course, I have been made fun of for not finishing my own plate and regretfully having to push it aside...[Ex. "You eat like Village woman!] I understand now, that I need to finish. There's respect and honor in finishing that plate. Dignity and Pride.

Anytime I have someone not finish something I cook...or turn down an offer, I feel a bit offended. I'm not sure why.
They may be vegetarian or vegan or really healthy - but, I just feel out of place. Like, I have offended them by cooking...it's an odd feeling. And maybe it's something I need to get over. Maybe.
Maybe not.

Either way, we find love in our food. We find respect and at those most important times, we find each other.
Sitting across the table. Sharing a story; sharing a life.

sharing in each other

Your Last Meal? [An oddly weighted question...]

2010-03-05T13:07:00.001-08:00

Granted, if I were going to die (knowingly) the next day and I had one meal to eat, I probably wouldn't be that hungry.
So, in my head, I separate myself from this and generally take a different look at this favorite conversation piece of mine.

If you were to eat one last meal before spending the next year eating nothing but rice, bread and water, what would it be?

I love this question because I think it reveals a lot about the people you ask. It generally brings about warm emotions of home, family and the love of all things taste related.
I recently asked this question and got some great feedback. "Wine and good bread...with prosciutto, dried meats and good cheese" and "Chicken curry with vegetables with a Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar"

I think your last meal changes throughout your life. I'm sure when I was 8 years old, all I would've wanted was chicken nuggets and french fries...and possibly a coke, or something.
And surely enough, it hasn't changed much since then.

When the question finally came around to me..this is what I said...

Buffalo wings. Medium. [Preferably old school, 3 Dollar Cafe style in Atlanta, GA. or from Fire on the Mountain here in Portland.)
Chili Cheese fries. Not just canned chili, but CHILI. Not just Velveeta, but hot and melted cheddar topped with green onions and sour cream.
And to drink?
Yes. An ice cold Coca Cola. {and was laughed at, understandably}
For dessert,
A warm pecan pie and good cup of coffee.

{*insert heavy gratifying sigh*}

I wasn't kidding when I said my tastes have yet to change.
Granted, I love-love dried meats and am learning my way around cheeses and my palate appreciates beer and wine more and more these days.

There's just something about that "burn", as my mom would say. It just hits you and "burns oh so good..."

I love hearing peoples' meals. I feel like it says so much about who they are on the inside. Simple meals, mostly. Meals that feed majority world countries and is generally affordable, minus the uh, prosciutto part. {Unless you make your own, which is another story...}

So, whoever out there reads this silly blog, let me in on your last meal.

Tell me why it tastes so good and how it slowly pulls you into that place of gastronomic nirvana.

The table, my friend, is yours.

This is why food is not just food...

2010-03-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

A Blooming Palate [How the World Grows]

2010-02-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about living in Oregon, among many things, is the freshness and variety of local veggies, fruits and meat.

My palate has most definitely been challenged and has changed since living here in the best of ways.
Perhaps it is my infatuation with cooking shows and the lives of chefs that I find so intriguing -- the people that devote their lives and stresses to making the best thing possible.

Food is a big part of who I am. My southern drawl comes out more when I talk about food. [Especially fried chicken, but that's for another day.]
I generally enjoy a good meal - but especially find appreciation in a home cooked meal. Those require love, attention and time. They require putting thought into what the other person or persons would enjoy. That means a lot to me.

I love to watch others eat - I love to watch others enjoy what they're eating. I think I got that from my Gran. Usually, as we would start eating dinner, she would look around at the table and say, "Is it good yet?" As we would always nod an agreeing, "Oh yeah, it always is..."
Food is universal. It speaks a clear language - one that curls the eyebrows to begin that disgruntled look that eventually ends in a satisfying grin. I love it.

Food speaks deeply into the history of who we are.

When we share a meal with others, we share our soul and our stories. You learned to cook from someone, or you at least watched - there is story in that. What was comforting about the way your mom or dad cooked? We all know our mommas make the best of everything.

I used to hate onions. Now, I love them. Especially those of the red variety. They're not so good for breath, but in taste and moderation, can accentuate the flavor of whatever it seems to accompany.
I'm learning to love tomatoes. I still have a hard time fully enjoying the amount of water and mush it tends to bring to my palate - though they are some of the most beautiful and wonderful things ever to grow out of dirt. (Not to mention, somewhat easy to grow in a small backyard garden or in pots, as we have in the recent past. I believe it's now time to plant those suckers...get to it!)

Mushrooms..hmm...well, I'm workin' on em'. :)

I have a few cousins that refuse to eat lots of food. One being cheese...the other mayonnaise - understandably, mayonnaise but it is a wonderful thing. (Of course, in moderation...hah.) And also, some of the best Mayo in the world is Blue Plate and I believe that's only a southern thing.

I would hope that we continually be adventurous with what we choose to consume. Start out small, and work your way into ordering the most bizarre item on the menu.

My hopes for all this ramblin', is to somehow approach the idea that food is universally celebrated. In seeing how the poor invite you to their table and cook the most heartwarming and amazing meals you have ever eaten. It has to taste good -- there is love and dignity in it -- these lessons are a gift to us. When you eat on the smallest of budgets, you want it to taste good and you want to benefit from it in the best ways possible.

The world has so much to offer.
Our tables bring us community -

let us fill their seats with beating hearts, and empty stomachs.

Food and Justice for All [Like Sheep through Genetically Modified Pastures]

2010-02-20T12:39:00.001-08:00

I sit here overwhelmed with the vast amount of knowledge that confirms just how messed up our food system really is.

Documentaries full of data and stats tell us that our bad food culture stems directly from fast food culture. From fast food culture stems loads of other things - a convenience culture at best. Supermarkets and megastores destroying local farms and economies.

We know these things - and I can't stress enough how important it is to follow through.
We vote everyday with what we buy. It is a consumer driven market. The folks in the big buildings know that their income and well-being comes from our crippling ability to be bought off with cheap prices and modified food items.

I don't think food is supposed to be cheap. I think we all should be paid more - if that makes sense. Here in Portland, it works. I believe it works because you have a population that truly loves its city. We want what's best for our farmers because we actually see their faces - we see their farms - we see their families. There is love in this food.
We are also equally aware that corporations like Monsanto brings farmers to their knees if they decide not to use their products. It's a filthy, filthy system and it simply breaks my heart.

When it comes to food - smaller is better. I wish to see more specialty stores - butcheries, fruit and vegetable markets, etc. What I love to see is people who have devoted their lives to making the best of their product, not someone else's.
This is why, when you go to Thailand, India, Spain, France, etc - the food culture is brilliant - even for the poor. It's affordable - I mean, it has to be. You can eat for .25cents on the side of the road and it's good. food. It's local and keeps it affordable.

I haven't been to Thailand, Spain or France - but I do know there are lots of things about their food culture that is inspiring. (Like the rest of the world, minus the good ole' USA) Small markets, butcheries, bakeries - things made fresh and when they run out...they run out.

I would love to buy things from people who put their name and pride into something. Like, this is MY cured meat, MY bread - I kneaded and baked this bread with my bare hands at 2am - it's the best bread you'll ever eat. I think to myself how wonderful a system such as this would be and how well it works in Portland. Especially in the summertime.

I wish other parts of this nation would adopt some of these practices, if possible. I understand how convenient Wal-Mart is -- but there is a reason their prices are so low. Food should not be this cheap. Someone is being cheated and exploited and we are eating our way into a culture that everyone will come to despise.

As I make the occasional run to Costco (basically Sam's Club) for my work, I am met by folks eating at the little cafes (or whatever they call em'). We simply shovel food into our mouths and leave - without even regarding what we just ate - other than the fact that it was hot, salty and...it's food.
But we surely don't appreciate it...other than the fact that its cheap and it fills us up.

I say this understanding that we all can't afford good, fresh food - but what I am trying to say is that we should. We SHOULD demand fresh vegetables, fruits and humane products. Instead of buying canned green beans, buy fresh green beans. I used to hate fresh green beans because all I had ever eaten was canned. Of course, I also don't have three hungry kids to feed and I understand having to cook and buy this food takes time...but I believe it's worth it. It's worth it to show our kids how to eat well and more importantly, how to cook.

I spend more on food these days - not because I have the money to, but because I feel better eating more locally sourced food. I look for more cage free options when coming to eggs and chicken. Read the labels - chicken breasts aren't supposed to be that big - they are merely pumped full of hormones and water solutions. Good chicken should taste a little gamey and will probably shrink a lot more when you cook it - at least, that's what I've come to find.

It's these little decisions that will change the way we live. If we, as consumers, demand better ingredients, these companies will have to change.
We have missed keeping them accountable - and this idea goes for most things that are wrongheaded (as Dr. Perkins would say...) Our government hasn't been held accountable and in return, we have been lied to and led like sheep through genetically modified pastures...

As the saying goes, "Think Global. Act Local" It rings true in our hearts that we, as lovers of humanity, make sure we are treating each other well...thinking local and eating local.
Whether this means eating in season so we don't have to buy foods that are grown in warehouses - or simply boycotting sugar companies until they change their business practices.

These choices are in our hands.

We are far more powerful than they'll ever imagine.
Everyone deserves good food. Everyone deserves a fair wage and fair treatment.

Let us listen to the Earth.
Let us listen to each other.

Mardi Gras Revisits the PNW

2010-02-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

One of the first times I visited Hannah in Portland was about this time a good two years ago.

I told her I wanted to cook for her friends.
I felt like maybe it was one of the best ways to win over their hearts - considering I'm a somewhat quiet guy, food often speaks louder.

I made them fried chicken, jambalaya and some kind of garlic/mozzarella french bread combo. You can't really go wrong with cheese, garlic and bread. Nope, ya just can't.

My first impression was that they were a little cautious. They were Hannah's best friends and I was the boy she met in India who had decided to come to see her. This food was my only alibi at the time.
I felt like though, I had offended them with how I make my fried chicken. [Though all was in good humour - I still hope.]

I soak it in a typical egg wash, that of just milk and a couple of beaten eggs. More often up here, you meet vegetarians. I respect that lifestyle, but get a little nervous when the pompous attitudes come out. [I tend to side with Anthony Bourdain's logic on vegetarians... :P] They were quite disturbed of the fact that I soaked chicken in milk and egg before frying. If anyone knows anything about frying, it is to have a good egg wash. It helps the batter stick and makes the breading extra crispy.

Needless to say, I have a huge respect for vegetarians. I believe they are the voice of reason in a country of over-consuming meat eaters, unfortunately at times, like myself.

But, this was about feeding their hearts. Fried chicken is a labor of love, I often say. You get messy, along with everything you touch. Your fingers are caked with flour and you have to turn everything on with your forearms, as if you were going into surgery.

The chicken had been fried and jambalaya fluffed and perfect - people were fed and all seemed satisfied. I believe I changed 'many an opinion' that day...

so the tradition continues...

Last year, I created our 1st Annual Mardi Gras Ball. It's an excuse to eat lots of comfort foods, dress up nice and act well, somewhat sophisticated. I had only been in Oregon for a few weeks and thought it would be a great time to get everyone together and to again, let the food speak louder than I could.
This time, I added fried pickles, hushpuppies and that infamous crab boiled pot of potatoes, corn, sausage, onions and garlic.

It was simply brilliant, though I was exhausted as it was my second day of work learning my new job and I had tripped over the washing machine and busted my ass. "Nothin' but my pride", I said..."Nothin' but my pride.."

This year, we up'ed it once more as we entered Mardi Gras season.
Hell, the Saints had won the Super Bowl and we had more than enough reasons to celebrate my Beloved South.

I cooked up all the usual from the prior year, but added to it Veggie Gumbo. I had argued with Hannah that it wasn't gumbo unless there were crab legs and shrimp heads stickin' out - but she wouldn't budge [not that we could have afforded it anyways, hah...]

I set out to cook my roux - which is a basic gravy involving about one part flour to two parts vegetable oil. I had never made a roux before, so after 45 minutes of stirring it to a medium-brown, I decided to let it be. I dropped in the holy trinity [which is celery, onion, and bell pepper] and was introduced to an inverted deep frying lesson when the veggies went in with an uproar of a sound. I was quite frightened, but it turned out okay. I started cooking it at 10:30pm and finished at about 1:30 in the morning. Again, a labor of love.

I love introducing Northwest folks to Southern culture...for all it's worth. "What's Zapps?" or "Abita...hmm" - and let me say, Oregonians are freaks (in a good way) about their beer. Not that Abita can hang with Portland microbreweries, but I'd say Abita is in a class all of its own.
That's the good thing about Abita - you can drink it with spicy food. It's a perfect creole couple.

Friends walked around, holding their bellies -- gravy induced rice dishes meeting deep fried goodness was the perfect combination to an almost drunken fullness.
Again, it's the food of the poor folks like so much. Greens, rice and leftover bits. Deep fried flour and chicken. Veggies cooked into submission along with everything else in the same pot. There's nothin' like it.

In all of this, is my Southern pride. To know and understand that this food is my culture and in my blood has allowed me to make some great relationships. Everyone leaves full, satisfied and ready to go to bed.

I believe the way to most people is through their bellies...

and after all, this food speaks loud and true to who I am...

a native son to the American South.

la cuisine de vacances [inspired by my sister]

2010-02-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

The Holiday Cuisine - Every family does it different and I just happen to think my family does it best. [But, everyone's family does it best, so it doesn't really matter what I think.]

Usually, one does not celebrate Easter any differently, but for my family, it was crawfish.
Oh yes. Crawfish.
Kin to the lobster, though lobsters aren't nearly as fun to eat and don't have nearly as much character, in my opinion.

You don't see folks suckin' the head of a lobster or dumping a huge steaming pot of..lobsters with potatoes, corn, garlic, onions and sausage.
Nope...you just don't see it, and it's a downright shame.

We as Southerners are blessed with the crawfish - though as a new found resident of Oregon, I end up missing them because well damnit, it's Oregon! [Though we have the massive availability of fresh goodies and is seemingly incomparable. Still, we don't have crawfish, but one or two in a creek.]

I used to see them crawfish build their dirt skyscrapers in our front yard when we wouldn't get rain for a while...because that's what crawfish do. When it doesn't rain, they use the wet mud to build their uh, "nesting holes". It keeps them from dying and the last thing we need on our hands is dead crawfish - they're expensive enough as it is.

I remember crawfish at Easter vividly. Sitting on MeMaw and PawPaw's hot southern Louisiana porch [after taking a barrage of Easter Sunday photos wearing our best..] with Maybelle's sweet tea and Phil's violently red cocktail sauce that consisted mostly of horseradish, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, ketchup and...other things. Always tested by Pawpaw's index finger, we knew when it was ready to eat when he smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and said, "Dat's good boy..."

The adults could eat them in 5lb intervals, where we kids would work hard just to eat the tiniest bit of meat from its tail. But, as you grow older and become a more experienced crawfish eater, you soon determine how much crawfish you can eat by the pound. Depending on your style - you suck the head to get all those good juices out of em'. Some do it everytime...others every third or fourth time...depending on how much heat you could take. Others don't do it at all, and that's perfectly okay.

Another funny thing my sister brought to my attention was our Stuffing situation. My mom makes the best stuffing, but I know your mom does too...or your grandma or grandpa. Hey that's fine. But this mom is my mom and she makes the best of everything. (Especially children and...stuffed bell peppers...)
My Memaw always makes her stuffing with boiled eggs. It's silly but she has her reasons. She just never wanted to put raw eggs in her stuffing before she baked it. Though, it would obviously cook through, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. It's probably second on my stuffing list.

Thanksgiving and Christmas in Louisiana....we'd have a good three or four different kinds of stuffing. Shrimp. One with/without onions, and sometimes even a crawfish pie. Hallelujah...a crawfish pie. I dare not speak such blasphemy.

Granted, every family has their thing. Songs...hot cider...hard alcohol - ours is strictly the volume and variety.
My sister and I would always have to eat ketchup with our turkey...otherwise, it was just kind of....'eh.'
Until we discovered and successfully pulled off the fried turkey.
We've been marching on ever since then - and I've yet to see the ketchup on the table for a deep fried turkey...

but always....ALWAYS...if there has to be ketchup,

make sure it's Hunts.

Eat: Oyster Bar - Po'boys, Abita & Temper Tantrums

2010-02-06T16:18:00.000-08:00

How my heart indulges upon itself the soulful and salty cuisine of the Deep South.

Now, coming from South Mississippi -- I know the difference.
Yeah, there's the chicken fried chicken [that's right, chicken fried chicken], mashed potatoes and gravy with the canned green beans cooked with a few pieces of limp bacon ['cause you gotta get that flavor out of it..]

There is a difference between 'southern cookin' - as I've grown to call it, and 'cajun/creole'. You could safely label both "comfort food", but beyond that, there's a difference, not that it's of any importance.

You eat what your momma cooks. My mom wasn't a huge fan of creole, albeit my dad was and he cooked it good. I think the spice of cooking came from my dad and the heart came from my mom. She cooked to feed her children. Even if that was chicken nuggets with mac n' cheese, she knew it would usually keep us quiet and smilin'.

The reason I suggest this difference rather than leave it be is because when I've traveled up North and to where I live now, many people associate Southern Cookin' with creole and cajun - and granted, that's a huge part of my tradition, but was not nearly what I was fully raised on.

Heck, some of the best restaurants here in Portland are New Orleans themed. One of my favorites being "Eat: Oyster Bar" only a few minutes' drive from where we live - the menu holds rice dishes like seafood gumbo, shrimp etouffee and jambalaya - also, "Hoppin' John", which is black eyed peas, miscellaneous veggies stewed with hambones (oh my guh'ness, Praise Jesus. A thing of beauty!)

But, my favorite dish thus far at Eat is the Debris Po'boy. Basically, it's a big pot roast on bread. A Sunday "after-church" meal in a sandwich. They cook it till it falls off like, well, debris. They soak the shredded roast beef in its melted fat and other 'good fixins'. They serve it on a toasted french bread roll, along with tomatoes, cajun mayo, pickles and cole slaw.
Half the bun is already soggy as it reaches your table with juice from the roast that just rolls down to your elbows forcing you to look like a fool while makin' sure none of that gravy goes to waste.

What to drink with such a meal?
Luckily, Eat serves Abita. That's right - my favorite microbrewery of the South based in Abita Springs, Louisiana. I started getting into beer with Abita's "Purple Haze" - a raspberry wheat beer which has a purple tint, giving it its name.

I'm a firm believer that most music sounds better while drinking Abita Amber - crisp with notes of caramel, like most amber beers. So refreshing.

I haven't always been a fan of Abita's Turbodog - I always saw it as a pretty stout brew until I moved to Oregon and realized they don't serve anything less than...well, really strong.
Now, Turbodog is becoming one of my most favorite brews, straight up. Brewed with Willamette Hops just down the road. A taste that seems to go full circle.

Now, Eat is what it says...an oyster bar - but there's this problem. I'm not a huge fan of oysters...but I'm learning. It's a texture thing for sure, but it doesn't mean they don't do em' good here. Fresh and local. It don't get no better. ;)

When I was a kid, I would throw tantrums about red beans and rice night. Sometimes, it would be okay because mom would buy Popeyes chicken to go with it...and that would suffice.
These days, beans and rice is one of my favorite meals...and I've wanted to turn it into a Monday tradition like it is in New Orleans. Yeah, I like that idea. [As I think to where my crock-pot would be..]

Basically, "Eat" has it goin' on.
Po'boys, fresh oysters, fried pickles and okra with freezin' cold beer. I mean, really?

Just remember to spend the rest of the night drinking water or else you'll wake up in the middle of the night with that infamous salty parched throat.

Goodness Gracious, what joy is found in a good meal, made with good ingredients by good people.

I walk away not only with a full belly, but with a full soul and that my friends, makes all the difference.