Pork for Dessert - Oh, Yeah!

You had better buckle up for this one – very bizarre – I only wish I had a picture of this – and to be sure, I’ll post one as soon as I make it!

This came in a vision to [yes, Matt again – this guy should write a book on how to read a menu – and he is very much like me – while I’m eating lunch, I am thinking about dinner – and what can be converted from dinner to a late night snack or even breakfast] – but I made some modifications.

For the nut-like topping (NOT):

· 1 smoked pork chop – diced

· Melted dark chocolate infused with Ancho Chili Powder – use plenty for a nice smoky flavor – or use milder milk chocolate if you prefer

Heat the chocolate, add a nice tablespoon of Ancho powder, and add the diced smoked pork – let simmer for a few minutes, then drain through a coarse sieve and set aside to cool, place in refrigerator to get happy! You are looking for individual chocolate-coated grains of pork – think pistachios!

Next, place a bed of pork rinds on a plate; [now really – you could just as easily crumble a few vanilla wafers – but the lipid delivery system must be complete] add a nice scoop of French Vanilla Ice Cream. Then, drizzle with Calvados (this will go very nicely), and top with the chilled pork bits, coated with the Ancho infused chocolate.

Oh, yes! This would sell in NYC, LA, you name it – especially if you could also get foie gras infused Vodka on the side!

Cheers, Aye!

My #1 Airport Restaurant Pick

You travel all of the time, spending countless dreadful hours groping through an endless sea of connections. And, yes, you do get an urge for a bite to eat now and then. But what a collection of dreadful places that airports everywhere seem to inflict upon the hapless wanderer. You are all painfully aware of the Food Court ~ at best it is a carnage of culinary misery that can only be ingested by the totally unaware whose insight is eclipsed by either a per diem or hunger so intense that all judgement instantly vaporizes. Yet a few sparse havens of delight are carefully nested here and there so as to tease you along your merry way. Where are they? Trial and error is ok, but here's a great tip for you. My very best favorite out of all of the airports I travel through, from Seattle to Dallas/Ft. Worth to Bismarck to LA to Tampa, to (to tedious to list)....is the Sky Asian Bistro in the Philadelphia International Airport. It can be found just a few steps into Concourse C. I so highly regard this little gem that I will actually shuttle there if located in another Terminal should time permit, just to dine! I would not necessarily elevate the Bistro to the level of a Cantonese Dim Sum House or a 3 Michelin Star sushi bar; however, you will find quite excellent Pan-Asian cuisine here at reasonable prices, although the beverage costs are a bit steep. Having said that, the sushi, hand rolls, sashimi are all excellent, as are the more traditional noodle bowls, soups and speciality items. The Kinki Chicken Wings are fantastic with the most provocative Polynesianesque sauce (mint, ginger and pickled cucumber), pan seared Ahi Tuna (Chinese spicing, wasabi and citrus dressing), and my all time favorite ~ the Black Dragon Roll with spicy salmon, eel, avocado, caviar and a drizzle of eel sauce. I drool just thing about it. come to think of it, the Red Dragon Roll is also quite tasty as well (salmon, yellow tail and tuna). The Service Staff is always polite and eager to please. February 9, 2010, the day they shut they shut down the airport while employees scrambled to get home, my Waitress, Lindsey made quite certain that everything I ordered was just right and promptly served. My wine glass never seemed to empty. So, for those of you who find yourself in the Philly airport - do stop in check it out - you will not be disappointed.

Seattle Recomendations

Seattle - half way around the world from New York State. The bleak, drab, misty, rainy, chilly January left me, as usual, famished. Now, there are some brief glimpses of the sun, and when that noble event occurs, everyone is crazy, out-of-their-minds with a dizzying euphoria ~ I would expect no less and understand completely. Syracuse, NY is only second to this Northwest City in overcast days. So, what is there to eat? Seattle boasts an amazing assortment of fine dining and ethnic eateries. The International District is moments away from my hotel: Silver Cloud Hotel Stadium (across the street from the Stadiums). Jimmy's (the Hotel restaurant, although I don't think affiliated) is really quite good: Shrimp and Dungeness Crab Cobb Salads, Clam Chowders, meat, pasta and fish dishes are all very well prepared. Their Chef, Steven prepared a couple of special platters for me - how great is that? The Barman, Donee (you must check out his web site: http://www.donalddeezplace.com/ -WARNING - some images may be leave you utterly disgusted, but yet you shall remain fascinated!), provided me with a list of his favorites: Armandino's Salumi (Mario Batali's Dad, and photo of store front) is wonderful (artisan cured and speciality meats - lunch line begins at 10:30 and they give you nibbles while you wait in the 3 block long queue); 631 Roaster House; Anthony's Pier 66; Ivar's; Fisherman's Terminal (for crab); Cutter's; UMI (sushi); Wasabi Bistro; Ohana (Polynesian); Maegowa (Japanese); Shananai (Cantonese); Green Leaf (Tiwanese); Peso's (for the carne asada, garlic mashed and green beans -WOW!). Also, look-up Greg Hancock, Director of Grills and Thrills at the Pyramid Breweries (across fron the Hotel). My stay was full of work, but I shall return in March and go through Donee's list more thoroughly. Hopefully, the sun will make an appearance.

Cheers! Happy Eats!

A Feasting We Will Go…The Pleasures of Excess!

Why, Oh Why do I go here…What is the point…Who cares and who listens? Well my beloved food friendly friends, it is you! You of all people get this …it is why you are here, reading the culinary musings of one who has spent endless evenings in a Grand Mal of flavor induced euphoria. Yet, it is simply not enough. You [We] want more, we need more and yet, with each attainable moment of temporal success, and after the endorphins have subsided, we are left crashed like a heroine junkie, sad, sullen, even morose…ah, yet here it comes…quietly at first, then building with increasing momentum, like a massive rock slide catapulting down the mountain…the thought blasts out of our skulls, loud enough to at least get our attention…what shall I have to eat next! Yes, that’s it!!! Options…many options, must be selective though…I only have this one opportunity for this one evening...must get it right. What shall it be? The answer to this question is largely dependent on mood. Here are a few simple suggestions on how to deal with this issue and maximize the opportunity:

1. Never order anything you can make better at home;
2. Whatever it is that you order, always order enough for a late night snack or breakfast (I do this all of the time, and actually write “leftovers for breakfast” on my receipts submitted to Clients – this way it is not so shocking that I spent $80 on a 5 oz. piece of Japanese Kobe Beef; I really do eat the leaftovers for breakfast!);
3. Stretch your taste buds into another culinary realm (I get very annoyed with folks who live their entire lives in a very narrow ethnic food lane); use the ever popular IPhone app – “Ethnic Food Lovers Delight” [not a bad idea, anyone interested in a little design work? $0.99 x 2 million subscribers will put a lot of puffer fish cheeks on your plate];
4. Go for things you need to eat with fingers, chop sticks, over-sized ladles, or slurp from a large vat;
5. Be sure that whatever it is, pork fat is involved [duck fat will also do in a pinch];
6. If number 5 above is not readily available, ask for a larding needle and do it yourself;
7. Ensure plenty of tasty beverages accompany the adventure;
8. And, lastly, order something that you can share with an invited friend or two; eating alone is about nutrition, eating with another is a party.

It is perfectly natural to enjoy the experience of decision-making, but once decided, move swiftly if you must, or linger quietly in the confidence that a decision has been struck, warmed in the knowledge that you have carved out a wonderful selection of plates, tailored to your specific mood of the moment and enjoy another glass of wine.

It’s a pity that we can’t embark on this adventure like every couple of hours or so. Maybe my heaven will present such an opportunity; my hell will, of course, include roast suckling pig!

Here we go again! Celebrity Chefs

This is a bona fide phenomenon. I remember back in the very early nineties, watching a very young Emeril Lagasse, another fellow, Pasquale Carpino, who would belt out operatic arias and steam saute his way through the show, Martin Yan, also very young, and of course Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. Who would have thought that almost 20 years later we would have such an array of TV entertainment dedicated to food and the people who cook it! Giada, can you say for me: "brooschkettaaa"? Mario, can you say: "the undisputed king of cheese, parmegianno reggggggiaannooooo"? Emeril - how about: Bam, bam, bam-bam? Guy Fieri - is it money or is it just off the hook? Paula - can you make anything without a "1/2 pound of buuutteeerrr"? Tyler - how about the "ultimate" farte? Bobby - just how many chili peppers does it take to grill a shrimp? Oh, speaking of peppers, Rick Bayless is purported to be the best ambassador of authentic Mexican cuisine in the US, and I am inclined to agree - he does not really have any signature tag lines - but he could speak at little less deliberately. Andrew Zimmerman - what the hell are you going to choke down next - stinky tofu smeared on a bagel, topped with wild boar snot? How about the Iron Chef, with that stringy acrobatic host - cause we need him to coordinate everything - a panel of no less than 3 "experts", two of which typically don't know a damn thing about cooking, a mystery ingredient that each battle contestant has known about for several weeks, and Alton Brown, chirping his way through the show with a blizzard of gastronomic food facts, like I care. The worst is that other commentator - Kevin Brauch - he adds such richness and dimension to the program when he recaps the scoring formula and helps me count to 5; I was left in tatters when he told Alton about the fish poop and kelp ice cream Iron Chef Morimoto had just made. Then you have Gordon Ramsay: yeah, bollux the bloody whatever, throw the dish down the bloody toilet and get the f%$&** out of here, you ingrate!" (Wow that does feel refreshing) This is only the beginning - it will never end, and it will provide ongoing fodder for food bloggers all over the world. Out of this chaotic melange of celebrity chefs, comes at least one with the integrity, the selflessness and creativity to dominate the food scene: What would we do to fill our pantries without Sandra Lee?

This was such fun that I think I'll do another blog on Celebrity Chefs.

Anthony Bourdain ~ finally someone gets me!

This is the man that changed everything, and pretty much all at once with the birth of No Reservations! He has spent 28 years sweating, smoking, drinking, eating, creating and enjoying his career immensely. Now, he has achieved the pinnacle of prominence, the acme of ACME, the fundamental Holy Grail of what I believe to be the very best profession imaginable: he writes, eats, travels and is always hungry for more. Not every Chef could pull this off. His appeal is so refreshing, and a sharp departure from the well-scripted verse imposed by the FoodTV network. Anthony would never tolerate such a thing. In a staccato burst of creative expletives (I mean, how can you not admire a fellow like that), he would storm out of the #$%&&* set in a blaze of fury, snarling with abject disdain. Why do I like this guy? Because he is the real deal - not some pre-fabricated TV personality. And, I have noticed a subtle change over his 5 seasons. He is focusing increasingly on the human condition and the learnings so generously offered, with food as the pivot point! This is the friction that ignites the story. Everything about his show captures the essence, the spirit, the core of his view in the moment of exploration. He reactions are always genuine. There is a bit of a hard edge to him, that when turned inside out reveals a very soft downy, almost drowsy lining that has such appeal. He can be warm, yet turn on a dime into a scathing critic of whatever is in his view finder at that instant. His enjoyment of food is boundless. The contemporary physio-metrics and the science of metabolic processing demands grafting a porta-potty to his backside ~ how can he survive some of those ethnic feasting bouts? Would that I could travel to the some of the special places that he's been - thank God he provides a vehicle for the unexplorable. He gets me, because I get him!

The Movable Feast ~ Friday Day 5:

By now, my cholesterol levels lie beyond the limits of present measurability. I have taken on a unique skin tone, no doubt attributed to the natural sheen my coat has absorbed from fat.

318 Mill Café (Excelsior, MN): Matt found this little gem for our final lunch that was a convenient shot for me to the MSP airport. Greg Archer, another GRE Environmental Professional joined us. We began with two homemade pizzas: apple, bacon, gorgonzola and a Serrano ham, pear & chevre, accented with a spinach/balsamic reduction. The dough is made fresh daily. We generally don’t like to mix fruit with savory on pizzas, but the combination work very well. For my main lunch, I ordered the Cured Meat tray that included very generous portions of Serrano, sopressata, chorizo, conrnichons, kalamata olives, sautéed walnuts and baguette. Greg had a taco assortment, his favorite being the potato, chorizo, with queso fresco. Then there is Matt; his deliberations took quite a while ~ he must have reviewed their little menu 100 times, interspersing his reading with forays to inspect the dessert bar. He finally decided on a turkey, brie, apple sandwich slathered with honey/pecan butter. He then “taco cost averaged” his way into two nice ones: the chorizo potato and also shredded chicken. We were stuffed, but not Matt – he consumed a rather huge artisan cupcake in about three bites. I sweat just thinking about it! If you get a chance, you must go to the 318 Mill Café, it won’t disappoint!

Thanks!

At the end of the day, it is amazing how food can bring people of diverse interests together, and is this particular instance, to share the gluttonous bounty produced during this week-long harvest. Thanks to Erik for his home-smoked salmon, to Lloyd Brandt for the smoked salmon from Lowes, and a special thanks to Matt for all of the work he must have invested to bring this all together. He has already commenced preparations for my next visit. To preview: indigenous fresh Lake Superior fish boils; outdoor pizza oven cook your own, adventure; Thai submarine sandwiches (this I gotta experience) and Heaven knows what else is lurking behind that under-nourished noggin of his! Bon Appetite!

ps ~ Minnesota, who would have ever guessed!

pss ~ apologies for my incorrect assertion in a prior article that "anything on a stick" is a signature Minnesotan dish - only at the State Fair, where you can bet your last dollar that each year out performs the last in this regard.