Gerry Furth-Sides Archives - Page 80 of 82

Macaron and Canale: French Pastry Goes Mainstream

January 5, 2016 Comments Off

Heavenly French macarons and rich hot dark chocolate have become the newest form of “cookies and milk” –and more healthy and non-fattening!

We’re talking here about the French macaron, not the candy-kiss-shaped coconut meringue cookies, though are made of egg whites and almond paste and got their biggest boost both originated in Italy. But leave it to the French. Their more fragile version with a crispy outer shell and pillowy- soft yet chewy inside is inordinately tricky to prepare and .

“Macaroon,” comes from the Italian word for paste, maccarone, and, the first maccarone can be traced to an Italian monastery. The cookie arrived in France in 1533 with the pastry chefs of Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henri II (literally the Martha Stewart of her time, she who spread many glorious culinary trends across Europe).

The story continues with two Benedictine nuns, Sister Marguerite and Sister Marie-Elisabeth, who when seeking asylum in the town of Nancy during the French Revolution (1789-1799), baked and sold so many French macarons to pay for their housing, they became known as the “Macaron Sisters.”

About that time Italian Jews adopted the cookie for Passover because it has no flour or leavening, also adding chewy coconut to the dough. This “Jewish” sweet became popular all over Europe and America, and came to define “macaroon” – until recently!

At the turn of this century, New York and Los Angeles bakers seized upon this confection that had earlier took Paris by storm. That’s when Pierre Desfontaines Ladurée had the inspiration to join two plain almond (no coconut) meringues, adding complementary fillings of ganache or jam and refining the exquisite texture into one both brittle and chewy. Oui! Oui! Fast forward

Today the French macaron arrives in a variety of classic and contemporary flavors all with bold, vibrant colors: Apricot and Raspberry, each filled with jam; Lemon with lemon crème filling; sophisticated bittersweet chocolate; Coffee; Vanilla and Pistachio, which, as combined with the almond paste flavor, is reminiscent of Baskin-Robbins Pistachio Almond.

The new Chocolate Box Café has the best selection, delicate, gorgeous and in authentic bite-sized, nested in a gem of a box to match (//www.chocolateboxcafe.com). La Provence has an assortment of delicacies, crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. SherryYard’s macaroons are perfection as specials from the time she was at Spago to her new post at Helm’s Bakery. 2014-10-19 19.21.21 For the richest raspberry macaroons, Bottega Louie (www.bottegalouie.com). For the most delicate lavender macaroons. (www.thelittledoor.com). For the finest coffee version, La Provence Café www.laprovencecafe.com). These days even Trader Joe has gotten into the act and their variety assortment is very, very good even though their seasonal pumpkin flavor falls flat.

The macaron combine beautifully with another new trend, hot chocolate. ChocolateBox Cafe shaves the best of European chocolate, Belgian, into their Classic Hot Chocolate drinks.

And we can’t forget the Moroccan macaron, made without dairy here at Got Kosher Cafe. 12Jun01-265 2

The canale, our very favorite, is a close cousin. (www.gotkosherinc.com)

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TART Sweetens the American Regional Menu with Sorghum

January 5, 2016 Comments Off

2015-12-30 14.48.05 (1) Even knowledgeable foodies may anticipate that the “sorghum” in Chef Keith Shutta’s Butternut squash sorghum “risotto” on his new TART Restaurant menu is a syrup. But when the chef presented the dish, it turned out to be the grain that the chef pops from tiny, globular grains of white sorghum to make a king of miniature popcorn, and that looks exactly like popped corn, pops tiny, globular grains of white sorghum to make a kind of miniature popcorn. The whimsical pops add an original spark to the layers of flavors in the dish of roasted butternut squash, fried sage, popped sorghum and parmesan.

The Butternut squash sorghum “risotto” is one of the robust American regional favorites. Another labeled “snack” is the old-fashioned, Deviled Ham and Eggs – here with Fried onion ringlets on top. It’s perfect for the restaurant that sits inside the historic Farmer’s Daughter Motel.

A beautiful Roasted Beet with Avocado Mousse, features puffed grains (here are the grains again!), shaved baby turnips, oranges, bulls blood and white balsamic vinaigrette. “Bulls blood,” beet microgreens with a delightful hint of beets, are not as bitter as other common microgreens. With bright red stems, and both red and green leaves, they are tender, sweet and have a beet-like flavor.

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Another original American regional seasonal plate that celebrates both winter and the coming spring is a Crispy skinned “angle eye” with creamed mushrooms, fried rapini leaves, baby leeks and Atomic horseradish butter.

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A dish in the Shared section that could appeal year-around is the new Smoked trout dip with shaved celery, grilled peppers, radish sprouts, Ritz crackers and Crystal hot sauce.

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A Little History

Sorghum is long associated with the rural south and, in fact, at the turn of this century Southern chefs paid it some attention when they were working with historic ingredients. But the idea of eating sorghum as a grain or in flour form itself itself is still, well, exotic…. Exotic in the same way that dandelion or collard greens, arugula and couscous were “exotic” although they were used in kitchens for centuries.

6sorghumEthiopiaUCBerk.img_assist_custom-270x186 The group of nutrition and flavor-packed grains is so old it’s considered an “ancient” grain along with amaranth, quinoa and the latest foodie fad, freekeh. Until now most of it ended up as fuel or animal feed. But recently, domestic farmers, chefs and consumers have recently started appreciating what African and Indian cooks have known for years: that grain sorghum is ridiculously easy to grow, healthy (high fiber! no gluten!) delicious, with a nutty, complex flavor and dozens of culinary possibilities. Sorghum used to be a major player in ancient trade routes like the Silk Road, but in modern times, it’s sadly been relegated pauper’s food.” Now it seems everyone’s getting into the act. South Carolina’s High Wire Distilling recently rolled out a deep amber sorghum whiskey using grains from a Mennonite farm in Central Tennessee.

Chef Keith told us that sorghum is “the third-largest cereal grain in the country, fifth in the world – with the U.S. being the top exporter, accounting for 75% of global trade. Sorghum grain is prized in today’s environment since it is drought tolerant and resistant to mycotoxins and fungi. Most of it is grown in the area around the southern parts of both Nebraska and Texas.

Versatile sorghum provides food, feed and fuel. In Africa and parts of Asia, sorghum is primarily a human food product; it is used mainly for livestock feed and in a growing number of ethanol plants in the U.S. – until now. (That’s a picture of sorghum being grown in an Ethiopian field.)

Sorghum has an edible hull like some other grains, is commonly eaten with all its outer layers, thereby retaining the majority of its nutrients. Sorghum also is grown from traditional hybrid seeds and does not contain traits gained through biotechnology, making it nontransgenic (non-GMO). Research is now being done on the positive impact of the sorghum hull on human cardiac health and its ingredients that may have cholesterol-lowering capability

Sorghum improves the texture of recipes and digests more slowly due to its lower glycemic index, so it sticks with you a bit longer than some other flours or flour substitute

(//tartrestaurant.com) is nested in a sort of barnyard collage of historic buildings inside the iconic Farmer’s Daughter Hotel in the historic Fairfax District in L.A., 115 S. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, Ca 90036, (323) 556-2608

Marlo’s Bakeshop Updates A Classic Global Favorite

January 2, 2016 Comments Off

images A “star” baker as a relative with a closely guarded recipe automatically bestows bragging rights onto an immigrant family. The family of Marlo Gertz of Marlo’s Bakeshop in San Francisco is no exception. But unlike so many recipes that have disappeared (like my Viennese grandmother’s tissue paper strudel), Marlo not only got the rights to her grandmother Ann’s “secret” mandel brot recipe that arrived generations before from Russia to Philadelphia, she updated it to share it with the world. And the story of bringing the product to market feels as though Marlo Gertz’s own drive and new home in start-up heaven San Francisco synchronized to make Grandmother Ann’s approval worthwhile.

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Marlo’s Soft-baked Biscotti translates the Jewish mandel brot into a version that shares the same roots and flavors as historic Italian biscotti. This adaptation is a cross between a soft-baked cookie and a classic, crusty biscotti. “The bit of crunch gives it “dunk-ability,” Marlo explains, “ but people who typically shy away from classic biscotti because of its hard, brittle texture also love it.” We found that it was closer to a dense cookie consistency than crispy biscotti.

If Marlo has east coast savvy, academic education and motivation, she is a Californian marketing dream with striking healthy looks –high cheek bones and long blonde hair ( from the Lithuanian side of her family) and a vibrant smile. An enthusiastic entrepreneur, Marlo, gets as excited when she tells the story of how she created her product as if it was the first time.

“I remember hearing about my grandmother, Ann, making what became the original flavor back in the 50’s as a snack for my dad and uncle, her sons – — baking for three to four days at a time. She affectionately labeled her twice-baked cookie a “kmish (Yiddish for mixture) bread. The mandel brot became such a family favorite “it marked a rite of passage to receive your own tin. And I was thrilled when I received my first one at college!”

But that’s getting ahead of the story. After college, Marlo moved from NY to SF in 2011 and worked in software but “found myself baking for my office mates and friends. And I enjoyed the idea of making something sweet and making people happy. Then my grandmother passed on the recipe to me when she got arthritis and was not baking as much.”

Biscotti was originally made as a practical and nourishing long-shelf-life food, very dry and with no fat, for travelers. One of the first purposes was to feed a moving army, was well carried out by the traveling Roman Legions of the time. The unleavened, finger-shaped wafers were baked twice, first to cook them, then to completely dry them out and make them durable for travel.

Modern biscotti, associated with Italy’s Tuscan region, were then flavored with almonds from the plentiful groves of Prato, where the cookies are still known as Cantucci di Prato. Famed Jewish cookbook writer, Joan Nathan, wrote, “with a large Jewish population in Piedmont, Italy may have been the place where Jews first tasted biscotti and later brought them to Eastern Europe, where they renamed them, mandelbrot, which literally means almond bread.”

Jewish bakers dispersed to many countries took it from there, developing and updating the practical cookie, almost all continuing the use of oil instead of butter and the twice-baked method. “Oil creates a more tender texture, softer crumb,” says Marlo. “And I started becoming aware of how this works in a twice-baked cookie.

“That’s when I went through a program at Tante Marie’s Cooking School on week-ends while still working. (I add an exclamation point here). I had a ball. “Mary Risley, the owner/founder, is an icon in the San Francisco food world.” (Risley is still active though she recently closed the school after 50 years).

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This venerated teacher’s many honors through the years are legendary, starting with “The Cooking Teacher of the Year” by BON APPETIT magazine in 1997. In 1998, she was awarded “Humanitarian of the Year” by the James Beard Foundation, for her “Food Runner” volunteer organization to help alleviate hunger in San Francisco, and in 2008 she received the Jefferson Award in San Francisco for Food Runners. As if this the program alone was not enough motivation, Marlo “became aware of other women creating wildly successful businesses, such as the school graduates and founders of Sprinkles and Kara’s Cupcakes. I got so inspired and motivated by this that I launched my own business in 2012 while I was still working full time for the whole year.”

When she started sourcing, Marlo learned that,”being on the west coast is a total gift because we could find vendors with the highest quality ingredients, be green and eco-friendly, and still have the best tasting product. Even though we have pure cane sugar and eggs in the cookies, we never want to make it a big sugar bomb.”

By the time Marlo’s Bakeshop had a retail box ready to approach buyers, Marlo had gone through a number of incarnations. She had to keep in mind that, “since there is no butter, they can’t spread into a thin loaf. At the same time there is lots of baking powder so, from a thin rope shape, they puff up into their very recognizable shape.” By the time she was satisfied, Marlo had tried five different chocolate chip companies and a number of baking powders, flour mills and walnuts. RK5GGSQgTfSCHNVKolIB_single_Midnight “For example, our Midnight flavor does have coffee as an ingredient but the Java coffee doesn’t really have a distinct flavor. It is intended to lend a strong back note to the chocolate, intensifying it. 200 22049568992_1f6088e2a7_o

“We took time with packaging design, too.” She chuckles, “because mandel brot and “kmish” bread are not familiar names to the public, we called it, Soft baked Biscotti, going for both the traditional biscotti lovers and cookie lovers. ‘Biscotti,’ alone was a polarizing name because it brings up the notion of being hard, brittle but retain its integrity when you dunk it into coffee,” while a cookie is just the opposite and dissolved in coffee. images-1

One ardent, representative fan described the new version well on the Marlo’s Bakeshop website (//www.marlosbakeshop.com): “Marlo’s biscotti…has the perfect chewy and crispy consistency, not too hard, not too soft, which makes it very easy to eat and enjoy.” So it pairs well with coffee, tea & an assortment of wine varietals and bourbon.

The Original contains everything that grandmother Ann’s mandel brot did with added “sexy” favorites, such as farm fresh walnuts that are toasted, chocolate chips and raisins that are chocolate-covered. The uniformly same-length cookies, each individually-wrapped in film, are available in 5oz boxes or single serving. “In order to achieve this kind of quality, we have a co-packer in Sonoma County who does the baking in huge convection ovens with the air circulated all around,” says Marlo.

Marlo shares a kind of immigrant experience in terms of “first selling my biscotti door to door, just like my ancestors would have done in Russia– although I drove around to do this.” She agrees that biscotti is one of those international ethnic basics, like pancakes/crepes/pies, influenced by tradition, location and changing resources.

And surveys in her case. According to Marlo, “As far as flavors, the soft-baked biscotti are like a blank canvas.” Where an immigrant baker would get relative of getting feedback and flavor requests from friends and family. In this way, Marlo “discovered the banana flavor most compelling. So we developed a Banana Bread flavor with real banana, maple and Lake County walnuts. After very third person asked for a Gluten-Free flavor, we added this to the mix that was already dairy free.”

Marlo reveals, “We are moving toward flavors that are evocative of desserts. The new Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake flavor will even have a crumble on top.” Warm pie spices and chocolate make the Chocolate Pumpkin Pie introduced for the 2015 season original. Pure Maple syrup, orange juice, cinnamon clove, nutmeg and sea salt add a spark, and sugar blend topping provides a sparkly holiday finish.

images Marlo’s “commitment to providing customers with a delicious and natural product made from ‘clean’ ingredients from trusted sources” paid off in 2014. After a year of pursuing verification, signature line of three flavors (including gluten, dairy, soy & nut-free options) passed a rigorous screening & analysis process to earn the Non-GMO Project Verified seal and remains the only Non-GMO Verified soft-baked biscotti on the market. At the same time, Marlo’s Bakeshop as a woman-owned company was named a Certified Diverse Supplier by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Marlo’s Bakeshop products are available throughout the country at leading specialty & natural grocers, wineries, gift basket companies & online at MarlosBakeshop.com, by calling 415.952.7013 or emailing Info@MarlosBakeshop.com.

How does Marlo’s family feel about sharing the family recipe? “My family are my biggest supporters,” she reports. “They even do inventory check for me (checking market shelves).

And Marlo is keeping it “all in the family” in the future, too. She finds it fun to learn from the experiences of her fiancé in the toy industry, also involved in a local start up. “There is such an overlap between toys and cookies that we share same customers and vendors at times.

And best of all,” Marlo concludes, ” my grandmother Ann often calls me up with a big order for all her friends!”

Petrossian: Historic Russian Product with A Timeless Appeal

December 29, 2015 Comments Off

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When I test drove a marvelous vintage Porsche last month I had no idea I would soon be tasting caviar at about the same price. Among the most famous and expensive of the precious eggs, Almas (“diamond” in Russian) costs about the same price pound per pound at $25,000 for 1 kg or $700 per ounce.

Though caviar is simply sieved and lightly salted fish roe, only premium sturgeon roe is considered “true” caviar. Oddly enough, this heavenly and precious treasure comes from a fish with a face only a gourmet could love. Toothless, soft and cartilaginous, it is one of the few surviving bony fish to retain its prehistoric appearance with distinctive long bony plates on the outside and no bones in the flesh.

There are twenty-four existing sturgeon species worldwide. Five of them live in the Caspian Sea, and three of them supply the caviar for 90 percent of the world’s production.

The names are magical: prized Beluga, incomparable Osetra, and the exquisite Sevruga. The older the fish, the lighter the roe is in color – and the more valuable. Also, the larger the eggs, the more expensive the caviar will be with the intensified, increased volume of taste.

There is no better way to learn about caviar than while experience it at the famed Petrossian store and restaurant that retains its old-world charm even with isleek new counters and modern, airy interior.

“The pale silver-gray Beluga caviar is esteemed for its soft, extremely large (pea-size) eggs and extremely thin membranes,” we were told. The better to taste you, my dear. “It nearly became extinct by the end of the last century that this past year, so sadly, it has been banned from being imported into the U.S.”

But not to worry. Other imports, as well as a newer domestic sturgeon are available. With darker and smaller eggs, Ossetra is slightly smaller and firmer in texture than the Beluga. Dark grey-brown and sometimes even golden, its tender walnut- flavour makes it a highly demanded delicacy.

For eating caviar straight out of the jar or tin, figure at least 15 to 30grams per person.One serving of Royal Ossetra costs almost $400; to feed eight generously with Tsaw Imperial Ossetra will set you back close to $4000. And not to worry, there are plenty of takers. In fact, customers who come in almost daily. And there are a few celebrities who do just that on a whim.

Tasting the Osetra the classic way on blini’s and then on the top of my hand between the thumb and forefinger was a new sensation. As instructed, I let the cavier melt in my mouth, savoring the nutty and buttery texture and taste until it was gone.

Highly valued for its incomparable bright, robust flavor and rich aroma, next came the Sevruga from a racy, slim fish ($268-$2700). The smaller eggs range in color from dark to light gray. Harvested just as the sturgeon peaked at maturity, the briny notes of the Sevruga are restrained and the texture is velvety; close your eyes as the rich eggs melt and you really are experiencing a perfect day at the beach.

Alverta Cavier ($163 to $1890) was next. This delectable domestic, farm-raised caviar developed over the last decade in the Sacramento area has a much lighter though a buttery nutty, smooth flavor.

“Domestic has short-lived bursts of flavor while imported eggs explode with a nutty, buttery flavor that lingers on and on,” was our opinion, though we feel it is really “a matter of personal taste.”

Sterling spent entire decade of no profits and a lot of hard work to perfect the eco-friendly, sustainable fashioned harvesting and processing.

“Caviar is best when it’s served simply, “ he said, though it must be kept cold. Caviar should always be serving using nonmetallic utensils to avoid a metallic taste, preferably on elegant small mother of pearl, shell or bone spoons.

Traditionally, caviar served on toast points or buckwheat pancakes “blinis” can be topped with crème fraiche, sour cream, finely chopped red onion, chopped boiled egg, capers or chives. Dry Champagne or ice cold Vodka, sipped slowly, is the only acceptable drink.

Tins of Almas were once reserved for Russian czars. When the Czars were “made to disappear during the 1917 revolution,” Jordan told us, ‘White” Russians’ carried this precious cargo to Paris and started a craze.” “No one could imagine the international fame of the Petrossian brothers who pioneered the first caviar Boutique and Restaurant in 1920 while studying law and medicine.”

Today, U.S. caviar consumers alone are responsible for 60 percent of legal worldwide caviar imports with an estimated value of over $100 million. And don’t forget the additional illegal trade – estimated at $500 million. Eat your heart out, Porsche.

Asian Seaweed Salad

December 27, 2015 Comments Off

Seaweed may first have made American news decades ago as a kooky Asian health food fad, popular with “hippies” but these days the intriguing ingredient has moved onto more sophisticated and fashionable international circles.

Dishes can be as lavish as the tony new grazing dishes on the posh Norwegian Cruise Lines at sea. A small designer plate of mini-soba noodle, seaweed salad and spring rolls is one typical example. The dish caters to guest preferences for more high of a variety of quality raw and ethnic dishes; lighter, smaller portions, and visual appeal.

Ironically, passengers on the luxury liners are probably sailing over beds of the economically and ecologically important marine algae found throughout the world. Long considered a great delicacy in Asia, it is a primary product of aquaculture in China, Korea and Japan (Nori, Kombu and Wakame) with Japanese Nori production worth $2 billion annually.

Though usually thought of as an Asian food ingredient, seaweed has already been gaining popularity around the world in rustic circles. In the British Isles, laver, a purplish-black, wild North Atlantic cousin to nori, is mixed with fat and rolled oats and fried into a breakfast bread.

Health-conscious cooks learned long ago that small amounts of the undiluted sea vegetable, especially readily available fresh and dried Wakame, remain packed with nutrients including vitamins A, C, E, B complex and B12, as well as calcium, potassium, iron, protein, fiber and some omega-3 fatty acids. Watch out for the salt, though, and remember that seaweed originates in the “salty” ocean.

Dried seaweed can be purchased in health food stores, fish markets, Asian markets and online. But a tasty introduction to the freshest and biggest variety of seasweed can still be at a restaurant. Asian restaurant chefs especially long understood the value of seaweed as the earth’s natural bounty, incorporating it as an integral part of both salads and sushi wrappings. One third generation restaurant owner’s mom enticed him into tasting seaweed for the first time by pointing out how smooth the skin of the fish that ate it! Seaweed has always been on his menus because as he explains, “as a child in Korea, my mother taught me that the sea is nature’s storehouse of beauty products, and seaweed is the best.”

Seaweed salads can also be as simple as an on-the-go Asian Market lunch comprised of a package of dried or marinated with soy sauce, black vinegar, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Gyu-Kaku and Chaya Venice Restaurant feature sea soup and salad with seaweed as a minor ingredient to leverage saltiness. Gyu-Kaku’s novelty dishes of Cream Cheese rolled in Seaweed and their solo Crispy Seaweed sheets appeal to the palate because of the combination of textures and the tasty sesame oil coating on the seaweed making them continual best sellers.

The Slow Fish seaweed salad earns honors with mounds of three different kinds of seaweed, shredded carrot, daikon and strips of toasted seaweed and . It feeds all of the senses and has a crunchy texture that makes it fun to eat. The salad became not only a signature dish, but won the downtown community #1 salad award.

The anti-carcinogenic properties of brown seaweeds (kelp) are well noted but not yet understood. The following seaweeds are rich in iron, protein, calcium, zinc and iodine. Hijiki is also a good source of lignans, a substance which helps fight cancer.

Arame is a good introduction to seaweed because of its mild taste and rich source of iron. Capable of blending well with other flavors, and can be steamed, sautéed, added to soup, or eaten in salads.

Hijiki is similar to arame. Hijiki is a black, slightly bitter tasting seaweed and is sold dried in short course strips. Best used in dishes that require slow cooking. Okinawans simmer hijiki with soybeans (after soaking them overnight) and vegetables.

Kombu is a kelp, a brown seaweed cultivated in Japan and eaten both raw and cooked. Kombu is sweet tasting and in the West is used mainly to flavor broths, soups and sauces. Kombu or kelp comes packaged in dried strips. To prepare: cut into smaller strips, add to water and boil for 10 minutes. Use the water as a base for soups or other dishes. Kombu can also be soaked in water and used to wrap around flavored fish and vegetables.

Nori is normally sold in convenient dried sheets. Nori is best used to wrap around small rice balls, which are then dipped in shoyu. After soaking, Nori can be added to soup or used as a salad ingredient.

Wakame kelp looks and tastes like spinach lasagna. Wakame is similar to Kombu and it can be used in many of the same ways, particularly in soup. Best used in salads, added to soup or broth or used as a topping for other dishes. Soaked dry wakame in water expands to about ten times in size. Wakame should have the central vein cut out after soaking. It can then be either simmered for 10 minutes or cut into small pieces and served as a salad.

Scrumptious Brownies: An American Original

December 21, 2015 Comments Off

We are categorizing brownies as “American originals,” but everyone in the world loves brownies, even people who are not “chocolate people” like myself. So imagine receiving a snowy white post office box with only the holiday logos on it in the mail and opening it to feast your eyes on the image above. It is a SCRUMPTIOUS FLAVORS box of brownies, all beautifully in hard plastic “canning” containers. They are fun, and they are light and unbreakable. The rich brownies inside are the perfect combination of dense fudginess with layers of chocolate flavor in a sweet little bite size. In fact, the original treats are labeled, Bite Sized Brownies.

Scrumptious Flavors comes from an all American town in the west: Whittier, California. There doesn’t seem to be much of a back story to this endeavor, but the brownies are so good it doesn’t seem to matter.

Each Wam Bam Chocolate is the “Signature Double Chocolate” with Chocolate chips and coffee blended evenly and unobtrusively into the small brownies for elegance. The Scrumptious bakers recommend these as the perfect treat with a glass wine.

Butterscotch Bliss is the Signature Double chocolate with Butterscotch chips.

Heavenly Caramel, a Chewy Caramel with Signature double chocolate, was designed especially for caramel lovers.

We tried each of the different kinds with vanilla ice cream, coffee gelato, with espresso and as the centerpiece of mixed fresh fruit on a dessert plate (blackberries, blueberries and pomegranates- with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or creme fraische. And guess what. All of them worked!

Gooey Gluten Free is relatively new. The name says it all. People say it is the best gluten-free brownie that they have ever had. However, Scrumptious Brownie staff adds, “we do our best to make this a gluten-free product, it is baked on shared equipment, and we cannot guarantee it’s purity.”

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Yes, brownies are everyone’s favorites, and why not with their chocolate base and combination textures of cookie and cake?

According to //ushistoryscene.com/resources, Emerging digital research technology can help us to better understand the trajectory of brownie popularity over time. The Google Books Ngram Viewer tool suggests that the word “brownies” has been published significantly more since the 1970s.

The history site claims that, “no further research is necessary to uncover the roots of the increase to the ever-growing demand for the classic dessert, as evidenced by the fact that entire cookbooks are now devoted solely to chocolate brownies.”

Classic American brownies were heavily affected by these endeavors in the line of manufacturing, primarily through changes in the chocolate available and the culinary innovation of prepared mixes. Three large food companies – General Foods, General Mills, and Pillsbury – played an important role in the development of cake and brownie mixes in the middle of the twentieth century, relying heavily on national distribution and advertising. Companies sponsored national “Bake-Offs” or recipe contest events with cash prizes to encourage home cooking innovation. They also regularly produced television advertisements and sponsored cooking shows to promote their products.Through co-branding, Betty Crocker/General Mills and Hershey’s were able to share in the promotion of this brownie mix.

Food industry product design has kept up with changing technology and lifestyles. Following health fads and dietary restrictions, whether high protein, low sugar, low fat, low carb, high fiber, raw, vegan, or gluten-free, brownies have more recently taken on a role as a diet food!

Some brownie recipes even call for beets, black beans or pureed carrots and spinach, as a means to sneak healthier ingredients into what was originally designed as a dessert. One divisive product recently launched on the market, Lazy Cakes, is a brownie that includes a large dose of melatonin to make consumers sleepy, a counterpart to the host of contentious energy drinks currently available.

Classic American brownies were heavily affected by these developments, primarily through changes in the chocolate available and the culinary innovation of prepared mixes. Three large food companies – General Foods, General Mills, and Pillsbury – played an important role in the development of cake and brownie mixes in the middle of the twentieth century, relying heavily on national distribution and advertising. Companies sponsored national “Bake-Offs” or recipe contest events with cash prizes to encourage home cooking innovation. They also regularly produced television advertisements and sponsored cooking shows to promote their products.

Modern-day brownies

Chocolate brownies retain a powerful hold on the American palate and imagination. Today, brownies can be found with a number of flavor variations and add-ons, such as peanut butter, mint, coffee, raspberry, white chocolate, almonds, raisins, candies, or caramel. In the United States, one is never far from an artisan or mass-produced brownie. Controversially, brownies have also been host to marijuana mix-ins in recent decades, and with the increasing legality of medical marijuana usage, they have become one means of therapeutic oral delivery of the drug.

Some brownie recipes even call for beets, black beans, pureed carrots (for sweetness) and spinach healthier ingredients into a dessert of chocolate, which also has health properties. . One divisive product recently launched on the market, Lazy Cakes, is a brownie that includes a large dose of melatonin to make consumers sleepy, a counterpart to the host of contentious energy drinks currently available.

Catering Chef Roberta Deen adds this tip for brownies which are a combination of fudge and cake: “I doubled the old Betty Crocker recipe and baked it in a 12” square pan. I changed out regular bittersweet chocolate for Mexican chocolate and used almonds and Kalua for the Mexican version. This was after many changes through the years. Actually the first thing I cooked on my own was brownies from Good Housekeeping paperback book.

“When I was the chef at Along Came Mary, Inc, I found the Parrish (products) removable bottom square pans and Maida Heatter started the thing of lining pan with foil. Worked like a dream. I liked the fudgy thickness and they give 72 1×2″ cuts per pan. And I started to add chocolate chips too.It helps with not sticking, makes easy to cut without having to peel off bits of waxed or parchment paper and you can use the pan again right away because it is clean.

My mom was Czech and a passionate cook who attended French cooking school in Europe. She made extraordinary pastries and 10” tall coffee cakes; my grandmother made tissue-paper think strudel. But we did not eat brownies at home (though loved pizza made from a boxed mix (!) when my dad was out of town on business.) However, long after my mom passed away, my dad married a smart, witty and doting “American” pianist. She was not so passionate about cooking, easy to believe, and my dad took over behind the stove. However, she made the absolutely best brownies! It turned out her secret was Betty Crocker mix, to which she added sour cream!

The most reliable way I’ve found to present perfect brownies and satisfy the chocolate craving to date, however, is Scrumptious Brownies. For more information, please see: www.scrumptiousbrownies.com, 14408 Whittier blvd, B-7 CA, 90605.

My Czech-ered Past Catches up with Me This Xmas

December 18, 2015 Comments Off

(Gerry Furth-Sides) A traditional Czech feast, both luxe and straightforward at the same time, welcomed in both the holiday season and the new Consul of Czech Republic. A light drizzle added to the wintery feeling and made his beautiful home feel all the more festive and cozy.

Fish Soup in a Light Broth

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Fried fish, traditionally Carp (Tilapia here), Potato Salad

The recipe for potato salad differs slightly among every Czech family. The main ingredients potato cooked with jacket, canned peas, onions, cooked carrots, parsley and celery, pickled gherkins, cooked eggs and mayonnaise. Some families may add grated apples or salami. The best potato salad is prepared a day before Christmas Eve so that all the ingredients can “mellow” for a day. Legend has it that “the Christmas dinner should be the first food consumed that day. Those who do not break the Christmas shrove are believed to be able to see a golden pig on a wall.”

Chef David Pavlik explained to us that Carp is wonderful in Czechoslovakia and in Israel, but the quality is inferior is most other place. I remember when my fantastic cook, Aunt Alice, came from Czechoslovakia to the U.S. by way of Canada, there was a live carp swimming in a pail in her pantry. I remember having no reaction since our extended family was still in the meat broking business at the time (and in Czechoslovakia where the army was a main client).

A little research shows a strong connection between Christmas and carp Fishing. Traditionally the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as in Germany and Slovakia, the man of the house would go and fish for the carp or buy it at the fish market. Fish would be usually brought home alive and kept overnight in the bath. On the Christmas night the Carp would be killed and freshly served fried or steamed. Leftovers of the fish would be used to cook a traditional fish soup.

These days, Chef David uses talapia instead. Passionate about food, David told us that he catered and did parties outside of his nine to five job because he loved cooking so much. I did remember reading this fact about carp (and that when my aunt came from Czechoslovakia to the United States by way of Canada, she bought live carp and had them swimming in a bucket in the back pantry! When I cooked on TV more recently, we used Simplot (who does the McDonald’s potatoes) farm-raised Talapia since this fish is considered a bottom feeder.

The most delicious, moist and dense Vanocka or Christmas Sweet Bread was dessert. All three rows of this were gone in no time!

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Before the Christmas holidays, many kinds of sweet biscuits are prepared. The Christmas cookies are then served during the whole Christmas period and exchanged among friends and neighbors.

St. Nicholas Day, Dec. 6, signals the beginning of Christmas baking for many Czechs. Out come all the time-honored recipes for labor-intensive and easy no-bake cookies and sweets known as vánoční cukrovi (vah-NAWTCH-nee tsoo-KRAW-vee). Many of them were in our gift bags as we departed for the evening. Butter cookies (made into a sandwich with a thimble hole in one of two cookies and jam in between the layers, dainty tarts, almond slab-studded icebox cookies and crescents were the ones I remember from home.

The basic butter cookie turns into many versions in the Czech kitchen. This one basic recipe can be transformed into different cookies by varying the shape, and sandwiching together with jam or cookie filling, decorating with different-colored icings, dusting with confectioners’ sugar or leaving plain.

Susenky (soo-SHEN-kee) are popular cookies served for special occasions and at Christmas they become vanocni cukrovi (vah-NAWTCH-nee koo-KRAW-vee). This easy recipe for Czech black-and-white cookies or linecke testo dvoubarevne (lih-NETS-keh TAYS-toh dvaw-oo-bah-RREV-nay) can be made into zavitky (pinwheel), sachovnice (checkerboard), kolecka s obrouckou (wheel), rezy ze cytr pruhu (square), and salam (salami) shapes.

The next day we served them on a family cafe set that made them taste better, if possible.

If anything, the pastries I remember from home were richer and filled much more butter? Why? Because my parents were of the Austro-Hungarian Empire – which had such strong influences from the French and Italian, “the best,” as they always boasted. It is also why, as my chef friend, Roberta Deen, pointed out, the fact that you loved our Mexican Polvorones (known as Russian teacakes), was that it was probably brought by the French when they conquered Mexican. At the same time, you only find this to be true with truly regional cooking, when you step outside the food of the poor.

Contemporary Greek Cuisine with Love to America

December 6, 2015 Comments Off

The invitation read:

The sumptuous table setting looked like this:

The deconstructed, fresh food in the Greek Nice N Easy restaurants look like this:

And the story goes like this:

Chef Chris Athanasiadis and restaurateur Dimitris Christoforidis who created the Nice-N-Easy Restaurants in Athens and Mikonos came from Greece to create “a dinner of Cycladic Fare” last night at Culina Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel, Los Angeles, on Doheny). It was part of an American tour to introduce their food to an audience. The contemporary restaurants are named after the Frank Sinatra song, “Nice-N-Easy.”

Synchronistically, Inotheke, a contemporary dining destination from Carolos Tomazos, just recently opened in Santa Monica. It also showcases modern Greek from Mediterranean Island, Cyprus, Tomazos’ homeland.

The name was inspired by the Frank Sinatra song when Christoforidis’s desire to use Hollywood’s golden era as the theme. “The combination of the classic film era and the healthy cuisine works organically together. In fact there is even a dish on the menu to the singer who popularized the song, “The Frank Sinatra. ” Bold and elegant as the singer, it is the Black Angus free-range filet of beef topped with a wild mushroom sauce, mashed carrots and grilled young potatoes.

Christoforidis has has enormous success in Los Angeles in the mid-90’s with a luxurious restaurant-club concept named Sanctuary just outside Beverly Hills, which catered to celebrities. He returned to Greece in 2003 and developed the fresh, casual food theme with even greater success in Athens and on Mykonos.

The contemporary menu the pair showed off at the dinner, started with a pre-dinner plate of Greek olive oil and walnut butter to go with the bread.

Each course featured a vegan option. For example, has a vegan alternative had beet root tartare instead of tuna.

First course

tuna tartare, chives, avocadeo, olive oil, lime zest, quinoa tabouli, micro greens, yogurt drops.

Second course

A modern Fava Bean Spread, tomato, Pickled onion, Grilled Octopus, Micro leaves, Botarga.

Salad course

New Style Greek salad with quail egg egg and feta cheese

Entree

Lamb loin with red wine, gravy sauce, eggplant caviar, red pepper coulis

Dessert

Our new favorite was the Greek yogurt Mousse with Honey Jelly and Berries because it was the most straightforward of the deconstructed dishes.

Chef Athanasiadis told writer, Faye Levy (shown here with the chef and Christoforidis), that “he is inspired by other Mediterranean cuisines. His delicious stuffed eggplant, for example, was his take on the Turkish classic dish Imam Bayildi, with the traditional topping of onions and tomatoes cooked not only with olive oil but also with red wine and raisins.

The style of such a colorful dinner with dishes enhanced with superb olive oil and with generous proportions of vegetables and fruits, which Athanasiadis and Christoforidis call organic contemporary Mediterranean cuisine, could also have been described as modern Israeli, modern Provencal or modern California cuisine.”

Contemporary Mediterranean cuisine using fresh, high quality Farm-To-Table ingredients; a variety of drinks, plus a warm and welcoming atmosphere have become the trademarks of Nice n Easy organic restaurant bistros. On the menu, you will find nutritional values and measurement of calories for each dish served as well as a fine selection of gluten free courses.

Dimitris Christoforidis and Chef Christos Athanasiadis began with their first location in Kolonaki, followed by two more in Kifissia and Mykonos.

The background goes like this:

Born in Kozani, Christoforidis dreamed of someday creating a life he would love to live beyond the fields surrounding his family’s home in northern Greece. An admirer of the Los Angeles Lakers from his early teens, his wish “to be an LA Laker” did come partially true later when, after living in Sweden and then Chicago and New York City, he ended up in southern California. But he was there to create Sanctuacry, place of escape for professional sports players and other celebrities that offered deliciously healthy food. This place was Sanctuary, a restaurant/lounge that soon became an exclusive hideaway for many in the entertainment industry.

In 2003, Greece was pulling at his heart to return. Back in Athens, Christoforidis saw the trend towards quick food and decided to develop a new twist on it with healthy cuisine. Along with his business partner, chef Chris Athanasiadis, he created his first Greek venture in 2006–the “Derlicatessen”, a healthy souvlaki eatery that used fine meats served on whole-wheat pita and freshly-made tzatziki.

But he wanted …to keep spreading the health.” The result, an organic restaurant-café/bar called “nice ‘n’ easy” which he opened with Athanasiadis in 2008 in the Greek capital’s chic Kolonaki district. The restaurant became so successful that it became known as the ‘Hollywood of Athens’, which pleased Christoforidis.

Dishes like the “Marlon Brando Burger” (Kobe beef topped with cheddar cheese, baked onions, coleslaw and fries) and the “Anthony Quinn Quasantilla” (a warm tortilla with chicken filet, gouda cheese and vegetables, sprinkled with a sweet chili sauce).

Chef Chris Athanasiadis and restaurateur Dimitris Christoforidis who oversees the Nice-N-Easy Restaurants in Athens and Mikonos came from Greece to create “a dinner of Cycladic Fare” last night at Culina Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel. It was part of an American tour to introduce their food to an American audience. The contemporary restaurants are named after the Frank Sinatra song, “Nice-N-Easy.”

The name was inspired by the Frank Sinatra song and Christoforidis’s desire to use Hollywood’s golden era as the theme. “The combination of the classic film era and the healthy cuisine works organically together. In fact there is even a dish on the menu to the singer who popularized the song, “The Frank Sinatra. ” Bold but elegant, it is the Black Angus free-range filet of beef topped with a wild mushroom sauce, mashed carrots and grilled young potatoes.

Their contemporary menu in America concept featured a vegan complementary option for choice. For example, the first course featured tuna tartare, quinoa tabouli and avocado, and its vegan alternative had beet root tartare instead of tuna.

Chef Athanasiadis told writer, Faye Levy, that he is inspired by other Mediterranean cuisines. His delicious stuffed eggplant, for example, was his take on the Turkish classic dish Imam Bayildi, with the traditional topping of onions and tomatoes cooked not only with olive oil but also with red wine and raisins.

Faye added, ” The style of such a colorful dinner with dishes enhanced with superb olive oil and with generous proportions of vegetables and fruits, which Athanasiadis and Christoforidis call organic contemporary Mediterranean cuisine, could also have been described as modern Israeli, modern Provencal or modern California cuisine.”

At ‘Nice N Easy’ organic restaurant bistro, a contemporary Mediterranean cuisine is served using high quality Farm-To-Table ingredients.

In Nice N Easy, the cuisine is fresh, the drinks are diverse and appealing and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. The emphasis on eating organically grown food that is healthy for you and the environment is at the forefront of every recipe. On the menu, you will find nutritional values and measurement of calories for each dish served as well as a fine selection of gluten free courses.

The restaurant with its jazz & old Hollywood inspired feeling was conceived and developed by Dimitris Christoforidis and Chef Christos Athanasiadis with their first location in Kolonaki, followed by two more in Kifissia and Mykonos.

Born in Kozani, Christoforidis dreamed of someday creating a life he would love to live beyond the fields surrounding his family’s home in northern Greece. An admirer of the Los Angeles Lakers from his early teens, his wish “to be an LA Laker” did come partially true later when, after living in Sweden and then Chicago and New York City, he ended up in southern California. But he was there to create Sanctuary, place of escape for professional sports players and other celebrities that offered deliciously healthy food. This place was Sanctuary, a restaurant/lounge that soon became an exclusive hideaway for many in the entertainment industry.

In 2003, Greece was pulling at his heart to return. Back in Athens, Christoforidis saw the trend towards quick food and decided to develop a new twist on it with healthy cuisine. Along with his business partner, chef Chris Athanasiadis, he created his first Greek venture in 2006–the “Derlicatessen”, a healthy souvlaki eatery that used fine meats served on whole-wheat pita and freshly-made tzatziki.

The restaurant became so successful that it became known as the ‘Hollywood of Athens’, which pleased Christoforidis.

Chef Athanasiadis told writer, Faye Levy, that he is inspired by other Mediterranean cuisines. His delicious stuffed eggplant, for example, was his take on the Turkish classic dish Imam Bayildi, with the traditional topping of onions and tomatoes cooked not only with olive oil but also with red wine and raisins.

At ‘nice n easy’ organic restaurant bistro, a contemporary Mediterranean cuisine is served using high quality Farm-To-Table ingredients.

In ‘nice n easy’, the cuisine is fresh, the drinks are diverse and appealing and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. The emphasis on eating organically grown food that is healthy for you and the environment is at the forefront of every recipe. On the menu, you will find nutritional values and measurement of calories for each dish served as well as a fine selection of gluten free courses.

Born in Kozani, Christoforidis dreamed of someday creating a life he would love to live beyond the fields surrounding his family’s home in northern Greece. An admirer of the Los Angeles Lakers from his early teens, his wish “to be an LA Laker” did come partially true later when, after living in Sweden and then Chicago and New York City, he ended up in southern California. But he was there to create Sanctuacry, place of escape for professional sports players and other celebrities that offered deliciously healthy food. This place was Sanctuary, a restaurant/lounge that soon became an exclusive hideaway for many in the entertainment industry.

In 2003, Greece was pulling at his heart to return. Back in Athens, Christoforidis saw the trend towards quick food and decided to develop a new twist on it with healthy cuisine. Along with his business partner, chef Chris Athanasiadis, he created his first Greek venture in 2006–the “Derlicatessen”, a healthy souvlaki eatery that used fine meats served on whole-wheat pita and freshly-made tzatziki.

The restaurant became so successful that it became known as the ‘Hollywood of Athens’, which pleased Christoforidis.

Best South Indian Breakfast at Annapurna

November 22, 2015 Comments Off

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Breakfast as a major 2016 restaurant trend forecast fits right into Annapurna Southern Indian Vegetarian Restaurant. And Dosas will always have a starring role at the popular Culver City cafe with practical prices. Indian versions of “Doughnuts” and “crepes” and “popovers” reign, and actually precede their western counterparts by centuries.

Idly, (on the left and Vada on the right) a savory little flatcake is eaten for breakfast and is also a eel-liked South Indian snack. The spongy cakes, are just as satisfying as savory fare. Idly are made from a rice and urad batter, which is then poured into molds and steamed.

Diners “in the know” prefer Idly soaked in sambar. It does give the little cakes a completely different taste, completely infusing an earthy, hearty, subtle flavor. Sambar is a stewed dish made with toovar (pigeon pea) dal, tamarind, vegetables, and spices.

Also on the menu are authentic specialties just as whimsical in appearance and also healthy, such as Vada. Vada, a savory cousin of the American doughnut, is here soaked in the sambar.

Puri, clouds of fried unleavened Indian bread that look very much like a southern American popover.

The crepe when folded rather than rolled leads to a softer, less crunchy consistency. Meanwhile, the firm, somewhat crunchy texture of the crepe added an unexpected texture.

FullSizeRender

Dosa originated in the Udupi subcuisine of South India. The Mysore Masala Dosa adds red hot chutney, affectionately called “gunpowder,” in with the bhaji or spiced potato amalgam). It is named in honor of the second largest city in the Indian state of Karnataka.

Added to it is a stuffing of cooked spiced potatoes, onions, and peas. A creamy, herbed mashed potato and green chili mint chutney pairs with the dosa.

Halwa is a rich dessert prepared with condensed milk and ghee (a sort of clarified butter), which makes it rich, sugary and dense. I very little is sufficient and one dessert can be shared by four. Carrot, beet, white pumpkin and wheat with a garnish of pistachios.

This dessert consisted of grated carrots cooked in condensed milk and ghee (butter), resulting in a hot, heavy, luxurious, immensely sugary, pudding-like confection.

Annapurna Cuisine, 10200 Venice Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232, (310) 204-5500. Business Hours: Monday – Thursday : 11:30am – 3:00pm, 5:30pm – 10:00pm. Friday – Sunday : 11:30am – 10:00pm. annapurnacuisine@gmail.com

Top Ranked ALL-CLAD Cooks Ethnic Cuisine Like a Pro

November 22, 2015 Comments Off

(Gerry Furth-Sides) The Seared Yellow Wax Beans “N” Greens dish above was prepared in an All-Clad pot for good reason. Los Angeles chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo are the owners of animal, Son of a Gun, Trois Mec, Petit Trois and Jon & Vinny’s. They have been credited with innovating and changing the dining scene in Los Angeles through their critically acclaimed restaurants.

In trying to define what makes All-Clad equipment unique, it seems the best way is to say they are the “Mercedes-Benz” of kitchen ware. Sleek, ingeniously designed and a dream to handle, they are also as durable and timeless no matter how much use they are given. The clear set of instructions also explains how to care for them. For example, when overcooking food that might stick to the bottom, the key is NOT to run the pot under cold water, which would be the national inclination and ruins this or any other equipment

No longer do I have to watch with a sigh at TV chefs deftly handling the big silvery pans on the stove in front of them, especially when it is the admirable and fun professional crew on the “Chopped After-Hours.” Wth All-Clad pans I now have my own. And they handle every bit as wonderfully as on TV. I am thrilled.

After cooking on TV for 22 years up and down the west coast (prepping in resort hotels many times), and being in the kitchens of top celebrity catering chefs in Los Angeles, I’d heard about and tried almost every brand of pots and pans on the market. With each new upscale brand, I was more and more excited; and each time ended with throwing out the pans at some point. nd I must say that I still use my mom’s aluminum crepe pan and iron skillets with no problem.

I started with a set of Le Creuset after I got married. Le Creuset, I just learned on Jeopardy, means “the cauldron” and the pans feels as heavy to pick up as their name indicates. I have spent hours cleaning them. And the local outlet American suburban salespeople have a French attitude beyond any Parisian about people who do not know how to clean pans.

Maybe All-Clad feels and acts sturdier because they were originally designed to meet the demands of professional chefs. The line earns its reputation for its exquisite lines, impeccable balance, innovative technology, meticulous hand-finishing and construction warranted to last a life time.

I was not really surprised to learn that the venerable Thomas Keller (French Laundry and Checkers here in Los Angeles long before that) has been using them in his restaurants for 25 years.

These days younger chefs such as Danny and Vinny are using them. And the flavor-packed recipes they’ve developed are as simple to use as the pans themselves. And the video shows why the pans are also so versatile.

Seared Yellow Wax Beans “N” Greens

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 pound yellow wax beans, ends trimmed
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups packed baby arugula leaves or larger arugula leaves, tough stems trimmed

Directions:

Heat the oil and garlic in a stainless skillet over medium heat until the garlic begins to become fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the shallots and beans and stir often until they are nicely browned, about 5 minutes (if they get dark too quickly, reduce the heat to medium-low).

Stir in the thyme, red pepper flakes, salt and then the lemon juice and cook until the beans are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the arugula leaves, cooking until they are just wilted, about another 2 minutes. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold.

Momofuku Chef David Chang offers this Korean cuisine-inspired dish.

Brussel Sprouts Kimchee Puree and Bacon

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb Brussels sprouts
1/4 lb smoky bacon preferably Benton’s (if that is not available, buy the best that is available at your store) cut into 1″ to 1 1/2″ inch long batons.
1 cup Napa Cabbage Kimchi (see below), pureed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup julienned carrots

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Remove and discard the loose outer leaves from the sprouts, and cut the sprouts in half through the core.

Put the bacon in a 12″ fry pan and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally until just about crisp, 5 minutes or so. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and reserve.

Drain off most of the fat from the pan and add the sprouts, cut side down in the same pan. Raise the heat to medium-high and sear until the sprouts begin to sizzle. Put the skillet in the oven and roast until the sprouts are deeply browned, 8 minutes or so, then shake the pan to redistribute them. Pull the pan from the oven when the sprouts are bright green and fairly tender (taste one to check), 10–15 minutes more.

Return the pan to the stovetop over medium heat and stir in the butter, bacon and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the sprouts to coat them.

Divide the kimchi among four shallow bowls. Use the back of a spoon to spread the kimchi out so it covers the bottom of the bowls. Divide the sprouts among the bowls, arranging them in a tidy pile on top of the kimchi. Garnish each with a pile of carrot julienne and serve.

Nappa Cabbage Kimchi

Makes 1 to 1 1/2 Quarts

Ingredients:

1 small to medium head Napa cabbage, discolored or loose outer leaves discarded
2 tablespoons kosher or coarse sea salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
20 garlic cloves, minced
20 slices peeled fresh ginger, minced
1/4 cup kochukaru (Korean chile powder)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup usukuchi (light soy sauce)
2 teaspoons jarred salted shrimp
1/2 cup 1-inch pieces scallions (greens and whites)
1/2 cup julienned carrots

Directions:

Cut the cabbage lengthwise in half, then cut the halves crosswise into 1-inch-wide pieces. Toss the cabbage with the salt and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl. Let sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Combine the garlic, ginger, kochukaru, fish sauce, soy sauce, shrimp, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl. If it is very thick, add water 1/3 cup at a time until the brine is just thicker than a creamy salad dressing but no longer a sludge. Stir in the scallions and carrots.

Drain the cabbage and add it to the brine. Cover and refrigerate. Though the kimchi will be tasty in 24 hours, it will be better in a week and at its prime in 2 weeks. It will still be good for another couple week after that, though it will grow incrementally stronger and funkier.

History:

Born in the U.S. steel age in 1967, All- Clad Metals began as a small metallurgical company that specialized in formulating bonded metals for a variety of industries. Company founder, John Ulam, a brilliant metallurgist, realized the combination of different metals created composites that yielded superior results. His competency is without question. He was awarded more than 50 U.S. patents for bonded metals and secured a contract with the U.S. Mint to make dimes, quarters and half dollars. Ulam was later instrumental in the nation’s conversion from solid silver coins to bonded layered metals used in coins today.

After years of perfecting the bonding process, Ulam established All-Clad Metalcrafters in 1971, and began producing professional quality bonded cookware for working chefs and avid home cooks. The brand flourished as early adopters realized the cookware’s extraordinary properties and exemplary cooking performance.

Today, All-Clad cookware is still handcrafted in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, with American-made steel the same way it was four decades ago. It is still widely sought after by the world’s top chefs and passionate home cooks.

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Gerry Furth-Sides

Macaron and Canale: French Pastry Goes Mainstream

TART Sweetens the American Regional Menu with Sorghum

Marlo’s Bakeshop Updates A Classic Global Favorite

Petrossian: Historic Russian Product with A Timeless Appeal

Asian Seaweed Salad

Scrumptious Brownies: An American Original

My Czech-ered Past Catches up with Me This Xmas

Contemporary Greek Cuisine with Love to America

Best South Indian Breakfast at Annapurna

Top Ranked ALL-CLAD Cooks Ethnic Cuisine Like a Pro

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