"Who’s Your Mama….?

.....Are You Catholic and Can You Make A Roux?" That’s what greeted me every time Fred opened his front door. All brazen as can be. Daring me, my Yankee self, to try my hand at roux.

Not that lovely French roux of unsweetened butter and flour cooked to a shiny off white paste. No. This was a mix of plain old vegetable oil (and/or bacon fat or grease) mixed with equal parts plain flour and slowly cooked (seemingly for hours) until it turned almost the deep color of reddish brown mahogany. 

I put off that challenge as long as I could until one day---years later---I screwed up my courage and made a gumbo which of course, has to start with that roux.

Here’s Gumbo y’all…my way

There's A Cow on the Cover

Food Arts magazine came today. There's a fat brown cow gracing the cover. The headline says, "America The Bountiful."

Well we are, bountiful. "From sea to shining sea," Food Arts asserts and quite frankly, I agree. We do produce some of the world's finest foods and in some spectacular variety and abundance.

But there is another side to all of this magnificent largess (and those who enjoy it). It is called Hunger and the problem has become acute.


There is a rapidly expanding number of this country's population who regularly sleep with hunger clawing at their belly. These are not the homeless or the disenfranchised but the ordinary families next door, down the block around the corner.....most with children under 18.

This growing population---the newly poor who are out of work for the first time in their lives---forgo food to stave off landlords, banks and utilities. Another 44 million American depend on food stamps to eat...that is 1 out of every 7 human beings living in this fabulously bountiful land.

Feeding America, which distributes more than 2 billion pounds of food every year, says the demand at food banks has gone up a startling 30% since 2008.

So how the disconnect from a publication devoted to the art of food? Quite irresponsible I'd say. I intend to send them this blog.

Needed Fixing

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10 Simple Kitchen Tips You Wish Someone Told You Earlier

I’d like to think that I’ve got enough imagination to fill up this blog with ideas of my own. But today I stumbled across something I wish I had thought of and didn’t. I guess it’s because I can cook and often forget that there’s an entire generation who never learned. So here it is…

10 Simple Kitchen Tips You Wish Someone Told You Earlier
by Darya Pino, PhD

1. Use tongs to cook pretty much everything
Spatulas are awesome for anything that needs to be flipped or scraped, like eggs and pancakes. For everything else, tongs are the way to go. They're much more nimble and less awkward to use, and you'll find far fewer things jumping from your pan onto the floor. If you have teflon cookware, be sure to use tongs with nylon tips. And always go for the 12-inchers.

2. Store everything in Tupperware
As much as I'd like to be the kind of person who trims their herbs, puts them in an vase then wraps them in a damp paper towel so they last a week, I'm way too lazy for that. The good news though is that tupperware keeps almost everything fresh for much longer than your crisper, including berries, salad greens and produce that has already been cut. Because it is reusable, it is also more ecofriendly.

3. If you own a knife, don't use a garlic press
Peeling and pressing garlic is a huge waste of time. To use a clove of garlic, set it on a cutting board and smash it with the flat side of a big knife (any chef's knife will do). The papery skin will come right off, and you can mince it real quick right there in about 10 seconds. Done.

The Plate

The Food Pyramid is history. Enter, The Plate. The new food icon, introduced today by First Lady Michele Obama, is split into four sections: fruits, vegetables, grains and protein with a side plate of dairy. The idea being that it will be easier for busy parents to use it as a visual guideline when it’s time to feed the kids and themselves…it provides a clearer picture of what a healthy plate of food should look like.

Evidently the pyramid was not effective as 68% of American are now considered over weight or obese. First Lady Michelle said, “As long as [our plates are] half full of fruits and vegetables, and paired with lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, we're golden. That's how easy it is."

So, what did you eat tonight? Did it reflect the plate?

Mmmmmm…..

Bologna (Italy) is a light hearted, happy city with friendly people. Referred to as “La Grassa” (the fat one) Bologna sits at the center of Italy’s culinary heartland, Emilia Romagna. It is a city that serves up abundant food in the dozens of cafes and trattoria that line the streets.

Aside from the ancient University, Italy’s oldest, Bologna is best know for an enviable variety of pasta and most famously, its wonderful ragù---the rich meat sauce we know as Bolognese.

A rich ragù is a culinary wonder….tossed with silky homemade pasta, it is a marriage made in heaven.  The Bolognese claim a true ragù cannot be made anywhere else. That may be so but, with a little care, we can come very close.

Four things to remember in order to produce a delicious ragù :

• The meat must be sautéed just long enough to barely lose its raw red color. Do not try to brown it.
• The meat must be cooked in milk before tomatoes are added. This tenderizes the meat and adds a delicate sweetness. 
• The sauce must cook at the barest simmer for a good 3-4 hours. Do not try to rush this. The longer the better. 
• The best pasta for ragù is fresh pasta and the best fresh pasta is tagliatelle…long flat ribbons of pasta similar to, but denser than, fettucine. 

Bolognese Sauce

 (4 generous portions)

3 TBS sweet butter

3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

½ cup finely diced onions

½ cup finely diced carrots

½ cup finely diced celery

2 cloves finely minced garlic

2 links sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing and crumbled

¾ LB ground chuck –or-- ¾ LB piece of chuck roast, finely minced

1 tsp salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 cup dry white wine

½ cup whole milk

¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp fresh thyme, lightly chopped

1-28 ounce can San Marzano peeled tomatoes, crushed with their juices

Method:

• Select a heavy deep pot (I use my Le Creuset). Set it over medium low heat and add the butter and oil.
• When the butter has melted, add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 3 mins.
• Add the celery, carrots and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are just soft.
• Add the meats and the salt and cook just until the beef looses its red raw color.
• Add the wine, turn the heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine has evaporated.
• Add the milk, nutmeg, pepper and thyme, turn the heat down to medium and cook until the milk has evaporated. Stir frequently.
• Add the tomatoes and their juices and stir well.
• Turn the heat down to keep the sauce at the laziest simmer, just an occasional bubble
• Cook, partially covered, for 3-4 hours. Stir occasionally. Taste and correct for salt.

To Serve:

• Bring 4-5 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 1/2 TBS salt and gently drop in enough fresh pasta for four generous servings. Stir with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil, count to 5, then immediately drain the pasta.
• Spoon some of the ragù in the bottom of a warmed platter or serving bowl. Add the drained pasta. Pour more sauce over the top, add 1 TBS softened sweet butter and and good handful of freshly grated Parmesan. Toss & serve without delay. Mangiare e godere.

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese

In 1971 Hard Rock Cafe opened its first location in London in a former Rolls Royce showroom. A char-broiled burger cost 50 pence (about 80 cents). Londoners were fascinated by the noisy American music and the all American burgers. Fast forward forty years and Hard Rock is global and I’m just learning that this all American legend had its start across the pond. 

To kick off a year of anniversary celebrations, Hard Rock has rolled out a bevy of new menu options boasting kicked up flavors and dialed back calories. To introduce the new foods in the house, Hard Rock Atlanta threw a Media Dinner for those of us (supposedly) in the know.

The food was very good. It was carefully and creatively presented. The servers (one has been there 15 years!!) and the bartenders were pros. Lovelies Dina, Jennifer and Elise treated us like stars (thank you so much ladies).The Chef came out before each course to give a quick summary and answer questions. 

Now, if a smiling, charming, personable Chef equals excellent food we were definitely dining on superb. Chef Anna is a college educated attorney from Argentina with Italian parents and a passion for what she does. It shows. She was a delight to listen to and I am convinced the force of her lovely personality made the food taste better. 

(This brings to mind a scene in Like Water for Chocolate when Tita discovers that her emotions---love or sadness--- could affect her food and the people eating it)

Okay, on to what we ate....some highlights:

Bruschetta---

Chopped Roma tomatoes, basil, shaved Parmesan on ciabatta. Light, fresh tasting and a perfect bite.

Smoked Salmon crostini---

Lovely slices of silky orange salmon with a tiny bit of dill. Bring me the whole fish next time and I'll sit in the corner and be happy.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps---

Lots of finely sliced raw veg with minced chicken, garlic, and ginger all wrapped in a crispy lettuce leaf. Peanut dipping sauce. The dipping sauce was definitely the star with this one.

This next one gave me a laugh which was actually a laugh at me. It's called the Anti-Cobb salad and I wrote Aunty Cobb until someone saw my notes. I'd like to call it Aunty Cobb but that won't tell you what this is. A lightened version of the traditional Cobb with grilled chicken, fresh grapefruit, fresh apple, sliced strawberries, mango, avocado, dried cranberries and a lighter than air dressing. Anti-Cobb, Aunty Cobb...call it whatever you will but do make sure you order it.

The Legendary Angus Burger---

A burger cooked slightly pink, a slice of rosy red tomato, gooey melted cheese topped with a fat crispy onion ring set inside a warm soft roll. The all American burger at its very delicious best. I am pleased and relieved that Hard Rock's legendary burger is still a very good burger indeed and has only been gilded by the addition of that lovely crunchy ring of deep fried onion . My only complaint? I wanted more of those  rings. One will just not do.

Finale---Desserts.

Sweets are usually not my favorite. I'm a carbo loader (pass the bread and butter!) and will usually pass on dessert. Not this time. A white plate was put in front of me. On it, four tiny glasses sporting four tiny spoons, each glass filled with not too sweet versions of chocolate mousse, strawberry cheesecake, creme brule and chocolate peanut butter topped with chopped fresh peanuts. Accompanying the tiny glasses was one tall martini glass holding fresh berries, fresh mint and a dollop of fresh whipped cream. My favorite? The creme brule. I just enjoyed the idea of creme brule with a perfectly caramelized crust presented in a glass. But I also liked the strawberry cheesecake and the fruit and the mousse.....

Hard Rock.....ya don't look a day over thirty! Thanks for a great time!

A note:

Hard Rock Cafe is committed to a wide variety of philanthropic causes and charities around the world. As they celebrate their 40th year they will be launching new initiatives and events. For information on their charities and upcoming events,  please email Atlanta Hard Rock Cafe at atlanta_sales@hardrock.com.