Cooking With Ideas

Cookbooks and More

For those who know about the once in a while yard sale on South Main Street and related areas in Geneva, NY it is coming up -- on September 3, 2011 from 9 am until 1 pm. And yes, at least one place will have (some) cookbooks. Also likely to be there are such items as an oak desk top; an ikea cabinet for televisions or more; miscellansoues household goods; a vintage (or antique?) coffee table; stuffed animals; and more. . .  But really, for you all -- the potential of cookbooks may say it all.

Places I Have Never Eaten . . . . In Geneva, NY

Yes, Geneva, NY. Not one of the many other Genevas, whether in Switzerland or Illinois. I have lived here many years and yet have still not eaten everywhere. I thought of this one day when I went in Bagels and Cakes, which I think I had not been to since it moved. And that was some time ago. I get in ruts and so I eat the same places all too often. Here are a few places, newer and older and some I have no idea how new they are, right in Geneva, NY -- have you tried them? Let us all know:

Finger Lakes Gifts and Lounge  has opened in the Guard Building, right there at 60 Seneca Street, where Guard's Cards was for a long long long time. I walk by it and think of entering but have not. The signs say things like Ithaca's Purity Ice Cream -- and they clearly do beers and wines and a bit of local cheese. Here's a bit on them and here's their very own site. Recently my blog inspiration was in there and she says it is absolutely swell. So, it is on my soon-to-visit list. And, on their literal site there is, indeed, still the lovely flooring that . . . . well, you'll have to see. As will I!

Red Man's (or is it Redman's?) Chicken and Ribs is on Pre-Emption Road in Geneva. 777 Pre-Emption to be exact. Again, this is a place I have wandered by and not tried. (In this case, by car not on my little feet.) The place looks really intriguing -- and yes, the building is kind of red -- red barn red or . . . . Anyone try this place? It has been there a while.I should try it -- in part because I actually love the name of Pre-Emption Road. (For more on that and it's relationship to Pre-emption line see this site. Who knew -- absolutely everything is on line . . . except maybe Redman's).

And then there's Nick-L's Hot Dog place up there near . . . well, my dry cleaner among other things. Yep, on 5 and 20. They seem to have a pretty un-used blog here and you can see some reader's reviews here at yelp. Or you can help by commenting here on Cooking with Ideas.

And what about that place half way between Geneva and Canandaigua along Routes 5 and 20. What is that? Hot dogs and more? Hmmm.

Want to just check urban spoon for Geneva, where you will also find Mombergers which I have not dined from since my first year in Geneva. which was more decades ago than I want to admit. . . Here's what folks think of Mombergers:

And, well, for Geneva more generally, well, here's the site: http://www.urbanspoon.com/n/237/27202/New-York-State/Geneva-restaurants. And, weirdly enough, you can see Urbanspoon on gluten free friendly places in Geneva (not very accurate) here: http://www.urbanspoon.com/tn/237/1/27202/New-York-State/Gluten-Free-Friendly/Geneva-restaurants

Food Network Star -- The Insider's Guide

As regular readers know, I get books in the mail. I love that. And, yet, not all of them are as exciting as I want and I am no longer as thrilled every single time I open a mailing addressed to bibliochef. I know, I know -- I should be. Free stuff and all that. But. . . . not everything free is wonderful.This one? Not so much.

And, I have to admit that I am neither a fan of the show The Next Food Network Star nor of the book Food Network Star: The Officlal Insider's Guide, even though I love Bobby Flay. The book is busy, and the recipes I glanced at did not intrigue me, and so, this particular book (like some others) will go into a box in the basement and into a yard sale eventually.

Here's hoping the next time I open a mailer addressed to bibliochef, that I will indeed find a treasure.

Matters of Taste

So, once in a while it is a documentary day/night - filled with them. And one of the ones we watched a while ago is entitled A Matter of Taste. It is subtitled Serving up Paul Liebrandt. No, I had never heard of him before, despite the fact he was the youngest chef ever (in NYC) to get as many stars as he did early in his career. And, then somewhat latter in his career (SPOILER ALERT) he gets them again, as well as 2 Michelin stars. Here's his site where one can find a recipe for an egg, another for truffle. Looks simple. Sounds simple. It's not. 

Part of what I like about the film is that it really gives you insight into the ups and downs of chefly life -- and because it happens in NYC, the long and longer term consequences of 9/11. And, I learned about a new restaurant, Corton, which I shoudl obviously know about. Why? Well, who knows when one will visit. But also because of how they did the walls in teh restaurant when they were designing it. Trust me, it is worth a watch of the film just for that. (And yes, Liebrandt is the chef.) What else? Thomas Keller, Eric Ripert and several otehr well known names -- not least 2 NY TImes critics and a well known figure who actually funds a lot of successful restaurants -- make appearances. Part of what I also liked is represented in Liebrandt's website as well -- his way of reflecting on his ups and downs. What other chef do you know (ok, this may be my ignorance, but still) who has a quote from Milton's Paradise Lost on his website as the opener? (Here's what it says: "Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light." I love that quotation.)

The vision of the chef working with his team to perfect foods and platings was astonishingly revealing of all the very hard work that goes into those amazing meals we all sometimes have. The opener with Liebrandt as a sort of Jackson Pollock may be a bit much, but . . . . . there is definitely artistry and commitment here. And this despite the fact that his dog is really really puny.

For more on the film, click here. For a review, here. For an interview with Paul Liebrandt click here. For a clip, try here. Or, for the film's official website, try here. To make a reservation and pay for me to eat at the restaurant (Corton) where he is chef owner. . . . . . . ok, I am just joking. This link, however, connecting Harry Potter and Paul Liebrandt is not. Kidding that is. ) Nor is Liebrandt himself on this youtube demo of him cooking.

KItchen Inventions

While I am a great fan of gadgets, that is not what I have in mind here, Rube Goldberg  (and thanks to this site for the opening graphic) to the contrary notwithstanding. Yes, I love Rube Goldberg -- including this you tube and this one too. Not so sure yourself? Check this out. Come on. Smile. Who ever thought of Rube Goldberg and kitchens before? (Turns out lots of people, but. . . .)

Anyway, all that is unrelated to the main point here. And I do have one. What I have in mind is recipe inventions -- which have been occurring more these days than when I am feeling off my food and/or off my game. What happens sometimes is I read and read and then make something half way between recipe X and recipe Y. Or, I have this ingredient and that and.... I invent. This time I was reading quinoa and related salad recipes and here is what emerged: quinoa salad. Surprising, eh? Well, no. But this was a very very good quinoa salad. Here's how to make it:

Make a cup of (dry) red quinoa into a fluffy, wonderful bowl of quinoa (I used a rice cooker.)

Add to it: 1 1/2 preserved lemons diced (skins only; you can occasionally now find these in local groceries, but I made my own out of frustration one day ages ago and continue to do so; to find out how, click here); diced cucumber (maybe 1/2 cup): diced zucchini (I used one small, round, lovely zucchini), chopped parsley (maybe 1/4 cup),chopped mint (maybe a tablespoon?) plus some cilantro (because I confused it with parsley briefly due to my scattered storage and thinking modalities in the heat?),  4 tablespoons lemon juice, 4 tablespoons olive oil, a handful of pistacchios, and a diced small red onion. Mix together. Let sit for a bit. Eat. Eat again the next day. And maybe event the next.

The red quinoa is nutty in a nice way. A key may be making a pretty small dice of whatever you add. (And there are likely loads of other possibilities; one of the original things I read had blueberries and preserved lemon. Hmmm.) Anyway, this all worked very well together. Hurrah.

 

Murder By Mocha

I admit it. I love chocolate and I often order a mocha. I know it has more calories than other coffee-based drinks, and it is not perfect, but I can even remember when I first had one in the late 1980s in a very impressive joint in Berkeley when I was there for an NEH seminar. I had them a lot. While I have moved on to caramel in some coffee drinks, I love chocolate and . .  a mocha is one of my favorite things. Few people make them well, though. (Though I am a fan of the Dalai Java in Canandaigua's peppermint mocha to which I was treated recently.)

I also love mole. (and this despite the fact I cannot figure out how to get the accent mark to appear above the e.)  In fact, my New Year's resolutions for this year involved making more mole. I have made one kind and blogged about it here. But I have not made enough. Hmmm.

So: imagine my glee when Cleo Coyle (yes, she of the virtual coffee house) let me know she'd be sending along her new mystery. Why?  It is entitled Murder by Mocha. My glee about the topic was only a tiny little bit of my glee. (And no, I do not mean the television show.) What else made me gleeful? Learning Cleo was acknowledging this very blog (Yes, Cooking with Ideas!) in her opening bits! THANK YOU CLEO! It is one thing to appear in acknowledgements for geeky academic reasons -- and another because of Cooking with Ideas. I may in fact prefer the latter. Did I say THANK YOU CLEO??!??!? And hte thnaks are also for the book itself which came along in hard back, signed and all that!

My glee, of course, also came from my love for mochas and my assumption that the book would be a treat not just because I like the Coffeehouse series but because (I assumed) this volume would have loads of chocoholic tidbits. Little did I know that the book would also include a mole recipe to help me move a bit forward on that New Year's goal. For a change, I may in fact try one of the recipes -- and yes, it will be the mole. (Accentless though it is here in this blog entry.)

But, you ask, what about the book itself?  What did I think? Well, I might be prejudiced because she mentions Cooking with Ideas in her acknowledgements (did I say that already?) but. . . . I burned through the book, glad to meet again various series characters like Madame and Clare and Mike Quinn and. . . others. And, I enjoyed the focus on a women owned and run business (beyond the Coffee House Series' Village Blend itself), though I always hate to see women's efforts include craziness and nastiness and... well, nastiness. In this mystery, one of the "characters" is actually a business which has both a web presence and a wider presence focused on selling to women -- in areas like life style, health, food, etc. There are loads of plays on the relation of commodity fetishism to cults (not quite so directly as I have just stated it) and corporations and cults. (Did I say cults? I often argue cults are just religions no one likes; in this case, the edge to the word seems to me warranted. Not only does the organization use the names of goddesses to mark their various business sectors, but, well, they take competitive business to a whole new level. Ok, not literally a cult, but certainly figuratively. Whatever that means.) The mystery itself reaches forward and backward in time, and as always Cleo lets us into the mind of the relevant nasty people in intriguing ways. For those of us who live in academia, there is even a little bit of content for us -- a tiny glimpse into a college setting. As for non-mystery aspects of the story -- as usual, there are tensions, and kindnesses among the series characters, romance, parental thises and thats, and coffee (and in this case chocolate) learning to be found. While aphrodisiacs are a central part of the plot of this mystery, I particularly like that the tensions between Clare and her former husband Matt are toned down a bit and the romantic tensions for Clare and her Michael Quinn are pretty straightforwardly dealt with.

So: I do not intend to be murdered by mocha, regardless of the caloric content. I intend to continue believing that chocolate is good for me. But, [TEENSY BITSY SPOILER ALERT] I will definitely not take such things for granted just because a company markets its products that way!

Yes, I know I did not tell you much about the content of this book. But, hey, read it. You'll enjoy it. I did.

For more on Murder by Mocha, click here.

Cooking in a Heat Wave: Room Temperature Food

So, if you live in North America or read about the nonsense here, you know, besides a potential government default, and besides the extreme right wing stupidity of Michelle Bachman, and besides the people who lined up to get married in New York State, well, the big news is weather. Yep, weather. Hotter than hell. They say it was 124 degrees farenheit in Minnesota of all places, and I can attest to the fact it was awful in upstate New York. By the time you are reading this, it will either have dipped down (to the high 80s from above 100 with a humidex of, well, higher) or dipped down and come back up again. In which case, if you are like me, you are horrified by the heat. Again. Absolutely awful.

So: food that is room temperature (inside a house with some capacity to stay cooler than outside) seemed the best idea. And so, I have been cooking just a bit and serving room temperature food to guests. Here are two of the main courses:

Poached Salmon with Thises and Thats is not the actual name of the recipe I found from epicurious when I inserted the phrase "cold salmon" into the search engine. Rather, it was "Cold Poached Salmon with Red Pepper Parsley Salsa" which appears in detail here.  As usual, I did not follow the recipe exactly; they're hints, right?  Anyway, the main idea is you poach some potatoes, remove them, and then poach salmon in the same liquid, and serve it with chopped red pepper (sweet bells) and parsley. Mmmm. I tweaked the recipe mainly by using red new potatoes from the Geneva Farmer's Market rather than yukons. (By the way, have I mentioned how absolutely swell the market has been this year?)  And the best part was the salmon was wild coho which had just come in. Mmmmmmmm. I chose the recipe because it sounded good (especially the salsa) but the potatoes seemed a bit odd to me. Room termperature poached potatoes? Turns out they are great -- who knew? The combination of dill, white wine, garlic, onion, water, etc in the poaching liquid made for tasty little devils.

As side notes on this, see here for some information on varieties of salmon. And do spring for the wild -- there are down sides to fish farming (and probably upsides too) and wild (given the impact on the fisheries of verfishing), but . . . .

Swordfish Escabeche comes from Douglas Rodriguez's Nuevo Latino cookbook, which has been hanging around our house for years. I learned how to make tostones from it and several kinds of escabeche. Not to mention a layered potato terrine like thingie. But I did not make tostones, I made swordfish escabeche. (I began the meal with ceviche, which is another story entirely, and you can learn how here in an old post of mine.) The main thing I recommend here is splurge. Yes -- get the wild swordfish, despite the fact that I have never seen it for less than $20 per pound (and often closer to $30). It is light and delightful. And here's what you do. Basically, you grill the swordfish lightly or saute it lightly after marinating it iin a combination of olive oil, chopped fresh rosemary, garlic and onion, and salt and pepper. Then, you make a vinegar sauce, sautee some bell peppers, onion, and garlic, and pile the veggies on top of the swordfish, pour the vinegar mix over it, and let sit at room temperature for between 6 and 8 hours -- voila escabeche. Yep, a version of pickled fish. Sounds weird, but tastes delightful.Here are some details (trusting you can cope with marinating the fish as noted above and sauteeing it. For the sauce:

Take 1 cup red wine vinegar andreduce by half. Rodriguez calls for then adding 3 cups fish stock; I had none so I added 3 cups water and 1 1/2 veggie bouillion cubes. And add 3 tablespoons tomato paste. Reduce for about 15-20 minutes. 

For the veggies: julienne 3 sweet bell peppers of various colors, 1 red onion and add 3 minced garlic cloves. Sautee for maybe 4-5 minutes. Add some capers (I love capers so I ignored his 1/4 cup in favor of some more) and 1/2 cup of olives (he says particular varieties I could not locate, so I used kalamatas I sliced. I just had no patienec for pitting olives in that heat.)

All in all, this never fails. This time it wass perfect. And this despite the fact that as usual, I made the accompanying aoili by mixing mayonnaise with capers. Cheating, I know, but hey.

Clueless what escabeche is in general? Yes, you can make all sorts of escabeche? Try clicking here (though I do not think of this as mediterranean but as -- since I got it from where I did -- as nuevo latino) or here.

Leverage

I love Leverage. No, I do not mean I am always trying to use X to lever Y to happen. I mean the television show. I love it -- and am indebted to the same person who inspired this blog and often dines with me for introducing me to this wonder. The Bad Guys become the Good Guys, they have a team consisting of a con person, aka a grifter, a hacker, a thief, etcetera. And, their hang out is a bar.

But why am I writing about this now, here, on Cooking with Ideas? No, the show does not appear on the Food Network. Instead, it is because of a particular, very recent (July 26) episode called "The Hot Potato Job." Here's a recap. Or here. Yep, the episode is about a food scientist (a young one, indeed a grad student) who comes up with a dandy potato -- with all the possible virtues ever -- healthier even than a "real" potato, vermin resistant, and . . . good. And this good is posed over against bad agribusiness -- in the form of a huge company that tries to steal it, first by persuasion, then by violence. So, the politics of food has reached the tiny little screen (well, mine is huge) called television.What makes me think this matters is how many on-line reviews I have read that admit they were clueless that there IS bad agribusiness. Have they never heard of Monsanto? Admittedly, I think even they are unlikely to do what the bad guys do here (and bad women in executive clone). But still, how clueless can anyone be?Yes, onsanto is interested in potatoes -- see this site for example. And, of course, grad students who work on new crops are unlikely to get to own their "inventions." Nor are htey as innocent as this show somehow manages to portray them>

Ok, there were problems with the episode from the perspective of foodies. For example, how clueless could WE be to think all good resides in food science while all bad resides with agribusiness. Like they are not highly interconnected. And, of course, there is the all good grad student female versus evil (at least some female) agribusiness executives. There are cute school children . . . and not so cute businessmen.

But, still, there are upsides. Mainly, it is just that I love this television show. And wow -- a foodie link. And, that hot potato pun does tickle my funny bone. Where did that phrase come from anyway?

For a review of the spisode, try here. Or here. Or even here. For more on teh food politics of agribusiness, see this site for an example or just use the internet with a critical eye. Trust me. There's a lot to criticize going on . . . . .