Posted by Ed Levine on April 16, 2007
This month's Esquire has a willfully ignorant piece by Iraq war veteran, blogger, and writer Colby Buzzell about the Mississippi Delta Tamale Trail.
All the piece does is reinforce the worst kind of racial, regional, and cultural stereotyping that occasionally still goes on when "serious" writers deign to write about things like barbecue and tamales and fried chicken.
Southern Foodways Alliance oral historian Amy Evans of Southern Foodways's Tamale Project had this to say in response to Buzzell's piece:
While it's impossible for this guy to have missed our project online—or anywhere—and unprofessional and unwise to not make the slightest mention of us and our Tamale Trail, the thing that gets me the most is his portrayal of the Delta. This guy obviously did not spend enough time there. The openness, generosity, and warmth that my friends along the Tamale Trail have shown us, our project, and the people who eat their tamales cannot be ignored. What's more, these people are dedicated to making handcrafted food from recipes that are generations old. And they're out there making an honest living. And their tamales are incredible! The tamales, the Delta, and the people are far more complicated—and interesting and smart and wonderful—than this article gives credit.
Posted by Ed Levine on April 16, 2007
The recipe that follows has been adapted from Nancy Silverton's A Twist of the Wrist
. Frozen peas are so tender and sweet that I use them all year round. If you can't find orecchiette, use rigatoni or bow-tie pasta.
Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for the pasta water
8 ounces orecchiette
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, grated or minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 cup frozen petite peas (about 4 ounces)
1 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
6 thin slices prosciutto (about 3 ounces), torn in half
12 small basil leaves
Procedure
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and add a generous amount of kosher salt. Stir in the orecchiette, return the water to a boil, and cook the pasta, stirring occcasionally too prevent it from sticking together, until it's al dente. (Since cooking times vary depending on the thickness of the pasta, refer to the package instructions for the recommended time and taste the pasta for doneness frequently while it cooks.)
2. While the water is coming to a boil and the pasta is cooking, heat the oil, garlic, and a pinch of kosher salt in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute until the garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes. stirring constantly so the garlic doesn't brown. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the peas, creme fraiche, and the 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute, until the sauce is warmed through.
3. Reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta water, drain the pasta and transfer it quickly, while it's still dripping with water, to the skillet with the sauce. Add the reserved pasta water, stir to coat the pasta with the sauce and cook the pasta and sauce together over high heat for about 2 minutes, until the ingredients are combined.
4. Spoon the pasta out of the skillet and pile it into high mounds on four plates, dividing it evenly. Spoon the sauce left in the skillet over the pasta. Rumple 3 pieces of prosciutto and lay 3 basil leaves over each serving.
Photograph from iStockPhoto.com
Posted by Ed Levine on April 16, 2007
This installment of Serious Eats's Cook the Book series features a collection of recipes that just might change the way you think about cooking at home. A Twist of the Wrist isn't another Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade tome or a Rachael Ray rip-off. It's by Nancy Silverton, one of the greatest pastry chefs and bread bakers this country has ever produced. And when she talks about food, we should listen. And this is what she has to say:
The truth is that many people—at least the majority of the people I know—really don't cook much at all. Home Meal Replacement (HMR), better known as takeout, is the fastest-growing segment in the food industry. I see it in L.A., among my friends, for whom stopping by the grocery store to pick up a piece of fish that was grilled twelve hours ago or roasted vegetables that have been sitting out half the day has become the modern version of "cooking at home." We've moved so far away from the kitchen that I felt that what people needed was a gentle, realistic way back.
Enter the jar! And enter A Twist of the Wrist, a collection of recipes that takes advantage of high-quality premade ingredients to create entrées that have the same complexity of flavors and textures as ones you'd be served in a restaurant.
I have known Nancy Silverton for 15 years now, and for someone whose bread recipe takes 14 days to make, A Twist of the Wrist represents a seismic shift in how she thinks about food. What she doesn't say because she is strangely modest, is that Nancy Silverton has perfect pitch when it comes to food. That is, she has the greatest palate I have ever seen in action, and a food bullshit detector second to none. As Mario Batali is quoted on the back cover of the book, "Nancy Silverton is the high priestess of delicious."
So every day this week we're proud to highlight a different recipe from A Twist of the Wrist. Our first recipe from the book will appear shortly.
And because Serious Eats is on a mission to encourage more people to eat delicious food as often as possible, we're giving away 5 copies of Silverton's book. More details to come later today.
Posted by Lia Bulaong on April 16, 2007
Kathryn Matthews in Portfolio discusses how small plates mean big business for restaurants: "At first glance, the concept seems customer-friendly: With these appetizer-esque portions, you can mix and match and taste and graze, and each serving costs less than a main course. But there’s a little secret: Serving less can mean selling more, thereby boosting a restaurant’s bottom line."
I love small plates, but only when I'm eating in a group of four or more (three if everyone likes to eat as much as I do), otherwise as the piece points out, the tab can get surprisingly huge if you've ordered what I consider to be a reasonable variety of tasty things. [via The Food Section]
Posted by Lia Bulaong on April 16, 2007
Anthony Bourdain has a new rant up over at Ruhlman, on the disaster that was the Food Network Awards:
It is a measure of how seriously crack-brained, rapacious and evil the Deep Thinkers at Food Network must be that I find myself--yet again--in deep sympathy with their stable of stars. Last night, during the breathtakingly awful, interminable cruelty that was The Food Network Awards, I even found myself feeling bad for Rachael Ray. YES, friends. Rachael Ray. If nothing else, Rachael's BIG now. Network talk show-- doing- well- in- ratings- Big. Own magazine Big. Friend-of-Oprah Big. So, how must it have felt for her to stand up there in front of what appeared to be a halfway empty room of stunned, near comatose trout and feign enthusiasm while presenting the award for "Best Appliance"?
Previously: Bourdain reviews the Food Network lineup, Bourdain on Top Chef, and our inaugural Q&A, Meat & Eat: Anthony Bourdain.
Posted by Lia Bulaong on April 16, 2007
Sheryl Cababa of Crispy Waffle has been making a lot of quiches lately as presents for all her friends who've just had babies and don't have time to cook. She says, "I don't know anyone who doesn't like quiche, and honestly, who doesn't like an all-butter pastry crust? I have two options here: one with bacon, and one with spinach and mushrooms for those that don't dig meat. But, you can basically use any savory ingredients that you would use in an omelet-- it'll all taste good."
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