Food is Food

Carson came home from work the other day and was raving about this easy recipe: a banana, sliced in half, smothered in peanut butter and frozen.  What a great thing to keep in your freezer for a sweet, savory, healthy snack!  I, of course, would dip it in dark chocolate, maybe roll it in coconut... but I don't know when to stop.  You should make this, thanks Joy Bauer!    

Speaking of Carson, I wrote a little something about him for Father's Day here.  If you enjoy, please share, and vote, or better yet... join the site and write your OWN!    

Chef Hugh Acheson | Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee

Chef Hugh Acheson released his third book, The Broad Fork: Recipes for the Wide World of Vegetables and Fruits, last month, which I reviewed in a round up of Southern cookbooks recently. It's an exciting cookbook with truly creative combination of ingredients and a focus on using vegetables you might just find at a farmers market or in a CSA box. We got a chance to meet and talk while he was in San Francisco just last week. 

Octavia, La Taqueria, Deli Board. For coffee--Sightglass, Blue Bottle and Coffee Cultures. Up in Healdsburg--Healdsburg Shed, Scopa, Dry Creek Kitchen. Hana for sushi in Rohnert Park was phenomenal. I'm looking forward to checking out Souvla today. 

I’m always looking for current and contemporary and "ethnic" food. When I travel it’s usually long days, so I don't want a three hour, 12 course meal, I find them exhausting, I don’t eat much, I like to try a lot of things.  I like a place with good wine, with good burgundy.

I’m trying to pick up on nuances of flavor. It’s important that recipes are grounded in culinary logic. I try to make sure I’m putting together a puzzle that works, and in the case of  The Broad Fork, respecting the actual vegetable. I don’t like overwrought food—I prefer food to be light on the palate. I just want people to cook more. 

We went through a period 20 years ago of using ingredients and coming up with dishes like wasabi mashed potatoes. It showed a shallow knowledge of cultures. Now we’re cooking a lot more from scratch. Our understanding is much more relevant as ingredients are more accessable. Umami type flavors are more prevalent than ever before. Most of the recipes in the book are not complicated, I’m not having you stuff a chicken and age it in a tree for three months.  

We are moving towards it, protein prices have become exceptionally difficult and it’s hard to have quality and not charge $45 a plate. I don’t eat 6 ounces of protein anymore, 3-4 ounces is plenty. 

The Southern larder is all about pickling and preserving, as we get to the bottom of it and nerd out on it you can see the world’s pantry revolves around those things too. We’re nerds, we are learning whole new genres and saving the season's bounty. 

Americans get scared by fermentation but they eat and drink fermented food all the time. The fears are real, but there are smart common sense rules. I’d recommend making vinegar, but not just adding tarragon to white vinegar and hoping for the best. Or make sauerkraut. Or carrots with ginger or pickled peppers. Kimchi. Making these things is like science projects for my kids. 

You can make chicken stock in both! I think the slow cooker is just an evenly tempered cooker. You can slow cook lamb shanks over 8 hours.

Pressure cookers may not be the chefs favorite things, but they are used everyday in Asia and Mexico—anywhere with legume rich cuisine. Both are excellent at tenderizing. You can make corned beef in 55 minutes, of course that’s after brining for a week. The best beans ever are cooked in the pressure cooker. Once you get used ot it you can control it. They are pretty versatile machines. 

Not another book! My full time job is running 4 restaurants. We're opening a coffee shop, we’re very into coffee at the restaurant.

I do a lot of public speaking. I have a charitable organization. We are creating a family consumer science program for grades 6-8 to give kids life skills--so they can make a vinaigrette, roast a chicken, poach an egg. So they don’t run into the dilemma of how to feed a family of 4 on 8 dollars. We have a school district that is going to put it into place. 

I’m also working on a healthy fast food concept. It’s called Broad Fork and we’re trying to form the right alliances. Think large plates, based on the Southern meat and 3 formula.  You will make your own plate with protein and lots of salad elements. A cafetaria model kind of like Chipotle.

Is healthy fast food the wave of the future? 
In San Francisco you're going to have Locol—I think Patterson and Choi are on to something. Beefsteak in DC. There’s a big market for changes and disruptive markets. When we say fast food and fast casual, it’s how America eats.

Many years ago I explored the little villages and towns on the famous “route du vin" in the Alsace. I was charmed by the rolling landscape of vineyards, dotted with medieval towns with cobblestone streets, castles and half-timbered houses with colorful flowering window boxes. And I was excited to see magnificent white storks nesting on rooftops.

The food in the Alsace is outstanding, two typical dishes are choucroute with sausages and sauerkraut and potatoes and flammekueche, a wood fired tart with creamy onion topping and lardons, that is like a French version of pizza. I would eat one right now if I could! 

The region has a German influence and shares many of the same wine varietals, but there are clear differences. While German wines tend to be lower in alcohol and sweeter, the French wines of this region are often floral, fruity, dry and richer with just a bit more alcohol, little or no oak and well priced. Needless to say, the wines of the Alsace are well worth getting to know. They have a clean and concentrated characteristic along with terrific acidity that makes them the perfect pairing for the food of the region and far beyond. Perhaps 20% of the wineries are organic or biodynamic, although as is typical in France, this isn’t something you’re likely to find on a label. Many of the best known wineries have been around for hundreds of years. 

Recently I had a number of Alsatian wines at a dinner with Moroccan inspired food. The range of wines showed how they could cool warm spicy chiles, yet stand up to the richness of a creamy eggplant dip. The wines of the Alsace are labeled by the varietal and only a small percentage are ever blended. The Alsace is dominated by white wines, here are the major varietals to know: 

Gewurtzraminer—aromatic with fruit, flowers and spice. It’s richer and less sweet than the German ones, but the fruitiness can make you think it’s sweeter than it is. 

Pinot Gris—the Alsace is just north of Burgundy, and Pinot Gris is in some ways like the white wines of that region. It’s bold and concentrated and often has smoky aromas with spice and fruit such as ginger or peach as well as earthy notes. Whatever you do, don’t compare it to Pinot Grigio, it’s a much weightier wine.

Riesling—dry and fruity, this varietal in the Alsace has fantastic minerality and a bright citrus quality. They are much bigger wines than the ones in Germany and  bit higher in alcohol too. Older ones become rich with age.

Muscat—unlike Muscat from other regions, this one is dry, and is known for being the perfect complement to asparagus. It’s full bodied, floral and citrussy.  

Pinot Blanc—I have to admit, I’m generally not a big fan of Pinot Blanc. It’s creamy and subtle but doesn’t have much “star power.” That said, I had a blend of 65% Pinot Auxerrois, 20% Pinot Blanc, 15% Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir from Meyer-Fonné that was outstanding. 

A few other wines:

Cremant —the Alsace is right next to Champagne and Cremant is the Alsatian bubbly wine made in the same manner. There are lovely versions made from either Pinot Blanc or Pinot Noir rather than Chardonnay and they represent 25% of wine sales from the region. They are light, refreshing, clean and make a terriific apperitif. They are also very affordable, I tried two that retail at just $20 a bottle. 

Grand Cru— a relatively new designation, Grand Cru wines come from one of 51exceptional terroirs and are limited to Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris and Gewurtztraminer. They tend to be more elegant and complex and not surprisingly, much higher in price.

To learn more visit Wines of Alsace