The Integrity of Food

It has been an eventful week in the city of New Orleans. Our world champions took the field Thursday night, and prevailed. The city was very alive tonight, as I road my bike home through the French Quarter and down St Charles Avenue it is beginning to feel a lot like New Orleans, southern electric. Back to food. How many people actually know what they are putting into their body's? Even more, How many don't care? I am not saying there is a definitive answer right or wrong, but the information is available today from several sources, it just takes a little want. For me, it is important to know. When I look at a piece of steak, it is not just a protein in plastic wrap with a price, there is a story. Looking into what the animal ate, where it came from, and was it happy. All of these things, believe it or not, affect the final outcome of the dish. Sometimes it is just easier to overcook, oversauce, and overeat cheaper cuts of meat. It is actually simpler to buy an exquisite piece of food, and simply cook it with simple seasonings. I want a steak to taste like a cow, not just something to dip/taste/smear sauce on at the end of my fork. The only reason, for me, to eat steak is to taste, steak. To understand that, behind this plastic wrapped piece of dinner, there was actually an animal. So the whole point is, something sacrificed its life for you...do it justice and cook it well, please.

Hong Kong Market, bow down.

Yesterday was Labor Day. It was a blessed holiday in the sense that I was able to go to the Hong Kong Market. The market is located somewhere on the westbank. It is only my second time there, but with each trip my affection for the market grows. The market is in the space of an old Walmart to give you an idea of the size of the store. Once inside, you are immediately swept to another country by your surroundings. I fancy myself as liking food, almost to a fault at times, and I can not tell you what more than half the vegetables are or how to use them. In this lies the beauty of the market, it is like an unopened book with many chapters. Each trip provides a look into a different aspect of another regions food culture. Making the market even more attractive, are the prices for the products. To give an example of the market, I am going to list some of the items which made it into the basket and back to short street.

Red spinach, lemongrass, infant bok choy, chinese celery, chicken feet, soy bacon, kimchee, dum ploy, soy sauce, noodles, lunch, leeks, baby gala apples, and pork belly.

Lunch was one of the best sandwiches that I have ever eaten, based on value and flavor. Banh Mi. It was fresh baked bread smeared with mayonnaise and pate, topped with hogs head cheese, spiced pork, cucumber, pepper, carrot relish, cilantro, and some sauce. This is probably not all of the things that were on the sandwich, but with the bakers quick movements and a language barrier it was just the first draft of Matthew meets Banh Mi. And finally the best ingredient of all...it was $2.50.

So if you get the chance, and the culinary confidence, check out The Hong Kong Market hands down the best value food shopping in the city.

Pushing The Fresh Envelope, cook your food.

Today is Labor Day. Heading over to the Hong Kong Market in a few, then over to the seafood store to grab some of the best seafood in the world, and I mean that. The shrimp that we get here in New Orleans are absolutely amazing. On the Atlantic side of the South, The Low Country, shrimp are just as abundant as they are here with the exception that the shrimp are deheaded on the boat. In order to get shrimp, from say the waters off South Carolina you have to call ahead and ask the shrimper man to not take the heads, but leave all their delicious goodness for the cook to explore and expand upon. THe subtley of change from making a meal good to great is in the depth of the flavor. It is a symphony on the palate, where all the notes are harmonized to form a flavor. Each flavor adding its own character to the final product, similar to a guitar solo gone bad, too much of one component can ruin the enjoyment for some and elevate for others, autonomy of art. So to the point. It is not hard to seek out and find fresh ingredients, as opposed to relying on the ease of scientist in a lab to cook the food for you. I am not on a soap box preaching, as I have been known to enjoy some pretty amazing microwave burritos from time to time. But for the majority of the food I ingest, I cook it or see it being cooked by someone else. The amount of vitamins and nutrients in fresh food allows one to add extra butter since we are not adding chemicals to our bodies, but a variation of cream from an animal. All in all, just take the extra step and effort to make sure you know what you are eating. Seek out food not for its convenience but its quality. Not only will you be giving to the community in which you live, but you will meet more people and enjoy better food. Cook Your Food.

New Orleans Cuisine, unto its own.

I thought that I knew what New Orleans cuisine was. We had grown up together and was blessed with many opportunities to enjoy the great culinary establishments of the city, but returning home after a culinary tour of the USA my view has changed. It is like living under a blanket, not wanting to feel the cold of change of anything different than what was before. While in culinary school, my hometown approached me in a new way. It was the only city in the entire USA with its own dedicated days of cuisine cookery. Getting to know where I am from, made me proud of where I am from...but, it is different down here. New Orleans was settled and resettled by several different ethnicity, all lending their heritage to what we know as New Orleans cuisine. In contrast, some places of settlement in the North East have never strayed from their roots, lending the cuisine to be boring and comprising of mostly chains. For a meal in New Orleans, fast food isn't the only option. The same price of a combo meal at any chain, can get you a meat, two sides, and some bread at several local eateries throughout the city. So moving to the point. I have been called a "Yankee" since back home in the kitchens of New Orleans, for reasons of speech and ambition. It seems silly, to apologize for passion, but it is the exact reason why I stopped cooking earlier in my career. My family has been in the area since leaving Germany four generations ago, and I am the only one left of my family. Who knows what the future holds but with all of its eccentricities, New Orleans is an acquired taste...

Mexico Via Way of Dublin, street.

"Why do you cook on your day off?" is the question frequently asked whilst cooking a meal for guests, hopefully the answer will appear on their palate, as we all know practice makes perfect. But it is never laborious to cook, always a joy to meet new people, learn new stories and introduce my dog to new smells. So onto the party...
Mexico was the theme of the night and guests at this culinary adventure were from Louisiana, Michigan, Peru, France, and Houston. With a Latin country's theme, and Peruvians on the guest list it was important to flex my gringo Latin gastronomic muscles. It was easy to flex, as we were able to procure fresh chili's, limes, and bay leaves from an urban garden in the riverbend. Here is what we came up with...

Sunshine Enchiladas...Bouef, Cochon, Pollo

Seared Filet Carpaccio w/ cilantro and lime

Jessie's Friojles

Herbed Rice

Grilled Squash

Pico De Gallo

Corn Relish

Lemon Meringue Pie

Frenchified Apple Crisp

The enchiladas are a steadfast recipe in my repertoire. It is simple. The meal started with the brine. Toasted cumin seeds, rosemary, thyme was met with sugar, salt, oregano, fresh New Mexican chili powder, and peppercorns. Once you can smell the spices, they have started to release the oils on their surface, add water until all are dissolved in the liquid. Add ice to cool down mixture and marinate meat for grilling. Sunshine enchiladas get their name from the sauce, it is a Californian's Bechamel. Make a blond roux, add onions and chili's, whisk in milk until proper consistency, add cilantro stems and simmer for twenty minutes. Place mixture in blender with the cilantro tops and blend smooth. Grill the meat, shred or slice into the desired size. Blanch corn tortillas in a little oil, fill with meat, cheese and raw onion. Place sauce in bottom of oven dish, line up enchiladas, pour sauce on top and place in the oven.
The seared filet carpaccio was left to stay at room temperature. A spice blend of chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper coated the outside of the meat. Olive oil in the skillet was left until almost smoking, the filet went in and stayed untouched and unshaken for three minutes, then flipped and poullet meat with cilantro, butter and garlic. Rested for fifteen minutes, sliced and finished with lime zest and sea salt.
Pico de gallo was skillfully cut by a Michigan guests and devoured with chips alongside a few libations. The ever flavorful juice from the vegetables in the pico were mixed with grilled corn, fresh tomatoes, red onion, basil, and chili powder. The corn relish went sensually well with the seared filet, adding texture and freshness to a robustly flavorful dish. Jessie's friojles was a combination of innovation and tradition. Using the pork bone from the enchilada pork meat, and peppered bacon, a quick smoky pork stock allowed the beans to simmer delightfully with sauteed onions, grilled peppers, garlic and cilantro stems. Squash was fresh and marinated in oil, oregano, pepper and salt, then grilled and covered in previous marinate to allow the flavors to permeate back into the warm vegetables. Rice was pilafed and finished with fresh oregano and cilantro. Dessert was provided by a slightly sweet refreshing lemon custard below a hardened sweet meringue.

It was a good Friday meal. The tunes in the background were reminiscent of the islands, Steel Pulse, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh. The Mexican beaches were some six hundred miles away, but with the music, food, and people it seemed only a short distance. Not to be forgotten, Jerry a local saxaphone player and neighbor stopped by for a plate and dropped a little New Orleans melody via the brass wind instrument.