Al Dente

Red Hot Super Bowl Battle: Tabasco vs. Frank's Showdown

In Monday's New York Times business section, there was a story about the rivalry heating up between Frank's RedHot and Tabasco, which recently released a Buffalo-style sauce in time to catch the wing nuts who gobble tons of those spicy bites on Game Day. 

I'm a huge fan of pepper sauce and have a rainbow of shades in my pantry that I use on everything from soup to nuts. My tastes have changed over the years, but I think that has more to do with the explosion in the variety of sauce that are now available. Currently, I'm pretty fond of Texas Pete, which is actually made in North Carolina! I also like Crystal Hot Sauce Louisana Pure Hot Sauce and the green version of Tabasco. Sometimes, just for fun, I mix them up until my food looks like a Jackson Pollack painting.

This story stirred something, awakening curiousity, so I took a quick poll among my Twitter pals and Facebook buddies and - hot dang - were people fired up about this hot topic.

Most folks didn't just have one favorite, they had two or three, each with different purposes. A chef friend broke his preferences down like this: Crystal for straight-up fried chicken. Frank's for wings. Tabasco for anything with rice. Another friend said she chooses hot sauce like she chooses wine. It all depends on what's being served.

There was a lot of heat for sambal,  Cholula and Sriracha (aka Rooster sauce), with one of my clever writer friends declaring he loved it so much that he would pour it on cheesecake! Fans of Tapaito and Valentina cheered the peppery goodness. 

I also learned a couple new names: Baron West Indian Hot Sauce from the Caribbean and Secret Aardvark. Another friend raved about the lineup of Marie Sharp's Hot Sauces, an accidental discovery he made years ago while eating oysters in New Orleans. "I thought I was reaching for a bottle of Tabasco, but when I took that first bite I knew it was different. It's got great flavor and great heat." And a friend, who's living in Great Britain praised a sauce she picked up while on a trip to Vancouver. It's called Organic Oddball Nuclear Nectar. 

When the final votes were tallied in this pepper sauce poll, one thing was clear: There was no clear winner. But that's not a bad thing. It just speaks to the bold tastes of a great nation of eclectic eaters. Go team! 

-- Leslie Kelly

Playing Around With SousVide Supreme: The Last Supper

Boy, oh boy, I sure had a blast spending some quality time in the kitchen, testing the SousVide Supreme. Over the course of several weeks, I experimented with all sorts of stuff: fish, chicken, pork chops, potatoes, a fancy duck confit recipe from the publishing sensation of 2011, Modernist Cuisine. I soft boiled eggs (takes 45 minutes and makes for a yolk that's creamy good) and I even cooked dried beans in this water oven, which works on the principle of low and slow.

I'm not bragging, but everything... well, nearly everything... turned out beautifully. (The one bummer was a turkey breast that hadn't cooked long enough. Willing to take responsibility for operator error.)

If I had to pick one favorite meal, it would have to be the last supper. My sister was visiting from Los Angeles and I told her I wanted to make her the best steak she's ever tasted. Did I mention sissy's a vegetarian? Well, she has eaten a mostly meatless diet for more than 10 years, but she occasionally craves a big, thick bone-in ribeye. Go figure!

I had been blown away by the steaks cooked sous vide, seasoned and sealed in a vacuum packed bag and then cooked at 145 degrees for seven hours. The results were especially impressive with leaner cuts of meat, believe it or not. And grass-fed beef turned mighty tender cooked this way.

I'm not going to get into a big discussion about the pros and cons of eating meat. I will say that I try to eat local, sustainable meat as often as I possibly can. I shop at farmers markets and, also, ask for better quality meat at the supermarket, too. I'm willing to pay more because I eat less meat than I used to.

To fill out this special menu, I went in a very nostalgic direction and served baked potatoes with French onion sour cream and a Caesar salad. Just like when we were kids.

Dinner was so much fun, especially because our brother was able to come, too. The steak -- so juicy and tender, just like the first time I tried it cooked in the SousVide Supreme during that first demo back in September (featured in the photo) -- received rave reviews from my sibs. It was a grand way to finish these fun cooking experiments.

Now, there's an empty spot on the counter where that nifty appliance once sat. But it might not be empty for long. I've moved the SousVide Supreme to the top of my Amazon wish list. Are you listening Santa?

-- Leslie Kelly 

What Came First (In The SousVide Supreme): The Chicken Or The Egg?

Remember when you were a kid and you got a new toy that you just about wore out because you couldn't stop playing with it?

That's exactly how I'm feeling about the SousVide Supreme the Seattle-based company recently lent me to try. I've cooked all sorts of things in this "water oven", which operates on the principle of cooking foods slowly, at low temps. I've made everything from sirloin steak to dried garbanzo beans (yes, really), fennel and sliced apples and the results have been uniformly awesome! 

Well... with one exception and that was the very first food I tried, hard-cooked eggs. Now, that might seem like the most straightforward dish you could make, but eggs have always been a challenge for me. I studied Douglas E. Baldwin's informative book Sous Vide For The Home Cook and followed the recommendations for temperature and time. Still, when I tried to peel the cooled eggs, the shells shattered and big hunks of the white came off with the shells. The deviled eggs I was planning on making became egg salad instead. 

The yolks were nice and creamy and I am willing to admit there might be some operator error involved in peeling eggs. (The best results I've had were when I borrowed a technique shared by Patricia Eddy, the author of the Cook Local blog in which she steams the eggs in a rice cooker. The shells slip right off, however, it's easy to overcook the eggs, so if you try this method, consider shooting for a shorter cook time.)

When I interviewed chef Maxime Bilet, one of the co-authors of Modernist Cuisine, about cooking sous vide, we talked about eggs and he suggested soft cooking them in the shells and then just cracking them open. No peeling involved. I tried that and, while the white was still slightly runny, the yolks were out of this world, almost custard-like. 

Chef Max also suggested that one of the best ways to demonstrate the magical powers of cooking sous vide was to prepare a simple chicken breast: "Everybody has had a dry chicken breast, but cooking it sous vide makes it so moist," he said.

Like nothing you've ever tried before, he could have added. The process might require some advance planning because the cook times are longer, but I think it's absolutely worth it.

The SousVide Supreme directions suggest a final step before plating, either saucing or searing the meat. But, I didn't bother with the steak or the chicken because I used the nifty seasoning blend sheets made by SousVide Supreme. They come in a variety of "flavors" including garlic and herb, honey barbecue and steakhouse.

At the end of my experiments, I immediately started saving up to purchase my very own SousVide Supreme because, well... I want to play some more!

-- Leslie Kelly

Sunday Snaps: Honey

While catching up on my reading this morning I came across this profile of food artist Jennifer Rubbell, niece of Steve Rubbell (Studio 54) in New York magazine. Rubbell creates extravagant large-scale dinner parties where guests interact with the food in lieu of being served, like this one she did for the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Have you interacted with one of Rubbell's creations? What did you think? Absolutely fabulous or a bunch of bunk?

If what you see whets your appetite, she's hitting the road with a bunch of installations before the end of the year.

Photo Credit: Ben Hassett

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

Be A Good Global Citizen: Eat Sustainable Seafood!

I don't think I've ever read a more somber opening to a cookbook: "We have ravaged the oceans in search of food and are now discovering that our place in the world's systems is in jeopardy," writes Barton Seaver in the introduction of For Cod and Country.

Fortunately, this chef-turned-activist/environmentalist takes up the mighty challenge of schooling readers about the best possible choices as a way to "eat our way back to healthy oceans." Whew!

When Seaver was in Seattle recently, he met with a group of writers and chefs (including Becky Selengut, author of Good Fish) and talked about his unwavering commitment to this cause. Some of his suggestions were surprising. He said consumers should show their support for the good work Wal-Mart has done in moving toward carrying sustainable seafood options.

While we ate delicious Dungeness crabcakes at Chinook's at the bustling Fishermen's Terminal, he also advocated for downsizing the protein portions on plates: "Eat smaller portions and more vegetables." Not exactly a novel suggestion, as Michael Pollan has been preaching that for some years.

Seaver's twist is this: Explore fish that you might have never tasted before. That includes mackerel and barramundi, arctic char and sardines, mussels and clams and oysters. Then, he proceeds to lay out an incredible game plan for making sustainable seafood utterly delicious in this beautiful book, which was photographed by Katie Stoops.

Here's an example of his tasty manifesto:

Mackerel with Almond-Ginger-Mustard Butter

A whole grilled mackerel is something to behold. It is a beautiful fish to begin with, and the sexy char of grill marks only enhances its good looks. It is easy to prepare a whole fish; just put it on the grill and wait until it tastes good. The butter was inspired by the cooking of a good friend from India. She loves to share her family's recipes when she comes to visit, and I learn a lot every time I watch her cook. The aromatics are simmered in butter, which mellows their sharpness but also infuses the butter with deep, rich flavor. I added the almonds for crunch and substance. -- Barton Seaver

1 Spanish or Boston (not king)
mackerel, dressed (about 2 pounds)
2 lemons, 1 sliced and
1 cut into wedges
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon peeled fresh ginger grated on a Microplane or very finely minced
2 teaspoons mustard seeds, soaked in hot water for 2 hours and drained
3 tablespoons slivered or sliced almonds
1 tablespoon water

Prepare a grill according to the instructions on page 250. Line the belly cavity of the mackerel with the lemon slices and thyme sprigs and place the fish on the hottest part of the grill for about 5 minutes. Rotate the grate so the fish is over the coolest part of the grill; cover. Grill until the fish is cooked all the way through, about 25 minutes. The best way to check is to make an incision along the backbone and check the color of the flesh at the spine; it should be opaque white. Or you can insert a toothpick into the fish, pushing right down to the spine. Hold it there for a few seconds, then put the toothpick to the bottom part of your lower lip. If it feels hot, the fish is cooked.

Meanwhile, combine the butter, garlic, and ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, until the garlic is about half cooked but not yet browning. Add the mustard seeds, almonds, and water and cook until the water is evaporated and the almonds are just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for a few minutes for the flavors to soften.

The easiest way to move a whole fish off the grill is to remove the entire grate from the heat and lay a plate over the fish. Using a towel to hold the grate, quickly flip the grate and the plate at the same time, inverting the fish onto the plate. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, use a couple of metal spatulas to get under as much of the fish as possible and have someone hold the plate near so as you lift the fish up, your helper quickly slides the plate underneath. Breakage often occurs when the fish is moved away from the grill; both of these methods eliminate that problem.

Fillet the fish using a fork and table knife. Divide the fish among 4 plates, then drizzle the warm butter over the top. Serve with the lemon wedges.

Serves 4

-- Leslie Kelly

Want To Drop Some Pounds? Eat More Yogurt!

I nearly fell off my chair the other morning while reading the newspaper. (Yes, I am one of those die-hard print lovers, getting my New York Times tossed on my doorstep every day.) In Jane Brody's excellent column on personal health, she wrote about a new study debunking the long-standing belief that if you eat less and exercise more, you will lose weight.

The Harvard study found that people who ate more whole grains, fruits and vegetables maintained or lost weight, which wasn't a big surprise. The shocker was that consumption of nuts, including peanut butter, and yogurt were tied to weight loss.

Brody quoted one of the authors of the study: "Yogurt contains healthful bacteria that in animal studies increase production of intestinal hormones that enhance satiety and decrease hunger. The bacteria may also raise the body’s metabolic rate, making weight control easier."

This certainly is great news for yogurt fans, but what about those folks who are lukewarm about the sour stuff? It probably isn't the best plan to eat yogurt that's loaded with sugar, which many products are to make them more pleasing to the mainstream palate. When it comes to shopping for yogurt, I prefer Nancy's, the most unprocessed product on the market. I don't want added ingredients like pectin, which artificially thickens yogurt.

Years ago, I used to make my own yogurt, but as life got hectic, my yogurt maker collected dust in the back of the pantry. After reading that recent article, though, I think it's coming out of retirement. Like cheese making, yogurt is all about controlling temperature while taking fresh milk to a whole different place. From liquid to solid. And I trust my yogurt maker to take the guesswork out of the process.

When it comes time to eat it, yogurt is an incredibly versatile ingredient. Just the other day, I made a kefka lamb kabobs recipe that called for mixing mint into yogurt for a cooling accompaniment. It can stand in for sour cream and be blended into smoothies. When making brownies, I often hold back on some of the fat and add yogurt instead. Swirling it into creamy soups adds complexity.

But eating it straight-up? It's a mouthful of pucker power. That's why I drizzle honey or maple syrup on top and fold in some fruit before sprinkling my morning "sundae" with granola.

What's your favorite way to eat yogurt?

-- Leslie Kelly 

It's Good Fish Friday: Seafood Shopping Tips From Becky Selengut

I'm thrilled with the new Good Fish book from Seattle chef/culinary instructor Becky Selengut, a work with a telling subtitle: "Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the Pacific Coast."

There are plenty of lessons about the best fish to buy and eat to be learned in this book, yet it doesn't come across as preachy. As a fish fan, I appreciate the buying tips and the advice on how to care for your catch once you make the investment. I liked reading about how fish were raised and harvested and the suggestions served up on sustainable substitutes. (Which gives this West Coast-centric collection legs, broadening its appeal to other parts of the country.) There are also short how-to videos that further illuminate prepping and cooking techniques detailed in the book. (A welcome trend in publishing, don't you think?)

But what I truly love about this well-received cookbook is how Becky explores some uncharted territory, dipping into stuff like sardines. After all, it's easy to love the superstars of the seafood world, the salmon and halibut, scallops and black cod. But those guys are expensive.

Becky offers solid suggestions for serving squid, sardines, trout, clams and mussels, all of which represent a good value. I was especially intrigued by the smoked sardine recipe and the tips for taking trout in some exciting new directions. This fish is a shining example of the positive benefits of aquaculture done right.

The chef recently took me on a seafood shopping tour of Pike Place Market. Take a look at this video:

Doesn't that make you want to try trout? Here's a recipe from Good Fish: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the Pacific Coast (Sasquatch 2011):

Cast iron rainbow trout with sage, mushrooms and bacon

1/2 cup dried wild mushrooms (.5 ounce dried or 1 cup fresh -- chanterelles are amazing with this recipe -- or a dried mix of chanterelles, morels, and porcini

Rainbow trout, about 1 pound for each fish, head/tail removed, filleted rib bones removed

Salt and pepper, as needed

Flour,as needed

1/2 cup bacon, small diced

1/4 cup sage, whole leaves (choose the smaller leaves - under 1-inch in length)

1/2 cup white wine

High heat vegetable oil, as needed

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Rehydrate the wild mushrooms in 1 cup of very hot tap water. Push the mushrooms underneath the water to make sure they are in contact with the water. Let sit for 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Fillet the trout (go to www.goodfishbook.com for a video on filleting a trout) or ask the fishmonger to fillet it for you (making sure to remove the rib bones). I leave the skin on but you can have them take it off. Salt and pepper the fillets and then dust them with the flour on both sides.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat comes out (renders) about 7-8 minutes. The bacon will get crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and reserve, leaving the fat in the pan. Turn the heat up to high. When very hot, start frying the trout fillets, for about 2 minutes per side, just until they brown. Transfer fillets to a platter and hold in the oven while you fry all the fish (add oil if needed).

When you've removed the last piece of fish, add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. When hot, add the mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned. Add the sage leaves and cook for another minute. Add the bacon back to the pan, deglaze with the wine (scrape the bottom of the pan to release stuck-on bits) and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Pour the sauce over the fillets and serve right away.

-- Leslie Kelly

Wine Pairing Advice From Chef Michael Mina

Last weekend was Taste Washington, a spectacular event that includes a day of seminars followed by a aptly named "Grand Tasting." More than 200 wineries and dozens of restaurants put their best efforts on display in the glass and on the plate and 2,000 enthusiastic ticket holders try to pack as much tasting into the relatively short space of a few hours. The lesson: You simply cannot have it all. Which is why many people return year-after-year to participate in what some have called the best wine tasting in the country.

This year, I soaked up some incredible lessons listening to panel discussions among industry leaders. One of my favorite subjects during the seminars was a talk on food and wine pairing featuring celebrity chef Michael Mina, pictured here on the right with James Beard-awarding winning chef Jason Wilson from Crush. Mina, the eloquent owner of 18 restaurants in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, Detroit, Washington D.C. and, soon, Seattle, generously gave a huge chunk of credit for his success to his lead sommelier, Rajat Parr.

Parr, who was named the top somm in the U.S. by Food & Wine magazine in 2009, has a brilliant palate and isn't shy about suggesting the chef make changes to some of his dishes so they will be more compatible with wine. "Raj is a great cook," Mina said. "He actually went to the CIA. And, yes, I have changed dishes when he's asked. He's that good."

That's impressive.

What chef and sommelier are striving for is balance in both food and wine, but often the attention is weighted toward the food or the wine. That's why some of the most successful pairings are the most obvious. For instance, steak and Cabernet or roast chicken and Chardonnay work so well together because simple, straightforward flavors of the dishes provide a foundation for wine to shine.

It starts getting much trickier when dishes are more complex, but "when you go out to dinner, you might want to try being a little more adventurous," said chef Mina, who grew up in Ellensburg, Wash. And Raj added: "Especially when someone else is paying."

One of the combinations panelist agreed would be a terrible match was oysters and Merlot. "But, what if you were given the chance to drink Petrus with your oysters? You wouldn't turn that down, would you?" asked the panel's moderator, Travel + Leisure's wine editor, Bruce Schoenfeld.

After chewing over this often-debated topic for more than an hour, the grape-stained bottom line: Eat what you like and drink what you like with it. Don't get too hung up on rules. And, most importantly, treat a restaurant's sommelier as the terrific resource they are. The best somm should offer great pairing advice, while staying within your budget.

-- Leslie Kelly

A Reserve Syrah? Let's Pour It In The Blender and Give It A Whirl

Last week, I wrote a post about being in the audience for the world premiere of the mother of all cookbooks, Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Sciene of Cooking, which comes out next week. While this publishing sensation been getting a whole lot of attention, much of the focus seems to be on the molecular gastronomy portion of this 50-pound tome, but there's so much more in the five volumes.

One of the many entertaining points made during the course of the evening was about the rather shocking idea of pouring wine in a blender to aerate it. "I did this with some very old wine from a Spanish duke," author Nathan Myhrvold explained. "He actually preferred it in a blind tasting, but was unconvinced, so we did it again and won him over."

The idea is to infuse air into wine, opening it up, softening its tannins. Power aerators have become really popular the past few years, offering wine fans the chance to take the practice of decanting to the next level. A blender really takes it up a notch, though. But does it really work better than decanting? Or is it more of a parlor trick?

The other night, I had friends over for dinner and decided to give it a whirl. Now, I didn't use an older wine from the cellar because, well, frankly, my cellar is pretty bare after a couple of cross country moves and downsizing of my storage space.

Still, a buddy brought a Reserve Syrah from New Zealand and said she was wide open to testing a blender's possible ability to change the wine's character for the better. We held back one glass as the "control" in our little experiment. The rest went into my Oster and I hit the switch.

It foamed up like crazy. It looked like the cap you see on wine when it's fermenting. There was definitely a lot of air forced into this deep red liquid. Everybody got a kick out of it.

Did it taste radically different than the wine that had just been poured into the glass? Not really. After about 15 minutes, when it had a chance to rest in the glass, then this tasted much rounder, maybe a little spicier, but still not sure it wouldn't have softened up in the glass anyway. Guess this might require a bit more "research."

-- Leslie Kelly

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!

I was recently invited to a five-course feast featuring chicken, chicken and more chicken. And the goal of this gathering of the flock? To talk turkey! OK, just joking. It was to talk about chicken and the way chicken is raised and marketed, specifically Foster Farms chicken.

This invite was impossible to resist because it involved being wined and dined by Susan Neel, one of the gregarious owners of McCrea Cellars, a favorite winery of mine. Plus, it promised to be a thought-provoking and filling evening among fellow food bloggers who care about where food comes from.

Ever since watching Food, Inc., I've had deeply conflicted feelings about chicken. I love it, but I hate how it's raised in factory farm settings. Even so-called free range chicken isn't scratching around in the outside world. There's a door, sure, but the chickens rarely, if ever go out that door.

The host of this event wanted to hear our opinions about how to get the word out that Foster Farms is a family-owned company that contracts with family-owned farms. And, what were we looking for in a chicken as a consumer? The consensus around the table seemed to be a wish for a smaller bird with a bigger flavor. Is that possible?

We live in a world where factory farms, even family-owned factory farms, are a reality, but it's encouraging that some of those factory farms are putting out feelers. Can consumers influence the way animals are raised and brought to market? You bet, but you've got to squawk to be heard. Here's a link to their consumer feedback page.

Dinner was fantastic: chicken liver crostini, chicken posole, followed by smoked chicken mac-and-cheese and an over-the-top rich chicken confit made from a recipe from Donald Link's Real Cajun. For dessert, Susan made a whimsical treat, meringue topped with lemon curd. Her clever nod to that age-old question: Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

In between serious discussion about raising awareness about chicken farming practices, we went around the table and talked about some of our favorite chicken dinners. While I love roast chicken and coq au vin, chicken curry and chicken wrapped in prosciutto and seared in a cast iron skillet, my favorite dish is always fried chicken. How about you?

-- Leslie Kelly