A Movement Of Heritage and Inclusion

For decades African-American chefs had to cook and refine Euro-centric dishes. Yet there are a new generation of chefs who have  been influence by  the Caribbean and Africa as well as home. It's a new delicious standard full of spins and variations

John Eligon and Julia Moskin collaborated on this informative piece for today's New York Times Food section.John Eligon is a Kansas City based Times reporter covering race issues for the paper while Ms. Moskin is a regular contributor to the Food section. Together they explored the next generation of African -American chef and the dishes that they've created. These chefs have pushed way past the Eurocentric traditions learned at culinary school. There are greater influences such as the African diaspora and  techniques from Nigeria, Brazil, Morocco and Trinidad and Tobago. They use such diverse ingredients as conch, berbere - a spice mix found in Ethiopian and Eritrean cooking, fonio - a West African millet grain and cassava - the South American yam. Will this make an impact on the way America eats? Most definitely since the restaurant business has the highest amount of diversity than any other American business or industry.

This new vanguard have a variety of different signature dishes.Nyesha Arrington of Los Angeles relies on the terroir of her native Los Angeles.It is a blend of Californian, Mexican, Chinese and Persian, reflecting the city's ethnic landscape. Her key dish is olive oil poached halibut with pickled oyster mushrooms and Sungold cherry tomatoes. Jerome Grant who creates phenomenal dishes at The national Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington  serves an oyster pan roast with shaved fennel and sesame crackers. Chef  Ashleigh Shanti looks to her Southern heritage for inspiration at her eatery Benne On Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina.. Her hummus is made from black eyed peas instead of chickpeas and fermented benne seeds instead of tahini. Chef Shanti's buttermilk cornbread soup is a take on her grandmother putting leftover cornbread into buttermilk and drinking it. There is the Japanese influence in her cabbage pancakes, based on okonomiyaki. other chefs are influenced by their Congolese roots or commitment to vegetarianism.
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The new generation of African-American chefs are shaping the way America is eating. They are bringing tradition and verve to a hungry landscape. They are expanding our palates with traditional and no so traditional dishes.

Food And Ritual

With Lent coming up, it's interesting to see how food plays a part in our religious rituals. They are entwined together , much like religion and ourselves. Both affect our lives - and how we choose to live.

One of the most traditional religions is Greek Orthodoxy.This is one of the purist of Christianity , being unchanged for over one thousand years. Their rites and beliefs are tightly tied to food and what to eat. Their Lent which starts March 11th, has a strict dietary list. Products from red blooded animals are taboo. The Greek Orthodox live mostly on vegetables, having eschewed all kinds of meat, poultry and even fish with spines. Dairy and eggs are also forbidden along with olive  oil and wine. Their Christmas fasts are somewhat similar wit no fish being allowed between December 20th and December 24th - Christmas Eve.Memorial services are also important and so is the food with them.There is usually the deceased's favorite foods , such as certain kinds of cookies as well as favorite fruits. An ancient mix of wheat berries pomegranate seeds nuts and dried fruit is also given out. It's a kind of granola called koliva, and it's sweetened with cinnamon and sugar Mint is added as well, but some families sub in parsley.

The Catholics and some Protestants like the Episcopalians celebrate Fat Tuesday also called Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday.It's a wild time, especially in New Orleans and Rio. This is the time to truly enjoy Cajun and Creole dishes.A Fat Tuesday meal can start with a rich gumbo, full of shrimp or  chicken along with onion, celery and peppers, the Cajun trinity. The meals end with a festive King Cake, a sweet bread decorated with purple, green, and gold icing.The colors have meaning too - purple  justice, green faith and gold power. To even make it more fun and festive a baby figurine is put into the cake and  means good luck to the person finding it.The Brazilians celebrate the day with a lush, creamy shrimp stew called moqueca and Caipirinha, the country's national cocktail. Shrove Tuesday is the version celebrated in the United Kingdom where pancakes are made to rid the house of butter and dairy before Lent. Fasting only takes place during this time. Meat is given up on Ash Wednesday and Fridays  Some of the more religious people eschew sweets and alcohol for Lent. Many  southern Italians fast on Christmas Eve Day, breaking it at a late dinner of thirteen kinds of seafood. This symbolizes  Jesus.Christ and His apostles.

Food and ritual have been entwined for more than two thousand years. Both symbolize individual religions and their importance Will it ever change? No, they will be here for the next millienna

A Classic Revisited Nino's Pizzeria

It's very rare that a restaurant lasts almost  forty years with the same owner. Yet that's what happened  with Nino's Pizzeria in Garfield, New Jersey. It's been feeding the community with good food, introducing generations to Southern Italian classics. I've come back to it after a long time away and I'm glad I did.

Nino's is an unpretentious  little eatery with only four (albeit big) tables.It's been a take out since the original owner opened up this Harrison Ave. landmark forty years ago. The current owner John, and his brother bought it from the original owner, Nino, hence the name. Unlike other Italian restaurants in the area, this one has a surprise - good Portuguese food. Yes, Nino's has pizza, garlic knots and rice balls, as their fellow pizzerias but they also have frango assado, roasted chicken with vegetables and the famed codfish bacalhao, steamed, fried and  roasted.Picadinho , that tasty blend of minced meat and vegetables can also be ordered for a change of pace. The catering menu even includes a roasted  suckling pig or leitao along with a seafood rich paella Portuguese style.It can be washed down with the mild cherry tasting soda Guarina from Brazil.

This is a nostalgic trip for me, I used to go to Nino's during my college years for their garlic pizza. It was a gem, standing out, with the perfect ratio of cheese to sauce, studded with tiny bits of minced garlic. Has it changed? I had the plain slice and it was not greasy , unlike  slices from other local pizzerias. There was more cheese than sauce, creating a chewy , gooey texture. Their crust is good, more of tart one than than of the usual flat one with puffs. Their calzone is about the best around.It's crust was light and crackly,again not sogged down by oil. The filling is the traditional  ricotta, but it was like a ham infused cloud , light and fluffy without the usual cloying salty taste.It came with a tomato dipping sauce which was also perfect in flavor and texture.Many Italian restaurants put out a sauce that's too thick and chunky which slides off the calzone, ending up on the floor, table or lap. Nino's was spot on , and the best part was that it actually tasted like tomatoes - not too sweet or garlicky. The calzone and sauce were a definitely matched pair.

Nino's is worth visiting if you're in the Garfield area. It has an interesting mix of Portuguese and Italian food, all tasty and good. Visit it if you're craving pizza, pasta or bacalhao.

Nino's Pizzeria,
300 Harrison Ave #2
Lodi New Jersey 07644
973-772- 5056
Hours 10 AM to Midnight

Rio Carnival Of Food

Rio is awash in Olympic fever right now, with athletes and locals getting wild in the city of samba and sunshine. The city is know for it's festive atmosphere and party foods.It's a tasty mix of four Continents melded together to create a unique and delicious cuisine.

What is Brazilian food?It'a a truly fine mix of European, African Asian and indigenous recipes and ingredients.The country doesn't have regionalized cuisine, per se .It's divided into four sections, There is southeast Brazil's fejoada, one of the country's most famous dishes.This is a kind of stew, made from black beans mixed with pork and beef. Tomatoes, carrots and cabbage round it out and it's usually served with rice. It's all prepared in a big  clay pot over a low heat.Sometimes blood sausage is served with it as well.The Japanese also went to Brazil and with them brought spring rolls that transformed into pastel, a kind of  thin pastry envelope filled with meat and/or cheese. These became a popular street food.In the ocean side state of Espirito Santo German and Italian immigrants influenced  the cuisine. especially the Northern Italian dish of polenta.Olive oil is mandatory  in cooking too, another Italian influence. In the nearby state of Minas Gerais,frango con quiabo, chicken with okra along with tutu de feijo. a mix of cassava paste and beans is a favorite.

Northern Brazil, especially around the Amazon Forest the food is the purest of indigenous recipes and cuisines.One of the most famous dishes is palo no tucapi  a duck soup that is literally cooked in front of the eater. It is first spicing  and then roasting a duck with bacon in a clay pot, then covering it with tomatoes, watercress and garlic. it's then served with manioc flour and white rice. The northeastern part of the country from Ba'hia to Perambuco has a cuisine that is a marriage of African and indigenous ingredients.They make vatapa a dish of shrimp, bread and coconut mixed with a paste of peanuts and cassava.The dish can also be made with chicken or tuna. Another shrimp dish is Bobo de Camaro made with the seafood and manioc cream.A popular street food is acaraje a fried ball made from black eyed peas cooked in dende or palm oil. Tapioca is also big here and it's made into a flat bread and eaten for breakfast,usually with a filling of cooked cheese and flan.Popular throughout Brazil is the many different kinds of pastas the immigrants brought with them.From spaghetti to ramen, these make up a good portion of the diet.

Rio is a city awash in Olmypic spirit right now. It is also awash in a myriad of different foods influenced from the indigenous and immigrants that give it its colors.The food is amazing.The country is amazing. Rio is an amazing food town.

Churrasco Lovers Rejoice!

For those who love churrasco, that tasty Brazilian barbecue or just meat  lovers in general, there's a great new cookbook  for you to try and enjoy. Churrasco: Grilling The Brazilian Way is chock full of traditional recipes that highlight barbecued beef,lamb and even chicken along with sides. More ambitious home chefs will even love the idea of building their own grill too.

The highly illustrated book (Gibbs Smith Publishers 2016) was written by Evandro Caregnato, creative director for the restaurant chain Texas de Brazil, which has broadened American palates to the delights of hearty gaucho food. Mr. Caregnato was born in  southern Brazil where kids learn how to barbecue early. Many people associate this amazing country with the sexy beaches of Rio or the primitive beauty of the Amazon , but it also has a strong gaucho culture in the country's southernmost province. The churrasco grill was one of the first fast foods , with grills being set up alongside gas stations. Soon sides were being served with the beef and lamb , then other foods such as soups and rolls. The grilled meats comes in many different cuts and they're beautifully portrayed here for novice grillers to note. He explains each one in detail,and how to use them.What is really fun are the how tos for the various grills.They would make an interesting back yard project for any serious home chef.There is the complicated one made with a fifty five gallon steel drum and the much simpler four armed cross spit. These are followed by an entire page of grilling tips that would even be beneficial for an American style barbecue.

The recipes , along with the accompanying photos are downright mouth watering. There is a braised rolled beef, a kind of Brazilian braciole that's actually made in a dutch oven as opposed to on a grill.It's stuffed with bacon, sausage and hard boiled eggs. There are veggies in the form of carrots and scallions and its' marinated in a tomato sauce.Carnivores will love the fire roasted picanha or sirloin cap and beef on a Plow Blade. Grill kings will love the gaucho kebabs which is a mix of chicken, beef sirloin or tenderloin bacon and pork loin fire cooked with squash, keilbasa and peppers.along with the grilled lamb recipe. The cookbook also features a large amount of Northern Italian recipes, not surprising because many Piedmontese and Lombards immigrated there in the late 1800's. There is the chewy thick bucatini with quail sauce , a kind of gamy version of chicken cacciatore.Canneloni lovers will enjoy making spinach ones, this recipe rich with whole cream and Parmesan. Seafood, especially salted cod or bacalhau is almost a national dish in Brazil and there a few recipes featuring it. There's also some yummy dessert ones too, including dulce de leche and chocolate truffles. Mr. Caregnato also throws in the country's national drink the caipiriniha, made with cachaca. the sugar cane derive liqueur.

Churrasco:Grilling The Brazilian Way is an great cookbook for those who love churrasco or want to expand their grilling expertise. Get it to experience a delicious way to cook outdoors.It'll make for an interesting season of splendid open air dining.