Patti Jinich's Chalupa Moment

Would it surprise anyone that famed Mexican chef, Patti Jinich , has never been to a Taco Bell, She hasn't - and with good reason. Why settle for mediocre fast food when you can create the authentic , tastier version at home.Yet, as the intrepid food authority she is , she went

Kim Severson wrote about Ms. Jinich's first trip ever to the Taco Bell near her home in Chevy Chase,Maryland.It did not go well. She, Ms. Severson and two of her three sons made  a visit to this staple of American fast food.Like Chinese- American and Italian -American dishes, Taco Bell's offering are a pale version of what is actually cooked in Mexico.It's kind of like how we overly  celebrate Cinco de Mayo,which is  just a small holiday there. Ms. Jinich ordered nineteen (!) items to try,all suggestions from her fans. The first was a  ground beef taco in a soft tortilla.Maybe it needed salsa. She tried all four of Taco Bell's salsas  on it and that didn't help.Then there was the chicken chalupa which Ms Jinich declared to be only marginally better. She could see being super hungry and eating it then. The one that finally got her approval was the Dorito Locos Taco Supreme. You have to wonder if she got the Mexican pizza sauce and red strips - the last questionable. (it could be dyed red taco strips). She briefly wondered why is it would called supreme which  is nothing more than an upgrade of sour cream and chopped tomatoes. In the end , her youngest son, Julian or Juju got sick from the food.

It's no wonder. As he told Ms. Severson. he has the best Mexican food at home. Why should he go to Taco Bell. He is right. His mom was beneficial in bringing , true Mexican food from the many different regions to American kitchens. Cooking is in her blood, thanks to her family, especially from her father who ran two restaurants in Mexico City. It did take her a while to grow into it, being a serious and studious child who grew up to receive her master's in Latin American studies at Georgetown University. She wrote policy papers for Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. From there she realized she was more interested in food research than policies.Ms. Jinich enrolled at  night school the L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda Maryland and  new career opened up for her.After creating a culinary program on Mexican cuisine at the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington DC. After conquering crippling stage fright it was onto TV. She went first to the Food Channel, which was not for her and switched over to the more serious PBS station. There she could not only introduce Americans to true Mexican cuisine but also the history of such classics as flan and dulce de leche. Her cookbooks, a must for any cooking enthusiast, show the real side. rich with chorizo and native chiles.It is certainly not the garishly colored, intensely flavored Taco Bell offerings.

Ms. Jinich hopes Americans discover real Mexican cooking. It is one flled with ancho chiles and mole sauce. It's not one loaded with cheese and strange ingredients.

The Perfect Chocolate Babka

Babka has always been the domain  of bubbies and Jewish bakeries. That's all changing  thanks to a new generation of hip home bakers discovering it. The recipe has been somewhat tweaked but the end result is the same. Chewy buttery sweet slices that always satisfy,

Melissa  Clark wrote about it in yesterday's New York Times  A Good Appetite column along with a scrumptious recipe. Babkas are experiencing a kind of renaissance right now. The trendy Sadelle's Bakery in Manhattan's Soho offers one studded with homemade chocolate cookies while competitor Breads Bakery stuffs theirs with Nutella. Other bakeries such as Bklyn Larder fills theirs with a rich ganache and Baz Bagel turns theirs into the ultimate comfort food - babka bread pudding. The cake becomes even more decadent in the Jerusalem cookbook by Yotam Ottolonghi and Sami Tamimi.It's renamed the chocolate krantz cake and is loaded with pecans. This has spawned a variety of variations. such as one filled with chocolate and raspberry jam and another soaked in honey syrup. New York's Lower East Side Russ & Daughters, originally a fish and savory shop, uses and bakes the original recipe . Theirs, according to fourth generation owner Joshua Ross Tupper advises babka is a nice balance of not too sweet cake and rich chocolate filling,It's also one the of the few traditional babkas sold and it's shipped all over the country. Ms. Clark is the rebel baker, using a rich chocolate butter cream filling in hers.

Home bakers be warned. Babka requires time and some expertise.It is working with yeast which can be tricky and time consuming. One can take all day or even longer (!) to make due to refrigerating the dough between steps. Doing this  does make it easier to manipulate  and a longer proofing period does give it a richer, more complex taste.It is easier to freeze than other breads so home chefs can make two loaves, one for now, the other for later. It is a rich buttery dough with a recipe requiring ten tablespoons of butter. and four large eggs.. The dough is transferred to buttered bowls which add to the flavor  as it bounces in and out of the fridge/Ms Clark's frosting filling also has a stick of unsalted butter along with 3/4 of a cup of heavy cream.If this isn't enough , there is over the top cocoa streusel topping. This is more butter (but only four and a half tablespoons this time) blended with cocoa , sugar and flour, It creates giant , luscious crumbs mixed in with dark chocolate chips. Home bakers can top their babkas with brown sugar streusel on top. The same goes for the filling.any sweet goo,according to Ms. Clark is acceptable. Try, jam, dulce de leche, Nutella or hot fudge sauce.

Chocolate babka is making a big comeback. Make it to enjoy its' lush buttery chocolate flavor.It may be intense to make but a dream to eat.

The Piedmontese Influence

Our new pope Francis I may be Argentine born but his family hails from Piedmonte , Italy.It's where French cuisine also orginates and where butter is loved 24/7. Piedmontese food also has a healthy side, relying on fresh veggies  as well  along with fruit and nuts for dessert instead of heavy pastries.
Will there be Piedmontese food with an Argentine twist at the Vatican? Possibly.

Argentine food relies heavily on the beef industry.It's what made the country great back in the last century. There is grilled asado which is a kind of barbecued beef .There are also varieites of beef sausages and meat patties. Our new pope will probably also love sweets as most Argentines do. It's where that famed flavor dulce de leche a caramel like paste that's eaten on its; own  or over pancakes.It;s also used for cake filling too.

However ti''s also influenced by the Italian and Spanish communities as well. Often there will be pasta on a Sunday dinner table as well as a variety of good veggies such as Swiss chard and leeks, Bagna calda, Italian for hot bath is a favorite. This is an anchovy based sauce, mixed with butter, olive oil and garlic. Savoy cabbage is usually dipped in and cooked until it's wilted. However the Argentines will probably put cut up steak bits in it for added flavor. Zabaglione a n egg yolk based custard may even be the base for their dulce de leche.

Piedmonte's rich influence is felt both in the New and Old Worlds. It has turned Buenes Aires into a sophsiticated food town with stylish restaurants and good home cooking. It is what Piedmontese cooking is all about  - no matter where it's served

Gourmet For All

Years ago certain foods were not available to the masses.It was hard to get French cheeses unless you went to France. Certain pastas were only made at homes. Exotic veggies and fruits were only found in travel Baedekers , not in your local market. Times have changed. It's amazing what's in the local supermarket these days. Sea salt, once considered a luxury item is now all over supermarkets. Just a few scant years ago only elite cookware stores like Williams and Sonoma sold it . Go to your local grocery and it's right there next to Morton's and the generic stuff. Looking for exotic quinoa and plantains? They're right next to the plum tomatoes and broccoli . Ugli fruit , a rarity a few years ago , sits next to oranges and apples in the fruit section. Will all this gourmet stuff make us jaded? No. It does mean a more sophisticated palate for us and for our children. Everyone from oldster to toddler has opinions about what peppercorns to put into one's soup or topping goes well with dulce de leche ice cream. It means that no one is afraid of foreign foods anymore and they can break away from the ordinary. The meat and potato days are well over with. Gourmet food is a big part of our everyday lives. It exists right next to our boxes of instant mashed potatoes and ketchup. Soon it won't be considered sophisticated or exotic. It'll just be considered food.