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.

A Tasty Holiday Issue

The New York Times has given us some great holiday recipes and today is yet another issue of yummy Christmas and Hannukah dishes. It's a wide variety of different flavors and textures. along with a vast array of diverse ingredients. Best of all any of these can be a holiday tradition made year after year.

One of the best articles is by Food regular , Julia Moskin, She wrote about that rich , eggy dense pudding - flan. Her recipe is the perfect recipe.It is a smooth textured one  with the zing of lemon added. Cinnamon can be subbed in for the lemon, for a Northern Spanish twist. One of the most disconcerting aspects of the dessert is the caramel topping. This is usually a burnt sugar ,made with just sugar melted in a heavy saucepan. Home chefs attempting this should try a "wet" caramel, with water mixed in with the sugar.It will finish off the flan with that burnt umber syrup.What can go before the flan is Dave Tanis of A City Kitchen 's column.It is a classic French dish that also has bouquet garni and carrots.Horseradish can be slathered on them for a sharp contrast.

Hannukah is also celebrated, thanks to Melissa Clark's olive oil challah recipe. along with Joan Nathan's article on latkes..The first celebrates the miracle of the oil thanks to the addition of this classic ingredient.It is a braided bread that can also be repurposed for French toast and bread puddings. Challah dough is one of the easiest doughs to work with for home chefs. If you want the most traditional dish, then think latkes.Joan Nathan wrote about them in her article. These are not exactly the classic ones, thanks to Chef Daniel Rose.They're made with clarified butter along with being transformed into one big , crispy pancake as opposed to a slew of tiny little pancakes.Onions are also added for an earthy sweetness.It's fried in grapeseed oil and served with creme fraiche and an apple compote instead of the usual sour cream and apple sauce.It can also be used a a based for Eggs Benedict too.

These recipes will make Christmas and Hannukah more memorable. They're classics updated for a better , more enhanced taste. Make anyone part of the holiday cooking tradition.

A Hunk of Roast Beef

I normally don't write personal stories on this blog. Foodie Pantry has always been about recipes and dishes, trends and cuisines. Yet I feel this one story has to be told. It's about my 24 year old British shorthair , Shelby, who we lost yesterday to lung cancer She was an exceptional cat, a true gourmand, perfect for this foodie cat mom.

She was a rescue cat from our local shelter. The story started when our other house cat , a fiery calico, appropriately  named Sparkey sneaked out. My brother went to the local shelter, here in Bergen Country ,in the hopes of finding her (she was hiding in her old stomping grounds, a wild patch of land called The Gully behind my house). He had come back with the news , not of Sparkey, but of Shelby, a big friendly "male" who love to be petted. The he was a she , an older rescue, maybe ten, maybe eleven years  in age Another cat? No! We had way too many inside and out. Not another. Yet when I went for a second visit, fell in love with this chunky girl with the most expressive celadon colored eyes. Her eyes are what riveted you to her. They were wide discs that took in everything.  Her fur was a thick, slate gray, the color of dark rain clouds. She had huge round paws that were almost circular in shape. I knew she had to have some kind of  pedigree to her but what? Maybe Persian? I found out she was a British shorthair thanks to looking though a cat magazine that featured the breed., She became my little aristocrat.True to her English blood  she loved London broil and roast beef. She'd walk the length of her couch (everything in the living room was automatically declared hers) over her Froggie pillow to make sure she got a bite of my roast beef . I always had extra for her, She gobbled it down,

It wasn't just roast beef. From the start she loved pepperoni. I guess her original pet parent spoiled her with it. She loved nibbling on the slices, even the soy ones my brother ate. Chicken was another favorite along with ham and any Italian cold cuts. She loved the Wendy's burgers and Popeye's chicken I brought home. Shelby was a big cheese lover too. Any cheese, from the gooey mozzarella on my pizza to cream cheese to Brie was always- well - catnip to her. She loved cheddar, not settling for just a few small pieces. She wanted the whole slice  - to herself . Other favorites were butter and margarine. Every morning  we ate breakfast together, She had her food along with two little bites of margarine soaked whole wheat toast even up to her passing. Eggs were another passion. She went mad for the eggy custard flan that my brother's assistant would make us for the holidays. Shelby would give that unblinking celadon stare that said quite loudly "That's mine. Please give me it and I 'll let you have the leftovers". Of course she also loved soft boiled eggs, enthusiastically licking the yolk that I purposely left for her. Whipped cream was another favorite. I'd  dip my fingers in whatever sundae or fruit and cream and let her lick each one. Usually she'd be full after the ninth fingertip.To build her up in her later years I'd give her baby food which she shared with another of our rescue cats, a handsome but skittish rescue boy named Lucky. They'd share a jar of Gerber's ham  and be satisfied for the evening (or until her late night snack at around 11:30).

Shelby, I miss you . I miss my little foodie aristocrat who loved eating as much as her pet mama.I know you are up in heaven , nibbling the best cheddar and of  course, roast beef. One day we'll be together again, raiding the angels' refrigerator.

Tasty Tarts

One of the most delicious and versatile baked treats to make is a tart. It's an elegant alternative to cake and pie, always looking perfect on a dessert table. One of the best aspects of any tart recipe is that you can make one or a dozen with basically the same recipe.They all are mouthwatering , with their glazed crusts  and rich fillings of fruit, cream or ganache.

A tart is basically a topless pie with usually a short crust.meaning it has a lot of shortening or lard in the recipe. Many professional and home bakers will sub in butter for a richer flavor and more crumbly crust. The pastry has been around since the medieval period, starting off with more meat than fruit fillings. The French quiche , German zweibelkuchen or onion pie and Swiss Gruyere pie are savory forms of it. Most tarts are now either custard or fruit filled. The truest form of tart is probably the English custard tart.It has a rich egg yolk filling, sort of similar to the Italian zabaglione.Any home chef can easily make them and also personalize them too. They can add in a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg. or do a dusting of toasted coconut or toasted almonds on top.A Gallic variation is the tarte aux flan, a creamy one that has the light Spanish based custard as a filling. fruit tarts are a great way of using the fruits of the season. Nothing beats the sweet and tangy flavor of both apple and pear tarts.

Are tarts easy to make? They may seem complicated with all their steps but they're can be made by any novice home baker. The  star of any tart is the crust. This is what makes it extraordinary. If it's too soggy, then the whole thing is gloppy.The preliminary steps are similar to making a regular pie crust.The dough should be chilled, anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour The crust should be rolled out to an even thickness and then placed into a two piece tart pan.Remember the dough is supposed to be tender so don't worry if there's tears. These can be mended.If it's baked without the filling then prick the sides and bottom with a fork to prevent shrinkage. Don't do anything if the tart is to be baked with a filling.Luckily tart crust can be made with gluten free flour Tarts can also be made with almond or any ground nuts too. Beginners should start off with the simple custard tart and then work their way up to fruit and ganache filled ones.

Tarts are an elegant alternative to pie. They are easy to make for any home baker, who wants a classier dessert with no fuss. These fit the bill perfectly.

Summer Staples From The Garden

This is the time of year when the summer harvests are coming in. There is a proliferation of the three most common, tomatoes, zucchini and corn. These are wonderful to work with, the staples of a summer kitchen. The recipes for them are varied , and can be used for any meal, including breakfast.

David Tanis know this and wrote about it in his A City Kitchen column in today's New York Times' Food section.Fresh summer produce was a big part of his diet during his Midwestern boyhood. He grew up enjoying sun warmed beefsteaks along with sweet corn. There is also his taste for zucchini , thanks to a neighbor who was willing to experiment with it. All three have inspired him to create recipes for three meals. Normally breakfast recipes don't include any vegetables but Mr. Tanis gives us a zucchini flan, that would also work as a light weekend supper.It involves  the sliced veggie along with eggs mixed with milk and nutmeg.Fresh basil and thyme is also used and. The zucchini slices are layered with the custard mixture  Grated cheese such as Gruyere or Cheddar is also part of the flan and it's sprinkled on after the eggs.. If if's too hot to make this, then think about just frying the slices or coins in olive oil and pepper flakes.My version is sautéing in a mix of butter and olive oil with a garlic clove thrown in for more flavor.

Tomatoes and corn are not forgotten either. Mr. Tanis has a yummy tomato salad with anchovy toast that would be right up my alley.  His vinaigrette includes vinegar but you can omit this because the tomatoes provide acidity too. Shallots are also added for bite and garlic cloves. The salad is also colorful. He suggests using a variety of different tomatoes  so the salad had color along with different tastes  from grape, cherry and plum tomatoes. The toast is smeared with anchovy which  makes for a perfect foil for the salad - although be tempted to top the slices with the tomatoes. His corn recipe is a spin on a classic corn muffins with the jolt of jalapeno.Mr. Tanis adds fresh corn kernels to corn meal with the spin of the finely chopped pepper and cheddar. Mushrooms can be added too, surprisingly. Of course tomatoes and corn taste good on their own. Nothing beats a beefsteak with just salt or an ear of corn, slathered with butter, or oil and pesto.

Enjoy the staples of summer. Tomatoes , corn and zucchini can be made a variety of different ways for different meals. Use them for lunch , dinner and even breakfast!

Flantastic

Flan is one of the best desserts ever created. it;s smooth and creamy, loaded with a variety of good ingredients. It's a cool, sophisticated way to end a meal. Another plus is that it's easy to make.

Flan has been around since Roman times when the ancients had an over abundance of eggs. The recipe is a variation of a Greek pudding recipe.Early flans could be sweet and savory. There were recipes for an eel (Ick) flan as well for a honey one.The name comes from flaon meaning flat cake in Old french and Latin. The dessert took off on the Iberian peninsula where the Arab influence brought in the flavors of almond and citrus. With the Spanish taking over the New World , Spanish colonies embraced the dish. The English also loved the dessert enrobing it in a flaky pastry (Hence the custard tart).

Flan is an easy dessert to make. It involves four whole egg,s plus whole and condensed milk. it is also sweet , using usually 3/4 cups of sugar and a dash of sugar. You can also ground almonds and orange juice (cut back on the sugar if you're doing this).A variation is adding coffee for a flan con cafe. Flan does require molds and a hot bath to bake. This just needs your roasting pan half filled with water. You can add a caramelized sugar sauce to finish it off.

Flan is an easy and elegant dessert to make. It's a great way to end any meal and add a final flair of sophistication. It's cool and classic, perfect with just coffee or tea.