The Bread Question

 What was the best bread you ever ate? Wednesday's New York Times Food section featured Genevieve Ko's foccacio recipe. 

Here's the question of the week  have you ever baked a loaf that made you swoon? What was it? Why was it so good?

Good Eating In NOLA

 New orleans is known fo ra variety of things, jazz, hiostory voodoo and tradition.It's also notorious for good food. If you are goung there here are some restuarants that show off the city's best chefs and ingredients.

Regular contributor and New Orleans native Brett Anderson gave this compiliation in yesterday's New York Times Food section. There are twenty five good ones that are perfect during a weekend or a week away in the Crescent City.One of the most famous is Brennans that put the city on the map during the 1950's. Chef Ryan Hacker brings a new sharpness to such classic recipes as turtle soup a nd curried crab roulade. For more classic NoLA food visit Brigtsens, Chef Frank Brigsten's mento was the famed New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme so the food is goung to be traditional and very good. His menu includes everything from shrimp remoulade to pecan pie. For Creole food, there is Cafe reconcile. There are Gulf seafood po'biys and gumbo with red rice.Another classic eatery is the steakhouse is Charlie's Steakhouse , first opened in 1932. There;s a variety of different tender cuts along wit such tasty sides a sonion rings and creamed spinach. You must vist the famed Dooky Chase which is famed for its' seafood and Southern fried chicken.

Yes the city eateries offer other cuisines too.DAKAR NOLA offers Sengalese food. Chef  Siringe Mbaye designed the menu with the crucial role enslaved laborers played in building this city. His shows the strong imfluence West African cuisine has on the city 's history and recipes. Of course there is a French restaurant Mamou in the French Quarter. There are nod sto local tradition like the red bean cassoulet thanks to chef Tom Branighan. he also features escargot and to finish macarons.Italians have made always a big impact in the city so it's no surprise  that there are good Italian restaurants listed. Locals love Paladar 511 that features pasta in tomato sauce and crisp pizzas. There's also port saltimbocca and Wagyu flat iron steak.Indian food is also a big part of the city's dining experience.Saffron NOLA offers Creole and Cajun influenced Indian dishes.There is gumbo with saffrom and ginger along with crab  pudha. There are also Isrealie , Thai and Chinese restuarants too in the city landscape.

New Orleans offers many thing. One is food. Visit the city and discover the  amazing array of food there.

Salmon Farming Its'Future On Land

 Much has been said about salmon fisheries. There's a lot fo negativity regarding them which is bad for te industry and fish lovers. Yet there's an alternative that may be helpful. Salmon farms on land. Can thos work? The answer is yes.

Regular contributor Melissa CLark wrote about this new revolution in today's New York Times Food Wednesday section. Salmon farming may be next to any other farm.In the past most ave been located on the coast whic comes with its' own host of problems.One, these have bigger carbon footprints than a farm with sheep or cows. They create overcrowding of the nearby ecosystems as the fish are allowed to grow in open net areas.It means waters polluted with fish waste along wit other pollution and also promotes the growth of diesases and sea llice. These in turn bring on the need for more pollutants such as antibiotics and pesticides. Then there is the problem of the salmon escaping and breeding with other kinds of salmon which can wreak havoc on the local population. The end result is a new hybrid spawn that can't sustain itse;f and can't make it past the spawn stage.Of course the biggest problem to salmon fisheries is the ocean itself. Warming waters are making it impossible to find a decent site to breed.

This is where land farms come in. Ms. Clark visited one in Auburn, new York in the Finger Lakes area. A former factory is home to thousands of coho slamon. Theyglide throuh a safe ecosystem of fresh water that recirculates  through biofilters every thirty minutes. It mimics a deep seas environment with  the lights dimmed to a deep aqau glow, almost giving the fish a glowing look. More farms like this are being built. Atlantic Sappbire is out of Florida and despite setbacks and will break even in the next year 2024. More farms will be built . According to Brian Vinci, the director of the Conservation Fund's Freshwater Institute,a nionprofit conservation program, land based fisheries are the way to go especially for an American public that wants high quality protein without increasing dependence on imported seafood. Farms like Atlantic Sapphure will be able to increase its volume to 220,000 metric tons of salmon. America is only twenty five to thirty years away of replacing all foreign fish coming from Poland ,Scandinavia and Japan with US bred fish.THis means more affordable fis on the table.

Salmon is America's favorite fish. Thanks to theis new type of fishery , more and more Americans will be able to enjoy it.Land farming not only benefits the environment but the people too.

The New Face Of College Eating

 For years college cafeteria food was just that cafeteria food.it was a better versionof grammar and high school dishes. You got burgers and fries. Sometimes there was French toast for the breakfast menu. Now it's changing  to suit the internationality of students.

This is what's happening at both  the four and two year colleges. Passaic County Community College is one school that offers a variety of different foods, refrelcting it's student body.(heads up I teach there  part timeso I di have a oindness for them) Their dishes represent the large Hispanic population coming in from Paterson and nearby Passaic. Take the food truck MI Sabor Boricoa. Tey have a small stand in the school's five restaurant cafeteria. There is everything from empanadas (the pizza is the best) and tostomes

Ilove their tostone made with mashed fried pmatains. I've always loved them but they make them extra crispy and serve themwith a pink sauce - a mix of ketchup, mayo and garlic powder. Another plus is the Panther Cafe that has extraordinary crispy fries.There is also Totowa Bagels too.

Schools are changing to fit their students tastes. it's a wide palate. It's also an international one too.

Shaking Up Those Fall Recipes

BY now most will be tired of those fall staples -namely everything apple or everything pumpkinspice amongst other ingredients and flavors. Why not try shaking things up with new twists and variations.

instead of apples tyr the other harvest of the season  - pears. There are the BArtlett, Bosc and  Asian to name a few.Instead of baking an apple puie try these beauties in a tart. Add a fragrant frangipane filling ad a buttey crust for a truly different and elegant dessert.Another fun and different idea for alloween is candied pears. This is much the same recipe as with apples but dipping the fruit into a red candy syrup . A stick is inserted in the top part of pear for wasy immersion.You could then roll the bottom in chopped almonds. Grapes are another fall fruit  that's makes for a good snack or dessert. They're full of iron , perfect for fortifying the body for the flu season ahead.Of course these grapes make the perfect jellies.it's surprisingly an easy make.The only problem comes with deseeding the grpaes since Concords are loaded with them. You also have to skin them too which is just a simple pinch . This gets the pulp out.Don;t discrd the skinds though.Their rich purple color is what gives the jam that deep aubergine color.

What about the different spices to use?Pumpkin spice  is a mix of allspice , cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. What about deconstructing this and using the spices individually? Keep in mins that individually mos tof these spices can easily flavor coffee.Use ground ginger to spike chai tea.Allpsice cna be used in savory recipes like jerk chicken or chili.It's great in such diverse dishes as the Pennsylvania Dutch chow chow and a Moroccan couscous. It's a main spcie in carrot cake. Keep in mind that it cna be used in ginger snaps and spice cookies. Cinnamon is another versatile  spice Start a chilly fall morning with ooey gooey cinnamon rolls. THis is a great fall bake and a perfect use of the spice You could also bake a smaller version with cinnamon roll bites which are llke doughnut holes. Cinnamon cna also be used on pork to heighten its' flavor. Ginger can be used in so many Asian dishes. Think a veggie stir fry with slivers of fresh ginger. You could also create a tasty carrot ginger soup.Nutmeg is great sprinkled on Indian pudding or junket, amix of milk sugar and rennet which gives a very creamy dessert.It;s also good on creamed spinach too.

Shake up those fall recipes. Try other fruits of the season. Deconstruct pumpkin spice mix. The end result is tarty recipes that are also true to fall.

Fall Baking

 THis is definitely the time for baking. The weather is perfect for creating everything from muffins to pies.There are spices to try and fruit to add. It'll be a busy season.

Yes , this is also pumpkin spice season.Yet what would be better than pumpkin pie or pumpkin tartlets. You could use fresh pumpkin although most home bakers used the canned variety. This already is spiced and just needs to be poured into a shell. A different spin on it would be creating tartlets, perfect for fall parties. You can easily use a muffin tin for this .It;'s putting cups of pastry dough in them and filling them with a mix of pumpkin puree, half and half , brown sugar, ginger, salt allspice and egg.(the last to bind th epuree and give it some body." After they''re baked you can add a puff of whipped cream. Another pumpkin laden treat is pumpkin bread, perfect for a snack or for breakfast.it too has such warming spices as cinnamon along with the pie filling. Another breakfast treat are pumpkin muffins, made with pumpkin puree and milk. There are also the requisite spices too like ginger and cinnamon.You can also make pumpkin cupcakes too, with out without a tangy cream cheese frosting.

Of course what would fall baking be without apples? They're everywhere. Most sweet tooths love a good cinnamon laced pie. These are great , especially after a fall Sunday dinner but what about something a bit more rustic yet sophisticated?Try a galette which is an easier bake than a regular pie.This is just rolling out the dough and then filling with with sliced apples. The crust is then folded over the apples with an opening in the middle. Some home bakers drizzle caramel on it after it's been baked. Another sweet treat is a turnover stuffed with the fruit. The dough is a light  flaky one that crackles and is the perfect foil for the apple mix. A  These make great snacks to bring to school or to work.  Use puff pastry sheets (which can store easily in your freezer for the shell and Granny Smith apples for the filling. Granny Smiths are the best option for these because of their tartness and are not overly sweet. Turnovers can be decorated with a drizzle of a confectioner's sugar glaze. This is just a blend of the sugar milk and vanilla and then it;s piped onto the turnovers tops.

It's fall and the season for baking. You can go with anything pumpkin or anything apple. The end result is a sweet treat perfect with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

The Pizza Question

Here's the question  of the week Can a pizza be a pizza without the cheese on top? Recently the Wednesday New York Times food section featured an article about tomato pies.It's sometimes called an old fashioned or nonna pie in the  pizzarias. Technically it is a pizza. Or is it?

What do you think? And do you like your pizza with or without cheese?