The Joy of Dining Out

As risky as it it is nowadays, dining out with friends is just such a welcome relief. Eating at a restaurant is now a fun and big event. Will it continue? Possibly - until November when the weather gets cooler and it's too chilly to eat outdoors.

I spent Saturday night with friends eating out at Fontana Tritone in Leonia New Jersey, a lovely old town right across the Hudson River from New York City. Eating there is always a treat. Leonia is a beautiful old town, with charming Victorian homes and a quaint main street. The restaurant chosen was a good choice and despite it all did take getting used to , especially with all the protocols. There had to be a reservation and then once we got there dined in the parking lot. It's nice eating outside, It always reminded me of dining out in Italy. From there we scanned our phones on a QR code. The menu came up right away and we were able to see what was offered. That was neat and this may be the new way to order, even after the virus has hopefully gone. Then the bread comes out with a server coming around with a basket of rolls and thick slices along with tongs. Everyone is masked. Some are gloved with protective plastic gloves. Despite the abnormal circumstances it still was a fun night out.

Dinner was the same as usual. I ordered Fontana Tritone's pollo scarpiello after their lavish antipasto Tritone. This was a wonderful mix of paper thin prosciutto and soprasetta and large pieces of artichoke hearts and  roasted peppers. It was dotted with black olives. I would have just been happy with this and the company. The chicken was equally delicious, just being served on the bone with fresh rosemary and garlic in a white wine sauce. Buttery mashed potatoes and mixed veggies were served with it. I have to admit, I'm not a big mashed potatoes fan but these were superb.There was a creaminess to them that other versions I've had lack. The entire dish was just wonderful. It is exciting to eat out again, with getting dressed up and even putting on make up. Then just picking out dishes from a menu instead of foraging for the ingredients in a grocery store. No cooking. No washing up afterwards. There's something exhilarating about that, even though it's a relatively small deal. It's also nice to see other diners dressed up and enjoying themselves. Somehow being in or eating in your car just doesn't cut it.

If you can and it's safe, eat out. You are supporting your local restaurant but also lifting yourself out of a rut.It's a fun night , enjoying good food and good friends.Try to do so soon.

Easy Veggie Meals

A meal comprised out of just veggies (and fungi) is one of the healthiest and easiest. Get the "steak" of the vegan world, portabella mushrooms, season and air fry and it's the perfect dinner. Add a salad and it's even better.

Before you start it pays to have these . They're what I call the trinity of spicings. Garlic salt , onion powder and oregano. Use this for really flavorful portabella mushrooms.

A sprinkle of each on the gill side after the mushrooms have been brushed with olive oil (Use a pastry brush and Philip Berrio oil for this) If the caps are too big cut them in half.

It's then air frying both sides for eight minutes on both sides at 390 degrees. F. 

As for the salad, go with a simple green bean. Steam them in the microwave (it's easier) for four and a half minutes, then dress with olive oil, apple cider vinegar ,onion powder, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Chill for two to three hours before serving.

Together this is a filling and tasty vegan meal, perfect for a summer's evening.

. The portabella cooks up and tastes exactly like a steak and the green beans are a crunchy, fresh complement.

There is no simpler meal than this. It's an easy cook. Try it for a nice break away from the usual fare.

The Rise Of Cauliflower Crust Pizza

It slowly crept into our lives , shaking up our culinary world. Some embraced it. Others were wary. What is this phenomenon? Cauliflower crust pizza. Once an outsider, now it's a big part of home cooking. What's the deal with it and why are so many embracing it?

Cauliflower pizza surprisingly is nothing new. It's been around since 2009, and its' invention was credited to the founder of the blog Your Lighter Side. A quick look at this blog and it's still has all sorts of cauliflower based recipes, including cauliflower pizza sticks and garlic roasted cauliflower. The recipe even made it to The Today Show. The idea was a hit with everyone, especially pizza lovers who wanted to have something light but with the same flavor.  Now everyone and every store seems to have a version from Trader Joe's and Stop & Shop. Even the glam mall pizzeria, California Pizza Kitchen has their version where it's topped with caramelized onions and fresh tomatoes. There's even a Los Angeles Skinny Bitch Pizzas that will deliver them. From their inception and first pictures on Pinterest, cauliflower pizza has become the star of the foodie universe. It's a great idea. A gluten free low carb pizza that still offers the great flavor and toppings. Who wouldn't love it?

The pies are all over, even creating entrepreneurs out of ordinary people. Gail Becker, a working mother of two boys decided to try the recipe at home. It seemed perfect for her, because she suffered from celiac disease and was looking for an alternative. The problem was its that the recipe is labor intensive. It takes ninety minutes to rice, drain and bake the cauliflower. There had to be an easier and better way. No such luck. Ms. Becker scoured every supermarket in her area. Not finding any she create her own frozen crust that combines tapioca and almond flour with the cauliflower and coconut oil. Caulipower was born, The company, a big success, now offers eight (!) different kinds of pizzas. She also used the cauliflower crust on chicken to create a new kind of tenders. Other companies, namely Green Giant have followed suit. The crust is an easy bake - only sixteen minutes in the oven , then it's taken out , topped and put back in. Does it beat regular pizza? That depends on the pie. Nothing can beat Blaze Pizza, yet there are others it can surpass.

Cauliflower pizza is here to stay and it will ride out any trends. People like it and have embraced it's veggie flavor and crispy crust. It's a nice alternative to the traditional pie.

A Different Spin On Empanadas

Empanadas in North America are not quite like the original ones from South America. Something is lacking. Surprisingly an ingredient from the US is making empanadas better tasting and better to fry. The ingredient? Popcorn!

The great chef J.Kenji Lopez-Alt wrote about this and gave the recipe plus a filling one for yesterday's New York Times Food section. He was able to get the truest recipe thanks to chef  Carlos Gaviria in Bogota, Columbia. he and his Columbian born wife, Adri had visited Chef Gaviria, who's also a food professor at the University of La Sabana. He's also written two cookbooks, the first is Tecnicas Profesionales de Cocina Colombians or Professional Techniques Of Colombian Cuisine  which is an in depth guide to the country's regional cuisine' The second is Arepas Colombianas, an entire book dedicated to Colombia's staple food corn cakes or empanadas. The best dough for them? One that comes from everyday popcorn kernels. Chef Gaviria realized it was also the easiest to find in American markets. He boiled them in a pressure cooker and them passed the softened kernels through a hand cranked grain mill. They're  then kneaded with a bit of water to form masa. Chef Lopez-Alt claims that the flavor and texture were outstanding, with the right crunch and corny flavor.

Kneading it is the same as kneading dough for flaky pastry .It's a smearing motion onto a board known as the fraisage method. Chef Lopez-Alt uses a wok and a slotted spoon to fry them up. A Dutch oven also works. As for the filling he give a traditional beef and potato one.It's first cooking the cubed and peeled potatoes and then sauteing ground beef or even pork with onion, scallion and paprika, granulated chicken bouillon is added (Just smash a bouillon cube with the back of a spoon). A grated, ripe beefsteak tomato and its' juices are added at the end. stir until the mixture is quite dry for about five minutes. Spread it out on a large plate. Season if you need to with salt pepper and more bouillon grains if you want, then put it into the fridge. The masa dough should already be madeand the texture of Play-Doh . The masa is divided into twenty-four golf ball size balls. Place one ball at a time into a sandwich bag, and press into a three inch circle. Use your skillet for this.After they've all been flattened , put two teaspoons of meat inside each and seal the edges together. It's then frying them in canola or peanut oil. Chef Lopez-Alt also give the recipe for aji, Columbian style salsa. It's just scallion , onions and cilantro mixed with a grated beefsteak tomato.Lime juice, water and kosher salt is then added and then everything is mixed together.

It takes a North American classic to create the best South American one. Popcorn gives the right crunch and flavor to empanadas, elevating them several notches.  Try this for the most authentic tasting corn cakes.

The End of King Chef

For too many years chefs have ruled the roost in restaurants across the world. They were and some still are kings of the kitchen. However thanks to the different movements as well as the pandemic it's all changing. Will they be seen as they were fifty and sixty years ago? Probably.

Tejal Rao wrote about this interesting subject and facet of the culinary world in today's New York Times Food section. Celebrity chefs have been around for the past forty years, starting with Wolfgang Puck. Before that chefs were
 nothing more than work horses in the kitchen, not receiving any recognition. The profession was seen as unglamorous. They weren't a brand or a visionary. One or two may have been exceptions to the rules but those were few and far between. The Seventies kicked off the shift. It was Chef Puck who really started this movement. He had a reputation for innovation as he went from head chef at the famed Ma Maison to his own, Spago. Other chefs followed in the bad boy manner. One of the first was Marco Pierre White,a British known for his rock star good looks and an enfant terrible. In his book White Heat, published in 1990 he wrote about putting cooks inside trash cans to punish them along with other forms of intimidation.Anthony Bourdain was famous for bringing the plight of undocumented workers but also was impossibly demanding to his staff too.

Then there is the famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten who locked his long time dishwasher "Sam" in the restaurant's freezer and pummeled him. The reason? "Sam" took a forty-five minute break while there was a critic in the house. Chef Vongerichten was stuck doing his dishwashing. Mario Batali, the chef who wound up on several cooking shows and in a business partnership with Joe Bastianich, son of the famed chef Lydia Bastianich is also guilty of bad boy behavior , He famously sexually harassed several women, thanks to his name and power. The tide is changing thanks to the pandemic exposing the fragility and inequality of the business. Thanks to the #MeToo movement as well as Black Live Matters, women and people of color are being recognized and heard. The white male hierarchy is crumbling. Workers are unionizing at such popular places as Voodoo Doughnuts and San Francisco's Tartine. Chefs are starting to see their workers as teams. At Somni in Beverly Hills , the chef Aitor Zabala printed a menu that credited everyone. The pastry chef, Ivonne Cerdas received as much recognition as the porters Josue Rodriguez and Mario Alarcon. This may be the wave of the future.

The restaurant hierarchy will be abolished soon enough, Chefs won't be the king of the culinary castle. They'll be part of a hardworking team , responsible for running a well oiled eatery.

To Bake Or Not To Bake

The problem with August birthdays is that they're well in August. Like July birthday's they're in some of the hottest weeks of the year. The question is do you bake a lovely homemade cake or do something else? There are alternatives, yet are they the best choice?

Many will say the heck with baking,It's just too hot and humid to pop a cake into the oven. Keep in mind that a good size cake can range from as low as $25 for one that serves six to one at $39 for half a sheet cake. Yes it's easy but it's also expensive, especially when you factor in decorating costs. Cupcakes are a better way to go , depending on the bakery or grocery store. You can easily get   a six pack of fresh made ones from Stop & Shop for $3.99 providing it's a small get together. Vegan cakes and cupcakes are a bit more expensive. Vegan bakeries such as Sweet Avenue in Rutherford, New Jersey charges $4 for one single cupcake. Granted they are OK and there's a wide array of different kinds from simple vanilla and chocolate to S'mores cupcakes and strawberry shortcake ones. Their cakes are $35 for a six serving cake and $95 for a larger one that can serve twenty-four. If you can stand the heat, then bake. You don't have to create an elaborate scratch although it's a great way of using up all that flour you bought. The birthday boy or girl would surely appreciate a Duncan Hines,Pillsbury. or Betty Crocker one. All of these companies have frosting if you don't feel like making your own.

What about microwave cakes? They're all over You Tube and they look easy. It's just a five or six minute pop into the microwave. The ingredients are the same from the flour, and milk to the baking and cocoa powders. There are even no egg and no dairy versions that only require vegetable oil or melted butter.  You can bake two layers and then frost how you want. If you feel that butter cream is still too involved then use Cool Whip.It's a great icing and filling. To jazz it up, add a few drops of mint flavoring if it's frosting a chocolate cake. A layer of strawberries, blueberries or peaches work for a vanilla one. Another idea is an ice cream cake. It's just filling a silicon mold with ice cream and making the crunchy filling. This is taking those Nabisco chocolate wafers or any similar kind and grinding them down in a food processor or chopper. Mix these with microwaved melted butter or margarine and spooning it onto the first layer of ice cream. Then add the second and finish with Magic Shell, If not decorate with whipped cream, cherries and sprinkles. Freeze for a couple of hours before serving.

Do you bake or not bake for an August birthday? There are alternatives from buying to microwave to ice cream cakes. Pick what works for you during these warm days. The birthday boy or girl will enjoy it.

Hurricane Hampers

Bad enough we still have a pandemic to deal with, we now have hurricanes. What makes it worse is that we can't really rely on friends, family and neighbors now for food or supplies. We have to build our own stores , with whatever we have around.

One of the worse things about any bad storm is that the electricity is usually cut off. That means all that frozen food you stocked up on may go bad. Keep in mind that those burgers can be grilled on your barbecue (which may be your only way of cooking for a few days).Frozen veggies can be thawed out and boiled for sides or then cooled for salads.Also have a hurricane hamper or cooler where you can put any of the frozen packages for a few days. Store your milk and dairy here as well as your eggs. Nearby streams can also be used for refrigeration. Just make sure the wildlife doesn't get to the food first. Eggs  should be used first, whether in dishes or as scrambled and omelets. Refrigerated eggs can easily turn bad and the yolks and whites become breeding ground for bacteria. The shell doesn't even have to be broken. Try also, to cook the leftovers first. They too can turn bad quickly. Repurpose them into different dishes with different spins. Again these can be reheated on your outdoor grill. Just put them into foil packets and roast for fifteen to twenty minutes.

As for your hurricane hamper. make sure you have enough for three meals. Think beef , chicken,pork or turkey jerky for lunch or dinner. They provides protein as well as something filling. There are several different brands such as Jack Links and Oberto's, the last features turkey.  Some cold cuts such as pepperoni will keep too and make great fillings for sandwiches.Cheeses will keep without refrigeration and, are again excellent sources of protein. The kids will love any kind of cheddar but adults will appreciate Gouda and Edam. Have crackers and bread for the slices and squares. Veggies will keep for a few days and should be added to the hurricane hamper.Salad dressings don't have to be refrigerated and you can buy a few to liven up the  produce. You can also make your own with using olive oil, any kind of vinegar and different herbs and spices. Try a garlic infused one with red wine vinegar or a honey one with apple cider vinegar.Veggies can be grilled too. Stock up on grillables like eggplant, tomatoes, cauliflower and onions These can be turned into tasty sheet pan meals or spins on ratatouille. Ice cream is off the table but you can satisfy sweet tooths with fresh fruit such as cherries, blueberries and peaches. These will keep. Another treats are cookies and for a healthier bite graham crackers. Get marshmallows and chocolate to make a special treat s'mores. These will be a welcome bite.

Hurricane hampers are a must during these strange days. Be prepared. Be stocked up and ready for whatever the weather brings you.