Charcuterie Heaven

I was recently in the 1730 Chestnut St. location of Philly's famous DiBruno Bros. Italian Market just poking my head around at lunch time. I usually stop at the cured meats station and oogle the duck prosciutto, the Jamon Iberico de Bellota (a spanish acorn fed black foot ham at $32.00/4 oz.), and the Prosciutto di Parma Black Label Riserva, which is one of the finest dried meats that one can buy in the U.S. I often look at them like Wayne Campbell gawking at the Fender Stratocaster through the window in Wayne's World.

That day it was a salami that took the top stop for me, however. It was a Mole flavored salami changed the way I look at cured meats. While Prosciutto di Parma is a celebrated world over for its salty refinment, this salami was miles ahead in flavor and complexity: it tasted distinctly of chocolate, cinnamon, and chipotle peppers, but with a satly pork flavor you would expect from a salami. Created by Armandino Batali, he is the father of celebrity chef and culinary giant Mario Batali, this Salumi (his Seattle storefront) creation is something to be marveled at. I suggest your next trip into Philly includes a stop at DiBruno's to taste it. Also, go on Salumi's website for products shipped all over the country at www.Salumicuredmeats.com.

Moving woes

So folks, I am moving this weekend.  My wife and I are buying a home about one and a half miles from where we were previously (as of tomorrow) renting.  I wanted to post this to say, if I don't post anything tomorrow, or anything of value later tonight, I am sorry, but I am painting or moving stuff.  

In the mean time, cook something delicious and write me about it by commenting on a post.  

Evil store-bought potato chips

A few years ago, I convinced myself that potato chips were evil. As most restaurant cooks probably are, I was diagnosed with high cholesterol at a young age. So, I did all I could to avoid fried food, most of all chips. I have officially fallen off the horse.

I recently bought a large ensemble of root vegetables (beets, sweet potato, turnips, parsnips and carrots), half of which I was not going to use in the dish they were required in. They looked so good at the farmers market that I had to but them and find a use. I decided to clean them and remove skins. For some reason I picked up a knife and started to cut very thin rounds: I said "I am making chips". What a pain in the ass the knife was, so I grabbed my mandolin and began to run them through.

I only had canola oil, so I took my large enamel coated cast iron and heated the oil. I dropped the veggie rounds in the oil a few at a time and fried them till crispy delicious. These veggies do not take on as much oil as white potato and are therefore a bit healthier. I drained what oil did collect on a plate with paper towels. While hot I seasoned the chips with salt, pepper, and a little cumin and smoked paprika. I made a spicy chipotle ketchup and black truffle honey for dipping.

I tell this story to say, instead of buying unhealthy potato chips in the store, go to a local farmers market and get some root vegetables, run them through a slicer or mandolin, fry em and eat em. I promise you will enjoy.

What do you want to read about?

I have been selfishly writing only about topics that I have found interesting and useful. However, you, the reader, are the person I am trying to reach. So, send me some topics that you might find useful, have always wondered about, and want to read about. Use the comment section of this post to suggest topics.

-Kris

Farm Fresh Ingredients

This weekend, my wife and I embarked on a mission to find superior produce. I had an idea for dinner and it called for onion, zucchini, portabella mushrooms, artichoke, tomato, potato and fresh chèvre. I immediately scoured the internet for farmers markets where the producers set up tents and peddle their produce. I had heard of a website, a conglomerate of local farmers, mushroom growers, wine makers, and cheese makers, but had forgotten how to find it. Finally, I had it!

The website is called Pennsylvania Buy Fresh, Buy Local, http://www.buylocalpa.org/. Once on the main page, you can search by region, and then by county and local area. On the other hand, you might find it handy to just punch in your zip code in the upper right. Once you have your area entered, you can browse the local growers, restaurants who use these products, and markets where you too can get these local, and mostly organic, gems.

SO, go visit the website, find your area, and support your local producers.

Top Quality Seafood

In the greater Philadelphia area, we should be swimming (pardon the pun) in good, fresh seafood.  Our proximity to the northern Atlantic (lobsters, rockfish, bluefish), the Chesapeake Bay (crabs, scallops, striped bass), and some of the best fresh water fishing on the east coast in northern PA and southern NY (bass, trout, perch) should result in fish markets with high quality, diverse fish and shellfish fresher than any other city.  While downtown Philadelphia boasts Ippolito's fish market on 1300 Dickinson St., Marco's Fish Market on S. 9th St., and I suppose Under the C in the bowels of the Comcast building, out in the burbs we do not really have a lot of great choices for fish markets.  

There is one shining beacon of light.  Hills Seafood, with locations in Media, Exton, Kennett Square and Newtown Square, is providing our area with great fresh seafood.  They promote wild caught fish, which really matters for taste: farmed fish can, and often do, loose flavor from lack of natural habitat and prey.  Farmed fish are fed things that normally would not be in the fish's diet, therefore promoting flesh that does not mimic that of its cousins living in the ocean/river/lake.  

Just tonight, I picked up a few dozen top-neck clams, little-neck clams, and mussels to put is a slow cooking spicy marinara with tomato concasse, garlic, minced onion, italian herbs and red chili flake.  Both the littleneck at $5/lb. and top-neck at $5.99/lb. (a bit larger than the littleneck) clams were sweet and tender, with very little sand to wash off, although I always recommend thoroughly scrubbing clams before cooking.  The mussels, however, were a little disappointing.  Advertised in the store as Prince Edward Island mussels for $3.49 a lb., they were smaller than PEI mussels, but tasted fine.  The thing that was most off-putting was the fact that I specifically asked if they were de-bearded, to which I received a response in the positive.  When I got home and opened the bag I found that only about half of the mussels were indeed de-bearded, a very annoying process if you have not had to do it yourself. 

Overall, however, Hills Quality Seafood Markets is a winner and miles above other seafood outlets in the West Chester area.  They provide several not-so-often-found fish like bluefish, Hawaiian Opah, Mako Shark, Shad, Wahoo, and Lemon Sole.  Some of these are upon request, but the fish monger will take requests for his 7:00AM daily order for easy pick up on the way home from work.  Some of the standard choices are a bit pricey though.  Tonight I saw dry packed scallops for $17.98/lb.  While the difference between dry and wet scallops will most likely be a separate post soon, these scallops, while MUCH better than wet scallops, are a bit overpriced.  

Hills Quality Seafood Market is worth a trip for anyone looking to get out of the grocery store and into some better quality ingredients.  You will find what you need at Hills if you are looking for anything living in water, and most things that compliment those dishes (like fresh corn, lemons and Old Bay seasoning).  So, go visit and become a regular eater of good seafood.

Killer Cab

During Christmas time last year, I had the occasion to travel up to Scranton Pennsylvania, my home country and the area my parents still live. As anyone might imagine, the family interaction that the holiday season brings will take anyone right to the liquor store for some good libation. What I found was a great deal, even for Pennsylvania State Stores (which is a misnomer given that PA is a commonwealth, not a state). There, sitting in the "Chairman's Select" section was a stack of Heitz winery's Bella Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon Magnums from 1998 .

Now, 1998 was not the best growing year in Napa Valley. Lest we forget, El Nino was in full effect that summer, which produced foggy mornings and lower than usual temperatures. This made it increasingly hard for the grapes to ripen enough for wine making. In fact, some commentaries I read researching this post say that 1998 was "the scariest growing season" they can remember in Napa Valley. But the vintners at Heitz, who have made great wine in Napa Valley since 1961, were clearly up to the challenge. In fact, the area where the grapes for the Bella Oaks cab are grown, the Rutherford Bench, the late summer finally turned hot. This allowed some growers in the valleys of Napa (as opposed to the hills and mountains) to have a long growing season with mature grapes. They took a poor growing season and produced a complex, layered cab with a very reasonable price.

The 1998 Bella Oaks Magnum is well balanced with a 14.2% alcohol content covered by extremely mild and smooth tannins, almost none at all. I don't pretend to be able to pull out all of the notes that the great wine raters and sommeliers can, but this wine is easy in some respects. There are obvious indications of red fruit (cherries and plums) with a little herb flavor and black licorice. A lighter cab than some others, almost reminiscent of a Bordeaux. This wine pairs perfectly with grilled veal or pork. I would hold off on a fatty cut of beef, rib eye for instance, for I believe that the meat would dull the wine even more than it can get. Also, decant this wine for only about a half an hour before consuming; after about two hours out of the bottle, it got a little flat tasting. Not flat as in not carbonated, but flat as in the flavors of the wine, the cherry and plum mentioned above, are taken over by the alcohol in the wine, thus converting your $30 bottle into "Two Buck Chuck." (Don't get me wrong, I have had many great nights drinking low priced wines, but when I spend $30, I want to taste the investment.)

I am not the first food writer to review this wine. Craig LeBan of Philly.com reviewed it in April when the Pennsylvania stores first began to stock it. He, like me, uncorked a bottle and felt it necessary to detail the experience. In fact, I am enjoying a bottle as I write these words. So, go to your local PA state store and pick up a bottle. As you will see, I do not often recommend spending more than $25 on a bottle, but this is nice enough for the extra $5.

A word of caution: I would not let this Cab rest too much longer in the bottle. In my opinion, and take that as you will, this wine is at its drinking peak. Otherwise, it may get a bit flatter in taste, which is never good.

Label shot:

Secret Sauce

Well here it is. This is what thrust me into cooking in the first place. It is the first recipe that I ever created- my infamous red pasta sauce. While my grandmother and mother have/had very different recipes, I have derived the best of each of their own delectable concoctions to create this delicious, and economical sauce. So, here it is. PLEASE try it and let me know what you think.

The first step is choosing meat. Now there are a few different choices, and it will depend on your own personal likes and dislikes. I will give you three choices which all fit into the recipe the same way. First, you can do ground beef sirloin or lamb. Both will make a delicious Bolognese on a 30 minute or 3 hour cook. Option two is cubed beef. It is a nice option for a shorter cook-time with a quick sear up front. The third option is cubed pork loin (NOT tenderloin). This option is better for a longer, lower temperature cook. High boiling temps will dry the pork out too much, no matter what cut you choose.

So now you have your meat. Before you begin, choose your cooking vessel. I use an enamel coated cast iron braising pot. I like it because it cooks up the sides of the pot as well as from the bottom, thus awarding the option of a lower temp slow cook for good flavor melding. A stainless steel or non-stick stock pot will do just fine as well.

Ingredients:

Meat- one or two packs chosen from above, about 1 pound per pot of sauce

1- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

1- 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes

1- 28 ounce can of tomato sauce

1- 10 ounce can of tomato paste

one large sweet onion

5 garlic cloves

2 Tble spoons red chile flakes- as desired

1 Tble spoon dried basil

1 tsp oregano

10- white button mushrooms (can substitute canned mushrooms if you like- one 10 ounce can)

1/3 cup of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1) Put your cooking vessel on medium-high heat and oil bottom. Dice onion and garlic and fry lightly. Do not let the onions brown or soften. Add red chili flakes and herbs and let cook for two minutes. Add meat, season with salt and pepper and brown for five minutes.

2) Open all cans of tomatoes, adding paste first and fry for one minute. This will sweeten the paste. Add the other tomatoes in no particular order. Once all of the tomatoes are in the bath, bring to a LIGHT simmer. Add mushrooms anytime from now to 20 minutes before serving. When you see the bubbles of a boil beginning, stop.

3) There are two ways to go from here. If you have less than an hour to let the sauce cook (and you ought to be using ground meat or cubed beef, or none at all), you can leave the temperature at medium heat. If you have the great ability to slow cook your sauce, which is no more than three hours, you can turn the temperature down to medium-low and enjoy the intoxicating aroma.

4) That is it. It is simple. NEVER buy bottled sauce again. This will cost you about $10.00 for at least one week of dinner!!!

Other options:

If you like a veggie filled marinara sauce instead of meat, add green, yellow, and orange bell peppers, and maybe a little zucchini or eggplant if you like a ragu-ish sauce.

Otherwise, if you want a thicker sauce, you can add a larger tomato paste or drain the water off of the diced tomatoes.

I'm Not The Only One

Here is a story from Philly.com speaking directly to what I was talking about the other day.  Jut remember that I wrote it first.

http://www.philly.com/philly/restaurants/20090709_Staying_sharp.html

Best Boards For Your Kitchen

A few months ago I had a problem. I had just purchased a new great chef's knife, the one described below. I was noticing, however, that it needed honing after only one month of use. I took it back to the store to exchange it thinking that there was a flaw in the blade. My favorite kitchen store expert Tim, a former metal expert at DuPont turned personal chef and knife expert, asked me a simple question: what type of cutting board are you using? I told him that I had built my own rock maple butcher's block for the countertop. He asked, "Are you using that for more than just butchering and breaking down meats?" "Yes" I replied, "I use it for all my cutting needs." He slapped me in the face (gently of course) and pointed me to a set of cutting board that I will never ever give up.

Epicurean, a company out of Minnesota, has created the best cutting boards on the market. They are eco-friendly, as they are created out of paper and 60% of the energy used to create them is renewable. The are dishwasher safe- as opposed to other wooden cutting boards, they are able to be run through the dishwasher without worrying about splitting. They are knife friendly- an Epicurean cutting board will score slightly, allowing for the blade to pass through the material and remain sharp. They are sanitary- unlike wood cutting boards that are porous and allow food bacteria under the surface of the board, Epicurean boards are nonporous thus earning the NSF (National Sanitary Foundation) approval. This means that you can break down chicken, wash the board with hot water and soap, dry it, and serve cheese and crackers on it. They are heat resistant- you can place hot pots and pans on them or use the smaller boards as trivets, for they will not burn or discolor. They resist smell or discoloration- again, as they are not porous, they do not absorb odor-causing bacteria or stain.

Overall, these boards are the best. Rest assured I was not offered free boards to say this, I blog for blogging's sake and for the betterment of the home cook. There are the standard set; a chef's set with juice groove on one side and flat surface on the other; a carving set for meats; a camping set made out of recycled material; a big block series for the Epicurean lover (my next purchase); and a trivet set among others. So go to your local kitchen store and check them out or go to the Epicurean website, EpicureanCS.com.

Best Value Product- Gripper series. It is the standard cutting board with rubber grippers on the corners for those of you who have stone countertops and cannot keep a cutting board still while chopping. 12x9 for $24.99, 15x11 for $29.99, and 18x13 for $36.99

Wine follies

In the past few weeks, I have been noticing a trend in the wine I have been buying. Wait, backup... I drink mainly reds. I prefer Spanish reds, California Cabs, strong full-bodied Merlots, and Rhone Valley blends. I will rarely spend more than $16.00 on a bottle, with my regular price range from $9.00-$14.00. I will, on occasion (like twice a month) go for a $25.00 bottle of something special. I will be divulging some of my favorites soon.

To the post at hand. I have noticed lately that an increasing percentage of bottles have an odd feature. When I remove the foil and pop the cork, there is a small pattern of purple crystals on the underside of the cork. After a few seconds of puzzlement, I realize that the strange looking crystals were the product of tartaric acid, the natural acid inherent in grapes. When the wine ages, the tartaric acid can precipitate on the cork. This will not affect the flavor of the wine, only the balance of acidity, for the crystals, again, are a product of acid in the wine.

I bring this up for two reasons. One, don't return wines with tartaric acid crystals on the cork, it will taste fine with a good 15-30 minutes in a decanter. Second, this topic brings to the forefront a practice that any wine-drinker should make a ritual. Before decanting or before drinking a full glass if you don't have a decanter (go buy one at a cheap store like Christmas Tree shop for $8.00), every bottle should be tasted. Pour a small amount of the wine, about a half an ounce, into your glass and swirl like crazy. The swirl will allow the wine to aerate and enhance the bouquet (smell) of the wine. Before letting the it into your mouth (thats what she said), smell the wine. You ought to be smelling for a musty smell, much like wet newspaper or your grandparent's basement. If you are unfortunate enough to smell this, it means your wine is corked. Corked wine=return to the store, do not drink it. (This will certainly be its own post soon) The tartaric acid crystals, however, are not such a problem. You can feel free to drink the wine as long as it taste and appears to be drinkable. When you taste, swirl the wine around your mouth, then suck some air into the wine and swirl again. You should get the notes of the wine intended by the vintner. If you think it is crazy that you can taste cherry, leather and black currant in a wine, read up on the wine you are drinking for intended flavors so you may keep them in mind when you taste. I promise you will be able to get at least one or two.

So, next time you open a bottle, pour a small amount in a glass, swirl briskly, smell for basement, and taste a bit for a clean crisp taste that is commensurate with the variety you are drinking. If all goes well, decant it, wait as long as you can (but no need for more than 30 minutes) and drink until your heart's desires are drunk. I often find it handy to open the second bottle before you start drinking the first to let it aerate a bit before decanting, but then again, I drink a lot!

Lets Talk Equipment

So, my main thrust in writing this blog is to inform whoever decides to read my ramblings about proper ingredients. This does not just pertain to edible ingredients however. The proper tools by which one produces a meal can be equally as important as the actual food product included in the recipe. For instance, without a proper temperature monitoring device, any meat dish will either be dry or under-cooked, unless the cook has worked a grill in a restaurant and can determine meat temperature by touch. Also, without a quality sauté or frying pan, a home cook could never get that restaurant quality sear on a piece of fish. This could go on all day.

The first item of kitchen equipment that I feel I should detail on this blog is possibly the most essential of any one thing a home cook should buy. I know, I know. You are thinking that I must be taking about an item of french cast iron cookware or an expensive stand mixer. The most important thing you can have in your kitchen is much more simple and versatile.

The best thing a home cook can invest in is one good knife. Thats right ONE good knife. For any home, restaurant cook, or executive chef, there is one favorite knife. Now don't get me wrong, there are different knives for different work. But, instead of buying that $100 set of 22 knives that will be dull in five days, go to a good kitchen store and buy ONE knife. Personally, if I could have only one knife in my block, I would choose my Wusthof Ikon eight inch hollow ground chef's knife. It is versatile, it is high quality, and it is guaranteed to take care of most of the jobs a great home cook will need to tackle.

It is important, however, to not choose a knife based on looks. Personally, I have the Ikon Creme handle. it is not the most attractive option that Wusthof offers, but the business end is the exact same as it would be on the original black handle or the beautiful Blackwood option.

Now, the eight-inch chef's knife is my choice. Some people feel better with a six-inch. My mother actually prefers a 4.5-inch prep knife as her go to. It is all up to the cook. I like the blade of a chef's knife because it promotes good action for slicing, it allows for a good angle, and it rocks properly for fast chopping. It is good for breaking down meat, taking the place of a fillet knife. It is good for slicing cooked meats, taking the place of a carving knife. It is good, if it is really sharp, for slicing bread, taking the place of a break knife. This too could go on forever. Simply put, a good chef's knife has the ability to take the place of most of the knives you might have in your matching set.

For other brands, check out Wusthof Classic, Grand Prix II, or Ikon; JA Henckles Twin Cuisine series or Twin Signature series; Kershaw Shun Classic or if you have the extra money Shun Elite.

Wusthof Ikon- triple riveted handle, full length tang, all around great knife.

JA Henckles Twin Cuisine- Great heavy handle, durable blade, one-piece forged handle, full tang without rivets.

Shun Classic- top of the line Japanese blade, super sharp and balanced.

Celebratory beverage anyone?

As I go tonight to celebrate a friends recent engagement, I have a difficult time deciding what I want in my glass when I toast their future life together. I have never liked champagne all that much and will now refuse to pay the grossly bloated prices french makers get for their famous sparkling white. A great alternative to champagne is Prosecco, an italian variety produced mainly in the Veneto region just north of Treviso. The main difference between Prosecco and champagne is that Prosecco's second fermentation process is done in stainless steel as opposed to wood, making it much less expensive to produce. Prosecco comes in varying degrees of sweetness beginning with the least sweet Brut, then extra dry, and finally the sweet dry variety.

When enjoying Prosecco, treat it just like champagne; serve it chilled as an aperitif or mix it's sweeter varieties with orange juice for delicious mimosas. Be wary of one thing however. Prosecco does not ferment in the bottle like champagne does. This means that the younger the wine, the better it will taste. Without in-bottle fermentation, sparkling wines will spoil and taste horrible. If possible, try to consume your Prosecco within two years.

Sparkling whites are not my usual swill, so I have not tried a ton of varieties, but what I have tried I have liked. Here are a few label shots of my favorites. If you are a repeat reader of this blog, you will find that I, and I am sure many others, have a horrid time attempting to remember names of European wines if they aren't really impressive bottles, or good reds. (I have spent a good amount of time tasting and researching Spanish and Rhone reds, so be prepared for a steady diet of those fabulous regions.) So, I find it helpful to see the label on the bottle when I try to find it in a store. Don't worry, you will be getting plenty of bottles from me that you will remember the names of for YEARS!!!

$9.99

$13.99

$17.99

First Blog

This is the initial offering of the GastroMetrics blog.  This blog will review and rate ingredients, food products, wine, restaurants, and most importantly the tools we use to prepare and enjoy some of our most delectable treats.  

First, a little about me.  I am currently a law student in my last year of law school.  Although I spend my days reading, writing, and learning, I take time every day (usually three times a day) to enjoy the best of life has to offer- preparing and devouring delicious food and drink.  

From my first job at fifteen years old cooking in a Hospital kitchen, I have been mesmerized by all things edible.  I grew up with a Pennsylvania-Dutch baker for a fraternal grandmother and a first generation Italian butcher for a maternal grandfather, not to mention a mother whi is a fantastic all-around home cook.  Growing up, both sides of my family  were at their best at the dinner table.  These influences certainly have influenced my style of cooking in ways that present themselves daily.  

From that horrible job cooking in a hospital kitchen, I moved into chain restaurant kitchens.  The product was only slightly better that the mass produced "food" that the beaten and broken chef in the hospital was forced to produce.  These jobs taught me exactly how I didn't want to cook.  Instead, I observed by grandmothers and mother cook the food that defined who they were and where they came from.  For instance, my Italian grandmother, my mother, and now myself all prepared our gravy (pasta sauce for those without an Italian heritage to live up to) in different ways.  I would elaborate, but this will certainly be a posting in the very near future.  

By the end of high school I worked my way into the restaurant job that taught my more than any other.  It was in a chain steakhouse that is everything but the drab chain restaurant food that is probably coming to mind.  Everything was scratch-made and steaks cut twice daily in a walk-in butcher's cooler.  The ground meat was the trimmings of the whole tenderloins, rib roasts, and top sirloin.   Salad dressings, sides, sauces and gravies were all made fresh daily.  During the weekdays the restaurant was not open for lunch because the prep took all day.  Needless to say, the food was spectacular and the lines were out the door every night.  I took advantage of it all.  I learned the intricacies of butchery that my grandfather did not have the chance to teach me (he passed away before I was old enough to wield a knife).  I learned southwestern flavors from a true master, Bianca Ruiz, a quiet Mexican woman who grew up in New Mexico.  I learned how to make homemade mayonnaise with nothing more than a whisk and bowl.  In short, working there taught me that good food takes time.

After a few other kitchen jobs I moved to the front of the house, waiting tables and eventually finding my way behind the bar.  It was there that I learned how to compose a perfect Martini or Manhattan for people who had been drinking the same drink for years.  I learned which drink best complimented the meal, be it an oaky chardonnay, a robust pinot noir, a dry vodka martini, or a hoppy ale.  From that point in time I was more able to have a rounded approach to gastronomy, or the relationship between food and the people who love it. (Okay, that is my definition of gastronomy, not Webster's)  

Strangely, however, it was the time of my life spent out of restaurants that is the true drive for this blog.  For the last five years I spent time in the business world, and now back in school.  During that time, I moved out on my own (now with my lovely wife) and away from the support of my family's home cooking ability.  I suddenly realized that I was unable to reproduce what I was creating in the restaurants of my past because I didn't have the tools I needed to produce a successful dish.  It was not until recently that I have been able to equip myself with the proper tools, the best ingredients, and ability to produce restaurant quality food for my family, friends, and the occasional competition judge.  

SO, at this point in my life I have taken all that I have learned practically, all that I have read, and all that I have tried in restaurant and formed a perspective on all things edible.  I cannot exactly describe what that is to someone else, but it drives me to want to share with you what I know, what I hope to find out and what I may just stumble across.  So read frequently and enjoy.

-Kris