Meet the Contributing Editor of Glam Dish

It's me! I am the contributing editor of the newly launched Glam Dish blog! I'm posting 4 days a week, so I hope you will check it out from time to time and say "hi." I'm doing my best to keep my head above water so hang with me until I adjust to the workload.

My first post is all about bollito misto in the form or an interview with Peter McNee, the chef at Poggio Trattoria in Sausalito. I've also included some links so you can make it at home, if you like.

You'll notice I've snuck another button over on the left hand column to make it easy to get to my posts. Without it even I would have a hard time keeping up!

READ MORE Over at Bay Area Bites is my round up of whole grain cookbooks.

Do Not Read This If You Are Vegatarian

A debate has been raging in my own head for a couple of years now as to what is the best type of meat out there. There are as you would imagine three main contenders....lamb, pork and beef and even though there are plenty of other fantastic meats out there like game, poultry and venison they don't have the range of possibilities that the big 3 have! This is by no means the definitive answer on the subject as I am still in some doubt myself and my personal favourite changes weekly however after lunch today I have settled on Pork as my favourite meat at least until my next great meal and my fickle mind has been dragged off in another direction again.

I had a very simple bacon and cabbage roast lunch in a local pub today that got my mind racing on the whole subject again. Sure you can have a great steak or slow cooked oxtail, a great Irish stew or tasty lamb kebabs but I got thinking about the number of options there are with pork and it is quite literally staggering....A simple bacon buttie(sandwich for those not familiar with this), roast pork with lovely crispy crackling, black and white pudding, 1000s of varieties of sausages worldwide, Ham and pea soup, stuffed pork tenderloin, crispy pancetta, proscuitto, BBQ ribs, glazed ham, Pork ramen noodles and i could literally go on with this list from now until 2010 but I am sure you are getting the message. I think I am about as close as I possibly could be right now to agreeing in my own head that Pork is the finest meat, although I am going for a burger with friends tonight so that might all change.

World in a Teacup: Tracing the Global Journey of Tea

The Hearst Museum of Anthropology is hosting a special event exploring the trajectory of tea in its many forms: from ancient origins in Asia, through its spread to Britain, India and the rest of the world, to contemporary manufacture and its modern role in popular culture.

Experts will discuss the history and trends of production, preparation, consumption and retailing of tea and related goods. Attendees will then enjoy opportunities to sample tea and other products from select Bay Area purveyors.

I've already bought tickets for this event! Hope to see you there.

Amy

DATE/TIME:
Saturday, March 1
1-3:30 Speaker presentations and discussion
3:30-5 Vendor event/sampling

LOCATION:
The Bancroft Hotel
2680 Bancroft Way at College
Berkeley, CA, 94704
hotel web site

COST & REGISTRATION:
Tickets are $20.00 general admission; $18.00 for museum members, UC Berkeley
faculty, staff, and students.

MORE INFO:
website

email
Phone: 510-643-7649 Contact: Akiko Minaga

Each ticket includes:
- admission to the program
- admission to the vendor event with sampling
- a special gift bag with samples to take home

Space for the event is limited and tickets are available on a first come first served basis. Purchase by:
* Credit Card by phone 510-643-7649
* Check made out to UC Regents mailed to PAHMA, UC Berkeley, 103 Kroeber
Hall, MC #3712, Berkeley, CA 94720-3712
* Cash at The Museum Store, Kroeber Hall

The panel discussion will take place at the Bancroft Hotel, located at
2680 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, and the vendor event will take
place at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, locatesd across the
street. (College and Bancroft)

Speakers:
Eliot Jordan, Director of Tea, Peet's Coffee and Tea
Erika Rappaport, UC Santa Barbara (British tea/history)
Winnie Yu, Tea Buyer and owner of Teance
Gregory Levine, UC Berkeley (Japanese, Zen and Buddhist Art)

There will also be a panel discussion moderated by Curator, Ira Jacknis.

Here is a sampling from our current vendor list:
L'Amyx
Peet's
Teance
Charles Chocolate

World's Best Food Country (2nd Place)

2nd Place France

5th Place, South Africa
4th Place, Spain
3rd Place, America

I don't think there was ever a doubt that France would make it into this list but the fact that the strong favourite has been beaten into second place is a real turn up for the books.
When you think of good food France is probably one of the first countries that springs to mind and if it were not for the quality of our winner France would certainly have taken home the honours! I could go on about the reasons why France didn't win but I personally think there is more value on focusing on it's merits and with an entry of this quality there are no shortage of those!I've been lucky enough to spend a lot of time in France and it is clearly evident that the people live for their food. What i love the most is their culture of food and their respect for the value of the local artisan producers. In a world that seems to be obsessed with bigger and cheaper supermarkets and with bulk buying it takes a stubborn group of people to ignore the lure of the cheap quick fix but the French seem to be fighting their corner well! Don't get me wrong, you will still find plenty of big supermarkets in France including Carrefour, one of the world's biggest but the French would never allow their small local food suppliers to be treated as they are elsewhere in the world. This passion for food manifests itself all the way through the supply chain and I can say with some confidence that French produce on a whole is the best I have ever seen. Chefs (and France has the best standard of these in the world) can only be as good as the produce you give them and in Frane they have the best selection of truffles, fois gras, chicken, game, vegetables, seafood, cheeses, breads and every other kind of ingredient you care to name.

What I love the most about france is that it really doesn't matter if you are in a local bistro or a 3 star michelin restaurant, you will be guarenteed to be served great food at a modest price. Top that all off with some of the world's best wine and a surly french waiter and what more could you possibly ask for!

Chocolate Brownie Recipe

I didnt write a post about Valentines day on the day as that is what every man and their dog seems to do. My logic on the situation is that you should treat your better half with food and surprises all year round instead of when the marketing people deem it right! You could shower people with presents, take them on holidays or splash lots of cash on them but I have never seen people happier than when they receive food unexpectadly as a gift. Think of a surprise meal somebody has cooked for you, a home made birthday cake, friends cooking you a BBQ or a surprise breakfast in bed and they are all bring back fantastic memories. Food has a way of bringing people together and most of our fondest memories will involve some form of edible treat! I am going to put what I preach into practice this week and make these brownies and share them around friends. I learnt this recipe from an American family who came onboard one of the botas I worked on. They are completly and utterly delicious and couldn't really be any easier to make! The recipe is below and for those of you who struggle with cooking the video demo is here.

Chocolate Brownies

* 340g Unsalted Butter
* 340g Bitter Sweet Chocolate
* 175g All Purpose or Cake Flour
* 140g Coco Powder
* 600g Sugar
* Salt
* 6 Eggs


Step by step



1. Set up a bain marie or double boiler (a bowl over a small pot of simmering water);

2. Keeping it on a very low heat add the butter and chocolate to the bowl;

3. In a separate glass bowl sift the flour together with the cocoa powder;

4. Pour the melted chocolate and butter into a large glass bowl as soon as it has melted;

5. Grease an oven dish with a little bit of melted butter using a pastry brush and then sprinkle with a liberal dusting of flour;

6. Add the eggs in one at a time to the chocolate mixture while continuing to whisk constantly;

7. Combine the dry ingredients with the chocolate mixture and fold them together using a spatula;

8. When the mixture is smooth and velvety fold the sugar and a pinch of salt into the mixture;

9. Pour the mixture into the greased oven dish and use a spatula to spread it around the tray evenly;

10. Bake the brownies in the oven for 40 minutes at 180C/360F;

11. Remove the brownies from the oven and place the dish on a wire rack to help cool them down;

12. Make sure they are cooked by inserting a cocktail stick or skewer, if it comes out clean without any wet mixture they are cooked;

13. When the brownies cool down flip them out of the tray and portion them up making sure to serve with a glass of milk.

Damian Foxall Round the World

Watching Damian Foxall the heroic round the world Irish sailor tonight on the Late Late show made me think of my career sailing the oceans. When I say that I sailed the oceans it is technically true, I did sail across the atlantic and pacific a couple of times but I was lucky enough to do it in the comfort of one of the finest boats ever to be made, the 100 metre Tatoosh. For those of you who dont know I worked for Billionaires for a few years as a personal chef but that is a whole different story.

What annoys me so much is that in this modern modern day world of celebrity culture any old randomer who lives in a house for 12 weeks or happens to be a good gardener is propelled to ridiculous heights whereas people with real talents and huge courage like Damian are not given the respect they deserve. Let me tell you something...Sitting in the middle of the ocean on any sort of boat, yet alone a a 60 foot flimsy craft as sailed by Damian is very very fucking scary! The nearest land mass can be 1000s of miles away, the waves crashing over the boat and you are feeling as sick as a dog, you are literally totally and utterly alone! Well Damian was in that situation whereas I was in a similar situation but had the luxury of 6 engineers to fix any mechanical issues, Facebook access via internet, 3 chefs, a cinema, beer and a double bed. It is very hard to explain just how hard it is sail under the situations that Damian Foxall faced day in day out and most people will never understand what it is like (it can best be discribed as going to work tomorrow, staying there for 3 months, getting drenched every 5 minutes, getting very cold, going to the gym every 3 hours, sleeping very little, eating hydrated food, feeling like you have the flu constantly, non stop concentration, not seeing another person, missing your loved ones and not having a change of underwear)so that is why this man needs to be rewarded beyond the 15 minutesd of fame his achievements will receive.

I would love it if our culture changed and we could reward people like Damian Foxall as they should be rather than making huge stars out of peoople who have no evident ability and whose only talent is not wearing underwear on a night out!

Kona kampachi Ceviche: Recipe

I know, it's February and I ought to be singing the praises of cabbage and turnips but frankly I'm not in the mood. The sun is shining, the weather is warm and I feel like celebrating with something tropical and refreshing. I need a break from Winter. Right now. And ceviche is just the ticket.

Knowing that the ocean's resources are rapidly being depleted, we should all be concerned with the sustainability of our seafood. The problem with seafood harvested in the wild is that it has the potential to drop below sustainable levels. You probably know what has happened to cod populations and tuna may not be far behind. Also in some instances the pollution and chemical levels in wild fish is not very healthy. On the other hand some farmed seafood practices can lead to pollution and disease which can harm wild populations. There is no hard and fast rule. In some instances we should buy wild, in other instances farmed seafood.

Kona Blue, the company that produces Kona kampachi was founded by two marine biologists who wanted to find a way to raise fish that would be healthy for the the ocean, the fish and for human consumption. For me, tilapia is mealy and bland though inexpensive and sustainable. While Kona kampachi is relatively expensive, it's worth every penny. Similar to a type of Jack or Kahala, it's high in healthy fat, has fantastic moist firm texture and luscious flavor. While it is not local, the company is looking into different locations around the world to minimize shipping distances and lower cost.They are also working to help establish organic standards for farmed seafood.

I've had the chance to try this fish cooked and raw and while it's good cooked, it's just amazing raw. I hesitate to give a recipe for ceviche because you really should make it to taste. This is how I make it, but by all means, add, subtract, experiment and make something yummy. I tried it with red chile flake, with yuzu kosho and with a combination of both and it was delicious every which way. Chilling the fish to make it easy to dice.

Kona kampachi Ceviche
makes 2 cups

1 cup Kona kampachi, diced (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup corn, cooked (fresh or good quality canned or frozen)
1/2 avocado, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (or more to taste)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil (I used a blood orange olive oil for more flavor)
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes, fresh chile, yuzu kosho or combination.

Gently combine all the ingredients and allow the fish to marinate for at least 10 minutes. Serve with plenty of tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

10,000 Euros coming our way?

One of the first things a business needs is a good business plan and we drew ours up when we launched last summer. We always knew that we would have to follow it to the letter if we wanted to be a success and now it turns out that the business plan itself could be bringing in a nice wad of cash! We are down to the last 3 in the prestigious Bolton Trust award that is taking place this Thursday infront of Venture capitalists, assembled media and business leaders. I had to do a photoshoot for the awards this morning which sadly meant I had to put my list of best food countires on hold for a couple of days! The good news is that we could win 10,000 but the bad news is that I have to make the presentation infront of 100 people! I'll be nervous but there could be one hell of a party Thursday night!

World's Best Food Country (3rd Place)

3rd Place
America

This is a selection that I know before writing is going to cause a lot of debate especially from people who have not travelled to the USA before! America is one of the most stereotyped countries in the world and that doesn't change when it comes to food with most people probably thinking about burgers, chips and hot dogs as they read this! The reality I am happy to report is totally different with some of the world's best food coming from the states these days. Yes you will find burger joints and junk food easily but you will also find these in the other countries on the list. America is like a huge melting pot of cultures and what that produces is some of the most unique and diverse culinary treats that you are ever likly to find.

Forget the burgers! When i think of America I think of the great diversity of New York and it's 1000s of restaurants, or the clean and vibrant cooking happening in Los Angles, or the rich and souful food of the south, or quality Tex Mex at it's best, or the trendy food in Miami etc etc. See America is like 10 countries rolled into one with lots of different flavours mingling together to create a huge variety and choice of dishes. If you add to that mix some of the world's best produced ingredients along with some very highly trained chefs you have the perfect mix for a country to make it in at number 3 on this list! I just know a lot of people are going to disagree with this and have a preconcieved idea of American food all being served in Hooters but I also know that the people who are thinking that are the people probably have never been to the country to sample it's delights!

Food Network Slip up

I remember being in the states watching this live and I still think it is one of the funniest freudian slips I have ever seen on TV! The best part is that she just tries to keep a straight face and play it off! Priceless!

World's Best Food Country (4th Place)

4th Place

Spain

See 5th Placed country here

We are starting to get into the front runners now and this is one that could have featured higher but with the level of competition in this contest 4th is not a bad achievement. One of the main factors in choosing the ranking of the countries in this exclusive list is the amount of original dishes and ingredients the individual country has contributed over the years and Spain has certainly shone in that category! Wheter you are talking about chorizo, paella, tapas or saffron there is no doubt that the Spanish know what they are about when it comes to food!
Wheter you are enjoying late night tapas in "Las Ramblas" in Barcelona or deep in the basque country eating a hearty bean stew there is such a depth and variety to Spanish cooking that is just not apparent in other countries. The sort of food that is created in Spain doesn't just come about from a new recipe but instead has grown, been refined and matured over the centuries and the result is a country that is forging ahead in the culinary stakes. Not only do they have what is probably regaded as the world's best restuarant in El Bulli but what appeals to me even more is the wide range of cheap streetside cafe and tapas bars the stretch the length and bredth of the country. God writing this is making me crave for a cold beer and a few plates of tapas!

Favorite things: Brut Rosé

Chatting with winemaker Eileen Crane is almost as delightful as a glass of sparkling wine. In fact, Eileen is a bit like the sparkling wine she makes--bright, sophisticated, elegant but completely unpretentious and fits in just about anywhere. She's a great person to talk to about wine, because she's been making it at European style wineries in California for ages. She's been a winemaker at noted sparkling wine producers Gloria Ferrer and Domaine Chandon, in addition to Domaine Carneros in Napa Valley, where she's been for the last twenty years.

I talked to Eileen because I wanted to get to the bottom of why I am so crazy about sparkling rosé, especially brut rosé. Now as we are heading in to Valentine's Day it seems like the perfect bubbly, but actually, it's the perfect bubbly all the time, as far as I'm concerned. Sure it has a festive color, and a rarity about it, but there are so many more reasons to love it.

Perhaps most importantly, we talked about brut rosé being one of the of the more versatile wines around. Even Julia Child noted, "Rosés can be served with anything." Hamburgers? Seafood? Salad? Pork? Barbecue? Charcuterie? Turkey? Indian food? Pizza? Yes! In fact, it has become one of my favorite picks to go with a multi course tasting menu because there is hardly anything it doesn't complement. Eileen blends Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the color comes from Pinot, and it's the Pinot that gives sparkling rosé some backbone.

Just because it's pink, doesn't mean it's sweet, brut still means dry. The brut rosé from Domaine Carneros is particularly crisp and almost lemony with some just a hint of strawberry and melon or peach. Called Cuvée de la Pompadour, it's namesake is Madame de Pompadour who introduced Champagne to the court of King Louis XV and was known for her artistic eye and her seductive ways. It used to be available only at the winery, but now it has much wider distribution and sells for about $36 a bottle.

Eileen told me she opens a bottle of it and keeps it in the refrigerator. If it's sealed properly with a good champagne stopper, it actually holds its flavor better than many other wines, not to mention the bubbles. At 12% alcohol it is also an easier drinking wine that I can enjoy a splash more of, something I can't say about too many wines these days.

When it comes to lesser sparkling wines, Eileen recommends making cocktails out of them and I couldn't agree more. Any berry or fruit flavored simple syrup will turn bubbly into a blushing refresher. But if you find a brut rosé you like, I suggest you enjoy how special it is without any adulteration. And by all means, don't just drink it on Valentine's Day!

Irish Event Company Launched

Ireland's premium event company has just been launched called minted and guess who set it up? Yes us! What is minted.ie? It high end event company that is going to bring all the glitz and glamour of places like St Tropez, Miami and Monaco right to your doorstep here in Ireland! We will be throwing the biggest and most decadent parties whilst organising fairytale weddings and spectacular launch events! So check out the menus on the website, tell your friends and shout it from the rooftops; The party is starting right now in Ireland with minted.ie!

World's Best Food Country

5th Place
South Africa

I have been lucky enough to travel all over the world tasting amazing food and am often asked what the best I have ever tasted is so the only way to answer is to list the top 5 based on flavour, consistancy and local produce. This will run over the next few days with the big winner being announced on Friday!

This might come as surprise to a lot of people as this country is probably better known for it's wine than it's culinary ability but believe me for those of you who havn't been lucky wnough to visit this gem of a country yet there is a beautiful range of gastronomic treats awaiting you if you do make it there! The country not only has huge Oceans surrounding it packed with incredible fish but has vast acres of incredibly fertile land that is not only perfect for growing wine but also everything thing from osterich to warthog! I must say that the cuisine does lean towards meat quite heavily but there are always plenty of seafood options.


The other best thing about SA is that it is like a huge melting pot of cultures with African food sitting alongside the best of Indian, Chinese and Western cooking. What has happened over the years is that there is natural fusion cooking that has developped rather than just some random chef throwing wasabi on parsnips and calling it fusion! The fusion element actually works really well here to the extent that some of the best curries I have ever had were in Durban and I think it must have a lot to do with the quality of ingredients the chefs are workig with.

The best thing about SA is that it is a country well and truly on the rise from a culinary perspective as they have had bigger battles to fight over the last century. Now that there are a new crop of chefs coming through and torism is booming the quality will only rise along with their ranking on this list in the future.

See Position 4 tomorrow!

The World's Smallest Restaurant

I was in a bar in Dublin a week ago that is the "city's smallest bar" which got me thinking about the world's smallest restaurant and with valentine's day fast approaching I think i might have just found the perfect romantic getaway. Turns out that it is a quaint little place just outside Pisa in Italy with one table called "Solo per Due" or "only for two" in English. Now it would appear that the gentleman who runs this place has elected to keep the seating arrangements as they are either because he wants to keep an incredibly high level of service or just that he is plain lazy! Space is certainly not an issue as the "restaurant" is situated in an old 19th century building with lush gardens and ample room to squeeze at least another 12 tables in!
There is one major drawback and to be totally honest it is one that I expected from an establishment so small and that is the price! A meal for 2 and I would assume this is the sort of place where you would need a date rather than sitting there listening to yourself breath will set you back a whopping 500 Euros! I suppose it is pretty unique and you are never gooing to have to worry about other diners, getting rushed out for the 9 o'clock sitting or the waiter confusing your green slad for a bloody steak but 500 Euros would be a lot to pay in a fine Michelin starred restaurant never mind trekking up the hills to sit in Marco's living room and have him grinning at you like that!

Plastic Bag Tax

Nothing annoys me more than the sight of people loading 20 plastic bags into the back of their SUVs as they carry out their weekly shopping! I am lucky enough to live in a country where we have a forward thinking government who several years ago introduced a 22 cent environmental tax on plastic bags which has cut their use by 94%. If you take into account that the UK alone use 10 BILLION consumer shopping bags and that they take on average 500 years to decompose in landfill sites you see the scale of the problem that we are up against!
So if the model in Ireland is so successful and drastically cuts the consumption of these horrible bags why has it not been embraced in other countries sooner? Are the big corporations lobbying to keep them? I am no politician but it’s not hard to see that cutting use by 94%, raising additional money in tax whilst changing the mentality of the consumer all in one fell swoop has to be a very good thing! These bags are causing immense harm to the environment and it needs to get to the stage where it is a social stigma akin to wearing fur to be seen carrying a shopping bag and the best way to change people’s habits as usual is to hit them in the pocket!

5 Year old rapper! Brilliant!

This is totally unrelated to food but incredible! I have never seen anything as funny in my life! Brilliant!

Meet Alice Medrich at Charles Chocolates

Photo ©Abigail Huller

Just in time for Valetine's Day! The Alice Medrich event at Charles Chocolates has been rescheduled. Meet Alice Medrich and perhaps do a little holiday shopping at a favorite local chocolate shop.

Charles Chocolates has a lovely Valentine's Day collection including very traditional heart shaped boxes, but my pick would be this heart decorated edible box filled with passion fruit, raspberry and mojito chocolate hearts, eight of each flavor. Fresh, delicious and unique.



Alice Medrich will be signing her latest book, Pure Dessert, which was one of my favorite books of 2007. Hear her experiences working with chocolate and try some locally made chocolate confections.

A visit to the Charles Chocolates retail shop is always a treat, it's attached to the chocolate factory where you can see practically everything that goes into creating chocolates. Proprietor Chuck Siegel like Alice Medrich, is a chocolate innovator, creating beautiful confections and reinterpreting classic and new chocolate combinations.

I hope you'll join me at Charles Chocolate for this free event with Alice Medrich, please RSVP here, to guarantee admission.

Tuesday, February 12th, 6-8pm

Charles Chocolates Chocolate Bar
6529 Hollis St.
Emeryville, CA

for a map, click here

Marco Pierre White Interview

Ask any household cook who their favourite chef is and the same old names will pop up; Jamie, Gordon etc etc but ask professional chefs and one of the names you will hear most often is Marco Pierre White. Some readers will remember him from the recent series of Hell's Kitchen but to be honest that is best forgotten as his best work was done where it should be by all chefs and that is behind the stove. He achieved his career zenith at 33 by being awarded 3 prestigious Michelin stars. However it wasn't just the Michelin guide who were taking notice but also the whole generation of budding chefs (including myself) who had found a new hero! His book white heat is widly regarded as one of the greatest cooking books ever written and so far removed from the glossy mass produced examples that abound these days. If you love food and consider youself a foodie I stronly urge you to buy it and drool in awe at some of his creations. The following video is long at 44 minutes but it gives an excellent and in depth insight into the mind of a true culinary genius. If you grew up with Marco as your hero you will thoroughly enjoy this.

Google Chefs Rock!

I have a hunch why Google have become one of the biggest companies in the world in the blink of an eye and it doesn't just have to do with the incredibly effective technology they provide us all with for free. It's the age old adage that if you look after your staff they will look after you and google has found a way straight to their staff's hearts by providing them with daily restaurant standard food totally for free! It has been clear from the start that Google have had a passion for food and that this comes from the top with Co-Founder Sergey Brin recently commenting on their search for 2 new executive chefs "These two chefs will play an important role in managing the company's growing appetites."

With an ever expanding workforce and staff from all over the world how many companies would be able to offer dishes like this in their corporte cafeteria...Ahi Tuna & Avocado Poke, Eggplant Ratatouille, Pollo en Huerto, Seared Day Boat Scallops in Green Coconut Curry Sauce, Arugula with Dried Apricots, Sautéed Wild Mushrooms, Spinach Lentil Dal and Tropical Shrimp Bisque soups, Hazelnut Shortcakes with Plum Compote, Chocolate Coconut Cheesecake and Creamy Lemon Macadamia Nut Cookies?

I really do applaud Google for trying to make their staff so happy and even though the end game is probably the bottom line they have certainly found their way into a lot of their staff's hearts! A lot of companies could learn from this but my guess is that they would never be forward thinking enough!

You just have to watch this video to get a better idea of how it all works. The good news for the rest of us is that they all seem to be putting on tons of weight!