Cupcake Circuits, Colbert and The Science of Appetite

First, apologies for the recent lack of posts. I was laid off from my job last week and it threw me for a bit of a loop, but I think everything's relatively under control now.

As I was catching up on my feeds this afternoon, I came across this post by Cathering Morgan on Blogher: The Science of Appetite, Weight Loss, and Dieting. Can We Rethink Thin? The post was inspired by a Time Magazine article, The Science of Appetite, which I found fascinating. It begins with the concept of a "cupcake circuit," the elusive and non-quite-understood part of our brain that associates cupcakes (or whatever food it is that creates the serotonin-induced happy dance in your brain) with pleasure, happiness and satiety.

I, like many others, am one of those people that have always struggled with weight. I was a pudgy kid, a teenager that thrived on sugar and alternated between pudgy and starved and eventually, a very overweight adult. However, I witnessed the staggering decline of both my grandmother and mother-in-law due to a lifetime of obesity and diabetes, and as I was starting to experience symptoms of irregular blood-sugar myself, I was freaked out enough to change my habits. So over the course of a few years I changed my diet and became a lot more active and I lost around 60 lbs. and 12% body fat and am now probably healthier than I've ever been in my life.

That said, I still struggle with my weight, and I definitely struggle with my cupcake circuit. I love sweets. They make me happy, and sometimes I crave them so badly that I feel like I'm having a drug withdrawal. I still eat too much sugar, but not nearly as much as I used to and as long as I stay active it seems to be okay. It fascinates me how much influence food often has over our psychological state of being. I try to use exercise as my overall spirit-lifter (for example, I've been more conscientious about my workout lately to counteract the blues of being unemployed) but sometimes, only a cupcake will do.

The article goes on to talk about how humans have historically had too little to eat rather than to much, and how we're adjusting (or not adjusting) to the current abundance of the industrialized nations. Scientists are currently scrambling to understand more about the process of appetite so that they can address the obesity epidemic that has emerged in the U.S. and is now spreading to other countries as they adopt more of our higher-speed, overstressed, fast-food culture.

Morgan also dicussed the recently released book by New York Times science writer Gina Kolata, Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss--and the Myths and Realities of Dieting, which talks about the history, science and myths of weight loss and the diet culture. I followed Morgan's link to an interview with Kolata on the Colbert Report, and what she had to say sounds interesting. The concept that we should happy even if we're not a size 2 is pretty standard, but she goes into a little bit of why dieting is so hard and just how long we've been doing it. I had no idea that the original low-carb diet was invented by William Banting, an English undertaker, in 1863. According to the arictle The History of Dieting, "British Medical Association immediately attacked this approach, and because Banting was not a scientist, claimed that it had no scientific value and would not work for others. The public however were impressed, and people all over the English speaking world read of his plan and lost weight themselves, not caring about the doubters. So popular did it prove to be, that it was translated into other languages and thus spread even wider." Amazing how much things have changed, and yet how much they've stayed the same!

Note: Email Issues

It recently came to my attention that there was a backlog of email on my mail server that never came through. I've switched over to a new host, which has solved the problem, but lost some email in the process. If you've recently emailed and haven't received a response, please send another to bleu@bitespot.com. Sorry!

A Little Bit of Wine Geek Humor

From the Akron Beacon Journal, 11/3/06.
(And yes, I'm slow).

Island Cake and Lost Finale Party

Hatch Map Photo: Lostpedia

The Cranky Fanatic Lost Finale Party was a blast, and my island cake turned out pretty well. It's not the prettiest (the hatch map on top was very hastily added at around 3:30am), and I think the fondant got a touch dry, but all-in-all, I would say it was a success!

Working with the fondant really was fairly easy. One thing I will do differently next time is mix in the base color as I'm initially mixing the fondant. One recipe I referenced recommended this, and it would have made sense since I wanted the whole thing to be green. I wanted some darker swirls to create a marbled effect, but the darker color could've been added later. I think the little bit of dryness I experienced was due to having to mix all of the color in after the fondant was formed. It took a lot of kneading to get it even.

In related cake-decorating news, Epicurious' latest email newsletter contained a link to an article on a DIY Wedding Cake. I haven't explored it completely, but it looks like they have some nice how-to information there.

My other favorite dishes from the menu were the Garlic Shrimp (I didn't have Sherry, so I used Tequila) and the Grilled Sweet Potato Salad (I used toasted macadamia nuts instead of peanuts).

You can see a couple of pictures from the party on Flickr, and you can listen to us rehash the finale on the Cranky Fanatic Lost podcast.

Big-O is going to be hosting live Lost trivia contests on Talkshoe during the hiatus. I just participated in the first one, and even though I got the lowest score—I'm not so good with the trivia—it was a lot of fun! You can listen here or join in on Wednesdays at 8pm CST.

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On a completely unrelated note, please pardon my dust as I make some domain adjustments. A friend of mine originally set up the hosting for the Bitespot domain name and I'm transferring things around a bit so that I can apply it to this blog. I'm currently having some picture link issues with older posts, but that should hopefully be resolved soon.

Baker Baker, Baking a Cake

This Wednesday night is the Lost Season Finale, and Cranky Fanatic Big-O is having a finale party here is Chicago. In my book, all celebrations need cake. Therefore, I'm attempting my very first fondant cake in an attempt to create something Lost-themed.

The cake itself is a Margarita Cake, basically a white cake that used margarita mix for the liquid. Honestly, I really haven't gotten the whole cake thing down. My mom, although she'll deny it, is a master. Mine are usually too dry or too dense or too bland or too something. I just finished making the cake layers, and the smaller top layer seems okay, but I used a single large round cake pan for the base and I think it was probably too big. Perhaps the reason that smaller, individual layer pans are used for conventional home ovens is that there isn't enough even air circulation for the big pans. I plan to use a strawberry preserve filling and frosting in between layers, though, so that will help if it's dry.

I'm going to decorate the base of the cake with regular shortening-based blue frosting. That should be easy since it's representing waves and doesn't have to be any sort of smooth. I would use buttercream since most people prefer it (I, myself prefer the supersweet stuff) but I can't refrigerate the fondant so this will be more compatible.

The fondant was a spur-of-the moment inspiration. I was listening to the Dharmalars Finale Predictions podcast earlier today and, oddly enough, they were discussing fondant with Jorge Garcia (he's an Ace of Cakes fan). I think that was the catalyst. The top, smaller layer will (in theory) be covered in green fondant to represent the island, and I plan on piping on a simplified version of the hatch map. I have absolutely no experience with fondant (other than eating it) so this is entirely experimental. I followed a recipe on the Wilton site, and it went so well that I'm suspicious. It can't be that easy. It's all wrapped up in an airtight container, and on a double-check seems to be fine, but I'm convinced that I will come home tomorrow to something rock-hard and unusable. Or maybe the hard part is getting it on the cake? We'll see, and I'll let you know how it goes!

Urban Grilling

Photo credit: ThinkGeek

Last Friday my friend Leah graduated from Loyola, and she wanted to have a beach barbecue party in celebration. On Thursday, it was sunny, beautiful and in the upper 70's. However, Chicago weather being what it is, it dropped about 20 degrees on Friday and was excessively windy. Therefore, the barbecue ended up at my apartment.

I have a Weber charcoal kettle grill on my back porch that I use for grilling. Admittedly, it's not the safest of arrangements and our landlord would have a heart attack if he knew, but I've only had one close call and that was because I had an oven mitt hanging on the side of the grill (it combusted, and I really hope my mom doesn't read this post). I do tend to keep the fire extinguisher close at hand. It's the reality of urban grilling. You do it even though you probably shouldn't, and you hope you don't catch anything on fire. I have a back yard, and I could put the grill in it, but one of the neighbors would steal it or, more likely, blow it up.

As I was manning the grill on Friday night, I remarked on how I love to grill, and I love the charcoal flavor, but usually I'm cooking for two and it's just too much fuss to get the big kettle grill going for a small amount of food. I said how nice it would be nice to have a little bitty grill that I could use for that. So, what arrives in my inbox today? The ThinkGeek newsletter advertising the Grilliput Compact Grill. I have no idea how well it works, but it looks like a sturdier option than those cheapie camping grills that they sell at Walgreen's. Plus, it's made of titanium and it compacts down to a little cylinder!

The grill and accompanying firebowl are approximately $45 to order from ThinkGeek. I will probably wait to see if there are some positive reviews floating around before I buy one, but I am planning on picking up this R2D2 Action Figure for my dad for Father's Day, so maybe I'll order the grill along with it. If I do, I'll report back on the results!

Corona-Matic Keyboard Waffle Iron

Photo Credit: Chris Dimino via Laughing Squid

Finally! A keyboard that I don't have to worry about getting sticky! The problem, presented by the School of Visual Arts in NYC: "Take this now useless item [a typewriter] and give it a new life." To the apparent joy of geeks everywhere, one of Chris Dimino's solutions was to create the Corona-Matic, a keyboard waffle iron (you should check out his other designs, too—my 2nd favorite is the urn). I originally heard about this on the Gadgette's 'Things We Want' episode, but it's been featured on many of the online gadget guides. I wonder if Chris expected to generate all this excitement? The story is currently working it's way up on Digg, so if you have a Digg account, contribute! Spread the word! I'd love to see this get made into an actual product. I don't have a waffle iron, but this would absolutely be my excuse to get one!

Mighty Muffins!

In response to a tweet from Winnie requesting a good muffin recipe, I am posting the basic muffin recipe from my Baking and Pastry class (taught by Jeanne Krauss).

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Basic Muffin

5 oz. (1 cup) pastry flour (or 4.5 oz., 1 cup, of all purpose flour)
2.5 oz. (1/3 cup) sugar
1/4 oz. (1/2 tsp.) baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1.5 oz. (1 large) egg, beaten
3.5 oz. whole milk
2 oz. (4 Tbsp.) butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Sift dry ingredients together.

Combine wet ingredients.

Mix wet ingredients into dry, mixing until just moistened. Remember, lumps are okay! Mix in your add-ins before all flour is incorporated (a gentle folding technique works well). Remember, DO NOT OVERMIX!

Spoon or scoop batter into paper-lined, greased or lightly-sprayed muffin tins to about 2/3 full. A #30 (2 Tbsp) ice cream scoop works well for this.

Bake at 375F, until done, approximately 20-30 minutes. Doneness is indicated by a golden brown color, muffins that feel set to a light touch, and a toothpick that when inserted, comes out clean.

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You can put anything that you want into this recipe: fruit, nuts, chocolate, whatever. The important thing to know is that you should never overmix your muffins! You don't want the batter to be completely smooth, and lumps are OK! The more you mix flour, the more you develop the gluten. This is desirable for yeast breads because yeast produces gas slowly, and needs a very elastic environment to contain it. Weaker batters can't hold onto the gas bubbles for long, so they use chemical leavening (i.e. baking soda, baking powder), which creates gas quickly. A batter that is too elastic won't let the gas bubbles distribute evenly. Baking soda needs the recipe to contain an acid such as buttermilk, baking powder can be used on its own.

You can tell an overmixed muffin by the fact that it's tough instead of tender, and if you break it open, you will often see 'tunnels,' long trails in the muffin that develop from the leavening gas getting trapped. Muffins mixed correctly should be light in texture and have an even interior.

Other considerations:

• Pastry flour makes for a more tender product because it contains less gluten. You can also mix 1 part cake flour to 2 parts all-purpose flour for an approximation (in this case 1/3 cup cake flour and 2/3 cup all-purpose). But most people are going to use all-purpose only and that's fine. If you're feeling fancy, though, my favorite source of specialty flours is King Arthur (also found at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and other upscale or specialty grocery stores).
• You can use up to a 1/2 cup of sugar in this recipe if you like a sweeter muffin (and depending on your add-ins), and keep in mind that sugar also acts as a tenderizer.
• Sour cream (2.75 oz or 1/3 cup) could be substituted for the milk. Also substitute a 1/2 tsp. of baking soda for the baking powder. This is a nice complement to blueberries.
• Buttermilk could also be used instead of milk. The amount would be the same, and you can use baking powder or baking soda as your leavener.
  
• You can put a little water into any empty muffin cups to dissipate heat and create moisture in the oven.
  

Other highly recommended resources used for this post:

• The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
• On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee.

Reality Cheddar, Not So Stinky

Live videostreaming—coined 'Lifecasting' by Justin Kan (always an exhibitionist apparently)—has become a recent trend thanks to the popularity of Justin.tv and the accessibility of Ustream.tv, a company that wisely jumped onto the videostreaming bandwagon and capitalized on Justin's popularity. Via Ustream, I've been able to view some of my favorite podasters at work, visit Hawaiian beaches, and watch Chris Pirillo be incredibly goofy. And now, my friends, I can watch cheese! The forward-thinking cheesemakers at West Country Farmhouse have given us Cheddarvision.tv. You think I jest, but I think it's brilliant! It merges a very old tradition with a very new one, and how else could a Westcombe farmhouse cheddar make a Geek Brief? You can also view a time lapse video of the aging, as well as suggest a name for the the cheese. After much deliberation (and some Wikipedia research), I submitted Wesleydale. I think it's quite fitting.

Ambria: Dinner and An Interview

Earlier this month a good friend of mine gave me a wonderful birthday present: he took me to Ambria for dinner. A mutual friend of ours, Fred DeVore, is a waiter there and he took very good care of us. He is extremely passionate and knowledgeable about the food, so it made for an especially delightful experience.

Also, though I didn’t realize it at the time, our sommelier was the infamous Bob Bansberg. Bob used to teach the wine class at the Illinois Institute of Art, where I attended culinary school. His knowledge was renowned amongst the students and I was very disappointed that he left just before I took the class.

Ambria is a beautiful restaurant, resplendent with a hush-inspiring atmosphere of mahogany, ambient candlelight, and plush Art Nouveau architecture. It’s reminiscent of a time that may be dying out in our desire for shiny, new and modern. Unfortunately, Ambria will be closing its doors on June 30, 2007 after 27 years of fine dining. You can find out more about the farewell festivities in this article from the Chicago Sun Times: The Long Goodbye. If you make a reservation, be sure to request Fred!

I’m so glad I got to experience this Chicago tradition before it’s gone. The following is an outline of our menu. You can hear more about Ambria, as well as a general discussion of the Chicago culinary scene, in my interview with Fred, available below for now and on iTunes very soon.

Menu from Ambria: April 5, 2007

Wine: Cava Avinyó Brut Reserva NV from Penedes, which was crisp and delicious. If you like sparkling wine but haven't tried Cava, you should definitely check it out. It’s a nice (and generally less expensive) alternative to Champagne that seems to be growing in popularity as people become more aware of it.

Amuse Bouche: Leek Potato Soup

First Course: Tapas, or Pintxos in Basque
There was a variety of tapas, but I found the most memorable to be the crostini with spring pea, creme fraiche, and a sliver of smoked salmon. The spring pea was just so delightfully fresh!

Wine: Joseph Perrier Brut Cuvee Royale Champagne

Second Course: Oysters
This warm oyster dish is a 300 year-old Basque recipe. The oysters are dressed with leeks, three varieties of Pimenton de la Vera (Smoked Chile Powder from La Vera, Spain) and applewood smoked bacon foam. Whereas many oyster dishes smother the oysters in other flavors, this recipe is designed to showcase them. It was rich and buttery but not heavy at all. The oysters were Pemaquid oysters from the Damariscotta River Estuary in northern Maine. This was my favorite savory course, and the wine pairing was lovely.

Third Course: Organic poached egg on a bed Anson Mills grits (from Georgia [correction: South Carolina]) with a sauce of thickened chicken jus and perigot black truffles. Being from the South, I love grits, and one of my favorite breakfast is grits and eggs mixed together. This was like my grits and eggs breakfast on steroids.

Wine: Cristom Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Marjorie Vineyard 2004

Fourth Course: Salmon
Served with quinoa, fried leeks and blue foot mushrooms. This salmon is FedExed fresh to Ambria by a Native American man who fishes them out of the Columbia River. Quinoa is considered a supergrain because of its high protein and amino acid content. I’ve had it before, but this was the first time I’ve really liked it, most likely because it was prepared with stock and then mixed with Manchego cheese. The salmon was amazingly tender—the mushrooms were meatier than the fish.

Fifth course: Chocolate Soufflé
Served with quenelles of ice cream and crème chantille (whipped cream). They tapped a hole into the top at tableside and poured in creme anglais. It was absolutely decadent. In his Tribune review of Ambria, Phil Vettel describes it as “all that you'd ever want in a dessert souffle.” I agree. I love dessert, so I couldn’t have been happier.

Sixth Course: Mignardises
A selection of chocolates. I was so full I only ate one, a raspberry-filled piece of dark chocolate. Divine!

My friend’s menu was a little different since he's a little less adventurous than I am. Instead of the oysters as a second course he had a squab breast with lentils du pays, a wild mushroom ragout and currant compote. His third course was a rouget de roche on a potato base. Rouget de roche is a small schooling fish with sweet flesh and red skin from the Meditteranean sea. It is flown in directly from Barcelona. His fourth course was a prime rib and loin of lamb. The prime rib was like butter.

Listen to my interview with Fred—the very first Bitespot podcast!

Bitespot 01: Ambria

Want to Learn About Wine? Drink More!

A friend sent me this New York Times article by Eric Asimov (he's the nephew, BTW): To Study Wine, Buy and Drink. The article requires registration, but if you'd like to read it without signing on, you can always use Bugmenot. Or just read on, I'll give you the gist.

In Asimov's opinion, you get the most out of wine classes and books after you already have a working knowledge and a desire to get serious. He recommends that find a good wine shop, let them know that you'd like to learn, and have them help you pick out a mixed case in the around- $250 price range. Then, you take it home and drink it, preferably with food, paying attention to what you like and don't like. Take notes as you go along, recording how the wines interact and change with food. "The most important thing," he says, "is not how you describe the wine but whether you liked it or not, and whether you felt it enhanced what you ate or clashed with it."

When you're done, you take the notes back to the shop, discuss your experience, and ask them to put together a new case for you. Swirl, smell, swish and repeat.

To demonstrate, Asimov is actually employing this process himself and you can follow along on his blog, The Pour. You can find his case list (he actually ordered two cases from two separate shops for comparison) in the post The Dining Table Wine School.

While I don't agree with the statement that classes and books are only for the experienced, I do think this is a really fun and useful method and a great alternative if classes and books really do intimidate or disinterest you. If nothing else, you get to sample a lot of great wine and he's absolutely right in that you'll start to figure out what you like and don't. He's also right in that that's all many people want or need to know.

If you can't afford a case (and at the moment, I can't, otherwise I'd try and follow along with Asimov) there's nothing wrong with buying by the bottle. The most important thing to understand is where to buy it and what a good wine shop is. As I heard Diana Hammond, the Wine Goddess of the Chopping Block, repeat over and over: the grocery store is not a good wine shop, nor is Whole Foods or the World Market. While the employees may have some knowledge of wine, they usually don't know enough to make a real recommendation. These places are fine if you already have some idea of what you want, but a good wine shop will have employees that really know wine and can make knowledgeable recommendations based on the information you give them.

The second most important thing to know: if you want a wine shop to give you a recommendation, you need to be able to give them a starting point, at the very least a price range. Choosing whether you want a red or a white is helpful, too. You also need to be open minded. If you go in and ask for a really good wine for under $10, expect to be given a recommendation for a wine that you're not familiar with. The most familiar wines (i.e. Cabernet and Chardonnay) are often the most expensive precisely because they're the most familiar. Be willing to try something new, and no nose-wrinkling! If you don't like the wine, feel free to return and say so, but at least try it.

If you live in the Chicago area, there are a ton of good wine shops. Diana always recommended the Wine Discount Center and I've always had a good experience there. There is also an extensive (and recent) list available on the Chicago Sun Times website: The Best in Bargain Wine.

If you are a class and book person (as I am) I highly recommend Diana's wine classes as the Chopping Block. She is extremely knowledgeable, very accessible and not at all snobby. She also offers a Cheap n' Good Wine List on her site. As for books, Eric Asimov does cover his recommended reading list in the post School is in Session, but for a light and entertaining introduction to wine, I highly recommend Drinkology Wine: A Guide to the Grape by James Waller. The information is there, but it's also an easy read.

So drink up and stimulate those brains cells! Apparently, a recent study found that Light to Moderate Drinkers Show Greater Cognitive Ability. True? Who knows, but it sounds good! Cheers!

What's for Dinner? Pretty Pasta!

I was feeling inspired to make something nice for dinner, but I wanted something easy. I went to the gym after work (yay, me!) and didn't finish up until almost 8:30pm. Remembering that I still had the Foglie D'Autunno pasta that I picked up at the West Point Market in Ohio, I decided to make a quick run to Whole Foods for some basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, bread and a bottle of wine to go with the sun dried tomatoes and olive oil I already had at home.



Foglie D'Autunno,which translates to the 'leaves of autumn,' is a rustic Italian pasta that's made by Castellana in Apulia, the 'heel' of Italy. It tastes like pasta, so it's nothing special in that regard, it's just that it's so pretty! The colors are made with various vegetable powders—and squid ink!

At Whole Foods, I ended up buying a Pecorino Tartufello, which is an Italian sheep's whole pieces of black truffles, instead of the Parmigiano. I wasn't positive that it would work with the basil and the sun dried tomatoes, but I love truffles so I thought I'd give it a try. The wine I chose was the Da Vinci 2005 Chianti Classico. I've been wanting to try this for a while. The 2004 was highly rated for such an inexpensive wine—the 2005 was $10.99. I also picked up some Sicilian-style marinated olives and a small loaf of Ciabatta (Italian 'slipper' bread, named for it's shape).



I tossed the pasta with Frantoia, an Italian olive oil that was a favorite at the Chopping Block and one of mine as well. I added the basil and sun dried tomatoes, both of which I sliced chiffonade (in thin strips). The Pecorino Tartufello was pretty powerful so I only used a little; I used a vegetable peeler to make thin slivers to top the pasta. I warmed the bread, sliced it, and poured a little more of the Frantoia into a saucer for dipping. I also added a couple the olives on the side to complete the meal.



Everything went together pretty well. The wine wasn't the best match—I guessed when I picked it up that it might be a little too fruity to stand up to the truffles and the olives, and I was right. I think it would go better with a tomato-based sauce or a regular Pecorino. But the wine that I thought would match perfectly was $20, so this was good enough! It made for a rustically simple meal, but it was quite satisfying and again, very pretty! Not quite as exciting as the Digg party I'm missing right now (I'm listening to it enviously via Justin.tv; it sounds fun!) but it'll do.

Calacanis on Barcelona

Jason Calacanis is currently in Barcelona to give a talk on Social Media. Befitting that subject, he's been posting frequently on Twitter about Barcelonian food. He sent a Tweet out earlier today looking for advice on finding the best rabbit in the area, and the current update: "At abasolo etxea with my friend Xavier in barcelona. Amazing rabbit I'm told!!!" I've been enjoying his commentary immensely, and oh, how I would have loved to have been at the Barcelona Blogger/Web 2.0 dinner! Read more about his experience and drool over the imagery here: Tapas in Barcelona.

New Basque cuisine seems to be playing a major role in culinary evolution here in Chicago. I've often heard Alinea referred to as second only to El Bulli, the world renowned restaurant just outside of Barcelona. Cantu of Moto is also considered to be directly inspired by El Bulli chef Ferran Adria, who is credited as being the founder of the molecular gastronomy movement. Even Ambria, classically French, is currently offering a Tribute to Spain tasting menu that features Basque cuisine. And speaking of Ambria, I had the chance to dine there recently. It was fabulous, of course, and I'll be posting more on that experience very soon.

Tasty Tech at the Food Network Awards

I don't watch much of the Food Network. Not because I dislike it, but because I rarely sit down and watch shows on an actual television and so far I haven't been interested enough to seek out the torrents. Therefore, the first annual Food Network Awards was only vaguely on my radar, but enough so that I did check out the website.

I'm sure that, even if I had watched the show, I wouldn't agree with Bourdain's rant on Ruhlman.com: "Last night, during the breathtakingly awful, interminable cruelty that was The Food Network Awards, I even found myself feeling bad for Rachael Ray." Don't follow the link if you're not fond of profanity—it took me a minute to settle on a usable quote that didn't contain a colorful string. While I find the Food Network a little fluffy, and am aware that it's celebrities are often chosen for their cute-factor rather than their culinary ability, it's driven Americans to get more interested in good food and I can only thank them for that. It's not the Food Network's fault that we prefer everything fed to us with that special Hollywood-style seasoning.

There were only a few highlights for me from the award pickings. I was somewhat surprised that they had a Tasty Technology category (although I guess I really shouldn't be), and the most geek-friendly award winner was the PoliScience Anti-Griddle. It flash freezes instead of grills, and was created for Grant Achatz in 2004 (PoliScience is based in the Chicago suburbs). There's an interesting article about it on Chow (and I think I might change my tagline).

Other winners that I thought were interesting:

• MooBella Ice Cream: A vending maching that uses "a multi-patented, fully automated ice cream process" to create custom ice cream on the spot.
• Zingerman's: Z - Club: A "gift for the adventurous eater." Zingerman's supplies a boxed collection of rare and specialty foods such as "olio nuovo, a coveted version of the new season's olive oil pressed and bottled just days ago, or maybe a cheese from one of America’s small dairies" up to four times a year.
• Liz Hickok, Jell-O Artist: Cities of Jell-O. Go look—it's cool!

I also have to give a little shout-out to Matt Lee and Ted Lee of the Boiled Peanuts Catalog. They lost to Alicia Polak of the Khaya Cookie Company under the category of Edible Entrepreneur of the Year. Polak hires South African men and women to bake handmade cookies that are brought to the U.S., so the award was well-given. But there's a Southern heart beating deep inside this yankified urbanite, so I just had to mention the boiled peanut boys. I might just have to order one of those boil-your-own peanuts kits...

IACP Conference Welcoming Event: Culinary SENSE-ations

I've spent the past few days preparing for the food photography exhibit for the welcoming event at the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) conference. The event happened yesterday and was absolutely fabulous. It took place at the Merchandise Mart, and the overarching themes were Chicago and food art. The Mart showrooms that chose to participate each hosted a particular theme. My showroom was Valcucine, and my theme was food photography. I wish I had done more (I still regret not being able to find someone to create that food photography cake) but I think in the end it turned out pretty well. We had 5 large photos by Jeff Kauck hanging from the ceiling, and 5 smaller photographs scattered on easels through the showroom. I also created a number of tiny matted stock photos to hang and scatter throughout the room, just to draw the eye through the exhibit. We also had a Chicago-themed video put together by Eric Futran, which featured a montage of local food photos set to a foodie-based version of Sweet Home Chicago. Valcucine decided to keep the exhibit up for a while as part of their showroom, so you can see it if you happen to be passing through the Mart anytime soon.

I also participated in the Written Word exhibit, headed by Leslie Swibes, which was in the Varenna Poliform showroom. The walls were decorated with food quotes, and themed cocktail napkins covered with quotes related to food and wine accompanied the wine stations and bread table. There was also a huge wok full of fortune cookies with food quotes inside.

This event was the brainchild of Shelley Young, owner of the Chopping Block. Shelley and Linda Avery, Executive Food Editor of Leite's Culinaria oversaw the event and all of the exhibits, and they did an amazing job. I would imagine that this was one of the most creative events that the IACP has ever seen.

The other exhibits are listed below, and you can see photos of the show on Flickr.

• Meat and Potatoes Buffet at the Chopping Block.
• Pulled Sugar Demonstration by Mark Seaman of Marked for Dessert at the Chopping Block.
• Jel Art Gelatin Flowers created by injecting food coloring into the gelatin, by Delectogo at the Chopping Block (they were tasty, too
  
• Ice Bar and Bananas Foster Shots provided by moto Restaurant and Jim Nadeau of Nadeau Ice Sculptures, Inc. (I give, moto is cool, and the bartenders were really fun.)
• Interactive Audio Challenge Video by Steve Dolinsky, Host of Hungry Hound.
• Merchandise Mart Cake Sculpture by Cathay Li of the Sugar Syndicate.
• Sustainable Fish, bathtub aquariums with live fish provided by Shedd Aquarium in Kohler. [Correction: Shedd provided Right Bite cards. The fish were bought from Old Town Aquarium.]
  
• Micro-Greens Countertops by Bill Bagby of Tiny Greens at Pedini.
• Breaking Bread, a 16 foot bread loaf.
• Edible Zen Garden, sugar sand and beignet rocks, in Urban Archeology.
• Bee Cheese Mosaic by Nadine Royster, Artist and Wisconsin Milk in Granite Marble Resources.
• Iron Maiden Serving Girl by Red Moon Theater.
• Corpus Delecti, a human figure made of gelatin by Sage Reed in association with Local Infinities Visual Theatre. Rachel Humphrey, Chopping Block chef and author of the Sweet Savory, oversaw this exhibit.
  
• Edible Dress, Verdure Couture by Sage Reed.
• Wild Mushroom Countertop by Tyler Gray of Mikuni Wild Harvest in Smartrooms.
• Chicago Food TV: Steve Dolinsky, Host of Hungry Hound and LeeAnn Trotter, Host of Good Eats in DiGiulio.
• Spice Art Rug and Aromatics by Barbara Koenen, Artist and Patti Erd of the Spice House in Chicago Kitchen.
• Illinois Wines from Fox Valley Winery and Owl Creek Vineyard and Mary Michelle Winery.
• Honey and Mead by Wild Blossom Meadery and Winery.
• Coffee by Intelligentsia.

Food and Tech: Use the Nabaztag, Save the World?

CNET Article: For Chicago Chef, It's Prepare, Print, Serve

Photo: Homaro Cantu/Moto

A friend of mine sent me this recent article on Homaro Cantu and Moto. I've already expressed my rather mixed feelings on the whole molecular gastronomy concept, but I have to admit, the photos that went along with this article made my little graphic designer's heart go pitter-pat.

It's also interesting to me that this is a CNET article. It's starts off with the standard Moto fare: edible paper, liquid nitrogen, lasers, blah, blah, blah. If you're a foodie, I'm sure you've heard it all before. But this is a story targeted at geeks, not foodies, and it goes on to highlight the technologies that Cantu has implemented. His kitchen is paperless; he uses a proprietary software system that he coded himself to track profits and losses, and his staff utilizes a voice-activated, 60-inch screen projection system for their prep lists. He also uses a Nabaztag for his email. I own a Nabaztag (named Fiverito, a gift from the same friend who sent me the article), and I'm not really convinced that it's functional enough for use in professional setting, but I think it's really cool just on principal. I wonder if Cantu uses Twitter...

Cantu also talks a lot about sustainability. He states that he doesn't "create technologies just to create novel technologies. I create because I see a need or gap that needs to be filled at the social or retail level." I don't entirely buy that multi-purpose utensils, edible ads and robotic bunnies that read email are going to save the world, but I suppose that any idea that intends to move our society in a more eco-friendly direction is a positive.

Molecular gastronomy is definitely interesting, but I thought the following was a very telling statement. When asked what he eats at home, Cantu replied, "My wife banned me from the kitchen. She does all the cooking. I do simple things, like a bagel with cream cheese. I do eat normal food. Pizza and a glass of beer—that to me is a perfect meal." And so it is. Cantu names Marie's Pizzaria and Lounge as the best pizza in Chicago. I'll have to check that out.

Cafe Descartes Oatmeal Latte

Earlier today I was working on initial drafts of a logo for a cafe. While doing some online research, I came across the recipe for the Cafe Descartes Oatmeal Latte. There was a Cafe Descartes just up the street from the Lincoln Square Chopping Block, and I would often stop in for an Oatmeal Latte on my way in to assist a morning cooking class. It's served in a tall cup with a spoon, so you basically drink your coffee and then eat the oatmeal and dried fruit. It's a great concept—coffee and breakfast all in one! It tastes great as well, and I love the texture that the oatmeal adds to the coffee.

If you live in the area, I recommend stopping in at a Cafe Decartes near you and trying one for yourself. If not, try out the recipe below. You could substitute strong coffee or add espresso powder to the milk if you don't have an espresso maker, and just scald the milk by heating it until it bubbles around the edges. I felt the collective cringe of coffee geeks everywhere as I wrote that, but really, I think it would work out okay.

If you're a purist, you can learn all about making espresso drinks at home on the CoffeeGeek website. From what I understand (and I would say that my understanding is limited) the easiest and least expensive way to accomplish this is to use a Bialetti Moka Express.

Cafe Descartes Oatmeal Latte

8 oz Oatmeal, uncooked
2 Tbsp. Golden Raisins
2 Tbsp. Chopped Walnuts
2 Tbsp. Slivered Almonds
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 Shot of Freshly-Roasted Cafe Descartes Espresso
1 tsp. Honey
1 Tbsp. Hazelnut or Vanilla Syrup (found at specialty shops and some cafes)
8 oz. Skim Milk
2 Tbsp. Fresh Blueberries

Pour 8 ounces of raw oatmeal into a large cup.

Add the dry ingredients to the cup: 2 tablespoons each of golden raisins, chopped walnuts and slivered almonds; and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Pour in a shot of freshly-roasted espresso.

Add 1 tsp. honey and 1 tbsp. of hazelnut or vanilla syrup into the cup.

Froth 8 oz. of skim milk in a stainless steel pitcher, for about 10 seconds.

Add the other ingredients to the milk.

Froth all the ingredients together, about 15 seconds.

Add 2 Tbsp. of fresh blueberries to top it off.

Pour back into the cup and enjoy!

Foodie Tweet of the Day

"Seems like with bananas, you basically have a three-minute window between green and brown. Bananas are always 'becoming.'"—Merlin Man, via Twitter

How to Buy a Good Knife

When I worked at the Chopping Block, people asked us about knives quite a bit. What knives should you buy? What brand? How do you sharpen them? These questions recently came up on a culinary email list that I'm on, and I thought I'd repost my answer here.

The only real essential is a good Chef's knife. You can accomplish almost any task with that one basic. All of the high-end knives are equally good; you want forged knives, and you want to keep to the around-$100 range, give or take a bit. Size, style and weight are totally personal. I've assisted a lot of Knife Skills classes, and I've seen big burly guys that prefer the lightweight Global 8" Vegetable knife (Global knives were probably the most popular knives in the store that I worked in) and petite women that preferred the heft and weight of a 10" Friedr Dick knife. I really like my 10" Wusthof, but I did develop a fondness for the Global knives after working with them for a while. It's best to buy knives from a store that will let you hold and even test out a few different styles. I like to say that you don't choose your knife—your knife chooses you.

You also want to buy a honing steel. I really like the diamond steels—they're more expensive but they sharpen just a bit and I find that really useful. Some kind of sharpener is also good to have. I like having a stone, but you have to know how to use it properly or you can ruin your knife. There are also a variety of sharpening tools, such as the Global MinoSharp, that are okay. If you don't know how to hone and sharpen your knives, take a class or have someone show you. You should hone your knife every time you use it, and again if you notice the knife getting dull. A sharp knife is much easier and safer to use than a dull one. You should sharpen the knife once you notice that honing isn't doing much anymore.

After that, you want a paring knife for small tasks and a serrated knife for bread. Anything else you buy should be based on what you do most. A boning knife is nice if you like to bone out your own meats. If you carve a lot, buy a carving knife. If you make a lot of sushi, look into a sashimi knife.

You get the picture. Most of the chefs I know own a LOT of knives, but they'll also tell you it's more of a collector's impulse than a necessity.

I also highly recommend that you take a knife skills class to learn how to use your knife properly. If you're in the Chicago area, the Chopping Block offers some great knife skills classes. If not, most areas these days have cooking schools that cater to the home chef and offer some kind of knife skills class. You will, however, need to practice after the class or it won't do you any good!

Recommended reading: The Professional Chef's Knife Kit by the Culinary Institute of America.

Would You Like Some Tools With That Wine?

This service was mentioned in the April 2007 issue of Food and Wine, and I thought I'd try it out. Using your mobile device, you send an email or text message containing the vintage, name, and varietal of a wine along with your zip code. In response, the service sends you a message containing the local retailers that carry the wine as well as the various prices. It's an interesting idea, and may eventually be useful, but I would say that it needs a much larger database. It's possible that it could be targeting higher-end wines than the ones I was looking for, or maybe it works better if you're located on the west coast, but the only wine I got any return on was a non-vintage Yellowtail Shiraz, and it only listed one retailer. After repeated attempts with no results, I looked for this wine specifically because it's one that almost every retailer carries, including run-of-the-mill grocery stores. So for now, this isn't much use to me, but I will keep an eye on it. If their database of retailers grows, the service could be handy if you're looking for something specific.

On a more useful note, I highly recommend the article "50 Wines You Can Always Trust" from the same issue. I know a little more about wine than the average person and I'd like to know a lot more, but right now I'm a relatively casual wine drinker and I rarely find these sorts of lists useful. I find that the wines are completely unfamiliar, I don't remember them, and even if I do I rarely run across them at a store. This list, however, has a lot of familiar names on it. I see many of these wines on a regular basis, and many of them are very reasonable in price. If you like wine but don't know much about it, or would just like to know enough to pick out a decent bottle, this article is a keeper!