We’ve moved!

Dear readers,

We’ve enjoyed this whole wine blogging thing so much that we’ve decided to quit our day job and focus entirely on our passion, Sedimentality. Please visit our new website: www.sedimentality.com for a comprehensive site including wine education, restaurant reviews, wine reviews and of course our blog. We hope you “like what we’ve done with the place.”

Cheers!

The Sedimentalist

Buenos Aires

A moral foie gras? Actually… yes!

Once in a while, you come across a person or an idea that is so innovative, so fresh, and so refreshing that you have no choice but to just stop and say, “YES. This is what it is all about.”

That is exactly how I felt today when I watched chef Dan Barber’s TED speech about his experience visiting Spanish goose farmer Eduardo Sousa. Sousa, a fourth generation farmer from the Extremadura region of western Spain, produces foie gras from his geese which are fed all-natural diets sans corn, encouraged to graze freely and–despite going against everything traditionally foie gras–are not force fed. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Sousa’s odd recipe for quality foie gras is just how well it works: this year, he was awarded the coveted French Coup de Coeur award.  (which, as he said, “Really pissed the French off.”)

Apparently so: within weeks of his award, the French began a disparaging campaign against Sousa claiming that without the force feeding (called “gravage“), Sousa’s goose liver was not truly foie gras, making him a cheater in the competition. Sousa was ultimately allowed to keep his award–and the hub bub from his sore loser neighbors eventually died down–but the French do raise an interesting question: without the force feeding, is it still foie gras? According to chef Barber: YES… and it’s the best he’s ever had.

In Barber’s 20 minute speech (which can be viewed on TED) he retells his trip to Sousa’s farm and all that he learned from this humble man. The farmer’s entire philosophy centers on providing the geese with a tranquil living environment and taking care of them so that they never know that they are being farmed.

Rather than force feeding his flock, Sousa relies on their natural desire to over consume during the fall, creating the fatty livers from which foie gras is made. To provide the nutrition for extra-plump geese Sousa’s farm consists of olives, figs and other plants which the geese graze on daily, and they graze as they please throughout his farm and beyond: Sousa actually redesigned his electric fences so that they only work on animals attempting to get in to the farm, which he believes gives the geese a feeling of protection that allows them to live so peacefully on his farm.

Just how well does it work? Perhaps Barber’s story about his experience at the farm is a testament to how comfortable Sousa makes his geese. While interviewing Sousa, Barber noted that a flock of migrant geese actually flew over the farm, circled, and landed in the middle of the farm. Sousa explained that this was a common occurrence, and that the majority of the geese would actually stay, mate with his flock, and continue its population. (Apparently, there is no need to fly south for the winter when you have a plentiful pantry and such peaceful lodging!)

When Barber finally tasted the renowned foie gras he was amazed. It was perfectly seasoned, the most beautifully bright yellow color, and expressed hints of salt, pepper and anise. When he asked Sousa if he added these elements, Sousa explained that nothing is added to the liver: throughout the farm there are pepper plants and other herbs to naturally flavor the foie gras, and he even planted plants with bright yellow edible flowers to give the foie gras the yellow coloring that most force-fed geese livers exhibit from their excess consumption of corn. Genius. Pure genius.

In our world of genetically-modified, chemical-laden and hormone-filled foods, and in a society where we are so removed from the animals and foods that we eat, it was so refreshing to see a man who seems to have found the magic equation for living in harmony with the animals which provide him with food. Sousa’s farm is a model of the ultimate relationship between man and his beings, and a testament to how we can pay respect to those animals which we rely on for food… and make higher quality products in the process. Bravo.

You can watch Dan Barber’s entire TED speech here.

Website providing food timeline is the food geek’s paradise

Get excited, food geeks: I just stumbled on a website that will surely make your day.

I am the type of food nerd that has to know everything about what I am eating or drinking. (Case and point: just this afternoon I insisted on Wiki-ing “bock” before I tried the Quilmes Bock with my lunch. And when the Wiki definition was that it was a type of lager, I had to make sure that I knew what a lager was. At last satisfied, I finally decided on closing my computer and actually eating/drinking.) So needless to say, I was ecstatic to come across The Food Timeline, which gives the reader links to websites on the history of different dishes, (including the year they were invented and by whom) and the years that numerous fruits and vegetables were cultivated and/or discovered. Brilliant? If you want to know everything about where you food comes from (literally and figuratively) then yes, it is.

The website puts all of the list onto a timeline so that the reader can quickly observe some of the more odd early foods. Is it any surprise that wine was made before milk was drunk, dairy products were made, or chickens were domesticated? Well… to me, yes. But I must admit that it was a bit disheartening to find that spices did not come for another 3,000 years, which made for several millenia of boring food pairings…

The site also includes the origins of food and/or famous recipes. I had no idea that french toast and cheesecake have both been around since the 1st century, but that it took until the 1500s for someone to think of scrambling their eggs. And New York’s trademark, the bagel, was actually created in the 1600s, quite possibly by a Polish baker of Jewish origin. This year, Jell-O celebrates its 100th birthday, while last year marked the centennial of the shrimp cocktail. And the inventor of my trademark dish, eggs benedict, is still up for debate…

For more tidbits of slightly useless yet incredibly interesting information, check out The Food Timeline. If nothing else, it makes for interesting dinner conversation! By the way, going back to the whole “Wiki-ing “bock” because I had to know what I was drinking: you will notice that on most bottles of bock beer, there is a billy goat. This is a traditional pun on the word ein bock, which means goat, and sounds very similar to Einbeck, where the beer was first made. Most brewmasters include a goat on their label to pay homage to this tradition/joke. Your fun fun fact for the day, brought to you by the drinker who has to know a little about everything, and loves to pass on useless information. Cheers!

Northern Thailand’s “Khao Soi” curry

I thought that venturing into the hills of Northern Thailand would mean an escape from Bangkok and a week of mountain peace and quiet… but I couldn’t have been more wrong. As it turns out, I was in for an adventure which I didn’t expect in the least.

In about three day’s time, I held a baby tiger, rode an elephant through the jungle, swam under a waterfall, trekked through native villages, visited an exquisite orchid farm, floated on a bamboo raft down a river, toured a traditional Thai market, and cooked seven traditional Thai dishes… the list goes on and on, but since this blog is about culinary travel, it stops here, at Thai cooking and Chiang Mai’s signature dish, Khoa Soi.

To understand what makes this dish so unique, we might need a crash course in Thai food. If you eat at a Thai restaurant, you will see that they offer red, green and yellow curries. For years I did not know what the difference was, but I finally sorted things out when I took a Thai cooking class from Classic Home Cooking School in Chiang Mai.

At its most basic, all three of these curries contain curry paste, coconut milk, and meats or veggies. The basis of the three curry pastes is the same: most recipes call for garlic, shallots, galangal, shrimp paste, kaffir lime rind, coriander root, cumin seeds, lemongrass, and peppercorns. For green curry, green chilies are used; for red curry, red chilies are added, and for yellow curry, curry powder (which contains a high amount of turmeric) is used. These ingredients are mixed together using a mortar and pestle, then added to coconut milk, then mixed with meats and vegetables to make the final delicious product.

I love yellow curry, which is the staple of Chiang Mai’s regional dish, Khoa Soi. Along with the coconut milk, the turmeric gives the dish a little sweetness which balances so well with the spice from the red chilies in the curry paste. When I learned that Khoa Soi was based on this curry, I had to choose it.

I had had yellow curry at Thai restaurants in the States before my visit to Chiang Mai, and each time I ordered it (or made it at home) it was served with veggies and meats and a side of rice. I expected something similar with this new dish, but I was in for a surprise: the yellow curry paste used to make Khao Soi actually calls for noodles—not rice—and is topped with fresh ingredients like shallots and spring onion for an added kick.

The dish is quite simple, but that is not to say that it is easy to make: I can attest that it is not! After grinding the spices to make the yellow curry, we heated the curry with oil in a wok until its smelled beautifully fragrant. Then we added diced chicken, which cooked quickly in the hot wok; after we added coconut milk and fish oil.

On a separate burner I had boiled water and then added egg noodles, which cooked for just one minute. I then added the cooked egg noodles to the wok and combined them with the curry mix. Finally, the dish was topped with shallots and spring onion, as well as a few fried egg noodles. Yum!

I loved the addition of the pickled bok choi: it really brightened the khao soi.

I am including the cooking process because after understanding it, I felt as if I had a much better understanding of Thai cuisine. Before cooking the dish myself, I mused at how each of these flavors was infused into a dish to make such a delicious combination of flavors. Combining and grinding the spices myself to make a paste—and then seeing it all come together in one wok—increased my understanding of Thai food tenfold.

Apart from basic Thai cooking techniques, I learned several things from this trip: first and foremost is that cooking a region’s food will give you a much greater understanding for the dishes they serve. Second, from seeing the mistakes of my classmates being a little too generous with their ingredients, I learned that a little chili goes a LONG way. And third, don’t ever, ever assume that traveling to the mountains means that you’re trekking into peace and quiet. In fact, don’t assume that anywhere in Thailand. What actually seems to be the case is that this is a land of no rules, and typically, you are in for a lot more adventure than you’d bargained for.

Italian burrata cheese

I have yet to meet an Italian dish which I haven’t liked. But there is one thing that has stood out over the years: burrata cheese.

Invented in Southern Italy in the early 1900’s, this cheese means “buttered” in Italian… and I couldn’t think of a more appropriate word: I have never had a cheese that was so creamy and so delicious. Its simplicity—mozzarella cheese with a cream center—is part of its appeal: it allows you to taste the fresh milk and its delicious clean flavors. Cheese lovers: beware. You will become addicted.

Eating burrata makes you feel like you have just picked it up from the farm, and in most cases, you probably have: it should be served within 24 hours of being made and is too old to serve after 48 hours, so most burratas are shipped in from very local farms on the day that they are produced. Burrata just might be the closest that you can get to fresh farm flavors without owning a dairy farm yourself.

The first time I had burrata was at the downtown location of Venissimo Cheese shop (see my article about this wonderful boutique cheese store and the outstanding cheeses coming from California here). To give homage to the delicious and fresh flavors of the burrata, the cheese monger served it as simply as possible: on fresh bread and with a sprinkle of truffle sea salt. This is how burrata is served best: in a simple manner to let the fresh and mild creamy flavors show through.

Burrata with truffle sea salt

Another burrata experience which was a highlight for me was at Suite and Tender located in Downtown San Diego. A simple appetizer of burrata stuffed tomatoes with olive oil crustini and pesto was an excellent way to showcase the delicious creamy texture of the cheese: it worked well with the crunch of the crustini and was great alongside the flavors of the bright tomatoes and the savory pesto.

I recently had burrata again at 1884 Francis Mallmann in Mendoza, Argentina. Chef Mallmann paired the burrata with a roasted pear and a simple salad which, like the other meals I have had with this cheese, allowed the cheese to be the center of the dish, and permitted the burrata to work with the other components of the dish to make truly beautiful texture combinations.

I am happiest when about to eat burrata.

After three delicious dining experiences with this cheese, I have concluded that burrata is somewhat of a hidden gem in Italian cuisine. True, we are all past the place where we think that pasta is the only component of Italian cooking. But finds like this delicious cheese prove that Italian cuisine still has much more to offer than what we consider to be typical of their delicious fare.

New website offers pairing advice and innovative culinary substitutions

With the holidays upon us, we are all in the kitchens cooking, baking and entertaining more this month than any time of the year. With all this kitchen traffic, the opportunities for more creative recipes arise; unfortunately, so do the opportunities for kitchen disasters. I, for one, am the master of forgetting one ingredient, leaving my poor husband with the job of making a mad dash to the store while I sit in a pile of ingredients, wondering how I missed something that I took the time to write on my shopping list.

Thankfully, there is a Belgian website called Food Pairing. Rather than supplying its reader with recipes or lists of pairings, Food Pairing is an interactive site where readers explore new food combinations. Their application “What Fits Well With…” allows the reader to choose an ingredient, and then it supplies them with a chart of foods and beverages which are excellent accompaniments. Their recommendations will make any home chef want to jump in the kitchen to try their interesting—albeit strange—pairing suggestions.

Take everyone’s favorite ingredient: chocolate. Food Pairings will provide you with a list of fruits (apricot, strawberry and guava), meats (foie de canard baked, grilled beef and chicken) and dairy (butter, blue cheese and cheddar) which are surprising accompaniments to chocolate, allowing the amateur chef some guidelines on which to create new, inventive recipes. Chocolate with cheddar? Hey, I’ve tried odder combinations in the past. And now I’m curious…

For the chef that begins cooking and realizes that they are missing an ingredient, Food Pairing offers a second application called “What Can Replace…” which offers creative flavor combinations that will mimic a missing ingredient in a dish. Ran out of basil? According to Food Pairing, combining rosemary, peppermint and sage will give the same flavor as your missing herb. I haven’t tried it yet… but I am tempted to buy those three herbs just to see if they indeed put forth a basil character when they are combined.

The website was created with the help of universities, private companies, and the research of the Food Pairings staff. They continue to add to their database, but their current base of information is quite extensive. I encourage any food lover, amateur chef, or home chef in distress to check it out.