Archives for December 2008
This Week in Bacon
It has been a good year for bacon. Yumsugar has voted our favorite breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack as the trendiest ingredient of the year (even above the readers’ pick, pomegranate). Read about it here. Happy New Year and here’s to the next twelve months of glorious bacon consumption!!
The Fruit(cake)s of Our Labors
Mr. Melton, I disapprove of what you bake, but I will defend to the death your right to bake (and sell) it.*
Shasta County health officials are cracking down on an 86-year-old disabled World War II veteran who has been selling homemade fruitcakes for more than a decade.
The Department of Environmental Health cites an obscure law banning food businesses in private homes.
Jack Melton of Redding gave away many of his pecan-filled fruitcakes. But health officials saw a small handmade window sign offering some for sale.
Health specialist Fern Hastings says Melton must use a commercial bakery that has passed a health inspection even if he gives his cakes to the public.
Melton says the 10- to 14-dozen fruitcakes he sold each year helped supplement his Social Security benefits.
* Fun fact: The orginial formulation of the phrase was not really Voltaire’s, but a snappier paraphrase of his thoughts by his biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall.
Christmas Brunch
Most people rave about Christmas dinner, spending all morning and all afternoon preparing a delicious turkey, duck, ham, etc. Snacking throughout the day, tasting your various dishes at their different stages of preparation can be rewarding and delicious, but why don’t you treat yourself (and perhaps even your dozens of relatives) to a delicious brunch or breakfast?? As the most important meal of the day, it’ll provide you with the energy you need to last the basting, baking, stuffing, and kneading. NY Times has provided a list of possible Christmas breakfast/brunch recipes.
Here’s my favorite (that didn’t make the cut), provided by Paula Deen (yes, beware — it is not for the faint of heart). It’s a Baked French Toast Casserole. I’ve made it for the past few holiday brunches and it is DELICIOUS — you should start it the night before, but if you wake up early enough, you can prepare and stick it in the refrigerator for a noonish/early afternoon brunch. Or it could even be a special way to start your post-Christmas morning. Happy Holidays and Happy Eating!!
Give the Gift of Deliciosity
Williams-Sonoma. Overpriced elite goods? Absolutely. But one item I believe worth the money is their Peppermint Hot Chocolate (bundled online with their regular Hot Chockie; you can buy them separately in stores). It’s not cocoa — it’s flaked chocolate you mix into warm milk. And, unlike most everything else at W-S, it’s priced reasonably enough that you can buy one set as a gift and another for yourself. Also recommended: Peppermint Bark.
More Hot Chocolate here.
I wish you a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, a reflective Kwanzaa, something good on TV for the atheists, and, for our Wiccan readers, a sacrificial goat that doesn’t struggle much. Happy holidays!
NYT Lets You Take a Spin (Literally) in the Peter Luger Meat Locker
What’s it feel like to stand in the middle of several tons of aging meat bliss? Click on the steaks to take a spin. Related NYT article here. Peter Luger’s story here.
An Oregon smoking ban prediction
I’m supposed to be in Houston right now. Yesterday my bags were packed and, despite being skeptical that my plane home would depart on time, I trudged my luggage through the freshly fallen snow to the train that would take me to the airport. The train wasn’t running. I checked my phone and now neither was my flight. Thirty minutes on hold with Southwest booked me a new ticket on the 24th and three more days in a paralyzed city.
This is all mildly inconvenient for me, but it’s hell for people in the service industry. December is a vital month for them. Because of the record snowfall — the highest for a Portland December since 1968 — my bartender friends are being told not to come into work. Many places aren’t opening at all. Companies are canceling their Christmas party reservations, taking with them all the revenue they’d promised. Combine this with the national recession and 2008 is turning out to be a glum year for area bars and restaurants.
What does this have to do with smoking bans? Oregon’s goes into effect on January 1. By January 2010, the economic uncertainty we’re facing now will hopefully have subsided. And unless it’s another freak year for weather, December will bring its usual boost to Oregon restaurants. If that happens, smoking ban proponents will be able to cite statistics showing that bar and restaurant business went up after the smoking ban, “proving” that they were right and we who oppose the ban had nothing to worry about.
A similar dynamic played out in New York City in March, 2004, a year after the beginning of its smoking ban. The city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued a report showing that the bar and restaurant business had grown in the year following the ban. Critics countered that the study misleadingly conflated bars and restaurants and neglected to account for the economic recovery following the 9/11 attacks.
Who’s right? I don’t know and I don’t care. As I’ve said before, this is a stupid argument. The financial objections to smoking bans aren’t based on how they affect net hospitality industry revenues, but on how they impact individual smoking-oriented businesses. Generalized statistics obscure the impact on bars that can’t get an exemption, lose customers, and justifiably feel like their rights are being trampled upon. It’s cold comfort to tell them to suck it up because, well, at least their competitors are making money.
If 2009 is a decent year for Oregon’s bars and restaurants, I predict that this is the kind of claim we’re going to hear from local ban supporters. I’d like to go on the record now to point out that such crude analysis should be seen for the irrelevant BS it truly is.
Deer Prudence
With the solstice upon us, so too comes that modern newspaper staple, the tale of hunters-donating-to-soup-kitchens:
As its name suggest, the Oxford-based charity [Hunt to Feed] donates venison to the hungry by way of the Connecticut Food Bank, according to its president, Joe Tucker, also of Oxford.
“Each deer produces 40 to 50 pounds of deer meat,” he said. The first year we donated 700 pounds of venison. Last year it was 1,250 pounds. And this year, we’re on track to go over a ton.”
While I have nothing but respect for someone who slays so that others may sup, these kinds of stories tend toward the formulaic, right down to the obligatory snarl from an anti-hunting spokesperson:
“I think that this gesture is meant to build the image of the weapons enthusiasts,” said Priscilla Feral, president of the Darien-based Friends of Animals. “I see it differently. They’re not hunting to feed families. They’re out for trophies. The problem of hungry people is solved with jobs, not deer flesh.”
It helps the joke if you understand that Oxford, HQ for the hunters’ group, is a middle-class town in CT’s blue-collar Naugatuck River Valley, while Ms. Feral’s Darien is the second richest town in America. Regardless, these antipodal sentiments bring to mind another story from Tuesday, in which we learn that wild boars have pierced Berlin’s borders more expertly than the Red Army:
The hairy beast was one of thousands of wild boars that have discovered the charms of urban living in Germany’s leafy capital city. When the creature trotted out of rush-hour traffic one morning last month to root around the flower store, Ms. Klose’s first thought was: “That is one ugly dog.”
After a second glance, Ms. Klose phoned the police for safety — and a local tabloid for publicity. The police called in Matthias Eggert, one of a crack band of hunters with license to kill hogs in urban areas. But Mr. Eggert’s plan to dispatch the boar appalled Ms. Klose. The hunter says the tabloid reporter brandished a camera and warned him he’d have the whole of Berlin on his case if he pulled the trigger. Mr. Eggert sensed a PR debacle, so he phoned around until he found an animal sanctuary 40 miles from Berlin that granted the boar asylum and named the swine “Amanda.”
The story goes on to illustrate the sympathy the donuts citizens feel for the boars, with Mr. Eggert alone expressing that Hunnish vigor we’ve come to know and love:
“We should just gather hunters at the these feeding sites, make the civilians stand aside, and feed the swine with lead.”
What’s interesting about this story is the complete absence of the obvious final solution for bacon on the hoof. Did the writer not think to ask about what was done with the dead boars? Are Berlin’s food kitchens well stocked without them or are there proscriptions against donating the meat? I would imagine the strongest case for boar butchery would be made by appealing to the need of Berlin’s less fortunate — but it’s never addressed.
Beatles’s “Dear Prudence” here. Siouxsie cover here.
Cripsy Potluck and the Last Word
When I worked at Open City in Washington, DC, our bar was surprisingly well stocked with European liqueurs. That doesn’t mean we knew what to do with them, it just means we had them. For the most part they sat on the shelf gathering dust.
I made it my mission as a bartender to find uses for some of these obscure liqueurs. My favorite became Chartreuse. The Garden Party from Imbibe — basically a Mojito with Chartreuse in place of rum — served as my introduction to the liqueur and on one particularly memorable night my friends and I finished off the bottle that the restaurant had purchased for its opening nearly two years before. I’ve been in love with the stuff ever since.
It turns out co-blogger Katherine recently discovered Chartreuse as well, so when I brought a bottle to the Crispy Potluck I knew exactly what to make for her. And since I’m the last one here to post a recipe from the party, here’s the Last Word cocktail:
.75 oz gin
.75 oz green Chartreuse
.75 oz maraschino liqueur
.75 oz fresh lime juice
It’s a weird recipe. Chartreuse is intensely aromatic and flavorful, reportedly made with 130 different herbs, and can easily overpower other ingredients in a drink. Maraschino, a fruity, nutty liqueur made from whole Marasca cherries, can also dominate. Combining these in equal parts with lime and gin somehow evens them out, creating a beguiling, complex, delicious cocktail.
Paul Clarke notes that this libation may have been created during Prohibition at the Detroit Athletic Club, making this one of the few bright spots in a dark era for mixology. Why the Detroit Athletic Club happened to have Chartreuse and maraschino on hand we may never know, but I’m very glad they did.
This Week in Bacon
Still don’t know what to get your family for the holidays?? Don’t show up to your family reunion empty-handed. Gigglesugar has created the perfect bacon-inspired gift guide that offers something for everyone in your bacon-loving family. Get your grandma a bacon scarf (it just looks like bacon, it’s not actually bacon) to pay her back for all the oversized reindeer sweatshirts you have received over the past few years. Or treat your little brother to his very own bacon-scented tuxedo for his high school prom. Even more practical: start to train your little nieces and nephews to become bacon fanatics like yourself with bacon band-aids to cover the cuts and scrapes they’re bound to get from jumping all over you and hanging from your arms and legs.
Enjoy the holidays and spread some bacon cheer!
Thanks to reader Dana for the tip.
The King of Pancetta
On my last trip to New Jersey, the US Mecca of Italian deli, I found the King of Pancetta. It is made and sold by Mossuto’s Market in Wall, NJ on the Jersey Shore. The Italian community that used to live in Northern Jersey cities, such as my hometown of Jersey City, has mostly relocated to the Shore as the northern cities devolved into crime and chaos.
Pancetta is cured, but not smoked, pork that is rolled, typically with peppercorns, and then sliced. In DC, the anti-Christ of deli, pancetta is something you buy at the Safeway that resembles sliced ham and put on a sandwich. In Italian New Jersey, and in traditional Italian custom, pancetta is used as lard is– it is rendered in the pan and then used as a fat to brown meat or saute greens such as escarole. The added plus of pancetta over lard, olive oil or butter is that pancetta gives you little bits of meat that get crunchy like bacon and can be used for other purposes or just stay in the pan for extra flavor.
The great thing about Mossuto’s pancetta is that it is mostly fat so renders beautifully and the fat gets much hotter than olive oil so it can brown the hell out of meats, with tons of flavor to boot. If you are looking for a sandwich meat, skip it. If you are looking for a tasty fat to jazz up your soups, stews and ragus, this is the bomb.
For Chowhound’s review of Mossuto’s, go here.
BK Lets You Smell Like Seared Meat for Just $3
Who but the odd vegan doesn’t love the smell of a flame-broiled burger? Lots of hands. I see lots of hands up.
Now who doesn’t want to smell like a flame-broiled burger?
Just in time for the festive season, [Burger King] has released its very own men’s body spray, Flame.
Not recommended for vegetarians, Flame is being promoted as “the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broilled meat”.
While the smell itself might not inspire confidence, the price will.
Flame is on sale for the credit crunch-busting sum of just $3.99 (£2.65), suggesting the Burger King promotions department has realised their contribution to the fragrance market might work best as a novelty stocking-filler.
Fewer hands.
More here. Buy online at the Barry White-ified firemeatsdesire.com firemeetsdesire.com.
Thanks to Emory Law 2L, fellow IJ conference attendee, and Old Style scriptwriter Brian Ewart for the tip.
My response, BTW, to the link Ewart sent: “I and thousands of others like me are finally vindicated after having been criticized for so many years for using meat patties as cologne.”
Crispy Podcast Episode 8
In this episode of our delicious podcast, we talk about not eating. Specifically, we talk to Sam MacDonald, author of the new book, The Urban Hermit: A Memoir, in which he explains how he lost 160 pounds in about a year eating only 800 calories a day. The interesting thing is that Sam never meant to lose weight. He had gotten himself in a financial mess, owed a lot of money, and so he massively cut back on food and beer. Weight loss was an unintended side-benefit of his crazy scheme.
Also on the show is Ray Lehmann, a journalist who does intend to lose weight, but instead might find himself in a financial mess himself. He recently made a $60,000 bet to lose 60 pounds in 9 months. Talk about motivation: If he doesn’t make it, he’ll find himself in the poorhouse. You can track Ray’s progress on his blog or on YouTube.
We hope you enjoy this episode and that you’ll tell us what you think. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to the show for free. You can grab the RSS feed or click here to subscribe in iTunes. That way you’ll get it every “week.”
Sweet Beans (Are Made of This)
I make it a point not to tell anyone my dreams, a decision underscored by the time my psychiatrist turned over his notes to the district attorney (Don’t worry, Doc — all is forgiven. BTW, the ankle bracelet comes off Tuesday. C U soon). But last night’s feature presentation showcased an odd product placement: General Foods International Coffee.
I’m not even sure of the context within my phantasm; I just remember looking over at a countertop and seeing the distinctive red-white-and-blue striped tin of Cafe Francais. What can this mean? What does it symbolize? Latent homosexual tendencies, repressed Francophilia, or — worst of all — unbridled desire for a cup of powdered milk and Nescafé?
General Foods International Coffees, for those too young or too stoned to remember the ’80s, are composed of the finest corn sugars and emulsifiers, and I’ve sampled them in the past. GFIC isn’t coffee — it’s a hot beverage, analogous to joe only in the same sense as Swiss Miss is to real hot chocolate. Its saccharine warmth is best enjoyed at the bottom of a double-diamond, as reward for shoveling the driveway, or after rooting around the kitchen and discovering there’s nothing else with any goddamn caffeine in the whole goddamn house. This morning, during some early Googling/self-therapy, I was surprised to learn GFIC still exists, though the tins have undergone redesign.
About ten or twelve years ago, I was nightly haunted in my sleep by the specter of Boo Berry, a visitation only finally exorcised when I discovered the cereal at a grocery I seldom frequented. Several boxes and green-stained toilet bowls later, I was able to direct the little Caspar into the light. What is it with me?
No Lye: China Bans Lutefisk
Just in time for lutefisk season, China has banned lye from all foodstuffs. It’s a sad day for… well, it’s a sad day for someone (presumably Scandinavian)!
Substances commonly used as industrial dyes, insecticides and drain cleaners were included on a list of illegal food additives China released Monday as part of a monthslong government crackdown aimed at improving the country’s shoddy food safety record.
Among the 17 banned substances was boric acid, commonly used as an insecticide, which is mixed with noodles and meatballs to increase elasticity, a statement posted on the Ministry of Health Web site said. Also forbidden was industrial formaldehyde and lye, used in making soap and drain cleaner and added to water used to soak some types of dried seafood to make the products appear fresher and bigger.
If you (like me) have never tried lutefisk, you’ll probably want to watch this video, in which a dimpled, bacon-obsessed Kermit the Frog shows viewers how to eat the fish dish. Listen Kermie: If you can’t say nuttin’ gute ’bout LUTEFISK, den don’t say nuttin’.
How to prep your lutefisk here. Flashback to when lutefisk cost $1.99 too much here. More on lye in general at the unimpeachable Wikipedia.
Picture via CureOlives.com, who uses the stuff to (drum roll) cure olives.
Big Apple Tax Bite
Growing up, there was a policy in the Mangu-Ward household known as the “tax bite.” When mom or dad—mostly dad—helped a kid open a package or bottle, they’d take a cut. A single potato chip, a sip of Coke, a bite of ice cream—each vanished as part of the brutal “tax bite” regime. This is probably why I became a libertarian.
This week, New York is discussing instituting its own tax bite:
Gov. Paterson, as part of a $121 billion budget to be unveiled Tuesday, will propose an “obesity tax” of about 15% on nondiet drinks.
This means a Diet Coke might sell for a $1 – even as the same size bottle of its calorie-rich alter ego would go for $1.15.
People. How many time must we go over this? Soda doesn’t make you fat. Calories make you fat. Yes, soda contains calories. But so do all other foods. The fine folks at Coca-Cola are powerful indeed, but they are not single-handedly making Americans chunky, and it’s absurd to pretend that they’re somehow more culpable than the makers of all-natural peanut butter, or high-end truffles. Or, you know, hot dogs.
Crossposted at reason.com
