ReMARKable Palate #248: Talking Cheese with Max McCalman

This week, I speak with cheese expert Max McCalman the Annual Fancy Food Show, where he was leading a seminar on Spanish cheeses, particularly the ubiquitous and sublime masterpiece that is Manchego cheese. We speak about Spain, the emergance of Partuguese cheeses, and the proliferation of artisanal cheeses made here in the United States. We also get into some food science and the politics of cheese in America.

ArtisanalCheese.com

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Gilded Fork. www.gildedfork.com

ReMARKable Palate #247: Catching Up At the Fancy Food Show

This week, I head to the Annual Fancy Food Show, where thousands of food producers show their wares to buyers, chefs, journalists, and gourmands who can’t get enough. Next week, I”ll have a couple of interviews with NEW discoveries from the show, but this week, I catch up with people I’ve interviewed in the past, and see what’s new and how they’ve grown their business since the last time we spoke.

www.chocolatekekua.com
www.collierscheese.com
www.tamayagourmet.com

Here’s the video from last year’s show where I interviewed Isela Hernandez of Kekua: Chef Mark’s Quick Bites

ReMARKable Palate #152: A Powerful Taste of Wales

Buy Carica online: Tamaya Gourmet

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

How to Cook Meals in Advance

This is a video that was recently produced for About.com’s Frugal Living Website. A few months back, a producer from about.com approached me about shooting a video about what it’s like to be a Personal Chef, and while we were shooting, she asked me to share some tips for home cooks about preparing food in advance and artful use of the freezer to keep the house stocked with homemade food. This video is the result.

You can see the full video and post at About.com

ReMARKable Palate #246: The Allure of Irish Whiskey

This week, it’s back to the Park Hotel in Kenmare Ireland, where Jennifer and I had a chat with John Moriarty, the barman, about Whiskey, both Irish and Scotch. I joined John for a hike along the Kerry Way earlier that day, so I was ready for some refreshment in the form of Whiskey! John knows quite a bit about the malted spirits, and taught us a thing or two!

www.parkkenmare.com

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Travel and accommodation provided by Tourism Ireland. www.discoverireland.com

ReMARKable Palate #245: The Mystique of Mastic

This week, I catch up with my old friend Aliza Green, author of many cookbooks and culinary reference books such as the Field Guides to Meat, Seafood, Herbs & Spices, Starting with Ingredients, and many more. Today she’s here to talk about mastic, an unusual ingredient to North Americans, but with a storied history and exotic allure, which finds its way into special dishes in many Mediterranean cultures.

Fragrant Fields and Turkish Delights: Exploring Aegean and Ottoman Cuisines, October 1 to 16th, departing and returning from Athens. www.epicopia.com

Mastica Shop
145 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002
Tel: 212-253-0895

Mastic-based eco-tourism on Chios: www.masticulture.com

www.AlizaGreen.com

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Chef Mark continues his tour of La Boqueria Market with Barcelona expert George Semler, who wrote the Fodor’s guide to Barcelona. Here, George shows Chef Mark the fishmonger Pilarin, and they talk all things jamon!

A production of the Culinary Media Network.
www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Travel & accommodations provided by INCAVI. Blogger trip organized and administered by www.catavino.net.

Quick Bites: Chef Lee Anne Wong Tofu Cooking Demo

Chef Lee Anne Wong of Top Chef fame demonstrates the many uses of tofu in a demo for House Foods International Tofu at the French Culinary Institute in New York City. Here she shows how to make a Tofu Panna Cotta with Blood Orange and Pistachios. (See below for recipe)

A production of the Culinary Media Network.
www.culinarymedianetwork.com

House Tofu Panna Cotta with Blood Orange and Pistachios

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 block House Foods soft tofu
1/2 cup honey
1 Tablespoon powdered gelatin
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 cup soy milk, room temperature
Pinch of salt
Zest of 1/2 blood orange, peeled into 1-inch wide strips
2 blood oranges
1 recipe blood orange syrup (recipe follows)
1 recipe candied pistachios (recipe follows)
Fresh mint and tarragon, fine chiffonade

Directions

Stir the powdered gelatin and sugar together. Place the soy milk in a small bowl and whisk in the sugar and gelatin, adding in a thin stream. Allow the gelatin to bloom for 5 minutes.

In a blender, combine the soft tofu, honey and a pinch of salt. Blend on high until smooth. Add in the gelatin soy milk mixture and blend again until homogeneous.

Transfer the tofu mixture to a saucepan. Bring the tofu to a simmer while stirring constantly, but not t o a boil, just until the mixture begins to bubble. Whisk once more and remove from the heat. Pour the tofu into 4 ounce ramekins lightly coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until set.

While the panna cotta is chilling, bring a small pot of water to a boil and blanch the strips of blood orange zest for 15 seconds, then strain. Repeat this process twice more, boiling a fresh pot of water each time. Run the zests under cold water, and pat dry with a paper towel. Julienne the strips finely crosswise into 1/2-inch long strands. Set aside and add to the gastrique.

Cut off the tops and bottoms of the blood oranges to expose the pulp and then stand it on one end. Cut away the peel with your knife, following the curve of the fruit. Working over a bowl, gently cut the filets of orange out, slicing between the pith/membranes, being sure to remove the seeds. Squeeze any excess juice from the core into a separate bowl, using the extra juice towards the blood orange gastrique.

Make the gastrique and pistachios according to recipes below. To serve, gently run a knife along the inside edge of the ramekin and invert the ramekin onto a plate. Spoon a few tablespoons of syrup onto each panna cotta and top with several orange filets, candied pistachios, and julienned herbs for garnish.

Blood Orange Gastrique

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar
1/4 piece vanilla pod, seeds scraped

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir well and bring to a boil. Cook the syrup over medium-high heat unti it has reduced by 70% and has a syrupy consistency. Remove from the pan and stir in the blanched zest. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.

Candied Pistachios

Ingredients

1 cup shelled raw pistachio nuts
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon water
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup Demerara sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350° F. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, water, salt, and granulated sugar until smooth. Toss the pistachios and Demerara sugar in the honey mixture, stirring to coat.

Spread the nut mixture onto a parchment lined sheet tray in a single layer and bake until the nuts are golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Allow the nuts to cool to room temperature and then break into small pieces. Store in an airtight container until needed.

ReMARKable Palate #244: An Irish Culinary Celebration

Jennifer and I chat with 3 Irish chefs who were guest chefs at the Park Hotel Kenmare for a special weekend celebrating the special products of the Emerald Isle. Chef Ross Lewis of Chapter One, Chef Derry Clark of l’Ecrivain, both in Dublin, and Chef Mickael Viljanen of Gregan’s Castle in County Clare sat with us over a glass of Irish Whiskey and discussed their love of Irish food.

www.parkkenmare.com
Euro-Toques Ireland

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

“Limerick’s Lament” (Irish Traditional), by Karin Leitner & Cormac De Barra, from “Music of the Great Irish Houses”. www.karinleitner.com

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com
.

Travel and accommodation provided by Tourism Ireland. www.tourismirelandinfo.com

ReMARKable Palate #243: A Smörgåsbord of Chefs

This week, it’s a Smorgasbord of chefs, as I speak with Chef Jordi Artal of Cinc Sentits Restaurant in Barcelona about this Catalan food, then Chef Lee Anne Wong of Top Chef fame after a tofu cooking demo she did at the French Culinary Institute. It wouldn’t be a smörgåsbord without a Swedish chef! I also speak with Chef Daniel Couet from F12 Restaurant in Stockholm, who shared some of his dishes with us at Scandinavia House in NYC.

Theme Song: “Go Fish”, by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network.

ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

CMN Travels Peru: Chef Dan Barber at Mistura Fair

We were privileged to attend the Mistura Gastronomic Festival in Lima Peru last September, where Chef Dan Barber from Blue Hill Farm and Stone Barns Restaurant in NY was a guest speaker. Chef Barber was there to talk about his farm to table concept, which is not so unusual in Peru as it is here in the States. After Chef Barber’s talk, he spoke with Chef Mark about how we can learn from Peru and balance the scales in favor of more farm fresh food here at home.

www.bluehillfarm.com
www.mistura.pe

A production of the Culinary Media Network.
www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Travel and Accommodation provided by PromPeru.