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Monday, October 27, 2003
Another reason to toss out the parsley flakes
Posted
9:04 AM by Mike
Conventional gourmet opinion holds that someone who is serious about their cooking should not use dried parsley flakes. This particular item, the experts say, offers as much to the taste of a dish as would, say, confetti.
Certainly this opinion holds to the FoodDork ethos; that is, meals with ingredients that are as fresh and as from-scratch as possible.
Unfortunately, long before the FoodDork ethos was even envisioned, I had purchased one of those massive, industrial-size, could-never-possibly-use-it-all-in-a-lifetime tubs of dried parsley flakes from the warehouse store. I'm too embarrassed to reveal what other giant tubs of stuff I have in my spice cabinet.
I know I should just throw the stuff away, particularly if I'm to be serious about my culinary mission. But I'm hampered by my inherent frugality and guilt over excessive waste. The little voice inside me keeps saying, "Just go ahead and finish the tub, then you don't have to buy anymore; you can buy fresh."
But this is a LOT of parsley flakes we're talking about. Even though I have a number of dishes on which I tend to overuse the parsley anyway, and I stand there and shake and shake the tub, with dried parsley flying everywhere like a sad, green fallout from a colorful nuclear disaster, it barely even makes a dent in the contents. In fact, sometimes it seems I have more than when I started!
(Side note from the FoodDork Science Dept.: This particular paradox occurs because the shaking motion of dispensing the parsley "fluffs up" the flakes, so, at rest, the contents appear to be greater than before said shaking occurred. Of course, the flakes will eventually settle in the container, for the eerie process to happen all over again.)
So, it appeared that I was to be stuck with and haunted by this big, clear-plastic green monster in my cabinet forever.
Something has happened twice in the past few weeks, however, that has convinced me to chuck the tub once and for all. On two occasions, having allowed my mind to wander while cooking the evening meal, I've reached up to take down the Mighty Tub of Parsley and grabbed instead the container of oregano. What's particularly odd here is that the container of oregano, while big and in clear plastic, doesn't even begin to approach the size of my parsley tub. (And don't even start on me about using dried oregano; I've heard it.) But it's green and it's flaky and when you're not paying attention ... well, this could happen: I shake and I shake until tons of the flaky green goodness are in my bowl or pot. Then I realize two things: One, it's coming out a lot faster than usual, and two, it doesn't smell the same.
I cannot repeat here the exclamation I make when I realize my error. Quickly I grab my spoons and my strainers and attempt to extricate the unwanted herb from the dish, in which said herb has no business being. (Of course, in something like my family-favorite butter-and-parsley potatoes, a little oregano is not going to hurt. But you have to make sure it's just a LITTLE oregano.)
Usually it's possible to scrape and strain big clumps of the offending ingredient, but it's impossible to get all of it out. Thus, I'm left to serve the dish, without revealing my error (and hoping no one heard my initial outburst), and hope that no one notices the slight change in flavor for the evening.
Perhaps these incidents are a sign that it's time to once and for all toss out the Mighty Tub. Perhaps they were my own subconscious admissions of defeat and attempts to form a justification for the dismissal of the flakes. Perhaps I should just pay more attention to what I'm doing in the kitchen.
Whatever the case, already I've gotten into the habit of purchasing a small bundle of fresh parsley here and there when I go shopping. Besides, using fresh parsley gives me the opportunity to practice my knife skills (after all, it's not going to make itself into flakes).
Rather than toss the Mighty Tub, I think I'll donate it to the local model railroading club. They can use the flakes in their landscapes, for grass or moss or something. Waste not, want not.
Saturday, October 18, 2003
For a FoodDork, this is an accomplishment
Posted
10:54 AM by Mike
I'm thrilled to announce that some of my recipes will be included in an upcoming column by one of our local newspaper food columnists, Margaret Warr. She writes a weekly piece for the Pensacola, Fla., News Journal, the newspaper for which I work.
Margaret heard about my successful Thanksgiving spread last year and asked for some of my recipes. I had to admit, however, that only one of the recipes, for Sweet Potato Cups, was my own creation. The others were either straight out of cookbooks or modifications of existing recipes.
For instance, she was most intrigued by the brine recipe that I used on the turkey. This, I told her, was straight out of Alton Brown's book, "I'm Just Here For the Food." She said that was no problem; she'll just credit the book as well.
Also, I'm sending her my recipe for what I'm now calling Stuffed Potato Fingers, which is merely a variation on twice-baked potatoes. Because I was preparing an all-finger-food spread, I wanted a way for folks to have their mashed potatoes without using a fork. So I presented the mashed-and-seasoned potato stuffing atop fingers of potato skins, on which I had left a thick layer of potato.
Her column with my recipes is scheduled to run sometime in November.
Good news for Food TV junkies (well, for me at least)
Posted
10:40 AM by Mike
Was on vacation this past week, basically just vegging out at home while my wife and daughter were on a road trip (my son remained behind for junior college classes), and while indulging my couch potato proclivities was thrilled to discover that Food Network had adjusted its evening schedule to include weeknight showings of "Unwrapped" and "Good Eats."
Those are two of my favorite Food TV shows, and I'm both proud and embarrassed to say that I've sat through marathons of both shows.
"Unwrapped" is just a whole lot of fascinating fun, exploring the history and how behind many of our favorite foods, snacks, treats and customs. "Good Eats" is simply one of the best food instruction shows ever. As I've said before, I would never go so far as to call Alton Brown a Food Dork, but he's a hero to Food Dorks everywhere, and is probably the host at the Food Network most responsible for the waves of food hobbyists storming the kitchen aisles of Bed, Bath & Beyonds, Linens & Things and other food gadget stores.
It's great to be able to sit down to a nightly dose of both shows.
"Unwrapped" airs nightly at 11 p.m. Eastern, 10 Central, followed by "Good Eats" at 11:30 Eastern, 10:30 Central.
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
Brain Cravings
Posted
10:50 PM by Rick
I recently added Cable TV to my life and am enjoying the Food Network. The only complaint I have is that on occasion they hook up one certain food to be featured on several programs in a row, leading to brain cravings. After four hours of hamburgers, I had to have one. Four hours of pizza? Irresistible: went out at 10:00 PM to get one. (To stay true to my FoodDork roots, we made pizza the next day.) I'm afraid that if I don't develop some self-control, I'm going to watch a special on coconuts, sell everything I have, and move to Hawaii.
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