For when words fail you (holiday food policing).

Check out this article about the second Julia Child centenary event we helped put on! I am so happy to have this little glimpse of such a wonderful day cast in the stone that is electronic media.

Finally, a timely post!

Monday, November 12, 2012

This morning’s demo was Mexican food with Chef Leo Romero of Boston’s Casa Romero, the oldest Mexican restaurant in New England. He made two different salsas, both cooked. One, salsa Veracruzana, was a tomato-based sauce with the Mediterranean addition of capers, olives, mushrooms, and white wine. He paired this sauce with tilapia fillets sautéed in a 50/50 blend of canola oil and olive oil. I was shocked to find that I liked the tilapia. I’ve never been a fan and I see it as a gimmick fad designed to serve poorer-quality fish to the unknowing diners of America. What do I know? I’m a conspiracy theorist.

The second sauce was a tomatillo and poblano pepper base with a heap of chopped cilantro added at the end. It was my favorite. I love tomatillos and was a little surprised that the chef managed to make canned tomatillos taste good. Chef paired the slightly sour sauce with sautéed shrimp, which I think was an excellent combination as it functioned much like an acidic lemon would.

 Random factoids from his demo:

·         Avocadoes should only be tested for ripeness by pressing gently on the narrow end because the wider end is mostly made up of the pit, not the fruit itself.

·         Traditional salsa casera (translating loosely to “housewife salsa”) is made by grating the tomatoes, not chopping them. When they are chopped they are called pico de gallo.

·         In 2005, the United Nations attempted to pass a bill declaring Mexican cuisine a Heritage of Mankind. The bill was reintroduced in 2011 and passed, but only with the stipulation that French cuisine also be officially declared a Heritage of Mankind. The UN had not wanted to include French cuisine because it was deemed too unhealthy (all that wicked butter and cream!). Mexican cuisine, on the other hand, was considered healthy. Who thought that a concept such as the Heritage of Mankind bill (which was originally designed to address humanity’s equal access to the universe) would end up crumbling under the pressure of popular conceptions of “good” versus “bad” foods? Check out the Wikipedia article on Common Heritage; it's fascinating stuff. IMO, you can't go wrong with theoretical concepts that can encompass both my nerdy science-y side AND my food culture-loving side.

·         Most ancient Mexican dishes are cooked over a barbecue or boiled in liquid because no one ever developed the process of turning corn into corn oil (which would have aided in sautéing).

·         Chef considers Mexican food a cuisine without strict measurements. He said he never measures anything except for his water to rice ratio!

·         Chef said to always use unpolished rice because of the nutrients lost in finishing the product. He cited the U.S.’s rice donations to the Chinese after WWII; even with the rice, people were still malnourished because there were no nutrients left in the rice. I feel like this is a parable for the way the U.S. interacts with the rest of the world. *descends down social justice wormhole*

·         Tomatillos and ground cherries grow very well in New England because of their hardiness.

·         Epazote is traditionally added to Mexican bean dishes. Epazote is also an anti-flatulent. Coincidence?

In the afternoon we created a cornucopia of a meal with Chef Jeff Fournier of 51 Lincoln and his new, 9-day-old restaurant, whose name escapes me at the moment. We made a full meal consisting of: mushroom risotto, flatiron steak with Columbian rice and pepper jelly, deep-fried eggplant “chicharrones”, and pumpkin flan. The first course was absolutely the most intensely delicious risotto I have ever tasted. The components that I believe made it so incredible: pureed braised portabellas mixed in with the rice, white wine, copious amounts of Parmesan, and a topping of musty-sweet sautéed mushrooms. Amazing! The Columbian rice was jasmine rice steamed with whole star anise, cinnamon sticks, annatto seeds, and pepper. The result was more of a scented rice. It was subtle in the best of ways (and not just because I hate anise). It was fabulous with a little of the sweet, sour, and very spicy pepper jelly mixed in. Two classmates and I made the eggplant into a mock-chicharrones dish by cutting it in thick strips and scoring the flesh (like you would do with a very fatty piece of duck or pork belly). We then tossed the eggplant with oil and a spice blend containing ground annatto seed, cumin, turmeric, and other mysterious seasonings (chef’s creation). The eggplant baked until smooshy and then we deep fried them until they were well-browned and crispy around the cut parts. Both the eggplant and the mushroom risotto dishes deserve to be added the small but tasty menu of meaty vegetarian meals. I love my vegetarian and vegan friends! Finally, we finished the day with gently sweet pumpkin flan in individual cups. Some of the caramel behaved and stayed liquid, but a thick candy crust formed on the bottom of each cup. I thoroughly enjoyed crunching through the translucent brown sugar crust. It tasted burnt like toasted marshmallows. I find that most anything burnt tastes palatable if you equate the taste to that of toasted marshmallows or slightly burnt popcorn. (For example, burnt Marcona almonds taste JUST like popcorn. I won’t tell you which chef led to that discovery!)

Edited to add: I completely forgot about the wildcard menu item. Let's call it a round two of Guess That Food. Can you tell what this is? The cut marks may provide a hint.

How about if you see it cooked and sliced?

That would be watermelon braised in sherry cream, butter, and salt. The texture was transformed into an almost gelatinous creature, but with the watery sweetness of the melon. I can't decide how I feel about this. Is it space-aged vegan seared tuna or is it the nastiest thing I tasted today?