Chow & Again tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2008-06-12:/chowandagain/9 2009-11-20T19:53:24Z Andrew Zimmern's Food & Dining Blog Movable Type Pro 4.2-en Last Minute tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2009:/chowandagain//9.4233 November 20, 2009 November 20, 2009 Join the good people at Corner Table for the 5th Annual Jazz88 Restaurant Tour Late Night, this Saturday, November 21st. Chef Scott Pampuch will prepare... Join the good people at Corner Table for the 5th Annual Jazz88 Restaurant Tour Late Night, this Saturday, November 21st. Chef Scott Pampuch will prepare... and read all about it.

Check out Shefzilla and vote for your favorite local food media maven. It’s called the Golden Pen Award. 

You also need to check out www.woodfromthehood.com and get yourself some true Minnesotan cutting boards. These are made from trees taken down for public works projects, trees damaged in summer storms, et cetera. The boards even come with a "certificate of authenticity" with the city and zip code from which the wood came. A great holiday gift for the sustainably driven, especially if you need a host gift for Thanksgiving.
]]> Ace of Cakes tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2009:/chowandagain//9.4227 November 17, 2009 November 17, 2009 In The Washington Post a few weeks ago, Tom Sietsema rightfully raved about Mike Phillips charcuterie production at The Craftsman. Mike makes some mean cured... In The Washington Post a few weeks ago, Tom Sietsema rightfully raved about Mike Phillips charcuterie production at The Craftsman. Mike makes some mean cured... The Washington Post a few weeks ago, Tom Sietsema rightfully raved about Mike Phillips charcuterie production at The Craftsman. Mike makes some mean cured and dried meats. I have had the opportunity to watch him cure fresh pork legs and begin the process that results in his top-notch prosciutto, and let me tell you he makes all the right moves. Sietsema points to the duck liver mousse, the rabbit terrine, the dry cured ham, salame, and pancetta as big winners. But the “sense of place” he writes about when he praises Craftsman’s food is what caught my eye, especially in light of my recent trip to Iowa (more on that later). I have been wondering out loud and in print for years—what food should Minnesota 'own'?

Wisconsin’s cheese board has done an amazing job promoting and marketing its local cheeses. Iowa has done same with pork and corn. What’s Minnesota famous for? What can we ‘own’ in terms of branding? Walleye? Nope, the vast percentage of the walleye consumed in this state comes to us from Canada. Cheese? I would like to think we can, but that horse has left the barn and we can compete, but we can’t own it. Pork? We had our chance when the Berkshire craze took off 15 years ago, and we can do well to stay in that game, but like cheese, pork is a brand we would have to share with others. It would be a long, hard road, but we could own the domestic cured meat, salame, and charcuterie end of the game. The best stuff in the country comes from established local micro-regional producers like Armandino Batali, or small farm-to-table processors like Iowa’s La Quercia (easily the best domestic prosciutto available, not even close). With the right bankroll behind them, folks like Mike Phillips could catch up fast. The road to brand ownership would be tough, but worth it. The trick is to catch the wave as it builds, before it crests.

I also think we can own the goat market outright if we cared to—and don’t laugh—if you think cooked goat is just stringy and reeking of the barnyard, think again. I have been seeing more and more of it popping up all over the country. Based on what I have seen our country's best chefs do with the new goat—the goat of 2009 that has more fat content and marbling and less barnyard flavor and roasts up beautifully—this is the next big food ingredient poised to be the ‘it’ menu darling of late 2010 and 2011. Crossing Spanish and Boer goats, adjusting feed, fattening animals up before harvesting, and aging meat have been a few of the seminal causal underpinnings of the new goat craze, but ever since the goat I ate at Brasa and the stuff that I ate last week in LA, I have been thinking about this issue nonstop. Thoughts?

I just spent a few days in Des Moines at the Iowa Premier Food & Wine event, and I am here to tell you it’s the Tale of Two Cities. Dickens immortal classic begins with the line “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” and that’s my takeaway from last weekend. First off, the best of times: Great fans who came out in large numbers all weekend long. A superb team on the ground at the Hy-Vee Center that put on a great event. Awesome copresenters, especially Duff and Mary Alice from Ace of Cakes. Duff and I each did three demos and a bunch of signings, and if you ever get the chance to see him live, do it. He’s a great showman and I was totally jealous watching him shoot cupcakes at the crowd using a hockey stick. Fun. Not fun? The hotel and restaurant scene in Des Moines which is downright depressing.

Not depressing? Opening up the mail and finding a recipe for David Chang’s Korean marinade for skirt or hanger steak….2 cups apple juice, ½ cup usukuchi (light soy), ½ yellow onion sliced, 5 garlic cloves sliced, 1 t sesame oil, 1 t ground black pepper…combine with 2 pounds of beef in a Ziploc bag, set in fridge for 24 hours, grill it, rest it, serve it with rice, kimchi, and a sauce made of 2 bunches minced scallions combined with ½ cup minced ginger, ¼ cup grapeseed oil, 2 t usukuchi, 1 t sherry vinegar, and 1 t sea salt.
]]> Where in the World? tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2009:/chowandagain//9.4219 November 11, 2009 November 11, 2009 Last week my pal Shane sent out an e-mail to his best and most well-traveled buddies. He and his family have had a crazy year... Last week my pal Shane sent out an e-mail to his best and most well-traveled buddies. He and his family have had a crazy year... Top chefs, Tucson, and Surviving the Holidays tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2009:/chowandagain//9.4216 November 9, 2009 November 9, 2009 Minnesotan Todd Macdonald is the new chef at Cru in NYC. Todd’s parents Bob and Sue are two of the most committed supporters of the... Minnesotan Todd Macdonald is the new chef at Cru in NYC. Todd’s parents Bob and Sue are two of the most committed supporters of the... Todd Macdonald is the new chef at Cru in NYC. Todd’s parents Bob and Sue are two of the most committed supporters of the local food and wine scene that I know of, and they are ardent boosters of great food and chefs around the world. Their son is a talented young man who deserves this shot in a big way. His parents have been to more Michelin-starred restaurants than anyone I know outside our industry, and their blog can be found at andrewzimmern.com.

Coon Creek Family Farm in Mondovi, Wisconsin, is the place to get turkey this holiday season. The farm offers stunning white turkey as well as heritage birds. Check 'em out. The birds I got two years ago are still the best I have ever had, and I am ordering some for Christmas this year since they freeze superbly. Plus turkey is good for you.

What’s not good for you is stuff like this, and despite the powerful call of this type of excess, it’s truly food porn of the most unattractive sort. I get the humor, and I laughed my ass off when I first saw this site. But after a week of talking to folks about it and seeing their almost rabid reactions to wanting to try food that for sure can kill you, I am starting to think some of this is dangerous. I am a civil libertarian of the highest order, but at some point (think smoking bans, warning labels for transfats, truth in labeling laws, et cetera) someone has to stop the ignorant and uneducated from hurting themselves. Why can Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cereal be advertised all morning long on Saturday when kids are watching cartoons, but Marlboro and Stoli Vodka aren’t allowed to? Seems like its all the same to me. And with both childhood obesity and adult diseases associated with poor dietary choices skyrocketing, I am convinced that our worship of foods like the ones seen on the thisiswhyyourefat.com have more than just a casual effect.

On the other hand, I was in Arizona last week and chowed on some truly great food. You need to check out El Charro in Tucson for its rooftop-dried carne seca, pico de gallo for pumpkin empanadas, tacos de cabeza, and killer flan, and Maico for the best birria (goat stew) I have eaten in years. In Phoenix, I had yet another amazing meal at Pizzeria Bianco. Chris Bianco is a superbly gifted chef and an even better human being. The marinara pie continues to be a revelation every time I eat it—tomato, dough, garlic, and oregano on angel's wings—simply evanescent. Chris also picked some figs from the tree outside his kitchen door and combined them with taleggio and prosciutto for a memorable special pizza of the day. But the experimental focaccia he’s toying with, made with Farro flour, Reggiano parmesan, and caramelized onions, had our table swooning. The wait for a table is legendary, but so worth it.

While there, Chris told me I should check out Claudio Urciuolo (formerly at Il Fornaio in LA), the new chef at Prado in the Montelucia Resort and Spa in Scottsdale. This was easy enough, since I happened to be staying there. It's a world-class resort, and the Joya Spa is incredible, but Claudio’s food is so superb it's worth building a long weekend around. You can eat each night at Prado and then spend the day in the spa. Lather-rinse-repeat. The collection of tequilas, the wine program, the sherry steward at the door, the fireplaces, the insanely comfy room, and the gorgeous detailing in the restaurant is one thing, but the food sets this place apart. We started with antipasti of wood grilled head-on prawns and house-made sausages, creamy and intense burrata with crispy escarole and dried tomato jam, sea scallops over braised controne beans, prosciutto, salames, cheeses, olives, bay scallop and crab risotto, roasted vegetables from a farm three miles down the road that included some of the best chili- spiked Brussels sprouts, pinky sized eggplant, and okra I have ever eaten, several cuts of grilled dry-aged beef and superbly fresh Suzuki, skate, and bream. All the grilling is done over local hardwoods and Claudio’s team is kicking ass in the Valley of the Sun.

Looking for a great Holiday gift for the outdoorsman in the family? My buddy Myke Hawke has a new custom-designed survival blade for sale on his site. I ordered one the moment it came out and won't travel anywhere without it. It’s called the Hellion. Tops Knives made the blade for Myke, and since he is one of the world's most famous survival experts, special-ops gurus, and security/tactics specialists, in addition to being a trained medic, you know that this knife can do it all. If you are looking for a gift for someone this holiday season, you should order now as I am sure there will be a waiting list very soon. I ordered mine last week and will carry it everywhere when I am in the field.


]]> The Kohler Experience tag:blogs.mspmag.com,2009:/chowandagain//9.4212 November 4, 2009 November 4, 2009 Food & Wine Magazine-partnered event. Jaques Pepin, Ulrich Koberstein, Marcus Samuelson, Jon Ashton, Claudine Pepin, Tory Miller from L’etoile, Adam Siegel from Lake Park Bistro (2008 regional JBA winner), Joe Bartolotta, Hosea Rosenberg, and about a dozen other great chefs (and about 45 winemakers) did an outstanding job teaching classes, performing demos, hosting book signings, and, of course, executing an amazing tasting dinner on Saturday night. Food events of this size are always more fun than the monster-sized events where guests never get to meet the talent and share time with them. At Kohler, all the chefs spent hours interacting with guests and sharing the experience.

The separately ticketed dinner on Saturday was especially awesome. Seating was limited to 120 guests—I told you to book early—which kept the focus on the food for sure, except when the winemakers and owners of Napa’s Merryvale broke out the good stuff and paired their wine with all six courses. Wine selections included a rare vintner’s reserve Carneros pinot noir with Jaques poulet avec sauce champignon and the fortified Antigua, a brandy infused Muscat dessert wine made from a blend of vintages all of which were more than 11 years old. It came with an awe-inspiring cluster of cheeses from Monroe’s Roth Kase Dairy. Regi Hise teamed the cheeses with sugar-poached young black walnuts still in the shell and a breathtaking rose petal confiture. I did a homey braised pork and chili dish right after Marcus’ lobster roulade with plum and chili sambal course—his lobster was off the hook. Jon Ashton did a poached sea bass with tonka bean broth and Ulrich did a blueberry and lemon verbena mousse with shortbread crisps and lime-sour cream sorbet. Killer. Stella Artois hosted a beer hall that was packed 24/7, and beer classes and tastings seem to be more popular than ever at events like this one. No need to wait in lines for hours at Aspen or SOBE, Kohler hosts one of the most impressive food and wine events in the country right in our own backyard.

Personal highlights from the weekend included cooking with Pepin, prowling the Friday night wine event at the Kohler Design Center with Marcus and Hosea, listening to Jaques and Claudine tell stories about their family and cooking memories, and, most hysterically, the owner of Merryvale (a Frenchman living in Napa) introducing the square-bottled Antigua to the gala dinner audience by asking them why they thought the wine was packaged in a square- sided olive oil bottle. He responded by telling the primarily Wisconsonian audience that it was so the bottle wouldn’t rattle around in their pickup trucks. I laughed so hard I was crying. You can’t make this stuff up!
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