Pennington's Foodstory

Vegging Out!

2016-06-10T15:23:00.000-04:00

It’s been over a year now that I cut meat out of my diet. 20% was for health, 30% was for the environment and the disgrace that is factory farming, and the remaining 50% was for animal welfare. Now I’m not going to get all “holier than thou” and start meat/leather shaming while I sit here in my blue suede Pumas, but animals are just too cute to eat. I do still eat fish and shellfish, mainly because of the ease of access living on an abundant coastline, and frankly because I don’t find them as cute. I know that’s shallow, pun intended. Veganism is probably not too far away, but right now I’m living day to day.

The decision came quickly and surprisingly easy. I started by giving up pork, which to those who know me well may seem like I’ve flat out lost my mind, but I started by going big and I haven’t looked back. Kelly hasn’t eaten beef in over 25 years, so for me, my only beef outlet was a burger every now and again along with the rare instance that I may order a steak in a restaurant or grill some at home. I thought chicken might be hard only because it’s such a blank canvas to a chef and I had become quite proficient at roasting them, but once I stopped, I stopped. All of the other edible critters were not even an issue, so there’s not much to say about them.

The question often arises, “So what do you eat, and how do you get protein?” I didn’t walk into this blindly and after doing a great deal of research, I found there is a bunch of plant-based protein in the food supply. We do eat a bunch of tofu, tempeh, legumes, and leafy greens and we feel very satisfied. By not having a meat-based protein as the centerpiece of every meal, it makes me get really creative in the kitchen and I find that the variety of veggies we eat has greatly increased. Nutritionists say to eat a rainbow of vegetables to make sure that all vitamins and minerals become available to your body. I like to cook foods with a variety of tastes and textures so not to get “palate fatigue” and to not be completely bored with eating the same things all the time. Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Japanese cuisines play a key role.

I really don’t want to touch on the topics of factory farming, soil depletion, Monsanto, Big Food, ketchup is a vegetable, and the government nutritional pyramid because I’m in a pretty good mood today and I don’t feel like getting all fired up. I’ll save that for another day.

It was a personal decision to venture down this path. The more I learn about animals I feel that we are all much more connected than I previously thought or wanted to admit. They have thoughts, feelings, and family bonds much like us. “The Cove”, “Blackfish”, and Susan Casey’s book “Voices in the Ocean” were tragic eye-openers for me along with Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” Compassion is a feeling that has consumed me in recent years and I can’t imagine bringing harm, directly or indirectly, to animals. I donate money to Farm Sanctuary, follow Edgar’s Mission online, and read Onegreenplanet.com every day. This is only the beginning of my journey.

Ciao down,

Penn

Knuckle down, buckle down, do it do it do it!

2015-02-15T11:31:00.001-05:00

Sometimes you just have to say “Fuck this noise, it’s time to cook.” Today is one of those days. The woman is at work, I have the day to myself, and I have a pretty full pantry. Time to get cracking!

My new Food & Wine came in the mail yesterday with a cool recipe for Sweet Potato and Tempeh Empanadas. We’re not eating a ton of meat these days and have completely cut out pork so I look for alternate forms of protein. I got into tempeh back in college and it’s made a recent comeback in my cooking repertoire. The empanadas use a sweet potato dough that’s currently chilling out in the refrigerator. The filling is a spicy and Spanish-styled that should work well with the tempeh.

I’m also in the midst of preparing a grain-free cauliflower pizza crust. It’s some recipe I found on Pinterest that looked promising. I've gotten to the point where I can read a recipe and know without a shadow of a doubt if the fucker is going to work. This one has so far passed my bullshit detector. I was curious about how it would turn out because it looks pretty cool.

It would be a good idea to knock out a regular batch of pizza crust in case this experiment blows. The mixer is still on the counter. Add that to the list.

Before I ran Kelly downtown to the working place, she asked if I would “Do something with the ground chicken in the refrigerator, maybe meatballs or something.” So that’s exactly what I did. Sometimes I just don’t want to think and if a good idea is presented to me chances are that I will do just that. They’re only seasoned with oregano and basil so they can be used in a lot of different ways. I didn’t travel very far with that idea. Last night a made a peanut satay sauce for some Vietnamese shrimp summer rolls I was craving that will probably be good with the meatball as well. The ‘balls’ will more than likely make an appearance on the pizza crust at some point this weekend.

Since I have become obsessed with the “Thug Kitchen Cookbook”, I have been working a lot with tofu and I have a cut up block marinating in a mojo blend with tons of citrus and spices. I cut the block into 12 pieces that I’ll bake a little later this evening. I’ll use it for breakfasts and various lunches throughout the week. It’s great for tacos!

The other day I picked up a couple whole chickens. One I roasted the other night, and I plan to do something with the other one tomorrow. I mixed up a bit of brine and dunked that bad boy in the pool. I’ll see what inspires me between now and then. There’s a strong chance that thing will get fried.

I washed the truck today too. I rock! Yea me!

Ciao down,

Penn

You Never Know...

2014-08-20T09:18:00.000-04:00

You Never Know...

All of us have stories about cool people we have met during our years in the ‘Hospitality Industry’. From actors and athletes to politicians and rock stars, we've all met our fair share of people that make us sometimes step back to catch our breath. Moreover, even with all the manufactured coolness "celebrity" brings, I have to admit some of the biggest bad-asses I've ever met are some of the people I've worked with in the restaurant business. Here is the story of one of those unbelievable people I had the pleasure to know years ago.

This is the story of a guy named “Andrew” (All real names have been changed to character names in John Hughes movies not only to protect the guilty but because it’s funny.) who I met at a restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina. Andrew moved to NC from a small country in Africa with his sister and a good friend named “Brian” in order to attend college. Andrew and Brian both were hired for the kitchen staff in a restaurant where I was running the FOH(Front of the House); Andrew as a grill cook and Brian on the ovens. Both of these guys excelled on their stations like they had been doing it all of the lives. I swear at times Andrew had eight arms the way he rocked that grill. It turned out that he really had very little experience as a cook and just happened to be really smart and just “got it”.

During the beginning of a dinner shift, our kitchen manager Richard was training a couple of new dishwashers from Russia that we had hired through a local church group that helped new immigrants to the US find work. Richard was having a hard time explaining the job because of the language barrier. It was funny to watch because Richard was kind of a douche and it also brought back memories for some of us watching Richard train the Colombians who were also on the dish station. Andrew watched from the grill for a few minutes then went over to Richard and said, “I speak Russian”. Shocked and amazed, Richard let Andrew take over the training. In mere seconds, Andrew had the Russians and the Colombians (he spoke Spanish too.) rolling with laughter, probably over something he said about Richard. The whole staff was baffled by this exchange. Turns out that Andrew was a hat trick of fluency (reading, writing, and speaking) in NINE different languages! Visions of the movie “Coming to America” flashed in everyone’s head. No, he and Brian weren't royals coming to the US to ‘sow their Royal oats’, but regular college students. They did, however, throw out the occasional Nietzsche quote just to keep us guessing.

Years later I found out from another guy in that restaurant that Andrew’s father was the owner of the largest construction company in his country. Andrew’s dad became really sick and requested that Andrew come home to look after his affairs and learn the family business. His father soon died and left Andrew the company to run. That quiet, polite, crazy smart grill cook with eight arms is now a business mogul worth 100’s of millions of dollars. You just never know who you are going to meet.

Ciao down,

Penn

Hot & Steamy Bamboo Baby

2014-07-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

My metal steamer basket always gets a workout in my kitchen. Broccoli and asparagus frequently fall victim to its wrath. With just an inch of water, seasoned or not, in a heavy-bottomed (hee,hee) sauce pan, veggies are perfectly cooked in about 3-4 minutes. Lately I’ve been looking at other foods to throw in it.

We have been eating a lot less meat these days, holding out for organic, locally sourced, free-range, grass fed, (insert any foodie buzzword of your choice) proteins to really focus on a plant based diet. However, the other day Kelly was craving a roast chicken and I felt the need to oblige ‘cuz I wanted one too. By not making a protein the focus of the meal, we can get close to three meals out of one bird. I will say that even though I haven’t been cooking my usual “Sunday chicken” as I have for years, that chicken I cooked the other day was spot on!

Well, time came to reheat this beautiful bird and the last thing I wanted to do was to dry it out so I looked for another method to warm it up. I sure as hell wasn’t going to nuke it, the microwave is the devil, and the oven was out of the question. I looked over at the faithful steamer basket and decided to give it a whirl. I really can’t say I was surprised by the wonderful outcome because I remember the old “Yan Can Cook” infomercials from the 80s where Martin Yan reheated everything in bamboo steamer baskets. I was using my metal guy, totally forgetting that I have a small bamboo basket I picked up in San Francisco that goes in my wok.

The metal basket worked just fine, but it made me realize that I need to go by the Asian market in North Charleston to get the bigger, stackable baskets that they carry for really cheap. It’ll be good to use them in my wok because I feel like I’ve been neglecting it and need to keep that thing well-seasoned. Yan would be proud.

Ciao down,

Penn

Kimchi on my shoulder(in my belly) makes me happy!

2014-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

I’m seriously late to the party on this one, but I have just jumped whole hog onto the kimchi bandwagon. I seriously wonder where I would be if I had discovered this stuff sooner? Kimchi is spicy, fermented Napa cabbage that is a staple in Korea and one of the most unique flavors I have ever come across. It’s kind of like a super spicy cole slaw, without all the mayo type crap. In reality, cole slaw is a lame comparison, more closely related to Chow Chow, but less pickle-like. Not growing up around many Koreans, I hadn’t really heard much about it until recent years. I think I first read an article about it in a food magazine stating all of the healthful benefit that have been associated with kimchi and the typically long lifespan of Koreans. I wanted to try some, but couldn’t easily find any.

I started doing a little research and found that I could buy it on the web or in an Asian market, neither sounded like something I wanted to do. I’ve been somewhat skeptical about Asian markets until recently because everything there seems to have been there for a very long time, not to mention everything is packaged with writing I cannot read. I’ve since come around.

I don’t really remember the first time I tasted kimchi, but I do remember the first time I bought a jar of it. It was at Whole Foods (don’t judge, it felt like a good idea. And by judging I mean purchased in a non-traditional place.) and it was just whatever jar they had on the shelf. When I got home I cracked open the jar and tasted a forkful. Tasting it in its pure essence, I had no idea of what to expect. It was spicy, pungent, cold, and delicious in a total umami-type of way. I liked it, but was it good Kimchi?

I have a friend named Karen in Nashville who is Korean and apparently makes incredible kimchi, according to other mutual friends, but I have never tried hers. Through further research, it seems that there are many kimchi recipes, many of which are family heirlooms not to be given to non-family members; totally top secret type stuff. Mention kimchi to a Korean and they will tell you their way is the only way.

I asked Kelly to try a bit, she liked it ok, but said it didn’t compare to her friend Theresa’s Korean mother’s recipe. Kind of what I expected. Not having a quintessential base on which to compare, I started on my own kimchi journey.

I started tasting it wherever I could, and buying various different brands when I would seek them out. One morning at the Farmer’s Market in Charleston, I stopped to eat at one of the food stands that I had heard about called Roti Rolls. They have a sandwich/wrap/taco/roti called the “Eye Opener” that was braised short ribs with a fried egg, arugula, and kimchi. I gave it a shot. The flavor was amazing! Everything was in balance, spicy, messy as Hell, but most of all delicious. In fact, I don’t recall ordering anything else from them, and I eat there every Saturday I go to the Farmer’s Market. Lucky for me, these fine folks at Roti Rolls sell their concoction by the jarful. A jar lasts me about 3-4 weeks depending on how much I’m in need.

Since there is no Farmer’s Market this time of year, my stash is running low. I have “friended” them on Facebook to track their whereabouts so I can get procure myself another jar, but my timing has been a bit off in getting up with them since they no longer have a brick and mortar place (rumor is that will be changing soon!) and their food truck always seems to be where I am not. This to me is excellent kimchi worth seeking out. I need to do a better job.

Penn is wearing a sad face.

I haven’t yet tried to make my own, but plan to shortly. I got a new cookbook/autobiography of Roy Choi, the food truck King of LA, and he is known the world over for his love of kimchi. He included a not so secret recipe that I will probably work on this coming weekend. It takes about a month to fully ferment so I gotta find a fix between now and then. Wish me luck!

Ciao down,

Penn

Tagine Dream

2014-01-20T16:43:00.000-05:00

My buddy Craig gave me one of the greatest gifts of all time, an authentic Moroccan tagine, made out of clay and everything! I was super psyched! This is one of those traditional cooking vessels that I have been drooling over for years. Basically, it’s the original slow cooker. The unique domed lid helps to circulate heat and revert the steam back to water keeping everything moist (sorry to those who hate that word, Kelly being one). What's also cool is that it can go from the stove to the table as a serving dish. Sure, I’ve got a Crock Pot, but this thing is beyond old school. Back in the day in Northern Africa, herdsmen would put a tagine on the coals to simmer all day while they were out in the desert doing whatever herdsmen do.

Ready for the unveiling!

I’ve been lusting over a tagine made by Le Creuset for a couple years, but the Moroccan one totally fits my vibe, plus it’s not $179.99. Craig, being the ever so detail-oriented chap that he is, gave me the full lowdown on a couple different curing methods needed to make this thing functional. First it has to be soaked in water for a day, then rubbed down with a shitload of olive oil, then baked in the oven for a couple of hours at a low temp to season the clay for cooking so it won’t crack. He also gave me a diffuser to put on the eye of the stove to offset the heat when cooking, further reducing the chance of cracking.

A little soak in the tub.

Getting baked!

Once the pot was cured, I was pumped to cook something in it. I scoured the world-wide internet web thing to find a traditional recipe that sounded good and that Kelly would eat. Remember kids, the Lady Vanstory can’t eat red meat, not even lamb. I settled on a tagine (also the name of the dish) with chicken, fennel, olives, and preserved lemons. Just like a Crock Pot, you just throw everything in the pool and turn the heat to a simmer. The recipe said the whole thing should take about 2-2 ½ hours to cook. I had the heat a bit too low, so it took a little over 3 hours. Regardless of the extra time it took, I swear it was one of the best things I have EVER made. The flavors exploded! Everything was in balance, plus the clay gave the dish an earthy flavor that in no way could be replicated in a Crock Pot. I was floored!

Let's eat!

The next week I invited Craig over for dinner to show off the wonders of his gift, He bought one for himself too, but hasn’t had an opportunity to fire that bad boy up. This time I made pork shanks with tomatoes and garbanzo beans. The flavors were really amazing, however the shanks were a bit hard to eat and could have handled a couple more hours in the pot. Oh well, live and learn.

My next venture with the tagine is to make something less traditionally Moroccan. I’m thinking about trying Asian-styled ribs in it or maybe a curry. The possibilities are endless!

Ciao down,

Penn

TV is NOT on the Menu

2013-04-28T12:58:00.001-04:00

In my world, there is no place for a TV in a restaurant. I’m not talking sports bar, I’m talking about an actual restaurant (tables, chairs, silverware, etc.) where one goes for food, ambiance, and to enjoy the company of others. I think a TV takes away from the restaurant experience and distracts the diner from all of the fore mentioned items by switching their attention to some rectangle on the wall.

I go to restaurants mainly for the food. I cook nearly every night and there are times I welcome the break. When I go to a restaurant I really want to relax and enjoy the conversation and not get sucked in to whatever the place wants to air, be it sports, the news, game shows, or reality television. I want to hang out and talk with the people I came in with. I’ve seen it so many times where a whole table will be silent with all of their heads pointed in the direction of the TV. Now if a restaurant really sucks, they may want to distract people away from the shitty food and/or service. Lucky for me, I rarely go to places that suck.

Now a bar is a different animal. A TV in a bar is mostly acceptable if it falls into one of a few different categories: Sports bar, public house, or dive bar. Bars are often places people may stop in alone and a TV helps to ease any awkwardness about not feeling like you have to talk to someone or the fact you are alone. Now if a restaurant has a separate bar and the TV is not in eyesight and hopefully not earshot of the dining room, that too can be cool.

One of my favorite places to go at the beach has a TV at the bar that only plays old surfing movies. While I dig the movies, I get even more sucked into them than I would to anything else. Again, great to go if I’m alone, but not at all when I’m with other people.

I’m starting to feel that maybe it’s just that I dislike TV altogether. We are an odd household in this day and age because we have only one TV in the house. That’s the way I like it. I know folks love having TVs all over the house so they can always stay connected, that’s just not how I roll. I would kind of like a TV out in the barn, but even that would be a bit borderline. Don’t even get me started on TVs in the bedroom. A bedroom is for two things, and TV watching is NOT one of them. If a TV is mandatory for you in the bedroom, you may need to reassess a few things.

The long and the short of it is that TVs in restaurants distract the diner’s attention away from what a restaurant’s true objectives, in my opinion, should be. Those objectives are great food and great service in an enjoyable atmosphere, TV not included.

Ciao down,

Penn

Fat Is The New Black

2013-04-08T19:41:00.000-04:00

“Fat is flavor” is one of the key terms a cook learns at the beginning of their career, regardless of what we know about cutting certain types of fat out of our diets to remain healthy. In a cook’s world today there are many trendy fats that are getting all the press. No, I’m not talking about trans-fats, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and the like; I’m talking about butter, lard, bacon fat, duck fat, olive oil, beef tallow to name a few.

When I first started cooking, I used lots of butter and olive oil in my food mainly because I was reading classic cookbooks that had those fats as the cornerstone for most of their recipes. As I noticed a shitload of weight gain and higher than normal cholesterol, I began to back off a bit and get a little smarter about how I used various type of fat. Nowadays I use butter and oil sparingly and add them mostly at the end of a dish to add a little shot of flavor. Of course there’s that lubing the pan issue to keep things from sticking, but even then not a lot is needed. If you use nonstick pans (I only recommend them for eggs, crepes, French toast, and pancakes, the latter two I rarely cook.), you can get away from using it all together.

As with anything en vogue, there is a shelf life of popularity. Lard is really so out of the picture that it hardly warrants mentioning, but as soon as I don’t, some food revivalist will pop out of the woodwork saying that it’s all the rage. Same goes with butter, it’s seems a little “pedestrian”, but it is so widely used. Did you ever wonder why that steak or piece of fish at your favorite restaurant tastes so good yet so different from when you make it at home? It’s because it was more than likely basted in butter. Hopefully bacon fat is on its last leg of hipness, because it’s facing overexposure. Not a day goes by that I don’t read or hear some moron jabbering on in near bacon-gasm about how much they looove bacon. I dig it too, but there comes a point where people need to reel it in a bit. Don’t get me started on pork belly, if you are all gaga about this worthless chunk of crap, you may need an intervention or a swift kick in the arse.

I admit that I really like duck fat, but luckily I don’t run into it enough to start a problem. I find it works best on potatoes (again, something I try not to eat much of), be they roasted or French fried and other vegetables that can be successfully roasted. The flavor is rich without feeling too heavy. Duck fat can be hard to find and it’s usually pretty expensive, so use just a little, unless you are making Duck Confit which is duck cooked in its own fat then cooled in the same fat until it’s basically preserved. It’s still not very good for you, but then again, what is?

I’m starting to hear more about beef tallow as a more readily available fat in a few of the food mags and sites. Remember beef tallow? This is the stuff that Vegetarians got all up in arms about a few years ago because McDonald’s uses it in their fries thus rendering (no pun intended) them not Vegetarian friendly. I can’t say I’ve seen beef tallow in stores, but it can probably be procured from a butcher or a fat-friendly restaurant. This is a trendy fat because not everyone has a source for it.

Treat this as a ridiculous guide as to how cool your area restaurants are. Are they stuck in neutral, or are they burning up the trendy fatty highway? Butter or duck fat? You be the judge. I'm just hoping whale blubber doesn't become a "thing".

Ciao down,

Penn

This Swill Won't Go Away!

2013-03-13T18:58:00.000-04:00

I got stuck with a bunch of fizzy, yellow, piss beer after New Year’s Eve that I’m trying to get creative in its depletion from my refrigerator through the use of crafty beer cocktails. I mean this beer has been through NYE, the Super Bowl, a random party, and God knows what else and it still won’t disappear. The only reason I got it in the first place was for some friends who were supposed to come to town, but cancelled at the last minute. I’ve gone as far as sneaking some of it into a friend’s refrigerator during a visit. Usually it’s the other way around; beer disappears never to be seen again.

I had the bright idea of concocting some beer cocktails to help get rid of this crap with a great deal of success. Nothing helps a shitty beer like the addition of liquor. Now I’m talking actual cocktails as opposed to a Boilermaker or a shot dropped into a beer. I had my first beer cocktail in France called a Monaco: Beer, 7-Up, and grenadine. Not bad, very refreshing. Hell, when you’re 15, any beer is a good beer.

In this round of beer cocktails, the most successful have been the following:

The Red-Eye: Beer and Bloody Mary mix. Not a bad combo, tastes much better than it sounds. It’s a great relief for hangovers. If you can find it, try a brand made in Charleston called Fat & Juicy. I also add a dash or four of 980 Picante Panama hot sauce to light it up, courtesy of my friend Smith Anderson.

Baha Fog: Beer, tequila, and lime (I used a splash of limeade). Much like a Margarita, add beer. Not really rocket science, but quite tasty. I have friends in Nashville who make a similar drink at all of their parties. It’s a crowd pleaser.

Shandy: Beer and ginger ale. This is truly a winner! Ginger ale is the only soda we ever have in the house and that in itself is a rarity. It’s such an easy combination that I felt it necessary to turn it up to 11. I use the Blenheim’s Hot Ginger Ale from North Carolina. If you have never had it before be careful, it has a bite. I haven’t named this variation, but I bet it will be something creative like Holy Shit That’s Hot!

Usually my refrigerator is loaded up with Sierra Nevada and/or the “Craft Beer Flavor of the Weak”. (Yes, I know its spelled wrong. I’ll share more on the overexposure of Craft beer in another post.) There are still two of these damn 16oz m’Iller Blites taking up valuable space. Lucky for me I made another liquor store run the other day so I have plenty of ammo to take down these last 32 ounces. Wish me luck!

Ciao down,

Penn

PS- If you actually read this, please leave a comment here or on the Pennington’s Foodstory Facebook page. Peace!

Spam I Am

2013-03-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

I was in Hawaii in January for a little week long vacay and made a conscious choice to eat Spam every day I was there. Hold the phone! Did the supposed snobby food writer and wine tool just say he ate Spam for seven days straight? Yes. He. Did!

Spam, the canned meat product extraodinaire, has become a beloved staple for Hawaiians for over 70 years. It all started before WWII when folks in the military brought the “meat” to bases around the state because it was not only tasty, but convenient and it didn’t need to be refrigerated. Long after the war ended, Spam decided to stay.

Now I didn’t crack open a can and start gnawing away, I preferred my Spam in a more unique fashion. One of Hawaii’s great treasures is what is called “Spam Musubi”, basically a slice of Spam placed on hand shaped hunk of rice much like a piece of sushi wrapped in nori(seaweed). These little jewels can be found wrapped in plastic in every convenience store, grocery store, and roadside stand in every part of Hawaii. Famed LA chef and friend of Tony Bourdain, Roy Choi says his favorite musubi can be found at any 7-11.

Each morning I would stop by the ABC Store (a chain of ‘Stop and Robs’ throughout the islands) in the resort and get a musubi for breakfast. I would sit on the beach, sip my coffee, and chow down, loving every single bite. This particular musubi is served warm with a bit of a hoisin sauce glaze on the Spam with flecks of seaweed and sesame seeds in the rice. So freaking good!! I love it so much I have threatened to make it at home. Kelly just responds with, “Have at it Hoss. That’s all you.” Even our friends Paige and Nick wouldn’t join in. It’s all good, more for me.

In the culinary world, Spam musubi would not exactly be considered ‘daring cuisine’, most just think it sounds gross. Spam shouldn’t get such a bad wrap. I don’t foresee it becoming a menu staple in the country’s high end restaurants, and I doubt it will get an endorsement from Gabby and Laird any time soon, it’s something I get to enjoy every other year when we go to Hawaii. Give it a go. Aloha!

Ciao down,

Penn

Banh Mi Oh My!

2013-02-26T16:44:00.000-05:00

Lots has changed since I last put fingers to keyboard…Got a new job, moved from Pawleys Island down to Charleston, found more baby kitties, etc., etc. The most exciting part of this new adventure is the fact that I have more than 3 places to eat.

Charleston is a foodies’ town, dare I say the ‘Food Epicenter of the Southeast’? Sorry Nola. There are so many freaking restaurants in the area that it makes it hard to decide where to eat. What a tough life I lead. It’s as though a new spot destined to be the next big thing is opening each week. Food trends are easy to spot because everyone is so vocal about them; smoked this and infused that, the list goes on and on.

One thing that I’m pumped up about seeing is the explosion of Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches that are appearing on menus everywhere. For those not in the know, a Banh Mi is a submarine sandwich with pork (roasted or as a pate), pickled carrots and Daikon radish, jalapenos, cucumbers, cilantro, and mayo served inside a freshly baked baguette. This is the most widely accepted formula, but in no way is etched in stone. I’ve had great versions with lemongrass chicken, beef red curry, and five-spice tofu. This is in my top 3 favorite sandwiches of all time.

It used to be that I could only find them in small Vietnamese restaurants in shady parts of town where the rent is cheap, now I can find them in white tablecloth places in the heart of town. There’s even a banh mi food truck in Charleston called “AutoBanh” which makes one of the best. It was just a few years ago where chefs were putting stylized versions of hamburgers on their menus to be hip and edgy, now it’s the banh mi. Cool with me!

I can remember my first. It was about 8 years ago at Kien Giang in Nashville. I had heard from a coworker that their sandwiches were killer, but I had really no idea what to order. I had never imagined a sandwich at a Vietnamese restaurant. They weren’t even listed as banh mis, in fact I had never heard the name before. My server asked what I wanted so I ordered the #1, a meatball sandwich of some type. In an exaggerated accent, which I still laugh about to this day, she said, “Numba twooo is bettaaaaa!” Little did I know that would be some of the best advice I’ve ever been given.

Now not all banh mis are created equal, some really miss the mark. Just as with a burger, do too much to it or cut corners, there’s a chance it will be screwed up. Take the example of a place that uses repurposed spicy, mayo-based coleslaw in place of the pickled veggies and serves it on Ciabatta bread. Wrong answer! While the exact configuration is to be interpreted, pickled veggies and a French baguette are a must! I’ve even seen folks put Kimchi on them, which isn’t too bad, but let’s not mix too many cultures into one sandwich.

Hopefully this trend will hit other places around the country. I can guess that it’s played out in some spots, but here it’s alive and well. I’m really getting hungry writing this. I think today I’ll go to my favorite banh mi spot in town, Bon Banh Mi, and get the straight up pate version or maybe the Five-spice pork loin. Decisions, decisions.

Ciao down,
Penn

Bacon on Bacon with a Side of Bacon

2012-06-13T17:04:00.001-04:00

I love bacon, especially when it's cooked low and slow in a cast iron pan. What I don't love about bacon is it's now appearing, AGAIN, in everything from chocolate to vodka. Am I in a time warp? This "trend" was so 10 years ago! Does anyone else remember? I will say that I do love food accented with a bit of the pork belly, but trying to repackage this as something new is a little lame. I just read about a place in Charleston that's now doing a "Bacon Happy Hour". Sounds a bit cheesy, but they will probably kill with the idea. Folks these days seem to be lacking in the short-term memory department.

I have an old friend named Dan who started the "Bacon of the Month Club" through his import company The Grateful Palate. Dan offered great bacon from small farms from all over the country delivered to your doorstep and they were all incredible. In fact, we held many Bacon/Wine dinners where every course included bacon in some way. It was a lot of fun, but then again we started doing that theme about 10 years ago. Cutting edge then, rehashed now.

Nowadays I just stick to strips. I really only make it when we have guests over and I can indulge a bit. When cooking bacon for a crowd I switch from a cast iron pan on the stove, to a sheet pan with a rack in the oven; after all it's called "bake-on" not "fry-on". I bake bacon for 20-25 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven. That usually does the trick, but be sure to watch it to get it to the doneness you like.

Everyone loves bacon, even vegetarians, but they won't speak of it in polite company. My request to restauranteurs is to go easy on the bacon and use your time to think of the NEXT big thing. Oink! I'm out.

Ciao down,
Penn

Trending, Or Not

2012-05-30T15:59:00.000-04:00

Trends come and go; at least that’s the trend. Fashion, music, art, and literature all ebb and flow with whatever is currently the ‘in’ thing. Food is no different. I’ve been steadily looking for the next food trend with little success. Currently, farm to fork, local, deconstructed dishes, and reinvented Southern food are the hot tickets in these parts, but to me this is not all that ‘trendy’. I’ve lived most of my life in the South and have been eating out of backyard gardens, Farmers’ Markets, and roadside stands since I can remember. It’s just the way it’s done down here. I’ve eaten more variations of shrimp and grits that I could ever begin to count. It’s nothing new.

I flip through the pages (yes, actual paper magazines.) of Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and others every month looking for the next big thing. I do see a bunch of cool things like a syrup used to make tonic water, smoked salts, unique vinegars, and the like. That kind of stuff almost seems like a novelty now. They’re still pretty cool, but they close to over saturation. Granted, I’m actively looking for the new and not easily “wowed”. There are also a bunch of websites that I frequent in search of new trends. One of my new favorites is The Daily Meal. Good recipes and tips, plus they let me repost my blogs.

In addition to products, I’m seeking something exciting for the home cook. Restaurants are a bit different. They can get really funky with processes and ingredients not readily available to the home cook. Who has a sous vide machine in their house? Plus, I’m not really digging the current offal trend and oddball animals on menus. Don’t get me wrong, I love sweetbreads, liver, hearts, etc., but again it’s not new. The biggest reason we go out is just the change in atmosphere. I mean we have a stocked bar, great bottles of wine, at the house and I can cook well enough to rival a few places. We sometimes need a change of scene. With that being the case, I still want someone to wow me!

We’re heading to Savannah, GA for a long weekend and I plan on taking lots of notes on cool things I see. That means we will NOT be going to Paula Deen’s place unless it’s for a drink. Just because I will be a tourist doesn’t mean I want to be surrounded by them. Mostly I look at menus for ideas and at the back bar to see what’s selling. I can tell a great deal about a restaurant by what liquors they sell. A poorly stocked bar means a poorly stocked kitchen.

Hopefully I will have some great stuff to share from our trip. For now, I must head back into work mode, this wine isn’t gonna sell itself.

Ciao down,

Penn

Lettuce All Have Lettuce!

2012-05-10T11:26:00.000-04:00

Lettuce wraps are nothing new. I think my first experience with them was probably at PF Chang’s in some random city. I thought it was a great idea then; I think it’s a great idea now. How easy, put bite sized food in a makeshift “taco” shell that’s just a piece of lettuce.

I get home about 7:45pm each night and usually head straight to the kitchen to start whipping up dinner (preliminary beer/cocktail is a must.). I know, not the healthiest time to eat, but I’ve got to work with what I have. I’m usually pretty hungry by that time and strive to make something quick, but still cool and unique. I really try to stay away from carbs at night because I find that I don’t need the energy they provide when I’m only a few hours away from sleep. (Hint: Can’t sleep, don’t eat carbs before bed!)

With lettuce wraps, the first cuisine I think of is Asian, but only by default because I first saw this at an Asian place. However, most any other cuisine will work. Mexican and Indian work brilliantly well too. (Yes, I know Indian is a part of Asia, humor me.) A couple of nights ago, Kelly made lettuce wraps filled with chicken in the most amazing Indian inspired sauce she found at Fresh Market. Lettuce wraps are great for leftovers too, just cut everything to size.

The lettuce I prefer for wraps is straight up Iceberg. It’s really sturdy, comes in big pieces and has a high crunch factor. Hearts of Romaine work really well too. Green leaf lettuce looks pretty, but I find that the leaves don’t hold up to any type of wet filling. This brings me to another point, unless you like wiping down your arm every few seconds, try not to ‘juice out’ your filling. Keep it on the drier side.

With meat/fish/poultry and veggies always on hand, I pull out my sauté pan or my wok and start cooking. I make sure to cut everything up to a size most conducive to filling a taco/ lettuce shell. Plus, who doesn’t love tacos? I love eating with my hands. There’s something so primal about doing so, it always brings a smile to my face. Once everything is cooked, put the filling in a big bowl, separate the lettuce leaves on another plate, assemble any other accoutrements and dig in.

As I said earlier, most any food works as a filling, from meat and fish, to sautéed vegetables, to fruit, they all work really well in a lettuce wrap. Plus it helps to keep dinner on the lighter side. Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN said yesterday morning that a healthy way of eating was to “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” It makes perfect sense to eat this way because people need most of their energy at the start of the day as opposed to the end of it. Do you fill up your car after a long trip, or before?

Ciao down,

Penn

"They don't sell hot dogs here!"

2012-03-26T16:08:00.001-04:00

This is less about food and more about etiquette, for anyone who has dined out with me knows my biggest peeve is people who wear baseball caps in restaurants. It drives me bonkers! I guess it goes back to the manners instilled upon me by my parents. Never was it acceptable to wear a hat indoors, much less at the table. This I have carried with me.

I mean really, what's the point of wearing a hat indoors? Does it help block out the sun? No, I don't think so. And what's the deal with wearing the brim off to the side? Are you trying to shade one side of your face? I can understand wearing a ball cap backwards to avoid it blowing off, but that's about it. Wearing a baseball cap in any way other than the way it's supposed to be worn, makes people look like they're too dumb to work a hat.

I was visiting my mom back when she still lived in Raleigh, when one night we decided to order out from a Chinese restaurant named the "Red Dragon". As I was walking up to the door, a young couple (still in high school) pulled up in front of the restaurant in a convertible. The young man got out of the car and went to open the door for his date like a proper Southern boy always does. His date was super cute and they both looked like they were in for a fun night out. I let them walk in before me, but as I did, I noticed he still had his hat on with no intention of taking it off. As he was going through the doorway, I gently grabbed his shirttail and held it. He felt the tug and turned back to me. "Hey man, you may want to lose the hat." I politely suggested. He quickly took it off and genuinely seemed rather embarrassed that he had forgotten to do so. He thanked me and went on in the door.

I few years later, I was watching The Sopranos and apparently Tony Soprano felt the same way I do about hats in restaurants. In this particular episode, Tony is having dinner with Artie when they notice a man who is wearing a hat in the restaurant. Tony asks him to take in off...well, I'll let you see for yourself.

See? I'm not the only one who feels this way. The breakdown is this, if a restaurant has a hot dog on their main menu, not the kid's menu, then it's acceptable to wear a hat in the place. Just remember, even though you can wear a hat in a restaurant, it doesn't make it a good idea.

Ciao down,
Penn

Do you...

2012-03-22T16:00:00.000-04:00

Do you read cookbooks like novels?
Do you subscribe to food magazines?
Do you keep to-go menus from restaurants?
Do you cook?
Do you bake?
Do you grill on week nights?
Do you cut out recipes from magazines?
Do you have a recipe box filled with index cards?
Do you have recipes that have been past down?
Do you follow food trends?
Do you watch cooking shows?
Do you seek out fresh local produce and meats?
Do you have a membership to a CSA?
Do you have a garden?
Do you visit food websites?
Do you post pictures of dishes on Pinterest?
Do you regularly have dinner parties?
Do you ask restaurants for recipes?
Do you have online recipe boxes?
Do you read food blogs? (trick question.)
Do you pair wine and beer with food?
Do you have a well stocked pantry?
Do you know how to sharpen a knife?
Do you not shutter at the price of good cookware knowing it will last a lifetime?
Do you visit the Farmers' Market?
Do you buy organic foods?
Do you buy any foods through mail order?
Do you research restaurants before going on a trip?
Do you have autographed cookbooks?
Do you experiment with new cooking techniques?
Do you count calories?
Do you have your favorite restaurant's number in your phone?
Do you eat out often?
Do you have too much kitchen equipment?
Do you cook a signature dish?
Do you ask friends what they like to cook?
Do you eat processed foods?
Do you consider yourself a Foodie?
Do you have a favorite food?
Do you attempt recipes that seem daunting?
Do you take or have taken a cooking class?
Do you know friends in the restaurant business?
Do you watch what you eat?
Do you keep a food journal?
Do you take pictures of appealing dishes?
Do you have any secret recipes?
Do you feel like we do? (Frampton rocks!!)
Do you ask friends for cooking tips?
Do you just love everything about food?
Do you...

Welcome to the Machine!

2012-03-05T11:59:00.001-05:00

Every night on my way home from work I pass a small family-owned Italian restaurant that just happens to be next door to a Carrabba’s. As you can probably guess, their parking lot is basically empty while the Carrabba’s lot is full. This just pisses me off; actually it makes me sad. Here’s a mom & pop establishment run by hard working people who make REAL Italian food from scratch, while the corporate monster next door churns out industrialized food product for the sheep who have been lured in by tantalizing television commercials, billboards, and other forms of print media. The folks in corporate restaurants are hard-working people too; it’s just that they are now part of the machine, and in the immortal words of Pink Floyd,

"Welcome to the Machine!”

The most important factor for any restaurant is consistency. Restaurants want their food to taste the same way every time someone dines there. Anyone who has worked in a kitchen knows the importance of following a recipe. Corporate restaurants take this to a new level. Not only do they want the food to taste the same for every diner, they want it to taste the same at every location. This is what helps them build their brand. In order to do that, they need a formula to create this consistency. Part of that formula consists of buying in ridiculously large bulk, which often compromises the quality of the food. In addition to buying in bulk, certain food distributors can “process” the food to a restaurant’s specific requirements. This can range from the chopping of vegetables which are then sealed in a plastic bag to par-cooking meats, to entirely prepared dishes that only require being heated up in the microwave. All of this processing strips the food of many of its nutrients, taking something that was once health and making it into a shadow of its former self.

For clarification sake, I don’t know for sure that Carrabba’s uses these procedures it’s just an example of what many restaurants do. With consistency being the main motivator, the processing of food for the big chains also helps to cut costs from payroll to workers compensation. More ways they stick it to the help.

Smaller establishments seem to be more focused these days on the sourcing of their food. It’s a bit of a broad generalization, because not all places do, but those that do make it well known. Wineries have been giving props to their farmers for a long time; it’s great to see restaurants doing the same. The expansion on local farms and CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) is really beginning to blossom in the restaurant community. My restaurant brothers and sisters are stoked with this because we all enjoy using good ingredients in our art.

I enjoy eating real food that’s not over-processed and still contains most of its nutrients. Just because something looks healthy, tastes good, and fills you up for a reasonable price doesn’t mean it’s good for you. I choose not to support corporate restaurants because I choose to eat healthy food. Plus, I like to support my local economy by supporting businesses owned by local people. Keep the money in the neighborhood. After having spent the better part of a decade in the restaurant biz, I really want to hang with the brave folks who decided to take a huge leap of faith and open their own place. It’s quite the undertaking. Eat local, fuck the corporates!

Ciao down,

Penn

A Bloody Good Brunch

2012-02-11T17:34:00.000-05:00

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that most people enjoy going to brunch, but at times have been a little too out of sorts to really enjoy it due to a previous night of imbibing. I love brunch, that mystical meal that combines the glories of both breakfast and lunch. Is it going to be a French toast kind of day or shall it be Eggs Benedict? Or should I just throw caution to the wind and get a big-ass, greasy cheeseburger? Whatever the choice, the evening before has helped determine your decision.

Brunch is both mine and Kelly’s favorite meal to cook, so we rarely go out. When we do, it’s usually because we have neither the energy nor the desire to destroy the kitchen. I mean when we start cooking in the morning it soon looks like a bomb went off. There are dirty pans everywhere, the waffle iron is spewing globs of batter, mixing bowls in the sink, a sheet pan of bacon grease teetering on an unstable surface, while both the espresso machine and the French press have been working overtime; it’s general chaos. That’s what happens when it’s only the two us at home. It escalates ten-fold when we have guests! That’s a big reason why going out to brunch is so appealing. Let’s destroy someone else’s kitchen.

Since alcohol can sometimes play a starring role in the decision to go out, we must time our arrival to the brunch destination to allow for our good friend alcohol to make another appearance. In these parts alcohol is not served until noon on Sundays, so arriving too early is a bad call. Sure, you can start drinking again at home, but even that can seem like a chore. If you can stomach the idea of mixing a drink in the morning rather than letting a bartender make it, hats off to you. While I can’t condone the idea of making a “Traveler” for the ride, I’d be a big giant fibber to say it hasn’t been done. Arrive too late and you face a possible mob scene of other late night revelers with same idea as you, families on vacation (I do live in a tourist area.), and the ever present God Squad freshly released from hearing the good word and hungry for some vittles. Timing is everything.

Many places today realize that alcohol is a real player in the success of an establishment’s brunch scene that they often have drink specials upon opening. Bottomless Mimosas or a Bloody Mary bar are two popular choices to lure in the brunch crowd. There’s a place in Charleston called The Macintosh that has a wonderful tomatillo-based Bloody Mary mix on their bar that’s exceptionally good. However enticing a drink menu can be, there are times that you just can’t man-up and restart the inebriation.

Another brunch trend that hasn’t YET made it to Pawleys Island, but is really popular in big cities is the Drag Queen Brunch. Yes, it is what it sounds like, transvestites serving food complete with platforms, teddies, and day-glow afro wigs often breaking into song for meal time entertainment. Nothing helps a hangover like being served hash and eggs by a “Helen Wheels” or a “Wilma Ballsdrop”. It just seems to be a great start to what could be an interesting day. While I haven’t made it to a DQB yet, I will make it a point to do so the next time I’m in a big city.

Alcohol of choice seems to lean towards liquor or Champagne/Sparkling wine. A beer just doesn’t quite seem appropriate unless your food choice is a traditional English breakfast of fried eggs, potatoes, sausages, and beans where a porter or an oatmeal stout would be the ticket. There’s always the option to go the non-alcoholic route and go straight OJ or a virgin Bloody Mary, but that’s just a Bloody Shame. It doesn’t seem like brunch without booze.

Today, take a moment and make a list of your local brunch spots complete with phone numbers and stick it to the refrigerator. This way when the opportunity arises, you have a preliminary game plan and can hopefully beat the masses. And most importantly, be sure to have a bloody good time.

Ciao down,

Penn

Grilled to PERFECTION!

2012-02-03T14:05:00.000-05:00

If there is one thing about restaurants that drives me absolutely bat-shit crazy is the phrase "Grilled to perfection". Throw in any other word such as cooked, roasted, sauteed... it doesn't matter, it still drives me out of my mind. Why is this phrase so unnerving? It's because the word "perfection" in this sense, is very subjective. What does this word, together with the phrase, mean anyway? I understand that the phrase is supposed to reflect the diner’s perception, but is that really the case?

When ordering a steak, is my definition of medium rare exactly the same as the guy grilling my steak? I would like to think so, but how can I be positive? Sure, there is a guideline for “a warm red center”, but in that nanosecond a steak crosses that threshold will it be on a dish in front of me, or still on the grill waiting to be plated? If it’s still on the grill, the meat will continue to cook once plated and thus negate said “perfection.”

It’s bad enough to see that phrase written on a menu, but it’s twice as bad hearing it from a server. It sounds scripted, like you’re a puppet simply regurgitating what you yourself have read on your crappy menu or what your less than stellar management staff has instructed you to say.

Read this aloud:

“Hello my name is Chad and I’ll be your server this evening. Tonight our chef will be featuring a 22oz. bone-in porterhouse steak grilled to perfection accompanied by a…”

See? It sounds dumb as hell. Be original, if a server says things like that to a table they run the risk of sounding like a complete moron. Servers have to have a spiel to entice their guests and make them really look forward to what is about to come. Servers are to not only sell the food, but the restaurant experience. The guests’ mouths should be salivating after a server has finished their spiel. A good way to start a spiel is to build up the dish from top to bottom. Instead of saying:

“Our special this evening is a hanger steak with a red wine sauce and sauteed onions…”

Say something a little more appealing, use some adjectives:

“Tonight our chef have prepared for you a ginger and soy marinated hanger steak grilled over hardwood coals with a caramelized onion jam finished with a red wine and veal stock demi-glace…”

Hmm, I know which dish I’ll be ordering. Be expressive. Make your guest hang on your every word. Most importantly, be believable. Even if you are a vegan and are completely repulsed by the thought of eating a steak, remember it’s not your steak. You are trying to sell the steak. Just because a bald man doesn’t use a hairbrush doesn’t mean he can sell one.

Another thing that drives me bonkers is when a server is asked, “What’s good on the menu?” and the server says, “Honestly, everything is fantastic.” I want to jump out of my skin! Is everything really fantastic? I seriously doubt it. Again, it’s subjective. The worst part is that the server is not giving service by saying “everything is great” because the diner is looking for some direction. They are looking for SERVICE.

It’s not like going to a fast food joint and ordering off the big sign behind the counter. Are you going to actually ask the teenager at the register at Mickey D’s if the double cheeseburger is good today? People go to restaurants to submit, to let the server take them on a culinary journey. This may sound strange if you work in a crappy chain restaurant where the dishes are thought up in a boardroom rather than an actual kitchen, but nonetheless, it’s the case.

Next time you are dining out ask the “What good tonight?” question to your server and watch the reaction. It will usually be one of two scenarios: They will simply stand there and say “Everything is great.” Or they will bow down, put their hands on their knees to get closer to you, lower their voice and say the same thing as though they are telling you some type of inside secret.

“Oh really? You say everything is fantastic? Well I had just written off the ‘Fried butthole stuffed with fromunda cheese on a crispy wonton chip, finished with a duck butter glaze’, because it sounds totally disgusting. But I as a diner I have deemed you with your vast experience in this restaurant a credible authority, and if you say everything’s fantastic, I must put this item back in the running for what I should order.”

It’s extreme, I know, because who’s going to pair something fried with a crispy wonton chip? It’s merely an example. What I’m getting at with all of this is to be honest and objective. People respect those who “shoot them straight”.

Servers must realize that the menu is a tool for them to use. It’s a tool to make money. Chances are that you don’t like every dish on your menu, in fact you may totally hate many dishes, but it doesn’t help the guest if you say that something totally sucks ass. It’s merely your opinion. If a guest asks about a dish that you personally dislike, don’t trash it, just say something to the effect of “It’s very popular, but it’s not my favorite.” The goal is to create a positive experience that makes the guest want to return.

I will admit that if a menu is filled with awesome sounding dishes, I want a little direction because I will be torn on what to order. The best bet is not to just spiel the special of the night, but to tell me what’s popular and what the place is known for. I want the full experience.

Un-Happy Hour

2012-02-01T17:22:00.000-05:00

Trust me, I love a good Happy Hour. Great food and drinks at a reduced price? Who doesn't love it? We had a neighborhood place in Nashville that had 'Buy one, get one" on draft beer from 5-7; I tore that place up! The whole crew would meet up there and get down for a couple of hours then go our separate ways. Great times.

Usually restaurant owners do a happy hour to get folks in early and possibly persuade them to stay longer and enjoy the real menu. While this is the intention, the desired outcome is sometimes far different. People tend to take advantage of the restaurant's generosity and abuse the system. They get hammered quickly and then leave, only to return for the next happy hour and never visit the establishment during their normal hours. It is what it is.

What really sucks is when a really good restaurant offers a half-priced bar (food) menu during the off season. Let me just say "the freaks come out at night." Such is the situation down my way. I live in a resort area on the beach that is very seasonal. What the translates into is the it's dead as hell in the winter. One of my favorite restaurants in town has a killer half-price deal on their bar menu that just gets abused by folks that will NEVER go back there in the regular season.

One of the bartenders told me about a couple that was in a few hours before us that were drinking only water (a shitbird move to start) and wanted to split a burger. Usually that's not a big deal, but these losers asked if the woman could have her HALF cooked medium well while her husband wanted his HALF medium rare! I was dumbfounded!! What a couple of dumbasses! Some things you just don't ask. Temp half a burger? Give me a break! This leads me to a longstanding belief that I have: While some countries have mandatory military service for full citizenship, I believe that we should have mandatory restaurant jobs for full citizenship. It teaches hard work, humility, and how to show respect towards your fellow man. Had either of these folks spent any time in the biz, they wouldn't have asked for such a stupid-ass request. People are strange.

I just had to share that little tidbit. Restaurant folks will understand and appreciate this one the most.

Ciao down,
Penn

Surf Salt

2012-01-05T11:44:00.000-05:00

Seems like these days if someone is "worth their salt" in the kitchen it's because they have a bunch of different salts. I myself currently have about six different types spanning from black Hawaiian to French grey flake to a 12 pound slab of pink Himalayan. I use it all for various types of food, but what I'm most psyched about in the world of salt is a new (to me) product called Surf Salt.

As it's label says, "A blend of sea salt from the world's best waves and all natural seasonings for flavor and health." The folks that make this stuff get salt from great surf breaks and then blend it with things like almonds, bread crumbs, Meyer lemon peel, basil, dry edamame, etc. I generously sprinkle it on chicken and fish as a burst of flavor when I take them off the grill. I also sprinkle it on salads, risotto, soups, and hummus. For a product with the word "Salt" in the name, it's surprisingly not salty. There are currently 6 different blends named after the surf breaks where each salt is found. I have three of the blends: Pe'ahi (Jaws) from the north shore of Maui , Waikiki from southern Oahu, and Chiba from Japan (this one is also gluten-free). Each one is uniquely different and has great flavor. I really like the Pe'ahi on salmon that I bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes.

Surf Salt remind me of something I found in Australia a few years ago called Dukka, which is a similar blend of nuts, seeds, salt and spices that we added olive oil to for dipping bread much like olive oil and balsamic vinegar is served in Italian restaurants. On the company's website, surf-salt.com, they have a ton of recipes and suggstions on how to use Surf Salt. What's also cool about this company is that it's located on the coast of North Carolina! I wonder if they will come out with a Masonboro Island salt? (Surfers near Wilmington will get this reference.)

A few months back I was on LairdHamilton.com looking for new products related to fitness and eating right when I found this cool stuff. After reading about it, I ordered the three types Laird suggested. I often go to his site as well as his wife Gabrielle Reece's site GabbyReece360.com for tips on healthy eating because they are probably the two healthiest people on the planet who can still keep it real and not go overboard. They are big fans of Surf Salt because it's a great way to add flavor to food without adding fat. I suggest checking out Surf Salt for yourself and let me know what else you find to do with it. "It's Ono!"

Ciao down,
Penn

You did what to the salad?

2011-12-11T17:10:00.001-05:00

The other night Kelly and I went out to one of our favorite restaurant in Pawleys after a very long day at work. We sat at the bar and ordered a couple of drinks to help wash away the day. I wasn't too hungry because I cooked two pork shoulders at the wine shop and they didn't finish until around 5pm; it's now after 8. After my first drink I ordered just an Oyster Caesar salad to tide me over. I guess I really wasn't hungry at all, I just ate the oysters and about a 1/4 of the salad. I asked Jen the bartender to box it up for me. Kelly said that the lettuce wasn't going to hold up too well over night. I said it was cool I was just going to puree it and make a dip out of it.

WHAT?! Make a dip out of it? Normally this may sound strange, but in this case it didn't. She didn't even look at me sideways on this one. When we were in NYC back in September our friend Cathy took us to a killer restaurant in Brooklyn called Locanda Vini e Olii (YOU MUST GO TO THIS PLACE!!!). It's a small Italian spot with unbelievable food. One of the dishes we were served was a crostini with a shmear of what looked like a light green pesto, but with a little more heft to it. I tasted it and a flood of memories washed back into my head. Kelly said what a cool, unique flavor this was, very fresh, garlicky, and lemony. Cathy smiled and asked if I could guess what it was, especially the green part. In an instant I said Romaine lettuce; I knew because I had tasted this before, long before.

Back in college my housemate Alex was a great cook who loved to make really offbeat things to show off his cooking prowess. He loved to make a dish out of the Silver Palate 'Good Times' cookbook called the Ides Of March sandwich. It was basically a Caesar salad, croutons and all, pureed and spread on two pieces of bread. Pretty much exactly what I was eating. He would make this all the time and we would spread it on everything. I thought it was the coolest thing. I have made it myself many times, but not in the last 15 years. I totally forgot about it until that night in Brooklyn.

Towards the end of our night at Bistro 217, Jen boxed up my salad and Kelly and I rolled back to the house. The next morning I saw the box in the fridge, pulled it out and dumped it's contents in the food processor. I was going to loosely recreate that long lost dish I soo loved. I guess I had eaten more than I thought because there was not much there. I look back into the fridge and found about a 1/3 of a bag of fresh spinach that was left over from a few days ago. The spinach was on it's last leg and holding on for dear life. I decide to let it live again by adding it to the remaining Caesar. I buzzed the mixture in the processor a few times to see what I had. I added a little EVOO to loosen things up and adjusted the seasoning with a bit of salt and pepper. I tasted it and drifted back to that long lost spot. Ahh, this is good!

That evening Kelly cut and toasted a few bread rounds and rubbed them with a clove of raw garlic. I smeared my creation on them for a little appetizer. It was close to what we remembered and made totally out of a leftover salad. Talk about efficient.

While I haven't tried to reuse a salad with anything other that Romaine lettuce, I'm pretty sure a 'Spring Mix' or baby greens would not work just because those greens aren't very sturdy. Those greens are better left to their original purpose, salads. I dare you to try this out, it's really good. We're going back to Bistro 217 on Wednesday so I can do this again. But wait, I'll probably be in the 'Burger Mood ' that night so there's no telling what you may get on my next post.

Until then, ciao down!
Penn

Forget the turkey fryer, use infrared heat!

2011-12-10T12:57:00.001-05:00

For the past few years I've heard stories of Darwin Award candidates who have done something stupid with a turkey fryer. Either they pour oil all over the place and burn up their yard, garage or whole damn house, or they burn themselves and/or others in the pursuit of a juicy turkey. I heard about one particular dumb ass who injected his turkey with Jack Daniel and blew the whole thing up. I've fried many turkeys myself and haven't had any problems other than spilling a little oil (it had cooled down) on the lawn and killed a spot of grass about a foot in diameter.

The days of the turkey fryer are numbered due to a new cooker I have recently had the pleasure to use. My boss received a "turkey cooker" right before Thanksgiving made by Char-Broil called "The Big Easy". His Turkey Day plans didn't involve him actually cooking a turkey so he let me borrow it, which was a godsend because I was having a full house that day and would have to do some magical oven management to pull off the meal.

This thing looks like a souped up turkey fryer powered by a propane tank, but unlike a normal fryer, this device uses no oil, it uses infrared heat. Infrared heat cooks much like and oven in that it is dry heat. There's a propane burner in the bottom that heats up a stainless steel removable jacket that houses a wire basket where the meat is placed. There's just an "On" dial and an "Ignition" dial, nothing else. There's no need to regulate temperature, it's all built in and does it itself. It really could be more simple.

The day before Thanksgiving I brined a 13 pound turkey in an Igloo cooler to save on limited refrigerator space. I cleaned the brine off the bird the next morning in preparation of christening the brand new cooker. I started it up to burn off any packaging residue because this thing was brand spanking new and had never been used. After about 10 minutes it seemed to be ready to rock. I loaded the turkey in the wire basket and dropped that bad boy in the "Big Easy". It took a little over an hour and a half to cook the bird. I did nothing but check on it about every 1/2 hour. Too easy. I pulled it out and let it rest about 30 minutes so the juices would run back into the meat. I couldn't believe how crispy the skin was and the beautiful golden color. I carved it up and everyone was blown away by how good it was.

The next day at work I told of my great success with the cooker and that it was so easy to use. One of the guys suggested that I cook a turkey for everyone there. The next week someone brought in a turkey and I repeated my efforts. It again was unreal! Everyone was amazed. "What else can we cook?" was the next big question.

My boss said that he had a couple of pork shoulders in the walk-in cooler and that I could give those a shot. I put on a low sugar dry rub on the meat and stacked them on top of each other in the basket. It took about 5 hours cook them. The meat was perfect! I brought it some true Eastern North Carolina vinegar based BBQ sauce and another guy brought in a thicker sauce made with the Evan Williams Cherry Reserve whiskey. We all chowed down. The room was silent except for the sound of blissful chewing and the occasional grunt of satisfaction.

I've now been deem the official cook of the store. In addition to the turkey and pork shoulder, I've cooked a couple of chickens and am going to do a beef roast on Monday. I'm leaning towards doing a leg of lamb and possibly a prime rib in the next coming weeks. I'll let you know how it goes.

Ciao down!
Penn

Out of the Game

2011-11-02T18:09:00.000-04:00

    For those of you who may not yet be in the know, I've gotten out of the wine distribution game. After 12 years in the biz I've finally decided to hang up my wine bag. My plan is to focus on food writing. I know, I know, some of you who read my stuff think I have possibly lost what bit of mind I have left because most of us have read bathroom graffiti that's better than my crap. Not to mention the fact my posts are few and infrequent. That's about to change. I'm kind of using this blog as a crass first draft for my musings. This will be good for first drafts because I spoke with my mother yesterday and she suggested in the nicest way that I should refrain from using the colorful language that I'm so fond of. Fuck, shit, piss; sorry Mom, must be the Torrettes I don't have ;) This stuff is just for fun, for now.

    What sucks about writing to get paid (hopefully) is that not only can I not swear as usual, I must pay attention to sentence structure, punctuation, usage, and the dreaded AP Style. Luckily, I can spell reasonably well, without using spell check. But still some of you are saying to yourselves, "Dude, you suck. Who is going to pay you for your crap? You're gonna starve." All of which may be true, but I have to give it a shot. I'm not completely crazy; I'm going to find a "real" job to pay the bills until I can get some momentum on this writing thang.

    With all of this career/life change, we are seriously thinking of forgoing our comfy beach life and cruise on down to the "big city" to make Charleston our home.  It's not too far from the beach and has more than 4 restaurants that are worth a shit. Important things for an aspiring food writer and wantabe surfer/skater.

   What's also cool is that I can actually speak my mind as far as restaurants go since I no longer have them as clients. In the wine biz we often go to restaurants we dislike to spend money and be seen hoping to gain more business. Now I can review them being totally unbiased. Luckily for them I'm not malicious or I would slaughter some of the dumbasses that I've dealt with over the years. However, if I feel truly nasty I'll write under a pen name, no pun intended.

    That's it for now. Be on the lookout for some of my stuff in major publications around the world. Ok, now I'm getting delusional. Seriously, if anyone knows editors, publishers, etc. looking for content about food and wine, don't let them read this garbage, I'll write something good.

Ciao down,
Penn

Pizza on the Brain- Part 2

2011-10-14T13:01:00.000-04:00

Despite my love for ordering pizza to go, my absolute favorite pizza is made in my kitchen. While I don't have a wood-burning oven, (yet) I do make my own dough. I have a ton of cookbooks with dough recipes from reputable sources, not some fucking "Betty Crocker" who says you can save a few pennies by making it yourself, but from real chefs who make dough, pun intended, off of their pizza.

My favorite is out of a cookbook from famed San Francisco restaurant A16. The A16 pizza is a thin crust Neopolitan-style with a minimal amount of toppings. [Side note: I hate the word "topping". I don't know why, but it just sounds ultra dorky yet I've used twice in this piece, the first was in Part 1.] Since the crust is so thin, too much stuff tend to make it soggy. Leave the Meatlovers Supreme Deep Dish to the thick crust chain joints. To me this is the perfect crust. No disrespect to a Chicago pie, but even they have to admit it's more of a casserole than a pizza. (I'll probably get a bunch of shit for that one. Luckily, only about 4 people read this and none that I'm aware of in the Chicagoland area.)

While I'm still not sure of all the legalities of reprinting published recipes, I'll just paraphrase loosely, without the exact measurements because 1. I don't want to get in trouble, and 2. if you like to cook you should own this book. For the most part, pizza crust is flour, water, and yeast. A little salt and olive oil too, but that's it. The flour I like to use is "00". The "00" refers to how fine the flour is ground. In this case it's super fine. I have to go to an Italian market to get it, but I'm guessing it can be found in bigger grocery stores in bigger cities. All purpose flour will work just fine.

"Proofing" the yeast is the next step. Proofing is the term used for activating yeast. Temperature is key to successful proofing, the water MUST be heated between 100-105 degrees for the yeast to bloom. Pour a packet (1/4 ounce) of yeast into the warm water with a touch of sugar and wait about 10 minutes until it's foamy. No foam? Chuck it and start over. Once proofed, add a little salt and olive oil, then add this to the flour in the bowl of a stand up mixer. For this recipe you must use a mixer with a dough hook because it takes a total of about 20 minutes of kneading which is a bitch to do by hand. Now put a little olive oil in a big bowl, add the dough and cover it with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. If you have ever baked bread before, this may sound strange because many bread recipes say to have the dough rise in a warm place. Not in this case, pizza is different. I asked a friend who owns an Italian restaurant why this is and he said it's because if the dough doesn't rise slowly the glutens in the flour can create a bitter taste. Sound good to me.

After a night in the refrigerator, punch down the dough to get the air out and put it back in the 'frig for another 4 hours to rise again. Once this is done, I divide the dough into 4 pieces, one per pizza. I then I roll each dough into a ball and wrap all but one individually in plastic wrap and put in the 'frig until I want to use them. Turn on your oven to the highest setting. My oven goes to 550. If you have a pizza stone, make sure it's on the middle rack. If you don't have a stone I recommend the rectangular one from William-Sonoma. My pizzas are never perfectly round so a round pizza stone will never work for me.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to the size you want. I usually roll them to about 12 inches in diameter. Once rolled out, I transfer the dough to a wooden pizza peel dusted with cornmeal, but you can use a rimless cookie sheet if you don't have the peel. Now you can add your toppings (damn, that word again!), but work fast because the longer the dough sits on the peel, the harder it will be to get it off. As I've stated before, less is more when using this dough. Don't overload your pizza!

Once you are ready for the oven, carefully slide it in. With the oven set to the highest temp (Again, mine is 550), the pizza will cook in 5 minutes. When it's done, I have a metal pizza peel that I use to get it out. Again, if no peel is available, use a cookie sheet and a spatula, but be careful because the oven is hot. Let the pizza rest a couple of minutes so it can set up then you can cut it up. Really easy.

It takes a bit of planning making the dough, but once you've done it a couple of times it's really easy, plus it saves a bunch of cash. Making pizza is also fun to do for casual dinner parties to get everyone involved. It's also a perfect way to introduce kids to cooking.

So the next time you are in the PI area, swing by the PIT or Frank's for some take out pizza or just give me a call, chances are I have some dough on hand.

Ciao down,
Penn