BOOK REVIEW: Ideas in Food by Aki Kamozawa & H. Alexander Talbot

Reviewed by Kevin Jeung of The Cookbook Store
It seems, and has seemed for a very long time, that cookbooks fall on either side of a line that divides complexity and simplicity. Even those that claim to possess both characteristics, oftentimes one finds that the book subtly leans to either side of the line instead of taking a committed step.

This is where Ideas in Food threw me for a loop. Much like David Chang's Momofuku broke the mould of bad fusion cuisine by simply doing it well, authors Kamozawa and Talbot break the mould by focusing separately on both the simple and complex aspects of cuisine and giving each the face time (page time?) required to competently inform us of the world on either side of the proverbial fence. In fact, the jump from the simple section to the complex is so drastic it evokes imagery of a dancer breaking from a slow, elegant waltz to the furious energy of a fox trot. I think, most of all, what makes this book special, is that if you were to split both components into separate editions, they would both serve spectacularly as their own respective volumes. The fact that both subjects come bound in a single package only acts as a bonus atop of what is already an excellent read.

Fans of Nigel Slater's writing prose will be absolutely smitten by the charm and dry wit that neatly and seamlessly fill the gaps between well thought-out and delicious recipes. With a book lacking photographs, such as this one, it's a nice thought to introduce a likeable personality through the short anecdotes and coy explanations that allow the reader to understand the recipes without having to be shown visual representations.

While there are merits in the first segment of the book that focuses on the simple aspects of cooking (though techniques such as the micro-stock are very much a popular restaurant technique, so put out of your mind any visions of tuna casserole or shake-and-bake chicken; this is still real cooking!), as a chef who has put quite a bit of time and study into the world of molecular gastronomy, hydrocolloids and liquid nitrogen, I must say that this book far and away explains this new catalogue of techniques better than any other book on the market. Pulling back the elitist clouds that have surrounded this cuisine since a chef named Ferran found out what happened when sodium alginate and calcium chloride were combined, readers are privy to the a boatload of information on molecular gastronomy that is both insightful and approachable.

So what is it about Ideas in Food that has perched it atop global "Top Cookbook 2010" lists before it has even been released? Well, accessibility for one; Martha Stewart has made it a habit of explaining simple recipes and having her volumes fly off the shelves, but it takes a truly gifted food-oriented mind to explain transglutaminase to someone and not induce sudden slumber. In the end, Ideas in Food succeeds not for it's diverse catalogue of recipes (to which it does have) or the vast number of people the writers consulted in it's conception (to whom they did speak), but for the fact that the authors are genuinely in bringing regular Joe's with them on their journey towards the next frontier of gastronomy.
Ideas in Food by Aki Kamozawa & H. Alexander Talbot (Hardcover, 320pp, $28.95)

Reflections on Recent Resto Experiences: Porchetta & Co and Enoteca Sociale

We recently wrote about Porchetta and Co. Having been a super fan of New York's Porchetta, I just wanted to address the difference between the two shops. First, allow me to say that I am absolutely delighted by the introducttion of a porchetta sandwich shop in the lower portion of Toronto. I no longer have to take a 40 minute drive to the burbs to satisfy my craving. The sandwich experience of each restaurant is truly superior.

The New York shop (Porchetta) is so good that I often make it my first destination, right after my plane lands!! A very tasty, meaty sandwich filling of slow cooked fatty belly, lots of lean loin with plenty of aromatic herbs and spices such as sage, garlic, rosemary and wild fennel pollen. All this with melt in your mouth, easy to chew crackling in a traditional New York ciabatta bun. No sauces or extras are offered for the sandwich.

Porchetta and Co marinates a shoulder in a blend of spices including rosemary, sage, garlic oil and lemon zest then, after marinating, wraps the shoulder in prosciutto and then wraps the whole thing in cured pork belly. The shoulder is slow roasted and when finally assembled, is mounted in a wonderful sourdough bun from Caldense Bakery (I like that bun better than the New York ciabatta). What sets this sandwich truly apart from the New York version are the extras offered for the sandwich, such as tomato sauce, truffle sauce (tasty), mushrooms, parmesan cheese, sauteed rapini (also a good addition , but not with the truffle sauce) amd dijon or grainy mustard (also nice).

Enoteca Sociale is a restaurant that did not disappoint. It is the offshoot of Pizzeria Libretto, my fave pizza place. The food is wonderfully rustic, hearty comfort food with mostly Italian and Mediterranean regional influences. My last visit I enjoyed a dish of well flavoured and tender grilled octopus with swiss chard and roasted new potatoes. A pasta dish was a standout spaghetti carbonara with pancetta, egg, pecorino and black pepper. Perfectly cooked, great quality pasta with an addictive sauce. Our main was beautifully braised oxtail on a bed of roasted new potatoes for me and the more typical creamy polenta for my dinner partner. A side dish of kale, white beans and guanciale was a bit disappointing as it lacked real flavour. Dessert was a fantastic dark chocolate budino (a dense chocolate pudding) topped with flakes of sea salt and a bit of olive oil....another combination of addictive flavours and textures.

Two Restaurants in Miami

I had a brief overnight in Miami and had a chance to visit 2 highly recommended restaurants. These stepped outside one of my usual favourites when I visit, Graziano's Parilla Argentina. Graziano's has meats that they cook over a wood fired grill or a parilla, a large circular fire pit filled with large wood chanks over which is hung, at an angle, spits of ribs, lamb, beef, etc. But, I am not about to discuss Graziano's in this review.


This trip, I went to experience the new Vino e Olio restaurant. The chef of this restaurant is the son of the renown chef of Italy's 2** Da Caino restaurant in southern Tuscany, Valeria Piccini. Having been to Da Caino recently and being duly impressed, I was excited to see what her son could do, having grown up in the kitchen, by her side.


We were served various breads and small rolls (one covered with caramelized onions), made in house, virtually the same variety we experienced at Da Caino, along with the olive oil for dipping, made by Da Caino's owners very near the restaurant, an oil that I consider one of the very best that I have ever tasted  (top 4) and guess what, Olio e Vino makes that oil available for sale or mail order. What a nice discovery!


I began with the chef's version of the typical regional Florence specialty of tripe sandwich. Served in a crispy skinned brioche bun, the tender tripe was covered with the typical green sauce (parsley, capers, finely chopped garlic and anchovy) and I ate it with gusto while the lovely juices and sauce dripped down my palms.

Our following course was silken butternut squash filled ravioli with a sage butter sauce. Fabulous because of the perfectly rendered and cooked pasta and the contrasting flavours of the slightly bitter and savoury sage with the sweet flavours of the squash and butter.

I was next presented with one of my personal favourites, encountered so rarely in North America, blood sausage filled ravioli. Here the chef used two sauces, one made with blood sausage and the predominant one, an onion soubise like sauce. Wonderful flavours all around. Perfectly cooked pasta. Bighting into the very tender pasta  I experienced the creamy textured goodness of the savoury blood sausage and the onion soubise was a lovely complement.

We then experienced one of the best versions of octopus I have tried. The octopus was double cooked, first boiled then grilled, paired with roasted potatoes and green beans. What was unique about the octopus was it's very thin crispy exterior and melt in your mouth, soft and creamy interior.

My following dish was roasted suckling pig  served with a pureed green pea sauce and mushrooms. Now with this dish my expectations were extremely high as the chef's mother, Valeria's version at Da Caino, was perhaps the best version of this dish that I have ever experienced. And, it was very good, but lacked the truly crispy skin and incredible juiciness of his mother's version. Perhaps it is the source of the product itself that plays a role in the tastes and textures. The mushrooms were perfectly rendered and let me say that this chef, more than most "good chefs", really knows how to prepare mushrooms that remain succulent and "al dente" (my words descriptive for mushroom texture).

A series of 4 desserts surprised us. First, little soft pastry pockets of chocolate cream surrounded by creme anglaise and fresh blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. Next, Millefoglie, a crispy pastry filled with a chantilly cream flavoured with rum. Then, crispy cannoli filled with chocolate mousse  and a grand marnier cream and last, my very favourite, a very refreshing orange "carpaccio" with powdered sugar dusted iced passion fruit in the centre, served with their wonderful olive oil in an emulsion.

The other restaurant I visited, Sardinia, we called ahead to have the chef prepare roasted suckling pig in their wood burning oven. Yes, I very much enjoy roasted suckling pig.

We began with a tasting of different burrata cheeses. What a sensational rustic presentation: baby and mature asparagus, chopped basil and a very good olive oil.

Our following course was mallaredo, a Sardinian tear dropped shaped pasta, with a braised baby lamb ragu. A good dish but not exceptional.

The other pasta was orcchiette with crumbled wild boar sausage and a rapini pesto. The was a wonderful dish. The coarsely textured slightly gamey wild boar went so well with the slightly bitter rapini and on the whole this was a very enjoyable dish.

Our final course was slow roasted, wood oven cooked suckling pig. It did live up to our expectations. Wonderful flavour and quite juicy.  It was served with a rustic salad and wood oven roasted potatoes.

Vino e Olio

139 NE 39th Street

Miami FL 33137

305-573-0707

Sardinia Enoteca Restaurant

1801 Purdy Ave

Miami Beach FL 33139

305-531-2228

Friday Lunch at Paramount, posted January 24, 2011

It seems that every downtown block in Toronto has at least one hole-in-the-wall takeout shop featuring interchangeable menus starring  falafel and shawarma. They are for the most part the human equivalent of gas stations:  places to refuel in totally forgettable surroundings. Unlike a gas station, the" fuel" sold in these places is affordable.

Recently opened neighbour of the Hard Rock Cafe, the downtown Toronto Paramount is part of a mini-chain of Middle Eastern restaurants with locations in Mississauga and Thornhill. An enthusiastic customer--both of the Cookbook Store and Paramount--encourages us to check it out.

By the standards of similar Middle Eastern restaurants, the decor is opulent. For people who like to eat in, this is the place to consume falafel or shawarma.  We, of course, go the takeout route.

The Designated Courier comes back with two plates:  mixed grill of beef and chicken which includes rice and a bread(aka pita) basket; chicken and beef shawarma plate which again includes pita .  On this plate, there are some truly terrible French fries which after one sampling, are unceremoniously dumped in the garbage.  The other starches, both rice and pita, are excellent.  The grains of rice are nicely separated and not overly salty and the pitas are still puffed from the oven--not made on the premises but reheated. Like the fries, the garnishes of pickled turnip and cucumber are pale and flaccid. Leave them off or get a new supplier, please.

Chicken seems to be Paramount's strong point.  The chicken--chunks on the mixed grill, and shreds on the shawarma,is perfect with nicely caramelized exterior but still juicy and tender within.  Our opinions are divided on the beef from the mixed grill with two of us finding it overcooked and tough while the third thinks it is fine. The shawarma beef is quite acceptable. There is another extra on the plates, an extremely garlicky sauce much like the Greek skordalia which is a great accompaniment to both beef and chicken.

We also disagree on the zaatar-topped manakeesh. The Levantine version of pizza can be topped with cheese, meat or the popular Middle Eastern/North African herbal mix, zaatar ,with sesame, herbs, usually including sumach, and salt. Both acidic and bitter, zaatar is for most people outside of the southern side of the Mediterranean, an acquired taste. Those of us who liked it thought it was the best we have had in Toronto.

We skipped dessert since most of the usual filo-based desserts were on offer by the kilo!

Although the chicken was excellent, not all of the food lived up to expectations while costing more than many Middle Eastern takeouts.
Cost: Two plates and a manakeesh came to $33.95.

Paramount
253 Yonge Street, Toronto

FRIDAY LUNCH at Porchetta & Co

Yes, Virginia, hype and reality sometimes intersect.  As anyone in Toronto who is at all interested in food knows, the superlatives have been flying since veteran chef Nick auf der Mauer(Far Niente, the Drake...)opened Porchetta & Co just over a month ago.

While this is the first venue in pig-happy Toronto specializing in the classic Italian pork dish, Sara Jenkins has wowed New Yorkers for over two years with her version.  What is new here is that auf der Mauer uses marinated pork shoulder with prosciutto and cured pork belly rather than whole boned pig, stuffed, and spit roasted (www.porchettaco.com for complete method).

Like the shop, the menu is tiny.  Porchetta is served in a sandwich or on a plate.  There are a soup, three sides(roasted potatoes, braised rapini, baked romano beans) and six extras (two cheeses, rapini, mushrooms, tomato sauce, and truffle sauce).

For our portable feast, our designated courier loads up with soup, the baked beans, and two sandwiches. Cabbage and smoked bacon soup elicits visions of a hearty soup with strong, peasanty flavors.  The reality is quite different: a milkily opaque liquid in which sweet shreds of cabbage are suspended along with discreet cubes of bacon and into which a dollop of seedy mustard has been stirred to provide bite for both flavor and texture. A peasant classic has been rendered elegant.  The baked romano beans are a meltingly delicious take on pork and beans.  Both soup and baked beans are enough to make a trip to Porchetta & Co worthwhile.

The buns for the sandwiches, from a nearby bakery, are a perfect bed for the porchetta and its crackling.  It is not so crusty that it competes with the latter but is sturdy enough to hold the meat and its toppings without disintegrating,nor is it so flavorful that it overwhelms the herbal accents of the meat.  One sandwich we top with rapini and mushrooms; the other is smeared with truffle sauce(ie truffle mayo)and mustard(no charge.  That mustard is, incidentally, Kozlik's which made the Top 100 list in the January 2011 Saveur.

The meat offers a range of textures from unctuous shoulder slices to crunchy chunks of crackling.  Mushrooms really add nothing but the rapini's bitterness offset the meat's richness while adding a shot of colour in a very beige sandwich. The truffle sauce?  Its presence is an overgilding of the proverbial lily.  Really the porchetta offers so many textures and so much flavor that nothing extra is really needed.

We polish off ever bite of this lunch with our faces wreathed in smiles. Yes, Nick auf der Mauer's porchetta sandwiches are everything the hype has promised---and great value for the price.

Price for a small soup, baked beans, two sandwiches with three extras was $21.55 plus tax.

Location:  
Porchetta & Co
825 Dundas Street West (at Palmerston)
Toronto   647-352-6611
                 www.porchettaco.com

BOOK REVIEW: Irresistable Macaroons by Jose Marechal

Forget souffles; this year's trendy pastry is the frustratingly temperamental French Macaron. Those of you who have attempted the cute, whimsical sweets know the feeling when your sugary little friends come out of the oven flatter than a car tire after strolling a bed of nails. Heartbroken, you scrape away at your baking sheets, unceremoniously trashing your failed creations as yet another batch of macarons falls flat on it's face. The lore is seemingly endless; some recipes have you start your oven scorching hot, and then drop the temperature, some have you wedge the door open slightly with a wooden spoon, and some tell you that the only way to achieve macaron nirvana is to bake them with the door completely wide open. They can't be THAT hard, can they?

                Shamelessly, I admit that I tried 4 times to make French Macarons, each attempt resulting in travesty. Defeated and macaron'd to exhaustion, I took a hiatus from the finicky French pastry and put the project on hold.

                And then along came "Irresistible Macarons" and I once again fired up my stand mixer and broke out my piping bag to do battle with the beast one last time. I followed the recipes exactly, measuring each ingredient and even checking the temperature of my sugar syrup (to make the Italian meringue, which seems to be the secret to every successful macaron) with an infrared laser thermometer. Lo and behold, what came out of my oven were perfectly round, light-as-air macarons sitting atop the "foot" that is a dead giveaway of a perfectly cooked macaron.

                Like making Hollandaise, once you get the hang of the routine; how to incorporate the sugar syrup just right, how to fold in the egg whites without losing volume and so on, French macarons become easier and less intimidating. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that macarons are effortless; they are still very much a study in technique and finesse, but Irresistible Macarons manages to draw out the pastry chef in all of us with sound recipes and simple, step-by-step direction.

                Impress your friends and family with the elegance and finesse of French macarons. It's an incredibly versatile dessert; once you get the basic shell recipe down, you can add ingredients like cocoa, cinnamon and minced candied ginger to tweak your macarons into entirely original creations. If you suspect you will ever contemplate making French macarons, it would be a grave mistake to not pick up this book.

Softcover, 72pp, $13.99
Review by Kevin Jeung

Restaurants of Palm Beach, Florida

To be frank, Palm Beach Florida has many adequate restaurants, but few that inspire me to return. So when I stay there, I often wind up ordering fresh meats and poultry, from such star purveyors across the U.S. as Lobel's (for their Wyoming burgers and steaks) in New York and Bryan's Fine Foods  (Corta Madera, California) for their exceptional aged lamb and their custom ordered and ground burgers where one may select the burger ingredients from over 20 types of meat for the burger. Also, I have the opportunity of ordering bbq brisket, ribs, and their sauce from some of the great bbq spots in the United States or bacon from some of the best producers who custom smoke their wonderfully different bacon. 


Locally, perhaps one of the best grocers is Carmine's........but, it is no Pusateri's (Toronto) and what Palm Beach lacks is such great specialty purveyors of products that Toronto has in spades such as Harvest Wagon for fruits and veg and such wonderful  specialty butchers as Cumbrae's or Olliffe's.


So, speaking of Palm Beach, where do I like to eat? I have been asked this question many times. For a simple roast beef dinner (yes, I eat that, reflecting on my fond memories of Ed's Warehouse in Toronto), the old standby of Ta-boo Restaurant on Worth Avenue, and that is pretty much all there is for me there.  Then, there is nothing like Michelle Bernstein's resto at the Omphoy Hotel for perhaps the best southern fried chicken in Florida (outside of her flagship resto in Miami). They also do a very good weekend brunch and some of the highlights are:


Pulled pork sliders with a slightly too sweet bbq sauce topped with creamy cole slaw and accompanied by crunchy, house made potato chips.

Poached eggs with creamy grits topped by a bit of tobasco butter and a wonderful stock/sauce made from ham hocks (my fave).

I also ordered, but was disappointed by the chorizo and potato hash. The potatoes were not crispy, there wasn't enough chorizo for flavour and the dish was just too greasy overall for my taste. Also, unfortunately, a bit boring.

Another very good Palm Beach resto, actually, just south of Palm Beach in Lantana, is Pizzeria Oceano. This very small pizza place, for me, vies for being one of the top places to enjoy pizza in North America!! What sets this little pizza joint apart is the thin, tasty and crispy crust made in a wood fired oven and topped with wonderful local produce or specialty meats from some of the finest regional purveyors. The crust is airy at the edge so that the dough has air pockets that exhibit a wonderful crispy flakiness. When one picks up a wedge of pizza, the whole slice stands out flat and stiff, not saggy and soggy. Ahhhh, such a wonderful crispy and tasty mouth feel!

The pizza selection changes daily but the "basic" (house made fresh mozzarella, pecorino, a rich tomato sauce and fresh basil leaves) is available every day. The pizza above has paper thin slices of potato with a rosemary "cream" and thinly sliced red onions. The "basic" also has 8 available "add ons" which vary depending or what is of interest to the chef, at local markets, but today's examples of add ons include sopressata, shallots, red onion, bielliese guancilae, Swanks toscano (black) kale, Swanks totsoi and fresh cut garlic. The pizza below is "the basic" and has fresh sliced garlic, thinly sliced shallots, basil leaves and Biellese's guanciale which is melted into the pizza so not visible in the photo. Just look and salivate when you see this beautiful crust at the edge!

A small selection of other very well executed dishes, which again, vary day to day, depending on the chef's inspiration.


The dish below is a delectably flavoured pasta dish with eggplant, a perfectly cooked, fresh porcini mushroom ragu with smoked buffalo mozzarella and a rich tomato sauce redolent of fresh thyme

The dish below is thinly sliced local country ham with locally farmed black kale, fingerling potatoes and onions in an intense, slightly smokey ham broth. 

They will also, on occasion, do an exceptional stromboli sandwich. What makes this sandwich truly exceptional, besides good ingredients, is the outstanding "bread", which I presume is made in house. The sandwich is baked in the wood burning oven giving the dark brown exterior crust of the bread not only a beautiful crispy quality, but also, an airy flakiness that when one bights down, one experiences an exceptionally satisfying crunch and then a burst of flavours fill the mouth! Love on a bun!!

MICHELLE BERNSTEIN AT THE OMPHOY HOTEL
2842 South Ocean Blvd
Palm Beach, FL
561-540-6444


PIZZERIA OCEANO
201 East Ocean Ave
Lantana, FL
561-429-5550

What I Love About Buca Restaurant, Toronto

Buca restaurant is one of the very few restaurants in the Toronto area that serves reassuringly rustic, Italian inspired cuisine.

The menu has a large selection of dishes that are frequently changed, depending on what is in season or the whims of the chef, but for me, the most rustic dishes stand out as the most satisfying. Despite the large range of temptations and my large appetite, unfortunately, I can not indulge in them all (unless I have my foodie partner, Alison Fryer, with me)! One dish I particularly enjoyed was the pizza bianco (no cheese). This very thin, crispy, well done pizza was simply seasoned with rosemary and topped with braised pulled pork and sea salt. Can you believe that I ate the whole thing???......and this was supposed to be shared as a starter! Each flavourful mouthful of crunchy goodness became the addictive obsession for the next, until there was no more! When the pizza arrived the aroma was so intoxicating, I had even eaten half of it before I remembered to take a photo!

House made lardo was wonderfully creamy and served with ever so light gnocchi fritti, little pillows filled with fennel, a touch of cinnamon and garlic.

Pickled, crunchy garlic and house aged red wine vinegar were the complements for wilted wild dandelion leaves.

And pasta, my first choice, the bigoli, hand cranked duck egg pasta with duck ragu, mascarpone and basil......a rich combination of beautiful rustic flavours.

And then, surprise, we were offered another pasta, not on the menu, which we just had to have. Thin, melt in your mouth, blood sausage filled ravioli was topped with fried rosemary leaves, pine nuts and aged balsamic vinegar. This is dish is a true example of the well executed, hearty, rustic, satisfying cuisine at Buca!

And yes, they make very good desserts that are a match for the rustic cuisine: tart yogurt ice cream on top of candied fruit and a lovely cake surrounded with an intense caramel sauce.

BUCA Restaurant
604 King St West (at Portland)
Toronto
416-865-1600

What I Love About Starfish Restaurant in Toronto

Starfish, despite it's vaunted reputation for a great variety of pristinely fresh shellfish, has a very good menu of "other foods" prepared by a talented chef. It also is my favourite place in Toronto to enjoy really fresh lobster that is never over cooked....even slightly!


But, then again there is the shell fish selection. Dotted with mounds of freshly grated horseradish, this awesome and inspiring cornucopia consists of 4 varieties of oysters, clams and my very favourite, fresh scallops.....one the sweetest taste experiences one may enjoy.

STARFISH OYSTER BED & GRILL
100 Adelaide St East (at Church)
Toronto 
416-366-7827

Centro's Restaurant: Inspired Chef's Creations

Chef Jason Carter loves to be challenged and inspired. In preparation for a special event for the Chevaliers du Tastevin (the dinner of the Burgundy wine society) he created a most inspired truffle based menu.

We began with 3 hors d'oevres, first, pork belly with curly endive and black truffle. The sweet unctuous pork belly was well contrasted with the slightly bitter endive and the mouthful just came alive with the pervasive aroma and taste of the black truffle.

Next, we enjoyed very tender sliced rare duck breast, cooked sous vide, with shaved black truffles, another heavenly marriage of flavours.

The 3rd app was a savoury venison tartar topped with a chiffonade of horseradish, poached garlic and chervil leaf.

Our first course, a richly flavoured butter poached lobster and a pureed chervil sauce was mounted on a puree of salt baked jerusalem artichoke, then all covered with shaved white truffles, a dish with layers of flavour.

Our next course was roasted guinea fowl accompanied by an apple onion tart, cider truffle stuffing and topped with shaved white truffle, was sided with an intense guinea fowl truffled jus. The fowl arrived wonderfully crispy on the outside and the meat was perfectly juicy and tender. The very light and flakey crust of the tart and the intense apple flavour went so well with the truffle and gamey fowl.

A course of roasted rib eye arrived very tender and rare and was paired with an incredibly tender and juicy, slow braised 18 hour rib. This dish was accompanied by black trumpet mushrooms, shaved black truffle and crisp rosti potatoes.

The final course was the chef's version of a classic lemon tart accompanied by shaved fig, strawberry and green apple, camomile honey and yogurt. A satisfying end to a wonderful meal.

CENTRO RESTAURANT & LOUNGE
2472 Yonge St (at Castlefield)
Toronto
416-483-2211