How safe is the food we eat?

Wow, click on this link to read what the NY Times ran today. https://webmail.aramark.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=30f679034ec44b6ea87db9528ce77fe0&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwell.blogs.nytimes.com%2f2009%2f11%2f30%2fhow-safe-is-your-chicken-dinner%2f%3fex%3d1275368400%26en%3d0d6d6b5d4fe3b847%26ei%3d5087%26WT.mc_id%3dHL-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M126-ROS-1209-HDR%26WT.mc_ev%3dclick
I am a big proponent of food safety and since I don't know how food was handled before it got to my kitchen I treat it very carefully. Everything in the article is true except nothing was mentioned about one very important thing. Wash your hands. Do this before, during and after handling any food and never touch raw chicken or even it's package and then handle anything else.

Cross contamination is so easy, you touch the package, open the refrigerator, turn on the water and wipe the counter with the same sponge you use to wash the dishes, it looks clean but what may have been on the package is now on everything you touched.

It is scarey to think of food as not being safe and I look at everything before purchase and preperation for my home and where I work. I inspect each item making sure that nothing is at the wrong temperature or damaged and if it is not right refuse it.

Keeping what we eat safe starts before it becomes available to us and product recall is not in our favor. Try this link http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm.

Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner Year 2009

I have not written since moving but here goes. I did not cook at home for family or friends this year but had the opportunity to cook in a different setting. On Monday 11/23/09, with a small team, I cooked a traditional Thanksgiving meal for 1000. It is is not that different than cooking for 10 but does require more clean up. I will not explain how to cook for a group this large but if you are interested email me chef@matthewbabbage.com and I can answer any questions. I will give a basic recipe for stuffing and it is the one my mother always used just multiplied by about 100 times, I do not stuff the turkey but cook it in roasting pans.
Remember the health of your family and guests can depend on safe food handling practices, wash your hands before and after you touch any raw food item. I will always speak and write about the importance of sanitation when you are in the kitchen since it is one thing you can do to insure that you have a safe and healthy holiday. It is impossible to know how many cases of illness there are due to improper food preperation, handling and time verses temperature during cooking, serving and storage. The single thing that you can do to help prevent people from getting sick is to wash your hands again and again. If you have any questions wash them again.
My recipe for the stuffing is as follows.

20 loaves white bread cut in cubes
1 gallon fine diced celery sweated in 1 lb. butter until soft
1 gallon fine diced onion sweated in 1 lb. butter until soft
6 tablespoon each kosher salt and ground black pepper
3 tablespoons each ground sage and poultry seasoning
1 and 1/2 gallons turkey stock, if you chose to use canned stock cut the kosher salt in half

Cook the celery and onion and spread on a cooking pan to cool for 1/2 hour. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl with half the turkey stock and with gloved hands mix until everything is incorporated adding more turkey stock as needed. Divide the mix in five hotel pans and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the stuffing reaches 165 degrees.

How to Boil an Egg

You need 4 things.

Eggs

Cold water

A pot large enough to cook them in a single layer

Heat

Everyone has a way to cook them but this method always works and the part that I find the most unpleasant, peeling the shell, takes no time at all.
1) Put eggs in pot and cover with 1 inch cold water.
2) Over medium heat bring to a boil and turn to a gentle simmer.
3) Cook for 5 minutes.
4) Turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes.
5) Pour off the hot water and rinse with cold until cool enough to handle.
6) Crack each egg, put back in the pot, cover with cold water and let them sit for 10 minutes.
7) Remove the shell, it will slip right off.
8) Rinse and dry with paper towels. They are ready to use or store them in the refrigerator.

chef@matthewbabbage.com with any questions.

Soft Shell Crabs

My first experience with crab, cooking for the All You Can Eat Alskan King Crab Leg Buffet. Things were different though when someone said " try this " and gave me a whole crab with a light crispy crust. Not knowing what to do I tried removing the shell and eating the contents. With a few kind words and a little instruction I was eating something that would change the way I cook.

Soft shell crabs are seasonal and available from early May to July and typically are blue crabs, Callinectes sapidius. Due to weather and fishing conditions they are at times not available. As the crabs grow they shed their exoskeleton which has become too small or "molt". They emerge with a soft covering and are "soft shells" ready for harvest. In as few as four days the shell begins to harden and they become " tinbacks" and will be a little crunchy when prepared. As they are caught, fishermen hold crabs beginning to molt until the cycle is complete and they are sent to market.

Buy the most active ones, they are not very strong out of water but watch for them to move. If the smell is not right keep looking. Kitchen trick, blow on them and watch to see if the eyes move. If this is something new start small and I recommend no more than two per person. Have the fish man clean them, you can do it yourself but it is easier to show you than trying to explain. If you are up to it there are many resources or email me at chef@matthewbabbage.com and I will give you step by step instructions. Cleaned or live do not let them get tossed in a plastic bag, have them put in a small flat container with dry towels or even better some of the straw they are shipped in. Get them home and in the refrigerator as soon as possible and eat them that day. I recommend the following preperation.

1) Mix 1 cup all purpose flour with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

2) Put the crab on a clean plate and blot dry with paper towels.

3) Heat a 10" saute pan over medium heat with a 1/4 inch of vegetable oil until it is almost smoking. If you have a deep fryer heat to 350 degrees.

4) Two at a time press the crabs in the flour so they have a heavy coating on each side.

5) Shake off the excess flour and put them top side down in the hot oil. Be careful, as you put them in the pan lay them away from you so it splashes away rather than toward you.

6) Cook until brown, flip and cook the other side for a minute or two.

7) Remove and drain on paper towels.

8) They are ready.

The flavor is delicate, in my restaurant I serve them with caper mayonnaise. 1/2 cup mayonnaise mixed with the juice from 1/2 lemon and 1 tablespoon chopped capers. It does not mask the flavor and lets you enjoy the subtleness of the crab. Maybe a glass of crisp cold white wine is the only other thing I can think of.

chef 1.0

I have been asked more times than I can remember what is required to be “Chef”. Not sure what is really being asked I answer a question with a question. “What do you mean”? My first apprehension is the way it is asked, not “what does it take to be a chef” but “what does it take to be Chef”. It would be the same if the question was “What does it take to be Coach, Captain, Team Leader, Mother or Father. The question is not easy to answer and anyone asked would have a different answer with as many similarities as differences. Experience in what you do will give you the knowledge to answer your own question.
I stop and think about what I will say since this needs my full attention and the one seeking guidance has come to me looking for support. I demonstrate what being “Chef “is and lead by example, this is not a time to send them away until later. I have worked in kitchens my whole life and have learned more how not to do things than how to do them. Maybe this is for the best since I work every day to make sure I don’t treat my culinary crew like they are expendable. Work hard to be the best you can not forgetting how you started and remember that you are only as good as those who support you is the answer I always give.

Food 101

To all aspiring culinarians there are a few things that need to be understood when starting a job. You are the new person and it is like starting at a new school, keep your head down and watch what is going on around you. First impressions go a long way and your survival depends on being excepted.
1) Keep a notebook and use it.
2) Know your schedule.
3) Show up for work before your start time.
4) Be ready to work when you get there.
5) If a uniform is not supplied make sure you know what you are expected to wear.
6) Buy a good pair of shoes with no slip soles and wear them.
7) Wash your hands before you begin and keep washing them throughout your shift.
8) Buy one good chef’s knife. It does not have to be expensive but comfortable to use. Keep it sharp and clean.
9) Before you begin make sure the chef knows you are in and ask what is expected of you.
10) Become an asset not a liability. Make yourself indispensable.
11) Don’t forget to always be polite and do not forget your manners. Please, thank you and excuse me go a long way.
12) Understand you have chosen to work in a field which is always changing. Be flexible and ready to do what is asked.
13) When asked a question use one of three answers; yes chef, no chef and I don’t know chef.
14) Before you cook “your own food” show you can follow direction, demonstrate an understanding of fundamental cooking techniques and ask before you change anything.
15) Leave your cell phone at home.

June 7th

Today is my oldest daughter Ashley's birthday she is 21, I remember the first time I held her, it does not seem like it was that long ago but it was. Her birthday has always been a way to date everything and not being there does not mean that I am not thinking of her. She was difficult to feed as a baby and picky as she grew. There was always one thing I knew she would eat if nothing else, egg and toast. I make it the same way now as I did then and is easy with a few instructions. Start with soft butter and do not try to substitute, use a shot glass and cut out the center of a piece of plain white bread. Heat a non stick pan over low heat, make one at a time and do not crowd the pan. Butter both sides of the bread and put in the pan, crack the egg in to a small dish making sure you don't break the yolk, get rid of a little of the white and pour the egg in the center of the bread and cook for a minute or two. Use a plastic spatula and flip it over being careful not to break the yolk and cook until it is golden brown. Salt and pepper is all you need and it is ready to eat. Don't forget to butter and toast the piece of bread you cut out with the shot glass it is the best part.

Tomatoes

The varieties are endless, click on this link and you will see what I am writing about.
http://www.tomatobob.com/heirloom-tomato-photos.htm. What to grow is where it begins and having limited space I start with a few different seedlings in large pots placing them in the sunniest location. With a little planning the results are more than expected and if we can’t eat them fast enough I wipe them clean and freeze them in a brown paper bag to use later. They are one of my top 10 favorite foods and are good right from the vine with a little kosher salt and black pepper. Try cutting them in wedges and mixing with Hellman’s mayonnaise, salt and pepper in a bowl, the juice from the tomatoes with everything else makes a great dressing and start to finish only takes a few minutes. I do not refrigerate them, they get mealy, and use them as fast as possible. Another way is thick slices on fresh white bread with Hellman’s, salt and pepper. Best eaten over the kitchen sink since it is kind of messy, there is no graceful way. You don’t have to grow fresh vegetables to enjoy them, farm stands are every where, we shop at them in Manhattan, and Philadelphia since we live in both cities and it is said that Jersey tomatoes are the best. If no farm stands are available ask the produce manager at your local grocery store, if they don’t carry any with enough interest they will. If you follow food trends you will see that it always ends where it begins and starts all over again at the farm. I have been in kitchens my entire life with a few short breaks, this blog is to be thought provoking and inspiring like my cooking classes. Simple preparations yield great results, think about fruit at the peak of growing season for dessert. As always I welcome your comments.

I like butter

If asked to give up one food it would not be butter. I can't imagine not being able to eat or cook with it, think about butter cream frosting or hollandaise, they would not exist. Yes I know there are good substitutions but to make them the correct way it is not possible. My solution so I can use butter when and where I like is to cut down or eliminate it in ways I will not notice it's absense. Try making mashed potatoes using olive oil in it's place and adding some of the cooking liquid until they are the right consistency. Just like making them with butter and milk you can use the same proportions, you will find that they are light and fluffy and seasoned with salt and pepper taste very good. You could also roast garlic and using more oil than you normally use and add that in place of the olive oil, roasted garlic mashed potatoes don't get any easier to make. I am not a nutritionist or claim to be one and now I can use the butter in some other way.

Fiddle Head Ferns

Have you had the opportunity to try them? Only available for a few weeks in spring and sometimes frozen, their taste is a little like artichoke bottoms. My first memory was as a child in upstate NY, given a paring knife and told to go and cut them in a small spot my Mother new from the year before " don't pick the ones that have brown edges or have started to unroll and only cut two or three per plant so you don't kill them" were pretty much the only instructions given. After collecting them for what seemed like hours they were rinsed, cooked and on the table and are at the top 10 of any food I have ever eaten. Preparation is simple and think of serving them with any method used for asparagus. Start by boiling them in a pot of salted water for 2-3 minutes, drain, rinse in cold water and boil again for the same amount of time, this will reduce any bitterness. While they cook the second time toast some chopped garlic in olive oil until it is brown, drain the ferns and shake well and add to the garlic, season with kosher salt and ground black pepper and they are ready. If you are lucky enough to have some they do not keep well and should be eaten that day, if you have to store them wrap in a clean dry towel, no plastic, and keep in a spot not too cold in the refrigerator.

Mother's Day

I am at work to start brunch before my team gets in and then preparing for a wine dinner in one dining room and musical performance with Kevin Costner in another. It will be a busy day and gone before you know it. My first thought this morning was of my wife, we have no children but do have dogs, cats and birds, it is a fury feathered family and I give her a Mother's Day card from them. My second thought was of my mother who has been gone for many years, my understanding of food comes from her. I know today she would make asparagus with Hollandaise.
Her preparation and mine are a bit different but the result is the same and no matter how many times I have made or will make it again I always judge it by her standards and would serve nothing less. I remember helping her make it using lots of butter, not clarified, egg yolks that came from her chickens or someone who lived close by and lemon juice with some salt and pepper, maybe this is why it is so hard to replicate since she kept it simple.
Happy Mother's Day Mom.

Food Today

Oysters have always been one of my favorite things to eat. After trying more types than I can remember I have found that Saddle Rocks are very nice and are equally good raw or cooked . They were discovered in the 1800's from the original Saddle Rock formation in the East River near Norwalk Harbor. They became so popular they were gone in a few years but they were never forgotten. The name is now trademarked and no longer come from the East River but the Connecticut side of Long Island Sound. They are moderately salty with a sweet taste, easy to open, reasonably priced and not difficult to find where I live in the northeast. I prefer them straight from the shell with nothing more than a shot of Frank's Hot Sauce and a squeeze of fresh lemon. There is always concern for food safety with anything, remember what happened with peanuts earlier this year, and eating raw shellfish should not be dismissed. Know your supplier, use your sense of smell, if it does not seem right then it is probably not, ask questions and don't be affraid to go somewhere else. Anyone in the food or food service business should put food safety and the public first. Don't settle for anything other than the best and if it is not available try something else.