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.