YumSugar

Would You Eat Cod Milt?

YumSugar — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:00:23 -0800

February's all about romance-inducing foods. How about a different kind of aphrodisiac? Right now, it's the season for cod milt, a fancier word for fish sperm. In Japan, it's considered a delicacy, where it's consumed both raw and cooked. I've always said I'll try anything once, although the thought of this makes my stomach turn. But maybe, as with bugs, you just need a few bites to get used to the idea. Have you ever tried cod milt?

Source: Flickr User takaokun

Definition: Offal

YumSugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:00:44 -0700

A collective term for the entrails and organs of a butchered animal. Examples include organs such as tripe, tongue, intestines, brains, liver, kidneys, and thymus glands (also known as sweetbreads). Although many cultures (such as American food culture) have traditionally shied away from eating offal, mixed-organ meats have become more prevalent at restaurants and in butcher shops. Because some organs can contain dangerous bacteria, they must be handled with care to be eaten safely.

Catching Up With Chris Cosentino

partysugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:04:20 -0700

Since he competed in the Next Iron Chef two Summers ago, San Francisco's acclaimed offal-chef, Chris Cosentino, has been a very busy guy. He's worked nights at his head-to-tail rustic Italian restaurant, Incanto, opened a salumeria, Boccalone, at the Ferry Building in SF, and filmed a new television show, Chef vs. City, for the Food Network. Last week Chris took some time out of his hectic day-to-day to show me the graffiti-style "Shut Up and Cook" mural in the kitchen and to chat about everything from his 4-year-old son's eating habits to why he actively tweets. Find out what the chef had to say and read more.

On the Aug. 7 debut of Chef vs. City: It's very exciting, but it makes you nervous. We've already shot the entire show, but I don't get to see any of the final edits. I am what I am.

On food trends: I don't think food is trendy at all. I'm not reinventing anything here at Incanto. I'm just reintroducing. It's a realization of the past. Folks are more connected to where their food comes from. People are more interested in food - they're sharing with their neighbors, they're joining meat co-ops. They feel more connected to food because it's the ethical thing to do, not because it's trendy. You could say that Korean food is trendy right now, but to me a trend is something that comes, gets really popular, and goes away. Korean food isn't going to go away. It's just that more people are aware of Korean food. It's becoming mainstream, but it's not a trend. It's like bacon, people aren't going to stop eating bacon. Ever.

On his love affair with offal: Working in restaurants you see all the meat come in. Sure, there's always foie gras and sweetbreads, but when I came to work here [at Incanto] I wanted to cook rustic peasant food and the basis for this type of food is using every piece of meat. Using the whole animal. I've started harvesting my own animals and that changes your perspective.

On the one thing he won't eat: I eat everything. The only item I ever disliked - it turned my stomach - was balut.

On what's next for Boccalone: We just launched the mortadella hot dog. I like to do a hot dog during baseball season. We already make mortadella, but now we are just packaging it in a different way. I plan to continue rolling with what we are doing. I like to make really good consistent products. This is what we strive to do on a daily basis.

On how the Internet has changed the role of the modern chef: I have a lot of fun with Twitter. It's only 140 characters, so you really have to think about what you are saying. These sort of things are important because people want to communicate. People want to be in contact with chefs. They want to know how to cook, they want to ask questions. With my website, I try to bridge the gap. It gives me direct contact with the people. The Internet, Twitter, blogs have broken down a barrier. There is more exchanging of information occurring. I try to answer all the emails I get.

On raising a foodie son: My son will eat anything. He's had tripe, he's had beef heart tartar. At the Ferry Building last Saturday, he ate a dozen oysters by himself and he's 4 years old!

Source: Lisa Hamilton

A Colorful Midday Meal at Feast

YumSugar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:50:18 -0700

On a recent trip to Texas, Reef wasn't the only provocative meal that I had. I also ate an unorthodox lunch at Feast, a restaurant that was opened by three British ex-pats, James Silk, Meagan Silk, and Richard Knight, in Houston last year. The eatery, which has earned accolades from the New York Times as well as a James Beard Best New Restaurant nomination, focuses on adventurous and gourmet nose-to-tail dining. See more of the restaurant - and the dishes that push America's dining envelope - when you keep reading.

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Do You Like Paté?

partysugar — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:45:51 -0800

Definition: Sweetbreads

partysugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:15:08 -0700

Sweetbreads
The thymus glands of veal, beef, and pork. There are two glands, one near the heart (which is considered more delicious) and one near the throat.

Look for white, plump, and firm sweetbreads, and use within 24 hours of purchase. To remove the outer membrane, the glands are normally soaked in salt water before being cooked.

They can be prepared a variety of ways and are sometimes used to make pate.

Source

Offaly Good Secret Tacos

YumSugar — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:16:32 -0700

I spent a good chunk of this weekend geeking out with geeksugar at the 2008 Maker Faire. While there I noticed a booth called "Secret Eating Society" and told geek she'd know where to find me if we got separated.

The Secret Eating Society is a group of Bay Area foodie hipsters who are putting out a quarterly journal of adventurous eats. (There's no word on where you can buy the journals, but you can send them an email and I'm sure they'll let you know.) They also have events around the area, including this booth at Maker Faire. Their booth was selling offal tacos - whole roasted pig and braised lamb cheeks - as well as hibiscus-mint coolers.

To celebrate the fact that Cinco de Mayo was just around the corner - not to mention the fact that I actually love weird meats - I ordered one of their tacos. And as much as I hate to say the pun you're all thinking, the braised lamb cheeks taco was indeed "offally" good.

So tell me, what do you think of a secret eating society? Would you join if it was in your area?

Would You Eat These Chilis and Bones?

partysugar — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:00:27 -0700

Former Next Iron Chef contestant Chris Cosentino is infamous for serving a smörgåsbord of animal innards and extremities at his San Francisco restaurant, Incanto. Although I have yet to experience his delicious cuisine, Brian of SF Weekly, recently savored pig's trotter, pig's heart, and much more at Incanto.

His favorite dish - chilis and bones - consisted of "lengths of meaty tuna spine grilled with a ton of chili, garlic, peppers, capers and mint." Cosentino recommended the tuna spine be consumed like ribs. Being an adventurous eater, I would love to taste this tuna spine especially with such a scrumptious sounding sauce!

How about you? Would you eat these chilis and bones?

Source

Not Interested in Foie Gras? How About Faux Gras?

YumSugar — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 09:18:39 -0800

Foie gras is definitely a controversial subject, some folks love the way it tastes and don't care about how it's produced, while others won't go near it because of how it's produced. There are even those who love it, but feel too guilty to eat it.

We could get into a big debate over whether or not foie gras is cruel - sidenote: did anyone see Anthony Bourdain's Holiday Special segment about it? - but for the time being, I thought I'd just tell you about an alternative. UK supermarket Waitrose has created a product called Faux Gras - they even have the term trademarked - that is a blend of goose liver and goose or duck fat. It costs significantly less than the real thing and comes close to the real thing. David Stone, a buyer for Waitrose, said:

"We are confident we have come up with the holy grail of the gastronomic world - a pate with the richness of traditional foie gras, but without any of the guilt."

What do you think of this? Would you try it? And for those of you that are curious about it, but don't live in the UK, Gourmet has a recipe for Chicken Faux Gras.

Source

Thanksgiving Tip: Don't Forget the Giblets

YumSugar — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:43:33 -0800

Today's Thanksgiving tip is actually a really simple one. However, if you're a first time turkey chef, you'll definitely want to listen up. When you buy a whole bird - this is true for many chickens as well - there is actually a small packet inside of it. The packet is in the cavity of the bird and it contains all the giblets - heart, gizzard, liver, etc. - wrapped up in either a paper or plastic pouch. Whatever you do, make sure you remove this from the bird, especially if it's plastic. If you don't, the paper may burn, or even worse the plastic may melt. If the paper burns, you might still be able to salvage everything, however, if the plastic melts it's all over. It will have contaminated the turkey and the giblets, and your meal will be ruined. So simple tip, reach in and take the giblets out of the turkey.
If you're wondering what to do with that little packet, why don't you try making a giblet stock for your gravy? To get the recipe, read more

Giblet Broth
From Seattle Times via The Joy of Cooking

Makes 4 1/2 cups

Turkey giblets (heart, gizzards) and neck
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup each chopped carrots and celery
5 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Chop turkey neck into 2-inch pieces. Cut heart lengthwise and divide gizzards into lobes. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium heat. Add giblets, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes.
Add water and bring to a boil; skim foam from surface. Add bay leaf, thyme, salt and peppercorns. Reduce heat and simmer about 1 hour. Strain through a fine sieve and add water to equal 4 ½ cups. Set aside for gravy. Refrigerate if not using right away.

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