America's top five restaurant cities
Bon Appetit magazine's September issue, its 12th annual restaurant issue, names what its editors consider America's top five restaurant cities. Four of them - New York, Chicago, San Francisco and New Orleans - are longtime favorites for highly rated dining out, but perhaps it's a bit of a surprise to find Las Vegas now among the top five. (The cities are not named in ranking order.)
Not such a surprise to the magazine. Editor in chief Barbara Fairchild says Las Vegas isn't really up there all of a sudden. In her September "letter from the editor," she says Bon Appetit has been reporting on the scene there for a long time.
Readers not resident in the top five cities should note that the articles describing favorite eating places in each of the five include chefs' recipes you can cook at home anywhere - and that Boston, Philadelphia and more than 20 other cities are also covered in the issue. Los Angeles, the magazine's home town, is praised for its excellence in sushi.
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Time to preserve that abundant fruit
Basic information and recipes for marmalades and jams, jellies and other preserves are handily packaged for aspiring cooks in Madelaine Bullwinkel's "Gourmet Preserves Chez Madelaine" (Surrey Books, 2005, $14.95 paperback).
The book's 150 recipes guide readers not only to making the preserves, but also easy muffins, scones and other desserts that use preserves as ingredients or can be served with your fruit confections.
Bullwinkel teaches French cooking techniques at her Chez Madelaine Cooking School, in Hinsdale, Ill.
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Park eats are freshly green
Consumers are increasingly showing interest in going organic both at home and on the road, and in savoring local flavors that come from farm to table in short order.
Those interests are being served this summer for visitors to Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Niagara Falls State Park, Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, Calif., and several other state park locations.
Chefs in restaurants and other dining places managed by the concessionaire Delaware North Co. in these spots are buying and serving local products, with the aim of giving diners fresh, tasty and more nutritious meals.
At the same time that consumers are enjoying local cuisine that's organic and sustainable, they are supporting local economies, and reducing use of fossil fuels for food transportation.
Delaware North says it has challenged more than 100 of its chefs in its parks, resort and sporting-event locations to incorporate organic foods, fresh ingredients and sustainable options onto seasonal menus.
On the Web:
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How about a chocolate-flavor rub for grilling?
Here's another twist in the enjoyable quest for new flavor in grilling rubs: Chocolate, in the form of unsweetened cocoa powder, can add an unexpected taste boost. Its earthiness and acidity give an interesting note to several kinds of meat on the grill.
It's not so strange, perhaps, on reflection. Historically, different forms of the cacao bean have been used in savory foods and drinks, as in the Mexican mole poblano. Now chefs are adding small amounts of chocolate to dishes ranging from chili to vinaigrette. The following recipe for spiced cocoa dry rub works well with lamb.
Spiced Cocoa Dry Rub for Grilled Lamb
1 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup kosher salt
2 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes, chopped fine
½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 pounds lamb shoulder and-or leg, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 red onions, peeled and cut into small chunks
Combine all dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor, spice grinder, or mortar and pestle. Grind until the pepper flakes are crushed into a fine powder. (Store leftovers in a tightly covered jar for up to 1 month.) Generously coat the lamb cubes with the dry rub, and allow to marinate for from 2 to 12 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.
Light the grill. Remove lamb from refrigerator, bring to room temperature just before grilling, and thread lamb pieces alternating with onion chunks on metal skewers. Grill over direct coals, turning once after 5 minutes. If grill has a lid, cover the meat while it is grilling. With instant-read thermometer, check internal temperature of lamb cubes and remove when temperature reaches 125 F for medium-rare meat.
(Source: Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker).
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The dish on Hispanic cheeses
An interest in Hispanic-style cheeses is a natural outgrowth of the popularity of south-of-the-border cuisines, and cheese makers have responded to the demand for cheeses in this special category. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says there are some 42 U.S. cheese plants making Hispanic-style cheeses, with 18 of them in Wisconsin alone.
Although these cheeses get grouped in a category, they are different from each other, each with its own distinctive taste and texture. Here's a breakdown of Hispanic cheeses made in Wisconsin:
-Queso fresco: One of the most popular cheeses among Latin Americans and a staple in Mexican cooking, this is a soft, fresh cheese with a mild, milky flavor. It's often used as a topping or filling in enchiladas and is sometimes marketed as queso ranchero.
-Queso quesadillo: A buttery melting cheese commonly used in quesadillas, it also ideal for stuffed chilies and nachos, while north of the border, people like to melt it over hamburgers. The cheese is made in a jalapeno chili version, too.
-Queso blanco: This is a cheese that is good for grilling, frying or stuffing. It becomes soft and creamy when it's heated but will not melt. Its mild taste goes well with tropical fruits and sangria.
-Asadero: This is the south-of-the-border equivalent to Muenster cheese - it's a tangy cheese with a creamy texture. It melts nicely and is a good choice for nachos, enchiladas or a variety of regional dishes.
-Cotija, or queso anejo: A firm cheese with a robust flavor, cotija is an outstanding cheese for shredding or grating and can substitute for Parmesan. It's most often used as a garnish over foods.
(Source: Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board)
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