Top Chef Winner Ilan Hall - How He Got on the Show

Ilan Hall at Great Grapes in Annapolis Maryland explains the interview process that got him on Top Chef. Click on the title to see the video.

Summer International Fancy Food Show

After 2 days working at the Fancy Food Show and limited time to walk the floor I have come up with a couple of picks. Chocolate with Bacon...my booth mate and president of Tsp Spices mentioned it as well as Deann Bayliss of Frontera Grill...I made a beeline to Vosges Chocolate to taste it. It was good but after munching so much I really couldn't determine the bacon flavor. I will get more information.

Okay, the next item is soy salt which used aged soy sauce (3 years) and freeze dried it and you sprinkle it on your food. Also white soy sauce which is used in food dishes where you don't want the deep soy color. This is a combination of wheat and soy.

I had a great lunch with the bad boy of baking, Nick Malgieri at the Great New York Noodle Company (we dined there last year). Beef Mai Fun, Shrimp with Eggs, Roasted Pork, Millionaire's Chicken, Soft Shell Crabs - we were quite full. Nick was off to the butchers as we went and got some sorbet. More to tell later on. So those were my Fancy Food Show picks as nifty new items.

There was a proponderance of energy drinks and waters, organics (a whole new section adding about another 100 booths to the show). Wellness is what it is all about.

I will hope to have a newsletter out in the next two weeks.

Stay tuned.

In Search of the Holy Pizza

My food buddy and I decided to try two pizza places in Baltimore that have had rave reviews. We had an early start and off we went to Eastern Avenue to Matthews Pizza, which has won best pizza in Baltimore numerous times. I was extremely hungry with just eating a slice of watermelon all day. I was up and ready for this pizza. Since we knew we were heading to two pizza places we ordered the small margherita pizza with tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil.

I have to admit I have a preference for thin crispy pizza, it doesn’t make it a better pizza, it just meets my personal likes. Matthews offers a thicker crust ..but then again it isn’t a crust, it seems more like a focaccia dough. The tomato was in cubed pieces with sufficient mozzarella and strips of baked basil. The texture was fine but the taste was bland. We both added more Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano and chili pepper flakes. The staff was pleasant enough but to me Matthew's wasn't "all that."

Next, Joe Squared on North Avenue next to the Maryland Institute of Art Building. It isn’t in the best of neighborhoods. My companion wanted to sit at the bar which gave us the added benefit of 2nd hand cigarette smoke. I let it ride and put it in the atmosphere column. We settled in on the mushroom pizza with sautéed mushrooms and mushroom powder.

I thought I would order a cup of gumbo while we waited for the pizza. When the gumbo arrived it was a conglomerate of meat sauce, some shrimp like creatures, sausage, ground beef and okra…it was a mixture of what seems to be their Bolognese sauce and regular gumbo. It needs to be listed on the menu as Gumbonese. As we both are finishing the Gumbonese we were informed there were no mushrooms so we chose another pizza margarita. Another disappointment. The crust was thin and crispy but they seemed to have just spread tomato sauce on this square pizza with limited mozzarella and fresh strips of basil. It was lackluster except for the crust. We picked off the mozzarella on half the pizza and added it to the slices we were eating and left the naked slices.

Joe Squared seems like a cool hang-out for the art students but not worth my return. I found I was barstool dancing to some of the music but eventually there was too much rap. Was it Eugene O'Neill who said "you can't go home?" I can't go back, funky places are a part of my youth.

Friendly's Revisted

I’m not usually swayed by television ads but there was something about the ad for Friendly’s burgers a couple months ago that had me salivating. Maybe it was that my husband has been dieting for months and we are eating salads almost nightly, maybe it was sense memory of a gooey mushroom Swiss burger I had 20 years ago, maybe I was sick of our Friday night restaurant haunts, in the end I craved their burger. This may not be something you expect from one who professes their love of foie gras, caviar and all things gourmet but I do have my dark side.

I convinced the husband to go outside of his 1 ½ mile radius for our Friday night restaurants to trek to Towson to Friendly’s Restaurant. Surprisingly, the husband ordered a bowl of their Manhattan clam chowder and a Caesar salad with grilled chicken (yup, another salad). For some reason beyond my own reasoning, I ordered a cup of chicken soup - knowing full well it would not taste homemade, and you guessed it, the mushroom Swiss burger - which now comes with smoky bacon.

I tasted the “home-made” clam chowder and it was really good, really tasty, much better than my soup and made a mental note to get it upon on my next visit. My burger arrived with an abundance of French fries that the husband inhaled. I took off the bacon, unhinged my jaw in preparation of this large burger, and bit into the nice juicy, gooey burger. It was Nirvana, the perfect burger for the perfect sense memory. I indulged in the "happy endings" hot fudge sundae to complete this degustation menu. His soup, my burger and the hot fudge sundae rocked my world that night.

I really need to find out who the ad agency is for Friendly’s because the ad must have some subliminal messages “you will go to Friendly’s”. Well, a new ad appeared on TV and you guessed it, it played, I craved and I had to go to Friendly’s. I was thinking juicy, gooey burger and a great cup of clam chowder. The husband agreed again to go outside his comfort zone for Friday night dinners but this time we went to the Friendly’s in Reisterstown. This outlet looked fresher in appearance, not as old as Towson’s.

I knew what I was going to have; you guessed it, the clam chowder, the mushroom Swiss burger and the hot fudge "happy ending" sundae. Well the clam chowder was tasty, maybe a bit saltier and the potatoes were hard. The cheese wasn’t quite melted on the burger and the mushrooms didn’t abound. The husband knew he was going off diet food so he did a burger as well, ate all the fries and then dipped into mine – he was a happy camper.

Maybe there would be a reprieve with the sundae. I asked the waitress for extra hot fudge. I wanted to totally indulge even though I was quite full, full indeed, from the soup and the burger. What I got was an extra cherry and no extra hot fudge. It wasn’t a bad meal it just wasn’t the one I expected. What I ended up with was a meal of a trillion calories, lots of cholesterol that wasn’t worth the anticipation or taste.

Gelatin Man

Well folks, here is a photo I took at the opening event for the International Association of

Culinary Professionals in April. It was held at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago where the committee went all-out to prove that Chicago is a cutting-edge food town.

If you look at this photograph closely you will see that all the parts of this life-size gelatin man is made up of food. I bet Bill Cosby didn't think this when he was pushing Jell-O to the kids.

They also had mannequins clothed in food.

ROAD TRIP

Up at 4 a.m. and ready to go by 5 a.m. on a ROAD TRIP to New York City. Camera, cell phone, mp3 player, one large empty suitcase, two totes, contact lens case and solution, cash, and two sandwiches on pumpernickel with butterfish and a selection of books-on-CD. My friend Jeff and I are off to New York for BookExpo America – the big show for the book industry. Seat belt buckled, hair pulled back in a scrunchy to keep it straight and ready for some serious doings on our ROAD TRIP.

At 5 a.m. there is no traffic on I95, and with Jeff’s EZPass we keep zipping along just talking away. We never seem to run out of conversation between his marketing business, my public relations business and our passion for food….yada yada yada. A quick pit stop and an oversized Crunch bar and we are in New York, parked and with the large empty suitcase in tow.

As an experienced BookExpo attendee, I immediately head to the special ticket counter where it is first come-first served for ‘celebrity author tickets’. Aah, I see Alan Alda is there with a book but they were out of his ticket and the same for James Patterson. I did get a Charles Grodin’s ticket.

BookExpo is not for the faint-of-heart. There are throngs of book retailers and librarians converging under one roof. Don’t get in the way of any librarian trying to get an autograph from Alan Alda, you will be trampled. I constantly felt like a car going the wrong direction on the Capitol Beltway at rush hour.

So visualize two floors of the entire Javits center. The lower back half are 34 partitioned lines where authors sit at the end autographing copies of just released books or galleys of forthcoming books. There are also authors signing at booths upstairs so you need to have an A, B, C plan and also having a friend help by standing in line and while your in a different one.

I take up what seems like permanent residency in the Silver Palate 25th Anniversary Edition autograph line. Ron Longe, publicity for Workman Publishing counts off heads. They only have 250 books to give away. From there it was to line 11 where Robby Benson was signing his book. He was more a teen actor and the original “Beast” in Beauty and the Beast. I looked at him and joked how he has grown up, with the long dark hair with streaks of grey. I had left Jeff in line for the Charles Grodin signing. Charles was always an entertaining actor and great conversationalist on the TV talk shows so I’m anxious to read his book.

Okay, we were pretty loaded with books so we go up to coat check and unload the totes of the books into the large suitcase. This will be one of three trips.

So we went upstairs with some time specific stops and on our way stopped at Cumberland House who is the publisher of YUM-tasty recipes from culinary greats, a cookbook co-authored by myself and ROAD TRIP buddy, Jeff Spear. Back lit in their booth is the image of our book cover which we had not seen and had little liberties as to the design. Of course, my name was spelled incorrectly but in their catalog it was all correct except for the book cover. Fingers crossed, they correct the cover. There is a lot to tell about the book project but for today, for the here-and-now, the book’s official release date is October, 2007.

We stopped to talk to two gentlemen who have a BBQ book coming out, a re-release as to where you find great BBQ in the country. Fate being with us, they were about to offer up some real BBQ. Jeff and I grabbed some slaw, BBQ chicken and beef, and corn. The only cool place in the convention center was the Press Room so off we went to enjoy our meal.

After our repast, we were off and running. There were many more books to get, many more authors to sign books. Actor Bruce Dern was promoting his upcoming memoir. I thanked him for entertaining us over the years and Jeff talked about Dern’s roll in Silent Running. Chris Kimball, Cooks Illustrated, was signing his new cookbook of lost recipes. I had a moment to chat about my old cookbook called Wartime. He seemed interested so I think we will take that contact to step two.

We ran into the Chef Elizabeth Falkner of Citizen Cake in San Francisco. We thanked her for her recipe donation for our cookbook and munched on some of her chocolates that she had made. Elizabeth will have a cookbook release this fall.

At around 3 p.m. Jeff called uncle and proceeded to wait for me in the Press Room. I visited more booths, gathered more catalogs, and more books. By 4 p.m. we were leaving with the suitcase repacked and one tote of books for Jeff. We drop everything off at the car and grabbed a cab for to go to east 18th Street. Time to kill before our dinner reservations; we walked past Maury Rubin’s City Bakery, through Union Square’s farmers market to a tiny Italian restaurant where we had drinks and an appetizer. We high-fived each other considering all that we accomplished in a short time. Understand I had to jump to accomplish that feat. Jeff is well over 6 feet and I’m sure I’ve shrunk below my formal five foot tall status.


We were off to make our dinner reservations but the restaurant’s air condition was broken. We politely decline to stay and went to BLT for dinner. Their Saturday night special was a lobster tail, filet mignon, corn, and potato for $29.00. So after a hearty dinner, we were in a cab back to the parking lot, and on the road for home by 7:10 p.m. Jeff removed his boots and back into his sneakers. I had my shoes off, my contact lenses removed and my hair back up in the scrunchy and set to roll in record time. As we chatted about the day, our cookbook, food and what we did in our crazy younger years the Eagles and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young serenaded us on the way back home.

Jeff got the suitcase-from-hell out of the trunk and in my front door. The ROAD TRIP was over. We decided we need to do more, a day jaunt to the shore, maybe a Chinese Fire Drill here and there. Nothing says we have to act our age.

As for names of these books, I haven’t opened the suitcase. I’ve just rolled out of bed and thought while thoughts were fresh I would jot this down for the blog. I will write more about the subjects in the Book Expo Dining Dish special edition. It is only 8:21 a.m.

Is This What A Reality Show Feels Like?

I attended the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) conference in Chicago in April. I want to share an experience I had and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I had participating.

IS THIS WHAT A REALITY SHOW FEELS LIKE?

I'm up early, pumped to be participating in a workshop for food photographers and food stylists. I hopped on the bus taking us to Stephen Hamilton Photographics, our host studio for the day. You need to go to Stephen’s link not just to see his photographs but to see his studio – two full kitchens plus a small side kitchen, a room the size of my living and dining room filled with china, glassware and flatware (a dream for a plate junkie like me)…. this was big time.

I am not going to bore you with the panel discussion; it was pertinent to those in the room. What I am going to tell you about is the “challenge” set forth to the 40 stylists and photographers. Don Odiorne, a vice president at the Idaho Potato Commission presented the challenge of re-creating Tater Tots and having a completed photograph to go along with the campaign. No choosing teams, they were pre-arranged. We had about 30 minutes prior to lunch, plus lunch to come up with a concept. Ten strangers, ten different ideas that had to be narrowed to one concept, cooked, styled, and photographed in three hours.

As for my team, Team Red, we had photographers, a chef, and a representative from a manufacturer (I think), add me and a bright, vibrant stylist-chef, Danni Bleil to the mix and that was our team. My thoughts were, you liked Tater Tots as child, you’ll love them as an adult-reinventing them for an adult market. Danni had the idea take-off on the mashed potato martini bars and after what was a very, very, long, tedious discussion we came up with an adult drink concept with the Tater Tot garnish. By the time we went to the kitchen/studio I had become team leader (I got to make the presentation) and Danni was lead on the styling.

Let me say here and now, my styling skills have been for live cooking demonstrations and TV segments. I took the workshop to learn more about photographic styling. Danni showed me a fabulous mini photo album of beverages taken by Steve Adams , a photographer on our team. We immediately made him lead photographer. The team spent a lot of time coming to an agreement on a concept which left us last-in-line at the prop room. Then there was a problem with the camera/computer set up. If this kept up, as team leader, I knew Donald Trump would fire me in the board room.

To keep the odds even for each team, each were presented with identical food baskets. I’m trying to remember every teams work. One does sticks out, it was a Tater Tot baked with a Rolo (chocolate – caramel candy) on top - need I say more. One team made it mini foods by cutting the Tater Tot in half and making mini-burgers and the other team dressed them up for hors d’oeuvres.

Another team leader put together a PowerPoint presentation. I was in spasms about memorizing the presentation, at my age I’m lucky to remember why I walked into the next room. When I was advised I didn’t have to memorize it and could use notes, I was golden.

Team Red really pulled together after a very rocky start. Danni came up with the name, Tatertini, and I used my public relations/marketing skills to drive the team story home of opportunities in the adult market, co-branding with potato vodka companies, creating a signature drink that will boost sales and expand the advertising market to magazines like Gourmet, Bon Appetit and Santé. Steve Adams addressed how he photographed the product and we presented the photograph in color and in black and white.

I am pleased to say Team Red won the challenge, which I’m sure was obvious, why else would I write about it. As the winners we received a little potato doll and an autographed copy of Art Smith’s new cookbook. A cocktail reception awaited everyone with a wonderful lobster cerviche, wine and cheese. At the reception, two of my team members proceeded to tell me that couldn’t believe that we won, they thought our concept was, hmmm, let me paraphrase “stupid.”

Reality, what can I say – IT WAS A BLAST!

Cooking Lesson - Petroli Sole Wrapped in Squash Blossoms

A Second Chance to Save Chocolate

U.S. Food and Drug Administration has extended its deadline regarding what can be called chocolate

Due to an overwhelming outcry from the public, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended its public comment period for proposed changes to the ingredients in chocolate from April 25th to June 25th. If the change in the ingredients listing passes, the FDA will allow chocolate companies to begin substituting artificial fats and vegetable oils for the naturally existing cocoa butter found in chocolate and they will still be able to label and call the final product “chocolate.”

Why?

The ‘why’ is simple. The mega-chocolate companies want to reduce their costs with the cheaper vegetable oils and then be able to pass the final product off on the public as chocolate. The recipe for chocolate has virtually been the same for hundreds of years; changing it now is not for better taste or health benefits, it is to keep the manufacturing costs down.

Art Pollard, founder of Amano Artisan Chocolate, one of the few small artisanal U. S. chocolate manufacturers, continues the fight to keep chocolate natural. Pollard states, “When you take the cocoa butter out of chocolate it’s like taking the cream out of ice cream and still calling it ice cream. Removing the cocoa butter and replacing it with artificial fats and vegetable oils creates a monstrosity, I call it FrankenChocolate.”

“As for the consumers, buyers beware,” says Pollard. “FrankenChocolate will leave the consumer misled, confused and ultimately dissatisfied. It is very important that the public fight this. If they do not, the chocolate we grew up with will never be the same.”

How YOU can save chocolate!

More detailed information and a link to where the public can leave comments for the FDA can be found at the Amano Chocolate's website http://www.frankenchocolate.com.
“Gary Guittard of Guittard Chocolate has taken a very public stand against these proposed changes in chocolate,” states Amano Artisan Chocolate founder Art Pollard. “To the best of our knowledge, Guittard is the only large U. S. chocolate company to oppose these changes in a public way.” Guittard has created a website with additional information - http://www.dontmesswithourchocolate.com.

If the public doesn’t reach out to the FDA and make their voices heard they can be assured that grandma’s chocolate chip cookies will be full of artificial hydrogenated fats instead of the chocolate she intended.

Cause and Effect

As the giants of the chocolate industry create artificially low pricing, they are harming the industry over the long term. The replacement of cocoa butter with cheaper ingredients will depress the cocoa prices, forcing cocoa growers to look for other livelihoods. In fact, a number of growers are now cutting down trees to plant more profitable and less labor-intensive crops such as pineapple and passion fruit.

Cocoa farmers have long subsisted on the edge of poverty with the large chocolate makers paying only the bare minimum - just enough to ensure the next year’s harvest - a practice Amano Artisan chocolates decries. With the higher cocoa prices the labor situation on the Ivory Coast has been improving and diminishing the trafficking of children. By depressing the cocoa prices it will reverse all the gains made in protecting these children.

WARTIME Menus * Substitutes * Cooking Recipes

As I touch this delicate paper cookbook/pamphlet, Wartime from July 1944, it starts to fall apart in my hands. My husband, a flea market-yard sale devotee, garnished this piece of history for me a couple of months ago. I thought I would share some of the interesting parts of this wartime food legacy with you.

Wartime rationing is not anything most of us have had to deal with in our lifetime. These were times when you didn't have strawberries in the dead of winter; no one knew about nutritional packaging, there were no TV dinners or fast food joints. In those days you barely had enough butter.

Recipe: How to Stretch Butter

1 envelope gelatin

1 lb. butter

1/4 cup cold water

1 14 1/2 oz. can evaporated milk

salt to taste

Soften the gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water (about 5 minutes). Place over hot water and stir until the gelatin is thoroughly dissolved. Soften the butter but do not melt it. Gradually whip the milk and dissolved gelatin in to the butter with an egg beater or electric mixer. Salt to taste. A little yellow vegetable coloring may be added if desired. Pack in a glass container and chill before using. DO NOT USE FOR COOKING. This recipe yields 2 lbs.

Americanism was promoted when the US was at war in 1944. The opening line of the foreword "We, as a nation, are great meat eaters ." The closing line "This series has been carefully prepared with the hope that it will be of real practical value in helping your family and every other family using them to be healthy and happy American citizens."

The Lunch Box chapter continues with the Americanism. "Good foods and proper ones are the bases of healthy, strong bodies. Healthy men and women are vitally necessary to win this war. Yet many workers are not eating the proper foods to give them energy and "pep."

Here is a peppy recipe for a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich:

Butter two slices of bread. Spread one slice with peanut butter and one with jelly. Put the two together and brush the outside with melted butter. Sauté in butter in a heavy skillet.

Note-Marmalade, or jam may be used in place of jelly.

In 1944 there were Seven Basic Foods:

Group 1

Green and yellow vegetables-some raw, some cooked, frozen or canned

Group 2

Oranges, tomatoes, grapefruit, raw cabbage or salad greens

Group 3

Potatoes and other vegetables and fruits - (raw, dried or canned)

Group 4

Milk and milk products -fluid, evaporated, dried milk or cheese

Group 5

Meat, poultry, fish or eggs, or dried beans, peas, nuts or peanut butter

Group 6

Bread, flour and cereals - Natural whole grain or enriched or restored

Group 7

Butter and fortified margarine - (with added vitamin A)

In addition to the seven basic foods, eat any other foods you want.

Wartime offered a 2-week menu planner so one could appropriately take advantage of the leftovers, no waste. Probably the most unusual combination I saw recommended was a bacon and pickle sandwich on enriched white bread.

In the Vegetable Cooking section one can learn how to cook Jerusalem Artichokes. I didn't fathom that this was something grown in the US at that time.

What a gold mine Wartime is for a view of how we lived in the US during 1944. I hope you enjoyed this snippet of history.

I'm a Walmart Special

The cookbook I compiled with Jeff Spear, Yum ~ Tasty Recipes from Culinary Greats isn't even published yet and its being discounted from 26.95 to 16.47 on Amazon.com or let me translate that to yen, because yes, we're discounted in Japan as well- regular price 3,089 yen reduced to 2,781 yen. Why do I feel so dirty, demeaned ...I'm on sale at Walmart with that little trigger happy yellow face cutting the prices even more.

A Little Exercise and Lots of Food

Took a walk yesterday for an hour and I did water aerobics for an hour today, suspended with no floatation device. My reward for the exercise was going out to lunch with Jeff Spear from Studio Spear. We talked business about the new cookbook we compiled coming out October 1st called YUM. The profits will go to the national charity. We hit Thai Landing and I had some average won ton soup but a wonderful bean thread salad with chicken and shrimp. I am so full!

Thrilled the sun is shining. Working from home has its benefits but I do find that there can be days-on-end that I don’t walk out of the house.

What’s up in Dining Dish land? Last Monday night was the Restaurant Association of Maryland’s Annual Gala. Michael Birchenall, editor of Mid Atlantic Food Service Monthly, won the allied member award, and deservedly so. Michael hosted my husband and I at his table along with Andrew and Liz Evans of the award-winning and much publicized Inn at Easton.

Watch out Baltimore restaurateurs, Michael Birchenall has set me loose with my camera for a new photo section call Balti-More. You never know when I’m going to snap your photo.

I didn’t tell you I had just gotten back from 5 days in Chicago at the International Association of Culinary Professional’s conference where eating and drinking were a prerequisite. That is another blog story with photos.

So Monday had been the RAM gala and Tuesday was the 11th Anniversary at Sotto Sopra Restaurant. It was communal dining, family-style service (note the photos below). Riccardo doesn’t know how to do things in a small way. Platters of salads, then seafood, half lobsters for all, two risottos, grilled meats and braised lamb …too much but everyone loved it. Abudanza!

Lots of work on my plate---pun intended. Back to the paying jobs.

Dining Dish is Alive and Well and Not Living in Paris

No recent Dining Dish Newsletters. No posts to the blogs. I swear I am alive and well and living (that is questionable) in my office working on a cookbook. The time frame on the book is very tight, so tight I haven't even made it to the gym. I continue to represent and promote Sotto Sopra Restaurant . Also on the table, pun intended, is planning the marketing and public relations on the opening of Pazza Luna Restaurant in February. Dining Dish has to eat so the paying jobs have come first.

I was in New York in September for the Star Chefs Conference. November had me in Atlanta for the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs Conference. December I was back in New York for lunch and restaurant look-sees. I have a ton of material to write about. Don't give up on me. I promise to be back and delectably informative.

Good news, bad news. I receive a fabulous digital camera for the holidays. More personalized photos to follow.

So between recipe testing, recipe editing and promoting a new restaurant not much time for anything else.

To those who understand the title of this article, right now I wish I was Jacques Brel for I would be in Paris.

Keep the Sizzle Going!

DD

I'm So Confused!

Wednesday for many years was the traditional day the supermarket food circulars came out, they came in the Wednesday paper, and the sales ran Wednesday to Tuesday of the following week. That is why the food section in newspapers were on Wednesdays. A couple of years ago Super Fresh, Giant and Shoppers started distributing their circulars on Sundays in the Sunday newspaper. Then Super Fresh switched to Saturdays. The meantime Safeway remained on a start date of Wednesday. Just this month Super Fresh and Giant are switching to a start date on Friday.

Was there some research that was recently generated to the supermarket industry that states that Friday is the optimum day to change sale items or is this a case of the indians following some loco chief? Can anyone answer why? Inquiring minds want to know or at least this foodie's inquiring mind wants to know.

The People in the Know

A trip to New York City is always about the food - at least to me it is. My restaurant choices are always the center of my angst; I can only read so many reviews and sort through so many before I'm hungry and have to make a decision. With the 2006 International Summer Fancy Food Show on my calendar for July, I started in April contacting people I consider 'in the know' for their restaurant recommendations. Why do I consider them in the know? They live in the cement jungle known as New York City as well as being food professionals of high regard.

One thing my friends will tell you about me, I'm not shy but just the opposite: outgoing, loquacious, and willing to talk to a crowd - if they will listen. I sent e-mails and made phone calls. This past year afforded me an opportunity to work twice with the King of Cakes pastry instructor, James Beard Award-Winning cookbook author Nick Malgieri (A Bakers Tour). I styled food for Susan Spungen, author of the IACP Award-Winning RECIPES cookbook and former food editor for Martha Stewart Living. Susan was unavailable to dine but gave me a list of restaurants. Nick was able to meet for lunch at his favorite restaurant in Chinatown.

Susan's Suggestions

I wasn't looking to strip my savings account at restaurants like Per Se or Jean George - you get my drift. Susan contemplated my financial restrictions and offered up a plethora of choices. In her e-mail she wrote, "You might want to try Cookshop-it's casual but really good, and not too far from the Javits Center - 20th at 10th Avenue. A Voce is hot right now, and also Country, downstairs for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Barbuto, in the village/meat market area is a favorite-on a nice night-it's open air. People love Fatty Crab, also in the meat market area, but I haven't been there. Gusto is nice for Italian food and a swanky atmosphere. You can eat dinner at the very comfortable bar without a reservation. Momofuko is great but know that it is a counter only - lunch or dinner - fantastic food."

I let my friend Judy make the choice from Susan's suggestions. We went to Cookshop and at 8:30 p.m. on a Sunday evening it was quite busy. The patrons had the feel of being locals versus tourist. The service was good, the menu diverse, and the food quite admirable.

Nam It Is!

Saturday evening's choice was Nam in Tribeca, chosen by my traveling partner for the day, Jeff Spear of Studio Spear . Jeff had dined there the year before and I trust his taste in food. Nam is a subdued restaurant, very minimalist in decor, and priced well for the pocketbook. The food offered fresh, clean flavors traditional with Vietnamese food. Being at a table with four food enthusiasts, we all tried each others food choices along with some awesome martinis.

Jeff and I had walked approximately 60 blocks earlier that day, through Union Square, Soho, Canal Street, and then back up the east side. The evening had me walking a mile to meet him and the owners of Texas Sassy Products. After dinner we walked from Nam in Tribeca up to Canal Street, Canal up to Little Italy through Mulberry Street, and through Soho to Broadway and Prince, where I raised the white flag and surrendered to fatigue. I kept telling myself, "You're burning calories," but finally Self said, "Calories, smalories - get off your feet!" I caught the next subway train up to Central Park South.

Lunch with Nick

Monday was my day off from the FFS, a day to meander the streets of New York, and most importantly have lunch with Nick Malgieri at the Great N.Y. Noodletown on the corner of the Bowery and Bayard Streets. My friend Judy and I arrived only minutes before Nick and were seated at the tiny table in the very back. When Nick arrived, he was greeted with great honor and directed to a nicer table where we joined him. We deferred to his knowledge of food selections on the menu. In a New York minute, he ordered a sampling plate (not on the menu) including poached chicken breast with ginger scallion sauce (very similar to Millionaire's Chicken), baby roast pig, and roast pork. He then ordered Singapore Mai Fun with Shrimp (spicy), Shrimp with Eggs, and Chinese Flowering Chives with Shredded Roast Duck. I asked Nick how he happened upon this place. Now understand my brain is working on only 4 Mb of RAM, so this is sketchy. The unofficial mayor of Chinatown, Eddie Schoenfeld, told Nick's journalist friend about Great NY Noodletown.

Nick travels the world, so talked about his recent trip to Australia and Thailand where he was a guest chef during a big culinary shindig. He talked, we ate, and we were plump little Buddhas after all that food. Nick had Thai food on his mind and we proceeded down Bayard where he purchased Asian produce, then into Udom Corporation, a Thai Grocery (81 A Bayard Street). The owner is quite friendly, the ultimate salesman, always upgrading and making suggestions. Nick probably has enough red curry paste to last a couple of lifetimes. As I perused the crowded shelves at Udom, I found white lime paste and for only $1.25 I bought it thinking it would be a fun item. Turns out it is used wrapped in betel leaves and chewed like tobacoo, and turns your mouth and teeth red. I have put it up for sale on e-bay.

Nick was weighed down with bags of groceries but managed to hail a cab although our afternoon food odyssey was far from over. My friend, Milena Perez at HarperCollins suggested we find Chinatown Ice Cream Factory on Bayard. Their regular flavors are what I would call exotic: durian, green tea, taro, and lychee. Check out all their flavors on their website, along with videos. I had a yummy lychee sorbet.

On the Bowery we strolled the aisles of at least four restaurant supply houses and then proceeded uptown to Bridge Kitchenware to their new location, 711 3rd Avenue (entrance on 45th). I was surprised at my restraint in not purchasing one thing for my kitchen, probably because it is so full at the moment not one more thing can fit.

Calle Ocho (8th Street)

This story is not complete. The last big dinner for the trip was at Calle Ocho, a touch of Little Havana on Columbus Avenue. This was Monday night, and the beginning of restaurant week. The bar and restaurant were packed. Suzanne Fass, an editor, joined my friend and I for a great meal in what seemed to be a cavernous room. As we arrived, my friend Jeff and his associate were just leaving. Jeff pointed out a dish with foie gras--he knows what I like. Unfortunately it came with three corn cakes, which I don't like. I opted for the restaurant week special of ceviche, rockfish in casserole, and dessert for $30.00 The ceviche was ethereal. This was the last meal of the trip worth mentioning. I grabbed dinner near where the day bus picked me up for the ride home. The word disgusting gives it praise! Maybe I'll send that comment in to Zagat.

If you are a true foodie, you always want to know where to go for a good meal. Dining Dish may not be the yellow brick road, but neither will it lead you astray.

Barbecue Shrimp from New Orleans Food

"Barbecue shrimp, one of the four or five best dishes in all of New Orleans cooking, is completely misnamed. They're neither grilled nor smoked, and there's no barbecue sauce"...Tom Fitzmorris author of NEW ORLEANS FOOD.

Fitzmorris suggests using large heads-on shrimp, since the fat in the shrimp heads makes most of the flavor. Resist the urge to add lots of herbs or garlic.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

3 pounds fresh Gulf shrimp with heads on, 16-20 count to the pound
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 newly-purchased 4-ounce can black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks butter, softened
2 teaspoons paprika
1 loaf French bread

Rinse the shrimp and shake the excess water from them. Put them in a large skillet (or two) over medium heat, and pour the lemon juice, wine, Worcestershire, and garlic over it. Bring the pan to a light boil and cook, agitating the dish, until the shrimp turn pink.

Cover the shrimp with a thin but complete layer of black pepper. You must be bold with this. Trust me, it is almost impossible to use too much pepper in this dish. Continue to cook another couple of minutes, then sprinkle the paprika and salt over the pan.

Lower the heat to the minimum. Cut the butter into tablespoon-size pieces, and add three at a time to the pan, agitating the pan as the butter melts over the shrimp. When one batch is completely melted, add another until all the butter is used. Keep agitating the pan to make a creamy-looking, orange-hued sauce.

When all the butter is incorporated, serve the shrimp with lots of the sauce in bowls. Serve the hot French bread for dipping. Also plenty of napkins and perhaps bibs.

Recipe from NEW ORLEANS FOOD by Tom Fitzmorris
(Stewart, Tabori & Chang April 2006, $19.95/Trade paperback)

The Perfect Gift

by Chef Laurie Bell

Chocolate. It really is the perfect gift. Rich, velvety, indulgent chocolate. Who can resist? Throughout the holidays we all search for that just right gift, whether it's for a hostess, boss, neighbor or loved one. So this year, think of chocolate.

Memories from our childhood days of simple Hershey Bars, Milky Ways, Tootsie Rolls and hot fudge sundae sauce stay with us even as we have learned to savor the richer, darker chocolates available today. Chocolate, the word alone conjures up a multitude of emotions - longing, lust, desire, satisfaction and, yes, a bit of guilt. Why DO we love chocolate so much? Does it really matter why? We love it. And what better gift to give than one we love ourselves? Whether chocolate is a secret addiction for you or just a pleasurable treat, it is the perfect indulgent gift for someone to enjoy on their own or share as they wish.

I don't mean the standard box of assorted milk chocolates, though, good and traditional as that may be. I mean the upcoming, trendy, dark and single bean varietals that are now arriving on the market. Not only are they ultra delicious, they may be healthy for you, too. Let's explore a bit.

Recent studies claim a health benefit to eating chocolate. I know I sure feel better after eating it! Flavanols (a subclass of flavonoids which act as antioxidants in the body), are being researched by various companies including Hershey's and Mars, as well as some universities. And, as most of us know by now, dark chocolate has more of these "good for you" substances than milk chocolate. That makes sense, as dark chocolate has more cocoa mass than milk chocolate, less sugar and no milk solids. It's some of these dark chocolates I want to talk about here, specifically the single bean varietals.

Does it sound like I'm talking about wine when I say single varietals? The cacao tree grows in areas with various climate and soil conditions, most often within 20 degrees north and south of the equator (think rain forests). These variables, as with grapes, create distinct variations in the finished product. Historically, most chocolate companies blend their chocolates to achieve a consistency of product that the consumer rightfully expects.

But more and more, companies are marketing some of their chocolates by the specific bean and/or region from which they originate. The three major varieties of cacao beans are forastero, criollo and trinitario, which is a natural hybrid of the forastero and criollo bean and originated in Trinidad (hence its name). There are some other subspecies and variations that have been and continue to be developed around the world. Some examples that are specific to the bean and the region are from Guittard. They offer a criollo from Madagascar, a trinitario from Columbia, a trinitario called Ecuador Nacional and their Sur del Lago, a criollo/trinitario hybrid from western Venezuela, south of Lake Maricaibo (all available online). Of these, the Columbian is my favorite. It starts out on the tongue with a rich chocolate, but slightly fruity, taste, a bit like strawberry. But as its firm texture softens and turns silken on the tongue and slowly disappears, it leaves a subtle banana flavor that lingers. Fascinating and delicious!

The company Unique Origin sells a forastero from Ecuador and a criollo from Venezuela, available at Trader Joe's, World Market and some other locations. The differences in their aroma and taste are as distinct as a pinot noir is from a cabernet. I would be happy to indulge in either of them.

You can create some great gifts that include a variety of these types of chocolates, so the recipients can have their own special chocolate tasting.

If you are buying for a baker, however, there are a few new rules to heed when baking with these darker, higher percentage chocolates.

The % of cocoa mass in a chocolate will affect not only its sweetness, but also how it reacts in baking. As the % of cocoa mass rises, the amount of sugar decreases while the cocoa fat content increases. These proportions can alter a tried and true recipe traditionally made with a lower % chocolate. Alice Medrich, in her latest book Bittersweet, charts out how to adjust a recipe for these higher % chocolates. And local baking journalist Lisa Yockelson, in her just published book Chocolate Chocolate, suggests several chocolates to use to achieve specific results.

According to US-FDA guidelines, dark chocolate must have a minimum of 43% cocoa mass, semisweet or bittersweet must have a minimum of 35% cocoa mass. Beyond that, there are no other specific rules. That is why you will see some chocolates listed as semisweet at 64%, while others at only 58% might be listed as bittersweet. Generally, though, most chocolates (including many chocolate chips) listed as semisweet have a cocoa mass content of up to about 58%. Most chocolates with a higher percentage, usually up to about 72%, are listed as bittersweet. If the ingredient list lists cocoa mass, or chocolate, first, you know there is at least 50% chocolate in that brand. If sugar is listed first, there is less than 50% chocolate in that brand.

And I feel compelled to explain the term white chocolate. It is a bit of an oxymoron, but not really. You see, white chocolate is made from the cocoa butter, or fat, that is extracted from the cocoa mass, or cocoa liquor, that results from grinding the roasted cocoa bean. So it comes from the bean, but has only the fat and none of the dark, delicious chocolate. So it's white, not brown. And the product that remains from this extraction becomes cocoa powder! Understand now?

Okay, enough of the schooling. Let's talk about fun chocolate gift ideas. There are two particular chocolate websites I've found to be great resources for bulk, bar and gift selections: Chocosphere.com and Chocolatesource.com. (And I'm sure many of you know of several others.)

Once Upon a Bean Box contains samples of cocoa beans from start to finish: unroasted bean, roasted bean, nibs (the ground up kernels of the roasted bean), cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and finished eating chocolate. You can buy a collection of chocolate bits sold in caviar type tins. Or how about miniature chocolate coffee cups filled with coffee ganache, or mushroom shaped chocolates filled with almond crunch and caramel? YUM!!

As you do your chocolate gift shopping, be sure to buy some for yourself, too. That way, you'll be ready to heed this clever saying:

Put 'Eat Chocolate' at the top of your Today's TO DO list. That way you'll be sure to accomplish at least one item on the list!

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Chocolate Trivia

Baker's Chocolate was named after Dr James Baker who manufactured chocolate in the late 1700's as a remedy to illnesses.

German's Sweet Chocolate was also named after a man, not the country.

The Baby Ruth candy bar was named after President Grover Cleveland's daughter, not the famous baseball player!

Theobroma cacao (chocolate's botanical name) translates to "food of the gods."

Laurie Bell is a chef, freelance writer, cooking instructor and a member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs and the American Institute of Wine and Food/Washington DC Chapter

Square Bagels, Blasphemy!

Being the cost-conscious foodie that I am, I gravitate to the coupon section of my Sunday paper and to my HORROR, Thomas' now has Square Bagel Bread. It has the traditional hole in the center and the top looks like a chewy bagel crust but that is the only hint to the original bagel.

Have you been crying out for a square bagel to make a sandwich? Is it so hard to put a square piece of lunch meat on a round bagel? I ask you who was this marketing genius to tamper with the history of bagels.

The controversy over where the first bagel originated is still debated but one thought is it was shaped like a stirrup and given to royalty for their success in conquering the Turks or some say earlier than that it was given to pregnant Jewish women as good luck and representing the circle of life. Circle of life...did you hear that Thomas'....circle not square!

"All the flavor of a bagel, with the soft texture of bread". Who asked for soft texture? I'm a baby boomer and I can still chew a bagel, I still have my teeth. What demographic clamored for a square bagel...tell me? Square bagels, Blasphemy!

Sign the Petition to Save the Round Bagel at http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/saveroundbagel1