The Pantry
Jan 8, 2009 general food, groceries
This morning Michael Ruhlman posted about items he stocks in his freezer as a written response to Mark Bittman’s terrific article, Fresh Start for a New Year? Let’s Begin in the Kitchen. As previously mentioned, I am now a deep freeze advocate, and both articles are worthy of your time if you have not already read them.
What particularly caught my eye, however, was one of the comments on Ruhlman’s post. He’d requested that people comment on items they stock in their own freezer pantry, and one college student had this to say:
Freeze fresh herbs in an ice tray. You can’t really defrost them and use them as fresh again but they are great to throw into soups and sauces. Freeze them in chicken stock if you’d like.
I’m curious if anyone has ever done this and how it worked out? It does not strike me as a particularly sound practice–like those chopped tubes of fresh herbs you see in the produce departments now–but then what the hell do I know?
Tags: freezer, Mark Bittman, Michael Ruhlman, pantry
The Making of a Chef
Oct 8, 2008 books, general food, reviews
Read the rest of this entry »
Finally I have finished reading Michael Ruhlman’s The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute. Favorite quotes are highlighted, the dust jacket has been replaced, and it is with sadness–because it is over–that I have returned it to the gastronomy section of my bookshelf. How I hadn’t read the book until now escapes me; especially so in that I’ve owned it for a very long time. My guess is that it had something to do with its having come out shortly after Becoming a Chef. At the time I was a cook, and I can recall reading in several places, as well as hearing word-of-mouth, that it was in some way a lesser version of that book but that’s simply not the case. It has held up far greater than Becoming a Chef which covers only the culinary growth of several celebrity chefs. Their stories are not normal, however, and the view Ruhlman gives us instead is
. Favorite quotes are highlighted, the dust jacket has been replaced, and it is with sadness–because it is over–that I have returned it to the gastronomy section of my bookshelf. How I hadn’t read the book until now escapes me; especially so in that I’ve owned it for a very long time. My guess is that it had something to do with its having come out shortly after Tags: Michael Ruhlman
See, Ruhlman Did Say It
Nov 20, 2007 cooking, general food
…not that you didn’t believe me. Why would I lie? I’ve proven to be very honest.
Today Ruhlman rants about canned broth and your need for making stock.
…your food will taste better and fresher if you use that wonderful and inexpensive fluid at the end of your tap rather than anything that you can buy in a can or a box.
I especially like his advice which he also suggested in the Viking demo of putting the stock into the oven. Although it makes perfect sense, it’s a great suggestion I’d never heard before that will insure long even heating.
Tags: Michael Ruhlman, ranting, stock
Ruhlman: Signing, Demo
Nov 19, 2007 events, general food
Sorry for the delay…
When I went to Borders to meet Michael Ruhlman a couple weeks ago I was incredibly early. But as a book fan I love Borders, and so with time to kill I began looking around. At one point, out of the corner of my eye, I realized Ruhlman was standing beside me looking at a few cookbooks of his own, and maybe this is dumb, but as excited as I was I wasn’t sure if I should bother him and say hello or just let him be. I opted for the the latter as I knew I’d be meeting him soon enough at the semi-official book signing.
And semi describes it accurately. It amounted to Ian arriving and introducing himself to Ruhlman, the other two of us there at the time doing the same, and then our just standing around talking for about 30 minutes in the middle of the store. In the end I felt silly even having him sign my book as the most rewarding part of the evening was the conversation. We talked about blogging, Ian’s reviews, the St. Louis dining scene, and of course pork and the two pounds of Hinkebein cheeks in my freezer before anyone else had even arrived. As others trickled it became obvious that just like my chefs are people too comment, Ruhlman is a great guy. He seemed genuinely interested in what each of us had to say and has a real passion for talking about the pleasures of food. In fact, the conversation with everyone was so lively we almost got kicked out of Borders. Oh, and apparently the ladies swoon for Mr. Ruhlman as well — who knew.
I can’t really convey how cool it was to meet someone I have such respect for and for whom I’d been so eager to meet. Unlike most people, my nervous tick is that I actually speak more than normal. If you know me, it’s hard to imagine my talking more than I do, and for once it worked out beautifully because instead of sounding like a goober mustering up something stupid like “you guys were great” the way I would at the end of a concert, I was able to take part in an articulate exchange that I am grateful to Ian for having arranged.
And of course I did have him sign my book, and as silly as it might seem to me, I certainly didn’t regret doing so when I read the inscription:
“To Bill, Good luck with the bloging and the pork cheeks”
Pretty awesome I have to say, and it’s definitely one of my favorite autographs ever. An interesting side note: my all time favorite is from a chef in Chicago, Paul Kahan, who coincidentally wrote one of the back cover blurbs on Ruhlman’s new book.
As for the steeply priced Viking demo…
Ruhlman Teaser
Nov 9, 2007 events, general food
I did go to Ruhlman’s demo last night at Viking, but as I’m swamped today I will have to lure you along with a horribly high ISO digital picture of his backside:
The woman’s hair is clear though right?
Thoughts and lower ISO pictures that actually turned out to come.
Tags: Michael Ruhlman, Viking
May the Pork Be With You
Nov 7, 2007 farming, slow food, sustainable agriculture
Shamelessly stealing another man’s thunder for the second time today, Michael Ruhlman, superstar of pork that he is, mentioned an email from Heath Putnam, owner of Wooly Pigs, who referenced his own blog on which he posted his thoughts about USDA slaughtering versus Austrian slaughtering. Specifically he spoke of his sale of three pigs to The French Laundry and his concern about their slaughter in a USDA plant.
Offering an interesting look from a breeders standpoint, the blog is definitely worth reading.
Even more interesting than the blog, however, is his website. I know far more about pig breeds than I did 30 minutes ago, and also about his soon to be specialty, the Austrian Mangalitsa.
Just look at that picture and tell me you’ve seen anything like that before? I had not (until 30 minutes ago), and it’s because it’s a lard-type pig which he describes as such:
Breeds suitable for producing lard were called “lard-type,” because they fattened so easily. The Mangalitsa was especially well-suited for lard production, because of its metabolism. It could be raised to 79% fat by weight, the highest percentage ever measured.
Certainly biased (and really why shouldn’t he be with pigs this well cared for), he’s written a great deal about the history of pigs in America, and our shift towards faster growing, leaner, and less flavorful pork. There are a bunch of pictures past and present as well as a great deal of video footage of his Berkshires and Mangalitsas and I highly suggest poking around on the site.
You should start right here.
Tags: Berkshire, Heath-Putnam, Mangalitsa, Michael Ruhlman, pigs, Wooly Pigs
Knowing Your Meat
Oct 26, 2007 farming, general food
I’ve inquired recently with a few farmers about whether I could see their slaughtering facilities and specifically the slaughtering itself. Generally, when I discuss this with most people (non-farmers), it is met with looks of horror, and is quickly followed by a question along the lines of “why would you want to see that?”
I guess I want to see it because I feel, at least on some moral level, that if I can’t watch say — a pig being slaughtered, then I don’t really have the right to eat it in the first place.
While catching up on my Next Iron Chef reading tonight after finally watching episode three this afternoon (go Cosentino!) Michael Ruhlman had also posted about this sentiment saying:
“…one of five things you should eat before you die is the meat of a freshly slaughtered animal, preferably having witnessed the slaughter.”
He then linked to this great essay at the New York Times about raising pigs for slaughter.
Barbara Kingsolver made what I consider to be a phenomenally great point in her book about people using different names for the commonly eaten meats than they use for the actual animal. (e.g. beef is cow, pork is pig)
What do you think? Is it important to understand where your meat comes from?
Tags: Chris Cosentino, farmers, Iron Chef, Michael Ruhlman, nytimes, pigs, pork, slaughter
