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Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

Looking at a huge package of asparagus I found at Costco and contemplating the promise I made to bring a side dish to Thanksgiving at my brother's, is it any surprise my brain went to bacon?

I found the idea on the web and made adaptations as I proceeded. The result? Awesome! A keeper! It would also make a great appetizer. 

The amounts listed here are approximate, until I have time to do another test, but it's not a very exacting recipe.  

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

• 1-2 pounds asparagus, medium or thick stalks
• 12 ounces bacon
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey

Wash asparagus and cut off fibrous ends. (Most sources suggest you break the asparagus where it snaps easily but I find this removes too much of the usable vegetable. Just cut the stalks where they begin to pale, usually 1 to 1-1/2 inches.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper (optional step, makes cleanup easier). 

Cut bacon strips in half, crosswise (making shorter strips). 

Pick up three stalks and wrap tightly with one of the half-slices of bacon. Spiral the bacon and stretch it as you go. You should be able to cover all but the bottom inch and the top 1-2 inches. Place the wrapped bundle in the pan.

When all the bundles are in place, sprinkle with sesame seeds. If you like, turn them over and sprinkle the other side. 

Place in oven for about 15 minutes, until the bacon is done and the asparagus is a little past bright green, and tender. If the asparagus is close to done but the bacon is not, remove from the oven and turn on the broiler. After the broiler is hot, return pan to oven and brown the bacon. Watch carefully, as it will burn quickly. It's ok to singe the asparagus! Ideally, you want it to develop some char and wrinkling, as the bacon crisps. 

While the asparagus cooks, prepare a sauce by mixing the mustard and the honey, in a squirt bottle, if you have one. 

When done, remove from the oven and drizzle with sauce.

 

Another Rose by Any Other Name

People send me bacony goodness. This one is from John:

I love you, man!

A Rose by Any Other Name

Spotted in the break room at work. 

Somewhere in the world, someone decided to name a food product Pukka. Their marketing people, their packaging people, their distribution channel, and retailers all seem to have agreed this was a swell idea. 

Must just be me. 

See also: Naming a Product or Company

Panna Cotta, Perfected

Just because something is simple, doesn't mean it's easy. In fact, tiny defects are most apparent in the simplest dishes.

Panna cotta is a great example. I've never made it before, rarely even had it. Cream and milk, barley thickened with gelatin, and flavored with sugar and vanilla. That's a basic panna cotta and there is not much to it. 

It's a good dish to know because it's a canvas on which you can paint any flavor you can imagine. Unlike some other "blank canvas" dishes, it is complete and splendid as is.

If you get it right!

Happy news for you and me: Russ Parsons of the Los Angeles Times did the work for us. Inspired by a perfect panna cotta he had at a restaurant, "delicately sweet, it was like a dream of cream held together by faith and just a little bit of gelatin," Parsons spent a couple of weeks deep in spreadsheets and cream matching it.

Today, my friend Butch and I planned a big food day and I had panna cotta in mind and Parsons' article in hand. 

It's pretty easy. Simmer cream, milk, sugar, and a vanilla bean. Soften gelatin and add it to the cream mixture after it cools. Chill. Done.

The proportions are important. Too much cream and it's fatty. Sugar needs to be balanced. The gelatin needs to be just enough to hold it together — we want it soft, not like cream Jell-O. 

Here's his recipe. I halved the recipe and made just a couple of technique changes to simplfy handling of the vanilla bean and the gelatin. The proportions were perfect. 

Panna cotta

Total time: 40 minutes, plus chilling time
Servings: 4

2 tablespoons water

1/2 tablespoon powdered gelatin

Oil

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

3/4 cups whole or 2% milk

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 (2-inch) section vanilla bean, or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Stir to distribute, and set aside to soften 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Wipe the insides of 4 (one-half-cup) ramekins with a light coating of neutral oil and set aside. Half-fill a large bowl with ice and add enough water to make an ice bath and set aside.

3. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds. 

4. In a small saucepan, combine the cream, milk, sugar and split vanilla bean, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, and whisk in the softened gelatin and the vanilla extract, if using. Remove the bean pod from the mixture, and discard.

5. Set the saucepan in the ice bath (making sure the top of the saucepan is well above the surface of the water), and whisk until the mixture is lukewarm. Rub your fingers together: There should be no grit from undissolved sugar or gelatin.

6. Ladle the mixture into the oiled ramekins and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. (I was in a hurry and placed them in the freezer for ten minutes, then in the refrigerator for two hours.

If you're going to keep them longer than overnight, cover them with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap gently against the panna cotta to prevent a skin from forming. Be aware that preparing the panna cotta more than 24 hours in advance will result in a somewhat firmer set.

7. About 10 minutes before serving, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the ramekin. Dip the ramekin briefly in a bowl of hot tap water, and then carefully invert onto a serving plate. If the panna cotta doesn't unmold right away, tap the ramekin lightly on the countertop to loosen it. If it still doesn't unmold, return it to the hot water bath for another five seconds and repeat. Panna cotta can also be served without unmolding.

Each serving: 320 calories; 4 grams protein; 12 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 29 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 107 mg cholesterol; 10 grams sugar; 50 mg sodium.

 

Pulled Lamb by Jordan

Jordan, a FeedMe reader, saw the article about a pulled lamb sandwich I had at Los Gatos Meat Company and decided he had to have this. He's not local, so he did what needed to be done: he deconstructed and reconstructed and reported it all in the comments! 

Jordan's first question was what cut of meat they used. I surmised shoulder, but Jordan called them. He reports, "A very nice guy there told me that they use all parts of the lamb that don't make it into the butcher's case — well, the meat parts. And they pull it when it's fork tender, which, according to him, is around 160-165, much lower than pork."

That surprised me, since pork requires cooking to about 200 degrees. (See the recent article, "Pulled Pork, Perfected?")

Next, he reached out to Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn, owner of the amazing amazingribs.com, (which is my favorite BBQ blog). They consulted back and forth.

Here's Jordan's full report back to Meathead:

The legs at my local grocer were a little small, and I was worried about shrinkage and not having as much meat as I wanted. I always worry about this, though it's never been a problem. I think I must like grazing on the leftovers in the fridge more than I realize. Anyway, once the butcher butterflied the leg, I decided to pick up a little shoulder meat to roll up in there.

At home, I made a paste out of garlic and rosemary and rubbed that on the shoulder and the inside of the leg. I also threw in some of the rub, which was made with a lot of pepper, some brown sugar, salt, a little allspice and some crushed garlic. I found this recipe on the net, but the crushed garlic is kind of dumb, since it doesn't really mix with the grainy/powdery things. It clumped and I ended up throwing it out and adding garlic powder. Then I tied it up, studded it with some garlic and five or six anchovies, coated it with Worcestershire sauce and hit the outside with the rub. Then I put it to bed in the fridge and me to bed with the wife.

I smoked it yesterday, using the smokenator and just one chunk of apple wood. Because I lose water in the smokenator's water tray faster than I can keep up, I put a drip pan full of water on the fire grate, under the lamb. The temp climbed steadily for a couple of hours and then hit the stall at 150. I thought I had time to wait it out, but several hours later, it wasn't budging. So I wrapped it with a couple tablespoons of beer (approximately — I poured some on from the beer I'd just opened) and put it back on. It immediately climbed to 167. Another hour and a half or so and I was at 180. I unwrapped and put it back on for a few minutes to firm the bark, and then took it off and tented it.

It didn't pull, so I sliced and chopped and hit it with a little bit of (Meathead's) sunlite sauce. I had a bowl of this at the table, as well as a caramelized onion and apricot sauce for people who wanted to get crazy. As a side note, I did mop occasionally with the sauce. I know you are not a proponent, but I was interested in trying the Kentucky technique with the Kentucky dish.

The verdict: Good. I thought it was a little dry, but people raved, so what do I know? The sauces helped there. The anchovy was kind of a waste of time. I didn't expect to taste them per se, but I thought it might add a little savoriness. Anyway, the pepper, garlic, and smoke pretty much obliterated all the other added flavors. I would do it again, but I might use a a little less pepper. Also, I might brine. Or I might just make a medium rare leg of lamb. Who knows? The world is my oyster.

Jordan, thanks for the report. 

Pulled Pork, Positively Perfected

Do I really think I have reached the pinnacle of pulled pork? 

No. Pulled pork is the highest achievement of pitmasters everywhere. They spend lifetimes, generations, even, fine tuning. I'm not there. 

But as backyard smoking goes, I'm pretty happy with my latest results. I've achieved a really, really good result without much fuss. And onions and potatoes go right into the smoker to cook alongside the pork. Have you ever smoked an onion?

 

For this method you need a genuine smoker, not a grill. It has to be able to generate smoke at 200-250 degrees F for hours. I am using the Weber Smoky Mountain. (More on smokers another day.) 

It starts with the pork shoulder, also called a Boston Butt, and it might also be called the king of BBQ. With its mix of well-worked muscles, it's the perfect cut for slow-cook methods. For pulled pork, we're going all the way -- low and slow, all the way to 200 degrees internal, where collagen turns into gelatine, the fibers separate, fat mingles with meat, and the flavors bloom.

The essence of the method is:

• We're using a shoulder in the 5-6 pound range. (A full butt is 16 pounds.)
• Brine the shoulder overnight or use a syringe to inject it with a briny solution a few hours ahead. 
• Apply a dry rub a few hours before (or even a few minutes before, it doesn't make a big difference). A dry rub is easy: 20% salt and the rest can be whatever you like, in any proportion you want: Ancho powder, garlic powder, herbs, paprika, cumin, coriander, mustard.
• Smoke the pork shoulder to 150°F internal; then wrapped in foil in a 300° oven until it reaches 200° inside.
• Onions take about 4-5 hours. Small potatoes and sweet potatoes take about 4 hours. But you can go way longer without a problem. At 200 degrees, overcooking is difficult. 

Here's the smoker, smoking and ready to do its work:

Smoked onion:

Let's look at the pork. The outside crust, called the bark, is a flavorful melange of dry rub, smoke, and slow roasted pork fat. Here is what it looks like when it exits the smoker, prior to the braising step:

And here is what it looks like after the braise, when we're ready to take it apart:

Some disassembly required. The classic way is to pull the meat apart with two forks:

Now, it's your turn. 

 

Pulled Pork

6 pounds pork shoulder (boston butt)

Brine Injection:

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 cup apple juice, or one 6.75 oz juice box

1/4 cup rub, see note

-or- brine:

2 quarts water

1 cup kosher salt

Soak pork overnight (8-15 hours) in a brine or do an injection. Don't do both. 

Prepare smoker to run at 200-250°F. While it stabilizes, prepare the ingredients.

To inject: Mix ingredients. Place pork in a pan that can catch the juices. Draw solution into syringe and inject in many places. For each injection site, insert needle and squeeze plunger as you withdraw the needle. Change angle and reinsert into the same injection site, in a different direction. Continue until syringe is empty and move on to a new injection site, distributing solution throughout the meat. Some fluid will leak out; use syringe to draw excess fluid and inject again. 

Pat pork dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with a generous coating of rub on all sides, patting rub to help it stick.

Wash potatoes and pierce with a fork. (Otherwise, the potato may explode. Ask me how I know.) 

Cut onions in half, through the root. Do not remove root or skin. 

Place pork in the smoker, fat side up. Place potatoes and onions in the smoker. Place the onions cut side down. 

Smoke for 4-5 hours to an internal temperature of 150°F. Remove from smoker, wrap in heavy duty foil. Place in a pan, then in a 300-degree oven for 2-3 hours more, to internal temperature of 200°. Test to see if pork is pull-apart tender. If not, give it another 30 minutes.

When you remove the meat from the smoker, check the vegetables and if they are tender, remove them. 

When you remove the meat from the oven, put the onions and potatoes in the oven to warm up. Allow the meat to rest 1/2 hour, then pull apart using two forks. 

Serve with warmed barbecue sauce if you want, or just the way it is.  

Mmmmmmmmmm...

See what my friends think of me? Randall sent me this. No words, no comment, just this!

Food, Wine, and Making a Difference

If you are a food lover in the San Francisco Bay Area, here's an event that you won't want to miss: Star Chefs and the Wines They Love will feature more than a dozen super-star chefs from top area restaurants. Guests will enjoy small plates prepared by all the chefs paired with favorite wines. It's April 29 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. It's a foodie spectacular! See the list of chefs below -- it's a mind-blowing list. I am so looking forward to this!

It's for a really great cause: Child Advocates of Silicon Valley. The work Child Advocates does is moving and important. They recruit, train, and manage "Court Appointed Special Advocates" -- volunteers who are paired with abused, or neglected children in foster care. The ongoing relationship the children have with their Advocates often makes the difference between their becoming social burdens or having successful lives as contributors to society.

The event is Sunday, April 29, 4:30-9 PM. Tickets are $150. Corporate sponsorships are available which include tickets. Learn more and purchase tickets.

If you plan to attend, please let me know: I love to meet my readers!

Here is a list of chefs confirmed to date:

Chef Ross Hanson
Restaurant James Randall

Chef Josiah Slone
Restaurant Sent Sovi

Chef Chris Schloss
Cin-Cin Wine Bar and Restaurant

Chef Joey Elenterio
Chez TJ Contemporary French Cuisine

Chef Brad Kraten
Park Place Restaurant

Chef Tim Lyum
The WOW Catering Truck

Chef Ryan Farquhar
Apple Cafeh

Chef Marty Cattaneo
Dio Deka, Fine Hellenic Cuisine

Chef Andrew Welch
Casa De Cobre

Chef Eric Jaeger
Personal Chef

Chef Jeffrey Stout, Executive Chef
Alexander's Steakhouse

Chef Adam Bortolussi
Forbes Mill Steakhouse

Kenji's 28 Vegan Recipes

Two weeks after I started my vegetarian adventure, Kenji started his (what a copycat!). Except his was just 28 days (weenie!) and while I was an ovo-lacto vegetarian, he went full-on vegan (okay, not a weenie). Gave up his leather wallet and wool coat, in New York in February (very not-weenie). 

Kenji has posted all 28 of the recipes he developed (yeah, definitely not a weenie). 

The Secret to Smooth Hummus

You have to love the compulsives at America's Test Kitchen (Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country). They test a recipe every which way and explain it all to satisfy my inner geek.

It helped solve a mystery about my hummus. 

Hummus is a blend of ground chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tahini (a peanut-butter-like preparation made from sesame seeds), and oil, flavored with garlic and a variety of other ingredients. It's easy, fast, and healthy. It's not low-calorie, with its substantial oil content, but the oils are mostly the healthier types. It's great with vegetables, crackers, or the traditional pita bread.

And what could be easier? Place the ingredients in a blender and you're pretty much done. 

But my attempts, while flavorful, were heavy and a little grainy. I tried a couple of recipes, from sources I trust, but they lacked the fluffiness and smooth, creamy texture of store-bought hummus. This is a simple recipe! There's no rocket science here! What could possibly be wrong?

From their May 2008 issue:

Most hummus has a coarse, dense consistency caused by the tough skins of the chickpeas.

We wanted hummus with a light, silky-smooth texture and a flavor profile that balances chickpeas, tahini (ground sesame paste), lemon juice, garlic, and extra-virgin olive oil.

So what's the cause of the coarse, dense texture? It's the skins of the chickpeas!

In theory, the best way to guarantee a creamy texture is to remove the chickpeas’ tough skins, but we couldn’t find an approach that wasn’t tedious or futile.

The secret? There are two.

First is to grind the chickpeas before adding any liquids.

Once the liquids are in the machine, the skins elude the whirring blades. When the chickpeas alone, the skins have no defense and are pulverized enough that they no longer wreck the texture. So I learned that a simple toss-and-blend approach won't work.

The second secret is to think of this as an emulsion like mayonnaise. As with a mayonnaise, the best approach is to work the wet and solid ingredients first and add the oil gradually while the machine runs.

The good folks at ATK said:

We started by grinding just the chickpeas and then very slowly added a small amount of water and lemon juice. To finish, we whisked the olive oil and tahini together and drizzled the mixture into the puree while processing; this created a smooth, light emulsion.

That worked for me. 

A commenter mentioned that a later article suggests microwaving the chickpeas for a minute. That also works. 

The remaining issue is flavor. In the past, I found it really easy to use too much garlic. Raw garlic is pungent! A single clove is a bit light; three is definitely too much. Two is usually fine. But to be really safe, use roasted garlic. There's an easy way: Toss four or more cloves with the papery skins still on into a dry pan and toast over medium heat, shaking the pan from time to time, until the skins are charred several places. Let them cool and peel. (There's another way, too: Pressure-cooker roast garlic, which will be a future article.)

Toasting cumin seeds (pretty easy since you can use the garlic roasting pan) really amps up the spice! But you can use pre-ground and it will be nearly as good.  

Hummus, Perfected

NOTES:

• It's important to grind the chickpeas first, before adding liquids. 
• Be careful when using raw garlic, as it's easy to overdo it. With 1 average-sized clove, the flavor is subtle. With 2, it's good and not overpowering. Use two. Use one if the cloves are large. Or, use 3-5 cloves and toast the garlic (skins on in dry pan until charred). 
• It's best to toast whole cumin seeds until they are fragrant, then grind them using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder (one you use only for spice grinding). If using pre-ground cumin, increase amount if it's not fresh. 
• Cook's Illustrated's top-rated tahini is the widely available Joyva Sesame Tahini. For chickpeas, most brands were fine. They preferred Pastene. Progresso and Goya are almost as good.
• Nut butter is a good alternative to tahini. Try peanut or cashew butter. 

The flavors meld overnight so it's best made a day ahead.

• ¼ cup water
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 Tablespoons well stirred tahini, or peanut butter
• 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 can, 15 oz chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 1-2 cloves garlic, 1 large clove, 2 small, or 5 roasted; see note
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin, see note
• 1 pinch cayenne
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Set aside about 12 of the whole chickpeas for a garnish. Place the rest in the microwave for one minute. 

Drop peeled garlic cloves into the food processor while it is running and process. Add the chickpeas, salt, cumin, and cayenne and process until coarsely ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the processor and grind again.

Add the lemon and water through the feed tube with the processor running for about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides as many times as necessary to get the chickpeas well chopped. 

Add the tahini and process.

Add the oil, with the processor running, until the hummus is fluffy.

Put the hummus in a bowl, garnish with the cilantro and whole chickpeas, and drizzle with some olive oil if you want. 

Easy-Peel Boiled Eggs from a Pressure Cooker?

Frustrated by hard to peel boiled eggs with a green-rimmed yolk? Happily, there are obsessive people in the world, scrambling to figure out the best methods for simple tasks!

This one used a pressure cooker, but later tests show that steaming is better in most ways. 

---

UPDATE: Serious Eats did an in-depth comparison of hard-cooked egg methods and found that simple steaming works better than the pressure cooker. 

For me, the pressure cooker produces hard boiled eggs that are much, much easier to peel. Serious Eats did not see that. Now, they did exhaustive, double-blind tests on many eggs, a way-better protocol than my tests, so I grant that their tests are more scientifically sound than mine. But for my pressure cooker, on my stove, it was very clear: pressure cooked eggs peel with no effort and the steam-cooked eggs require a little effort and have a higher failure rate.

That said, guess what? I am now using the steam method. Although peeling requires a little fussing and running water, it almost always produces a great egg, with no places where the white peels away with the shell. And the egg is superior. As the article's author, Kenji, says, the pressure cooked eggs tends to overcook the whites a bit, making it a little more rubbery. It also is harder to control, so the yolk might be a bit more or less done. 

So, bottom line: While pressure cooked eggs peel far mnore easily for me, eggs produced with your steam method peel pretty well and are otherwise superior.

To summarize the method: 

1. Put an inch of water in the pot, set to boil. 
2. Add eggs, straight from the refrigerator (don't bring them to room temp and don't add to the pot until you have a full head of steam). 
3. Cover and steam six minutes for soft-boiled, 12 minutes for hard-boiled.
4. Place in ice bath for 15 minutes, then refrigerate.

-----

Here's the original article:

Sometimes I wonder what makes people try things. Who was the first to eat an artichoke? Must have been really hungry. And what made Laura Pazzaglia put eggs in a pressure cooker?

I don't know but I am glad she did. It's a fast, precise way to make soft-boiled or hard-cooked eggs and it has a really cool advantage: The eggs practically peel themselves. 

Tips for peeling eggs are a-plenty but I haven't found any that always work. This method does. Even fresh eggs leap out of their shells.

And happily, I ran across this method right after buying a new pressure cooker! It was still in the box.

 

The method is simple. Place the eggs in a basket in the pressure cooker, turn on heat.

When the cooker reaches pressure, start the timer. Three minutes for soft-boiled, five minutes for medium, seven minutes for hard-boiled (which some people call hard-cooked). At the end of the time, douse the pressure cooker with running water, then remove and rinse the eggs in cool water. 

This worked really well for me. One time, one egg cracked (first picture). The cracks closed as the egg cooled and unlike when an egg cracks during boiling, the membrane was unaffected and no water entered the egg. 

 

Each time, the eggs were done as predicted. It is important to note that the timer starts once the pot reaches pressure.

How does this work? Pazzaglia suggests the air cell at the large end of the egg expands under pressure. That's not quite right — it would shrink under pressure. I don't know all the physics at work here. I suspect the magic happens during compression (because slow or fast cooling of the pressure cooker don't affect how well it peels). The fluid portions of the egg are not very compressible. Could the pressure on the air cell cause the air to squeeze into the space? No, because the air cell is outside the membrane, and when I peeled the eggs, the membrane stayed with the shell. 

One interesting note is that the inside of the shell turns brown where the air shell was. I wonder why?

Regardless, this is a great method. Recipe follows. 

Not fun enough? She also cooks little egg meals — a soft-boiled egg with cheese and prosciutto, for instance — in a glass in the cooker. Nice. Hit the link to see the recipes for those. 

Soft-, Medium-, or Hard-Boiled Eggs in the Pressure Cooker

Source: Hip Pressure Cooking, Laura Pazzaglia

Place eggs in a basket or on a heat-proof trivet in the pressure cooker. Add a cup of water and set up to pressure cook according to the pressure cooker's instructions. Turn on heat. When the cooker reaches pressure (use the lower pressure setting, if your cooker has one, start the timer, as directed below. Cool the pressure cooker:

Soft-boiled: 3 minutes. 

Medium: 5 minutes. 

Hard-Boiled: 7 minutes.

Cool pressure cooker quickly by running water over it, release pressure according to your cooker's instructions. Rinse eggs in cool water.

Note: The original recipe says that for hard boiled eggs, to allow the pressure cooker to cool without the rapid, running water cool-down. I don't know why it differs from the soft- or medium-boiled eggs, which it directs to use the running water. But I have experiemented several times and found that 7 minutes with rapid cool-down works and is more convenient.  

Thin to Win with a Mandoline

While you can do pretty much any cutting task with just three or four knives, consistently thin slices require some serious knife skills — or a sweet little gadget from hell called a mandoline.

I recently found a simplified mandoline that has some great advantages. But first, why is thin slicing so critical and what elevates the mandoline from the gadget category to almost a must-have? And how can it be both a must-have and a gadget from hell?

Thin, Thin, Thinner

Ultra-thin slices make potato chips crispy. Fibrous vegetables like fennel become tender and juicy, bursting with flavor. Finely sliced carrots become like noodles. Strong ingredients like parmesan, chocolate, and truffles meld with the dish and melt on the tongue when shaved paper thin. 

When slicing something really, really thin, consistency is key. While a variation of a millimeter or two makes little difference when you're cutting, say, 1/4-inch (6 mm) slices, a variation of even a fraction of a millimeter in paper-thin slices means some pieces will take twice as long to cook or a desired texture will be lost. 

Enter the mandoline. We talked about them before, in the making of a celery-fennel salad. A very sharp blade is mounted so its edge barley protrudes above a platform. When food slides across the platform, a consistently thin slice is taken with each stroke. It's precise and very fast.

Fear of Slicing

But there are liabilities. First, is safety. The blade is very, very, very sharp and fingers fly past the blade, very close and very fast. The finger guards are hard to use and are often ineffective. A foodie friend told me about a time he demonstrated the mandoline for his daughters. While he stressed how careful one must be, his attention strayed and the rest of the story includes the words, "chunk of thumb." (His daughters have never touched the mandoline). I have a similar story, also involving "chunk of thumb." I'll tell you that mandoline cut is painful and takes a long time to heal. 

Gadget from hell.

There is a great remedy: The cut-resistant glove. Made of Kevlar, a super-tough fiber, these gloves withstand nasty blades. They cost about $15. I am still very careful with the mandoline but the glove is a great insurance policy. 

A Simplified Mandoline

Mandolines can be costly (some cost as little as $20 but many cost several hundred dollars). Some are complex, finicky, with loose parts. They can be large and hard to store. And frankly, many of the very expensive models don't work that well, according to tests in several of the cooking magazines.

I had a cheap, plastic mandoline. It had some flaws but worked reasonably well. Recently, I threw it out when I discovered the Kyocera CSN-202-RD Adjustable Mandoline Slicer. It's just about perfect.

It's small and stores flat (hint: A couple of rubber bands hold the finger guard to the platform and protect it in the drawer). It's easy to use — turn a bar on the underside to set the depth, put your glove on, and slice away. 

The blade is ceramic, which means it never needs sharpening, won't corrode, and cuts very smoothly. I normally don't like ceramic knives because the ceramic is too fragile but in this case, the blade is protected from chipping. 

And it costs about $22. 

The finger guard is not great but serviceable and if you use your cut-resistant glove, you don't need to use it (but don't tell anyone I said that).

If you're looking for something to do with your new mandoline, the celery-fennel salad is a great choice. 

A Soft Cloud of Scrambled Eggs

Scrambling eggs slowly over low heat, with just the right amount of mixing can yield large, soft waves of egg that are perfect for a light meal. Eggs of this style take subtle flavors, such as a light sprinkling of cheese, to be kind of an inside-out omelet, for an elegant, simple meal. 

Chef Daniel Patterson came up with a radically new way to prepare scrambled eggs. This is more technique than recipe. It's an easy way to make eggs that are light as a cloud by cooking them in a swirling pan of simmering water, much like the traditional way of poaching eggs.

Some folks who experimented with this found the eggs to be bland. They are indeed lightly flavored and require creful seasoning with more salt than usual. Pepper and a sprinkling of parmesan balance the flavor. I'll bet these would respond well to a little truffle oil. 

I used green onions, which were a bit heavy. I will omit those next time or replace with very finely minced chives. 

Poached Scrambled Eggs

If you’re scrambling just one egg, the cooking time will be 20 seconds. For four eggs, the time increases to 40 seconds.

• 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• 4 large eggs

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs for 20 seconds.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a simmer. Using a slotted spoon, stir the water vigorously in a circular motion to create a whirlpool in the center. Reduce the heat and stop stirring. Immediately pour the scrambled eggs into the center. 

Cover the pot and cook for exactly 40 seconds (see note). Pour water and eggs through a fine strainer. Let drain for 10 seconds, shaking gently.

Season well with salt and pepper, sprinkle cheese on top. Serve at once.

A Meat Eater's Conscience

One of the reasons people take up vegetarianism is a choice about life and our relationship to animals. As an animal lover, it's something I think about. 

I grew up on a chicken farm. We didn't think of our animals as living beings. We didn't think about the chickens at all.

Sometimes someone would ask if all the chickens are named Henrietta. It's a silly joke but there is a principle: You don't name animals that will someday be slaughtered. We had dogs, turtles, fish, hamsters, guinea pigs, a cat, some lizards, gerbils, a rabbit. They all had names. But the chickens never had names.

I've killed my own meat on several occasions. I didn't like it but I thought it necessary. I think it would be a better world if every meat eater did that, at least once. (If that's not for you, you can read about it or watch it. These links go a respectful article with links to the more graphic photos or videos. Click at your own risk: It's reality.)

Did you see Michael Moore's documentary, Roger and Me? There was scene in which Moore's crew saw a sign in the rural area near Flint, Michigan that said "Rabbits. Pets or Meat." With cameras rolling, they stopped to see what that was about. 

The lady there, who seemed puzzled at the need to explain it, told them that she bred, raised and sold rabbits. You could buy one as a pet or as meat.

All the while, she was petting a rabbit. They asked if they could buy that one as meat. And they did. She said goodbye to the rabbit and she killed and prepared it, going from petting the rabbit to making it a product. Pet to meat. She was respectful and kind in doing what must be done. It could be seen as horrific in one way, but it was not very different from seeing a tiger take down an antelope on a nature documentary. I think the movie intended an allegory, comparing the respectful sacrifice to the more heartless and senseless sacrifices of humanity that Moore alleges GM was inflicting, but the episode struck me as an illustration of how we can be with the living creatures we use. 

The times I have turned animals into food, I said a silent goodbye and thanked them for their gift. It meant nothing to the animal but it reminded me of what I was doing. As a meat eater, I want to be conscious that foam trays and shrink wrap don't truly insulate us from life's cruelties.

I am not likely to become a true vegetarian, much less a vegan. I wish we could produce meat without killing animals (and someday, we will). But I also wonder which is better for an animal — to be killed for meat, or never to have lived at all?

As meat eaters, we can do a few things to make the process more humane. One is to eat less meat, something that has myriad benefits. Another is to favor humane production methods. I appreciate the efforts to make farming more humane. Paying an extra 5 or 10% for our meat does not seem to me to be an undue burden. It's not a practical consideration — it just feels better. 

What do you think?

"It's Better Than Meat"

Years ago, before produce was shipped from other hemispheres, fruits and vegetables were more seasonal than they are now. One day, in the middle of the winter, I saw asparagus in the market and though it was expensive, I bought it. 

When I served dinner that night, I told Kathy, "I hope you enjoy the asparagus. It cost more than the meat." 

She said, "it's better than meat." 

That comment made me think. I noticed that, in my mind, meat was the star, the centerpiece of each meal. I've been conditioned to think of certain things as delicacies. But that night, she was right. The asparagus was better than meat. It started me on a path toward considering each thing for its own merits.

Roasted Asparagus

This is my favorite way to prepare asparagus (and most vegetables). The dry heat concentrates flavor and the surface browning adds sweetness and complexity. It's more technique than recipe: modify at will!

Fat spears of asparagus are better in general; when roasting, it's especially true. 

1 lb. asparagus, preferably fat spears
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt 
pepper
1/2 teaspoon minced or granulated garlic
1 tablespoon herbs of your choice (e.g. rosemary, sage, thyme)  

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Trim asparagus to remove fibrous portions. The easy way is to snap a spear to see where it breaks, then use a knife to chop the other spears to the same length. Less wasteful, but more work, is to trim just the most fibrous end (about an inch) and use a peeler to take off the outer skin, where most of the fiber is. 

Test a plastic bag for holes by inflating it, twisting it closed, and squeezing it to verify that it holds air. Place trimmed asparagus in the bag with vegetable oil, salt, pepper to taste, and herbs. Shake gently to mix. Drop onto an oiled sheet pan (lined with foil if you want to ease cleanup). 

Roast in oven until bright green, about ten minutes. Shake pan and roast another 5-10 minutes until tender and browned in spots. 

Post-Vegetarian FAQs

My month as a vegetarian has been a great success. So how did it go?

Glad you asked.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Why did you do this?

That's the question everyone asks. And for those who know me well, it is asked with some incredulity.

For me, it wasn't about vegetarianism, per se. It was a food adventure. And like any adventure, the point was to sample another point of view, to live a different life for a little while.

It was a lot of fun.

What did people think?

Oddly, no one thought I was nuts. Well, no more than usual. I found people universally supportive. One person told me she is thinking of trying it herself. 

Are you going to remain a vegetarian?

No. I am an omnivore again. I had chicken wings and pepperoni pizza for dinner the evening after the month ended. But I will probably eat less meat.

So, how did it go? Did you get what you wanted?

Oh, yes. The benefits were many. First, it's made me more aware, which is what good adventures do. It's caused me to greatly expand places I eat and things I might order. For instance, who'd have thought that Armadillo Willy's BBQ would have an outstanding vegetarian salad? I have about 20 new recipes I would not have tried. (I'll be posting more of them over the next week or two.) I also have new ingredients and methods. I lost some weight and probably developed some better nutrition habits.

How will this affect FeedMe?

I have a pretty big backlog. There are some recipes I didn't get to, like a potato, baby artichoke, mushroom sauté, poached scrambled eggs, and a vegetarian dish from Top Chef Richard Blais. I also have some thoughts about vegetarianism and food. You'll see those in coming weeks. 

Crave much?

Almost never! This was the biggest surprise. I didn't miss meat very much. 

Hungry?

No! I was full most of the time. My method was to eat a lot of vegetables, in addition to the fruit I was already eating. I was so full that I had some very light meals because I just wasn't hungry. 

Did you feel different?

Not much. Many vegetarians report feeling lighter or more energetic. I did feel that a little but not so much I could attribute it to diet. 

How did you make sure you had proper nutrition?

I posted about that a couple of days ago. As an ovo-lacto-vegetarian (eggs and dairy are OK), nutrition is not a big challenge, especially for just a month.

Did you lose weight?

I lost about six pounds (I started at 177 and toward the end, I was 170-172, depending on the day). I was not trying to, it just happened. 

Did you skip treats?

I actually treated myself more! When you lop meat and fat from your diet, there is a sudden calorie deficit. A few cookies and such were a fun treat and didn't add up to the calories I had removed. 

Chocolate is vegetarian, by the way. :) 

Did you cheat?

Not deliberately! About two days into it, I suddenly realized that the fish oil capsules I take every day are made from fish. I designated those an exception. A day or so later, I was cooking and after cutting up some roast chicken, I almost licked my fingers. 

But chances are I did cheat without knowing it — as I studied vegetariansim, I was surprised at all the things that we get from animals. I have some to respect the commitment of vegans. who must maintain constant vigilance. 

Did you get tired of vegetables?

A few times. When that happened, I just stopped eating. I tend to graze all day anyway, so I never forced myself to eat anything. 

What are you going to do about that big fat copycat, Kenji?

That was pretty cool. A couple of weeks in, I looked at Serious Eats, and found that  J. Kenji López-Alt, one of my very favorite food writers, was going vegan for four weeks. He is still doing his. And of course vegan is way harder. It has been really interesting how similar our experiences and thoughts have been. 

Kenji is awesome. 

Will you do this again?

Maybe. I wonder if I can do vegan?

When are you going to fire up your smoker again?

Very funny. 

My First Post-Vegetarian Meal

At the end of my month as a vegetarian, what do you suppose I had as my first meal?

Breakfast and lunch yesterday were vegetarian! Breakfast always is, anyway but for lunch, I went out thinking, "sandwich." But on the way, I was thinking that I wasn't craving meat. It didn't matter. So I saw a falafel place I often drive past and stopped. They had several meat dishes but I ordered the falafel wrap. As it turned out, it was only so-so but that's not the point: maybe I have broken the meat habit, the train of thought that says meat is the centerpiece. 

My Last Meal

I just had my last meal as a Vegetarian for a Month. It combined two of the joys of this month: stumbling on great recipes I might otherwise have overlooked; and "spending" the extra calorie budget that comes from not eating meat. 

A few days ago, Serious Eats posted a recipe for runny, gooey, crispy toasted cheese sandwiches. I just had one. 

Wow.

I will never make toasted cheese any other way.

I made some modifications. Here's my adaptation:

Runny, Gooey, Crispy Toasted Cheese Sandwiches
Serves 2

4 slices thick, sturdy bread such as sourdough
grated parmesan reggiano (see note)
grated cheese (see note)
butter 

Notes:

• Use any cheese you like. I used Jarlsberg Swiss. Cheddar is what they used in the original recipe.
• Amounts are not listed because you can use whatever you like. For each sandwich, I used about 1/4 cup parmesan and 1 cup grated cheese but I grated them with a Microplane, so they were very fluffy. 

Butter the bread and place in a skillet over medium or medium-low heat. Toast until browned, 2-3 minutes.

Flip and sprinkle parmesan on the browned side. Toast until the second side browns.

Flip again, so the parmesan side is down. Top with the grated cheese and let the parmesan side get crispy, 1-2 minutes. Assemble the sandwich in the pan by flipping half the pieces on the other half (parmesan sides out). Let it heat a little while more, flip and heat the other side until the cheese inside is oozing.

Eating Everything and Losing Weight?

So far, four weeks into my vegetarian adventure, I have noticed no differences in how I feel. But I do notice how my belt feels — I have lost 5 pounds, without any extra effort. (I had lost 7, a couple came back.)

A vegetarian friend was surprised. He said he gained weight when he became vegetarian. We compared notes and I think the reason was that he is more of a carb-hound than I am. He replaced meat with more carbs. My diet was meat on top of a wide mix of carbs, vegetables, and fruit, so when the meat was replaced mostly by more vegetables, a pretty substantial calorie load was displaced. He replaced meat with carbs and saw less advantage. 

Not that I am a nutritional angel. I believe in the Dr. Dean diet: "Eat anything you want, just not as much." Not long into the adventure, I noticed that with meat out of my diet, I had room for some indulgences. I have been having more treats like chips, pastries, and ice cream. And chocolate, of course. Not a lot, but definitely more often.

The other day, I roasted some vegetables and used way more butter than usual. Wow, were those good! The butter was no big deal, as it was a small percentage of the dish, compared to the bulky root vegetables. That's a lesson I will retain after the adventure is over. 

In my normal diet, and probably yours, the key calorie player is fat. The best tasting meat is the fattiest — bacon, pulled pork, chicken skin, well-marbled beef. The math is inescapable. Protein and carbs contain about 4 calories per gram. Fat contains 9 calories per gram. Replace fat with a judicious mix of fiber, carbs, and protein and you lose weight, even if you sneak in some fatty treats.

Other than the weight loss, I am seeing no physical effects except one — it's been a gassier month. A little less now, as my system has adjusted, but still gassier than normal. 

As an ovo-lacto-vegetarian for a month, I am still eating dairy and eggs, and as usual, I am eating a widely varied diet, so I have no worries about nutrition. Vegans need to be more careful, of course. 

The key to good nutrition, more than anything else, is variety. Do you know about the "French paradox?" It's the question of why the French seem to suffer few ill effects from their heavy use of saturated fats. The red wine and walking don't seem to be the answer. A prominent theory is that it's variety that saves them. The French, along with the Japanese, have among the most varied diets in the world. Americans, on the other hand, have among the least varied diets. (Are you listening, you meat and potatoes types?) 

Our bodies seem to take what they need when presented with a range of raw materials. It makes sense and is pretty great news because a varied diet is more fun (to me, at least) than daily factory-stamped burgers and spuds.

Variety, as it turns out, really is the spice of life!

Menu Spotting

One of the most interesting exercises in being a Temporary Vegetarian is eyeballing menus for alternatives. So far, I haven't failed to find something but I can imagine that if I were a permanent vegetarian, I would get tired of having just one or two choices. And vegans are much more limited. Fish, on the other hand, would greatly widen the selections. 

At a Mexican restaurant, I was especially surprised to see the small number of choices: quesadilla was it until someone reminded me about chile rellenos. 

The local bagel shops are a bonanza because there's a bagel with cream cheese or one of several egg and cheese choices. 

Chinese restaurants carry many vegetable or noodle dishes, but with hazards. A purist has to be careful since the sauces may be meat-based or use fish sauce and the servers are not always truthful. I had noodles one time and mu shu vegetables another time. 

Indian is easy, since many Indians are vegetarian.

Likewise, a local Thai restaurant has been easy.

At first, I thought sandwich shops are more difficult than expected, with just a couple of choices. But it's easy to leave off the meat, so most sandwiches can be vegetarianized. And don't forget the peanut butter and jelly on the kids menu!

Diners and cafes are easy, especially if they serve breakfast all day (pancakes, french toast, eggs).

Even barbecue has possibilities! 

Risotto Casserole

My friend Rebecca sent me a recipe for risotto prepared as a casserole. With a few tweaks, it was an easy choice for Temporary Vegetarian month. Unlike a normal risotto which requires a lot of stirring, this one spends most of its time unattended, in the oven. 

Risotto Porcini Casserole
4 servings  

• 1 ounce dried porcini
• ¼ cup butter (4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick)
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 ½ carrots, peeled & minced
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 2 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable stock
• ½ lb. fresh mushrooms, cleaned & sliced
• 1 ½ cloves garlic, minced
• ⅜ cups chopped parsley
• salt & fresh pepper to taste
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 egg
• ½ pinch nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350. Set aside a 9x9 or similar sized baking dish

1. Cover porcini with hot water in a small bowl. Soak at least 30 mins.

2. Melt half the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add green onions and carrots, sautée 10 minutes. Add rice, stir for 1 minute. Drain porcini, strain liquid, and pour over rice. Add wine and enough stock to cover rice. Simmer over low heat, adding more stock as needed until rice is tender but still firm, about 30 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in another skillet, sautée porcini and fresh mushrooms for 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and parsley, simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Spread half the rice in the baking dish. Top with all the mushrooms. Sprinkle half the Parmesan over mushrooms, top with remaining rice.

5. Whisk cream, eggs, and nutmeg together. Pour evenly over rice. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan on top.

6. Bake until top is puffed and brown, about 30 mins. Let cool several minutes before serving.

Go Where the Vegetarians Go

The most important thing the month of vegetarianism has done for me is to expand my horizons. I already had a very varied diet; this takes everything up a notch. This month, I've been going where the vegetarians go (at the same time going where vegetarians would not go).

I love finding places that unlikely winners -- out of the way, boldly different, great view, with high-quality, interesting dishes, and great service. Yesterday, it was Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco.

On my way with a friend to Moscone center for a show, I checked the Yelp reviews. This place sounded interesting. It is a little tricky to find, with its unusual location at the terrace level of Yerba Buena gardens. The terrace level is on both sides of the street, spanned by a foot bridge and Samovar is on the side opposite the main entrance. 

This is not the kind of place I would normally visit, with its emphasis on what I like to call hippie chow. And it's a "Tea Lounge," not a restaurant? But I am vegetarian for a month and am on the lookout for interesting alternatives. So I go where the vegetarians go, and that means hippie chow. 

We'll get to the food in a minute. 

The ambience was peaceful, relaxed, and informal without being sloppy. And it was noon, on a busy Friday, with a major show at Moscone West, just across the street. That's what made this a real find -- normally when I attend this show, I have lunch early because of the crowds. The place was busy and pretty full but not crowded or rushed. We sat outside because it was a lovely day; had the weather been bad, it might have been more difficult since the tables were mostly taken.

The host and wait staff were gracious and efficient, the service was quick and accommodating. 

The menu has two pages of tea. Two dense pages, full. They ought to call this place a Tea Lounge or something. We had the Earl Gray and it was as good a cup of tea as I've had. But we're not here for the tea. 

I ordered an egg bowl. It's a poached egg (perfectly poached, which is a pretty tricky thing to accomplish), a scoop of brown rice, with a slightly sweet, complex sauce in the bottom of the bowl, making it easy to scoop a little in each bite. On the side there is your choice of salmon, smoked duck, or braised tofu. Before I was vegetarianing, the smoked duck would have been a no-brainer but today, I ordered braised tofu, firmly in hippie chow territory, which I would never have ordered. Accompanying the tofu was a light, soy sauce based dipping sauce.

This was really a delightful dish. Light and flavorful, with delicate, easy-going flavors that went together in quiet harmony. I plan to make something similar very soon. 

My friend Brad ordered the TLT: "Tamari-Mirin Braised Tofu, Lettuce, Tomato served on Leadbetter's handmade English muffin with mayo." This dish is vegan. Again, not something I would order but it looked wonderful and Brad said it was.

Each entree was $12, very reasonable for the location and the quality. The tea was $9 but enough to serve at least two people. 

I have to rethink the whole hippie chow thing.

Serious Vegetarian

What a great idea!! A food blogger decides to go vegetarian for a month and write about the experience. 

No, not me. Another food blogger!

Imagine my surprise when mid-way through my vegetarian adventure, I tuned into one of my favorite food blogs, Serious Eats, and see one of my favorite food bloggers, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, launching his adventure. Which started two weeks after mine. Coincidence or conspiracy?

Kenji is taking it a step further — he is going all the way to vegan. No dairy, no eggs. And he takes it a step further by reporting every day, including everything he's eating. As a full-time food writer, he has the luxury!

This is pretty cool. Kenji is one of my favorite food writers, mixing science and the art of food, adventure and a joy for optimizing recipes and studying techniques. So you can bet I will be following Kenji's adventure and comparing it to my own. I hope you will too. Even better — maybe you'd like to try it yourself!

Vegetarian Variation

The second question everyone asks when they learn I am trying vegetarianism for a month is what I will be eating. (The first question is "Why??!??!")

For the past few months, I have been looking at vegetarian practices and found a surprising amount of variation.

At one end of the spectrum is the vegan, who eats no animal products at all, including dairy, eggs, and honey. Many avoid lesser-known animal derivatives such as gelatine and rennet (used for some cheeses and puddings). Some even decline to wear wool or leather.

An ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products. A lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but not eggs. An ovo-lacto vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products.

Within the meat category are some more questions? Fish? Shellfish, like clams and shrimp? One friend eats chicken, fish, and shellfish but still considers herself a vegetarian. She is actually a "pollo-pescetarian" and if she skipped the fish, she'd be a "pollotarian". "Pescetarians" eat fish but no meat or poultry.

Some vegetarians won't eat anything that "had a mother." Some won't eat anything that "had a face."

 And then there are the vegtarians who will eat bacon. Don't laugh, I know several. One calls bacon the "gateway drug."

Wow. Nice to have choices. I once knew someone who called himself a flexetarian.

To answer the question: Technically, I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian this month: No meat, fish, shellfish; yes on dairy and eggs.

And no bacon!

What I Didn't Eat

Usually, a picture like this would be of something I ate. But last Tuesday, it was part of the challenge of being a Temporary Vegetarian.

At an industry dinner at Tamarine in Palo Alto, these gorgeous lamb chops (and a panko-fried trout and Shaking Beef) went untouched. I had the sweet potato fries, curried long beans, and a fantastic apple-jicama salad. I had the soup portion of the Ha-Long Bay Soup (coconut-coriander consommé but not the crab wontons. I had the banh mi roti appetizer, a pan fried bread with red panang curry sauce. 

That doesn't sound like deprivation, does it? I was tempted, but not by much. 

I need to go back to Tamarine next month. 

The BBQ Test

I had plans to meet some friends for lunch at Armadillo Willy’s, a Texas BBQ restaurant. This appointment was set a few weeks before my experiment as Temporary Vegetarian. 

I considered, for a moment, changing plans but decided this would be part of the experience. Now, I love barbecue. I mean, I really love barbecue. How would I deal with the temptation? And for that matter, is there anything at Willy’s a vegetarian can eat?

The online menu showed me that one of their salads is vegetarian. I ordered that, with a side of sweet potato fries. 

Win!! The salad was fresh and cold, with corn, a few crispy croutons, romaine and iceberg, and was topped with a sliced, grilled portabello mushroom. This salad was so good that I would order it even if I were not the ordering as a vegetarian.

And oddly, the barbecued delights everyone else was enjoying didn’t bother me at all. The biggest surprise in this experiment is that so far, on Day 11, I haven’t felt deprived at all.

 

Meaty Chili

As it happened, this vegetarian chili recipe appeared in the Sunday paper just before my vegetarian month. I haven't been impressed with meatless chili recipes before, but this one is by Pam Anderson, and I trust her work.

I made a few changes, halving the recipe but leaving some of the more flavorful components at full measure. I also served it on brown rice which gave it the perfect texture. This one is a winner!

Black Bean-Hominy No-Meat Meaty Chili

This is a surprisingly satisfying no-meat chili.

• 2 cups vegetable broth, Pacific, Kitchen Basics or Imagine brand
• 1 can petite-diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounces
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, cut into medium dice
• 1 bell pepper, any color
• 1.5 tablespoons chili powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 1 can black beans, 15.5 ounces; drained and rinsed
• 1 can hominy, 15.5 ounces; drained and rinsed
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• RICE
  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Combine rice, water, salt, bring to boil, cover and simmer 30-40 minutes, until tender.

If any spices are in unground, toast in dry Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat until fragrant, transfer to spice grinder. 

Place empty pot back on medium heat, add oil. Once oil is hot, add onions and peppers. Sauté until soft and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin and oregano: sauté until fragrant, a minute or so. Add beans and hominy (drained and rinsed) along with tomatoes and broth. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are tender and flavors have blended, about 20 minutes. 

Stir in garlic, chocolate and cilantro; simmer a couple of minutes to blend flavors. Turn off heat and let stand a few minutes. Salt to taste (about 1/2-1 teaspoon). Adjust seasonings and serve over brown rice.

Notes:

Originally from USA Weekend. I halved the recipe, leaving some items at full measure.

Nutritional notes:

Per serving: 475 calories, 80g carbohydrates, 16g protein, 10g fat (2g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 21g dietary fiber, 1200mg sodium.

"Eat a LOT"

As a foodie, I had to smile at this bit of advice from Marcus, the person whose presentation started me on my vegetarian journey:

If I could offer one piece of advice based on my transition, it would be to eat LOTS of food, especially fruit that you enjoy. Do this before you find yourself hungry. The hungrier you let yourself become, the worse the food you will crave. 

Eat LOTS of food. I think I can do that.

Vegetarian Shopping

Here are the results of my first shopping trip as a vegetarian. It was interesting sweeping past the entire meat section. 

There were a few new things in my cart. Believe it or not, I have never cooked with eggplant: it's not a favorite. I got three kinds of vegetable broth to try and beans for a vegetarian chili recipe that happened to appear in last Sunday's paper. 

My First Vegetarian Meal

One of the ways I plan to keep myself on the vegetarian track is to make sure I don't feel deprived. That's my rule anyway — I try to make sure everything I eat is worth eating.

Here's my first vegetarian meal:

It's avocad0 and munster cheese on toasted sourdough, with kalamata olives. 

Vegetarian? Moi?

Today is my first day as a vegetarian.

The sound you heard is the people who know me falling off their chairs because they all know me as a fan of all things meaty. In truth, I consider myself not so much a carnivore as a committed omnivore. There is little I won’t eat, especially if it used to be part of a beast (pretty much any part). There are only five things I won’t eat, and I’ll actually eat most of them.

For the record, I will be a vegetarian for the month of January. I am skipping all meat and seafood. Eggs and dairy are okay. I’ll have more on this as the journey unfolds.

The first question everyone asks is, “why??!??!?,” with varying numbers of question marks and exclamation points. 

A couple of months ago, I was in a presentations practice class and a co-worker named Marcus presented the case for vegetarianism. I like Marcus. He’s smart and personable, and he’d been a good sport a few minutes earlier, when I did a practice talk on how to properly prepare a turkey. He gave a good talk with cogent arguments, well supported by facts and sensible arguments. I’d heard the arguments before — health, how we feel, impact on the world, economics, how we treat our fellow animals.

At the end, he said something I hadn’t heard before. “I’m not asking you to suddenly become a vegetarian,” he said. “I’m suggesting you try it for 30 days and see.”

That caught my attention. It’s an intriguing idea. I pride myself on adventurous eating and other than tagging along with Anthony Bourdain, what could be more adventurous than completely upending my dietary habits?

So, about a month ago, I resolved to celebrate the new year by putting my meaty appetites on pause and seeing what happens. The most important step was telling my friends, because making a commitment public is the best way to stay on track. 

I’ll blog about the experience, right here on the FeedMe channel. I’m expecting some aspects will be difficult. I’ll be tempted to cheat. In fact, right now, the remains of turkey dinner — and I love cold turkey — are in the refrigerator, calling my name. I had to freeze some leftover chicken soup and sausage. And I forgot, I was going to share my Mo’s Bacon Bar with friends last night. Too late now.

I hope you’ll follow along. I expect to challenge some assumptions and attitudes; surely some of mine, maybe some of yours. 

 

International What!!?

How could I not have known about this?? Thanks to buddy Brad who alerted me:

International Bacon Day

In more bacon news (oh, I love saying that), here are some Christmas gifts from good friends Norma and Stuart (who obviously know me well):

 

 

The Mo's Bacon Bar has been discussed here before. 

All this is a perfect prelude for my January project. More to come... 

Ra pa pa pum

I have a tradition of declaring Ra Pa Pa Pum day — the first day each year I hear that song — you know the one. Yes, that one.

Well, this year, it's today. Wrapping presents, playing some tunes and there it was. This version is by (ready for this?) Bing Crosby and David Bowie. Not their best work. 

Little-Drummer-Bing-n-Bowie

13 Cheeses Everyone Should Know

From Serious Eats: 13 Cheeses Everyone Should Know

Shown above is one of my favorites, fresh mozzarella, not to be confused with the waxier pizza-topping version more common in the U.S. Fresh mozzarella tastes like an amped up version of cold, fresh milk. One of my favorite lunches is tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and whatever herbs strike my fancy (especially fresh basil). Here is one I had at Fratello's:

Big Bird

Another question arrived via e-mail. Ted says his turkeys come out great but this year, it's a 20-pounder! 

Cook's Illustrated did an article on large turkey roasting. Normally, they recommend choosing one under 14 pounds and for a crowd, making two turkeys, but they later developed methods for larger birds. I did this two years ago.

I just reviewed their article (Nov 2002) and gave Ted the following suggestions:

• I hope the bird was brined. If not, too late now — be extra careful about the temperatures. 
• They recommend, and I do this, drying the bird overnight in the refrigerator to dry the skin. 
• Start in a high oven, 425 degrees F. Brush with butter, cook breast down for one hour (I gave it an hour and 15 minutes). Use a pan with a rack. 
• Remove from oven, set to 325. Turn turkey breast up (use a turkey lifter or your hands, with a handful of paper towels or a pot holder in each hand).  
• Return to oven. Monitor internal temps. They say to cook until the thickest part of the thigh is 170-180 but that seems high to me. I would still shoot for the temps on my turkey page, 150-155 breast and 160-165 thigh. Leg joint should be loosening up. 
• After you remove it from the oven, a large bird will rise a bit more than a smaller one, so I am pretty sure ending at those temperatures will reach the final target of 160 breast and 170 thigh. They say this second time in the oven will be two hours; I am guessing it will be less. When I did this, it an hour and a half).
• If the temperatures overshoot, not a problem for a brined bird. 
• Rest 45 minutes at least. 
• Carve in the kitchen. If there are some undercooked areas (a little pink is OK), zap those bits in the microwave.

You can see the full article online in Cook's Illustrated (use their 14-day free trial to gain access).

Anyone done a big bird? Tell us about it in the comments!

You Have Q's? We Have A's!

More questions from readers of my turkey page. Thom asks: 

"The ... label that says it has been injected with a 8% solution, not packed in a solution. I’m guessing that brining one might make the bird too salty since I think that the injections are a substitute for brining…"

Yes — injected with or packed in a solution means it's already brined. Don't brine again — it will be too salty.

"Under cooking techniques, you don’t mention convection ovens."

That's because I didn't have one. But I do now! I'll let you know but my expectation is that it will be done sooner. Happily, I don't worry about timing anymore, now that I know the turkey needs to rest at least 30 minutes and will stay hot for an hour. Lots of time to finish everything off without stress.

"Do you use anything to help get the cooked bird out of the roasting pan?"

Good question, especially with 20-pound birds! I have a turkey lifter (Google it). But sometimes I just use heavyweight tongs in one hand and paper towels in the other, so I can grab the bird and stabilize the load.

 

T-minus-1

T-minus-2: Cool and dry

With the three-day dry brine complete, I rinsed the turkey (important to remove surface salt) and placed uncovered in the refrigerator, to let the skin dry. 1-2 days is fine. 

If you haven't started yet, you can still use a wet brine, overnight. Or you can buy a brined turkey. If you buy a turkey now, buy one that is not frozen!

Details on the Turkey Page.

 

T-minus-3

If you're turkeying this Thursday, you can still brine your turkey if you buy one already thawed. Costco has some 'organic' ones for $2.50 a pound or Foster Farms for 89 cents a pound. Neither are brined. 

No time for a dry brine: Use the wet brine method. Works just as well. 

You can save time by buying one already brined. The label on a brined turkey will say something about being packed in or injected with a "solution." I recommend the basic Butterball as these are not over-salted the way some are. Note that not all Butterballs are brined — read the label.

Trader Joe's has Kosher and non-Kosher pre-brined birds. These are probably good, though I have found Kosher birds are often saltier than I like. 

If you buy a frozen bird, you will need to thaw it in running water — no time for a refrigerator thaw. 

Small Oven Blues

About this time of the year, I start getting questions from people who found my turkey page. A frequent question is what to do if you have only one small oven? There are side dishes that need oven lovin' too!

I used to have a single small oven, too. I was always able to make it work because of one important fact: You rest the turkey after it's done, for 30-60 minutes. Resting keeps moisture in the meat, so less runs out when you carve. Surprisingly, the turkey stays plenty hot even after an hour! You can go even longer if you need to.

So, here's how you multitask your single oven: Have everything else that needs the oven ready to go and toss them in when the turkey comes out. You may have to think about how to juggle times and temperature. For instance, you may have rolls and potatoes and a casserole and they may need different times and temperatures. I was always able to make it work. In a few cases, I prebaked an item before the turkey went in, and put it back in to reheat for ten minutes after the turkey came out.

If you have a grill with a lid, it makes a good oven substitute. 

T-minus-6

My turkey has been dry-brined. This year, I also herbed the breast. I made a paste of herbs and olive oil, cut a pocket in the breast meat with a long knife, and pushed herb paste in the pocket, under the skin, and in the cavity. The herbs were whatever I had in the garden — marjoram, thyme, oregano, rosemary, chives. I also added some salt.

After the dry brine, I rinse the bird but most of the herbs won't be reached by the rinse. 

Make your own great turkey — see my turkey page!

T-minus-7

My favorite food day of the year is a week away! This year, I have a 12-pound "natural" turkey from Costco. Dry-brine will begin this weekend. 

I have updated my famous turkey page with all the tips you need to make a perfect turkey.

Goat Meal

At one time, oatmeal was considered animal food. That was my first thought when my friend, Steve Cross, told me he was having his oatmeal uncooked, with fruit and milk or yogurt. Goat meal. It doesn't sound good but then, raw oatmeal is in granola. So I tried it.

Hey, it's good!

Steve got the idea from the Germans. Wikipedia explains: 

Germany/Switzerland

The Germans and Swiss prepare a cold oatmeal called Bircher Muesli as a breakfast cereal based on uncooked oats, fruit and nuts. The oats are combined with milk, honey and spices (e.g. cinnamon), mixed and soaked in the refrigerator overnight to soften (unnecessary with already softened rolled oats). In the morning before eating, nuts and fruit are added. The dish is not cooked.

When I have hot oatmeal, I use steel-cut, Irish or Scottish style oatmeal.

While rolled oats are smashed flat, to make flakes, steel-cut oats are chopped into small bits. When cooked, they retain their chew, adding to both flavor and texture. 

For more on steel-cut oats, see: FeedMe: Oatmeal

The Perfect Hamburger?

In "A Hamburger Today," a burger-obsessed food blog, we meet the most labor-intensive burger ever.

The inventor, Heston Blumenthal, calls his Blumenburger a "perfect" hamburger. He has the credentials: "English chef and owner of The Fat Duck, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire voted Best Restaurant in the UK by The Good Food Guide 2007 and 2009, and voted best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine in 2005," according to wikipedia. But does he bring the goods?

Facts:

• Number of ingredients to make a cheeseburger: 3 (meat, cheese, bun)
• Number of ingredients to make a Blumenburger: 32
• Cost of average homemade half-pound cheeseburger: $3
• Cost of Blumenburger: $9
• Time required to make average cheeseburger: 7 minutes (3 minutes of prep, 4 minutes cooking time)
• Time required to make Blumenburger: 30 hours, 4 minutes (30 hours of prep, 4 minutes cooking time)

30 hours of prep? Not that surprising since the recipe has you making the bun and ketchup from scratch. No worries, much of it is idle time.

So how is it? No, I did not invest my weekend in Blumenburgers but happily, A Hamburger Today did. 

It's quite a story. I don't want to spoil the drama but will say "mixed results" and a few digs at Boca's ersatz burgers.

Annual Matzoh

I have a confession to make: I love matzoh.

What? No one loves matzoh. It's weird to love matzoh! Matzoh is flour and water. That's it. Maybe some salt. There are egg and onion versions, even chocolate-covered matzoh, all attempts to give it some cred. 

Matzoh with truffle butter?
 
Well, I do. I even have my favorites. Sorry, but the American brands won't do. They're bland (and for matzoh, that's saying a lot!). I like the Israel-made Yehudah, which has a more pronounced wheat taste and seems fresher. It also has more char, which gives it dimension. 

Yesterday, Itzik at work gave me the oddest matzoh I have ever seen. It comes as three round crackers in a very solid cardboard box, printed in full color. Three matzohs! The box is probably half their cost! But these matzohs are pretty special. They're hand made in the Ukraine and fired in a wood-burning oven, with a lot of serious charring. It's very good — not as fresh as the Yehudah but lots of character. You can even see the lines from the edges of the tiles of the oven floor.

My shikseh looked at them and suggested some pepperoni, sauce, and cheese. Traif but intriguing. 

While matzoh has not so much flavor, perhaps, what it does have is history. The original on-the-run cuisine, matzoh came about when the Jews fled Egypt and there was no time to let the bread rise. For Passover, leavened bread is forbidden to honor their sacrifice. The spelling varies — matzo, matzah, matzot — and all the variations are correct, since they are all transliterations from Hebrew. The box Itzik's matzoh's came in used three different spellings!

So yes, I like matzoh. Even plain. It's not as weird as it sounds.  Water crackers are basically matzoh. In , Words to Eat By, Debbie Koenig, self-confessed matzoh hater, begrudgingly calls it "the original flatbread." 

Gourmets talk about simple ingredients, simply prepared. Matzoh tests the slogan. Eaten plain, it's the flour, and enough char to give it some character.

But where matzoh shines is as a blank slate for other flavors. Especially butter. A simple buttered matzoh with just the tiniest amount of salt really brings out the subtlest tastes in butter. Today, I upped the ante with some truffled butter I bought last weekend. That worked!

Then I remembered that I had just made some cream cheese (future article, I promise). Nice!

My favorite — a story for another day — is matzoh brei. Loosely, it's scrambled eggs and matzoh cooked in butter, but it's much lovelier than that. Tender on the inside, barley crisped at the edges. That will be a story for another day but you can read Debbie's matzoh brei story in the meantime. 

Ferment!

Some of the most cherished foods (and yes, I count beer as food) are the result of rot! Cheese, dry-aged beef, bread, kimchi, champagne!

I speak, of course, of fermentation, in which invisible critters live, ingest, secrete, and die for us. Sounds yummy, doesn't it? 

Well, now someone wrote a book of recipes that rely on fermentation! See the review of Wild Fermentation at Cool Tools. 

Where There's Smoke, There's Food

We kicked off “smoking season” at my friend Butch’s house.

Joe, an avid hunter, had some quackers and venison sausage in the freezer. Butch had made bacon (I mean made, as in from scratch, from pork belly) and I had some pulled lamb (a story for another day). We made an afternoon of it and had a total-protein dinner.

The closest thing to a vegetable was a loaf of Butch's freshly made whole wheat bread. 

Wild duck is quite unlike the shrink-wrapped Long Island birds that come from the store. Coming from the smoker, they looked scrawny and dry but they were full of flavor. Duck meat is deep red and juicy and very harmonious with smoke. I think I’ll call duck “the other red meat.”

The cheese was great: A tangy asiago and a variety of Swiss I’d not had before that Joe spotted, nutty and creamy. 

Pulled Pork? Baaaaaaaaah!

I had a pulled lamb sandwich for lunch. Pulled lamb? You bet!

It was a special at Los Gatos Meat Company. I had gone there to get a corned beef for St Patrick's Day. They have awesome sandwiches.

Pulled lamb is about what you might imagine — meaty, saucy, smoky. It has sweet onions and a not-too-sweet, nicely smoky sauce, just enough to almost be messy but not quite. Mine was on a dutch-crunch roll.

Great sandwich.

 

Corned Beef Day

I have a few annual food traditions. One of my favorites is St. Patrick's Day. Here in the U.S. (and not, I learned, in Ireland), the traditional dinner is corned beef and cabbage. Hearty, hot, and steamy, iit's perfect for the time of year, the last coughs of winter. 

But for a foodie, the problem is the corned beef. The grocery store's normal variety, in the vacuum-wrapped bag, is — well, it's pink. As in, day-glo. To get the vibrant pink color, they cure the beef with nitrites and nitrates. I'm not worried about the chemicals (especially since this is generally just once a year), but the heavy handed curing leaves the beef tasting salty, metallic, and not like beef.  

Years ago, I made my own. It's not difficult but it takes a couple of weeks. The good news is that it tastes like beef!! But without any nitrates at all, it's decidedly not pink. It looks rather gray. Tastes great but not much to look at.

A couple of years ago, I happened to be at Los Gatos Meats (or, as I call it, meat heaven) and saw corned beef. They make it there!

Long story short, it is wonderful. Somehow, they manage to get it to be pink without making it taste like a chemistry set. 

For those who don't live near here, I spied some corned beef at Trader Joe's that said it was made without nitrates. I don't know if it's good — but it looked like a better alternative thanthe neon briskets at the grocery store. If you try it, or know another source for the Good Stuff, please leave a comment.

Once you find a good source, cooking it is not tricky — just allow enough time. 

Corned Beef and Cabbage

No quantities are shown here because it doesn't matter. Allow a pound of beef per person, maybe two to guarantee lots of leftovers (you will want leftovers). For 4 servings, use 2-4 carrots and potatoes and one or two of each of the other vegetables and one head of cabbage.

Corned beef
Potatoes (yukon gold or red)
Rutabaga
Carrots
Parsnips
Turnips
One head cabbage 
Spicy mustard and horseradish

Note: In most recipes, the beef and vegetables are cooked together. The vegetables will be less salty and less greasy if you cook them in a separate pot.

Start 4-5 hours before the time you want to serve dinner.

Remove the corned beef from the package and place in a pot. Cover with water plus an inch. Add the spice packet that comes with the beef. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 3-5 hours. The meat is ready when a skewer slides in easily and you can remove it without it sticking enough to lift the meat from the water. If the meat is done early, no worries, just turn off the heat and keep it warm.

Prepare the vegetable. Trim and clean or peel the root vegetables. Remove the outer layers of cabbage and cut the head in four to six wedges, cutting through the root. Each wedge will have a section of the root which holds the leaves together.

Place the root vegetables in a second pot with a few inches of water. Bring it to a boil, cover, and simmer, to steam the vegetables for 20 minutes. Add the cabbage and steam another 15 minutes.  

While the vegetables are finishing, remove the meat to a cutting board (save the water) and slice against the grain, in about 1/4"-thick slices. 

Serve in a big bowl with the vegetables on the bottom, topped with the sliced beef. Serve with spicy mustard and horseradish.

And beer. Preferably, an Irish stout! (Maybe corned beef and cabbage is not genuinely Irish but an Irish brew can't hurt!)

New Gi from an Old Place

When I drove to Japantown, I was looking for a new gi. I would also get a long drink of history, flavored with sweet human spirit.

Nichi Bei Bussan is a small shop in downtown San Jose. They sell Japanese clothes, art, books, crafts, and fabrics. I was there for their annual sale. I needed a new gi, the traditional white uniform worn in martial arts. I spoke to a tiny Japanese woman behind the counter and learned it was her store. Her name is Arlene.

Arlene was talking to another customer, pointing proudly to the cash register. She tells anyone who notices it that it's the original one they have been using in the store since 1948. 

1948!? 

Arlene is the store's third generation. Opened by her grandfather, Shojiro Tatsuno, in San Francisco in 1902, it was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and opened in a new location a year later. She notes, with irony, that the store originally sold Western clothes to new immigrants but now sells Japanese clothes to westerners.

The family closed the store in an "evacuation sale" when the family was interned to Topaz during World War II. After the war, the family reopened the San Francisco store at a new location and opened the San Jose store at its current location, in 1948. Arlene's father, Dave, ran the San Jose store and her uncle ran the San Francisco location.

The store doubles as a museum, with artifacts from Topaz and many documents, pictures, and objects the family acquired over the years. In the photo behind Arlene are three generations: Her son, her brother, and in the photo behind them, is her father.

 The internment of Japanese-Americans is one of the most painful episodes in American history. Generations later, it is still compelling. Arlene was born in internment, 5 months before the family was released. She will tell you stories of how her Dad organized talent shows and how he took illicit 8-mm films of life at Topaz. Arlene explained, "Dad's Topaz film is the second amateur's movie ever added to the Library of Congress's Film Registry (the first was the Zapruder film of John F. Kennedy's assassination). Bay Area-based Gravitas Docufilms filmed a documentary, These Amazing Shadows, about the registry and the importance of film preservation. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this January and included parts of Dad's film with interviews with George Takei (Star Trek's Mr. Sulu), San Francisco District Attorney Jeff Adachi, and me."

In 1973, the store remodeled and switched to their current specialization in Japanese products, some imported and some art items on consignment.