The Silver Palate 25th Anniversary; The Ice Cream Man; Sustainable Menus

Guest Interview

The Market Report ()

Laura Avery finds a carrot expert from a major Dutch seed company.  He tells us what color carrots were when they originated and exactly what it takes to be an expert on carrots.

She also talks to David West, who brings wild mushrooms to the market from all over California. There is a large crop of Porcini mushrooms that have all ripened at the same time.  Ranging from golf-ball sized to those as large as your fist, fresh Porcinis are great when shaved lightly into a salad or mixed baby greens and dressed with olive oil and salt. They can also be grilled.  Remove the stem from the cap and grill the cap upside down; then, slice the stem in half and place it on the grill as well.  Porcinis are also delicious chopped and sauteed with butter and white wine, or used with pasta water to make a sauce for pasta.

Music Break -- Color of Life -- Tommy Guererro

Guest Interview

Hot Dish ()

Jonathan Gold does a daring pas de deux with the spicy-hot, chilli-laden ramen dishes at Orochon Ramen.  The Japanese noodle restaurant in downtown LA's Little Tokyo is a shrine to spicy foods, offering nine different "heat levels" for their rich noodle dishes.

Orochon Ramen
123 S Onizuka St, #303 (Weller Court)
Little Tokyo
213-617-1766

Music Break -- Boogie Cocktails -- Maxwell Davis & His Orchestra

Guest Interview

Chronicle of Curry ()

The cuisine we believe to be quintessentially Indian is actually a fusion of many foreign contributions. In her new book, Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, Lizzie Collingham traces that fusion, going back as far as 15^th century Persian Moghuls, 17^th century Portuguese explorers and the lengthy occupation by the British.  She discusses curry's full spectrum -- from its lofty symbolism representing India's history of invasion and colonization, to specific delicacies like roast black rat from the kitchens of King Somesvara III.

Vindaloo
Serves 3-4

2-4 breasts of duck (or 1 ½ lb. stewing pork), cubed

Paste
2 large dried red chillies
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
4-6 whole cloves
10 black peppercorns
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped (or pureed in a blender with a little water)
1 tablespoon palm or wine vinegar
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
6 large cloves of garlic, mashed
¾ in. piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

In a cast-iron pan, dry roast the dried chillies, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, cloves, peppercorns and turmeric for 1-2 minutes.  Grind these spices into a fine powder in a coffee grinder.  Put in a bowl with the fresh red chillies, wine vinegar, tamarind, ginger, and garlic and mix to a paste.

Add the meat and mix again.  Make sure all the pieces of duck (or pork) are coated in the marinade.  Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.

Sauce
4-6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
¾ in. cinnamon stick
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 ¼ cups water
salt to taste
pinch of jaggery (palm sugar) or soft brown sugar
a few curry leaves, crumbled

The next day, heat the oil in a large pan and when hot add the mustard seeds and cinnamon stick.

When the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the onions and fry over a medium heat until they begin to brown.   Add the meat and its marinade and sauté until all the pieces are browned.  Add the water, and a pinch of salt to taste.  Cover, turn down the heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes (if duck, longer if pork).

Remove the lid, keep the heat very low and simmer gently until the meat is tender (about half an hour with duck, an hour with pork) and the sauce is thick (you may need to add a little more water to prevent burning).

When the meat is tender add the jaggery or sugar, the crumbled curry leaves and simmer for another 3 minutes.  Then serve.

Recipe courtesy of Curry:  A Tale of Cooks & Conquerors by Lizzie Collingham

Music Break -- Calhoon Road -- Karminsky Ecperience Featuring Ror

Guest Interview

The Ice Cream Man ()

Matt Allen is on a mission to give away free ice cream.  So far, his efforts have been phenomenally successful, providing more than 80,000 frozen treats to event-, concert-and festival-goers.  Traveling in his ice cream truck, Bessie, Matt hands out a little happiness, one ice cream treat at a time.  Matt’s website notes the activities and travels of his volunteer group, which even features concert and music reviews for the festivals they attend.  He shares with us his passion for ice cream and how he gets all those free ice cream goodies, as well as the reactions of those who are the object of his creamy generosity!

Music Break -- Room 44 -- Seemon & Marijke

Guest Interview

Sustainable Menus ()

Chef Neal Fraser has taken the notion of "good" food to heart and created a menu equally concerned with the principles of taste and the environment.  The five-course "Close to Home" menu Fraser offers at his restaurant, Grace, features local, organic and artisanally produced goods. Fraser consistently draws inspiration from his daily discoveries at local farmers' markets and approximately 90% of the meal's ingredients are sourced within 400 miles.  These sustainable eats aim to reduce the restaurant's harmful impact on the environment.  "Close to Home" menu is offered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights.

Grace

7360 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles
323-934-4400

Music Break -- Snoopy -- The Playboys

Guest Interview

The Silver Palate 25th Anniversary ()

Published in 1982, The Silver Palate Cookbook became a beloved classic that changed not only American cooking traditions but also the way we entertained.  It taught home cooks to be daring with food, and how to use fresh, seasonal ingredients and artisanal breads and cheeses in a style that made it seem we'd been entertaining in this smart sophisticated way forever.  Included in the James Beard Who's Who of American Food and inducted into the Cookbook Hall of Fame, The Silver Palate is being re-issued to commemorate its 25^th anniversary.  Authors Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins talk to Evan about their process in creating the cookbook and how they feel about its legacy.

Co-authors Julee Rosso, a one-time advertising director, and Sheila Lukins, a caterer and mother of two, subsequently authored numerous other cookbooks, both together and individually.  Rosso currently runs the Wickwood Inn in Saugatuck, Michigan, and Sheila is the long-standing food editor of Parade magazine.

Music Break -- Soul Motion -- Cal Tjader

Guest Interview

Organic Food ()

Sam Fromartz's book, Organic, Inc: Natural Foods and How They Grew, documents the rise and fall of the organic food industry, the regulation of the organic food market and how the multi-billion-dollar global industry affects farmers and consumers.

A business journalist who began his career at Reuters in 1985, Fromartz's first job was writing the "news ticker" that ran in New York City's Grand Central Station. He then covered virtually every aspect of business, working as a correspondent and editor in New York and Washington, DC.  In 1997, he left Reuters to pursue a freelance career. His work has since appeared in Fortune Small Business, BusinessWeek, the New York Times, and many other publications.  A native of Brooklyn, New York, he currently lives in Washington DC, with his wife and daughter.

Music Break -- Eccitamento -- Gianni Mazza

Guest Interview

TurboChef Oven ()

Steve Beshara is Chief Branding Officer for TurboChef Technologies.  The company, which designs, manufactures and markets a variety of speed-cooking solutions, recently announced the debut of "the fastest oven ever to hit the market." the Double Wall Speedcook Oven.  TurboChef believes the new "must-have" appliance will revolutionize American home cooking, especially in an age where home entertaining is often centered in the kitchen.  The Double Wall Speedcook Oven cooks 15 times faster than a conventional oven, producing evenly cooked and perfectly browned foods using what is called "Airspeed Technology."