Shannon cooking in the Craigdarroch Arm's Hotel kitchen.

A few weeks ago while in Ely, England with friends, we took turns making our favorite dishes. I packed spices to make gumbo, a Louisiana favorite.

I knew the proper Andouille sausage was hard to find. Fortunately, the local Waitrose supermarket offered a nice chorizo as a perfect substitute. The gumbo was a spicy delicious meal, especially comforting on a cold night in our little St. Mary’s Street cottage.

After Hugh Taylor saw a Facebook photo of my gumbo, I promised him and James Gracie that I would make some for them while in Scotland visiting Moniaive, Dumfries and Galloway.

I brought the same ingredients, but sometimes the most interesting moments in life are unplanned. On St. Patrick’s Day we went over to the local pub, The Craigdarroch Arms Hotel, for an afternoon music session. Tim, who runs the place, had been promised a taste of real gumbo. When I walked in the door he asked “Did you bring my gumbo?”

“Well,” I replied, “it hasn’t been made yet, but if you have a pot available, I can just make it here for you.”

“Can you make enough for everyone in the pub?” Tim asked.

I found myself in the hotel kitchen preparing a large pot of gumbo and adding whatever I could find in the pantry. I prepared all my ingredients while listening to the strains of music coming from the public area, my feet tapping to the music as I set the stock pot to simmering.

I heard the haunting music of a fiddle with the rest of the musicians playing “Danny Boy.”

I poked my head out the kitchen door to listen and looked around at all the people I would feed that day. The power of food and how it nourishes and comforts people touched me.

I thought about that pot of gumbo, which is so much like my own life. The base is traditional Louisiana spice, but enhanced by international friendships and travel. In England the chorizo took the Andouille sausage’s place. Now in Scotland my substitution was black pudding.

Louisiana Scottish Gumbo topped with white rice.

I went back into the kitchen to prepare the traditional side dish of potato salad. Tim kept the door open so I could hear the music. The aroma of the combined spices and simmering stock wafted through the public rooms. Every once in a while someone would poke their head in and tell me how good it smelled.

Finally the meal was finished and we served the entire hotel Louisiana chicken and sausage gumbo with a Scottish twist. Everyone was excited to see real filé, which is ground dried sassafras leaves. They were even adventurous enough to add a Crystal hot sauce.

For the next ten minutes scraping spoons and sighs of pleasure where the only sounds coming from the Craigdarroch Arms Hotel public rooms. I can’t even begin to express how good it felt watching the crowd smiling and enjoying a Louisiana meal that I prepared.

It was so popular there wasn’t a drop of gumbo left in the pot. Apparently, that old adage: “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” is true. I had three marriage proposals. One handsome man even said: “I’m deeply in love with you.”

That afternoon I was whisked away for a walk around a castle in the snow. When I returned the musicians showed their appreciation by playing:  “Jambalaya, Crawfish Pie, File´Gumbo.”  All I could do was just sit and grin. I guess my gumbo turned out okay.

Scottish Louisiana gumbo. Wonder what gumbo tastes like Venice?

Here’s my recipe for Easy Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Editors note: Shannon says — and proves — that gumbo is made with whatever is on hand. I’ve made it with sweet hot Italian sausage and it’s fabulous. 

A recent article in Bon Appétit magazine referenced several restaurants in the country, where bread was moved off the traditional bread plate to reappear as an entrée, or at least as its own course.

It appears that dishes with bread as the primary ingredient are gaining a following – and respect. The latest issue even has a recipe for bread salad. As a baker, this is a trend I like.

The first time I experienced this was in Charlevoix, Quebec, at the delightful restaurant L’Auberge des 3 Canards.

When I heard that the restaurant had a ‘bread bar’ I was confused. I know mixologists have been coming up with some weird new drinks using all manner of exotic ingredients, but bread? I couldn’t imagine it, and rightly so, as it turned out.

At L’Auberge des 3 Canards the chef offers several types of bread and spreads at a large DIY sideboard called, for lack of a better term, a bread bar.  Once there, I cut off a few thick slices from homespun-looking loaves and heaped some plain butter and a yummy-looking garlic spread on my plate. On my way back to my table I saw why this bread bar was so popular. Passing the huge fireplace, I noticed my companions seated in front of the fire, grilling bread over the open flames.  When you travel, it pays to hang out with locals! The aroma of toasting bread and sizzling garlic butter literally dragged me into a seat next to them. As the heat chased the chills of a damp evening from my bones, my bread was transformed into a first course of seared, yeasty goodness, replete with grill marks!

This was the beginning of a remarkable meal. The L’Auberge des 3 Canards is located in Charlevoix, on the heights above the expansive St. Lawrence River, a few hours downstream from Quebec.  The restaurant is a cross between the trendiest ‘Farm-to-Table” eatery and an old-fashioned Sunday dinner at grandma’s house. It was warm and comfortable, the food was sourced from within a 15 mile radius, and the quality of the ingredients and service were impeccable.  I was in heaven!

After our bread course we were served a medallion of quail breast floating in a sea of wild mushroom sauce that, with the toasted cracker “sail” on top, looked like a bateau ready to cruise into my mouth.  The earthy, local mushrooms were the perfect foil for the delicate bird. The crunchy, silken savoriness of each mouthful was only improved by the 2010 Macon-Villages Chardonnay.  It was a great presentation and pairing!

The soup course was a pleasant surprise. If you are a fan of the thick creaminess of American restaurant chowders foisted on diners over the years, you would not recognize this traditional NE chowder, all mussels and corn and potatoes in a thin milky broth.  Its honest peasant roots were honored perfectly, and the sheen of melted butter floating on the surface promised no floury thickeners adulterated its integrity.  I went back to the bread bar for something to soak up all that flavorful goodness.

I think of palate cleansers as a way to freshen taste buds without leaving a distinctive flavor as replacement, so the shooter of Calvados apple brandy decorated with a slice of apple was more like a misplaced aprè dinner digestive than a cleanser. But, it did the job admirably. I was no more thinking of chowder, or even dessert, when my lamb arrived. In fact, I was thinking of ordering another one!

If you like lamb as much as I do, you would have been delighted with the entrée. Usually there is only one lamb course on a menu – take it or leave it. But at L’Auberge des 3 Canards the lamb was offered two ways – as a chop and as a roast – on one plate.  I didn’t have to choose!  Both were cooked perfectly (rare to medium rare) and served in a bath of rich peppery veal stock with a mound of spaghetti squash, asparagus and fingerling potatoes to support the erect chops. A tiny beet and an unpeeled roasted clove of garlic completed the impressive presentation.

Emboldened by the Calvados as much as the wine, a smooth and fruity 2009 Ripassa Valpolicella, I wantonly attacked the bounteous plate, until there remained just the sated satisfaction of the conqueror, seated before an empty dish, contemplating dessert.

I will take a cheese course over dessert any day. The tangy textured shapes and colors of good artisanal cheeses always win out over gooey sweetness – in my book, anyway. This was no exception. The local cheeses of Charlevoix are as good as any you can find, especially when they compliment a meal such as I enjoyed at L’Auberge des 3 Canards. The blue cheese, which was from just outside the region in nearby Quebec, was equally as good, and, with the exception of the wines, was the only element of the meal not sourced locally.

The lack of local wines will soon change now that the esteemed Charlevoix cheese maker, Maurice Dufour of Maison d’affinage Maurice Dufour, is planting grapes. Soon the region of Charlevoix will be a fully self-contained foodie’s paradise.

Where to stay:  When in the city of Quebec, the first choice is the castle on the hill, the newly refurbished Hotel Frontenac. In Charlevoix you’ll find its equally imposing sister hotel, the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu,where I stayed that night, just down the drive from the restaurant.

You can also stay at L’Auberge des 3 Canards.

With several Grands Prix du tourisme québécois awards to its credit, for the past 29 years four-star inn L’Auberge des 3 canards has specialized in premium lodging and refined cuisine.

It is a vast domain with 49 rooms and one chalet. Most rooms have private balcony with unparalleled riverside views of the St. Lawrence. L’Auberge des 3 canards is also synonymous with distinguished dining, while its highly skilled employees provide everything from quality welcome services, to coordinating group activities.

Quebec is very French. When you visit Charlevoix you’ll find a country-side steeped in a French sensibility, a place where immigrants from France can settle and feel ‘at home’. There is an old world charm, a style of living and dining, that these hard-working souls bring with them. This less-expensive-than-a-European-vacation-experience is all there, just across our Northern border, in the Quebec province of Canada. Book your trip now!

By Denise J. Dubé

Chicken cacciatore simmering "on the range."

Growing up chicken cacciatore – or hunter’s stew – was frequently served at our house. It was filling and held large chunks of chicken, Mom’s tomato sauce, green beans and potatoes. It was a satisfying meal that filled the tummies of a larger-than-average family.

It’s been decades, but I still remember the distinct flavor created from the simmering chicken as it melded with the tomatoes and spices.

At the time I remember being annoyed with the constant interruptions caused by bits of bone and joint cartilage. And, I could have done without the potatoes.

Its flavor was incredible though and as the years and my mother passed, I thought about how many dishes she created in her small Waltham kitchen.

Like sauce, everyone’s has a varied nuance, one that was never duplicated in my kitchen – well, not until last week.

I searched online for something that looked like Mom’s version.  There were four recipes and none resembled hers. She never used wine or peppers, which was an ingredient in all that was found.

Factoring in the time, my mother’s need to scrimp and use whatever was on hand, and her ingenuity with food, I started cooking.

Instead of boneless thighs, breasts and legs I bowed to Mom’s chicken pieces, bones and cartilage.

Admittedly, I veered off the path and removed the skin, something that wasn’t done in the 1960s.

I peeled, prodded, pulled and cut the skin from each piece. Reproducing her dish was key, but so is my cholesterol count. Admittedly, I left a ribbon of fat on each piece just for flavor.

The chicken pieces were lightly salted and peppered before hitting the sizzling olive oil that bubbled in my over-sized sauté pan. I watched them carefully for about 5-10 minutes.

While the chicken sautéed I took another pot and added chopped onions and extra virgin olive oil, one that came from my grandmother’s homeland.

Each piece of browned chicken was added to the larger pot.

The bottom of the chicken pan was browned and crusty and just what the stew needed for more flavor.

Instead of wine, I deglazed the pan with almost two cups of chicken broth and poured the bubbling beige elixir through a strainer and into the bigger pot with the chicken pieces and onion.

Lots of garlic slivers, one or two cups of marinara sauce, basil and just a little more salt and pepper were added.

When it burped hot bubbles of red sauce I turned down the heat and covered the pan, leaving a space to evaporate excess fluid.

The green beans and potatoes were left out – and in hindsight that was probably a mistake.

A few hours later, when the chicken was falling off the bone, and the house smelled like decades past, I tasted the cacciatore.

This was my mother’s stew – minus the veggies.

Rotini was boiled, oiled and placed in a bowl on the counter as the stew base and in place of the potatoes.

Smells and tastes bring back memories and as I ate my ambivalence over the cacciatore resurfaced.

The boned chicken is necessary for a hearty and flavorful stew; but it’s also a huge pain to stop eating the meal every few seconds to remove a piece of bone or cartilage.

I’m an adult now and have a little more patience, not a lot – but enough. As an adult I’m quite capable of stopping every few seconds to nibble the meat off a bone or discreetly remove a bit of cartilage – and make this dish again and again.

By Bryan Barbieri

Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer! Courtesy photo.

WHAT: Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer is celebrating its 12^th year of success in the city! This year, some of the area’s premier restaurants and bakeries will be joining forces to help raise money to benefit breast cancer research and care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Establishments will choose one dessert to feature for a week where 100 percent of the proceeds goes directly to the Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer organization. This year, Buca di Beppo, Da Vinci Ristorante, Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse, Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake and Stanhope Grille at The Back Bay Hotel have promised to donate all of its selected dessert proceeds to join in the battle against breast cancer.

Dessert options include: Buca di Beppo – Strawberry Cannoli; Da Vinci Ristorante – Raspberry Cheesecake; Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse – Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream; Haru – Cheesecake Tempura; Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake – Jalapeño & Cinnamon Chocolate Soufflé with Jalapeño Basil Ice Cream and Smoked Cinnamon Anglaise; and, Stanhope Grille – Strawberry Shortcake.

WHEN: Available May 2^nd through 8^th, 2011

WHERE: Participating restaurants include the following:

Buca di Beppo (locations in Dedham, Lexington, Seekonk and Shrewsbury)

Da Vinci Ristorante (162 Columbus Avenue, Boston)

Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse (75 Arlington Street, Boston)

Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake (384 Boylston Street, Boston)

Stanhope Grille at The Back Bay Hotel (350 Stuart Street, Boston)

ABOUT BOSTON BAKES FOR BREAST CANCER:

Now in its 12^th year, Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer has evolved and grown into one of the sweetest weeks Boston and the Greater Boston area has experienced. Teaming up with restaurants, bakeries, and cafes across the region, Boston Bakes offers the opportunity to enjoy a delectable dessert, and support breast cancer research and care at the same time. Previously a part of The Eva Brownman Breast Cancer Fund, Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer is now registered through the Attorney General’s Office as an official commercial co-venture. For more information, please visit: www.bostonbakesforbreastcancer.org.

Bryan is the senior media relations rep for these restaurants — and this great cause. He wrote this for Globalfoodie.

By Richard Frisbie

Ready to eat?

The image that comes to mind when I hear “Boot Camp” does not include kitchen skills, especially when it’s prefaced with CIA. I think of sweaty bodies and abusive drill sergeants constantly shouting orders to do more push-ups. Naturally then, it was with some trepidation that I accepted an invitation to attend a CIA Boot Camp, even though they told me it was about food. (And they didn’t mean KP!)

Exterior shot of the CIA (Photo by Richard Frisbie.)

That’s how I recently found myself at the Culinary Institute, in full chef regalia, standing on the 6 a.m. breakfast line with 2,000 other students. It is a cafeteria cattle-call with a blackboard menu. I filed in, gave my order and waited, watching the class whose job it was to actually cook breakfast until my name was called. That’s what is great about the CIA. Students get real hands-on cooking experience in the student cafeteria and in each of the four public campus restaurants the CIA operates.

At dinner in the American Bounty Restaurant the evening before, students who were graduating the next day served our meal. Every aspect of food service, chemistry, and business, is a class each student must complete to graduate. That includes being waiters, bus boys, short-order cooks, sous chefs and chefs. If the professionalism and expertise I experienced at dinner are any indication, and I believe they are, the young men and women in the restaurant were ready to carry the mantle of the CIA into the culinary world.

Learning to cook at the CIA.

Our Boot Camp experience was a Farm-to-Table event focusing on the fresh bounty of Dutchess County farms. (The CIA is located in Hyde Park, Dutchess County, NY.) The first day we visited the farms and picked, dug, harvested and shopped for the ingredients we’d be cooking the next day. From the potatoes to the brussel sprouts, and from the goat cheese to the locally milled cornmeal, everything on the next day’s menu was sourced locally.

The Culinary Institute of America’s promotional material reads, “At Boot Camp you’ll discover how to select the perfect ingredients, how to prepare a variety of dishes, and how to demonstrate more confidence in your own kitchen. Hands-on cooking, chef demonstrations, and exceptional food make CIA Boot Camp one of “America’s Top Ten Destinations.”

What they don’t tell you is that you’ll be one of a group of “boot campers” working as a team to put complex meals on the table. Our group was only seven people, but there was work (and food enough) for at least twelve. That meant four teams of three (an ideal plan) was out, and we all had to work well together to produce a meal. I think we did a pretty good job, considering.

Making pasta.

Our “Team Production Assignments” were:
Team One
Heirloom Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart
Coq au Vin
Fresh Buttered Egg Pasta

Team Two
Warm Hudson Valley Salad with Baby Greens and Apples
Sautéed Berkshire Pork Cutlets with a Wild Mushroom Ragout
Potato Gnocchi

Team Three
Roast Rack of Lamb Persillé
Creamy Polenta
Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lardons

Team Four
Skewered Beef Fillet with Chimichurri Sauce and Corn Relish
Corn Pudding
Braised Swiss Chard
Vanilla Ice Cream

I was Team Three, with some help with the brussel sprouts from the gnocci and swiss chard person. I helped with the chimichurri sauce, and took photos and a video when I wasn’t worried about burning the polenta!

In the classroom, beforehand, we reviewed the recipes and techniques we’d need to create this meal. When I asked how we’d be able to cook coq au vin in our 3 ½ hour cooking class, Chef Thomas said we’d use young hens instead of an old cock. He knew it would still be close, though.

I never cooked a rack of lamb before, and I had no idea what persillé meant. That’s why I volunteered to cook it. I learned that a persilladé is a bread and herb coating, and that lamb cooks very quickly! Also, that local farm-raised lamb is juicy and delicious even if it was medium rare instead of rare.

This next part is confusing to explain, but I’ll try. I was in a new kitchen surrounded by new people, cooking a recipe new to me, with descriptions in French that I didn’t understand. So, when the recipe called for me to make a mirepoix, I followed the instructions blindly, not knowing what I was doing, and not connecting. It all worked out all right, but it wasn’t until the next day that I realized that, had the recipe just said “make a sofrito,” I’d have known immediately what I was doing and been more comfortable. Next time I’ll ask what the unfamiliar terms mean before I start to cook.

For the rack of lamb I seasoned the Frenched ribs with salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme – on all sides. That roasted at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Then I sprinkled the mirepoix (chopped onions, carrots and celery) around the lamb in the roasting pan and cooked at 350 degrees until an internal temp of 130. (I had no idea how long that would take. Someone suggested 45 minutes. In 17 minutes the internal temp was 132 degrees!) I set the lamb aside and made a sauce with the pan juices. It was strained, degreased and thickened (with arrowroot), and left to sit in a warm water bath while I mixed the bread crumbs, garlic and parsley, with melted butter. I brushed the lamb with whole grain mustard, and pressed the breading onto the top of the rack of lamb. At quarter after twelve I popped the lamb into a 400 degree oven to brown the crumbs. There was just time to carve off the individual ribs before the 12:30 p.m. serving.

For the polenta, I sautéed an onion and 2 cloves of garlic in 3 tablespoons of oil in a tall saucepan. I added 2 ½ cups water and the some of milk. When that was boiling, I added 1 ¼ tsp salt, and slowly drizzled 1 1/3 cups corn meal into the boiling liquid, stirring constantly. I continued boiling and stirring until it began to thicken. Then I transferred it to a buttered baking dish, covered it, and baked it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. This method eliminates much of the stirring polenta usually gets, and freed me up for other things.

Other things included chef demonstrations of how to cut up a chicken, how to make pasta (wait until you see the photos!) and how to make mozzarella cheese. There was also time to help find strainers, measuring cups, the right pans – everything that is “lost” when you are in a strange kitchen. With all of this, we were on a tight schedule to produce everything at the same time, in time for lunch.

When I put the lamb in the oven for the browning, I removed the polenta, scraping it into a serving bowl, being careful not to disturb the bottom crust that developed on the pan. (That seemed like such a shame!) I stirred in ½ cup Parmesan and sprinkled another over the top. To dress it up some more, before putting it on the table I gathered the leftover herbed bread crumbs and sprinkled them on top.

The meal was almost a complete success. Our chef/instructor thought the corn pudding failed for reasons not related to the cook (it was grey!) and planned some test cooking with different utensils and techniques to determine what exactly went wrong. Everything else worked out perfectly, except that my camera batteries failed halfway through. Replacements were locked in my car and in a distant room, and there was no time to retrieve either. So bear with me in the photo dept while you enjoy the video on how to dismember a chicken.

Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lardons
6 oz bacon cut into little strips
2 lbs brussel sprouts, stemmed, cut in half
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Cook the bacon until it is crisp in a large oven-proof frying pan. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Have a large bowl of ice water nearby. Blanch the Brussel Sprouts for one minute in the boiling water. Remove to the ice water until chilled. Drain. Let dry on paper towels. When completely dry, toss with salt and pepper in the bacon and fat in the frying pan. Place in the hot oven and roast, shaking the pan occasionally, until they are tender and lightly charred, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

The pasta was really good, as only fresh pasta can be, especially drenched with an herbed butter. The coq au vin was ready in time and delicious in a falling-off-the-bone kind of way. The braised red cabbage was an extra recipe we made because the cabbage looked so good. (Certainly, it was not because we needed more food, or had extra time!) It was similar to jarred red cabbage only waay better. I made that again as soon as I got home. The skewered beef was the wrong cut and too tough, but the relishes with it were very tasty, really complimented the good flavor of the beef. The pork and mushrooms were delicious, as good as the lamb, but so different. The braised swiss chard was perfect with this combination of foods. Finally, how can you go wrong with ice cream?

It was altogether too much food for the seven of us, plus the chef and two student helpers. We invited more people to join us, until we were 20 or so friends and colleagues celebrating our success cooking the bounty of local farms. We deserved to celebrate. We all worked together to put this meal on the table, and we all earned the passing grade – “Plays Well With Others!”

The Culinary Institute of America is a leader in the Farm-to-Fork movement. They believe in buying the freshest and best ingredients, and try to buy from local purveyors when possible. As proof of their commitment, the CIA hired a local farmer to coordinate local farm purchases. As an example, they buy 750,000 eggs locally every year. By next year they will all be free-range chicken eggs.

Sign up for the CIA Boot Camps online. They have all manner of classes from basic to advanced, and from baking to Asian cuisine, lasting from one day to 5 days. You’ll have a great time, you’ll learn new cooking techniques, and make a whole new bunch of foodie friends!

The Culinary Institute of America
1946 Campus Drive
Hyde Park, NY 12538
877-334-6464

Fifty million pounds of chocolate will be sold in honor of Valentine’s Day. Women of a certain age with discriminating palates – in other words, advanced chocoholics — might prefer Godiva or boutique chocolates. But much of that 50 million pounds will be in the form of Hershey’s kisses, chocolate roses, and their 3 pound solid chocolate hearts. In fact, Hershey’s sales claim 42 percent of the American chocolate market.

The advantage of Hershey’s chocolates, of course, is that they are everywhere – in drugstores, grocery stores, and gas stations; you can even order them on Amazon. Plus, it may be gauche to say, but Hershey’s brand is a lot cheaper than something with a ganache filling or gold leaf ornament. This makes Hershey’s chocolates a perfect gift for novice or inept Valentine’s Day wooers.

The disadvantage of buying Hershey’s chocolate is that the company sources their cocoa from a region that engages in child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking in order to produce our lovely treats. That casts a shadow on a token of true love.

While many chocolate companies have committed to fair trade practices in their manufacture of chocolate, unfortunately our most-recognized name in chocolates has no policies in place to trace their cocoa purchasing and enforce labor rights standards. Much of Hershey’s cocoa, for instance, is sourced from West Africa, a region that is plagued by child labor abuses.

Fair Trade Certified products set a price that aims to cover the cost of production and a living wage in the local context for those involved in the manufacture. This allows businesses to hire adults instead of to force children to do the work of adults for much lower wages. Many sources for chocolates have formed cooperatives or artisan collectives to reinvest revenue in their communities. Human rights and labor laws are strictly enforced.

For more information, google Global Exchange, Green America, the International Labor Rights Forum, or Oasis USA. Better yet, don’t wait until February 14 for someone to buy you chocolates. Do your own shopping and research for Fair Trade chocolates online now, or visit with your neighborhood chocolatier to get the lowdown on your chocolate high.

Chocolate is a fabulous traditional Valentine’s Day gift. But if you want to fan the fires of love without stoking the furnace of misery for children in another part of the world, look for chocolates with Fair Trade certification. It’s one more thing you can feel good about as each bite melts in your mouth.

Judy Kirkwood has written about Chocolate: The Exhibition, which opened at the Field Museum in 2002 and is still touring the U.S. and Canada.

No more coffee, no more tea, I’m seeking chocolaty warmth from head to … knee.

With a wintery bluster outside my Oregon home, I rifled through my cupboards for hot chocolate and a package of cinnamon-infused marshmallows from Jazzed Up Marshmallows that I had been saving for just this type of day.

Specialty marshmallows, mmm ... (Photo by Kate Barr, www.katebarrphotography.com.)

Plopping a few of the small rectangles on top of my cocoa, I watched as they started melding with the chocolate. The first sip immediately filled my mouth with rich, cinnamon-spicy, chocolate goodness. Wow!

Yes, gourmet, cinnamon-flavored marshmallows may seem to some like a trivial treat; but these marshies are the bomb.

On a recent travel excursion, I was sold on the concept by a fellow traveler, Jason Quednow. He and his wife, Michelle, started Jazzed Up Marshmallows last March, and have been wowing customers with these flavorful, sweet concoctions.

“As we say on our website, each 1×1-inch marshmallow is around 30 calories, but it feels like you’re eating a pint of ice cream,” Jason said.

Never have I seen a fellow so excited about marshmallows, and I wouldn’t understand had I not tried them for myself. He and his wife have conjured up a kaleidoscope of flavors: chocolate, mint chocolate, cookies and cream, strawberry, peppermint, orange Dreamsickle, rootbeer, raspberry lemonade, toasted coconut, peanut butter cup, butterscotch chocolate chip, lemon and … especially for the holidays, pumpkin!

The spongy, sweet rectangles make great holiday, wedding and baby shower gifts. And Jason and Michelle urge folks to expand beyond melting them into s’mores and cocoa; and experiment by using the Jazzed Up Marshmallows to top ice-cream sundaes, to blend into Rice Krispie treats and for coffee and other drinks.

Gourmet and specialty marshmallows.

Prices range from $2.50 for a small, 1/10-lb. bag, to $15 for a 1-lb. bag of about 100 marshmallows. Mixed flavors are priced a little higher. Orders can be taken on the website, or for more information, contact:

Jazzed Up Marshmallows
Michelle & Jason Quednow
jazzedupmarshmallows@gmail.com
(262) 903-8029
Lake Mills, WI

Check out what Deston is up to at www.destonnokes.com, or e-mail him at deston@destonnokes.com.

A Traveler Attends the Istanbul Culinary Institute

By Emilie C. Harting

Were it not for the large letters “Istanbul Culinary Institute” above the front entrance, one would assume that the restaurant Enstitu was an elegant café in a row of buildings next to the Pera Museum southeast of Taksim Square.  On a clear day locals and tourists sit under umbrellas on either side of the front door, or wander inside to eat and shop for gourmet food.

Fehmi Samanci, Istanbul Culinary Institute teacher.

I’d been traveling in Turkey for several weeks, and near the end of the trip I arrived at the Institute to take an individual Amateur Cooking Class, one of an array of classes, tours, and other programs for travelers.

“As you probably know, not all Turkish cuisine is gyros and kabobs,” said head chef instructor Fehmi Samanci as we entered the long, sun-filled classroom with stoves and refrigerators on either side.

Appetizers, eggplant, salad on top.

“Would you like to watch me as I explain the steps, or do you want to cook with me?”    Fehmi began setting out a number of bowls, pots, stirrers and measurers out on the long metal table that ran down the middle of the room.

Eager to learn from such an accomplished chef, I said I’d like to participate.

When I asked him how he became a chef, Fehmi said that he’d grown up watching his mother cook, and  when he was thinking about a career he saw there was a real need for educated chefs.  “So I learned to teach them,” he said with a slight giggle.   “And to teach non chefs like yourself.  I also enjoy going to cities like New York and London to demonstrate Turkish cooking at culinary institutes and TV stations.”

“Let’s make three basic Turkish dishes: eggplant salad (patlican salatasi), braised fish (balik pilakisi), and zucchini fritters (mücver).  We’ll do the slicing and chopping for each as the others are cooking.”

By then I’d learned that the first course in many Turkish restaurants is the Meze, the appetizer.    Soon after the guests sit down, a waiter comes out with a huge tray of twelve to eighteen appetizers, each in a small bowl.  A diner picks out three or so.  Ironically, I’d avoided the eggplant salad because it looked like ochre colored paste without much texture. It also looked dull compared to dishes with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and olives.

Students at work.

“Eggplant salad is one of the most popular appetizers in the country,” Fehmi told me.  “We can either bake the eggplants in the oven or cook them on our grill.”   I looked around for a portable grill and saw that he was placing the eggplants in a standing up position over burners on the gas stove.  “We’ll keep them here until the skins bubble.”

As the eggplants cooked, we went on to the braised fish.  Fehmi chose sea bream because it was in season in the late spring.     (I’d had it a few times at small fish restaurants, and it was delicious.  The soft white fish absorbs the flavor of the tomatoes and herbs!)    He said that orange roughy, snapper, or sea bass would be good substitutes in the United States. After slicing onions and frying them in olive oil, we chopped a few springs of  parsley, concussed  (rough chopped)  tomatoes which we’d peeled after dipping them in boiling water, and mixed in mashed garlic, salt and pepper.  We placed half of the mixture in the bottom of a baking pot and lay the filets in before putting the remaining sauce on top and covering the pot.

“It’s important to have a sauce that’s not too thick or it will draw down the flavor,” Fehmi said as he placed the covered pot in the middle of the hot oven. “Also, it should not be cooked too fast.”

While the fish baked, we started the zucchini fritters.  We washed and grated the zucchini, pressed batches of it between our hands with paper towels to make sure all the liquid was out, and put it aside while we chopped scallions and dill, crumbled up feta cheese,  beat eggs, and mixed all of the ingredients together.  We then added the flour, little by little, along with the pepper and salt.  Fehmi said there were two methods of cooking the fritters, either baking or frying.  Since frying is quicker, we poured spoonfuls of the mixture into a pan of olive oil, let the fritters get golden brown on each side, and then rested them on a paper towel to draw out the excess fat.

Farm at Saros.

“Bon Appetit,” said Fehmi and Hande Bozdogan, the owner/director of the Instiute who had come to join us at an eating table near the window.

When I told Hande how delicious and natural the food tasted, she said the aim of both their restaurant, Enstitu, and the Culinary Institute was to make the healthiest food possible.  “We don’t use much butter, and avoid other dairy products, except the modest cheeses that give flavor, such as in your zucchini fritters, and yogurt in some dishes”

As we sat, Hande told me about how she has been heavily influenced by Anatolian cuisine that is typical of the interior of Turkey.  She owns a farm in Saros, two hours north of Istanbul near the Greek border.  Each day a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs are transported from the farm to the restaurant and training kitchens.   The list was mouthwatering: tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, zucchini, eggplant, okra, artichokes, thyme, basil, and mint, as well as apples, pears, pomegranates, quince, and mulberries.    “It’s important to get the food from the farm to the table as soon as it is picked.  We have a steady clientele of local business people who come because they want healthy food that’s cooked without pretension.  I hope we don’t lose the simplicity of Turkish food with the current trend to make food look fancier than it actually is.  We have such a rich culinary history with Ottoman, Greek, and Arab dishes.”  Hande talked about the book she wrote on street food, which she said is fascinating.  You learn how basic Turkish food is cooked because the dishes are created before your eyes.

I asked Hande and Fehmi about their favorite spices.   Almost speaking together, they said many fresh herbs plus red pepper flakes, cumin, sumac powder, oregano, saffron, and lots of cinnamon and cloves.  “We often take students to the spice market and fish market first before we cook,”

I came away from the lesson with a better appreciation of the food I’d been loving in Western Turkey. I’d also picked up tips on how to hold knives, chop, braise, and, above all, to make simple ingredients more tasty.

Even more: Watch an interview with Hande Bozdogan on http://tinyurl.com/27mbcnt. Her book Flavors of the Street: Turkey won the Gourmand Award in 2005, and is available on Amazon.  Istanbul: Contemporary Cuisine also received awards and will also be available soon on Amazon.

For more of Emilie C. Harting’s work visit: www.emilieharting.com. She can be reached at echarting@gmail.com and her blog is: echarting@wordpress.com.

By Deston Nokes

Whether foraging for chanterelles, plucking huckleberries, quaffing expertly crafted ales or getting one’s teeth stuck on a candied apple, visitors to Oregon’s Mt. Hood Territory glorious autumn festival, Feast On! (www.mthoodterritory.com/feaston) can indulge in a cornucopia of incredible delights.

One lucky little boy enjoys a carmel apple. (Photo courtesty of Mt. Hood.)

The Feast On! campaign, which continues until Nov. 30, offers special events and menus urging locals (and lucky visitors) to try new wines, relax in lodges and resorts, enjoy local produce, order distinctive dinners in fine eateries and visit the region’s harvest festivals.

At the Feast On! website (www.mthoodterritory.com/feaston), users can surf specials in lodging, dining, festivals, wineries and brewery categories. One important reason to check out the website first is to sign up for one of the promotion’s three, $500 getaways to a delicious Mt. Hood Territory destination. Just view the three “Flavor Trip” videos, answer the related questions, and sign up.

Running through the corn fields. (Photo courtesy of Mt. Hood.)

The site will guide guests to the best places to sink their teeth into crisp apples, hand-crafted cheeses, roasted hazelnuts, small-batch chocolates, locally raised lamb, elk and beef, and wash it all down with award-winning wines.

A quick way to get into the harvest mood is to celebrate fall on a tulip farm at the Wooden Shoe Pumpkin Festival (http://www.woodenshoe.com/pumpkin-fest) in Woodburn.
Running until Halloween, the Wooden Shoe Pumpkin Festival features family-friendly events such as a five-acre corn maze, a cannon that shoots pumpkins through the air with a cannon, ducky races, horse swings, paintball gallery and a farmer’s market. It wouldn’t be a real festival without an impressive selection of Oregon wines, Oregon craft brews and succulent local treats at the food court.

What a view! (Courtesy of Mt. Hood.)

Not every Feast On! destination is a rustic adventure. Culinary aficionados will be sated by the upscale menus found in Allium (www.alliumoregon.com) in West Linn; or by dining at Scratch (www.scratchfoodsllc.com/) or Olive & Grape (www.theoliveandthegrape.net/) in tony Lake Oswego.

Part of the thrill of exploring the Mt. Hood Territory is to get up the mountain itself. Resort at the Mountain (www.theresort.com), located in the shadow of Mt. Hood in Welches, Ore., is the perfect getaway to play golf, enjoy the spa, and forage for mushrooms and berries. The property is gleaming after undergoing a total facelift in 2009. Its 160 rooms and bathrooms and are fully renovated, and the resort put in a full-service spa, refurbished golf courses, and upgraded public spaces. It also has 18,000 square feet of upgraded meetings space, and a new restaurant, Altitude. For those seeking adventure, there’s year-round skiing up the road at Timberline, fly fishing, tennis, croquet, bocce ball, and even a natural grass, 18-hole miniature golf course.

At the top of the mountain road, Timberline Lodge (www.timberlinelodge.com) provides incomparable views, fine dining and year-round skiing. With 1.9 million visitors a year, Timberline Lodge is second only to Multnomah Falls as Oregon’s most visited site. A recent survey also named the lodge as the state’s most romantic destination. This is a mountain cabin on a grand scale: decidedly rustic, warm and cozy beyond measure.

For those seeking a truly singular wine-and-dine experience should sign up for a Winemakers Dinner Series (www.timberlinelodge.com/winemakers-dinner-series/), located at the historic Silcox Hut at Timberline Lodge. Once a month, Executive Chef Jason Stoller Smith and visiting winemakers will provide new sips and six-course delectable dining in a very unique setting on the south slope of Mount Hood. Space is limited to 24 guests for each intimate evening. Price is $200 per guest. Call 503-272-3251 for reservations.

Upcoming 2010-11 monthly dinners will feature the region’s finest winemakers:

Nov. 18: Ponzi (Maria Ponzi)

Dec. 16: R. Stuart and Co. (Rob Stuart)

Jan. 20: Domaine Drouhin Oregon (Arron Bell)

Feb. 24: Bergstrom (Josh Bergstrom)

March 24: Lange (Jesse Lange)

April 21: Chehalem (Harry Peterson Nedry)

Many of the region’s lodging facilities offer special packages (http://www.mthoodterritory.com/deals/) that include accommodations, dining and attractions. They can be found on the Feast On! website, or call 800-424-3002 and request a lodging specials guide.

Deston Nokes wrote a new iPhone app: PORTLAND ESSENTIALS. It highlights the best things to see, do and eat in Portland. With 259 entries and more than 2,057photos, it’s a delicious resource for those who live here, and for those coming to visit. Entries are listed by category and each links to a Web site and phone number. It includes cost and operating-hour information. Best of all, each has its own GPS to guide you right to the door. This new application is for sale on iTunes for only $2.99.