This post makes my heart sad and tears come to my eyes. I follow Jennifer Perillo (@jenniferperillo) on Twitter and this past weekend she post a tweet that simple said, “He’s gone. And my heart is shattered in a million pieces.” Her young husband, Mikey, had died suddenly of a massive heart attack that came with out warning. This tragedy has touched many people who know her well and also those who have only glimpsed the love of this family through her blog posts.

For those that asked what they could do to help her healing process, she requested that they make a peanut butter pie today (Friday) and share it with someone you love. She closed the post with, “Then hug them like there’s no tomorrow because today is the only guarantee we can count on.”

I made the Peanut Butter Pie. My thoughts and prayers are with Jennifer and her two girls.

The most recent Gourmet (October 2009) lays on my coffee table with a radiant red cover graced with a wine red caramel apple. I pick it up and flip through the pictures which for a foodie, is “eye candy”. I’m still sitting here wondering if this will be my last issue or if I will be lucky enough to receive the November issue.

Confusion, questions & whys lay in a tattered path and we may never know the answers. Earlier today Gourmet’s, Editor in Chef Ruth Reichl, said she found out the news only this morning. Her response via the LA times Russ Parson was, “I can’t talk about it now, it’s too raw. I’ve got to pack up my office.”

It is a sad, sad day for most foodies. As a final tribute to a magazine that never forgot amidst all of the important issues about food politics, farm strategics, celebrity chefs, farmers, butchers, winemakers, waiters, mixologists and governmental control, that much of the true joy in life is based on simple, delicious food shared amongst family and friends, at the table, over dinner.

A recipe from the October 2009 issue.

I’m a contributing journalist for an online publication call “Magnify You“. Check out the magazine & subscribe, it’s “free”. The June article I submitted is called, “Revitalize with the use of Healthy Healing Herbs and Essential oils”. I am posting it up here so you can read it and try out my fabulous potato salad.

Last Saturday when I was looking through the herb selection at the farmers market, I was considering what herbs I would plant this spring. I was thinking about their wonderful flavors and medicinal properties. The use of fresh herbs to revitalize and restore the human body has been a viable option for centuries. Therapeutic Grade essential oils are far more potent and highly regarded for their revitalizing and rejuvenating effect. I am including a list of some of my favorites.

Dill – Use in Greek dishes, pickling, fish dishes and cheddar dill scones. Dill can be used to treat sleeplessness; dill is also good for the spleen. It may help with stomach ache, indigestion, flatulence and colic. Dill is high in lutein, a carotenoid phytochemical shown to be essential for eye health and preventing macular degeneration. The dill plant is mentioned in the Papyrus of Ebers from Egypt (1550 BC). Roman gladiators rubbed their skin with dill before each match.

Basil – There are many types of basil, to name just a few; Sweet basil, Thai basil, Genovese basil, Cinnamon basil and Purple ruffles basil. It is prominently featured in Italian cuisine, and also plays a major role in the Southeast Asian cuisines of Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. The plant tastes somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, sweet smell. In the 16th century, the powdered leaves were inhaled to treat migraines and chest infections. Italian women wore basil to attract possible suitors. Research shows the Medical Properties to include: Powerful antispasmodic, antibacterial, muscle relaxant, migraines, lung infections, insect bite and to fight mental fatigue.

Marjoram – It is included in the herb blend Herbes de Provence, Italian and Greek recipes. Marjoram is tremendous as an antioxidant. Marjoram oil is also an effective anti-microbial agent, helping to prevent food spoilage. Marjoram was known as the “herb of happiness” to the Romans and “joy of the mountains” to the Greeks. It was believed to increase longevity. Research shows the Medical Properties to include: Antibacterial, antifungal, vasodilator, lowers blood pressure, promotes intestinal peristalsis.

Peppermint – Use this herb in tea, ice cream and dessert. It is said to be purifying and stimulating to the conscious mind. Dr. William N. Dember of the University of Cincinnati found that inhaling peppermint oil increased the mental accuracy by 28 percent. Alan Hirsch, M.D. researched peppermint’s stimulation of the brain’s satiety center to curb appetite. University of Kiel researchers found that peppermint blocked headache pain.

Oregano – Is often used in tomato sauces, with fried vegetables, and grilled meat. Together with basil, it contributes much to the distinctive character of many Italian dishes. Nature’s antibiotic. Oil from the oregano plant has been shown to kill unwanted viruses, bacteria, yeast, fungus and parasites. Oregano also has powerful antioxidant capabilities, is a natural antihistamine and helps to regenerate liver cells.

Parsley – is often used as a garnish. The fresh flavor of the green parsley goes extremely well with potato dishes, with rice dishes, with fish, fried chicken, lamb, steaks, meat or vegetable stews (like Beef Bourguignon, Goulash or Chicken paprikash). In Southern and Central Europe, parsley is part of bouquet garni, a bundle of fresh herbs used to flavor stocks, soups, and sauces. Freshly chopped green parsley is used as a topping for soups like chicken soup, green salads or salads, on open sandwiches with cold cuts. Parsley is a key ingredient in several West Asian salads, for example tabbouleh. Persillade is mixture of chopped garlic and chopped parsley in the French cuisine. Gremolata is a traditional accompaniment to the Italian veal stew, Ossobuco alla milanese, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest. A potent cancer fighter, especially in its juiced form, parsley has been found in animal studies to inhibit tumor formation. It neutralizes carcinogens in cigarette smoke and is good for urinary tract infections and nerve stimulation. Parsley is also nutrient rich, containing beta-carotene, folic acid, vitamin C and vitamin A.

Rosemary – is used frequently in traditional Mediterranean cuisine such as barbecue or grilled meats. Rosemary has anti-microbial, antioxidant, antispasmodic, astringent and carminative properties. A cup of rosemary tea has been found to be as effective as aspirin for headaches and other inflammatory symptoms. Rosemary has also been found to be protective against free radical damage caused by radiation. Keeping a rosemary plant indoors acts as a natural air freshener.

Thyme – is often used to flavor meats, soups and stews. It has a particular affinity to and is often used as a primary flavor with lamb, tomatoes and eggs. Thyme is a natural antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative and expectorant. It has been found in in-vitro studies to effectively eliminate aflatoxin, carcinogenic mold that grows on grains and peanuts that have been improperly stored.

Herb Red Potato and Green Bean Salad

8 ounces green beans, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3 pounds small red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, halved
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 large shallot, chopped
2 tablespoon coarse-grained Dijon mustard
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram
3 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoon lemon zest

Cook beans in large saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 4 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl of ice water. Drain; pat dry with paper towels.

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 12 minutes. Drain; transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle white wine vinegar over hot potatoes; toss gently and let stand 5 minutes. Whisk vinegar, shallot, and mustard in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Pour over potatoes and toss to coat. Cool completely. Mix in green beans and herb mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Serve cold or at room temperature.

P.S. Note: this information is only provided as a general reference and is not a replacement for professional health advice. As such, this information should only be used under the direct supervision of a qualified health practitioner.

P.S.S. If you would like a list of the sources for the medicinal information included in this article please email & I will forward them on. I can also share a fabulous source for where to purchase therapeutic grade essential oils.

Potato Salad photo

When my oldest child first started eating table food, I thought children’s menus were the greatest thing, a leap forward in the human condition. We didn’t have them when I was a child, at least not at restaurants where adults would be happy to dine. I was thrilled that someone had come up with this innovation that civilization had advanced to the point where children at good restaurants were now fed children’s food, so we adults could plunge worry-free into our adult business of drinking alcohol and eating things with tentacles.

As for me, my outlook on children’s menus started to change at some point — probably when my oldest son was diagnosed with autism, and I started researching food for him and quickly discover that the kids menu was not healthy for him or any child. Even if the chicken fingers were good ones, made from real breast meat rather than pulverized and remolded chik-a-bits, I was disturbed by their ubiquity and their hold on my kids, who are now 11 and 7 years old. I also, perceived that my children’s chicken-finger meals outside the home were forming their eating habits inside the home, where they were getting more finicky. I heard from other parents that they were experiencing the same thing.

In short, I came to the realization that America is in the grips of a chicken-finger pandemic, in which a blandly tasty foodstuff has somehow become the official nibble for our children.

I’m obligated to express over the health implications of this pandemic — chicken fingers are often fried, and are often accompanied by fries — I’m much more bothered by its palate-deadening potential. Far from being an advance, I’ve concluded, the standard children’s menu is regressive, encouraging children (and their misguided parents) to believe that there is a “kids’ cuisine” that exists entirely apart from adult cuisine.

I grew up eating what my parents ate, at home and at restaurants. We ate fish, wild game, salads and many other wonderful foods. And then there were those yucky meals that I just didn’t care for, steam mixed vegetables or liver, but that I endured because my parents offered no other choice. That was the way it done and it made me — like millions of other Americans of my generation who were raised the same way — a fairly adventurous eater with a built-in sense of dietary balance. My children are served homemade meals most every night and they know a balance meal.

It pains me that many children now grow up eating little besides golden-brown logs of kid food, especially in a time when the quality, variety and availability of good ingredients is better than ever. Parents, most parents that is, are kind of lazy on the palate front. I feel that my children would be missing out if they were not discovering new foods and flavors. I feel it is one of the most delightful experiences that childhood can offer. Personally, as a foodie, I far preferred it to reading and exercising. 

Then we bring in fast food, so kid friendly…NOT for my children. We can’t underestimate the influence of the McDonald’s Corporation’s introductions, in 1979 and 1983, of the Happy Meal and ChickenMcNuggets. The instant popularity of these products signaled that there was a ton of money to be made in marketing foods explicitly to kids. If you don’t believe that this is wide spread, you should take a look at my children’s lunch menu, which they do not partake in, and you will see things I would never consider feeding my child at home.  There is nothing as unappetizing as a coagulating mass of fluorescent orange noodles, a cup of fruit or sliced vegetables (not normally eaten) and milk. Most children in the school are eating it daily. Folks, this is scary!

But if we’re stuck with the children’s menu, there’s no reason it can’t be improved upon and made less of a sop to little fried-food addicts. And it’s encouraging that some important players in the hospitality industry, like the Walt Disney Company and the McDonald’s Corporation’s, are taking action on this front.

Both companies were motivated primarily by the new national concern over poor nutrition and childhood obesity, but each has produced a response that also addresses the dead-palate issue. Disney stopped serving French fries automatically with kids’ entrees at its theme parks, and is providing equal choice of fries, baby carrots, or grapes. I noticed this when my family and I were at Disneyland in Anaheim, California recently.  

At first, most restaurant patrons were only too happy to indulge their children with a nonstop fingers-and-fries diet. But in the last few years, parents are starting to see the lack in the children’s menu. My girl friend and I were talking about this recently. She and her husband are starting to make a point to avoid restaurants that have kid’s menus. A restaurant where it is normal for the children to eat brussel sprouts, salad, grilled meats, pasta’s with sea food, are where my family and I frequent dine . I am so glad to see a back lash against the beige-yellow in color entrees, most of them coming from the breaded-chicken-nubbin family. On a side note, Cheesecake Factory does not have a children’s menu and they are not apologetic about it. 

My sons skip the children’s menu and order “albacore sushi, tempura shrimp, miso soup, rolls and water to drink.” But it’s harder as your children get older and more exposed to the wider world; that’s when the pandemic claims them. In my family, it’s been a matter of getting back to that simple idea — the kids eat what the parents eat — and cutting off the beige-yellow foods.  

What’s on Obama’s menu? The inaugural lunch presented by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which will follow the swearing-in, will be three courses, starting with a seafood stew, supposedly a favorite of Lincoln’s, followed by “a brace of American birds” — pheasant and duck served with sour cherry chutney and molasses sweet potatoes, inspired by Lincoln’s childhood on the Kentucky- Indiana frontier. Dessert will be apple-cinnamon sponge cake and sweet cream glacé, and the wines will be from California’s Duckhorns — a Sauvignon Blanc from the family’s Napa property and the “Goldeneye” Pinot Noir from its Mendocino property. The 200 guests will include family members of the new president and vice president as well as prospective members of the new Cabinet, congressional leadership and members of the Supreme Court. 

Three recipes from previous first suppers were included too. To read the whole article see: The first supper

Bananas are the only produce that I am happy to let “go bad”. Once they’re nice and brown, I’m ready to make banana bread. A thick slice of banana bread, yum! Everyone has their little variations (add nuts, don’t add nuts, chocolate chips, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice). My variation follows;

I sprinkle the nuts on top of my bread, because my boys are not nut eaters and I love them. I do not like chunks of banana in my bread, so I puree them in the blender.  

Dough
1/2 cup butter, 1stick
1cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground
1 cup pecans, chopped
3 bananas, pureed (blender)

Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer; add eggs and mix well. Mix in flour, soda, salt and nutmeg until just mixed. Add pureed bananas, mix well. Stir in nuts. Pour batter in to a well greased 9X5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick, inserted in to the middle, comes out clean.

I wrote a post the other day about my oldest son needing a pumpkin for Pumpkin art. I have a picture and it turned out so cute! I will admire it for the weekend and then Monday morning it will be baked and a pie will be made from the sweet flesh.
 

I ran into a Mom at school and she was carrying this pumpkin. She hand painted, with food base paint, marshmallows. It was so creative and cute.

So folks play with your food……….it makes it look and maybe taste better.

Happy Fall! 

Piccolo is on the Santa Monica-Venice beachfront. Low-key and not easy to find, Piccolo offers something close to true regional Italian cooking.  

Recently, my friend and I arrive at 6pm. Vittorio Viotti, owner, and Roberto (BoBo) Ivan, chef, come out of the kitchen and both greet us warmly. We arrived for an early dinner because, I’ve never arrived when there wasn’t at least a short wait; on weekends it’s much longer. Piccolo doesn’t currently take reservations, although they are starting on November 1, 2008. On this night, the tables out front are empty, the wind is gusting off the ocean and it is enough to make every one want an indoor table. It is cold outside and I am glad that I brought a coat.

There are approximately 12 tables inside and there always seems to be people waiting on the stairs. The kitchen is no bigger than a home kitchen, I am not kidding, and with Ivan, two cooks and a few others back there, its close quarters. With a small kitchen and so few tables, everyone is close to each other. The tables by the kitchen are in big demand in the winter and in the summer the tables by the door are the ones most want, because of the heat from the kitchen.

The night we went my friend and I were in the mood for pure comfort food. On this night, cauliflower soup topped with lobster was the special. The soup was savory and silky with a touch of the lobster “sweet”. Our next course was the “Duck Prosciutto D’Anatra”, house made, the duck prosciutto is fan out on a plate, in the middle is a few micro greens, and this is drizzled with a bit of gorgonzola dressing. The prosciutto is buttery and with the contrast of the other flavors, this is a palate pleaser.

We then moved on to the main course, I had the Tagliatella Al Ragu Di Capriole-slow roasted venison ragu in a red wine sauce. Fresh, house made, pasta cook to al denta, the warmth on the tongue from the allspice, red wine, carrots, onion and garlic and venison cooked so tender that it all melts in your mouth. I love venison no matter how it is prepared and this dish is magnificent. My friend had the Agnello Al Rhubarb-slow roasted lamb shank with fresh rhubarb and shallot risotto. The lamb was moist and tender. It had the earthy flavors of lamb but what was amazing was the Porto and fresh rhubarb sauce that was drizzled on top. It is so difficult in words to express the flavors as they mingled and danced across my tongue. In fact, shhh don’t tell anyone, when my friend was finished I used a bit of bread to mop up the last of the sauce. The risotto had a nice deep caramelized shallot flavor, but was under-cooked and dry. This type of meal makes the waiting for a table at Piccolo entirely worthwhile. It’s not fancy, but it’s real cooking. The wine list is mostly Italian with choices from moderate to very expensive from all the important regions. 

As we depart, blasted by the cold and gusty wind, all I could think about was when I would be returning for my next meal and the soup, oh the soup.