Friday, November 13, 2009

Southern Farmers Market Cookbook Demo and Signing


When: Saturday, November 14, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Where: Rosebank Farms Fall Festival, 4455 Betsy Kerrison Parkway, Johns Island

What: Cooking Demonstration/Tasting/Lunch/Book Signing by yours truly!

Fun, fun, fun and tasty and it's supposed to be a beautiful day. On the menu, one of my favorite recipes from the book, Creamy Citrus Shrimp and Fettuccine prepared with fresh Rio Bertolini pasta and sweet, local Lowcountry Shrimp.

Come on out and play, eat and support your local farming community!
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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Mini Blog Bites: Secret Culinary School Delights

Well, neither Trident Technical College's 181 Palmer Dining Room nor The Art Institute of Charleston's ever-changing restaurant(currently it's called Zest and it's theme is Asian) are really secrets. But, the truth is, far too few people realize they're even there. Both put out exceptional creations and pulse with the energy and passion of these schools' talented culinary students. And, for the most part (more below) we're all invited!

Recently, I had the unparalleled pleasure of visiting both student restaurants.

I just love 181 Palmer Dining Room. I mean, I'm a capital fan. There is nothing not to like here. The fall menu, put together by Chef/Instructor master-mind Scott Stefanelli is probably the most ambitious and delicious yet. House-Cured Duck Prosciutto with Papaya, Radish, Micro Cilantro and Toasted Szechuan Pepper and Fried Oyster Po'Boy Sliders on house-made Brioche, Horseradish Remoulade, Red Cabbage Slaw and Hand-Cut Potato Chips seduce the palate even as the complexity of these preparations challenge and hone the students' culinary skills. Magical stuff, here, and three courses of deliciousness can be enjoyed in a spotless, modern dining room with white linen table cloths and delightful service with a live view of the students at work, for just $15. All you have to do is make a reservation on line or by calling and hope that school is in session.

Meanwhile, a little further downtown near the bustling market area is Charleston's youngest culinary Mecca. The Art Institute of Charleston, at just three years old, has morphed into a world-class culinary (and arts) institution that Charleston is lucky to have. Like 181 Palmer, the restaurant is entirely manned by students who, at this address, rely on the guidance of Chef/Instructor Christopher Stallard and Joseph Raya at the front of the house. Unlike 181 Palmer, you have to be invited by a member of the faculty or by a student to sup from the restaurant's ever-evolving menu which changes at the mid-point of each semester. The current "Zest" was spot- on with exquisitely presented Asian interpretations selected from an adorable menu created by the students.

This is good stuff Charleston's lucky enough to have the opportunity to enjoy. Let's support our local culinary institutions. They support us by creating chefs that will hopefully one day work in some of Charleston's best restaurants. That's good for everyone.

181 Palmer Dining Room
Culinary Institute of Charleston - Trident Technical at Palmer Campus
66 Columbus Street, downtown
(843) 574-6111
www.tridenttech.edu.com

Art Institute of Charleston
24 N. Market Street, downtown
(843) 727-3500
www.artinstitute.edu
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Let's Talk the WOK

Nick Bergelt knew from the time he was about ten years old exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up - a restaurateur. And, at the tender age of twenty three, that's exactly what he has become. The President and CEO of three week-old WOK, an acronym for World Oriental Kitchen, didn't waste any time, energy, or research to achieve his goal, either. The Hilton Head-native worked in a number of restaurants during high school, which he finished in just 2 1/2 years. After that, it was off to USC to study business and restaurant management. In between he spent his summer's and free time researching and back-packing about the globe to points as far away as Dubai to come up with his first restaurant's concept.

Enter WOK, Charleston's first certified green restaurant. More than a simple noodle house, Bergelt has devised a three-part mix 'n match menu that allows diners to construct pretty much what they want from a vegan salad to a souped up noodle dish tossed with one of eight piquant sauces. Executive Chef John McMullen, a veteran of PF Chang's celebrated wok training program, came down from Philadelphia to man the lively kitchen, which reverberates with the clang and clash of myriad 900 degree (F) woks and a colorful mise en place.

The front of the house is dedicated to serving the crowd ordering at the counter, while the back of the house (really the whole restaurant) is a veritable sustainability altar composed of soybean seating, reclaimed concrete walls and 100% recycled wood tabletops. Hip and sleek, it's an appropriate and comfortable setting to sup from WOK's local, all-natural and organic menu. All produce comes in daily from Joseph Fields farm on Johns Island and the shrimp, beef and pork are all local.

Less than $10 will easily buy WOK's diverse crowd a heaping plate (well, actually a recycled "box") of fresh veggies, so the price-point is friendly. I sampled the weekly special of assorted vegetables which I tossed with noodles, shrimp and the orange sesame sauce. The corn, zucchini, tomatoes, shrimp and more were unmistakeably fresh and delicious. The sauce needed a bit more zip - a little salt or sharp citrus acidity would have livened it up to a tee.

Service moves quickly making WOK a great (albeit slightly noisy) stop for lunch or a late night bite for the many business and college students that haunt this busy stretch of King Street. Take a bike or walk to WOK. It's in keeping with their welcome and refreshing green mantra and it's a heck of a lot easier than driving and parking. Delivery and take-out services are also offered.

WOK
World Oriental Kitchen
349 King Street
(843) 577-7770
www.worldorientalkitchen.com
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Culinary Cost-Cutting 101

Coupon Crazy

When I was a little girl, I marveled while watching my Great Aunt Frances sitting at her linoleum-topped kitchen table, cutting coupons from the daily newspaper in the tiny Kansas town she lived in until she was nearly 100 years old.

It seemed like such a waste of energy in order to save a few pennies on, what I thought, were probably things she wouldn't normally buy anyway. But, I was naive. She, a thrifty survivor of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, had her coupon system down pat and it's probably one of the reasons she made it through a long life of hard times, many of them spent alone.

The latest bout of monetary unpleasantness, however, has created a market for New Age couponing systems. The internet now has a number of hot coupon sites (I like couponmom.com) which provide free, brand-name coupons and more if you select to register as a member. They're just a click, a printer, and five minutes away. In addition, many grocery stores' websites offer lists of daily specials. And, here's the kicker. Many provide selections from the kind of items you usually purchase, anyway. That was it for me. The last straw supporting my long-standing anti-coupon mindset finally broke its resistant back.

Harris Teeter's online specials shopping list became this list-hater's new best friend. I dipped into it with reckless abandon. With a little practice and increasing knowledge, I'm slowly forming my own semi-profitable coupon system. By combining the free manufacturer's coupons from sites like couponmom.com with a daily special shopping list constructed from Harris Teeter's web site (harristeeter.com) , my handy VIC card, and an extra dose of concentration at the grocery store, I have scored some serious savings.

The best yet happened last week. Granted, it was a big sales day at the downtown Teeter. The store was offering buy one get one, two or even three, all over the place on big ticket items like beef, coffee and wine. Since I'm expecting company in a couple weeks, I decided to stock up on these and other staples. The net result was a whopping $67 total savings. In essence, I bought three weeks-worth of groceries for less than I usually spend in one week!

My heart raced with anticipation as I watched the basket cave with the weight of my cache and the numbers creeping slowly higher on the cash register. Then, as the cashier started calculating in the selected coupons, the numbers amazingly started going down. It was like getting on the scale after a week of gorging Haagen-Dazs only to find you'd lost five pounds. I was beaming. She was beaming and said, "You did good today!"


Admittedly, a follow-up trip to replenish the fresh vegetable drawer just one week later only yielded $10 in savings, but next time I'll do better. I'm on a coupon-crazed mission. Intelligent use of coupons and smart shopping add up to saving a lot more than pennies. And, I'm not in Kansas anymore.

One Plucky Chicken, Four Marvelous Meals

With grocery costs rocketing to the stratosphere, it’s imperative to save wherever you can at the supermarket without eliminating taste. In addition to reaching for reduced daily specials, what you buy and how you put it to use in your kitchen can happily translate to huge savings with bodacious bite.

In this era of grocery gouging, chicken can become your new best friend for just pennies per four ounce serving when paired with practical pantry staples like pasta and veggies. Low in fat, high in protein and exceptionally versatile, chicken marries equally well with the exotic (think truffles or saffron) to the humble (think roasted potatoes and rosemary).

For these reasons, it’s a regular menu guest at my house, where I pride myself on transforming a single, four pound chicken (preferably organic and purchased at a reduced rate) into four fabulous feasts for a group of four. That’s sixteen meals, folks! A four pound chicken runs anywhere from $6-$10 (depending on where and how you shop), throw in a little change for ingredients to flesh it out into a meal (4X), and you’re looking at less than $20. A night out for a family of four at any fast food favorite will set you back the same amount or more faster than you can say “heart attack”.

Gotcha? Let me tell you how it’s done!

Meal #1: This is the launching pad for the meal plan event(s) – a whole roasted chicken. Since it’s going to be transformed several times, keep the seasoning simple – ground pepper, a nice crust of coarse salt and a rub down with olive oil. Roast at 425 until done (about 20 minutes per pound) and top it with a few love pats of butter to sink deeply into the bird. Allow the roasted chicken to rest and re-absorb its juices. Cut the both legs and thighs away from the chicken (reserving warm). Cut the breasts away from the rib cage, cool and store in your refrigerator for later use. Serve both legs and both thighs with steamed vegetables and roasted potatoes for a satisfying, nutritional meal. Go ahead and prepare a pan gravy with a little roux, white wine, chicken stock, Dijon mustard and fresh tarragon to dress things up, but hold on to the carcass!

Meal #2: Start this after the roast chicken dinner to prepare for tomorrow’s old-fashioned and DELICIOUS chicken noodle soup. With a sturdy chef’s knife, cut up the reserved carcass remnants – the rib cage and spine – into four or five coarse chunks and put them in a two quart soup pot with a quartered onion, carrot, celery stalk and a clove or two of garlic to make an impromptu stock. Add a few peppercorns, a bay leaf and fresh thyme for added flavor. Bring it up to a boil, reduce to a slow simmer over low heat and forget about it for three to four hours. Allow to cool and refrigerate, covered, overnight.
About thirty minutes before you’re slotted to serve dinner, skim off any accumulated fat off the top of the stock, strain it, discarding all solids except any bits of chicken flesh. Finely chop an onion, carrot and celery stalk and sauté them in the same pot with a tablespoon of olive oil until softened. Season, return the strained stock to the pan and bring up to a boil. Add reserved chicken and about ¼ pound of dried pasta (flat noodles, spaghetti, linguini – your choice) and cook until tender. Serve with a drizzle of fresh herbs (parsley, tarragon, or thyme will do) and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. A small, fresh salad and warm baguette make this a meal.

Meal #3: Chicken Salad Deluxe! This is where you can really have fun with chicken’s flavor/texture marriage versatility. Cut one of the reserved breasts into chunky, ½” cubes and toss in a bowl with coarsely chopped dried cranberries (or another dried fruit like figs or currants), coarsely chopped roasted almonds, fresh herbs, a dollop of Dijon, a dash of mayo and vinegar, salt and pepper and you’ve got a meal in minutes over a bed of greens. Other flavors that work in tandem with chicken include curry, paprika, cinnamon and almost any fresh herb imaginable. Make this your own!

Meal #4: Chicken Sandwiches Supreme! Again, versatility and imagination set the stage for show-stopping chicken sandwiches prepared with freshly roasted chicken breast. Go for the best quality bread you can find, from baguette to whole grain, and fill it with thinly cut slices of the remaining breast and toppings. One sliced breast will handily complete four sandwiches. Zip up mayo with fresh basil and Dijon mustard for a fresh, personalized sauce, top with a slice of red onion and crisp romaine. Go whole hog and add a few pieces of browned bacon and a slice of avocado if the mood moves.

Chicken never tasted so good for so little.