The Bubbly Girl

Harold McGee, Keys to Good Cooking and Kokumi

November 2, 2010

Hal McGee spoke on the taste map, kokumi and the futility of searing to seal in a steak’s juices at Omnivore Books last night.

You may know Harold McGee as the father of modern food science, or maybe as the Curious Cook in New York Times columns on how to make better bread with less kneading or why some of us detest cilantro. As a food writer, I admire him for those things too.

But we share this weird Gilligan’s Island-like bond, since we were marooned together along with a group of foodies at the American Chemical Society estate in Baltimore on Sept. 11, 2001.

So when I saw that McGee would be talking about his new book Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Food & Recipes at Omnivore Books in San Francisco’s Noe Valley, I decided to drop by.

He told a packed room he set out to be an astronomer and ended up as a gastronomer after getting to cherry- pick the science classes he wanted at Caltech. His first tome On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen is a fascinating exploration of the ways chemistry explains why foods rise and brown – or not – in the kitchen. The new book is organized to be a cooks companion in case you’re trying to figure out how to make a meringue behave.

McGee, who lives near the bookstore, shared that his favorite cookbooks include The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers and Chez Panisse Cooking by Paul Bertolli.

The best part of the night was the question and answer session. Now that you’ve gotten your head around the Japanese concept of savoriness called umami found in dashi broth, Parmigiano-Reggiano and tomatoes, get ready for its cousin kokumi. The latter is a sort of delicious sensation of mouth-fillingness. McGee says both seem to be related to the breakdown of proteins.

The tongue map you think you know is wrong. We can taste sweet, salty, sour and bitter any place we have taste buds, but there are certain tastes that are more intense on some parts of the tongue.

Think searing a steak or cooking meat in a wet preparation will keep it more moist? Sorry, those are kitchen myths not based in science. Want to know how to ensure a juicy steak, whip up fluffy eggs and moist muffins? For that you have to buy the book.

Bubbly Events

Scintillating Quotes & A Cocktail Recipe for World Champagne Day

October 27, 2010

The original Champagne Cocktail started the fashion for sparkling drinks.

In case your Hallmark calender didn’t clue you in, Oct. 28 is World Champagne Day.

Actually, it’s a brand new observance created as a time to celebrate all the wonderful things about the unique sparkling wine called La Champagne from the region southeast of Paris known as Le Champagne.

I wanted to share a recipe for the Champagne Cocktail, which dates to the 1850s and is the first documented cocktail made with champagne. Just drop Angostura Bitters on sugar cube, drop it into a glass of cold brut champagne and finish it off with a lemon twist.

The other thing that’s so lovely about champagne is the way it’s inspired bon vivants and lovers of the good life through the ages to say all sorts of witty things. These are some of my favorite champagne quotes:

“A woman should never be seen eating or drinking, unless it be lobster salad and Champagne, the only true feminine and becoming viands.” – Lord Byron

“I drink Champagne when I win, to celebrate…and I drink Champagne when I lose, to console myself.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

“Burgundy makes you think of silly things; Bordeaux makes you talk about them, and Champagne makes you do them.” – Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Lily Bollinger was a wit and a savvy Champagne widow.

“I drink champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.” – Madame Lily Bollinger

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.” – Mark Twain

“Champagne is the only wine that leaves a woman beautiful after drinking it.” – Madame De Pompadour

“Champagne offers a minimum of alcohol and a maximum of companionship.” – David Niven

“Pleasure without champagne is purely artificial.” – Oscar Wilde

“There comes a time in every woman’s life when the only thing that helps is a glass of champagne.” – Bette Davis in ‘Old Acquaintance’

“Champagne makes you feel like it’s Sunday and better days are around the corner.” – Marlene Dietrich

“My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne.” – John Maynard Keynes

Celebrity Chefs, Food + Recipes

Gale Gand’s Salted Butter Caramel Recipe…Mmmm!

October 27, 2010

A tiny pool of Gale Gand’s Salted Butter Caramel graced this chocolate pot de cremè.

Is there anything better than salted butter caramel?

I think not. I mean who doesn’t like the taste of sugar? But it’s even better with a bit of saltiness to make you want — no need — to take another bite. That’s why it’s so hard to put down that bag of kettle corn from the farmer’s market. Or why the addictive caramel and cheese corn mix first served at Garrett’s Popcorn in Chicago is widely imitated.

Salted caramel is usually associated with Brittany in France, where it’s called caramel au beurre salèe. The style is said to have been created in the 1970s by a chocolatier and caramelier named Henri Le Roux. He added some of the region’s famous grey sea salt — aka fleur de sel de Guerande — to his pot of caramel. I have tasted Le Roux’s salted caramels — which come in an assorted box with flavors like caramelized apple tatin, bitter chocolate and orange ginger — and they were worth every penny.

For some reason, I was slightly intimidated by the thought of making salted caramel at home. But Gale Gand, the Chicago pastry chef, made it look so easy when she was the special guest at the Sweet Sundays breakfast earlier this week at Epcot Food & Wine Festival at Walt Disney World.

I picked up a good tip: Gale dropped little spots of caramel on a white plate to judge whether it was dark enough. In just a few minutes it went from pale gold to deep maple, so it doesn’t take long.

She served it atop a Chocolate Pot de Cremè with a Black Pepper Whipped Cream, but I can imagine lots of other ways to enjoy it, like on homemade caramel apples or in a salted caramel ice cream, like the one I adore from Bi-Rite Creamery in San Francisco.

Her recipe is so simple it’s Tweetable.

Gale Gand’s Salted Butter Caramel
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup cream
1/4 tsp. fleur de sel

Boil the sugar and water until it gets to the desired shade of golden brown. When it’s there, let it cool a bit. Whisk in the cream until it’s fully incorporated and then add the salt. Voila!

Bubbly Events

The Bubbly Girl at Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

October 19, 2010

Maria Hunt aka the Bubbly Girl is appearing at Epcot Food & Wine Festival Oct. 22-25.

Sparkling wine and gourmet cuisine might not immediately come to mind when one thinks of a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.

But right now during the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, which runs until Nov 14, the park has been transformed into a culinary amusement park. Epcot has attracted an exciting line-up of celebrity chefs like Cat Cora of The Food Network, Boston’s Todd English and Art Smith of Table 52 fame to do cooking demonstrations and appearances. I’m looking forward to seeing Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods at a Celebrating Family & Friends Luncheon Oct. 22 and Gale Gand at her Sweet Sunday dessert tasting and brunch on Oct. 24. Throughout the park, international chefs are serving up tastes of German spaetzle, Spanish Serrano ham and Korean barbecued ribs paired with regional wines and beers.

I'll be signing books and talking about bubbly at Epcot's Food & Wine Festival Oct 22-25.

I’ll be speaking on Oct. 22, 23 and 24 as a part of Authors Without Borders, a program that features cookbook authors talking about their favorite subjects. I’ll be sharing what I love about “Bubbly: The Happiest Drink on Earth” and exploring international sparkling wines in my cocktail recipe book The Bubbly Bar: Champagne & Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion (Clarkson Potter, 2009).

On Monday, Oct. 25 I’m mixing up my Stiletto Cocktail, giving tips on entertaining with bubbly and signing books for the discerning gourmands who are part of Disney’s Grape Getaway, a luxurious four-night package of exclusive food events and tastings limited to 100 guests.

Since one cannot live on great food and wine alone, there’s a series of free concerts called Eat to the Beat, featuring acts like Boyz II Men, 38 Special, Billy Ocean and Rick Springfield.

With all the good wine and food flowing at Epcot, it’s sure to be the happiest place on earth.

Food + Recipes

Dinner Tonight: Bistro Salad with Brioche Croutons

October 13, 2010

There’s something fun about eating foods at the wrong time of day. Pizza for breakfast or cereal for dinner is so much more interesting than eating either one in their typical time frame. Of course, eggs are one of those elemental foods that transcend the confines of time. What would Vietnamese com tam and grilled pork be sans oeuf? Or a big bowl of ramen noodle and pork belly soup from Momofuku Noodle Bar without the egg?

My favorite way to eat eggs at night though is on a Bistro Salad, the simple dish of frisée lettuce, bacon, croutons and a runny poached egg in a tangy vinaigrette. Some people call it Frisée Aux Lardons or Salade Lyonnaise. But the latter can also refer to a salad that comes with a tasty surprise of chicken liver, lamb trotters or offal that’s popular in Lyon. No matter, once you taste it, you’ll be calling it one of your favorite salads ever.

Bistro Salad with Brioche Croutons

3 cups mixed baby greens, like frisée
1/4 cup vinaigrette
salt and pepper, to taste
4 soft-poached eggs
3 slices thick bacon, cut in 1/2 inch sections and cooked
12 Brioche Croutons, recipe follows

In a large bowl, toss the baby greens with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. To assemble the salad, divide the salad greens between two salad bowls. Lay two of the soft poached eggs on the greens in each bowl. Sprinkle half the bacon pieces on each of the bowl. Top with the Brioche Croutons and serve.

Brioche Croutons

Makes 1 cup
3 one-inch slices brioche
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the crusts from the brioche slices and then cut them into cubes that are about 1/2 inch square. Put the brioche cubes on a baking sheet. Reserve the crusts for another use if you like.

Combine the melted butter with the olive oil. Drizzle the butter mixture over the brioche cubes, tossing them lightly to make sure they are well-coated.

Put the cubes in the oven and let them brown for 15 minutes. Halfway through, using a spatula to turn them over. After 15 minutes, the croutons should be a golden brown and fragrant with a toasty buttery smell.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Let cool and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Note:
Make more of croutons than you think you will need; you’ll eat a bunch of them before they ever hit the salad.