Corduroy Orange

I’ve racked my brain trying to come up with some sort of food-related connection to make this fit in with the theme of Corduroy Orange.  But I’ve given up and am posting this anyway, because this article by Matt Taibbi from the September 13 issue of Rolling Stone ought to be required reading for all voters in advance of the general election.

The reality is that toward the middle of his career at Bain, Romney made a fateful strategic decision: He moved away from creating companies like Staples through venture capital schemes, and toward a business model that involved borrowing huge sums of money to take over existing firms, then extracting value from them by force. He decided, as he later put it, that “there’s a lot greater risk in a startup than there is in acquiring an existing company.” In the Eighties, when Romney made this move, this form of financial piracy became known as a leveraged buyout, and it achieved iconic status thanks to Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. Gekko’s business strategy was essentially identical to the Romney–Bain model, only Gekko called himself a “liberator” of companies instead of a “helper.”

[...]Romney and Bain avoided the hostile approach, preferring to secure the cooperation of their takeover targets by buying off a company’s management with lucrative bonuses. Once management is on board, the rest is just math. So if the target company is worth $500 million, Bain might put down $20 million of its own cash, then borrow $350 million from an investment bank to take over a controlling stake.

But here’s the catch. When Bain borrows all of that money from the bank, it’s the target company that ends up on the hook for all of the debt.

[...]This business model wasn’t really “helping,” of course – and it wasn’t new. Fans of mob movies will recognize what’s known as the “bust-out,” in which a gangster takes over a restaurant or sporting goods store and then monetizes his investment by running up giant debts on the company’s credit line. (Think Paulie buying all those cases of Cutty Sark in Goodfellas.) When the note comes due, the mobster simply torches the restaurant and collects the insurance money. Reduced to their most basic level, the leveraged buyouts engineered by Romney followed exactly the same business model. “It’s the bust-out,” one Wall Street trader says with a laugh. “That’s all it is.”

Buy dirty potatoes whenever possible… ‘washed’ potatoes rot more quickly or have been sprayed with fungicide.

Learned from Burgh Bees: only honey and bumble are true bees; honey won’t sting except in defense of their hive.

Dunkin Donuts coffee is really quite terrible.  Faced with the choice, I’d rather get it from a gas station.  I’m just sayin’.

September is Hunger Action Month.  Wear orange 9/6 to show support. http://www.gpcfb.org/hungeractionmonth/calendar.pdf for more to do.

If you have a chance to try a pink lemon, do—they’re fantastic!  Taste like a cross between lemon and lime. http://www.melissas.com/Products/Products/Variegated-Pink-Lemons.aspx

General rule: ugly tomatoes have a great personality.

Save your ballpark $ for beer… PNC Park will let you bring in food. http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/pit/ballpark/information/index.jsp?content=food_and_beverage_gate_policy

Farmers @ Firehouse 10th Anniversary Party 9/8/2012: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e686w3d7f57b93f6&llr=asntqqcab

Newspapers had ‘twit’ columns well before twitter: see Garry Brown (Hitting to all Fields, Springfield, MA) or Norman Chad (The Couch Slouch, syndicated).

Say hello to your mom for me.

Pierogies are a prime example of classical Pittsburghian cuisine.  Pierogies are little pasta pockets, generally containing mashed potatoes plus something else.

Flavors that have a place in the local canon are: potato and cheese; potato and onion; and potato and sauerkraut.  A ‘modern classic’ is potato and jalapeno.  These 4 flavors are represented in the “Great Pittsburgh Pierogi Race N’At” during every Pirates home game by the mascot characters Cheese Chester, Oliver Onion, Sauerkraut Saul, and Jalapeno Hannah.  Basically, pierogies are a part of being a Pittsburgher.

Everybody’s grandmother makes them around here, whether at home or as a fundraiser for their church (going price at one local congregation: ~$8/dozen).  I think it’s the long tradition behind these fried potato raviolis that made me hesitant to try my hand at making them before now.  But, with a college reunion approaching for which attendees are supposed to bring a food that represents their current region of residence, I decided that the time had come to make my version of this local delicacy, and I’ve got to say, I was quite pleased with the results.

I made 2 versions–potato and cheddar, and my own twist on the theme: sweet potato with sauteed mushrooms, kale, and prosciutto.  The pictures are from the potato and cheddar pierogies, but the technique is the same no matter what type of filling you use.

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One of the things that consistently annoys me about foods marketed toward children are the ridiculous amounts of artificial coloring in them.  This is especially offensive in light of research pointing to ways in which artificial colors exacerbate hyperactivity in children and can even be a contributing factor in the severity of symptoms in autistic children.  Artificial colors are coal tar byproducts (as is saccharine, by the way), and really have no resemblance to actual foods.  So what then to do about providing children with fun and interesting colors to eat?  Why not take advantage of the wide range of fruits and vegetables that have natural colorants to produce colorful foods that are also more flavorful as a result of drawing their colors from real foods?

The cake pictured above has no artificial colors in its icing.  It is iced with blueberry-flavored purple icing; black-currant flavored pink icing; and cocoa-flavored brown icing.

The easiest way to make naturally colored icing is to build the color into your butter.  Follow my instructions for the black currant beurre blanc and let the resulting butter cool to room temperature, then use it to start the icing.  The general formula for icing will be 4 cups of confectioners sugar per 1/2 lb of butter.  1/2 lb of butter is enough to ice a 10 x 15 layer cake.  Make smaller quantities of icing for accent colors.

Here is a partial list of fruit-based colors that could be made this way:

Purple—blueberries and red wine

Pink—black currants and white wine; or strawberries and white wine, mixed with some plain butter

Red—strawberries and white wine

Green—kiwis and white wine

Yellow—saffron-infused white wine or turmeric whipped into the butter

Orange—combine red and yellow butters; or for a paler shade, use peaches.

Blue— This is not a natural color in food.  It can, however, be achieved through chemistry: cook beets down with a base (such as baking soda).  They (and the water they are cooked in) will turn blue.  Reduce this water to almost nothing, refresh it with a half cup of white wine, then reduce again.  Whip the butter into it per the beurre blanc instructions.  It will not be a royal blue, but the hue can be adjusted by combining the resulting colored butter with other butter when making the icing.

The best part about using naturally-colored icing is the flavor that goes along with it.  The purple icing was not just a visual component of this cake, but added a vibrant blueberry flavor that really was a fantastic addition to the final result.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to call this stunningly bright sauce a “Beurre Pourpre” as it most certainly is not white, but it’s made with white wine, so call it what you will.

• 2 ounces brandy
• 1 pint black currants
• white wine to cover the currants
• 1/2 cup white wine (in addition to the white wine already listed)
• 1/2 lb unsalted butter cut into chunks and kept cold

1. Heat a small saucepan.  Add the brandy and flame it.
2. When the flames die off, add the currants and the first dose of wine (enough to cover them).
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until almost dry (will be fairly syrupy).  Refresh with the 1/2 cup of wine, being certain to use it to get all syrup stuck to the sides of the pan.
4. Strain through cheesecloth.
5. Return to a boil, then let simmer until syrupy.
6. Whisk in the butter over low heat.  Add only a few small cubes at a time, whisk until they are melted and incorporated, then add a few more.  Repeat until the entire half pound of butter has been incorporated and the sauce has a luxurious texture and flavor.
7. Remove from heat and keep in a warm (not hot) place until service.  Whisk occasionally as it sits.  If transferring to a different container for service, make sure that the receiving vessel is warm lest the sauce break.
8. Leftovers of this sauce are best used as a spread—it is very difficult to successfully reheat this sauce without it breaking.

Here is the sauce, in context, as served with steamed Maine lobster.  It would also match well with many other types of fish; french toast, pancakes, or waffles; muffins or popovers; poultry cooked with a cinnamon spice rub; etc.

Perhaps you’ve been seeing commercials for Nespresso lately.  This phenomenon seems to have followed me home from France: I had never heard of it before April, but the apartment we rented in Paris had a machine; and since returning from vacation, I have seen increasingly visible advertisements for it.

Nespresso= Nestle + Espresso.  It’s like a Keurig, except with a smaller capsule designed to draw a smaller cup (think a demi-tasse).

In Europe, Nespresso stores are ritzy affairs.  The sales clerks are dressed all in black.  There are multiple counters where one can purchase a prepared cup of the brew.  You’re shuttled to a different zone of the store depending on what you seek.  Chances are, the store has more style than you do—but they offer the hope that by buying one of their units, some of their hipness might rub off on you.

So what about the coffee?  Honestly, I only had one cup of Nespresso-brand coffee.  The rest of the time, we bought the off-brand capsules that were advertised as being nespresso-compatible.  Otherwise, there would be very little cost savings between brewing a nespresso at home and going to a cafe where a barrista would brew a real espresso for you.  I doubt that extent of competitive infrastructure exists in the US.  If you purchase their machine, you’re likely locked into their over-priced coffee.

The piece of equipment that made the most sense to me was the Aeroccino 3, a milk frothing unit that heats and froths your milk for you in just over a minute.  Thinking we had stumbled upon some piece of Euro-chicness that may never cross the pond, Rory and I sprang for one on the Champs-Elysees, and then bought a FR-EU electrical converter to plug it into our wall.  It’s really something spectacular. Nothing jazzes up a cuppa joe like warm, frothy milk.

I recommend buying it and a stovetop Bialetti as a far more economical way to make a latte or cappuccino at home.  There will be no plastic cartridge to dispose of after each cup; you’ll have a plethora of coffee suppliers from whom to purchase your beans; and you’ll have the opportunity to make a higher-quality cup whilst (and at the same time as) saving money on procurement of both equipment and coffee.

For a very long time, I have resisted the idea of grilling hamburgers.  It seemed like ground meat was a waste of my charcoal.  A visit from my parents gave me the nudge I needed to make grilling burgers a worthwhile experience.

My father told me about how he and my mother have been grilling onions to go along with their meat patties.  I figured, why not give it a shot? and added onions into my normal grilling repertoire.  That, plus making some homemade buns (recipe follows the photos) was all the nudge I needed to grill some very worthwhile beef patties.

Then, I stacked it all up on a homemade hamburger bun.

And, believe me, the final product was definitely worth my charcoal!

Here’s the recipe for the buns:

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Copper Kettle Brewery in Greenfield offers those of us who don’t have the equipment or experience to home brew a chance to brew our own beer with professional assistance—and someone to clean up after us (which is definitely a plus!).

The kettles are all lined up along one wall.  They are steam-jacketed, which means that they heat evenly and quickly.

They have a pretty decent selection of recipes available, each with its own card and
description of what the end result should taste like.  I chose Scottish Amber, which is
just a little bit hoppy and a little bit caramelly, which makes it a great choice for a
party: it has widespread appeal.

Based on the recipe card, you gather the ingredients that you need.  The hops are measured into differently colored bowls, and the instructions tell you when to add which bowl—so it’s really easy.  I thought it was great to be able to smell and taste the hops while I was brewing, because later when I tasted the beer, I recognized the flavor.  They use dehydrated hop pellets, as opposed to fresh hops, because they are easier to get; cost less; and are less perishable.

You tend to your workstation on occasion; and sip a beer from Hough’s while you do, if you wish.  The attendant is able to explain why you are doing what you are doing and when you are doing it.  When the brewing process is finished, they drain the contents of the kettle to the basement, cool it to the proper temperature, add the yeast, and tend to it for a couple of weeks for you.  They’ll pressurize it in advance of your bottling appointment; your only responsibility is to design a label for your bottle (if you wish to).  This one commemorates our 9th Mardi Gras party (the event for which I brewed and bottled the beer).

Copper Kettle is at 567 Greenfield Avenue, 15207.  Their phone number is (412) 906-9400.

If your travel plans take you to Paris, it is imperative that you schedule a meal at Macraw, and that upon arrival you order the ‘menu decoverture’ (’discovery menu’ en anglais) and submit yourself to chef Jeremie Rosenbois’ culinary vision.  I’ve had a few good meals while I have been in Paris—but most of them have consisted of dishes that I could have (or did!) make for myself.  My meal at Macraw does not fit into this category; M. Rosenbois has aptly named his tasting menu. The flavors and concepts I discovered at Macraw were eye opening and outstanding.

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Talk abut unseasonably warm—I’ve already got 4 spears of asparagus coming up in my yard.  Which doesn’t sound like much, but considering that my asparagus patch consists of three plants and that last year I never had more than 5 or 6 spears at a time and considering also that it’s only March 21, it seems like a heck of a lot.  It seems more typical that we would still have snow on the ground than be wearing shorts and basking in 80 degree temperatures.  It just doesn’t seem natural.

One of my coworkers said it seems like the earth didn’t get enough of a chance to sleep, “and you know what happens when you don’t get enough rest—you wake up cranky.”