The Followspot

Happy Fourth of July!

In time for your Fourth of July weekend cookouts, my favorite potato salad recipe:

Bavarian Potato Salad

Note: All measurements are approximate. Use more or less of anything, to taste.

3 or 4 lbs. new potatoes, peeled and sliced fairly thinly
2 or 3 eggs, hard-boiled
8-12 slices of bacon
1 or 2 shallots, depending on size, minced finely
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
½ - ¾ cup dry white wine
1 or 2 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 or 2 tsp. sugar-in-the-raw
2 Tbs. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup, more or less, of mayonnaise
freshly ground pepper, salt to taste if desired

Hard boil the eggs. (Cover in cold water, bring to a boil and turn off heat. Allow to stand for 10 minutes, then rinse in cold running water or an ice bath to cool completely.) Set aside.

While the eggs are cooking, finely mince the shallots; set aside. Chop parsley; set aside.

Fry the bacon over low heat until crisp and the fat is completely rendered. Remove the bacon to paper towels and set aside. Leave the fat in the pan for the dressing.

Start the sliced potatoes in cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Shock in cold water to stop cooking and drain well.

While the potatoes are cooking, make the dressing:

—Add the minced shallots to the hot bacon fat and saute over medium heat for a few minutes until shallots start to get tender.
—Add the Dijon mustard and stir or whisk to incorporate with the fat and shallots.
—Add the white wine and raise heat to medium-high to start reducing the liquid.
—After a minute or so, add the cider vinegar, the sugar and pepper to taste. Whisk to incorporate and simmer for another minute or so. Set aside to cool for 5 or 10 minutes
—In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise and shallot mixture. Mix well and add more freshly cracked pepper, if desired.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes and the dressing, folding carefully to avoid breaking up the potatoes too much. Slice the hard-boiled eggs and crumble the reserved bacon. Add to the potatoes along with the chopped parsley. Mix everything together well. Adjust seasoning as desired. Chill well to meld flavors.  Note: I don't use any added salt because the bacon has plenty of salt. The salad will seem too gloppy while still warm. The extra dressing will be absorbed by the potatoes as they cool. If making a serving platter, garnish with diagonal alternating lines of extra bacon and egg slices. Serve.

BTW, if you'll be having a July 4th picnic, Cook's Illustrated advises that it's not the mayonnaise that causes food poisoning from spoiled potato salad. Mayonnaise contains sufficient acid to inhibit bacterial growth and commercial mayo is made with pasteurized eggs. Rather, it is the potatoes that are the culprits:

"The bacteria usually responsible for spoiled potato salad are Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus (commonly known as staph). Both are found in soil and dust, and they thrive on starchy, low-acid foods like rice, pasta, and potatoes. If they find their way into your potato salad via an unwashed cutting board or contaminated hands, they can wreak havoc on your digestive system."

Saturday Night Fever

I might be dismayed and disappointed by Obama's walk-backs on Guantanamo, torture, secrecy, Iraq withdrawal and all the other issues on which he's shown something less than political courage. There is one area, however, where Obama is a gust of fresh air: He and Michelle are totally cool. I mean, after Junior and his brush-clearing and Laura's resolute avoidance of anything resembling excitement, the Obamas are shakin' it up, big-time. (NYTimes pool photo: Aude Guerrucci)

Who can not be charmed by the president's date last night with Michelle? Obama is admirably checking off his campaign promises and one promise was dinner and a Broadway show with his wife after the campaign. They took the short flight to New York yesterday afternoon for dinner at Blue Hill in Greenwich Village and a performance of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” at the Belasco Theater. 

First of all, great choices, guys. Blue Hill is a pioneer in the local food movement and well-known for its exquisitely fresh and tasty ingredients. Michelle, as we know, is championing locally-grown, organic food. The Tony-nominated play by August Wilson recounts the experiences of a group of boardinghouse residents in the early 1900s who left sharecropping in the South for cities in the North.

Obama certainly knows how to show his lady a lovely time. Michelle revealed this last week: "You know, after 20-some-odd years of knowing a guy, you forget that your first date was at a museum. But it was, and it was obviously wonderful. It worked." A museum! I love it.

Not everyone is as tickled as I am over the geek glam of our First Couple. The pursed-lip pills in the Republican Party fired off a fresh salvo of monumental political tone-deafness:

The Republican National Committee slammed the outing in an "RNC Research Piece": "As President Obama prepares to wing into Manhattan’s theater district on Air Force One to take in a Broadway show, GM is preparing to file bankruptcy and families across America continue to struggle to pay their bills. ... Have a great Saturday evening – even if you’re not jetting off somewhere at taxpayer expense. ... PUTTING ON A SHOW: Obamas Wing Into The City For An Evening Out While Another Iconic American Company Prepares For Bankruptcy."

The RNC's Gail Gitcho added: "If President Obama wants to go to the theater, isn’t the Presidential box at the Kennedy Center good enough?”

Hmm, let's see: We're supposed to express high dudgeon over a charming date that gives a very hard-working guy a break with his wife. Oh, that's right -- the guy is a Democratic president. The most recent Republican president could jet off to the pig farm in the middle of Nowheresville, Texas for more R&R time -- 384 days -- than any other president and citizens should applaud his manly man, cowboy, brush-clearin' everyman act. Forget that all those getaways were at "taxpayer expense," not to mention the fact that we paid the slacker for eight years and he spent more than a year of that time kicking back at the "ranch".

The Repugs got nothing. If they think they're going to get any traction over the Obamas' date night, the real question is which is greater -- their stupidity or their desperation? Sing along with me, boys:

Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody.
I got some money 'cause I just got paid.
How I wish I had someone to love me.
I'm in an awful way.

National origins: not always what they seem

Danish Bread Dough Whisk: Made in Poland.

BuiltNY Clink-Proof BYOBag: Made in Taiwan.

Oyster Knife, Boston Style (also New Haven Style and Galveston Style): Made in Brazil.

Tortilla/Taco Shell Baking Pans, Blued Steel Deep Paella Pan, Cucina Pro Electric Krumkake Iron, Swissmar Classic 8 Person Raclette Party Grill -- and a mindboggling array of other cooking utensils: Made in China.

At www.fantes.com (the Fantes shop was established in Philadelphia in 1906) you can travel around the world by merely exploring their catalogue. It feels as through every national cuisine is represented. But it's clear, even after only a few clicks -- and if you love kitchen stuff the way I do, I challenge you to perform only a few clicks; I found that the enterprise quickly became addictive -- that almost every category is swamped by the number of items manufactured in the People's Republic.

The copper pots come from France, and so do the Peugeot pepper mills, as one would hope and expect. There are tagines from Tunesia, as one would hope and expect, although the catalogue does include tagines from both France and the USA.

But for the rest, one must imagine endless ranks of Chinese workers in endless ranks of Chinese factories turning out endless numbers of melamine measuring cups, silicone spatulas, meat grinders, flour sifters, pickle forks, ketchup bottle scrapers; not to mention Cuisinart coffee makers and even the Sushi Magic Express Sushi Maker Kit.

Without doubt, however, this item is my very favorite:

You'll find it in "Toasters." An instructional note says:

Press stamp into a piece of bread before toasting it. Works best on fresh white sliced bread. Makes a light image, almost as if the image appeared naturally on the toast.

Beware of imitations!

Two little piggies

I saw these in a shop the other day, and since I was prowling for a new pair of potholders anyway, I just couldn't resist.

Maybe we should have a separate category for pork (no, not that kind, silly) since Chiaro and I seem to share a love for this most versatile, delectable animal flesh, and both of us enjoy writing about it.

Click the links below to follow our ongoing conversation about the pleasures of pig wrangling.

Chiaro starts it here Then I chime in. I follow up with some sourcing. Chiaro follows up with some saucing. Then more sauce...

Michelle Obama channels Alice Waters

The New York Times reports that there is soon to be an organic food garden at the White House.

This is Alice Waters' dream come true. On last Sunday's Sixty Minutes Lesley Stahl interviewed Waters. This was part of their exchange:

STAHL: Now she has her sights on a new project and we would like to warn President Obama that the steamroller is on its way.

"You have been pushing for a vegetable garden at the White House for years. Rose garden? Forget that. You want a broccoli garden?" Stahl asked.

"I have been talking nonstop about the symbolism of an edible landscape at the White House. I think it says everything about stewardship of the land and about the nourishment of a nation," Waters said.

Asked if she thinks she'll achieve such a garden at the White House, Waters told Stahl, "Well, I'm very hopeful. I've always liked the idea of doing press conferences at the compost heap."

I'm not sure if Waters intended something deeper with her "compost heap" remark -- but that aside, her message seems to have resonated loud and clear. Not that Mrs. Obama and her people wouldn't have come up with the notion on their own. It's a natural for this First Family.

I'm sure some Republican jerks will find a way to make a negative out of this terrifically positive news. For those of us who live midst food stands and grocery stores selling fresh-picked locally grown produce, we know what a treat such unadulterated fruits and veggies can be. We knew that the Obamas know it too, and we're thrilled that they will be giving the "locavores" a bully, er, pulp-it.

P.S. The spinach recipe that Tristero wrote about (see the post immediately below) came from the White House kitchen!

Spinach: outrageous! (and delicious!)

Tristero at Hullabaloo shares a recipe for a simple dish of pureed spinach and notes, "If you think this isn't a post about politics, then you don't know Jack about politics in 21st Century America."

Heigh-ho! Why do you think Food & Drink is the largest entry in our category cloud?
------------------

P.S. The dish would be quite wonderful if you chopped the blanched spinach by hand (don't ever waste your energy chopping uncooked spinach) before adding it into the garlic and shallots. It really doesn't need to be like creamed spinach. It merely needs to be.

To make it even simpler, saute the garlic and shallots till they're translucent, and then wilt the spinach (yes, baby spinach) directly in the pan. No chopping or blending. We do this all the time. It makes a great base for a dish of sauteed shrimp or scallops, or as a side for any nice piece of meat. Squeeze some lemon on it. It's delicious at room temperature. It may be the most useful and elegant dish in your kitchen repertoire.

My best friend Pat

Adam and I drink great quantities of coffee every day and into the evening. Caffeinated, dark French roast. "Fresh pot's a-brewin', Ma" is always welcome news from Adam as he heads toward his office from the kitchen.

Pat, on the other hand, drinks two cups with her breakfast and that's it. And hers is a much milder brew than ours.

I have always been a bit snobby about my coffeemakers, believing somehow that a black-and-stainless steel carapace, combined with a European brand name, makes for better coffee. Pat happily swears by her Mr. Coffee.

Thus we do not drink from the same pot.

Both my DeLonghi and backup (yeah, we have a backup!) Cuisinart croaked last night, one right after the other -- leaving me to contemplate a dispiriting scenario for the morrow -- no comforting first cup, a prolonged stupor until I could haul myself down the road to Java Station for a fix.

Imagine my utter delight when I slumped into the kitchen this morning and saw Pat's coffee pot emblazoned with a great pink heart Post-it, which told me immediately what was in it, what she'd done. She'd made my coffee in her pot, and it was steaming hot and ready for me.

It was such a terrific gesture (I'm smiling ear-to-ear even now, as I write this) and produced just about the best cup of coffee I've ever had.

And oh, yeah. It seems that neither pot is reparable in anything like a short timeframe. So I had to go up to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get a new one. Wanna guess what brand I chose? I walked right past the Krups and the other fancy European marques, and went straight for the...Mr. Coffee!

Today's miserable earwig

Believe me, I'm not touting McDonald's Filet O' Fish sandwich; it's at best an approximation of food -- a fish facsimile. No, I am evilly casting my earwig onto you. Now you too can burst into "Gimme back that filet o' fish" at odd moments throughout your day. Bwah-ha-ha-ha-haaah!

Pasta cookery: experimenting with less water

The New York Times suggests a "revolutionary" method.

Chunky, deep-flavored tomato sauce with guanciale

This is a follow-on to the recent Ellen/Chiaroscuro conversations about the magnificent pig. (See the "Food & Drink" category for previous porky posts.)

---

My order from Murray's arrived, and I couldn't wait to use the guanciale. Oh my, what depth of flavor that bit of pig jowl adds. Mille grazie, Mario Batali -- as with so much else, I learned about guanciale from slavishly watching Molto Mario.

Sharing the recipe is a bit difficult -- but I'll give it a try -- because I used what I had on hand, and as usual, worked more by eye and taste than by measurement.

Makes enough sauce for 8 generous portions of spaghetti. Well, that's a pretty good guess, based on the amount I've used so far. (It freezes well.)

Ingredients:

• Diced carrot, onion and celery. I buy the Trader Joe's 15 oz. combo, their Mirepoix. This works out to about 2/3 cup of each element [See Note 1, below]
• 4 garlic cloves, put through a garlic press or chopped very fine. This amount will add flavor, but not produce a specific garlicky taste. If you really want to taste the garlic, use more
• 1/4 lb. guanciale. It comes from Murray's thin-sliced, in 1/2 lb. packages. It's packed in two layers, so use one layer. If you can find guanciale in a chunk (I've used this in the past, but can't remember my source), you can cut it into batons, about 1" x 1/4" [See Note 2, below]
• 2 x 28 oz. cans of peeled, whole plum tomatoes, San Marzano provenance preferred. I can usually find the Cento brand in my supermarket and it's fine, though if you see the can shown below, grab it! It's the realest deal there is.

• Herbs, fresh if you have 'em, dried if you haven't: oregano, thyme, rosemary. Fresh: 1 tablespoon each, finely chopped; dried, 1 teaspoon each. Add more to taste later if you feel the need  
• Salt (Morton's Kosher salt preferred) and fresh-ground pepper 


• Dried red pepper flakes, a pinch or two 

And of course a good chunk of imported Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano for grating over all.

[1] This is the classic French mirepoix, the base for so many soups and sauces. Substituting sweet pepper for the carrot, Italian cooks call it a soffrito. Carrot, however, cuts the acidity of the tomatoes.

[2] Yes, you can use pancetta instead. It has the virtue of being readily available in most good supermarkets. The guanciale, however, adds a splendid depth of flavor all its own. Also, you may not get enough fat rendered out of the pancetta before it starts to crisp. If you don't have enough, add some olive oil to the pan.

Equipment:

This is a one-pot sauce, but the pot you'll need is a large (12"-14") deep heavy skillet (or a Dutch oven) with cover. You'll also find that tongs come in handy.

Method for the sauce:

• Over low/moderate heat, render the guanciale fat. If you're using the sliced quanciale, make sure you separate the slices in the pan, as you'd do with bacon. Keep an eye on it; you want to make sure the fatty part is just turning opaque -- you don't want to go all the way to crisp. The guanciale should give up enough fat to sauté the veggies. (You can always add a little olive oil later, if the pan seems too dry.) 
• Remove the guanciale from the pan and set aside. Add the chopped veggies and garlic to the fat remaining in the pan, add a good pinch or three of salt. Stirring occasionally, allow the mixture to soften --the onions will become translucent -- but not brown.
• Pour the tomatoes into a bowl with their juice, then plunge your hand into the bowl and crush each tomato in your fist. This is fun -- you'll feel like a kid messing with finger paints. 
• Add the tomatoes and their juice to the pan. Stir, and adjust the heat to bring the mixture to a simmer (bubbles just breaking the surface).  
• Stir in the herbs. 
• Adjust the heat so that the sauce maintains a slow simmer. 
• Cover the pot. Simmer for an hour or so, until the ingredients have melded and the sauce has thickened -- one recipe I have calls the result "the consistency of oatmeal." 
• Stir from time to time during the hour, and taste to see if you need to add salt or more herbs.
• About a half-hour into the simmer, break up the reserved guanciale and add to the sauce. At the same time add a pinch or two of the red pepper flakes.

When the sauce is done, you can use it immediately; or cool it to room temperature and refrigerate in a covered bowl -- it's even better if it sits in the fridge overnight; or you can divide it into portions and freeze. Or some combination thereof.

Preparing pasta:

I use the kind of big stockpot with pasta insert shown here (click the image to see it enlarged). It's a great all-purpose pot for soups and stocks as well as for steaming vegetables and cooking pasta.

• Cook the pasta in salted boiling water -- enough to allow plenty of room for the pasta to move freely in the water -- to the al dente stage. (The Italian brand of spaghetti I usually buy, for example, says "Cooks in 8 minutes. Taste at 7 minutes." A definite warning not to overcook.) 
• While the pasta is cooking, heat a quantity of the sauce in a pot large enough to hold the amount of cooked  pasta you're making. (Why not use the pot in which you cooked the sauce!) Recheck the seasonings. 
• Drain the cooked pasta, reserving some of the cooking water; pour the pasta into the hot sauce and, with the tongs, toss thoroughly to coat the pasta. (If the sauce is too thick, add a couple of spoonfuls of the pasta cooking water.)
• Use the tongs to take the sauced pasta from pot to bowls. If there is any sauce left in the bottom of the pot, spoon it over the pasta. (The ideal quantities, which you'll have to discover from your own experience, leave little sauce once you've tossed the pasta.)

Grate a good quantity of cheese over the top and serve. Mangia bene!