Joel H Blog

Are you my mother?

// May 4th, 2009 // No Comments » // Food Geek, Random Ramble

Dear Diary (just kidding),  I’m back.  I am sorry I have been M.I.A. but school, work, and life have made me nutty beyond belief.  I am back now and back for good at that!

A couple weeks ago I was facebooking and someone sent me one of those blasted “20 questions” things about everything and anything.  You know the ones, “what’s your favorite color?”, “What New Kids On The Block singer would you sleep with first?”  Well, I got to thinking about my very own foodie-based 20 questions.  One question came to mind, and I have been thinking about it since then:  “If you could have any famous culinarian for a  mother, who would it be and why?” So in honor of that idea, and the fact that Mothers Day is this weekend, I bring you the following.

I know this sounds silly and stupid, but I think about things like this.  I love my mom and all, and would not trade her in for anything, but if I were to have a famous culinarian as a mother, who would it be?  It has been hard to narrow down the list, but I am happy to say that I have four mothers.

I know that seems like a lot of mothers to answer to, but I can’t just have one; it would be impossible.  I chose my “foodie moms” based on many different traits but they all have one thing in common – complete and utter culinary greatness!

From the list of hundreds (OK, maybe 10) I have narrowed it down to the following four in no particular order:

1. Dorie Greenspan (baker and all around culinary genius)
2. Lynne Rossetto Kasper (host of PRI’s The Splendid Table and foodie icon)
3. Ruth Reichl (editor-in-chief at Gourmet , food writer, and author of Culinary Memoirs)
4. Julia Child (the late great American food icon)

I chose these four amazing women because they have been a part of my everyday life for quite some time, and I also look up to these women because of the great things they do for the food world and America in general.

Dorie Greenspan is one of those authors and culinarians that I LOVE to read.  Her writing is easy to enjoy, well thought out, and she has a style of cooking and baking that is second to none.  It’s hard to believe that this successful author and baker started her career by burning down her parents’ kitchen at the age of  13.  Her newest book  Baking: From My Home to Yours is, in my opinion, the only book a baker needs.  Her recipes are amazingly written and easy to follow, and I have not made a bad thing out of that book.  Cooking from a Dorie book is like cooking from a family recipe box – comforting, enjoyable, and satisfying.  In 2004, Dorie was inducted into the Who’s Who of Food and Beverage by the Beard Foundation and has won FIVE (count ‘em…five) Beard awards for her books.  However, the reason I chose her to be my “mother” is her pure unadulterated passion and love for her craft.  She’s also cute as a button to boot!

Lynne Rosetto Kasper, ahhh where do I begin?  I love the woman; that is the easiest way of saying it.  She and I geek out to food in the exact same way.  You know she is in love with her career and subject choice just by hearing it in her voice.  Her passion for cooking and food goes beyond recipes and new culinary techniques.  She has a love for slow food and traditional culinary principles that I admire.  Lynne’s weekly public radio program, The Splendid Table, is something I look forward to and wait to download on iTunes every Saturday.  When I listen to Lynne’s show, I am in most cases entering my “culinary happy space” and just enjoying each interview, thought, or recipe she has to offer.  Her voice is a comforting and warm tone that I relax to from week to week.  In my dreams I would love to be locked in a kitchen with Lynne for weeks on end with amazing products and just cook, eat, and talk and solve a few world’s problems in the process.  Just a little side note… I do a really kick-ass impression of Lynne.  You know what they say about impersonation.

Ruth Reichl is an American icon.  Ruth is who I want to be when I grow up.  I do realize that at 27 I am pretty grown up, but this woman holds a place near and dear to my heart.  The best way I think I could describe my take on Ms. Reichl is to call her an ingenious culinary free spirit.  She seems to march to the beat of her own copper pot and makes a lasting impression while doing so. You name it, Ruthie’s done it – chef, critic, writer, editor, restaurant owner.  She can do it all, and boy has she ever.  Her love of food comes through in everything she does.  When I first read Tender at the Bone, it was then that I truly realized food can be written about as a memory and it honestly can have a life changing affect on us.  I love Gourmet and have loved it ever since I was a kid.  I grew up with it.  It was one of the first magazines I can remember thinking “oh, this is the life for me.”  Although I think it was Ruth’s love for food and lack of fear that made me fall in love with her, her free-spirited culinary views on life have made me continue to read her.

Julia Child.  I really don’t know what to say about Julia.  She is the first TV chef I can remember seeing on TV. I would sit in front of the TV at home and be drawn in to her almost magical cooking style and be transported to a place like no other.  I still hear her saying “with your impeccably clean fingers” in the back of my mind.  I only wish I had been born earlier in life so I could have gotten more of a taste of her.  I am fascinated by Julia Child and very jealous that Dorie Greenspan got to co-write a cookbook with her.  I am sure Dorie could talk about Julia in great detail, but Julia was not scared of butter, or cream, or life… and THAT deserves a spot on my list for sure.  Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the first cookbook I purchased when I started to collect culinary books.  I still pull it out from time to time and put my twist on a Julia classic.

I have to say my own mother is my number one and has helped me embrace the foodie that I am today.  Without her I would not have cooked as much as I do.  I however also want to thank my pretend mothers for doing what they do and following the career paths that they have.  Without them I would be bored shitless.  So thanks Linda (my mom), Dorie, Ruth, Lynne, and Julia for making me not only obsess about food but also think about it in totally different ways. please see the following video.  this is how i will always remember Julia.

The French Chef Julia Child’s Chicken

Happy Early Mothers Day!!!

Food Geek: In case you have not read ALL of my columns….

// April 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // Food Geek, Random Ramble

Just in case you have not read all of my columns (My mom, I think, is the only one I know of who has. Thanks mommy!) and have  a couple of hours to get into the mind of one Joel H. Brown… here is a link to all columns by me, or the ones that mention my name on the DA site.  It’s a little weird to think that they let me (of all people) write a column.  Ha Ha Ha….  More goodies tonight, including a dinner recipe and snacky treats.

Happy Monday!

Breakfast for Dinner Recipes: Kick Ass Waffles

// March 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // Recipes, Recipes: Breakfast, State of the Plate

Kick Ass Waffles (base recipe)

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

- makes three 9-inch square waffles -

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 cups lowfat buttermilk (cold)
1/2 cup canola oil
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Procedure

1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center.

2. In another bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract.

3. Add egg yolk mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (should be lumpy).

4. In a small bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight up).

5. Gently fold egg whites into flour and egg yolk mixture, leaving a few fluffs of egg white, Do not overmix.

6. Spoon waffle batter into your waffle iron, making sure not to overfill it.

7. Serve with real maple syrup and unsalted butter.

State of the Plate: The Peepshow

// March 27th, 2009 // No Comments » // State of the Plate

Taken From my March 26, 2009 “State of the Plate” article.

Sweet, supple, melt-in-your mouth, palm-sized goodness that provides near guiltless pleasure: God love Peeps. I have not always been a fan of the timeless marshmallow concoction, but in recent years, I have become a frequent peeper. I have been doing a good deal of peeping.

for the sake of peeping and quite frankly need to stop using the word “peeping.”OK. Better now. Marshmallow Peeps have been a staple in the Easter baskets of the Brown family for a number of years (at least 20), and upon closer examination, Peeps have been feeding the Easter baskets of America for more than 50 years.Peeps were first created by the Rodda Candy Company of Lancaster, Pa., (shout out to my Amish peeps) which made the pint-sized chicks one by one by squeezing homemade marshmallow through a pastry bag into the now-famous peep shape.The Rodda Company was purchased in 1953 by the Just Born candy company of Bethlehem, Pa., and by 1954, automated the peep manufacturing process and created a one-of-a-kind “Peep extruder”, which at that time was state-of-the-art. I have found out that there are two schools of Peep people. The people who love Peeps to pieces, and the people who hate Peeps like herpes. I am of the school of loving them to pieces. There is something about eating a Peep that is unlike any other confection experience.

The mix of wildly fun colors, and now flavors (try the chocolate mousse bunnies. Yum.) with the spongy, mallow-mouth feel, is a force to be reckoned with. They are the quintessential Easter treat. Within Peep-lovers, there are many ways to de-feather a peep. Some love them right out of their chick-crate, while others like to let them sit and get stale. Editor-in-Chief and red-headed peep-lover Shelly Davidov sometimes takes the Ozzy Osbourne approach to eating a Peep. She bites the head off the little bugger, spits it back out and then enjoys the remaining mallow-carcass. And why she is so violent and 1980s with her peeps?  “It’s because I see them and think ‘Wooooo. Cute, yummy Peep, then bite off the head and realize yuck,’” she said.To each her own, Shelly, to each her own.

I personally like to let them go a little stale, lick them like a baby kitten until my tongue feels as though it has been licking 300 grit sandpaper for an hour or so and then stuff a Peep into each cheek cavity and sit around looking like I belong in “a special room” at a “special place” where I wouldn’t be allowed to play with sharp objects.There also seems to be a large amount of “Peeple” who like to microwave their Peeps until they turn into a molten mess or blow up, whichever comes first. I even have a friend who loves to eat them frozen. Would that be considered a “Peep-sicle?” However twisted or exotic you choose to eat your peeps is up to you, but God knows there are a hell of a lot of ways to get them in your belly and, after all, there is no wrong way to eat a Peep. The world of Peep consumption has gone far beyond just eating them. There are people out there doing things with Peeps that you would not believe. There is even talk of Peeps being part of a plan to get us out of the current economic slump. Just kidding. Honestly though, everything from Peep art renditions of the Virgin Mary to Peep clothing and recipes are out there for your Peeping pleasure. Be sure to check out Peeps artist David Ottogalli’s work at http://www.peepsshow.com. There are even sugar-free Peeps out there for us who suffer from the diabetes mellitus. I have tried the sugar-free Peeps, and while tasty and quite chewy, they have, well, how should I say this? They have a side effect that rhymes with “mart.” I wonder what Wilford Brimley would have to say about that?

Happy Peeping kiddos!

Read the online version here