The Noble Art of Moderation & Portion Size

Americans have a calorie imbalance with the rest of the world. Historically speaking, obesity is considered a sign of wealth, and America is the wealthiest society in the history of the world. Americans are gluttons relative to the rest of the world.

The first French restaurant and food critic, Grimod de la Reyniere, often described showing up to dinner on an empty stomach worse then committing a violent crime. On an empty stomach, we tend to shovel food into our mouths, to satisfy our immediate hunger. If we are famished with immediate hunger, do we really do a chef’s cuisine justice, in appreciating it for what it truly is?

Food and water are one of our most basic needs— but—chefs and gastronomes are artists elevating one of our basic needs into a symphony of flavors—and—do we do them justice when we have starved ourselves all day waiting for them to feed us? We eat faster when stomachs growl and slower when moderately nourished.

We have become accustomed to consuming 20 ounce bone-in ribeyes, accompanied with mashed potatoes and asparagus lathered in Hollandaise Sauce—all in one sitting. We have become a materialistic consumption society with reckless disregard for understanding the virtue of moderation and balance. The noble art of moderation derives from the balance and wisdom of nature.

George Washington's Eggnog

The following is a recipe for George Washington’s Eggnog we serve at SugarToad during the Holiday season. It is not super-sweet as we know commercial eggnog today, but an authentic recipe as it would have been served during the colonial period. It is frothy and delicious! The original recipe would have been cured for a week to ten days in a large wood bowl outside in the snow.

We use Michter’s Rye Whiskey at the restaurant since it is considered to be the original rye recipe of the Pennsylvania Dutch. The Michter's Rye recipe was lost and modified as it was transplanted to Kentucky during the Whisky Rebellion during Washington’s reign as President.

George Washington’s EggNog Yield 4-5 quarts

1 cups brandy
1 cup rye whiskey
1 cup dark Jamaica rum
1 cup cream Sherry
12 large fresh farmer eggs plus 6 yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 quart whole milk
1 quart heavy cream
1-2 tablespoons fresh ground nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean

Method:

• Combine alcohol. Separate eggs. Cream yolks and sugar in stand mixer till double in volume. Slowly add milk, cream, and alcohol mixture and continue to mix for several minutes.

• In separate bowl whisk egg whites to soft peaks. Fold into egg/alcohol mixture. Add cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, and good amount of nutmeg to taste.

• As mixture cures it will separate. This is okay. Let flavors marinate overnight.

Modernized from recipes and receipts of Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Sugartoad Notes:
• Colonial recipe cured for a week, but it loses its fresh eggy flavor.
• Addition of vanilla bean really enhances flavors.
• Best between 12 hours to 48 hours.
• Will begin to separate and needs to be whisked just before served.
• Garnish with fresh nutmeg upon service.
• Most important aspect for recipe authenticity is rye whiskey. This is the type of whiskey GW distilled at Mount Vernon. We use Michter’s Rye Whiskey at SugarToad.
• Salmonella? Use pasteurized eggs. Alcohol will also kill any bacteria while curing.
• Chef’s Variation—Substitute goat’s milk for cow’s milk. It will give it a delicious tangy flavor.

Malo-Up!

With the turning colors of oak leaves in the fall, I begin to think of apples, cinnamon, vanilla and butter. The flavors of chardonnay immediately come to mind. Chardonnay as a varietal is synonymous with orchard fruit flavors.
Chardonnay, and grape skins, are naturally prevalent in tart malic acid and gives chardonnay many distinct apple flavors. Malolactic acid conversion is a unique process to winemaking and gives chardonnay a distinct buttery quality. It is essentially converting malic acid to lactic acid (also found in milk), a process to smooth a harsh acid to a mellow one. It is like tasting skim milk versus whole milk.

In wine geek speak; malolactic conversion is often referred to as malo, ML, and malolactic fermentation. It is not technically fermentation because it does not produce alcohol as a byproduct, though it does produce carbon dioxide as a byproduct. This is where the fermentation is easily confused. It is not converting any sugars to alcohol. For all of our chemistry friends it is technically a decarboxylation. The other byproduct of malolactic fermentation is diacetyl, which is a byproduct from the yeast, and gives the buttery or butterscotch flavors.

In winemaking, a chardonnay that has not undergone malolactic transformation will have more of a green granny smith apple quality. These chardonnays usually receive little or no oak and are a great aperitif wine. They pair well with fish and shellfish. Chardonnays from the Pacific Northwest are usually made in this style.

Chardonnay that has undergone malolactic conversion will have a buttery and red delicious apple quality. The buttery texture is a result of converting one acid to the next. These chardonnays usually have significant oak influence. The cinnamon and vanilla flavors are not from the grapes or fermentation process, but from the influence of oak. These chardonnays pair well with roast chicken, buttered popcorn, (personal favorite) and cream sauces. Chardonnays from Russian River Valley and Sonoma County reflect this style.

Martinez Origin?

Martinis were originally made with gin and sweet vermouth. Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, James Bond, and a marketing campaign by the Smirnoff Company changed everything!

The Martinez Cocktail is the most likely origin of the martini as we know them today. It was a mixture of equal parts gin and sweet vermouth with a few dashes of orange bitters and Maraschino Liqueur. It was stirred and chilled with hand cut ice and strained into a cocktail glass.

Martinez today is an actual town outside San Francisco. It was a pop-up gold rush settlement during the 1850’s to civil war era. The legend states the Martinez Cocktail was created for a gentleman who traveled to Martinez by Jerry Thomas, who authored one of the first Bar-tender’s guides in the 1860’s. “Professor” Thomas, as he was often referred, traveled the United States, and was head barman at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco at the creation of the Martinez Cocktail. The original recipe called for two parts sweet vermouth to one part gin. The gin back then wasn’t always of best quality, so they had to sweeten everything to make drinks palatable.

The recipe for the Martinez we use at the restaurant calls for two parts Old Tom Gin to one part sweet vermouth with an equal dashing of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur and orange bitters. We chill it and serve it up. We make the recipe authentic with an Old Tom Gin from Ransom Distillery in Oregon. This particular gin would be similar to one that would be drunk in Manhattan during the Civil War. This style is often dark in color from malting the grains it is distilled from. It would be also stored in oak barrels for transport. They would ship most sprits in the 19th century in oak cask—bottles were expensive to produce and would often break during transport.
An interesting evolution of how America stumbled to the vodka martini with dry vermouth—vodka was almost non-existent in America before WWII!

A Few Literary (Movie Adaptation) Food References

I first crossed the idea of gastronomic literary references within the naturalism of Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening. The themes seemed conflicting and confusing, but the constant dialogue describing etouffee for dinner seemed to be the only tasteful thing that made sense. I began to despise this particular genre of literature, (especially Hawthorne and his disconnect with the Transcendentalists), but began to understand the different contexts of gastronomic terms regionally and historically. It seems the way MLA prescribes English disregards meta language and cultural geography—it somehow despises H.L. Mencken and the English lunacy of Rex Harrison. I am an American and understand American culinary terms in an American context! Etouffee in French literally means to smother and is a popular stew/soup in New Orleans. The different ways to prepare an etouffee (and I refuse to put the little French accent marks over the eeees) over the last century are quite fascinating—Shrimp is my favorite.

For darker dualism Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness explores the indigenous mercenaries eating hippopotamus after the ivory harvest. The idea of Kurtz screaming “MY IVORY” still vibrates chills down my spine. Francis Ford Coppola’s movie adaptation explores the saucier side of things with chef, and while looking for mangoes in the jungle, has made me obsessed with them. Chutneys and peaches somehow came to replace mangoes in many 19th century English cooking texts. (Trade routes, The East-India Company, Economics of J.S. Mill—might be some of the reasons for this.) The bloody English, and James Beard in Greenwich Village, thought peaches were the next best thing to mangoes for chutney since mangoes could not withstand the voyage from India. And—French colonialism brought superior culinary technique to Southeast Asia. Imagine all those names that sailed down the Thames then to America.

Pistachios, roasted monkfish, sake cured monkfish liver tourchon (tourchon means towel—before plastic wrap, food was steamed in a cloth towel), and Mornington Peninsula (Australia) pinot noir pushing 14% alcohol is a fun pairing. I by no means came up with this pairing masterpiece, but became delighted by the Book of Genesis 43:11 referencing pistachios as a gift to the King of Egypt. Pistachios are native to Asia Minor and are one of two nuts mentioned in the Old Testament. The other is almond. Pistachio trees thrive in the poor rocky soil conditions of Asia Minor with hot dry summers and mild winters. With centuries of oratory, the origin of pistachios may never be truly discovered, but here’s the best attempt at etymology this sommelier could find:
"Pistachio...The word originated in Persian as pistah, and reached the West via Greek pistakion. English originally borrowed if from French as pistace."
—An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 258)

Fortified America

If a sommelier was in the Queen’s navy they would definitely sleep on the Port side. Oporto is a port city in Portugal and exports fortified wine called port to the English speaking world. Investigations into colonial trade routes explain the accidental invention of Madeira. Though port is similar in that it is fortified and from Portugal, Madeira is more American.

Every American knows Madeira, probably from high school history class. It’s what the Founding Fathers drank as they signed the Declaration of Independence. Madeira is actually a volcanic island situated off the coast of Portugal in the Mid-Atlantic.

It starts with the triangle of trade during colonial times. Merchant ships departed from various ports in Europe. They take a pit stop at Madeira for supplies and barrels of wine. It would be fortified with a neutral brandy to help the barrels not spoil for the long Atlantic voyage.

While in route to the West Indies or Africa, the barrels would constantly sway with the ship constantly mixing and agitating the wine. They are exposed to the heat and salty humid air of the West Indies and Africa. This gives Madeira its oxidized, salty, and nutty qualities. The ships would acquire sugar and other commodities to trade with the colonies.

Depending on what colonial port the ship sailed is what style of Madeira developed. A dry style would develop to a port like Charleston. A sweet nutty style developed in route to New York. A creamy complex style marinated its way to Boston. The ships would unload their cargo and head back to Europe.

Madeira was served with soups, stews, and hearty dishes. Colonists usually owned one cast iron pot, and hence, would only have one pot on the fire that was filled with a soup or stew and would enhance the flavor with the addition of Madeira.

Nowadays they don’t actually produce Madeira like it was done centuries back. It is aged in oak barrels in climatically controlled rooms that simulate the ocean voyage. Next—the favorite song from Jersey Boys—Sherry…

Bacon Shopping & Fat Washing

I often get asked what I do on days off—swine shopping. Inspired by the best domestic prosciutto I have seen to date, I went to procure good bacon.

Pigs are, by many anthropologists, considered to be the first animal domesticated by man in Ancient Egypt. Others will argue chickens because they only take ten weeks to mature as opposed to many months with pigs. Pigs are naturally foragers, love acorns, and when left to free range become delicious!

A large prosciutto ham was delivered to the restaurant from Caw Caw Creek Farm located in South Carolina. It took Chef Rhyne several months of persistence to get it here. www.cawcawcreek.com It is the best ham this sommelier has ever tasted. It is perfectly cured and marbled. The ham literally melts in your mouth from the intense marbling and has a pronounced salinity. It pairs perfectly with a dry Madeira or Sherry. At the restaurant the Rare Wine Co. Charleston Sercial Madeira is perfect.
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I set out to some local markets to find bacon and I found Nueske’s Bacon at Casey’s Market in Naperville. www.caseysfoods.com They arguably have the best local meets and butcher shop in the area. Nueske’s is bacon from Wisconsin and is perfectly smoked, meaty, and fatty. With my newly procured treasure I began collaborating with the staff.

At the restaurant we rendered off a couple pieces of the bacon, cut off some Caw Caw Prosciutto and gave it a bath with vodka. This is our first attempt at fat washing—a technique of infusing alcohol with fats. (Special thanks to Mixologist Mike Ryan for explaining the technique to us.) We let it marinate for several days, strained it, and placed it in the freezer. Since alcohol freezes at lower temperatures then water and fats, the fats and impurities solidify, and are then strained off. There are little or no added calories to the vodka, just the flavor essence of swine.

The elixirs we will create from this vodka are still in their infancy. Some classical flavor pairings with pig are apples, rosemary, maple syrup, and pineapple. With this as a reference, we will begin to experiment with cocktails. A Bacon Red Snapper (Bloody Mary) is in the works as well as an after dinner cocktail with maple syrup that can be paired with dessert.

More swine essence to come…TEP

Food, Wine, & Drink (Gastronomic) Foundations

(1) Gastronomy is the study of food. (2) A restaurant is a reflection of democracy on a local and cultural level. (3) We utilize our dexterous talents to minimally transform foodstuffs into a symphony of flavors, textures, and experience.

The purpose of these writings is to share the creative process involved with food, wine, and drink. It’s not that we just wake up on any random morning and come up with creative ideas, but we continuously study how food has evolved over the millennia. Not to be too serious, it is just food. We have a sense of humor and like vegetable gardens.

We study how man began to eat and discovered fire. Through history and anthropology we gain perspective of hunter-gatherers arising into an agrarian society domesticating crops and livestock. We then begin to understand how cooks, servants, and sommeliers came to be in the feudal and guild systems.

A restaurant, as we know them today, have only been around a few hundred years. With the onset of the French Revolution, many of the top cooks, sommeliers, and vineyard owners were taken to the guillotine! They were not viewed favorably by the commoners. They fled their masters, started cooking for the peasants (especially pheasant) and started the first restaurants. They served mostly stews and table wine, printing the first a la carte menus. They served regional foodstuffs that could only be procured within the local community--mostly within a day’s walking distance. (There wasn’t much refrigeration back then and fresh apples were not available in the spring!)

With an Aristotelian view of where restaurants, food, and drink come from, our foundations are set. With strong edifice we begin to cook with the dexterity of all five senses. The bounty from the fields is manipulated minimally to express the true essence of nature. We observe the optimum-instant of when products are at their best, serving them with sincerity, respect, and passion.