Daily Loaf

I’ve said it so many times when I cook: Simple is always better. Sure, sometimes I get mired down in complex recipes, but a handful of great ingredients with just the right touch of care always bring the greatest rewards. That couldn’t be truer than in this duck and scallop dish.

I found this gem on a menu in Stonington Borough, Connecticut — a charming little seaside village.  Water Street Café is a quaint, eclectic restaurant that is always busy, even in the dog days of winter. The fare is remarkably fresh and creative. Every meal I’ve eaten there (and I’ve had many) has been terrific.

Particularly, I’ve been fond of a very simple preparation of duck and scallops they serve. Read the rest of this entry »

The world seems mighty small these days. We can get to almost any corner of the globe in a matter of hours. That’s pretty amazing really, considering how much time and effort it took to get anywhere as recently as the early part of the last century. And as different cultures introduced themselves to each other (or killed each other), we humans began enjoying the diverse foods and cuisines that we encountered.

Today we can experience such an array of flavors — spices, meats, vegetables, fruit, seafood — that it is difficult to think of a time when whole wars were fought over pepper. I’ve had great sushi in Oklahoma and gulped down a cheeseburger in Asia. Even as diverse as our cultural food evolution has been, though, there are a few staples. While eastern Asia harvested their vast abundance of rice, the entire rest of the world found that with some flour, liquid and heat, we could make bread.

Click through for more about bread, with the recipe at the end: Read the rest of this entry »

(Ed. note: Make it to the end for the recipe. It’ll pay off.)

Like most people, I love a challenge. I especially like them when they’re related to food. That’s why I had so much fun when I was asked to cater a party for about 100 people.

OK, I can handle that. It’s in Canada. I can handle that too. The theme is Caribbean. So far so good. The idea of fresh, clean island flavors begin swirling in my mind: citrus, seafood, sweet, spicy. Of course there has to be a twist: The folks hosting the party and the guest of honor do not like cilantro.

This is a constraint that is difficult to overcome. When I think of the Caribbean, I think of rum drinks and foods with heavy doses of cilantro. Good salsa almost always has cilantro. The flavor is unmistakably bright and unique and screams of steel drum bands and sand in your toes. Leaving it out seems wrong on many levels Read the rest of this entry »

Who doesn’t like pasta? It’s almost universal in its appeal and it seems that every culture has taken its hand at some adaptation. And while it’s true that the Chinese are probably the inventors, it was the Italians who exploited this simple staple.

Just try to imagine for a moment a planet without pasta. What would accompany our luscious, buttery garlic bread? Have you ever heard of “green beans with clam sauce”? Of course not, you need linguini. Would we even have all of the scrumptious and wonderful sauces that we have today if there were no magnificent vessel to carry the load? I shudder at the thought.

Fortunately though, we don’t have to consider these possibilities, because there are about a million different kinds of pasta within a mile of every urban setting in America. Often, when we think of pasta, noodles come to mind. Long strands of dried varieties that boil until just done, complimented by an almost endless array of sauces and condiments. As a child, I remember my desire for just a plate of pasta with butter and parmesan. Perfection. Today, my palate is a bit more mature and I enjoy every variation I try.

One of my favorite types of pasta is made from potatoes. Gnocchi are like little clouds of heaven that, by design, soak up the flavors that you surround them with. Read the rest of this entry »

I was so thrilled when I got the email that Creative Loafing was dedicating this week to breakfast. It is my favorite meal. I love everything about it. First of all, I am one of the oft under-appreciated morning person. Frankly, I just don’t understand people who aren’t morning people. A true optimist HAS to be a morning person. I wake up excited about the potential of most days. It is also that time of day where there is tranquility. As the proud parent of a 5 year old, early morning is the only time I can just enjoy a coffee with no interruption.

Setting off to make breakfast after  relaxation time is over is something I look forward to. Our daily lives keep us from having a proper breakfast during the week but on the weekends I love to begin stirring in the kitchen as the sun rises. I have very loose guidelines I like to follow when thinking of breakfast recipes. Simple, because I want to enjoy the rest of the day, is the basic theme. Who wants to fuss for an hour, eat and then have a tremendous mess to clean up? Yes simple is a must. That’s why eggs fried in olive oil is just the perfect way to impress. Read the rest of this entry »

What is it about duck that keeps it out of the average kitchen? Is it the cost? It’s pricier than chicken but less expensive than steak. Is it the flavor? Duck is popular at restaurants so someone eats it. Even magazines and food television rarely extol the virtues of duck.

I’m puzzled by this but let me step up to the plate and talk duck. There are countless ways to prepare this bird and I have tried a few that really excite me. My duck journey began about 10 years ago at Christmas. While I’d eaten it before, I had never prepared it myself. Armed with a Christmas recipe from a cookbook, duck was the star of my first Christmas with Lisa. As with most holidays, I began the meal at sunup and finished just before sundown, only pausing when my kids awoke and realized Santa had thought them worthy enough to bring gifts.

I’ve since learned that prep work matters. Chopping, slicing, blanching and general organization the day before make meal day much easier now. Still, the duck was roasted to perfection in our unpredictable apartment oven. As I set it out on the table and carved pieces for the family, I was quite proud. I knew this was a home run. Lisa hated it. So did Josh, then 11. As I recall Brittany (10) and Matt (9) were ambivalent. OK, so duck isn’t for everyone. Lisa and Josh are both pretty picky eaters. Brit and Matt eat most things. Duck got shelved in my repertoire for quite some time.

Several years ago I realized that I needed to revisit duck. Read the rest of this entry »

As a child, I didn’t appreciate my mother’s cooking like I should have. A first generation American born to Austrian immigrants, my mother learned her skills in my grandmother’s kitchen. Mom didn’t have a huge repertoire of recipes. Most of our meals were casseroles, sausages, braised meats and cabbages. Her crock pot was her instrument. Unfortunately, seasoning was not en vogue and most of the cooking was pretty bland. I often opted for McDonalds which was delicious.

With age comes wisdom, however, and by my teens I knew there was something quite special going on in our very modest home. None of my friend’s ovens produced homemade scalloped potatoes, or pork chops and cabbage braised slowly for hours laden with caraway seeds. At their houses we ate foods like steaks or shrimp. For me, those foods were reserved for the ever-special dinner out.

Fortunately, as time passed, I was able to let my mom know how great I thought her skill in the kitchen was. In the weeks before she passed away, she could still gather a couple of bowls to the kitchen table where she would shuck peas or de-stem fresh green beans. Dad would have to take over the part that required standing at the stove. The last meal she prepared for me was some time earlier, when I asked her to teach me how to make her stuffed peppers. Aside from the love that went in to them, there were no special ingredients. Hollowed out bell peppers stuffed with ground beef and pork, rice and a few spices that went into the crock pot with a simple tomato sauce. It was the only time I ever set foot into the kitchen with my mother.

One of mom’s rare stovetop preparations was schnitzel. Weiner Schnitzel is traditionally a veal cutlet that is tenderized with a mallet then breaded and fried. Since veal was expensive, mom used pork. That still classifies as schnitzel. I’ve taken a few liberties with mom’s version, but the concept is hers. I use fresh breadcrumbs and buttermilk for the binder, and I cook them on a flat top instead a pan full of grease. Instead of the lemon wedges and lingonberry jam (not easy to find outside of our old Austrian neighborhood), I serve these with a simple but hearty onion gravy. A few roasted potatoes with smoked paprika later and my version of this dish is something mom would be proud of. She liked my cooking.

We all pay our respects in different ways but for me, I pay homage to my mother through the gift of my cooking. While we didn’t cook together, she passed on her taste for foods that I might not appreciate otherwise. I cannot get the crock pot out without thinking of her. As we fast approach the 5th anniversary of her passing, this meal was very reminiscent of a typical dinner from when I was a little boy, with a little twist of course.

Schnitzel with Roasted Potatoes and Onion Gravy

4 boneless pork cutlets (pounded thin)
½ cup flour+ 3 tbsp (divided)
1 egg
¼ cup buttermilk
½ cup bread crumbs (I prefer making my own but store bought would be OK)
5 tablespoons canola oil (divided)
5 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes sliced into thick disks.
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 medium Vidalia onions, sliced thinly
4 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine the potatoes, 2 tbsp oil, smoked paprika and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Lay out on greased cookie sheet or baking pan and place in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix the egg and buttermilk. Season pork with salt and pepper before dredging. Dredge the pork cutlets in ½ cup flour. Shake excess then dredge in buttermilk and egg and finally dredge in bread crumbs. Set breaded cutlets aside to rest on a wire rack.

In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add 3 tbsp oil and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until translucent and beginning to brown. Add 3 tbsp flour and combine. Cook for another minute. Bottom of the pan will brown a bit. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until reduced by a third (about ½ hour).

In a sauté pan over medium high heat add two tablespoons of oil and fry the cutlets 2 at a time. Cook about 3-4 minutes per side depending on thickness. Add a bit more oil before doing the second 2 cutlets.

To serve, arrange fried cutlets and roasted potatoes on a platter and pour onion gravy over top.

Serves 4.

Feel free to visit me at http://louislovesfood.blogspot.com or email me at louistjr@gmail.com

Before you run out and splurge on your “organic” products, there are many things you may want to understand. The marketing campaigns from the companies who provide these foods tell you the benefits, and there are benefits, but fail to share all of the facts from the scientific community.

I must admit, when I began research for this article, I was expecting to paint a more negative picture about the organic movement. I just felt like there had to be criticism since most of our knowledge about organic food production comes by way of the folks who make the most money from its consumption. That’s like the fox guarding the henhouse. Instead, however, I find a highly regulated industry with a wealth of scientific data to support organic foods but, unfortunately, an equal amount of problems with it. Therefore, I’ll highlight what I’ve learned and you be the judge. Read the rest of this entry »

As a kid I never liked salads. Do all kids feel that way? I think they do. I recall wondering what they contributed to my meal at a restaurant other than something to do while waiting for my steak and subsequent dessert. And even at the nicest restaurants, they consisted of iceberg lettuce, 2 or 3 onion slices (that were quite awkward to eat) a wedge or two of tomato and some stale croutons. Then, of course, you could order whatever goop you wanted atop the salad. House dressing was something with oil and vinegar and too many dried herbs.

Does this sound familiar to anyone else, or did my parents only take to trashy places? Perhaps you shouldn’t answer that in fear of me needing some sort of therapy later. Read the rest of this entry »

The American classic – submarine sandwich

I love a good sub, don’t you? Circa 1941, Benedetto Capaldo, a deli owner in New London, Connecticut, made a living by furnishing the nearby Groton submarine base with sandwiches. His creation was named after his best customers and the submarine sandwich was born. They aren’t hard to find anymore. While quality might be a question from some places, the sub sandwich and all of its creative variations are abundant. That wasn’t always the case though. As a boy, my father (perhaps sensing my future as a food geek) used to take me to a little Italian deli that made a wonderful sub with just the right amount of everything on it. It was in the same plaza where mom grocery shopped so I looked forward to grocery night when dad and I could steal away for our sandwiches. In those days, there was no Subway or grocery store deli counter so you were forced to go to an Italian deli. Those were not, however, on every corner in rural Florida. But this little shop in Spring Hill, about 90 minutes north of downtown Tampa, made one helluva sub. Owned by a first generation Italian-American, this guy could make a sandwich. To-go was not en vogue yet, so dine-in was the option of choice. I recall the sandwich being served in a red plastic basket with checked paper and filled with chips. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know about your neighborhood, but if you drive through mine at dinner time you’ll know it’s spring. The smell of grills fired up is a constant, and will be for a while. Even though we Floridians are proud that we grill year ‘round, something about late March through Memorial Day fills the air with the smoke that brings flavor to so many special meats. If it can be roasted or pan seared, it goes perfect on the barbie.

At my house, I am always looking for something original to do on the grill; this time of year, though, I like to revisit the basics, the quintessential grill meat. Steak.

Read the rest of this entry »

There’s something about the classics. Dishes that have been around forever have been around for a reason: Steak Diane, Duck a l’Orange and the many others that have graced fine dining menus for the past century. Some folks find them a bit stuffy and I understand that. I tend to gravitate towards more contemporary and deconstructed dishes, too (I haven’t met a cheeseburger I didn’t like), but there is that occasion that I see an old favorite on a menu and I can’t resist. This was one of those occasions.

Two weeks ago I was sitting in a restaurant just outside of Boston during a blasting snowstorm and I was staring at a menu just full of these time honored dishes. Steak au Poivre looked appealing, but so did the Chicken Oscar, Shrimp Scampi and Roast Duck with Blueberry Compote. As my eyes continued to wander, there it was, at the bottom of the menu, in beautiful calligraphy: Beef Wellington. Oh my. Can I order this? I mean, I’m at a business dinner. Will these people suddenly think I’m a stuffed shirt? No matter. I haven’t had this in quite some time and if they have the audacity to put it on the menu, I will eat it. Read the rest of this entry »

I hope everyone cooks with their kids. If you don’t have any, I suggest you get some. And if that’s too much trouble, just borrow one. My 4 year old, Olivia, would love to come to your house and help you with the flour. On our agenda this time: Empanadas.

Empanadas are a Latin pastry that can be filled with just about anything; pork, beef, chicken, cheese etc. Because every Latin culture has a variation of empanadas, what one country calls an empanada may be very different in another. The dough recipe I chose was this one. The cooking method is also variable. Ours were fried in peanut oil but baking is another way (more common actually and certainly healthier). I also chose frying because it’s much more forgiving if the dough is not perfect. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you watched the news lately? Apparently, the economy isn’t doing so well. They say that January saw more layoffs in one month since 1974.

I almost got through January, but on the 27th I became one of those statistics too. Now, it’s not all bad, folks. My career field is actually in demand so I will be back at work before I even want to. For now, though, I’m enjoying my time off and I’m wondering how I was able to get anything done with that silly ole’ job in the way. I am also becoming reacquainted with my kitchen. I’ve missed her. She was neglected, I think. Last year, I circled the globe and dined in Europe, Asia and at least a dozen major US cities, but my amazing little kitchen just sat here waiting for me to return to her. Her patient granite sorely underutilized and cluttered with mail. Fortunately, she never wavered and welcomed me back without a hitch. Now she helps me turn out dish after dish, lauding my successes and keeping my failures to herself. I wish I could take her to the beach for the weekend.

So with the economy in mind I thought to myself, “What affordable meals are out there that guests would think you pulled out all the stops for?” Read the rest of this entry »

For the few who follow my blog, some might recall that earlier this year I slow-roasted beef ribs in the oven for hours. They were perfectly spiced and fall off the bone tender.

I also smoked some ribs in the backyard for an upcoming Food Network BBQ show to air in the spring. I ended up with about 50 pounds of ribs that I passed out to the neighborhood. The interesting part of the story is that the oven roasted ribs were received with more accolades than the smoked ribs. Personally, I liked the oven ribs better too. While smoking and grilling will always be my preferred method for many cuts of meat, this little find got me thinking. What else could be roasted to perfection that one might only think was BBQ worthy? Read the rest of this entry »

Do you remember your first dish that worked? Worked, as in people raved about it and wanted it again? Worked, as in you tucked that little recipe into your mental rolodex knowing you’d be making in the future? I have one of those.

Last year I wrote about my first cookbook and its impact on me. It was The Frugal Gourmet by Jeff Smith in paperback. Today it sits proudly on my recipe book shelf, and I refer to its tattered and yellowed pages often. The Lamb and Eggplant remains in my repertoire and his Chinese Boiled Chicken was where I got the idea to begin making my own stock.

Unfortunately, Mr. Smith, also a minister, was mired in a touch of controversy Read the rest of this entry »

When I think of Key West I think of tin roofs. I think of pink and green pastels dotting white sandy beaches. I see palm trees and blue water. I think of restaurants with white-washed wood paneling and creaky floors. Big fish that once majestically patrolled local waters are now preserved indefinitely on the wall or over the front door. The food will be fresh and hearty and have no hint of pretentiousness. Cornbread and conch mix harmoniously while shrimp and coconut fill taste buds with sweet sea perfection. One corner of the room will have a loud party gathered laughing, eating and imbibing, while in another corner young lovers see no one but each other. Drawing in a deep breath, I smell the ocean. That’s what I think of when I think of Key West.

A little Google mapping tells me that Palm Harbor is 435 miles (or 7 hrs, 43 minutes) from this paradise but I think we can feel a lot closer by dropping by The Thirsty Marlin in Palm Harbor. Read the rest of this entry »

How are you at making omelets? The folding part specifically. Well if you answered, “Not so good”, then I have a technique for you. It’s no secret and it’s well publicized, but I think there is some confusion. You see, frittata is a fancy word for an omelet that never gets folded. It begins on the stove top then finishes under the broiler. The ingredients are completely your discretion. If you think it tastes good in an omelet, it’ll taste good in a frittata.

The origin of this dish goes back to peasant Italy. It was a morning snack or meal often made with some type of leftover pasta. I have made it in just this fashion before and it is unbelievable. Peasants apparently had it pretty good at one time. I would have gladly worked the land all day with snacks and meals like that.

Recipe after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

Somebody has made an error. In the culinary community, the word “pedestrian” has somehow been associated with “not good”. Common. Anyone can make that. Un-original. How can this be?

Some foods that I adore would get this classification yet using the P word to describe them is supposed to make my nose point upward and walk away. Well I will not!

Long before I knew I was a foodie and long before I could afford to buy almost anything, I loved a good burger. One of my first “OMG, this is fabulous” food memories Read the rest of this entry »

What’s your idea of a fantastic pizza? I’m on a mission to find one. Hopefully, close to home.

In my humble opinion, this was a perfect pizza. It comes from Prato’s in Montreal (that’s right, Canada). I can tell you with confidence that I have not had great pizza in north Pinellas County and I am just beside myself over it. I’m trying not to be overly critical about this, either.

We do have GOOD pizza here and I frequent several establishments. It’s just that I’ve had fantastic pizza in other places and I’m sure that SOMEWHERE in Tampa Bay it exists but I am struggling in my little neighborhood.

It all started when I tasted over-the-top, wow-this-is-good, I-could-eat-this-every-day pizza in a couple of other cities. Of course New York has great pizza everywhere, but when I tasted pies from Montreal and Westerly, Rhode Island that were just exquisite, I knew we were missing something here.

Let me explain MY idea of perfect and see if it matches yours: Read the rest of this entry »