Cooking During Pandemic 2: Couscous with Vegetables

Couscous with Vegetables (serves 4)

I usually find plain couscous to be dry and uninteresting. This version which is a little closer to the North African original is more substantial and quite tasty.

Couscous 3 cups
Chick peas 1 cup
Cherry tomatoes 1/2 lb.
Onion chopped, one half
Zucchini (green) 1; sliced to a 1/4 inch
Raisins 1/2 cup
Spices: nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, black pepper 1/4 tps each
Butter/Olive Oil: 4 tbps

Set oven to 400 F.  Peel, finely chop and fry onion in oil for 2-3 minutes until transleucent. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. In a large-diameter saucepan bring 3.5 cups of water to the boil. Stir in the 3 cups of couscous until water absorbed. Add the chick peas, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, cooked onions and raisins.  Stir the mixture, season generously with salt, and add additional 1/2 water. Cover saucepan and place in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Finally add the ground spices and butter/olive oil and stir into couscous. If dish too dry add another 1/2 cup of water.

Variations: Other vegetables can be added, instead of, or in addition to, those listed above, such as chopped cabbage, artichoke hearts, carrots.

Cooking During Pandemic 1: Tomato Sauce

Best Tomato Sauce (4-6 servings)

This recipe is a modification of one originally published by Marcella Hazan and produces one of the best tomato sauces I have tasted. It is simple, economical and can be made quickly if you are in a hurry*. There are also many possible variations that can transform the dish into something completely different such as adding any of the following ingredients alone or in combination: (i) chopped fresh basil, (ii) tinned tuna, (iii) anchovies, (iv) olive paste.
Recipe sufficient to dress 1 lb. of pasta.  Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Tomatoes chopped 3 cups (fresh if in season otherwise, Pomi or other quality brand)
Olive oil 2 tbsp.
Butter 2 tbsp.
Large onion, one half peeled

Melt butter in a medium saucepan and add olive oil. Add the chopped tomatoes and onion, bring to boil and stir. Simmer at very low heat in uncovered saucepan for about 1 hour.
*If you are in a rush, you can cook sauce in about 30 minutes. After mixture has come to boil, cover saucepan and allow to bubble at low to moderate heat (make sure it does not burn) for 15 minutes, then uncover and continue at low heat for another 15 minutes.

Wrongly Convicted: High-Fructose Corn Syrup

The use of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has become the punching bag of those who are legitimately concerned about the ubiquitous practice of adding large quantities of refined sugar to processed foods, cereals, and to manufactured beverages of all kinds.  However, focusing on the perils associated with the use of HFCS while tacitly or explicitly approving the addition of more ‘natural’ sugars to food and beverages is a misrepresentation of the link between the addition of refined sugars to our diet and the current epidemic of obesity and diabetes.  The fact is that HFCS and table sugar (sucrose) are identical in their chemical composition and there is no evidence that they have differential effects on the rate of obesity or diabetes. It is the total amount of refined sugar in the diet that is important not whether it comes from sugar cane or beets (sucrose), or from corn (HFCS).

Sucrose, or ordinary table sugar, is chemically classed as a disaccharide in which each molecule is formed by the combination of two simple sugar molecules, one glucose and one fructose.  Corn syrup is derived from corn starch and the sugar it contains is 100% glucose which is not as sweet as fructose.  To produce a realistic substitute for table sugar, corn syrup is modified to a high-fructose corn syrup that has the same percentage of fructose and level of sweetness as table sugar.

The most ardent critics of the practices of the food industry agree that there are no fundamental chemical differences between sucrose and HFCS.  However, it is certain that the introduction of HFCS as an additive to food and beverages has facilitated a large increase in the total amount of refined sugars we consume with its concomitant negative effects on health.  The damage being wrought by HFCS is because its often low cost relative to cane sugar has made it possible for food producers to increase the amount of added sugar in their products without having to implement the cost increases that might impact consumer demand.  Although food producers, with the help of HFCS, have been able to give consumers the sweetness they seem to crave without requiring them to pay the price, the ultimate cost to the consumers in terms of poor health is likely to be much higher than they bargained for.

No Free Lunch: the Story of Non-Caloric Artificial Sweetners

Non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) are sugar substitutes used to give sweetness to food and drinks without the inconvenient calories; to those among us with a sweet tooth their unique properties may seem too good to be true. NAS are widely used in processed foods, soft drinks, and diet products.  In the United States, the most commonly used NAS compounds are saccharin (e.g. Sweet N’Low), aspartame (e.g. Nutrasweet), and sucralose (e.g. Splenda), all of which have been approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) which regulates the use of NAS as food additives.  The FDA has also approved three other NAS food additives (neotame, advantame, and acesulfram potassium) and had ‘no objection’ to the use of Stevia, a plant-based sweetener, in foods because it is generally regarded as safe.  Despite the long history of NAS consumption (Stevia has been used as a sweetener for centuries in South America and saccharin was first synthetized in 1879) and the FDA evaluation and approval of specific NAS, there has been a lingering suspicion that their unique properties may indeed be too good to be true.  A scientific paper (1) published in the journal Nature in late 2014 provides indirect evidence that the widespread use of NAS is not good for human health and supports those who are skeptical of the concept of a free lunch.

The authors examined the effect of adding formulations of each of three common NAS (saccharin, sucralose, aspartame) to the diet of mice. The main findings were that the NAS led to abnormal glucose tolerance* in the mice and this was associated with specific changes in the gut flora (microbiota) of these mice. Transfer of the gut flora from the treated to a group of untreated mice (by fecal transplant) led to the development of glucose intolerance in the recipients indicating that the change in the composition of the micobiota led to the abnormal glucose metabolism.  The authors also studied the association between NAS consumption and physical and metabolic measurements in 381 human subjects and found that there was a positive correlation between the amount of NAS they consumed and increases in body weight and blood glucose and in the prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance.  Finally, they supplemented the diet of seven healthy human volunteers with the maximum acceptable daily dose of NAS recommended by the FDA for a period of seven days and found that four out of seven developed abnormal glucose metabolism in this short period of time.  Although none of the findings in the study provide definitive proof that the regular consumption of NAS in food is an important contributor to the explosion in the prevalence of diabetes and obesity in the economically advantaged parts of the world, the data should give those who regularly reach for a diet soda a moment of pause.

(1) Suez J et al. Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota.  Nature. 2014 Oct 9;514(7521):181-6. doi: 10.1038/nature13793.

*The glucose tolerance test is a method used to assess how the body metabolizes a standard infusion of glucose over a two-hour period. First, the baseline fasting blood glucose is measured then another blood glucose level if measured two hours after the ingestion of a specific amount of glucose (in humans for example, the standard dose of glucose used for the test is 75 gm).  The principle on which the test is based is that normal metabolism tightly regulates the increase in blood glucose through the release of insulin which shifts the glucose from the blood stream into the tissues.  Therefore, one can predict the blood glucose two hours after being given a specific amount of glucose and departures from that prediction indicate abnormal glucose tolerance.  For example, in human subjects the blood glucose two hours after ingestion of 75 gm glucose should be less than 140 mg/dL; levels between 140 and 199 mg/dL indicate abnormal glucose tolerance, and levels greater than 199 mg/dL are diagnostic of diabetes.    

Emulsifiers in processed food and your health

A recently published paper in the journal Nature (1) suggests that the emulsifiers added to many processed foods can lead to inflammation of the large bowel and to obesity and related diseases such as diabetes. The paper is an account of a research study in which groups of mice were fed one of two common synthetic emulsifiers (carboxymethylcullulose and polysorbate-80) in their drinking water for 12 weeks and then compared with genetically similar mice who over the same time period had been given an identical diet but without the added emulsifiers. The mice who ingested emulsifiers had a profound change in the composition and in the distribution of intestinal bacteria (gut microbiota): (i) there were fewer bacterial species overall and a reduction in the numbers of bacterial species commonly associated with good health, and (ii) the distance between the bacteria and the cells lining the bowel, normally covered by a layer of protective mucus, was reduced by 50%. Associated with these changes in the gut microbiota, the emulsifier-treated mice had a higher prevalence of inflammation of the large bowel and of obesity, an increased fasting blood glucose, and an abnormal response to large doses of glucose similar to that found in diabetes. Transfer of the gut microbiota (through fecal transplant) from the emulsifier-treated mice to a group of non-treated mice led to the development of bowel inflammation and obesity in the transplanted group indicating that changes in the microbiome were necessary and sufficient for all the other effects that were observed. The authors of the study suggest that the harmful effect of the emulsifiers was through disrupting the thick layer of mucus that lines the intestine and protects it from intestinal bacteria; damage to the mucus layer would reduce its protective effect making chronic inflammation and associated abnormalities (obesity, diabetes) more likely.

Emulsifiers are used to bind different liquids together (e.g. oil and water) that under normal circumstances would remain separate. Creating an emulsion is a crucial step in the production of many processed foods, and as a consequence, emulsifiers are ubiquitous in the processed food industry that uses 400,000 metric tonnes of synthetic emulsifiers each year in products ranging from ice cream, baked goods, and processed meats to chewing gum. The results of this study discussed above are not comforting to those for whom processed food is a major component of their diet. It is not known how the findings in this study relate to human obesity, dietary choices, and the practices of the food processing industry. However, the results are consistent with the growing conviction that the gut microbiota has an important role in human matabolism, nutrition, and immunity. It is possible that change in gut microbiota that result from changes in diet, particularly the additives in processed food, is a significant contributor to the epidemic of obesity in the United States and in other economically advanced countries.

(1) Chassaing B, Koren O, Goodrich JK, Poole AC, Srinivasan S, Ley RE, Gewirtz AT.Dietary emulsifiers impact the mouse gut microbiota promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome. Nature. 2015 Mar 5;519(7541):92-6

Review of Citronelle, Washington DC

I have dined Citronelle on several occasions over the past ten years and have enjoyed both the food and the quiet ambience. I visited the restaurant again last week when I was less impressed by the cuisine; whether my impressions were influenced by the swelting Washington weather, the lateness of the evening, or the disappointing book I had brought with me as a companion remains unclear.

The restaurant has a prix fix menu with several price levels based on the number of courses one wants. Fish courses are strongly represented among the starters and the main courses and many of the dishes contain crab which is a regional specialty. The space is modern and quiet and the tables well-spaced. The wine list is excellent with a focus on French wines, Burgundy in particular, and there is usually a knowledgable sommelier on hand to provide guidance and suggestions (as there was on this occasion) The guests, if in need of distraction, can see directly into the kitchen though a large picture window.

I had the three course menu costing 110 dollars. My first course was soft-shell crab tempura served with a cream-based sauce that also had tomato and mustard. The crab itself was excellent and the tempura batter was light. The creamy sauce, however, was overpowering and smothered the delicate taste of the crab. For the second course I chose 'timbale of skate'. Skate is particular favorite of mine and when fresh and properly prepared is sweet and buttery. Unfortunately, rearranging skate into a timbale proved to be a poorly conceived idea, which when combined with the indifferent execution, left me unable to finish the dish. This timbale, which was not unlike a crabcake in appearance, was topped with several small hillocks of a red jammy substance that reminded me of cranberry jelly. A generous quantity of lump crab was placed in geometrically strategic positions about the plate. I cannot remember the details of the sauce but its essence was sweetness; this combined with the contents of the hillocks made for a very unpalatable accompaniment to a naturally sweet fish. For dessert, I had a cherry pie which was quite good.

In summary, Citronelle continues to have a pleasant dining room with an attentive staff, good service, and a wonderful wine list. However my experience on this occaions suggests that all is not well at a conceptual level in the kitchen. M. Ricard should consider providing more direct instuction and guidance to the current chef de cuisine.

WA Frost: an Under Rated Restaurant

W.A. Frost, in the Selby neighborhood of St. Paul, is one of the most under rated restaurants in the Twin Cities. I must confess that it had also fallen off my restaurant radar and I had not been in the habit of considering it as an option even in St. Paul which is not blessed with an over abundance of good eating establishments.

I ate there again recently with my family, after a decade long hiatus, and was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food, the ambience, and the stellar wine list. There was an interesting selection of starters that went beyond the usual suspects though in the end we opted for two salads, the winter lettuce and the house greens, which were tasty, nicely dressed and very generously proportioned; a large salad could easily be split among a party of four. For the main course, I had crispy skate, one of my favorite fish, with mashed potatoes and a saffron sauce. My wife had divers scallop with chorizo which were succulent and sweet, and our daughter had a chicken breast that she pronounced to be wonderful. The creme brulee was good though I would have preferred less egg and more cream, and the carrot cake was just as one might expect carrot cake to be.

The wine list is perhaps the best in the Twin Cities and is remarkable both for its depth and breath. There are several local restaurants that have a better line up for particular regions. For example, I Nonni, Domacin (Stillwater), and D'Amico's Kitchen have a better Italian list; La Belle Vie is stronger in wines from southern France; Manny's has a more comprehensive selection of the wines of California. However, this restaurant, which is no longer mentioned among those restaurants that are fashionable and notable, has excellent selections from France, Italy, the United States and Spain. The wines are priced fairly with many bottles in the reasonable $30-40 range. Though there are no great bargains in the mid to upper prices ranges the best values are to be had if one is willing to splurge.

How does the food at this restaurant compare with others in St.Paul? With the caveat that my opinion is based on one visit, I would put it on a par with (or perhaps minimally below) Meritage and Heartland, and it is infinitely superior to the St.Paul Grill, Kincaids, and Pazzaluna; I have not eaten at the Strip Club. The ambience is cozy and quiet but it does not have the same frisson as Meritate or the St. Paul Grill. Although W.A. Frost does not often feature in local blogs and is infrequently mentioned by foodies, its many attractions are not lost on the residents of St. Paul as the multi-room dining area was quite full during our early pre-theater dinner. This restaurant merits serious consideration from those looking for good food in St.Paul.

Truffle Oil: the Ubiquitous Imposter

I was heartened to read in a Wall St. Journal profile that Jean-Georges Vongerichten finds truffle oil to be the most over rated cooking ingredient and he likened its effect to gasoline. Over the past few years, this noxious substance has shown up in every possible dish in restaurants around the country. This ubiquitous poison overpowers everything it touches. I have had it on lettuce, in beet salad, with smoked salmon, roast beef, and on fish! Contrary to popular belief, most of the truffle oil in use has nothing to do with the magic of black or white truffles but is a synthetic concoction of 2-4 dithiapentane. Its increasing popularity would seem to be very much against several other trends in cooking and gastronomy such as organic food, the locavore movement, and slow cooking. While the delicate taste of real truffles can enhance a variety of foods, particularly eggs, simple pastas, and lobster, and is a true luxury if one can afford it, the stench of truffle oil fills the nose and monopolizes the palate. Chefs who would not dream of sprinkling raw garlic on their food toss truffle oil about with abandon. Has the palate of the consumer become so jaded that it now requires the gustatory equivalent of a nuclear explosion to achieve a modicum of satisfaction? I am wondering when the era of truffle oil will finally end.

Sea Change

There are many things to like about Sea Change, the main restaurant at the Guthrie theatre complex, that will shortly celebrate its first birthday. The space is spectacular with large windows, plenty of light, generously spaced tables and great views of the Mississippi river. It has a lively modern bar and a wonderful section with stool seating around the raw bar and kitchen. The wine list is carefully chosen and fairly priced. The focus on sustainable fish and shellfish is admirable though there are some non fish choices.

I first ate at Sea Change shortly after it opened in 2009 and visited it again recently. On neither visit was I impressed by the food. Although the food is good, it does not measure up to the standard set by Chef Tim McKee at La Belle Vie, his other high end restaurant. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly the problem though I think that for many dishes it may be related to an heroic effort to camouflage that one is actually eating fish. For example, the octopus starter, which has become something of a 'signature dish', is more reminiscent of a chicken wing with a sweet glaze, than the briny chewy delicacy it can often be. On one visit, I had halibut wrapped in prosciutto which had lost its identity completely and tasted as if it had sweated to death. Sometimes there are just too many contrasting tastes and textures as was the case with salmon belly in a Japanese preparation of noodles, vegetables and pork. Where the restaurant does excel is in much simpler preparations such as the Loch Duart salmon and the yellowfin tuna both on the current menu. In summary, Sea Change is a very pleasant place to eat where one can find good food but below the level achieved by Chef McKee at some of this other restaurants.

Alle Testiere, Venice, Italy

Eleven years ago Alle Testiere http://www.osterialletestiere.it/ had convinced me that one could find good food in Venice. On a return visit, I was even more impressed. The restaurant is on a tiny street near the church of Campo S.Maria Fermosa and very easy to miss. There are only seven tables which can accomodate not many more than twenty diners thus reservations are essential. It is run by an ebullient host, Luca. The philosophy of the kitchen is to cook simply using fresh local ingredients almost exclusively fish and shellfish.
The room is small but cosy; the combined area of the dining room and kitchen is perhaps smaller than that of many domestic mega-kitchens in the U.S. We went for lunch and therefore did not sample the full range of the menu. The fillets of turbot in a caper and wine sauce was superb, as was the spaghetti with clams and the shellfish antipasti. The wine list is small, well-selected and well-priced; Luca can provide wonderful advice as the sommelier. If you happen to be in Venice, this restaurant should not be missed.

Met, Venice, Italy

The city of Venice has an undeservedly poor reputation for food. In my two visits to the waterlogged art lovers paradise, I have been favorably impressed by the quality of the cuisine as long as one avoids the restaurants in the immediate vicinity of St. Marco and Rialto and those pushing pizza and 'menu touristico'.

The Met, with Corrado Fasolato in the kitchen, is the restaurant at the Metropolitan Hotel and the only two star Michelin establishment in the city. The dining room itself is sumptuous, as is the hotel lobby, with a small number of widely-spaced tables. We sampled the five course tasting menu ($130 per person) though one could also choose an eleven course 'surprise' menu or order a la carte. The wine list which focused primarily on Italian wines was extensive and as one might expect expensive. The service was flawless and the sommelier quite knowledgable. The amuse bouche was an outstanding tuna 'hamburger' smothered in a variety of foams of different temperatues, flavors and colors; one of the best tiny morsels I have experienced. Another course was a very original version of beef cheeks based on a sweet and sour theme; in this instance, the sweet and sour tastes were provided by vegetable purees and foams. The dessert courses were also excellent. The only culinary disappointment of the evening was a dish with salt cod which was bland in the extreme. Overall, this was one of the best meals I have had in several years and I plan a return visit when next in Venice.

Per Se, NYC

We ate at Per Se in early December 2009. It is a wonderful space with panoramic views over Central Park, high ceilings, enormous windows and an inviting fire. The tables are generously spaced. The service was excellent but not exqiusite. The food was outstanding but not sublime as one might expect given the reastaurant's three star Michelin rating.

The choices at Per Se are usually among a number of different tasting menus: chef's, vegetarian, and one specializing in offal. We both had the chef's tasting menu which comprised about eight separate courses with some additional courses at the discretion of the kitchen. Although I enjoy both the convenience and surprise of tasting menus, I get jaded at about course number six. The standout courses on this particular evening were the very substantial salmon amuse bouche, winter vegetables in a deliciously light broth, and the lamb. The two dessert courses were unremarkable as was the oxtail meat course. We had a Condrieu to accompany the earlier courses and then an excellent Chateau du Tetre 2004.

While the food was outstanding, there was nothing I ate that was especially memorable, in fact not one dish that has not already faded from my gustatory memory. I expected better of Mr. Keller but perhaps it is unfair to judge on the basis of one meal.

My rating
(Michelin scale) **
(NYT's scale) ****

Best restaurants in St. Paul and Minneapolis for the Republican National Convention (RNC)

I was prompted to post this list having read the very inadequate overview of restaurants in the Twin Cities by Raymond Sokolov recently published in the Wall St. Journal. While the Twin Cities cannot be reasonably compared to New York, San Francisco, London or Paris, the general quality of restaurants at the higher end compares very favorably to most U.S. cities of similar size. I have listed the restaurants in order of merit for each city and also used a star rating system (Minnesota stars) loosely based on the Michelin ranking of New York City restaurants. To standardize my rating scale, I have used recent meals I eaten at Jean Georges (3 Michelin stars), Le Bernadin (3 stars) and Daniel (2 stars). In general, there is more breath and depth to the restaurants in Minneapolis than in St. Paul.

St. Paul

Heartland (*). Excellent regional cuisine featuring elk, bison and venison in addition to the usual suspects. The food is inventive and the wine list excellent. The only potential drawback is that it is located about 5 miles from downtown St. Paul.

Meritage (*). Comfortable bustling bistro located about 2 blocks from the convention center serving meticulously prepared bistro food. The predominantly French wine list is good and the food is reasonably priced. Downtown.

I Nonni. Located in Lillydale next to MSP airport so perhaps not a realistic option for most conventioneers. Serves good basic Italian food in an attractive. They have an excellent wine list almost exclusively Italian and a superb sommelier. 10 miles from Downtown.

St. Paul Grill. I think of this as a steak/chop house rather than a full service restaurant. It is a warm bustling downtown establishment with a very lively classic bar. Stick to the grilled meats. The hash browns are excellent. Wine list is good and predominantly American. Downtown.

Restaurante Luci. This is a small noisy but very enjoyable Italian trattoria located about 5 miles from downtown.

Other downtown restaurants worth a visit.
Sakura. Basic Japanese food in comfortable surroundings. Good sushi. Rudimentary wine and sake list. Pazzaluna. Attractive central location about 1 block from convention center. Pleasant place to eat though the food is neither inventive nor exciting. Kincaids. It is not clear whether the owners of this establishment want it to be a bar or a restaurant.

Minneapolis

La Belle Vie (**). Opulent setting, wonderful service and superb food. Both the menu and the wine list, which is excellent, have a distinctively southern French character. If you cannot get a reservation in the restaurant, the bar, in which you can sample the restaurant menu, a special tasting menu or the regular bar menu, is a great second choice. Close to Downtown.

D’Amico Cucina (**). This has been a Minneapolis culinary landmark for almost two decades. Inventive modern Italian food and excellent service. The wine list, which is almost exclusively Italian, is superb. The tasting menu is both a bargain and a real treat. Downtown

Vincent (*). Located opposite Orchestra Hall in Downtown. This French restaurant is actually owned and operated by a Frenchman. Excellent food served in a very convivial setting. The bar with its special menu is also well worth a visit. Downtown.

Fugaise (*). Imaginative food with a French influence served in a somewhat stark dining room. Both the food and the excellent wine list are competitively priced. Located about 1 mile from Downtown.

JP American Bistro (*). Very under-rated establishment. Interesting America take on bistro food. I have never had a bad meal here. Good reasonably priced wine list. Located 2-3 miles from Downtown.

Heidi’s. Reasonably priced neighborhood restaurant in south Minneapolis. Excellent imaginative menu and a good wine list. 12 miles from Downtown.

Restaurant Alma. Both the food and the wine list are good at this neighborhood restaurant near the University of Minnesota. 4 miles from Downtown.

Cue at the Guthrie. Although I would generally rather fast than risk a meal in a theater restaurant (DB Bistro Moderne expected), this restaurant is well worth a visit. The food is excellent and the expansive dining room of the Jean Neuvel designed Guthrie theatre is spectacular. About 1 mile from Downtown.

Saffron. If the though of Middle Eastern food makes your eyes glaze over you should try this restaurant. Very imaginative menu and a good wine list. Downtown.

Solera. Wonderful Spanish tapas served in a dining room at the back of a very lively bar. Excellent mostly Spanish wine list. Try som of the large selection of sherries. Downtown.

Cosmos. Modern restaurant and menu in a new downtown hotel. The vertical food is so close to the edge that it sometimes falls off. Interesting dining room and a very lively bar. Downtown.

Chambers. Good ‘international’ food served in the very noisy dining room of a newly opened and fashionable hotel. Downtown.

Murray's Steakhouse. Minneapolis culinary institution. Decor and service are both a little retro but good.

Manny's Steakhouse. Recently relocated to a new location. This is a steakhouse with attitude which is sometimes better than the food. Excellent wine list mostly U.S. Downtown.

Oceanaire. Original establishment in what has now become a seafood restaurant mini-chain. Fresh fish and excellent wet bar. Very large pours for wine by the glass. Good wine list. Downtown in the Hyatt hotel.

Dakota Jazz Club. Deceptively good food for a jazz club. Worth a visit. Downtown.

Lucias. Another very popular neighborhood restaurant. The food, which might be described as regional, is good and the wine list adequate. Located about 3 miles from Downtown.

112 Eatery. One of the most popular restaurants in Minneapolis. Though I do not share in the general enthusiasm for this restaurant the food is good, the prices very reasonable and the surroundings pleasant. Downtown.

Kitchen Knives and Other Weapons

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to work in the kitchen while handicapped by a set of bad knives. You may remember the last time you tried to cut and chop with the knives provided at a holiday rental property. Good knives are expensive but they are a joy to use and last for decades. Also, contrary to the impression given by many knife manufacturers, one does not need a large butcher's block filled with them. In fact, those of us not in the restaurant business rarely need more than five different kitchen knives: (i) chef, (ii) carving, (iii) boning, (iv) paring and (v) bread. One could even dispense with the boning knife and get a combined carving/bread knife which would reduce the number of essential knives to three.
(i) The chef's knife is the most important knife in the kitchen and usually has a blade between 8" and 10" in length. This knife is used for most general purpose chopping of vegetables and cutting of meat, fish and poultry. If you are going to spend money on any kitchen knife, this is the one. (ii) The functions of the carving knife are obvious. The carver is usually longer than a chef's knife. If you want a combined carver/bread knife you will need a knife with a serrated edge. However, in my experience, a serrated edge does not make for a good carving knife and I recommend buying a dedicated carving knife with a straight edge. (iii) The boning knife is relatively short and is used for meat and poultry; its edge is concave as opposed to the convex shape of most other knive blades. (iv) A paring knife is between 3-6" long and is useful for a variety of kitchen jobs. (v) The bread knife is long, serrated and sharp; it can also be used for cutting soft fruit and is ideal for tomatoes.

How to choose a knife. As with most kitchen equipment, you get more or less what you pay for and it is well worth making an investment in a tool that with proper care will last for decades. I suggest that you confine your choices to products made by reliable and high quality manufacturers of which there is no shortage. Until relatively recently, the majority of high quality kitchen knives sold in the U.S. were made in either Germany or France. With the increasing popularity and availability of Japanese knives, the first major decision one now needs to make is whether one wants a European or a Japanese knife. It is important to distinguish between the western-style Japanese knives discussed here, which are based on the familiar European model, and 'original' Japanese knives that are used in Japan and by sushi chefs around the world. European knives tend to be heavier, not as sharp, and less expensive than their Japanese counterparts but have the great advantage of being relatively easy to maintain. Japanese knives are usually light, delicate, esthetically pleasing, and with a very sharp blade which holds for a long time; however, these knives are expensive, need special care because of a tendency to chip, and are difficult to sharpen properly. Therefore, if one wants a good knife that requires minimal care and attention, I would recommend buying a European knife. The following manufacturers all make good quality knives: Wusthof, Henckels, Victorinox, Merrermeister, Sabatier, Viking, Chicago Cutlery, Culinary Instituate of America. My personal favorites are Wusthof, Henckels and Merrermeister. On the other hand, if one places a high value on esthetics, one is willing to expend the effort required for proper care and sharpening (ideally with whetstones), and comfortable with forsaking the dishwasher entirely, then the Japanese knife is the way to go. There is a bewildering number of manufacturers that produce Japanese knives including: Shun, MAC, Hiromoto, Masamoto, Global, Hattori, Misono, and Tojiro. For those new to Japanese knives, the MAC Professional, Shun Classic or any of the excellent value Tojiro knives would be a good place to begin. My favorites manufacturers are Hiromoto, Masamoto, and Misono. Additional information on Japanese knives can be found at www.japanesechefsknife.com or www.korin.com. Ultimately, one's choice of knife is on the basis of personal preference and there is no substitute for handling several different knives in a good kitchen shop before making a decision. One should take note of the weight and balance of the knife and whether the handle is comfortable; a knife that feels perfect to one may appear too heavy or awkward to another. I do not advocate testing knives in a kitchen shop and then making your purchase on the internet (as suggested the the host of a popular radio food show) though one may save a little money. If we were all to behave like this, kitchen shops would disappear and we would never have the opportunity to test the product before purchase. Good knives should not be put in the dishwasher though most European knives are forgiving if one forgets.

Cookware (Pots and Pans)

Unless one insists on cooking using a skewer over an open fire pit, it is impossible to avoid the necessity of cookware. We all need pots and pans of various types. These vessels hold food as it is boiled, sauteed, fried, roasted or steamed. Proper cookware should have the following characteristics: excellent heat transfer, easy to clean, relatively light, pleasing to the eye, and not outrageously expensive. This usually translates into a pot with aluminum and copper in the base, and an otherwise stainless steel construction. Steel is relatively easy to clean and copper has one of the highest heat transfers of any metal. Of course, one can get pans made completely of copper with a stainless steel interior, which in many ways represent the zenith of cookware, however, the outside is difficult to keep clean, the larger pieces are quite heavy, and they are very expensive. If you happen to employ a strong-armed cook, and have both a diligent housekeeper, and a significant income then I would recommend nothing other than copper cookware in the kitchen. For most mortals, however, a few copper pieces, a casserole perhaps and one for delicate sauces, are more than adequate.
The most common quality pot in the US market has an aluminum core in both the base on the sides, and is lined with stainless steel but has no copper. Among the best manufacturers are All-Clad, Viking, Kitchen Aid; Calphalon is a little less expensive (though they do a cheaper line for some discount stores), however, many of their products do not have stainless steel lining and in my experience are difficult to clean. Most of these manufacturers also do a pot with a copper base but these tend to be quite expensive. A personal favorite of mine for both price and quality, which does have a copper base, is the Sitram “Catering” product line, which is available in some specialty stores and on the internet. Cookware made from cast iron is also excellent for heat retention and slow cooking. Cast iron frying pans can be bought quite inexpensively but they need to be “seasoned” with oil and frequent use before they acquire a patina that will reduce sticking; otherwise they will be the bane of your life. Le Creuset is a high-end manufacturer of cast iron cookware products that are lined with enamel and are relatively low-stick. These pans are quite expensive and heavy but work wonderfully well as casseroles or stewpots.
You may wonder why anyone in the 21st century would cook with anything other than a non-stick pan. These pans are not durable, generally have poor heat transfer and recently there has been some question about the health safety of the non-stick surface. Although every kitchen should have one non stick pan for cooking eggs, or frying fish and potatoes, for most other uses a stainless steel lining, which is generally low-stick, is far preferable. In fact, when frying meat or poultry you often want some sticking as this will form the basis of any sauce that you will subsequently make. It is incredible to me that approximately 85% of frying pans sold in the US are non stick; it makes no little sense for anyone who is even moderately interested in cooking.
Now that we have discussed the best type of pots and pans, how many of them do you need? Obviously, this depends to some extent on cooking preferences, and the size of the family. For the average household in which cooking is an important part of family life, one will need two regular frying pans of different sizes, one non-stick frying pan, one or two saute pans, three or four saucepans of varying sizes (consider 1 quart, 3 quart and two 5-6 quart), and one large casserole. A roasting pan is also essential in every kitchen. Most manufacturers and specialty cookware stores offer sets of cookware of a particular type at a reduced price; this many be a good way to start if you are beginning to outfit a kitchen or replace what you already have. A good set of cookware will be a significant investment but one that you can use for several decades.

The Baked Potato

A complete meal in one. Crispy on the outside, warm soft and floury on the inside. It is cheap, nutritious, and is suitable for any variety of toppings such as chili, cheese, and meat or vegetable stews. It goes particularly well as a starch with roast beef or steak as well as hamburgers. If one wants to keep it simple, it is delicious just with butter.

Given the advantages of taste, nutrition, versatility and economy why is this food item so poorly prepared, particularly in restaurants but also in many households? This humble tuber often sweats to death surrounded by tin foil in the oven and arrives at the table limp, wet, and smelly.

The following is guaranteed to produce the perfect baked potato. Set the oven to 400 F. Pierce the skin of a washed potato once or twice with the tines of a fork. The potatoes should be done in about hour but you can check for doneness using a fork or skewer after 50 minutes. Do not leave the potato in the oven too long as it begins to collapse, looses its crispness and becomes wet. Do not coat the potato with oil before cooking as this leads to a rancid, unpleasant taste from the skin. Ideally, baked potatoes should be served when they are just cooked; if they are left sitting around they become soggy and wrinkled.

Tips. Any type of potato can be used though Russets or other large oval potatoes tend to work best. I also like Yukon Gold potatoes which have a very different texture from the usual baked potato. Chose potatoes of a uniform size, otherwise, the cooking times may vary quite a lot. Make sure that you buy firm potatoes without sprouts and store in a cool place (45-55 F). Unfortunately, the refrigerator is not an ideal place for long term storage as the temperature is too low though for most households the alternative, which is to store at room temperature, may be more injurious.