Chef Daniel Angerer's Blog

Tagging your food - demystifying food labeling! - the blog

Tagging your food – demystifying food labeling 
You’ve probably noticed that the labels “natural” and  “organic” on food has become a huge trend pointing towards a more conscious and balanced diet.

You might have noticed this in your local supermarket and even my local bodeg carries organic snacks! Many healthy looking snacks seem to be good for you next to our beloved junk food e.g. M&M’s, Snicker’s, potato chips etc. at least that’s what is advertised on their packages. So if you’re into healthy snacking the following will help shed some light on food labeling, hopefully.

(for the record organically grown does not mean it's certified organic))

(see the USDA ORGANIC symbol - this is the real stuff - not bad chemicals)) 

Let’s see how a food label can help you to buy good-for-you-food
It has been a mild winter and farmers are getting ready to put the first seeds into the soil, some of them have already started in their greenhouses. If the warm weather continues like it has been we’ll have a heck of a spring. I can’t wait to embrace pea shoots, baby lettuce, radishes and so forth.

On the other hand many farmers are not that excited about these mild temperatures since many bugs have a party too. Apparently harmful bacteria and organisms are very present on vegetable fields this season which will require serious pest management. Many farmers have an IPM, which stands for integrated Pest Management. It includes spraying their fields to fight the bad organisms. This is my  first question before I buy in commercial quantities - what kind of IPM do you practice? If you’d like to find out more about it click on the following link www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/ipm.htm#what. By the way raw fruit and vegetables are excluded from the requirement to be labeled by the government – it’s voluntary.

(no we're talking - this is the real deal the truth is it took me some
time to figure all this labels out, researching it on the internet) 

I prefer a non-synthetic, biological IPM since many sicknesses such as cancer and who knows what are linked to what we consume on a daily basis. I must state that this is my opinion and there is no quantitative research or proof yet connecting the effects of pesticides to illnesses but I do believe there is a serious correlation.  

Big brother is watching!
Thanks to the FDA we have some help in making purchasing decisions with product labeling.  Usually ingredient lists are right in front or at eyesight on the packaging. There are respectable Government programs identifying what what it means to be “organic” or “non-GMO” (genetically modified organism). There are non-governmental programs such as CNG which stands for certified natural grown. Big companies such as Whole Foods have developed their own standards and do their own inspections with their suppliers.  All these standards are super helpful to stuff your food shopping bag or in other words will give us at least somewhat of an assurance that that particular food is controlled grown and without synthetic pesticides.  

Package labeling
The front side labeling of a package is voluntary, but when it comes to the back side the FDA constructs requirements for mos prepared food such as breads, cereals, canned and frozen foods, desserts, drinks etc.

(this package of pasta caught my attention since so much 
seemed to be good with it, the organic symbol actually made me buy it)  

Get the facts straight
Most ingredients on the label are measured in grams (g) or milligrams (mg), which is the 1000^th part of 1 gram (tiny, tiny amounts). Additional info is given as percentages, which is based on the national, average 2000 calorie adult diet.

By researching the web for the label subject I came across some mind blowing data. It looks like not do many people read the nutrient label right if it should prevent us from getting to a point of obesity. All that average adult diet won’t help you much if you’re not average e.g. under weight, overweight or obese - and who likes to be average anyway. A recent study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) shows that 1/3 of adults in the US are obese and then add 17% of children (2 - 19 years old).Obesity is defined by the US average height of 5’9”:

Weight Range
124 lbs or less = Underweight
125 lbs to 168 lbs = Healthy Weight
169 lbs to 202 lbs = Overweight
203 lbs or more = Obese

So if you really need to know what is the right food in terms of the nutritional value you need to hit the computer keyboard and work with a system which spits out how much of fat, sodium, carbs, protein, vitamins, minerals you should consume on a daily basis. Finding someones exact amount nutrient value on packaged food seems to me more or less impossible. It looks like the goverment has much updating to do!

 

 

SHOW WINDOW-SHOPPING - the blog

One pleasure living in a large city such as New York is the great variety of stores catering to fancy needs. But in truth we certainly don’t need much to get by and that's where window-shopping comes in.

Harps and other chef’s tools
As a chef I feel like a child must in a Toys R Us store when I’m in a Williams Sonoma or Sur la Table type of store. These beautiful stores cater to most of the needs a serious home cook may have. Sous vide supreme (a newish slow cooking device) blenders and mixers of different sizes and brands nicely showcased on handsome looking butcher-block tables. Fancy knives, shiny polished stainless steel and copper pots, utensils such as well-crafted measuring spoons, ladles, electronic kitchen equipment such as well-designed scales, too good-looking to be used thermometer, the newest line of recommended skillets for the perfect steak and on and on. Many professional cooks dream of tools like this actually. Beautiful and decorative china in all sizes and shapes – want an elongated dish to line up olives like soldiers, need a bee house look-alike honey jar, dreamed of that pretty looking butter dish from breakfast at Tiffany’s, no problem you can get it all right here. Strolling in-between all this fanciness I came across a traditional egg slicer, which is a bit of an anachronistic gadget. One of those harp look-alike tools, which cut an egg in perfectly thin slices, sparked my interest in egg salad…again.



(colorful egg salad) 

Old-fashioned egg salad
Many people have mastered egg salad simply because of its recipe. In its sparest form it’s simply some boiled eggs sliced (with that egg slicer) in two ways making a perfect small cube shape and a dollop of store bought mayo and off you go – it’s a dish. Most likely the mayo comes out of a store bought jar not realizing what the ingredients are since it has been having a place in the average household refrigerator next to the ketchup for so long. Think about it - when is the last time you made mayo? In fact it’s not that easy to make your own mayo at home without the additives that you’ll find in the store bought version. Some of you might actually have learned to make mayonnaise in a cooking class or some online tutorial.  If not you may not know how to emulsify the ingredients since correct temperature and acidy level is required to whisk up a homogenous creamy mayonnaise. Don’t feel bad though since a good amount of cooks I have hired throughout my career have been failing on the house-made mayo task.

All that motivated me to make a version of egg salad without mayonnaise with all ingredients freshly cooked.

Egg Salad – hold the mayo!
(recipe yields four servings)

 8 hard-boiled eggs
1 avocado
1/2 cup nuts such as pecans or walnuts
1 apple such as Granny Smith
½ teaspoon salt
10 black pepper grindings from a mill

1. Peel eggs and separate yolks from egg white. Chop egg whites with a knife. 
2. Cut avocado in half remove seed. With a tablespoon remove avocado out of skin.
3. Put avocado and cooked egg yolks in a bowl strainer. Press mixture with a rubber spatula through the strainer collecting the puree in a bow.
    
   Put nuts into a paper towel and crush with a heavy object such as a small pot or thick bottomed glass. In a skillet toast crushed nuts on medium heat setting until browned.
4. Cut apple off its core. Cut apple pieces into 1/8-inch cubes.
5. In a bowl combine chopped egg white, pureed avocado/cooked yolk mixture, toasted nuts, cubed apple salt and fresh pepper.
    
   Chef’s Tip: Serve the egg salad with toasted sprouted whole grain bread.

 

 

WHAT TO COOK FOR YOUR VALENTINE - the blog

Sure you can make the infamous chocolate covered strawberries or if you go the risky route you can do a chocolate soufflé or any other aphrodisiac such as truffles with their mesmerizing scent of spices like vanilla and cardamom.  Or try something lusciously rich such as pork belly or butter poached lobster or you can default to anything similar looking to a sexual organ like oysters or bananas – all right let’s stay focused here. Generally many of the fancy items are pretty much out of reach for the home cook unless you pull them together by mail order from different places. Put let’s face it takes a good amount of time and coordination besides a good amount of bucks to get your New England lobster, truffles from Oregon and some caviar possibly from a West coast supplier. For sure we are put under pressure and get reminded constantly by the daily advertisements and commercials to get that special something for the love of our lives starting several weeks before Valentine’s Day. The anticipation is build up more than a national holiday.

(a little red love in the arugula salad) 

Cooking?!
So you're one of those who doesn’t want to bother cooking at home. You certainly have the option to eat out in a restaurant as long as you were clever enough to book the table well in advance in a fancy restaurant.  Yes Valentine’s Day is a rather busy day in a restaurant unless you choose a fast food joint. In a sit-down establishment you’ll likely encounter some sort of a chef’s menu.  I admit I enjoyed cooking on Valentine’s Day.  From a business perspective it’s pretty much a home run you’ll hear the cash register cha-ching-cha ching. Couples or two tops, this is what we call them in the restaurant - have their plus or minus 1h45 minute time slot to eat before the next couple gets the table and this happens ideally up to 4 times between the hours of 4 pm – midnight - definitely worthwhile from a business perspective.

(simple but delicious - Greek yogurt sauce)
More importantly, the exciting fact is that the kitchen crew gets to cook an interesting menu. I remember some past years’ menus designed around different themes such as flowers where paper thin fish strips were folded into a tulip shape, or flower essences such as rose petal water was used in a dressing and a salad was sprinkled with violets and a silky orange blossom cream for dessert made you close your eyes and dream and was a sure star of the evening. Another year the theme was togetherness, obviously.  Small seductive lobster rolls were served as a duet for a palate teaser or a salsa dish (meaning dancing together) was served in a sweet and sour flavor balance and a crispy and soft textured composition made your tongue tingle. At dessert time a chocolate variation for two sure made plenty of fans and set the mood for more.

Hold the schmalz
This all sounds romantic which it should be but if you find yourself in a bind and didn’t get around to plan this whole Valentine’s thing and you can’t get a reservation in that special restaurant or a part of your new year’s resolution was to finally pay down that credit card debt. … then why not take charge of the evening!  Set the table, light a candle and let I-tunes hit a soft note and get behind the stove.

Here are my menu suggestions, which include many common household items so your grocery list should be relatively short and not bank-breaking.

Valentine’s Day Menu

Baby Arugula & Strawberry Salad

xo

Tea brined Chicken Tenders on a bed of Wilted Spinach with Creamy Yogurt Sauce

xo

Cheese & Crackers with Honey

(cheese with a drizzle of honey) 
 

Grocery List (for the two of you)
Baby Arugula                                 one clamshell/5oz
Strawberries                                  ¼ lb
Extra virgin olive oil                       2 tablespoons
Balsamic vinegar                            1 tablespoon
Plain yogurt                                   3 tablespoons
Salt such as sea salt                       to taste 
Pepper grindings                            to taste
Your favorite tea                            2 tea bags
Chicken tenders                            12 ounces
Baby Spinach                                 one clamshell
Roquefort or Brie cheese                6 ounces
Toast                                            3 slices 

Chef’s Tip: Consider trying a few half bottles of wine instead of a full bottle.

Salad
Rinse and dry salad and toss with quartered strawberries drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar/fresh lemon juice.  Season the salad with a sprinkle of salt and grindings of fresh pepper. Serve salad in large pasta bowls.

Bonus add-ins: toasted nuts such as walnuts, almonds, and cashews 

Entrée - Chicken
1. Brew tea: choose your favorite tea such as black, green, herbal and brew 5 cups of water then steep 2 tea bags in it for 5 minutes. Throw out tea bags and put the liquid into the freezer to cool. Measure 2 cups of cold tea and mix with 1 teaspoon of sea salt then stir to dissolve.
2. Marinate chicken for 30 minutes in the brine – this is called brining. Throw brine out.
3. In a pot (2-quart sized) heat 2 cups of tea and cook marinated chicken for ten minutes on low flame setting

Chef’s Note: substitute ½-thick sliced beef filet or skinless, deboned fish fillet for chicken tenders

Yogurt Sauce: In a coffee cup combine 3 tablespoons plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon olive oil with 2 pinches of salt and fresh pepper and mix with a coffee spoon.

Bed of Spinach: Put 4 cups of baby spinach into a large ceramic bowl and cover with a plate. Microwave the spinach for one minute.

Cheese
1. Place 6 ounces of room temperature soft cheese such as Roquefort or brie on a plate then drizzle with 1 teaspoon honey.
2.Toast 3 slices of bread and cut into wedges

(ok - this can be a suprise - no need to make just pick up at the store) 

 

 

 

TRUE GRITS

We all know grits are that corn-like version of oatmeal associated with the South but how far have you explored them?  And what are they?  Yellow grits come from hominy, which is the large white corn kernel treated with lye solution removing the hull and germ.  Polenta on the other hand is not treated with lye and its hull and germ are intact.  This is a common question since they are all versions of corn usually served as a porridge, meal or cake.

(grits close-up)

Grits have their origin in American Indian corn preparation. Yep, my Italian friends the Indians gave you polenta. Back in the day corn for grits was ground by stone mills similar to oats. The next step was sifting the ground corn, which separates coarse grits from the fine corn and polenta was born in this process.
Texans and folks from Virginia and Georgia love their grits and the area is even called the grits belt. The way pasta is part of Italian culture is like grits in the South.
Grits and its siblings are certainly ubiquitous as breakfast food but not too uncommon served as a side dish next to meat and fish. It stands up to rice, potato or pasta. Grits are usually boiled with water and/or milk, which make a smoother consistency. There are quick cooking grits available on the store shelves which are pre-steamed making them a quick-cook option but many people swear on the long cooked, old-fashioned stone-ground kind.

A gritty preparation
I cooked a Neapolitan soup in an Italian restaurant, which was called “aqua pazza” which means “crazy water. “  One part of the dish is small grit cakes. These cakes soak up the juice wonderfully and have a welcome gritty texture. It was cool how they held up their shape and identity in the tasty herb/tomato broth without getting soggy.  A safe bet is to serve grits with some sort of gravy or a dominant flavor such as sausage.

My mother was on a budget feeding our family of four, so grits were regularly on hermenu. I know you don’t readily associate Austria with grits but in Tirol in our house they were popular.  Here is savory and sweet recipe that you can cook two ways – how about a smart recipe!

(grits cooking needs stirring)

Grit Cake Basic Recipe
(recipe makes 4 portions)
6 cups water
1 cup milk
2 ½ cups stone ground grits
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
2 eggs
2 cups bread crumbs, ground finely with kitchen processor
2 cups canola oil1 tablespoon butter

1.     In a pot (2-quart sized) combine water, milk, and salt then bring to boil. On medium heat setting cook mixture for 30 – 40 minutes or until grits are soft. Stir grits every five minutes to prevent scorching.
2.     Dip a kitchen paper towel into the vegetable oil then grease a loaf pan (8”x4”x3”deep).
3.     Pour the cooked grits mixture into the mold and cool on the kitchen counter for 20 minutes. Cool the grits in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.
4.     Prepare three shallow soup bowls first filled with flour, second mixed eggs and third with breadcrumbs.
5.     Invert the chilled grit loaf onto a cutting board and cut 1/2-inch thick slices.
6.     Dip grit slices first into the flour, second into the mixed eggs and third into the breadcrumbs – shake off excess coating in between the coating process.
7.     In a skillet heat the vegetable oil to 325 degrees Fahrenheit then cook coated grit slices for 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Add butter the last minute of the cooking process for flavor. Transfer cooked grit slices on to a kitchen paper lined plate to absorb excess oil.
8.     Serve immediately in the savory or sweet version below – it’s up to you.

(cooked grits in a small cake loaf pan)

Sweet or Savory Grits Variations
Savory:
2 cups heated tomato sauce
3 tablespoon cheese such as freshly ground Parmesan sprinkled over the top of the cooked grits slices.

Sweet:
3 tablespoons agave nectar
2 cups mixed fruits such as sliced bananas, strawberries, blueberries sprinkled over the cooked grits slices

Chef Note: Don’t crowd the skillet when cooking grit slices - work in batches.

(slicing the cakes before they're cooked in a skillet) 

Are Grits good for you?
As long you don’t pull a Paula Deen and enrich your grits with too much butter and a significant amount of salt you’ll be “aw’right”.  Grits have a good carbohydrates value but not significant protein. They’re also high in iron content and are low in fat but let’s be realistic grits must be enriched in order to be tasty.  Keep it simple, add a bit of grated  cheese and a teaspoon of butter per person as a rule of thumb. 

 

SUPER BOWL

The Super Bowl seems like a lot of fun. Yes I have to admit I’m a late starter noticing it but it might have to do with being surrounded by an all American team of colleagues. In the past I was around various other ethnicities in the kitchen since I worked in Italian, French, or Austrian restaurants.  Frankly football was never on my radar – pretty ignorant many will say but since New York is this extreme melting pot of cultures I had a good excuse – but no longer.  Now you wonder what does that have to do with food. Well for me it’s not that simple see every thing has to be connected to food.

(like these oat bran pretzels for a snack) 

Am I a Jets fan or a NY Giant fan or do I favor the New England Patriots since I love lobster rolls, or does a Jambalaya type of dish steer me to the New Orleans Saints. I love myself a hunk of steak so are the Texas Cowboys my favorite or do I lean towards the Pittsburgh Steelers - gimme my Philly steak, the list goes on and indeed I have my pick of 32 teams spread across the US and 32 regional football foods to accompany. The seventeen-week schedule during which each team plays sixteen games gives enough opportunities to snack while watching.

NFL
The Super Bowl is the most highly attended domestic event with approximately 67,000 screaming fans and it’s the most watched annual sporting event in the US. Worldwide it comes in second behind the UEFA Champions League (European Champion Clubs’ Cup - soccer).

So naturally I wonder what do those hundreds of thousands of football fans eat while they watch? I don’t know but I have my suspicions. Wings, chips, pop corn, dips, nachos and of course pizza and the usual Bud (to wash it down (Budweiser has been the exclusive sponsor for over a decade). In fact it’s estimated that only three out of five people who watch the Super Bowl are actual football fans. That means the other two are there for the food and the party – I believe it.  This means it’s the second largest day of food consumption behind Thanksgiving!  So let’s make something and I promise you  I’m not going to give you another recipe for guacamole.

 

Can you say Tzatziki, and crunch your teeth
(4 cups yogurt spread)

1 cucumber
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves
3 cups Greek yoghurt
¼ teaspoon sea salt
10 grindings black pepper
1 lemon, juiced

1.     Peel cucumber then cut in half and scrape seeds out of the middle with a teaspoon.
2.     Chop cilantro leaves finely.

3.     In a bowl combine yoghurt, salt, pepper and lemon juice with a wire whisk. Add chopped cucumber, cilantro and stir with the whisk.

Spicyyy Pizza Pop Corn
(snack for 4 people)

1 pack microwavable popcorn
4 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
10 large leaves basil
2 tablespoons chopped sundried tomatoes½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped mozzarella  

1.     Combine oil and chili flakes in a small saucepot and heat on medium heat setting for five minutes.
2.     Combine basil leaves and sundried tomatoes with hot oil and steep mixture on the side of the stove for 5 minutes.
3.     Cook popcorn in the microwave.
4.     In a bowl combine hot popcorn with oil/chili mixture and add salt and mozzarella. Toss mixture with a kitchen spoon. Serve immediately.

It’s crispy bacon
(snacks for 4 people) 

12 slices of cured, smoked bacon, organic if you can get it
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Canola oil for wetting a kitchen paper towel

1.     Cover a cookie sheet pan with parchment paper and spread bacon slices next to each other over it.

2.     Sprinkle sugar over the bacon strips.

3.     Cook bacon strips in a 350 degree Fahrenheit hot oven for 25 minutes.

4.     Wet a kitchen paper towel with oil and wipe onto a plate.

5.     With a rubber spatula transfer the bacon strips onto the greased plate and leave on kitchen counter to cool.
6.     Cut bacon strips into 3-inch long pieces.

Chef’s Tip: Cut whole-wheat tortilla wrappers similar to a pizza into wedges and bake them in the 300 degrees hot oven for 15 minutes or until crispy. 

(cheddar rice crispy - I love'em) 

Enjoy the commercials – and of course the game too.