Out with the old and in with the new

Jen finally took down her Raspberry Poppyseed Cake with Lemon-Mint Granita last Friday as it was time for a refresh. It was also one of those rare, fortunate days, Jen brought home the rejects for me to taste. It didn't have the full plate up and was missing the granita entirely, but man, the cake as Mmm...mmm...good and so moist and flavorful. I am not a cake person, either, but balance of sweetness and tartness and the depth of the flavors was very enjoyable to me. Jen did have a friend complain that the cake was too dry, but I think he was off his rocker that day. However, that dessert is no more, and for those who missed it, you better get into Salt House before you miss Jen's other creations.

To replace the poppyseed cake will be a Basque Cake with Honey Plum Sauce served with Earl Gray Ice Cream. For the uninitiated, the cake is named after the Basque region of France where it is a specialty that has pastry cream encased in a light shortdough pastry. The Earl Gray ice cream should be a nice contrast to the sweetness of the honey plum sauce as well serve to highlight one of Jen's favorite drinks in the world, Earl Gray tea.

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Culinary Word of the Day: Basque Cake
A.K.A. Gâteau Basque. An invention of the French Basques from the town of Cambo-les-Bains, but with the Basque passion for pastry-cream filled confections, it reflects tastes on both sides of the border, France & Spain. While always distinguished by the presence of a filling, a Gâteau Basque can have a spongy cake or a crisp pastry exterior, and the filling can consist of pastry cream (plain or almond-flavored), fruit preserves (cherry is common, but other fruits can be used), or ... both. Source: The Traveler's Lunchbox

Wake Me Up When September Ends

What's going with the world? Most mornings I peruse the net for headlines and news from around the world, and a few days ago, I was just hit with a string of articles that made me just ask, "what the hell is going on here?" I mean fine it's normal to see this stuff in the paper every once in a while... all in the same day.

It began with a story of two girls in Arizona who were duped with counterfeit bills at the lemonade stand. I bet they didn't think of that as an option in Lemonade Tycoon. Seriously, though, it's hard enough to be a kid these days with a war going on, threats of terrorists everywhere, kidnappers, rapers, and now you'll even be targeted by scammers at your lemonade stand.

And talking about war... In Tampa, Fl, junk yard workers found a discarded surface-to-air missile, a.k.a. SAM, lying about.

Experts were drafted in from the nearby MacDill Air Force Base, who quickly identified the object as a Patriot. They said that it was harmless, as it was missing its warhead. MacDill spokesman Lt. Omar Villarreal confirmed that the missile did not contain, in his words, 'the part on top that goes boom.'

Gee... that makes it all better except that the article went on to say that "the missile still had its rocket motor and guidance system." Don't these things cost millions of our tax dollars? And aren't countries like North Korea and the "bad guys" trying to amass this technology? God help us while we simply dump our missiles in an unprotected junk yard and not tell the workers.

Something a little more upsetting was a report out of Jersey City, NJ where a woman found a little something on her lawn one day. What she found was a "AT-4 missile launcher that is used to fire against tanks and buildings. The device was first approved by the U.S. Army in 1985 and its very powerful warheads can penetrate through more than a foot of armor." Officials trying to calm the situation responded with a statement saying the rocket launcher, which is good for one use only, had already been fired. Uhmmm... ok... so this rocket launcher we used and simply discarded on this woman's lawn who also just happens to live in the flight path of a near by airport. WTF!?!

In other news, it is now illegal to take winnings from a defective slot machine. In Elizabeth, IN, prosecutors are considering charges against individuals who collected winnings from a faulty slot machine at Caesars Indiana. The slot machine was handing out $10 for every $1 put in it because of a software defect. There were a number of people who collected from the faulty machine until one of them reported the error.

Kathryn Ford of Louisville, Ky., the gambler who alerted the casino, said going after the other patrons was unfair.

When a slot machine jams and gamblers lose money, they don't get it back, she said.

"It doesn't work in the reverse," Ford said. "They need to forget it and move on."

At least one person has her head on straight, even if the prosecutors and the casino don't seem to have their head on right.

If all else is going to hell, why not just murder and steal. Well, at least the latter is what one bird in the UK has begun to do.

Shop assistant Sriaram Nagarajan said: "He's got it down to a fine art. He waits until there are no customers around and I'm standing behind the till, then he raids the place.

The bird is even picky as he only takes one particular kind. He has become quite a celebrity with the locals too. They have named him Sam and even pay for the bird's chips. I'm lost for words when even the wildlife get into it. Thanx Susan for this one.

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Culinary Word of the Day: Honeywater
Yesterday's, July 25, post listed honeywater as an ingredient in the Candy Cap Mushroom Martini. I tried finding information about honeywater and found very little about it. I did end up with what looks like a Swiss recipe from Astray.com. Honeywater is a strengthening drink - for a cold, or before going swimming in Lake Lugano. I'm not certain if this is in fact the same honeywater that was in Jen's drink, but if anyone knows more about honeywater, please do leave a comment.

Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city...

Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose? The lights are much brighter there...
You can forget all your troubles; forget all your cares, and go
Downtown -- things will be great when you're
Downtown -- you'll find a place for sure
Downtown -- everything's waiting for you
-From Petula Clark's Downtown

Few of you may know that Jen used to volunteer at St. Anthony's Soup Kitchen in San Francisco for years. Along the way Jen made many friends, but one in particular remains close to Jen's heart. She's a mature, retired lady named Pat. I've met her only a handful of times but what a lovely, kind person she is, so generous and joyous. Last week, the three of us met up for our semi-monthly get together at Downtown Restaurant in Berkeley, CA.

Downtown is a restaurant and bar that caters toward yuppies to established professionals and the occasional neighborhood regular with a big emphasis on the arts. Large, modern canvas works are hung throughout the large, honey-oak accented dining room. They also have a stage against the far wall for their Jazz concerts occasionally held there. Their food unfortunately does not live up to the expressiveness of the art that is displayed. Their menu was a bit confusing as they wanted to mix the different dining styles of tapas with normal entrée plates. Thus, entrée prices ranged from $12.50 for the Spring Risotto to $26.00 for Grilled New York Steak without indicating how much food you really are getting for that price. Is it a small, expensive tapa or fair-priced, full and rich dinner plate? Well the three of us ended up ordering the salmon, sole, and pork shoulder plates, that ultimately were good but forgettable, with a bottle of equally forgettable wine. The sole was well prepared but the dish as whole lacked pizazz. The salmon and pork dishes were essentially the same dish: only so-so cooked protein over risotto & cherry tomatoes. Their desserts had a little more flair as they tried things like a corn crème brûlée (for those who remember Jen had a corn custard tart on her menu at the same). The corn crème brûlée was the best of the three desserts we had but lacked the some corn flavor that Jen's custard had. In contrast to their food menu, the drink menu was very interesting with peach-passion fruit soda and a variety of cocktails made with St. George Spirits famous for their Hanger One vodka distilled right here in the bay area on the old base in Alameda. The weirdest listing we found was an Aqua Perfecta Candy Cap Mushroom Vodka. Upon ordering it, our waiter did a double-take and asked if we were sure that's what we wanted. Thinking it would be just straight over ice, it was a surprise to see it come in a martini glass. It turns out even the bartender thought it wouldn't be good, so he doctored it with Madeira, honeywater, lemon juice, and a lemon twist. It was it definitely tasted like a plain English button mushroom but worked surprisingly well. It worked much like how olives or onions do in a martini. The Candy Cap was certainly the most expressive part of the meal aside from the company, of course. In conclusion, we'd rate Downtown as a good experience, but there are many other impressive restaurants we'd rather eat in downtown Berkeley. Maybe we'd come back for a jazz concert...maybe...

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Culinary Word of the Day: Madeira
Named after the Portuguese-owned island where it's made, Madeira is a distinctive fortified wine that's subjected to a lengthy heating process during maturation. It can range in color from pale blond to deep tawny and runs the gamut from quite dry to very sweet. The pale golden Sercial is the lightest, driest Madeira, while the rich, dark Malmsey is the sweetest. Bual and Verdelho are both medium-sweet wines. The flavor of American-made Madeiras cannot compare with that of the Portuguese originals, but then they're a fraction of the price. The lighter Madeiras are often served as apéritifs, while the richer, darker Malmsey is perfect for after-dinner sipping. Madeira is also an excellent cooking wine and can be used in both sweet and savory preparations. Source: Food Lover's Companion

I ♥ iPhone

Oh my iPhone...

Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone, besmear'd with sluttish time.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
'Gainst death and all oblivious enmity
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room,
Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom.
So, till the judgment that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.
-William Shakespeare, Sonnet 55

Oh how I do love thee, my future iPhone. But how does one justify 6+ crisp Franklins to hold your slick frame in one's hand, to "oh and ah" at your touchscreen interface, and to dance about with your iPod features while flipping through web pages with your amazing browser capabilities.

I could go on and on about the wonders that Steve Jobs imbued upon this device, but in the end, I do not have one in my hand. While the geeky side of me craves the new toy, the practical side cannot part with that much money for phone. I've devised a compromise to satisfy Id and Ego. Sometime before the iPhone was released I purchased a bunch of Apple Stock (aapl). What I'm banking on is to make money on the iPhone craze, and with those gains, purchase the phone. Essentially, this allows the hype to pay for my craving. Now, it being about 3 weeks since its release, I've already made an unrealized profit of almost one and a quarter iPhones. I'm at the point where I should just sell and start enjoying my iPhone. But that pesky sense of common keeps telling me that I should wait for the v2.0 or at least until my current phone is dead. Needless to say, my Id is unamused and has had to suffice by listening to my Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollow audiobook while enjoying the blackberry pie Jen made me over the weekend. ;)



Fun math:
The second Pizza Theorem
What is the volume of a pizza with thickness a and radius z?

pi z z a

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Culinary Word of the Day: Chenna
A fresh, unripened cheese used throughout India, although it's most popular in the eastern part of the country. It is made from cow's or buffalo's milk and resembles a cottage cheese that's been kneaded until it's closer to the consistency of a light cream cheese. Chenna, which is available in Indian markets, is used primarily in a variety of Bengali desserts. Source: Food Lover's Companion

Italian Sparkling Wines

In honor of the Wine Club meeting tonight, I'm going to give my nod to Italian Sparkling Wines.

Every couple months or so, Jen and our good friend call together a meeting of the Wine Club which they both founded. The format is for each person to buy a bottle between $8-20, Jen would research the wines, and then she would report her findings while members do tastings over dinner. It's a great social affair as well as a fun way to learn about wine. I am not a member because, well, I don't really drink wine among other factors, but I do learn a lot from the Jen's research on wine.

For the Wine Club meeting tonight, our esteemed friend, Amit Shah, choose an Italian Red Sparkling Wine. What makes his wine interesting is that most people in America are used to French-style sparkling wines, and also, among the less common Italian sparkling wines, a red sparkling is even more rare. Furthermore, the red sparkling wine was a style highly regarded by European royality and that was one of the inspirations for why the winery choose to make this wine. What makes Italian sparkling different than the French variety is the Italian use of carbonation to make the bubbly part as opposed to French-style of bottle fermentation. They do not pump gas into the wine like carbonated soda but trap it by what is called the charmat method. The Italian also have grades of their bubbles, spumante and frizzante, meaning full sparkling and slightly sparkling, respectively. These grades are more easily created using the charmat method.

One of my all-time favorite wines to drink is Moscato d'Asti. It's a sweet semi-sparkling from Italy's Piedmont region. I would liken it to grape version of Orangina but with higher quality bubbles. Epicurious says of it to have "a mild level of sweetness balanced by vibrant acidity." We got a few bottles from our friend Rachel and her husband David a little while back. Whenever a bottle was opened and despite my lack of interest in wines, I'd drink the Moscato like it was water on a hot day without even knowing it.

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Culinary Word of the Day: Charmat Method
A bulk method for making SPARKLING WINES developed around 1910 by Frenchman Eugène Charmat. The Charmat process involves faster and less expensive production techniques using large pressurized tanks throughout production. These interconnecting tanks retain the pressure (created by the production of CARBON DIOXIDE during FERMENTATION) throughout the entire process. For many winemakers, the Charmat process replaces the expensive MÉTHODE CHAMPENOISE technique of secondary fermentation in bottles, thereby enabling them to produce inexpensive sparkling wines. Charmat wines can be good (although, once poured, they often lose their bubbles quickly) but are usually not as esteemed as méthode champenoise sparkling wines. The Charmat process is superior, however, to the technique used by some producers of simply pumping carbon dioxide gas into STILL WINE (like carbonated soft drinks are made). The Charmat process is also called bulk process and in the United States, wines may be labeled "Bulk Process" or "Charmat Process" (the latter being preferred). In France this process is also called cuve close; in Italy it's known as metodo charmat or sometimes autoclave (the Italian name for the sealed tanks). In Spain it's called granvas, and in Portugal, método continuo. Source: Epicurious

Home View of the Corn Custard Tart

IMG_2426,
originally uploaded by InnerSpirit.

Here's a view of the old Corn Custard Tart with Blackberries without the Apricot Soda. (Yes, it is as good as it looks!) Too bad it's off the menu now. Please send in your pictures or links of Jen's Desserts if you'd like them to be posted on Man Behind the Chef. I know you wanna see more of this yummy goodness.

New dessert... and a new assistant

Jen took off her Corn Custard Tart with Blackberries and Apricot Soda yesterday. She took a couple of the remaining tarts home and, god, were they good! Corn custard was apparently too savory for one of the owner's tastes. Such a shame...sometimes I wonder if the restaurant is limiting Jen's creativity. In any case, she's come up with a new concoction: the Chèvre Panna Cotta with Blackberry Compote and Macadamia Tuile. This should be a real treat for you goat cheese fans and may even surprise those of you who are unfamiliar with or not fans of chèvre.

Also, I have a little secret to tell which is Jen has a new assistant. As reported earlier, Jen's old assistant, Marty, left Jen for green pastures up in Oregon almost two weeks ago. Jen's been trying out new assistants ever since while having to cope with a broken ice cream machine and working longer and more days to cover what two people would have done. I can't name the new assistant just yet but stay tuned. Jen's very happy to have found this person.

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Culinary Word of the Day: Chèvre
French for "goat," chèvre is a pure white goat's-milk cheese with a delightfully tart flavor that easily distinguishes it from other cheeses. Some of the better known chèvres include banon, bûcheron and montrachet. "Pur chèvre" on the label ensures that the cheese is made entirely from goat's milk; others may have the addition of cow's milk. Chèvres can range in texture from moist and creamy to dry and semifirm. They come in a variety of shapes including cylinders, discs, cones and pyramids, and are often coated in edible ash or leaves, herbs or pepper. Store, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Old chèvre takes on a sour taste and should be discarded. See also pyramide. Source: Food Lover's Companion