Cooking and Gadgets

About Umami

Umami was discovered by a Japanese researcher one hundred years ago. Dr. Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo Imperial University recognized that certain foods like asparagus, tomatoes, meat and cheese all shared a common taste. It's a bit hard to put your finger on, though it's often described as "savory." I think it's easier to think of it as the taste that makes your mouth water. It also has a distinctive mouth feel, it lends a fullness or roundness.

One of the first things I learned at a recent Umami Symposium is that while taste and flavor are often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. Flavor is determined by taste and smell. There are only five tastes--sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. Just as sweetness is imparted by sugar, umami is imparted by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides, including inosinate and guanylate, which occur naturally in many foods. It is also manufactured in monosodium glutamate. It is added or occurs naturally in products with hydrolyzed soy protein and autolyzed yeast such as Marmite, Vegemite, Maggi, and Kewpie mayonnaise. It also exists in most cheese flavored snack foods.

Pasta Water

cacio-e-pepe-300x225-1 My friend Gianni — one of the original Fat Boys – called me today. He’s been buried in work for a couple of weeks and we haven’t been much in touch.
“Mikey, I had the cacio e pepe at Eataly last night. You gotta try it; it’s the best cacio e pepe I’ve ever had.”

This was at 2:00 in the afternoon and it was raining. I had kind of settled in for the day.
“Life is short, man. Have I ever led you astray in terms of a plate of pasta? This is the stuff of legends.”

“I’ll meet you at the subway in ten minutes.”

Gianni, of course, was dead on about the pasta. We ate at the bar, so that we could watch the guys work the pasta station. Also because the tables were full. I sipped a primitivo; he had rosé. We shared a cauliflower, fennel, celery root and Asian pear salad – all sliced trasparente — which cleansed our palates and sharpened our senses.

Then came the spaghetti cacio e pepe and I must say, Gianni was not blowing smoke. This was a first-rate bowl of pasta, which, by the way, we did not share. Neither of us feels particularly comfortable nor genetically directed toward that concept. We each had our own privately owned and controlled bowl.

Sausage Party

I consumed so many delicious things this year, it's really hard to pin down one meal or one bite. But if there was a night that stands out, and a single dish that truly made me happy, it has to be a sausage sampler that I consumed with my best friend Don in early November. He showed up one night with some Spanish chorizo sausages, a blood sausage, a couple of wedges of runny cheese, and a small cooler with a few kick ass craft beers in it.

We pan fried the sausages with a little olive oil, then poured some of Stone's Vertical Epic 11.11.11 into the pan to finish them off. This year's offering from Stone (their 10th beer in the Vertical Epic series) is a strong Belgian ale spiced with cinnamon and anaheim chilies from Hatch, New Mexico. It was the perfect compliment to the sausages. We drank the rest of what the sausages didn't swim in. Then we drank another bottle.

Among the sausages we stuffed in our faces that night was my homemade catalan-style pork and garlic sausage. If you like the simplicity of pork and garlic, you'll absolutely love this. And who doesn't like meat in tube form?

Kitchen Upgrades

pans Non-stick pans, kitchen tools and storage containers. Your kitchen is filled with them, some good and some not so good. Sometimes your kitchen deserves an upgrade. Here are a few of my recent discoveries:

I've reviewed a lot of pots and pans over the years. I love the convenience for non-stick pans, but no matter what the brand or cost, eventually they flake. I like the ceramic non-stick, but they are a bit delicate and can chip if you're not careful, well, not the Earth Pan II from Meyer corporation. The non-stick surface is made from sand, and has no PTFE or PFOA and it can be used with high heat! It's stovetop safe up to 600 degrees. I've been using a 12-inch pan for several weeks and it is easy to clean, and shows no signs that it will chip and there is no coating to flake off. Of course, the true test is how it performs in the long term, but so far so good.

measuringcups My old measuring cups were so ugly! They were stained and I hated looking at them, never mind using them. When someone from Trudeau offered to send me something of my choice from their line of kitchenware, I knew it would be their 5-piece measuring cup set. Each piece is a different color and the shape is particularly easy to use. I also got their can opener since my old one had melted from being to close to the stove one day. If you don't have a can opener that lifts the top rather leaving sharp edges this is a great upgrade. I already have and love the Trudeau pot clip spoon rest and one piece silicone spatula (no wooden handle to burn or stain).

Too Hot to Cook – Bring out the Cuisinart!

potatocheese It feels like Week 19 of the heat wave. Seriously, ridiculous. It’s too hot to stay in and cook. Baking seems ludicrous. Even making a pot of chili in the afternoon (to serve later with grilled hot dogs or hamburgers) feels like too much – which reminded me of the Cuisinart. It sits on the counter every day and we rarely use it. Why did I forget about the Cuisinart?

I love the Cuisinart. I particularly love the slicer. And having remembered it, I’m now on a cooking and no-cooking cooking binge, if you know what I mean. Last night I threw little red potatoes into the Cuisinart (using the slicer blade), poured them into a porcelain casserole dish, drizzled them (understatement) with grape seed oil, salt, pepper, and a little bit of fresh rosemary.

Cooking Techniques and Kitchen Gadgets