Archive for October, 2008

The Ultimate

This was the second post I made on this blog, sort of ironic that it’s about a grilled cheese sandwich. I decided to repost it when I happened to run across it because whenever I describe this sandwich almost everyone wants to know about the bread.

I‘ve been fighting off an urge for a grilled cheese sandwich for a couple of months. I don’t know why I was fighting it off, but I was. So this past weekend I gave in. But not easily.

In Beard on Bread, James Beard has a recipe for sour cream bread that is the absolute best grilled cheese bread on earth. (Susanne, I think I gave you the wrong recipe when you asked for it.) The bread is tender but also has an open crumb. So as the sandwich cooks and the cheese melts the bread absorbs the cheese.

As the sandwich cooks and the cheese melts the bread absorbs the cheese.

This brings a new element to a grilled cheese sandwich because it isn’t two pieces of bread containing melted cheese, instead it is a single thick slice of bread suffused with cheese.
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On October 12 Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food took over the New York Times Magazine for his polemic, “Farmer in Chief” framed as an open letter to the next president. Pollan writes: “what’s needed is a change of culture in America’s thinking about food … focusing the light of public attention on the issue and communicating a simple set of values that can guide Americans toward sun-based foods and away from eating oil.”

You can read the complete article at Spot-On.

Technorati: Food | essay | kevin d weeks | spot-on

Technorati: Food | photo | kevin d weeks | seriously good

Thinking About Supper

It’s six o’clock and in a couple of hours I’m going to want supper. I know what I’m going to fix because I started thinking about it last night in bed right after I turned off the lights. I’ve got some boneless pork loin chops and some apples I bought at yesterday’s farmers market. Last night I made my hot potato salad for supper, so I’ll have some leftovers tonight as well.

My plan is to peel, core, and chop the apples. They’ll go into a sauce pan with some butter for a quick browning, then I’ll add a splash of beer, some molasses, cinnamon, curry powder, and a pinch of salt. To finish, I’ll simmer the apple until soft and most of the liquid evaporates.

The chop I’ll simply pan fry until medium-done while I heat the oven broiler. Then I’ll spoon some of the sautéed apples over the pork and, echoing my Austrian Pork Chops, add a slice of Jarlsberg and melt the cheese.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | pork | main dish

Most of us think we’re immune to the blandishments of marketing droids. And perhaps – when we notice we’re being blandished – we are. But marketing messages are such a pervasive part of our culture that noticing every “buy” message would occupy our attention full time; we wouldn’t even have time to think about sex (except, of course, when sex is selling hamburgers) or our jobs.

Read the complete article at Spot-On.

Technorati: Food | essay | kevin d weeks | spot-on | obesity

The publisher, Robert Rose, recently released a book named The Science of Good Food by David Joachim and Andrew Scloss. At 600 pages it’s a massive compendium of facts about food and cooking starting with acid and ending with wine. Among the topics covered are carcinogens, frying, types of game meat (the book reports raccoon tastes like pork), and the anatomy of a bivalve.

You can read the complete article at Spot-On.

Technorati: Food | review | kevin d weeks | spot-on