Category: Book and Product Reviews

Bertolli…Into the Heart of Chicago

7 Comments

It’s been a while since I posted . But I assure you I have been pursuing all things culinary and creative in my down time from Coco Cooks. My posts from my extensive travels the past month now are all up on Black Atlas. So come explore Vienna, Austria and Indianapolis, where I attended the Indy 500 , with me. Here is the link to all my videos and posts.Or check out my You Tube Channel.

Thankfully my good friend Marie over at Proud Italian Cook is looking out for me and making sure I take time and smell the roses. She was invited by the good people of Bertolli and the Zocalo Group to experience the best of Italian food in Chicago and asked them if I could come along. It was truly magical day with Marie and several other  fellow Chicago Food Bloggers. There was so much to capture, I thought a video would be the best format. Thank you Bertolli and Zocalo Group.

Here are the some of the fellow bloggers that participated:

Proud Italian Cook

Whats Cooking Chicago

He Sipped She Sipped

French Foodie Mom

Veggies Cakes and Cocktails

Rhymes with Spoon

Green, Sustainable and Colorful at the International Home & Housewares Show

5 Comments

A foodie friend asked me what’s the hot , can’t live without gadget you found this year at the International Home and Housewares show. I was at a blank to answer. Don’t get me wrong, I found many things I just have to have this year, but these were the things that constantly impressed or occurred frequently as I roamed the endless number of booths and exhibits for 2 of the three days at McCormick Place. The Show was divided into  these sections:

dine +design

wired + well

clean +contain  (including global crossroads)

Trends that appealed to me and reoccurred were

Bold Pop Colors at ZAK designs www.zak.com

Bold Pop Colors

Green

Sustainability

I would be hard for me to include everything I saw in one post. So today I want to show my favorite green and sustainable items.

From the French Delegation ID Cook brings us Solar Barbecues( portable and fold away), Sun Cook Ovens, and even a nifty solar lighter that lights your cigarettes in 3 seconds even with wind. Ingenious inventions powered by the Sun.

I loved these fair trade clay vessels made in Columbia from Ancestral Clay Cookware.Non reactive, green, sustainable this method of cooking has been used since Pre Colombian times. Not only extremely beautiful, they are functional as well with the ability to be used on gas or electric ovens or ranges, grills,microwave, or direct camp fire.

And finally borrowing from the Eastern culture To-Go Wares Bamboo Utensil sets to Reduce your Fork print and stack able versatile Tiffins that are BPA and Phthalate Free.Portable, functional, and green with a focus to serve people on the go while saving our planet.

My next post will feature the impressive small business entrepreneurs  at the International House and Housewares Show who have created some innovative food products.

Meat Tips,Confessions and a $100 Giveaway from U.S Wellness Meats

2 Comments

Meat….. is something I  hear quite often around the house. Certain Someone is a carnivore. When he is around I can’t get away with a meatless dinner, no matter how I try. Don’t get me wrong, I like meat too, but try to vary my diet a bit more. One thing I have control of, is that if we are going to eat meat, I strive to be very careful of the quality of our meats. So when US Wellness Meats contacted me and offered me a range of samples including Grass-fed beef I was impressed.

Because we use the best practices of sustainable farming that allow us to avoid harmful additives like hormones and antibiotics, our grass-raised animals pass the best of their nutrient-rich diet on to you.

Grass-fed beef is rich in omega-3 anti-inflammatory fatty acids (the healthy fat found in salmon), in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a proven cancer fighter and lean muscle-building tool, as well as vitamins A and E, essential nutrients that are known for their antioxidant properties. When it comes to nutrition, grass-fed beef truly is a completely different animal.

I confess when it comes to steaks and beef I’m intimidated. Some chefs are great with certain foods, but not so with others. While I consider myself both a cook and a baker, steaks and certain cuts of beef I always  tend to overcook it unintentionally. US Wellness sent me 2 T-Bones, 1 eye of the round, 2 chicken breasts, BBQ sauce, All Purpose Seasoning and a package of Ground Bison. Through out the month we tried all the products and were pleased. I was intimidated by the Eye of the Round as its a cheaper and leaner cut that you want to cook till perfection but not overcook or dry as its more lean.

Eye of The Round Roast Method

I confess this was the method I used and the best one I have ever found for this cut. It cooks it for a short period on a very high temp and then you let meat sit in the oven uncovered for 2 -3 hours. The roast is perfection. I took the leftovers and made the dish on top with the BBQ sauce sample  from US Wellness and fried onions  served atop a corn tortilla.

Ground Bison

Leaner and healthier, Bison is used as you would use ground beef. Its makes a great substitute.Not only is there a nutritional benefit but an ecological one as well . Bison are grass fed and graze without harming the environment, as nature intended. Their waste and movements both nourish and aid the grounds and land.

Meat Facts and  Cooking Temperatures

Meat/ Protein and carbohydrates are considered a TCS food (Temperature Control Safety). Harmful pathogens are controlled by temperature. So cooking and storage of these items should be followed with care. The following are  cooking requirements for TCS foods and any recipe containing a TCS food.

  • Ground Beef is prone to Shiga Toxin -producing E.Coli  found in intestines of cattle and should be cooked to minimum temperature of at least 155 F (68 C). This applies to ground pork as well and other meats ( not ground poultry).
  • Roasts( pork, veal and lamb) should be cooked to minimum internal temperature of 145F (63 C)
  • Poultry ( ground or whole chicken, turkey and duck) should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 F (74 C)
  • Seafood (fish, shellfish, and crustaceans) should be cooked to a minimum internal temp of 145 F( 63 C)
source ServeSAFE Essentials National Restaurant Association Fifth Edition

I am offering a Giveaway sponsored by US Wellness Meats to all US Residents. Sorry it must be within the US ( AK and HI included). The winner will be to shop for $ 100  worth of sustainable  products from the Midwest farmlands that are raised according to organic principles. Meats, poultry, fish, and even by products such as soap and candles, ice cream , etc are offered. They even have condiments and spices. All you have to enter is  go here and fill out your info. The contest closes Sunday March 13, 2011 at 12 :00 am.

Comfort In the Windy City…Chalet Nights at The Peninsula Hotel Chicago

8 Comments

Thank You all for the support and love you have shown since last week. As my dining companions said last night , stop saying you were not terminated or eliminated, you are in transition. And if the offers , outreach, and opportunities I have received this week are anything to go by, my future is going to be high style.

One outreach  extended towards me, was from the The Peninsula Hotel in Chicago. Their PR department invited me along with with several other  influential Chicago bloggers to experience Chalet Nights at their charming European restaurant/cafe/wine bar Pierrot Gourmet. The recently refreshed  ski lodge themed restaurant is offering Chalet Night devised  by their new Chef de Cuisine Tony Schmidt, who had worked at such other fine institutions as Blackbird, Everest, and Trio.

Each Thursday until March 31 a special Swiss themed menu will be offered for $19 per person ( 2 person minimum) featuring a three cheese fondue( Gruyere, Appenzeller, and Fontina), mountain bread,  a Juniper berry smoked Speck ham , house pickled vegetables, and salad with a Dijon vinaigrette. The meal is finished off with Pear flavored Eau de vie.

Having had my share of fondues both at home and in Switzerland, the meal was excellent. and elegantly presented. A comforting buzz ran through the table and I realized  I forgotten how fun and sensational Chicago can be with it’s various offerings.  Did I mention how exquisite the desserts were? Pierrot Gourmet has a French born Pastry Chef that makes the most incredible variety of flavored macarons that are not too sweet . If you don’t have time for a sit down meal or coffee, the takeout option is there.

Afterward we went over the John Hancock Observatory at the invitation of Zach , the Director of Operations there who partners with The Peninsula Chicago. At the Observatory  we were treated to cocktails, and more nibbles at Lavazza’s Expression Cafe before taking to the indoor ice rink. Imagine all of this 1,000 feet above the city! Great fun. The SKYY High Cocktail ( SKYY Raspberry vodka, Blue Curacao, and Lemonade) and The Hawks Cup ( Makers Mark, fresh ginger, muddles blackberries, and lemon sour) must be tried along with numerous other drinks, and hot and cold coffee drinks. After that, I was most definitely too buzzed to skate, but enjoyed watching the others.

Thank You Peninsula Chicago & John Hancock Observatory for reminding me what I love about my city Chicago.

Peninsula Hotel/ Pierrot Gourmet

108 East Superior Street at the corner of Rush and Superior

Food & Friends. Recipes and Memories from Simca’s Cuisine

9 Comments

It seems like forever since I posted an actual food recipe. With the Holidays, new boss, some travel, venturing into soap making, and the whole Ebony article thing, well I’ve been busy. Did I mention the flood in my storage unit? Not pretty. Anyway I’m due for some cooking posts, some more giveaways, and a winner announcement.

First…I picked the Senseo Stay or Go Personal Coffee maker winner. I decided to pick the third name on the list  from the random generator.

List Randomizer

There were 23 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

  1. Sabrina December 31, 2010 at 2:42 pm [edit]
  2. @parmie January 2, 2011 at 9:50 pm [edit]
  3. Louise January 1, 2011 at 8:06 am [edit]
  4. Megan January 4, 2011 at 2:42 pm [edit]
  5. Vicki (veeezeee) December 31, 2010 at 2:34 pm [edit]
  6. Henderson Honey January 4, 2011 at 9:07 am [edit]
  7. Pat R January 1, 2011 at 2:11 pm [edit]
  8. Carolina Epicurean January 3, 2011 at 1:33 pm [edit]
  9. Lynne Estes January 7, 2011 at 2:15 pm [edit]
  10. Megan January 4, 2011 at 2:43 pm [edit]
  11. Pat R January 1, 2011 at 2:13 pm [edit]
  12. John Ariatti January 4, 2011 at 9:41 am [edit]

And the winner is Louise of Month of Edible Celebrations. She needs it as she writes some pretty prolific and wonderful food history posts. Enjoy my friend.

Now onto the book review. I was given this wonderful book in November and in my spare moments of time read a bit here and there.Holidays are a bad time to try to read.Food and Recipes was first published in 1991, but with the resurgence of popularity of all things Julia Child, has been reprinted. Anyway most you you Francophiles and foodies know Simone Beck as the coauthor of Mastering the Art of French Cooking with Julia Child. After meeting in the women s cooking club Cercles des Gourmettes in Paris they began teaching private lessons together and collaborating on Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Stories of growing up Haute Bourgeois to an industrialist father  and Benedictine heiress mother in scenic Normandy, are interspersed with recipes and menus from another time and era. Luncheons after a Hunt, dinner parties in Paris  are are detailed with wine notes and recipes. Simone, or Simca she preferred to be called later on, chronicles learning how to make a roux and chocolate cakes for father from the family cooks. The reader sees how she emerges from a bad first marriage to a proper gentleman, to finally coming into her own and find a true love and partner.Scenes from the war, and finally Julia, and other great culinary figures such as James Beard and Richard Olney are told as well. Its a nice thick read, but half of the book is recipes. Recipes that haven’t been adapted to a modern day kitchen , but still work and offer great insight into technique.

I chose to make Croquettes au Fromage from A Hunt Dinner in Solange menu because I had the ingredients on hand. I did substitute out the French Gruyere cheese for Parmesan Reggiano figuring they were similar in texture. These were tasty nibbles that I think I could play on and even add more to. I found the recipe was like a pate  a choux that I ended up modernizing by a final whiz in my Kitchen Aid to really incorporate the final addition of egg yolks and cheese. I found the measurements may be questionable as the the description of the process , belied the measurements. But it still turned out  very nice. I also didn’t let it rest 12-24 hrs. but more like 6 hours as I felt those extra hours really didn’t matter. Remember these recipes were from another time but are still invaluable for technique and inspiration.

[print_this]

Croquettes au Fromage

Cheese Croquettes

adapted from Food& Friends . Recipes and Memories From Simca’s Cuisine

  • 3 1/2 Tbsp Butter
  • 1 cup sifted flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 4 oz Gruyere Cheese
  • Pepper
  • 1 egg white
  • 2/3cup bread crumbs
  • Fried Parsley for garnish
  1. Heat Butter in thick bottomed sauce pan. Melt.
  2. Stir in flour and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat.
  4. Pour in milk nand whisk until smooth.
  5. Return to heat and bring to boil while constantly stirring. ( Mine was to thick to boil but I heated it up again).
  6. Let cool slightly and whisk in egg yolk and cheese.( I transferred mine to Kitchen Aid and whisked it there).
  7. Add pepper.
  8. Spread on a oiled baking sheet and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.( I covered mine with plastic and chilled for 6 hrs).
  9. One hour before serving, shape the croquettes rolling chilled  mixture into small balls.
  10. Roll first in a plate of flour.
  11. Dip in egg whites.
  12. Roll in Bread Crumbs.
  13. Fry croquettes in small batches until golden.
  14. Remove and drain on paper towel.
  15. Can keep in warming oven until ready to serve.
  16. Garnish with fried parsley.

[/print_this]


I am giving away a copy of Food and Friends . Recipes and Memories from Simca’s Cuisine. Comments to win close on January 22. Tweeting , signing up for Coco Cooks by email,or joining my fanpage will give an extra entry. Just tell me you did so.