eeeeks! Are you cringing right now? Has your mouth just gone dry looking at this image? If so then good… I’ve done my job. The reason I’m writing this post is to address the misuse of salt. We’re a salt crazy nation that has done a terrific job at masking good, pure, delicious food with salt, fat and sugar. It’s out of control! Don’t get me wrong, salt is a wonderful seasoning and helps accentuate many dishes but it can be your worst enemy as well! I can’t begin to tell you how many sauces I’ve destroyed because I didn’t listen to my acute (ha) senses and simply leave a sauce, soup or ragout alone. A perfect example is tomato sauce. For some reason the acidity and sweetness in tomatoes covers salt while it’s still hot. When it cools down the sodium levels really come through and there is NOTHING you can do but weep if over salted.

Restaurants are the biggest offenders and are notorious for heavy salty hands. If you ask most professional cooks to name the one ingredient that is used the most in kitchens it’s SALT! It goes like this “Hey Kev, could you taste the sauce that I made for the chicken and see if it needs anything?” “sure Bob… (finger in pot and inserted in mouth) hmmm, tastes good but needs some acid and… salt!” and then when you order the chicken dish later that night you might feel that Bob should have left the finger lickin chicken sauce alone!

To get the bottom of the salt lick and uncover the why; we need to get a little scientific. Your mouth and tongue has all kinds of receptor cells that basically get stimulated when it comes into contact with certain foods and seasoning. Taste is the function that your mouth performs when recognizing these chemical properties. Taste is composed of sweet, salty, sour and bitter and most recently umami that defines certain taste components that are barely perceptible (I’m not getting into this right now.. too long)…. But basically the more you have of one taste component, like salt, it makes a dish off balanced.. and then the tongue and mouth send signals to the brain that something is off.

Not to get side tracked here… the absolute main point that I want to address is how to approach a dish that you are making. You really want to taste the sweetness in corn and tomatoes or the vegetative properties in asparagus or even the flesh in a cut of meat. It’s all a balancing act and really important to realize that salt only plays a supporting role. If fava beans with shaved pecorino and olive oil are the lead actors then salt is cop #3. Just there to add to the story… that’s it! Below is a recipe for un-salted tomato sauce. The thing to realize here is that it uses canned tomatoes that already has added salt and sugar; as so many packaged products do. Think about it, it already contains trace amounts of sodium and sugar and has sweet (tomato), bitter (eggplant) and fennel (flavor booster) with heaps of other aromatic properties. It’s loaded like a gun with flavor, so why add more salt? You try the recipe and let me know… in the mean time use salt with a delicate hand and enjoy more genuine flavors from your food.

This is Chef Stephen from the HOG laboratory

Un-salted Tomato Sauce with Fennel and Fried Eggplant
Serves 6 people

Ingredients
3 tablespoons pure olive oil
1 medium size yellow onion, diced
1 bulb of fennel, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red wine
6 cloves garlic
4 cups canned San Marzano plum tomatoes or canned Italian tomatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 small Italian eggplants
1/2 bunch of fresh basil
pepper

Instructions
In a medium to large sauce pot add the pure olive oil and bring up to medium low. Add the onions, carrots and fennel and cook until soft (approx 15 minutes). Add tomato paste and stir into veggies. Cook mixture for 5 minutes, constantly stirring so that you don’t burn the paste. Add wine and reduce until liquid has disappeared. Take off the heat and set aside.

Poach the garlic cloves in the olive oil over low heat until the garlic begins to lightly brown. Add the tomatoes, the onion fennel mixture and 1/2 of the basil. Simmer for about one hour, adding a few tablespoons of water at a time to prevent the sauce from drying out. Continue to stir as the sauce simmers.

Throw a large cast iron skillet on medium high heat and add 1/4 cup pure olive oil. When it starts to lightly smoke add the eggplant. Cook on each side until it gets dark brown and crispy (approx 1 minute per each side). Remove and drain eggplant on paper towel; then chop. Fold into sauce.

Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Chop the remaining basil and add to the sauce. DO-NOT season with salt! Only some fresh ground pepper.

Eat with pasta or spoon over toasted baguette.

Why do we eat out? I was inspired to write this article after reading a post from one of my favorite blogs called Whipped. Caroline had a dining experience that was over the moon because of the ridiculously good service; from the valet to the host, waiter and ending with the bus boy smiling as she and her hubby walked out the door. Could they have fluff her pillow before she took her avo nap? I think yes! sounds like a United ad…Of course quality of food and cost is an issue but the service is what really drives a restaurant’s experience!

A couple of weeks ago Molly, Molly’s father, Jim, and I went to a high end restaurant for dinner…(and the reason that I’m not giving names is because it was a random experience at a consistently good place)…. We were greeted at the door with warmth and promptly seated but the experience took a quick down turn when our waiter arrived with an unhealthy sniffle and upside down smile. It was apparent that she wasn’t 100 percent “on” that night and subsequently didn’t give us the spark that was needed at such a glorious place. The food while still being delicious fell flat for me because of the ho-hum delivery. I wanted to whisked away on a magic carpet ride; I expected the world to rotate around ME! and when you’re spending $100 a head this is what you expect, right? Caroline had eggs and pastries and I had magnificently prepared abalone and squab dishes… her experience topped mine? why?? simply because all of her planets were in alignment and my sun had an eclipse that night. bummer!

Now some of you might disagree, some of you might be OK with poor service if the food is good. The other side to consider is that not all of our dining experiences cost over $50 per person.. what about the burrito joint? or the crab shack? yup, it would be nice if the counter person had a big toothy smile and a cheery hello but we only are looking for some good simple nourishment when we patronize these places. hmmmm, I think I’ll cover cheap eats in an up-coming post.. so stay tuned..

At the end of the day eating out is both social and experimental. so just do it and get er done out there on the Flavor Highway..

The image from above is from a new space in our neighborhood called Serpentine and it has all the pistons firing while driving down flavor highway. Environment, food and especially SERVICE.

Eat much and laugh out loud!

I’m sure Mr. Hemingway would have written a moving story about this particular fight; the fight between man and nature. Molly (pictured here and certainly not a “man”) had battled the fish for a full 15 minutes before it tired and gave in to the hook and line. The fish, a king mackerel, proved to be a worthy opponent and was a great addition to the grill later that day!

Instead of a recipe, I wanted to take this time to talk about how to break down a whole fish. It’s super easy and lowers the cost when you do the work. I advise making friends with your local seafood monger and having them call when a fresh catch hits their ice beds… eat much and laugh often!

How to Fillet a Fish

1- Place the fish on a cutting-board with the head of the fish toward you. Using a thin, sharp flexible knife, cut down through the back of the head (just below the gills) and let the knife rest on the backbone. Then angle the knife flat so that it’s ready to slide down the backbone towards the tail.

2- With your non cutting hand hold the fish by the head. Run the knife all the way down the backbone using a back and forth sawing motion. As the knife runs down the backbone pull the fillet away from the body of the fish (you want to gently scrape the backbone with your knife being careful not to get stuck on the bone). Set the fillet to the side and repeat the process on the other side of the fish.

3- Cut off the belly and any fins that might be attached to the fillet. On some fish you want to remove the tail and a part of the connective bone because it can be bitter and/or tough.With your fingers and clean tweezers, feel for any pin bones and pull them out of the fillets.

I met Dave Mullen in 1996. At the time we were in culinary school and he had just recently quit his job driving a Budweiser truck to fulfill a life long dream in the kitchen. Many years and many restaurants later he now rides a sleek Harley and has been hailed as one of the top up-and-coming Chefs in America. Recently, he was nominated as “best new Chef of South Florida” by The Star Chefs association. Get er done Dave!

So what’s the hot young gun doing these days? He’s currently head Chef of a Ritz Carlton property called Angle in Palm beach … and Man oh man his food is both thoughtful and beautiful..the Da Vinci, the Frank Lloyd Wright of modern day cuisine!! Molly and I had the opportunity to dine there last December and both of us were simply speechless after eating his tasting menu. Arctic Char with lamb belly rocked the boat BUT the big stand out for me was the slow cooked octopus. The execution was flawless and the flavor profile was subtle yet complex. Dave graciously gave me the recipe to share with all of you out there on Flavor Highway. Big thanks Dave!! Great eating your food and can’t wait for you to come home to SF and open your new space!

aloha from me and gang at H.O.G.

Dave’s Slow-Cooked Octopus with Green Tomato Sofrito and Tasso Ham
Serves 4 people

For the octopus
8 oz octopus (or 4 tentacles)
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic
6 stems of fresh thyme
6 peppercorns
Pinch salt

For the sofrito
10 green tomatoes, core removed (you can use small red tomatoes if green is not available)
½ Anaheim chili or habanera, stem and seeds removed
½ red onion, rough chopped
2 cloves garlic
Pinch sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Salt to taste

For the frisee salad
1 small bunch frisee, end removed, torn apart with hand and washed
½ cup chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley, chives and tarragon)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper

For the garnish
4 each Piquillo peppers (these are sweet Spanish peppers that you buy in the can)
.3 ounces Spicy Tasso Ham (You can buy Tasso ham from most specialty stores and butchers)

Instructions

For the octopus
Cover octopus with olive oil, add garlic, thyme, peppercorns and cook at 220 degrees until tender (approx 5-6 hours). When done take out and let rest for at least 5 minutes prior to serving.

For the sofrito
Turn on broiler in oven to high.Place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss with a tablespoon of olive oil. Place in a cast iron skillet or pan that can take high heat.Put pan under the broiler and cook ingredients until lightly caramelized (not burnt).Puree in blender until smooth and season with salt, pepper, sugar and rice wine vinegar.

For the Frisee Salad
Toss all the ingredients in a bowl and set to the side.

For the garnish
Chop the ham into medium size pieces, sauté and cook until brown.

To Serve
Spoon a heaping tablespoon of sauce in the center of a nice plate. Place one tentacle over sauce. Place a few pieces of ham around the octopus. Place the pepper to one side of the octopus. And lastly put a small hand full of greens over top.

Gobble, HO HO, happpyyy new year!.. it’s that time of year again folks. Extravagance, decadence.. Mistletoe, hangovers and extra strength alka seltzer. Traditions rich with goose fat, turkey legs, yams, cranberries, sticky toffee and black eye peas.

Hate to say it folks but I’m really not such a big fan of holiday foods. Not because I don’t like them, it’s just that I’m not fond of eating the same thing at the same time of year over and over again. I even tried to forgo the turkey on Thanksgiving but an honest to goodness beat down was promised. Soooo I did as I was commanded by the loyalists. Its certainly not the end of the world and I hate to be a bah humbug.. I’d just like to have more variety in my holiday foods…When you get tired and bloated with tatters and ham hocks, go out and find something simple and light to eat. Take a break from thick eggnogs, deep fried turkeys and pumpkin pies. It’s just nice to satisfy the old taste buds with foods that have more acid and fresh herbs…

For me, it could be a falafel at a truly Mediterranean, a bowl of pho in the tenderloin or a street taco on 24th street in the Mission. Simple, satisfying food! Here is a recipe for one of my favorite foods of all, a homemade tortilla with grilled beef and salsa. Oh, and thats me in the photo scoring one of MY favorite traditional food.. hehehhhoohoohooooo

Happy holidays from myself and every one at Hands On Gourmet!

Carne Asada Tacos

For the Tortillas
2 cups masa harina (Mexican corn flour)
1 ¼ cup warm water
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil or butter (optional)

Mix together the ingredients to form a soft dough – about two minutes. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Break off small pieces of dough and roll it between your hands to form small balls. Flatten in a plastic lined tortilla press, The tortilla should be thin and round. Then cook over medium heat on a comal or non-stick skillet for 2-3 minutes per side. Keep warm in the tortilla basket.

For the Carne Asada
3 ½ pounds beef loin flap
1 ¾ cup corn oil
5 tablespoons chile powder
4 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 red onions, sliced thick

Mix together all the ingredients and marinate the beef for at least one hour. Overnight in the refrigerator would be best. Grill the beef to medium rare and keep warm.

For the Tomatillo Salsa
12 tomatillos, peeled
4 cloves of garlic
1 onion
4 jalapenos
juice of 1 lime
1 bunch cilantro
salt and pepper
2 avocados, chopped

Roast the tomatillos, onions, garlic and jalapenos with a little water at 400 degrees until dark brown. Remove from oven and cool. Process in a blender with the cilantro and lime juice. Remove from blender and mix in chopped avocado.To ServeSlice the beef and wrap in the tortillas. Serve with the tomatillo salsa, minced onions, lime wedges, sour cream and cilantro.

I know, I know.. after all that huffing and puffing about the “best thanksgiving tip ever” I ended up going down comfort highway. Instead of making the Bloody Mary I made this carefree simple soup. Oh man oh man, it was some good down home chow if I do say so myself. I made rich stock with the carcass and loose meat, added some carrot, celery, onions and some Texas long grain rice at the end. Tons of fresh pepper, crackers and tobasaco..hmm hmm good… to the very last drop..

Turkey and Rice Soup
Serves 10 people

For the stock
1 abandoned turkey carcass with meat left on the bones, chopped into 4 parts
1 yellow onion rough chopped
2 stalks of celery, ends and ribs removed and chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
Cold water to cover

Put all of the ingredients in a big stock pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and lower it to a gentle simmer. Let simmer for 2 hours. When the water dissipates then simply add more fresh water. Take off heat and pour into 2nd pot through the china cap or sieve. Clean out stock pot and pour stock back into it. Set aside. When the bones cool pick out the shredded meat and set to the side. Discard the bones.

For the soup
3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
2 yellow onions, medium dice
2 stalks celery, cleaned and medium chopped
2 carrots, peeled and medium chopped
1 teaspoon fresh Mexican oregano, chopped
Any leftover turkey, chopped
Salt and black pepper
*we want all the vegetables to be roughly the same size to achieve even cooking
2 cups cooked white rice. Preferably a good variety like Texas long grain.

Make the rice.Place the 2nd pot on medium heat. Let heat for a minute and then add the oil. Add the onions, celery, carrots and oregano. Sautéed for 5 minutes and then add 2 to 3 quarts of the stock. Bring to a simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes or until the veggies soften up a bit. We DON’T want them mushy like Uncle Al’s. When ready, add the turkey and heat through; about 3 minutes is all that’s needed. To ServeLadle some soup into a bowl and add some rice. Not too much though as it will puff up and make it too mushy. Season with some fresh pepper and a shot of hot sauce. Some people like to add crackers too! Gobble gobble.

It’s been a long week.. no no let me rephrase that.. it’s been a loooong month! Hands On Gourmet hosted 32 cooking parties last month and my dogs are killing me! Sadly, cooking for pleasure has taken a back burner. Late night tacos, jam sandwiches, chips, beer and random leftovers have been my main staple. I’ve been out of the loop with friends, surfing and my new hobby, blogging!This brings me to a considerably slower paced Saturday. Molly’s parents are here from Michigan. Jim is watching football and the girls just came back from the San Francisco botanical gardens. I’m still exhausted and would much rather read a book while munching on popcorn and sipping a black cherry soda. But the cook in me says “go at it boy”, get off your fat butt and make some vittles. So off to the market I go to forage for something quick and easy.

I always get a kick out the 20 minute meals you see in magazines… it cracks me up to see a beautiful manicured plate of food cooked in a mere 20 minutes!? come on… So with that in mind I bought ingredients for my own, at home, 20 minute meal. The photo above is the result. A bowl of fresh pasta with ripe tomatoes, herbs, olive oil, lemon juice, chili flakes, pine nuts, garlic, grated cheese and toasted baguette. Below is a step by step recipe. Try it and see if takes you 20 minutes, not including a trip to the market.

feeds 4 feisty diners
1. take out a large pot, fill up 3/4 of the way with water, add a dash of salt and a squeeze of oil, throw on flame (15 seconds)
2. turn on the oven (1.4 seconds)
3. take out cutting board, place a moist towel under the board, pull a sharp knife from the block (12 seconds)
4. crab a cold brew from the fridge, open bottle and take a long pull (blink of an eye)
5. rough chop 3 large tomatoes and 1/2 cup assorted herbs… mince 4 cloves garlic, grate 1 cup hard cheese, throw the baguette in the oven, toast 1/4 cup pine nuts in a hot pan (5 minutes)
6. open 1 pound box of fresh pasta and toss into gently boiling water, cook until al dente (3 minutes)
7. drain pasta and in the same pot fold in tomatoes, garlic, 3 tablespoons good olive oil, juice of one lemon, teaspoon of chili flake, salt and black pepper (2 minutes)
8. place the pasta in bowls, throw a handful of cheese and some toasted pine nuts over top, pull bread from oven. (3 minutes)

sit and eat! total time… 13 minutes, with time to spare!

A satisfying light and snappy meal for a lazy summer’s afternoon.This is Chef Stephen saying “boyyaaa” live from HOG Land USA…until next time

I’ve waited ten long years to go to the Gilroy garlic festival! Ten years… the days leading up to it was the feeling I use to get waiting for Santa Claus; I was shaking with anticipation. So instead of a new red rider or double pump bb gun I was looking forward to big vats of pickled garlic, a garlic strong man, garlic shooting out of a cannon, a garlic fortune teller… and much like “Duff man” on the Simpsons, I wanted to see a bona fide “stinkin garlic man” equipped with a flaming red cape. But that wasn’t how it played out, not even close! Sure there was plenty of food with garlic in it, but to me that wasn’t enough to satisfy any food lovers imagination. Oh ya, don’t let me forget the garlic ice cream.. I guess that was unique enough..
ok ok.. I suppose it was a fun gathering. They did have beer gardens (3 total) and plenty of live entertainment. The vibe was happy even in the 100 degree plus heat and people seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was wonderful for the local economy and it appeared that a lot of locals took part and volunteered their time. We ate garlic artichoke fritters, barbecued pork, crayfish, grilled corn with garlic butter and some roast garlic with two small rounds of stale toast. In the end I have to say that I wouldn’t recommend the festival to any food lover. It was simply too commercial and lacked soul; plus the drive was long and hot.. next!

This is Chef Stephen with another story from the “flavor highway” chronicles . Until next time!

Aloha from me and all the gang at Hands On Gourmet

It’s Saturday morning, 7:30 AM… and could you guess what I’m doing while writing this story? Ohh yeeaaaa… having a rich, robust, semi-creamy, no sugar added bowl, that’s right, bowl of coffee. How could I not? What would life be without it? Oh yes I know… a peaceful calm existence… a place where I would be sane and rational, a world where road rage and work place tension would be pretty much nil…. Some of you might disagree; some of you can actually sleep on this stuff, many of you are calm after having a grande deluxe with two whips, a cane sugar blast and a caramel injection… not me, no sirree bob. I move like the wind and sting like a butterfly after my Joe. Oh my goodness Molly would be so happy if I woke up like a normal person and not run around the house in “go mode” cleaning and making triplicates of all my lists of things to do… It’s a magnificent lift in the morning, a spectacular boost in the afternoon, a cure for the blues, a somersault of energy, a happy happy go get’ em liquid.

So the big question I have for all of you out there on flavor highway is this: Is coffee a drug? You might be thinking, “WHAT?!, how dare you insinuate that!”. Oh I don’t know, sometimes I think we just forget that it is, and we are oh so romantic about sipping a latte on the terrace, and make up all kinds of fancy names for it and use all kinds of paraphernalia in the process of making it. Coffee is a drug just as alcohol and nicotine are drugs. And don’t forget Twinkies!

Anyway, what brought me to this long-winded coffee rant is the picture you see attached to the story. We ate at a Turkish restaurant called Troya in the avenues and had an amazing meal prepared by Chef Brian Dudley, a dear friend and occasional HOG chef. For dessert he brought out three mad delicious desserts and this elaborate coffee presentation. Bring on the hookah while you’re at it, will ya! It just reminded me of how crazy we are about the most wonderful drug out there. And even though there might be a touch of organized crime attached to it, no one is robbing stores to get at it. For the most part it’s a very social beverage that makes the world sing out loud, move like the wind, accomplish the impossible, and get their lazy butts out of bed… so go on, enjoy a cup, mug or bowl of it!

Aloha, Chef Stephen, Hands On Gourmet 

Recently we had some folks over for our first H.O.G. potluck. Hip hop till you don’t stop! The table was littered with all kinds of delicacies: cheese, olives, cured meats, pistachios, summer bean salad, flat bread with pancetta and caramelized onions, a plumb ginger crisp and many many bottles of beer and wine. Bingo, then in saunters Roger, our resident food magician, lead chef and man about town with his bag of tricks.. alakazam! I call him a pastry chef because of his time as a lead pasrty chef at citizen cake; but in truth he’s simply an awesome cook that absorbs many different cuisines like a sponge. Above is his Bhel Puri puffed rice snack with cashews, tamarind, heaps of fresh herbs and some black salt…

Bhel Puri

2 cups Puffed Rice (Kurmura)
1/2 cup toasted peanuts or cashews
1/2 cup heirloom tomato, chopped
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup potato, boiled in salted tumeric water and roughly mashed
4 each green chile, minced
1/4 cup tamarind chutney recipe here:
1/4 cup mint chutney (mint, cilantro, lime juice, salt, green chili, ginger, garlic, yogurt)
1/4 cup puri chips, broken up
1/2 cup sev
1/4 cup crispy fried chana daal (soak in water overnight, dry then deep fry til GBD)
1/4 cup crispy fried garlic slices
lime juice to taste
Chaat masala, to taste (black salt, amchoor(dried mango powder),asafoetida,cumin,coriander,red chili powder)

Mix all ingredients to order and roll up in a newspaper cone.