Though the foods may vary, New Years day has a number of good luck food traditions throughout the world. Some foods are said to bring luck or money; others safety and a good life. And some are just tasty.

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She passed in October 2001 from ovarian cancer far too soon at age 53. She was not only one of the most influential chefs in general and Chinese chef’s specifically, but she was also an inspiration, a role model to male and female cooks, and a teacher of life to anyone who every crossed her path. After her death, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck said,

Barbara was so petite, but her influence, dedication and knowledge of food made her a giant.

What is the most important thing I learned for this legend? The simplest, tastiest and most used trick in my Chinese repertoire - Fried Rice.

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Potter’s resolution, will express Portlanders’ deepest gratitude to Voodoo Doughnut management for its dedication in the face of these stringent economic times in providing employment opportunities . . . and above all, creating and naming a doughnut after our beloved city that leaves a lasting taste and fond memories on its customers near and far away.”

Now, this is a great sentiment, at least on the surface. Voodoo Doughnuts is a Portland institution and rightfully deserves every single accolade that has been bestowed upon them.

If one goes beyond the surface, this magnanimous gestures seems to conjure up be a few dilemmas.

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Wine writer Alan Richman in the December 2005 issue of Bon Appetit magazine bombastically wrote:

Say what you will about California Sparklers - which are to French Champagne what paddlefish eggs are to beluga caviar - they will not transport you to a fantasy world, unless you are enthralled by the Napa Valley wine train. Sparkling wines that are not Champagne structurally lack finesse, enologically they lack bouquet, and sentimentally they lack ostentation.

I hate to disagree with a James Beard award winning writer, but Alan, YOU ARE WRONG.

Domestic bubbly has reached amazing heights and achieved complex flavors and textures. These wines are world-class while still somehow maintaining their own sense of terroir. Some are even fantastic values.

Here are my Top 9 sparkling wine suggestions for your 2009 New Year’s Eve celebration.

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Both The Orange County Register and the Boston Herald pointed out that Burger King, the nation’s No. 2 burger chain (NYSE:BKC), recently debuted “Flame,” a new men’s body spray that’s billed as “the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat.” Yes, this is a legit item the chain is selling online via Ricky’s Halloween Costume Store, for $3.99.

Click on over to the Burger King Flame website, “FireMeetsDesire” and you will find a sexy soul track playing in the background and a Barry White like voice telling you to “come on baby give it a spray.”

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The San Francisco Chronicle today reports that President-elect Barack Obama received a letter from Alice Waters of Chez Panisse;

volunteering her services - and those of Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl and New York Union Square restaurateur Danny Meyer - to be the first couple’s informal “kitchen cabinet” on all things culinary, from recommendations for a new White House chef to overseeing the creation of a sustainable, organic kitchen garden on the White House lawn.

In the letter, sent the day after the election, Waters wrote passionately:

At this moment you have a unique opportunity to set the tone for the changes we need to make in the way our country feeds itself. The purity and wholesomeness of your campaign can find a parallel in the purity and wholesomeness of the food at America’s most visible and symbolic address: the White House.

If the President-elect wants “real” change, he needs to take it slow - the Slow Food Movement that is.

image credit: cfishy, YesWeCanTwo, under an Attribution License

What in the world is a Fuyu persimmon? The Fuyu (pictured at the right) is a non-astringent persimmon variety. It is sweet and delicious when it becomes orange to orange-red in color and is still firm. The Native American persimmon grown in the southern U.S. and the more common pointed Hachiya persimmon are astringent varieties that do not lose their bitterness until the fruit becomes soft.

Why do we care? Ripe Hachiya persimmons are great for making cooked dishes such as chutneys, relishes, steamed puddings or even pies. The Fuyu persimmon is perfect for this salad because its sweetness will cut through and balance the richness of the duck while maintaining its crisp texture.

Take a look at my post The Persimmon - More Than Pudding for additional persimmon information and recipes.

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…[the persimmon's] bitter power of astringency is surprising, and seems capable of suspending for a time all the faculties of the lips, and binds up the risible muscles of the sufferer to the same extent that it excites those of a spectator.

- Charles Augustus Murray

Most Americans aren’t familiar with this delicious but misunderstood tree fruit. Not surprising, since it’s native to China and more prominent in the Far East, Middle East and Western Europe.

You’ll find persimmons in the market right now since they are usually available from late fall through the winter. There are over 500 varieties planted in the United States (originally introduced to California in the mid 1800’s) - each with a slightly different color, texture, shape and astringency. Persimmons can be classified into two general categories: those that bear astringent fruit until they are soft ripe and those that bear nonastringent fruits

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December 5th is Repeal Day. That day back in 1933 that ended those dark days of “The Great Experiment” that failed. For those who where sleeping during American History class, the Volstead Act was repealed by the Amendment XXI to the US Constitution:

AMENDMENT XXIPassed by Congress February 20, 1933. Ratified December 5, 1933.

Section 1.
The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2.
The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or Possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

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What’s the best way to bring out the full flavor of meat? If you want to get those juices really flowing, you need to cook it long and slow, and with the temperature down low.

Love Me Tender by Heston Blumenthal, The Guardian newspaper, November 24, 2001

Trust me, your patience will be rewarded. Besides, isn’t that the point of cooking meat - to bring out its flavor and to render it tender enough to eat.

Long before cooks had ovens, they had braising. They would suspend a heavy, covered pot over a hearth fire or open grate in the kitchen and slowly cook, or braise, their food. Sometimes they stacked embers from the fire on the lid, to provide both upper and lower sources of heat. Inside, a little liquid formed a sauce, as meats and vegetables cooked. This method of cooking yields delicious dishes with considerable character.

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Anyone who has been following this soap opera for the past several years can only shake their head in bewilderment. COPIA was and is a good premise that got caught up in to much self importance and pretentiousness. No one wanted to come and no one came.

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I love Christmas as much as the next guy. The lights, the color, the celebration, the sharing, and especially the eating and drinking. The spiritual side of Christmas often goes a little unnoticed amid the mad rush of present buying, decorating and food preparation. Many traditions have played a part in forming Christmas as we know it today but it seem the most important is the spirit of commercialism.

In keeping with the true meaning of Christmas, I’m going to give you some helpful hints in choosing sustainable gifts for those on your list. These aren’t you ordinary boxes with colorful ribbons and fancy bows.

So, let’s go shopping.

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An additional requirement is the sustainability of the industry as a whole. The Oregon Dungeness crab fishery is one of the most sustainable fisheries and the most valuable ’single-species’ fishery in Oregon. The issues of Wave Energy development along with the proposed Marine Reserves off of the Oregon coast have prompted the fishing industries to make sure our concerns are heard and taken into account.

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The prospect of choosing a bottle that will please all of your guests and complement all of your dishes can perplex the most confident holiday host.

Even avid wine lovers can be struck with a temporary case of oenophobia — fear of wine — around Thanksgiving. The prospect of choosing a bottle that will please all of your guests and complement all of your dishes can perplex the most confident holiday host.

So what do you do? BYBO is one answer. Another is to let me help you choose a few bottles to uncork without breaking the bank or cashing in that IRA.

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What can we do?

There is an online petition to encourage President-elect Barack Obama to choose Mr. Pollan as the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

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Allow me to explain…

Back in 1999, when I was teaching at the California Culinary Academy, I was involved in both the cooking and the tasting of the San Francisco Chronicle Food section’s Turkey Challenge. Over a two week period, we cooked 28 turkeys to find the best method of producing a plump, juicy and flavorful bird.

We brined some turkeys and left some uncovered overnight in the refrigerator. We roasted some, barbecued others, deep fried one and even smoked another. We cooked some breast up and some breast down. Some we basted and some not, some were covered in the oven and some not. Some were stuffed and some not. We cooked turkeys at an oven temperature varying between 325º to 450ºF. Are you getting the picture?

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With that mindset, I was pleasantly surprised, almost overjoyed, when Eater.com posted the following notice on Tuesday, November 11, 2008,

An emergency meeting of the Deathwatch Committee was called earlier today, with the upshot being that the Deathwatch has been suspended until further notice (but absolutely not-no way in hell-permanently). In its stead, Eater will be bringing you some new features in the coming weeks, one of which shall be called Rally Cry, which has you nominating restaurants we then collectively try to save.

The point is that we know that you know that we know that we’re all in this together. We’ve got no love for a scenario with fewer great restaurants to obsess over, so here’s us doing our part.

Two thumbs-up and a big “tip-of-the-hat”, thank you Stephen Colbert. After all, the word sustainable means “the capacity to maintain a certain process or state indefinitely.” Or at least long enough to get our fill.

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Grimod de La Reynière (1758-1837)

It’s not a misprint. Salumi is Italian for the whole family of salted, cured cuts of meat or sausages made primarily (but not exclusively) from pork. It is a category of cured meats that includes salami but also includes other products such as coppa (spicy cured pork shoulder), soppressata (spicy dried pork sausage) and bresaola (air dried beef). In Italian, cured meat products are generally referred to as affettati, the Italian equivalent of the French charcuterie.

Salumi Artisan Cured Meats, Seattle, Washington

Clockwise from top: Lardo, Oregano Salami, Lamb Prosciutto, Culatello, Salumi Salami, Hot Sopressata Salami, Mole Salami, Lomo, Guanciale, Finocchiona Salami, Smoked Paprika Salami. Center from top: Cotecchino, Cotto, Coppa, Pancetta.

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Luckily, there are some wonderful food- and wine-related films that tell us more about the seductive interplay of food and wine, cooking and canoodling, elation and exhaustion than some pumped-up TV “chef” screaming into the camera.

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