Hernando de Soto (ca. 1500- 1542) was a Spanish conquistador.  In other words, he was an invader and a pillager.  History and modern culture tend to lionize the early European conquerors, but let’s face it, their goal was to seize other people’s territory, plunder the natural resources, pilfer whatever valuables they could, and eliminate any natural inhabitants that stood in their way.

De Soto first distinguished himself in the conquest of Central America where he was known for his brutality.  Later he participated in the vanquishing of the Incas under Francisco Pizarro.  He then returned to Spain and delivered a large cache of gold and valuables to the Spanish monarchy, for which he was handsomely rewarded.

Back to the New World

He was then commissioned to return to the New World on a new quest.  His goal was to “explore” the southeastern US, which translates into finding trade routes to the Orient, claim additional lands for Spain, purloin more gold, and bump off any natives that resisted.

He landed in Florida in 1539 with over 600 men.  The exact route is debated but he traversed numerous southeastern states and eventually made his way to the Mississippi River, thus earning him the distinction of being the first European to discover it.

Along the way tens of thousands of American Indians died, either from direct skirmishes with de Soto’s men, or the spread of European diseases to which the Indians had no immunity, (e.g., measles, small pox and chicken pox).  De Soto himself succumbed to fever during the expedition in 1542.  His men buried his body in the Mississippi River to prevent the natives from desecrating it.

de Soto Introduces the Orange to the Americas

While lauded for his marauding endeavors and “discovery” of the Mississippi, de Soto is also credited for one lesser known fact:  the introduction of the orange to the Americas.  He brought orange trees to St. Augustine where they flourished, eventually giving rise to the large scale production that Florida is so well known for today.

Oranges originated in Southeast Asia and were first cultivated there 6,000 years ago.  Cultivation in China began around 2400 B.C.      The Arabs introduced them to the Mediterranean region about 1000 A.D.  Today they are found in warm weather areas all over the globe.  The US and Brazil are the largest producers.  Interestingly, the word “orange” meaning the color, comes from the fruit and not vice versa.

The Three Categories of Oranges

There are three general categories of oranges: sweet, loose skinned and bitter.

Sweet oranges, such as the Navel or Valencia, are best eaten fresh and are prized for their juice.  Their skins are somewhat resistant to peeling. Blood oranges are an interesting type of sweet orange, their sanguineous name arising from their crimson hue.

Loose skinned oranges, as the name implies, are easier to decorticate.  Mandarins and tangerines, (a sub-type of mandarin orange), are well known loose skinned varieties.  Their taste is slightly tarter than sweet oranges.

Finally bitter oranges, such as Seville or Bergamot, are sour and usually not eaten raw.  They are best for cooking, made into marmalade, candying their peels, and infusing liqueurs such as Curacao.

Oranges are available year round.  Choose specimens heavy for their size with no soft spots.  Color is a misleading indicator of quality as some producers infuse them with food coloring to make their oranges look, well, more orange.

The Zest Is Best for Flavoring

Oranges can be kept in the fridge up to two weeks.  As with all citrus fruits, the outer peel, known as the zest, can be utilized as well.  The flavor of the zest of citrus fruits is even more intense than their juice, since the zest contains the essential oils.  It is easily removed with a microplane grater.

It can then be incorporated into all kinds of recipes.  Extract only the outer most layer of the zest.  The white pith underneath it is very bitter.  Finally oranges are used in a variety of non-culinary products such as perfumes, furniture conditioners and cleaning agents.

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Grilled Mahi Mahi with Tomato-Orange Salsa

For the salsa:

2 large navel oranges, peeled, segments removed, chopped
3 large on-the-vine tomatoes, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 small batch of cilantro, stems included, chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, chopped
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste

Combine all of the above ingredients and reserve.

For the Mahi Mahi:

4 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 jalapeno, finely minced
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 handful of cilantro, chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 (6-oz.) Mahi Mahi steaks, (or substitute tuna or swordfish)

Thoroughly whisk all of the above ingredients, (except the fish) in a bowl.  Pour the mixture into a large zip-loc bag with the fish and marinate for no more than 30 minutes.  Remove the fish and drain off any of the marinade. Reserve the remaining marinade.

Grill or broil the fish until seared on each side.  Drizzle some of the reserved marinade on the fish while cooking.  Discard any marinade leftover that has not been cooked.  Serve the fish with the tomato-orange salsa.

Chef Mark R. Vogel
FoodForThought.com

It’s official. I’m now a fan of  Lidia Bastianich and her incredible knowledge of Italian cuisine along with her unique cooking techniques. For Christmas I received my first Lidia cookbook, Lidia Cooks From The Heart of Italy and I was blown away by her depth of culinary knowledge and ability to describe it.

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to get acquainted with her work. She is phenomenal. I was so excited after reading some of her recipes in this book and giving a few a try, I went out and purchased two more of her cookbooks, Lidia’s Italy and Lidia’s Family Table and can’t wait to write about what I’ve cooked from them.

This Tuna Genova Style or Tonno alla Genovese as Lidia calls it started with a trip to the Ardmore Farmers market on Saturday where my friendly fishmonger Andy was cutting up some gorgeous fresh tuna. I asked him when he thought the fish was caught and he thought maybe 3 or 4 days earlier. It looked terrific and again I will advise all home cooks to get to know your fish, meat and vegetable purveyors. They will direct you to the freshest ingredients and the best value of the day. Enough said.

I knew I wouldn’t be cooking the fish until Monday night so I asked Andy to cut me one piece that I could cut up into steaks later. As soon as I brought the tuna home, I vacuum sealed it in one of my favorite food gadgets, the FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer. This tool has saved me a lot of money over time by prolonging the freshness of my cheeses, meats and any leftovers I freeze.

So you can see this whole meal started with my going to the Farmers market looking for something to cook and then finding the freshest ingredients available. Once I had the tuna, I looked for ideas about how to cook and serve it.  Often I will glance through several cookbooks for ideas but this time I picked up Lidia’s cookbook and immediately found what I looking for. This is how I typically decide how and what to cook.

We served the Tuna Genova Style with white rice and Brussels sprouts blanched and then sautéed with bacon and finished in the oven. A delicious meal we all enjoyed including the kids.

Tuna Genova Style
Adapted from Lidia Cooks From The Heart of Italy

Ingredients

1½ pounds fresh tuna, cut into 2 large steaks
salt, to season the tuna
flour, to dredge the tuna in
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup of dried porcini mushrooms
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 small anchovy fillets (try anchovy paste if you don’t want to open up a whole can for 2 fillets)
1½ cups of dry white wine
juice from 1 small lemon
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to finish the sauce
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped.

How to Make Tuna Genova Style at Home

I made the sauce separately from the tuna only because I wanted to get it done before everyone was ready for me to make dinner. In the end I just added the sauce to the pan the tuna cooked in and finished the recipe. Next time I would prepare the entire dish in one pan as Lidia does.

Start by soaking the dried porcini mushrooms in a cup of water. Next season the tuna steaks with salt on both sides and dredge in flour being sure to coat both sides but more importantly, shaking off any excess flour.

Heat a frying pan large enough to hold both steaks over medium-high heat until hot. Add 4 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil and let that get hot but not smoking.

Add the tuna to the pan and pan fry for about 1 minute. Flip the tuna steaks over and cook on the other side for another minute to minute and a half. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the tuna to a plate to keep warm while you make the sauce. I covered the fish with aluminum foil.

Start the Sauce

Remove the soaking mushrooms from the water but don’t throw the water out. We will use it in the sauce. Chop up the porcini mushrooms to fine pieces.

Add the frying pan back to the burner over medium high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and let it get hot. Add the crushed garlic, chopped anchovy fillets and chopped up porcini mushrooms.

When those ingredients start to sizzle, add the white wine, lemon juice and the water the porcini mushrooms soaked in. I used a funnel lined with a paper towel to remove any sediment from the water. I would have liked to use a coffee filter in a funnel but couldn’t find any.

Add the thyme sprigs and season with a little salt. Bring the sauce to a low boil and cook until it is reduced by half.

Finish the Tuna Steaks

When the sauce is reduced by half, add the tuna steaks back into the pan and be sure to pour any juices from the resting tuna into the sauce.  Let the tuna cook in the sauce for about a minute, flip and cook the steaks on the other side for another minute. If you like your tuna more well done, let it cook longer.

People ask me all the time how long is longer. I wish I could tell you but it depends on the stove you are using, the pan, the thickness of the fish and much more. The best I can tell you is over time you will get a feel for it. You can always cut into a piece if you have to know, but I don’t like doing that because you are letting a lot of the juices escape. This is even more a problem with meat and chicken.

Extra Flavor

Now to add even more flavor to the sauce, add 2 tablespoons of butter or extra virgin olive oil to the pan and stir to combine the flavors. Remove the pan from the heat, add the parsley, give a quick stir and you are ready to serve.

I put a couple of spoonfuls of rice in the center of the plate, topped with a tuna steak and spooned the sauce around the sides of the fish and some on top. The Brussels sprouts were tastefully arranged on the side of the plate.

This is a very delicious meal I encourage you to try it and be sure to check out Lida’s cookbooks. I may create a page dedicated to her, the recipes I try from her cookbooks and some of the little cooking techniques she offers.

Let me know how you like this recipe.

Patrick, a third grader from Massachusetts contacted me through his teacher and wanted to interview a pastry chef. Lucky for both of us, Chef Jenni Field, a culinary school graduate, was willing and able.

Here’s what Patrick’s third grade teacher wrote me:

I am a third grade teacher whose class is doing a project about careers.  I have a young man who needs to interview a pastry chef.  Would you be able to accommodate?  He would email you the 6 easy questions, and you could email back the answers.  Thanks for considering this request.  You’d make one young man very happy! Sincerely, Amy

Here are Patrick’s very thoughtful questions, Chef Jenni’s introductory remarks and her answers. Thanks Jenni.

First of all, you need to know that I was a pastry chef in fine dining restaurants, but now I am a food writer and have my own website.  I enjoyed working in the kitchen, but I love what I do now, too.  You have asked some very good questions, and I will try to answer them for you as fully as possible.

1.  Why did you decide to do this job?

I had been a teacher for sixteen years, but I had always loved cooking and baking.  After so many years teaching, I wasn’t really enjoying it anymore, and I was excited about changing careers to become a pastry chef.  That way, I could cook and bake every day!

2.  Do you need any kind of special education, training, or license to do
your job? What kind?

Many people get into cooking and baking just by starting at a young age.  Most of the great chefs in Europe, as well as many in the United States, never went to a special school.  They just worked in a lot of different restaurants and kitchens, learning from great chefs and slowly gaining more and more responsibility in the kitchen.

In the United States these days, many people graduate from culinary school, but graduating from school doesn’t make you a chef.  ”Chef” is the French word for “chief,” and the chief is the person in charge.  The chief has to know more about cooking and baking than everyone else in the kitchen, and he/she has earned respect.

People fresh out of culinary school still have a lot to learn, but it is a very good place to start, and you can learn a lot of the basics of cooking and baking.  Many cooks and chefs are ServSafe Certified.  This means that they have passed a test all about food safety and sanitation.  When I went to culinary school, I took and passed the ServSafe test, too.

3.  What do you like about your job? What do you dislike?

I really enjoyed (and I still do) being able to come up with a dessert idea, make it, and have people like it.  There’s almost nothing better than when someone compliments you on a great dessert that was all your idea!

The thing I disliked the most is standing up in a very hot kitchen all day long.  At the end of the day, my feet were very tired and sore and all I wanted to do was lie on the couch and watch TV for an hour or two!

4.  How long have you been doing this job?

I worked at my first restaurant for a year and a half, and I was the pastry cook and then the pastry chef.  That was a good feeling to get a promotion to pastry chef!  I helped to open and create the dessert menu for another restaurant, and I worked there as the pastry chef in charge of production (making all the dessert components) for six months.  Then, my husband got a new job in another state and we moved away.

5.  What do you do on this job?

Aside from making all the dessert components–ice creams, garnishes, sauces as well as the cakes, tarts and other main dessert items, I also ordered necessary ingredients when they were running low, making sure we never ran out of important things like chocolate, flour, butter, sugar and eggs.  I also kept an inventory of all the food items that we needed.  I ordered ingredients from different vendors and made sure they were all properly stored.

6.  Do you have to retire from this job at a certain age? What age?

As far as I am aware, there is no set age at which a chef needs to retire.  Many chefs work hard into their 60s, 70s and even 80s.  I read somewhere that being a chef is a very good job because you’ll never go hungry and you’ll always have a job.

I hope I’ve answered your questions, Patrick.  If you’d like to interview a pastry chef who is still working at a hotel or restaurant, you can probably call one of the fancy restaurants in your city and ask to interview the pastry chef.  Most chefs are excited about their jobs and would be happy to help you with your project.

Take care,
Jenni Field

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One of my favorite combinations is meat and hot peppers.  There is something about meat, particularly red meat, and hot peppers that I find irresistibly enticing.  Like most “chile heads” I think a wide variety of foods are amenable to heat augmentation, but for our present purposes I wish to focus on meat dishes that are hot.

The Difference Between Hot & Spicy

Allow me to propose an informal distinction between “hot” and “spicy” in the interest of clarity.  By “hot” I am specifically referring to chile peppers and more specifically, capsaicin, the chemical compound that gives hot peppers their fire.  I think of “spicy” as spices or aromatic vegetables that are piquant, but do not contain capsaicin.  Thus, black pepper and garlic are spicy while jalapenos are hot.

I see four avenues by which to incorporate hot peppers into your meat:  hot chile oil, dried ground chile pepper, hot sauces, and most obviously, directly employing whole hot peppers, be them fresh, dried or canned.

Make Your Own Chile Oil

You can buy chile oil or you can easily make your own by simply adding ground hot peppers to a container of oil and allowing it time to infuse.  The oil can be used as a constituent for a marinade or another sauce, or to sauté or pan-fry your meat.  Or you can drizzle some on at the end as a finishing touch.

There are many varieties of pre-made, dried, ground hot pepper.  Some are in powdered form such as ground cayenne and some are in flakes like the crushed hot pepper found in pizza parlors everywhere.  But of course, buying whole chiles, (fresh or dried), and making your own will afford the best flavor.

If the peppers are already dried, merely whiz them in a spice grinder or food processor and then store in a jar.  If they are fresh, cut them open, spread them out on a sheet tray, place them in a 200 degree F. oven overnight until dried, and then grind them.

Ground hot pepper can be added to a marinade or a spice rub applied to meat before cooking.  Or you can sprinkle some in as the dish is cooking or again, use it as a condiment it at the end of cooking.  Like most dried spices however, you will reap its fullest flavor if the recipe in question involves liquid and the ground chiles are allowed to slowly permeate it.

Should I Buy Store-Bought Chile Powder?

If you plan on relying on store-bought chile powder, please note that there is a difference between chile (with an “e”) powder and chili (with an “i”) powder.  Chile (with an “e”) powder is solely ground chile peppers.  Chili (with an “i”) powder is a mixture of chile powder and other spices such as cumin, coriander, garlic, etc.

As for hot sauces, there’s basically an infinite number based on every hot pepper imaginable and in conjunction with innumerable other ingredients.  Choose the one you like based on taste and heat level.  Then, like hot oil or chile powder, incorporate it into a marinade, utilize it as a component for a sauce, or dispense it straight on its own, as a condiment at the table.

Buying Fresh or Dried Chile Peppers

Finally there are fresh chile peppers, whole dried chiles, and canned chiles.  Fresh chiles can easily be chopped and added to a dish at virtually any point in the cooking process.  Sauté them with onions and/or garlic and then adorn your steak.  I also like grilled long hot peppers, left whole, with steak.  Or I might sprinkle freshly chopped peppers on my meat at the table.  Or let them bathe in the fluid for a braised meat dish.

Dried whole chiles are usually soaked in hot water first, and then used like fresh ones.  Finely strain the fluid they soaked in with cheesecloth and then use it to deglaze a pan or as a component of a sauce or cooking liquid.  Use either fresh or whole dried chiles to make your own hot sauce.  Chop and boil them in a water/vinegar combo with other aromatics and/or spices and then whiz everything in a blender.

Finally, canned chile peppers, such as chipotles, (smoked jalapenos), can be used like fresh chiles.  They are very hot and the sauce they are packed in, called adobo, is delicious.

Spicy Meatballs in Beer - Chili Sauce

For the meatballs:

3 shallots, diced
Olive oil, as needed
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs total weight, mixed ground beef, pork and veal
4 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise
2 eggs, beaten
A few squirts of Worcestershire sauce
A handful of chopped parsley
Ground cayenne pepper, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the sauce:

2 (12-oz.) bottles Hein chili sauce
1 (12-oz.) can of beer
A few squirts of Worcestershire sauce
Ground cayenne pepper or your favorite hot sauce, to taste
2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)

Sauté the shallots in the olive oil until soft.  Add the garlic and sauté less than a minute.  Add the shallot/garlic mixture and the remaining oil from the pan to the meat.  Mix all of the ingredients for the meatballs and form into balls of desired size.

In a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven, brown the meatballs in olive oil in batches.  After the last batch, remove the meatballs and drain the fat from the pot.  Add the chili sauce and use it to deglaze the bottom of the pot, scraping off the brown bits with a wooden spoon.  Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce.  The chili sauce is already somewhat sweet but if you prefer it sweeter add the sugar.

Cover the pot and simmer the meatballs on a low temperature as evidenced by bubbles gently breaking the surface, for one hour.  Serve them as is, over noodles, or make a sandwich on a hoagie roll.

Chef Mark R. Vogel
FoodForThought.com

All About White Peppercorns

In some culinary circles, there is hot debate over which sort of pepper to use, white or black.  Some chefs use white pepper strictly for aesthetic reasons:  they use white pepper in white or light-colored dishes and sauces so there won’t be any black flecks.  Other chefs find white pepper to be a more complex yet subtle flavor than that of black pepper, which can be pretty in-your-face.

Still other chefs really dislike white pepper and refuse to use it.  Famously, Jacques Pepin always disagreed with Julia Child on their show, Julia and Jacques:  Cooking at Home, regarding the use of white pepper.  Julia used white pepper for aesthetic reasons, and Jacques hated the stuff and used black.  He was even willing to “suffer” black specks in his béchamel!

So what is all the fuss about?   Is there really a huge difference between white and black pepper?

Are there certain times when one should be used over the other?  Honestly, the bottom line, as it so often is in cooking, is use what you like.  For those of you unfamiliar with white pepper, it comes from the same plant as black pepper. Just like green bell peppers allowed to ripen on the vine eventually turn red, white pepper is allowed to ripen fully on the vine, and then the now red or yellow outer skins are removed.

This can be accomplished in a couple of ways.  The skins can be soaked off in water, or the skins can eventually be rinsed off by letting water flow over the peppercorns continuously.  The second method results in a much cleaner final product, although both taste very similar. After the skins are removed, the creamy white centers are dried.

And what does white pepper taste like?

It is a little bit hot, a little bit winey and a lot earthy.  For me, the key distinction between white and black pepper is white pepper’s earthiness.  In dishes where I want to highlight earthiness, I use white pepper.  In dishes where I am just looking for a base note of heat, I use black pepper.

Some cuisines lend themselves more naturally to one over the other.  For example, white pepper is widely used in Indian, Asian and Mexican cuisines.  To me, the food from these regions is very earthy and highly spiced.  I don’t necessarily mean “hot,” just well spiced.  Although I often use white pepper in white sauces, I really use it more for the flavor than the aesthetics.  I also love to pair white pepper with another of my favorite earthy spices, cumin.

While you can purchase ground white pepper, I recommend buying whole white peppercorns as the flavor will last much longer.  Black and white pepper both begin to lose potency upon grinding, so grinding fresh right before using will give the best pepper flavor.

Occasionally, I have seen whole white peppercorns at the grocery store, but they are usually very expensive, and they can be difficult to find.  I recommend buying them in bulk at Amazon.com where you will find a large selection. See White Peppercorns

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