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23 Sep 09 - Pantry.html - EstanciaValley.Com 
"The
last reason people go to a restaurant in Italy is for the food; everyone knows
that the truly best plate of lasagne is served at grandma's house on Sunday, and
that the perfect osso buco is made at Aunt Somebody-or-Other's house, not in a
restaurant." - from the Introduction of Molto Italiano
by Mario Batali | Q
- "Which of the following thrifty measures will save the average middle-class
man the most money in a 12-month period?" A
- "End gym membership 7% - Insulate the house better 8% - Carpool or commute
via mass transit 20% - Pay only in cash 25% - Eat a packed lunch or cook dinner
at home more often 40%." -
a Readers' Poll in Best Life magazine, March 2009 |
Welcome
to Pantry 66
- the online catalog
for fabulous cookware + hard to find reports on the economics of agriculture trends. | |
Sustainable
Cooking? 
How Much Fish?
Getting
Real About the High Price of Cheap Food
All aboard for bland McDonald's?
Too
many parents capitulate to McDonald's $Billion/year advertising and have difficulty
keeping their kids to eat at home. Cooking at home can be fun, easy, economical,
and wholesome training for the kids. Here are
my favorite spices and condiments I use when I cook: Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce,
Cholula Chili Lime Hot Sauce, Cholula Chili Roast Garlic Seasoning, Del Monte's
Bold Sloppy Joe Sauce, Emiril's Southwest Spice Blend, French's NoSalt Sodium-Free
Salt, Head Country Bar-B-Q Sauce, Kirkland Basalmic Vinegar, Morton & Bassett
Herbs from Provence, Morton's Hot Salt, Sun Brand Madras Curry Powder, Tabasco
Chipotle Pepper Sauce, Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar, & Wild
Oats Mesquite Seasoning. My favorite spice
blends by McCormick are: Cajun Seasoning Blend, Garam Masala Blend, Grill
Mates Garlic & Onion Medley, Pizza Seasoning Grinder, Smokehouse Ground Black
Pepper, & Southwestern Spice Blends. With
the above mentioned fabulous flavors, you have no excuse not to make great tasting
beef burger, omelette, meat loaf, casserole, baked fish, grilled chicken, sauted
shrimp, pan seared veggies, or pasta/rice. What
fast-food joint uses bacon bits, garlic, ginger, hazelnut, orange slices, baby
spinach leaves, pineapple spears, applesauce, sliced almonds, Vidalia onions,
or sweet potato? Who the hell would want bland
McDonald's when these tasty delights can be cooked quickly and economically at
HOME?? Don't forget dutch oven magic such as
with gumbo, osso buco, or cassoulet. Specialties never to be found at a fast food
joint. |
Wondra
Flour is recommended by Mario Batali & Emiril Lagasse Whole
Green Catalog: 1000 Best Things for You and the Earth ~ Michael
W. Robbins |
|
Branson Tower Farm 
| "Oxo Good
Grips Stainless Steel Convertible Colander" |
| "Glorious
One-Pot Meals: A Revolutionary New Quick and Healthy Approach to Dutch-Oven Cooking"
by Elizabeth Yarnell |
| |
Plant
a garden, harvest savings. 
Currently, not open to the public. Have yet to open. We'll
just be wholesale the first 1-2 years. I'm currently working toward a Baker Certificate
at Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque. 
Michael Pollan
Big Chill Pastry Board by Kuhn
Rikon (we have to find a new supplier)
"Hope's
Edge: The Diet for a Small Planet" by Francis
Moore Lappe & Anna Lappe *
Nutritional analysis of the different cuts of beef finds that Chuck is slightly
better than the praised Bison meat. Yet, chuck is much cheaper. Suprisingly, many
grocery stores, ie Smith's, have a high percentage of chuck already in their ground
hamburger - a big bargain for us. |
"Eat
This Not That: Thousands of Simple Food Swaps That Can Save You 10, 20, 30 Pounds-or
More!" by David Zinczenko & Matt Goulding
"Eat
Out, Eat Right: The Guide to Healthier Restaurant Eating" by Hope
S. Warshaw
While most cookware can only handle an oven at 350-400 degrees,
Anolon cookware can handle an oven up to
500 degrees. Amazon has an amazing bargain: an
$803 Anolon Professional 12-Piece Nonstick Cookware Set for only $150.
Here's
my online find for CNM culinary students using the "Required materials"
checklist who want to get the FURI (or Wusthof) brand high-carbon stainless steel
knives required for the cooking OR baking labs. I think the Wusthof Classic have
good control with their 90-degree corners than other models which have rounded
handles. But then Rachael Ray's Gusto Grip by Furi are "sticky" and
Shun knives have a D-shape handle. You should be VERY pleased by getting the $300
10-pc. Rachael Ray Gusto Grip Knife Block Set by Furi. Ignore
almost every knife reference below: get Rachael Ray Gusto
Grip knives by Furi. * HomeClick.com
- 800-643-9990 - free shipping - no taxes outside of NJ - $219
for Gourmet 10-piece Wusthof block set w/ 2.75" trimming knife, 3"
straight pairing knife, 3.5" curved pairing knife, 4" utility knife,
6" sandwich knife, 8" cook's knife, 8" bread knife, 9" sharpening
steel, come apart 8" kitchen shears, 17 slot knife block, & manual sharpener.
Also, order the $55
Flexible Fillet 7" Knife with Sheath (needed by cooks, not bakers) (or
the 7" Flexible
Fillet Knife by F. Dick for $60) that isn't a part of the block set. *
After CNM, I'll later trade up to the Furi 9" East/West chef's knife,
but that 10-piece Wusthof block set, which included the 8" cook's knife,
was too good of a deal to ignore. * Yes, you
can economize by getting the Mercer brand of cook's knives in a bag @ the CNM
Bookstore for just $179. But then that's Mercer, not Furi or Wusthof. *
Get the $2-$5 all essential blade guards by Wusthof for any brand of knife
(butchers may want to get the $19 Forchner 10" double-pouch aluminum knife
scabbard) @ CutleryAndMore.com. *
Though not required, get the $70 Rachel Ray Furi 5" & 7" blade
Santoku knives w/ bamboo cutting board from CutleryAndMore.com.
(Furi Santoku knife blades have a 20-degree angle, while Wusthof Santoku knives
have a 17-degree angle edge.) * Though not
required, RR's convex mezzaluna
mincing knife are cool when matched with a concave chopping bowl/block. Instead
of trying to escape a flat cutting board, hazelnuts obey gravity & fall/roll
back to the center/bottom of the chopping bowl. |
*
Though not required, you can get the $140 Wusthof Dreizack 8" Pro Meat
Cleaver from Fantes.com. *
Rather than lugging your personally-owned knives in a wood block to class or
to work, the chef's knife canvas carry bag is @ the Williams-Sonoma store for
only $29. You might not find it in the catalog or online, so call your local store.
Knife bags seem to be $59-$65 elsewhere. * Note:
It doesn't hurt to ask for student's discounts. *
If your pockets are deep, you might not regret getting the beautiful Shun model
knives, especially with the the Alton Angle, by Kershaw - available @ HomeClick
& Williams-Sonoma. Tue,
25 Mar 2008 - From: "COLEMAN, KEITH" - Subject: RE: Wusthof
knives The knife bag alone is 30.00.Yes
you could swap for a 10" although I suggest you learn to command an 8"
before you take on a 10". We do not use
the mezzaluna. We use a knife to mince herbs. The
oyster knife can be useful in the global semester. The
Wusthof boning knife is sufficiently flexible in 5". The
fillet knife is very nice for fish, chicken, etc; but you still need a boning
knife, and anything over 5: gets unwieldy. The
fillet knife can be ordered with a leather sheath for fishing, but the sheath
is now an added cost. In the food business
bigger is not always better, unless there is a specific need. A 4 /12 " paring
is also going to be unwieldy. 3 1/2" would serve you better. A Santoku in
the second half makes a better "utility" knife. Thanks,
Keith Coleman, AAS,MCFE,CC,CPFM Department of Culinary Arts, Hospitality,
and Tourism School of Business and Information Technology Central
New Mexico Community College Member American Culinary Federation,
International Food Service Executives Association, World Assn. of Cooks Societies State
Chair Skills USA/Culinary, Coach ACF Junior Team. CNM- National Skills USA Gold
Medals in F&B and Hot Food 2007 Culinary Arts Web
http://www.cnm.edu/depts/bit/programs/handt/culinary/index.php |
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assignment
: MEDIA NOTE - by Andrew Homer - for CULN 1101 - a/o 2008 Mar 27 FOOD
DISAPPEARS & HIGHER PRICES APPEAR * In
many states, in the US, bees are disappearing. Bees are essential to pollinate
vegetables and orchards, both fruit and nuts. - Reilly, Michael. 2007. Where have
all the bees gone? New Scientist - Environment. On-line. Available from Internet,
http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg19325964.500-where-have-all-the-bees-gone.html,
accessed 19 March 2008. * Because so much corn
is being converted to ethanol for alternative engine fuel and because so much
soybeans are processed into biodiesel fuel, the prices of many processed foods,
dependent upon those two popular crops, are rising. - Cummins, Caroline. 2007.
Portland, OR: Culinate. On-line. Available from Internet, http://www.culinate.com/articles/sift/corn_ethanol_biodiesel_controversy,
accessed 19 March 2008. * The cost of flour
is rising. Alert all you bread, cake, and pizza lovers. Now is the time to use
potato as a thickener rather than flour. - Blaney, Betsy. 2008. Save Your Dough
for Bread. Albuquerque Journal, 15 March, A1. (*
Though the price of coffee is rising, too, we're addicted to it enough that purchases
don't seem to be slowing down. - Stiger, Susan. 2008. Pricier Coffee Still a Habit.
Albuquerque Journal, 18 March, A1.) * 80% of
grocery prices will rise. More people will be eating at home. - Stiger, Susan.
2008. Feeling The Food Pinch. Albuquerque Journal, 19 March, A1. *
There won't be any quick reversal of the current across-the-board increase
of food prices. Starting with skyrocketing fuel prices impacting just getting
the food to market. Increase corn production solely going into ethanol production
is increasing food prices worldwide. The increased populations of China and India
require greater meat production which demands for grain (ie, corn) production.
- Dingmann, Tracy. 2008. Fuel prices are driving up cost of produce. Albuquerque
Journal, 19 March, D1. * There's
more dire news from Mother Jones magazine : Summary
& Commentary 1) More folk
are considering the trade-off between driving their auto or eating. 2)
To avoid the add on cost of food services, more people are eating at home. 3)
More folk are buying less non-essential food items, ie processed food. 4)
A revival of "victory gardens" and sprouting seeds at home for an alternate
food source. |
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