The package instructions couldn’t have been more tempting : “Thaw, rinse with cold water, and serve.” About the size of medium sized shrimp these little pink curls have the consistency of lobster or crab, which isn’t surprising, because they come from the same family. Langoustines are north atlantic lobsters, usually harvested in Scotland and Norway. Unfortunately, these particular langoustines have zero flavor. I can’t think of any preparation method that would have improved them, short of not buying them. Grade: F.

On a recent trip down south, my (other) brother, his son, and I managed to hit a couple of fine and famous eateries on a road trip to Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee, ending up in Huntsville, Alabama. Although we only went to each place once, we tried to go for variety in what we ordered.

We all agreed that the Loveless Cafe in Nashville was, hands down, the best meal we had. Down-home-style food, friendly waiter, and an endless supply of homemade buscuits. I had the country ham plate, with a side of collards and carrots. My brother, Tom, had their pit-smoked turkey breast with cranberry barbecue sauce. My nephew, TJ had the fried chicken. (TJ, 16, born in Richmond, but raised on Cape Cod, claimed it was the best fried chicken and the best biscuits he’d ever eaten in his life.) I have a feeling, if I were a local, I’d be a fixture at this place. So, so very good, and definitely worth revisiting. (Open 7 AM – 9 PM, 7 days a week. 8400 Hwy 100, Nashville, Tenn. 615-646-9700.)  Review @ Roadfood.com / Loveless Cafe Menu

I’d intended to make this trip all about southern barbeque, but neglected to confirm this with my traveling companions, who only had a very limited appetite for the delicacy. Internet searches claimed that the best bbq in Nashville was in the touristy part of town. Called Jack’s, the ribs were pretty smokey, almost too smokey for my taste, and they were served dry, though there were several options of sauce to choose from. Tom had a pulled pork sandwich, and my nephew had the pulled chicken. They both thought it was pretty good.

The other bbq restaurant we tried was called Interstate, in Memphis, the city of bbq. I’d gotten several recommendations about this being the best place in the best city for bbq. I ordered the combination platter, so I could try everything they had to offer. It came with a couple beef and pork ribs, some pulled pork, and pulled beef, and some smoked sausage. It was all covered in a thin bbq sauce, so the plate looked bloody. The spicy sausage was the best, I think, while the pork ribs and the pulled beef were close runners up. It also came with a side order of bbq’d spaghetti, which I was told to specifically look out for. I wasn’t too impressed, unfortunately. Regular spaghetti coated in more of the sauce and bits of pulled pork, I think. I guess I was hoping for a transcendental experience, being in the best of the best bbq restaurants, so maybe I was expecting too much. I almost think I’ve had better bbq here in Virginia than the stuff I got that day. I’ve since read that some locals think the place has gone downhill in recent years.

I really should have sampled more places while I had the chance. The other places we ate were unmentionable — chosen for convenience rather than quality food — a necessity on a road trip. I do hope to get back to the Loveless Cafe again, though.

Don’t let your grandma’s tale of kitchen terror dissuade you from using this great time-saving device.

(I realize I’ve been talking incessantly about my new toy, so I hope you’ll indulge me a little longer…)

Aside from the rattle of an old-fashioned pressure cooker, and the escaping of steam, there’s really nothing on the face of them that make them any different from a regular pot and lid. Except for the possibility of them exploding. And you might even have some family lore that would justify the fear.

The pressure cooker was invented back in the early 20th century, and was used as a method for industrial canning. They didn’t make it to the home market until the late 1930′s, and were thought to be completely safe. (They were even used on early transcontinental airline flights to provide hot meals for passengers.) Then came World War II, and the US government was hungry for the aluminum that the pressure cookers were made from. Companies that manufactured them were retooled to make military equipment, like airplane engine parts. Housewives were encouraged to donate their pots and pans for the war effort. After the war, the swords returned to ploughshares, and companies retooled once again to make household goods. But the quality of the pots and pans weren’t that great. Production methods favored quantity over quality. Tons of cheap, poorly made pressure cookers hit the market in the late 40′s and early 50′s, and they had the reputation — rightfully so — of exploding under the higher than normal pressures. So if you were a lucky enough cook not to personally experience an in-kitchen detonation, chances are you were wary enough of them to tuck the pots in the deepest depths of your cupboards — only to have them be resurrected by your heirs in the 70′s, who also experienced the same disasterous results.

These days, however, the newer pressure cookers are designed with safety features — pressure regulating systems, and durable, high-quality stainless steel construction. There’s little reason to fear them now.

And there’s certainly no reason to splurge on the electronic gadgetry that mesmerized me recently. Although I’ve used it for some aspect of every meal I’ve made since I bought it — either for the main course, or for a side dish — you can certainly make do with a less expensive, more conventional model. It’ll just require a little more attention and care, but you’ll save a lot on the price. A good 6 quart pressure cooker can be had for as little as $40.

One thing I’ve really noticed while working with mine is that pressure cookers seem to eat up garlic. No matter how many cloves of garlic I add, the flavor just vanishes.

Ok. So I fell for it.

I watched Jacques Pepin make chili con carne in an electric pressure cooker. I didn’t even know these things existed. I’d been contemplating purchasing a regular pressure cooker for awhile now. I added one to my Amazon shopping cart; I turned down the corner of the page in the Sur la Table catalog … but nothing pushed me over the edge until I watched this cooking show.

He just poured the dried beans into the pot right out of the bag. He added raw hamburger, and water and canned tomatoes and tomato paste and spices. He clamped on the lid, and said that he’d have chili in an hour. (I’ve snipped out just the parts where he demonstrates the chili recipe … the first video is the prep, and the second one shows him serving it. The whole episode is here.)

I looked on the internet, and saw recipes for pot roast in less than an hour. Chicken stock in 40 minutes. I read that this cooker let you brown your meat in it first without making you dirty up another pan. It also has a setting that lets you simmer the contents once the pressure is off, to keep it warm. Contrary to his demonstration, it really doesn’t seem to be designed to let you put the ingredients in, then go off to work or the store, and have it wait, and then turn itself on 45 minutes before you get home. Instead, the timer is more a way to limit the amount of time the food cooks under pressure — the device will build up the pressure, cook for the time you’ve set on the timer, and then shut off. (On re-reading the manual, it’ll cook for the allotted time, and then switch to “simmer” mode — so I guess you could set it up, let it cook, and then it’ll keep warm all day long while you were shopping or at work.)

Well, of course I had to have one. I had some credit built up on Amazon, so I ordered it.

And then I re-watched the cooking show, and only then realized that the whole damn show is sponsored by Cuisinart, the people who make the electric pressure cooker. What’s more, the unsweetened chocolate he puts in is made by yet another of his sponsors. I realized I’d been bamboozled. Oh, Jacques! How could you? If anyone would resist being a infomercial pitch-man, it’d be you.

So, the cooker showed up this afternoon, and I was tempted to make dinner using it, but then I figured I should wait and try some of the recipes from the little cookbook that came with it, instead of just winging it. I don’t have much buyer’s remorse. I’m still glad I bought it, but the proof will be in the pudding.

Cuisinart CPC-600 1000-Watt 6-Quart Electric Pressure Cooker, $149

On a trip to East Texas not so long ago, we were looking for a good diner for breakfast. There are a few diners down there but strangely enough, they don’t seem to be open for breakfast (only lunch and dinner). We couldn’t stomach Sonics (if you don’t know, it’s okay), and so continued our search only to stumble onto a down home latino place with an interesting authentic “tex mex” menu and no gringos (except us) in sight. We ordered Migas, which the waitress explained to us is eggs cooked with tortillas. The meal was awesome.

Migas means “crumbs” in spanish.

I recently found, on a discount table, an extraordinary cookbook by Cheryl and Bill Jamison called “American Home Cooking: Over 500 Spirited Recipes Celebrating Our Rich Tradition of Home Cooking.” Far from being a stuffy book about Pilgrim’s culinary progress (or lack thereof) or your grandmothers creamed onions, this cookbook has a variety of great regional recipes … including one for Migas. You should buy Jamisons’ book to get the whole story (you’ll also find in there recipes for boiled peanuts, Virginia country ham, Kansas City Spareribs, New England boiled dinner, Texas BBQ brisquet, Hoppin’ John, Cheese grits, Baked Vidalia Onions and other down home food from all over America). I can tell you that the end product was virtually identical to the real thing I was served down in that little latino hole in the wall diner in East Texas.  Turns out Rachel Ray has even made Migas on her cooking show — good for her!  It’s easy, its quick and its awesome.

Migas (with credit to Cheryl & Bill Jamison and a cozy little tex mex diner somewhere between Houston and Dallas):

ROAST plum tomatoes and a chili pepper over a hot gas burner, then chop.

BROWN chorizo sausage with diced onion in a frying pan. Add your chopped tomatoes and chili pepper.

POUR in some eggs whisked with a little water and stir.

Just before the eggs are done, ADD some broken tortilla chips (no not fritos!) and stir.

MIX in grated cheese and cilantro.

SERVE.

Migas with Vegan Chorizo by VeganWarrior on Flickr

Daily Lunch is a japanese site detailing one obsessive artist’s lunch box, and their artistic creative presentations.

How hot dogs are made. How frozen pizzas are made. What’s in a twinkie?

(Amazing. Twinkies have been around for 78 years! They’ve been around as long as the Chrysler Building, in New York, and Betty Boop. Here are more events from 1930.)

This was one of my granddad’s favorites. It’s very economical. You can probably make it for less than $5 total provided you have all the seasonings on hand. (Especially if you grab your cheddar from the dairy aisle of the grocery store, instead of the specialty cheese or deli section.) Supposedly the name dates back to early eighteenth-century England, when meat was so expensive that the poor could only eat cheaper cuts, like rabbit, which was the cheapest meat of all. But, as the slur goes, even rabbit was too expensive for the Welsh, and so they were forced to substitute cheese for meat. I’ve always considered this meal to be luxurious.

2 cups (½ lb. or 250g) aged, sharp Cheddar, grated
1 tablespoon (15g) butter
½ cup (125ml) beer
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
pinch of cayenne pepper
sliced bread, toasted

Melt butter and cheese together over low heat; stir in the beer and continue to stir until the mixture is well blended. Remove from heat and beat in egg and seasonings. Arrange several slices of toast in a shallow pan and pour the rarebit over them. Brown briefly under a broiler and serve while still bubbling. Serves 2, or 4 as an appetizer.

(I really have no idea why Winsor McCay made such a big deal about the hallucinatory properties of this dish, but do let me know if you have any weird dreams after eating it!)

Dream of the Rarebit Fiend. by Winsor McCay, The New York Evening Telegram, May 30, 1908;
Waking Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, Boston Globe, Oct. 31, 2007;
Dream of The Rarebit Fiend: The Saturdays, by Winsor McCay.

For a birthday present, my brother very thoughtfully gave me a copy of “Eat Me : The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin”” by Kenny Shopsin, along with the companion documovie “I like Killing Flies.” The cookbook and movie tell a fascinating story about an original American who created a one-of-a-kind eatery in Greenwich Village that is fervently beloved by its patrons and enigmatic to most everyone else.

The pragmatic cookbook “Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin”, like the author, is an American original. The book is brilliant – simultaneously disorganized and laser-beam focused, often outrageous and highly opinionated yet somehow non-judgmental, highly interesting and occasionally truly fascinating. Looking for a trendy cookbook filled with elegant in vogue recipes to help you show off at your next fancy dinner party? This book is not for you. Love Martha Stewart? Forget this book. Eat Me, like its author, is the antithesis of showy upper-middle-class. But could you use some pragmatic, totally down-to-earth, insightfully practical advice to help you prepare high quality basic food for your family? Need some inspiration and encouragement to experiment in the kitchen without fear? If so, you need to check out this book!!

Shopsin is an artist. His palette consists of the ingredients in his kitchen. He gives you practical, pragmatic advice about techniques that work (for him) and ones that don’t. Given his many self-taught years cooking food to order, his advice is remarkably relevant to home cooks – especially those that go to basic preparation techniques and ingredients. For example, he very thoughtfully and observantly deconstructs basic processes such as making eggs, pancakes and hamburgers. His observations are brilliant – not scientific, not analytical – just perceptive and highly experienced. Shopsin tells you where to get the most bang for your buck and your time: where you might consider cutting corners (because the extra work does not substantially improve the results) and where you can’t. He tells you how to read a recipe and which ones you might consider avoiding. And that’s just the beginning. In this formulaic recipe- bible era of leveraging off pre-prepared ingredients, Shopsin’s pragmatic, highly experimental approach is freeing and inspiring. Reading this book will make you a better cook. It will get you to think about what you’re doing and will give you the courage to NOT follow the recipe next time but to instead go with the flow. But be prepared for 100% honesty and zero pretentiousness. WYSIWYG. If that’s not for you, neither is this book.

I’m not sure how long this deal will last, but if you need a new food processor, or don’t have one yet, Amazon is selling this Cuisinart food processor for $80 off its list price, a savings of 44%. This is the same model I’ve used since 2005, and I have no complaints about it. It works great, and this is a great, great price.

A foodie blogger in the UK has manufactured a meme and came up with a list of 100 items for people to repost on their blogs to say what they’ve eaten, what they haven’t, and what they won’t. I managed to tick off 71 items, and only indicated 4½ items I wouldn’t ever touch : horse, roadkill, head cheese, a raw scotch bonnet pepper, and a fat cigar (which was listed with cognac, something I’m more than happy to drink).

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred…

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