Chris Amirault

Not that I know of, Holly. There must be a few, though, somewhere!

Mother to Mother On Tuesday, 17 January 2006, Susan Fahning talked for an hour with Sara Moulton on a wide range of topics. Here’s an excerpt: snowangel: I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t know much about you until we got cable and we were introduced to the world of Food TV. My kids cottoned to you almost immediately because you talk about kids and about satisfying picky eaters. My son, Peter, says, "She talks like a mom, but not my mom!" I know you have two children. Sara: Yes, my daughter Ruthie is 19 and a freshman at Boston University. My son Sammy is 15 and a 10th grader in NYC. snowangel: I try to keep my kids involved in the kitchen. Are yours? Sara: Yes, they are, though not as much as I’d like because they have so much homework. My daughter will often make the salad. My son makes very good smashed potatoes. Basically, I don’t ask them to help. I do ask them to set the table, clear the table and scrape the dishes. During the summer, we have 2 weeks off and we will make dinner together about three nights a week. But, I’m a bad girl. I can’t believe that I didn’t work harder on cooking with them. I will tell you this -- they love to eat. That’s not to say that they eat absolutely everything, but with the passion my husband and I have, it's really fun when the four of us travel. snowangel: Where would you point me in your new book, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals, to find things for my kids to cook? Sara: That’s a really good question. The Balsamic Chicken is really good, as is the Chicken with Sausage and Hot Cherry Peppers (although not all kids like those kinds of ingredients). That would be an easy one. It depends on how old the kids are, but I tend to stay away from equipment like blenders and stuff because things get more messy. Maybe the Chinese Chicken Soup? Things where you just toss stuff together -- dump recipes. I’m sure most of the salads would be pretty easy. In terms of the desserts that would be fun -- although this is a bit of a stretch -- I’d say the Baked Alaskan. We call it Alaskan (there’s a whole long story there about the Beastie Boys), but you use store bought cookies and good quality raspberry sherbet, and then you get powdered egg whites -- there’s one called “Just Whites.” I recommend the powdered egg whites for salmonella reasons. You add water and sugar, put it in a Ziploc bag, snip off the end, pipe it over this frozen sandwich and bake for 5 minutes in a 500 degree oven. It is the coolest and most elegant dessert. The egg whites and piping would be fun for the kids. The sandwich thing would be easy. It looks like this fancy dessert which isn’t fancy at all. snowangel: How much of a part did your own family play in you writing Sara's Secrets? Sara: They played a huge part, actually. My husband is a writer. He takes my writing and translates it into English without losing my voice (because I do have a voice!). He really helps to shape it. For the recipe part, we would have odd dinners. We might have two sandwiches and a soup for dinner. Or four side dishes. Or two breakfast dishes. I really relied on my family’s reactions. My husband would say, "I'm not getting the asparagus thing. It’s not asparagussy enough." Or my kids would say, "I don’t like the texture." My kids are trained so they actually know some stuff! So, they might say, "This is really flat and needs a little acid," or, "It just needs another element, it’s too boring." You know, they were really involved. Even with their help, there are recipes that can’t be saved, that have to just go out the window. One was roast beef hash using roast beef from the deli: have them slice it a little thicker, cut it into chunks, and there you go. Another thing that went out the window was Philadelphia Cheese Steaks, quick ones, for sort of the same reason. The trouble is that the roast beef you get at the deli is so damned dry. It’s already cooked, so all you are doing is reheating. It just ends up ill. When I made that Roast Beef Hash, the kids would just be thumbs down. "No, mom, we just don’t like it." snowangel: You know, Sara, although you are executive chef at Gourmet, some might not consider your new cookbook to be very "gourmet." Sara: The odd thing, Susan, is that they could! There’s a section in Gourmet called "Everyday Gourmet." Every month, I talk to the test kitchen and find out what are the most exciting recipes. What we’re finding is that the best ones are so simple, and we have to dress them up. They’re perfect for a weeknight at home, but they’re too simple for my dining room. Quite a few of my recipes are like that. My favorite recipe in the book is the Creamy Cauliflower with Chorizo and Greens. (You’d be surprised how many pork products made it into my book. I just love pork. I don’t mean straight-out pork, but smoked pork, cured pork, this pork, that pork.) That dish would be elegant enough to serve in my dining room, probably with some grilled garlic toasts. It’s a “rustic” dish, but it has layers of textures and flavors that could be in the “Everyday Gourmet” column. These aren’t the old-fashioned haute-haute Gourmet recipes but current, good weeknight meals. snowangel: What about your potato pancakes, Sara? Could you get away with serving those in the executive dining room at Gourmet? Sara: These days, sure, with the eggs. I could get away with that. In my book, I had to justify potato pancakes as a main course. I had to make sure that my husband agreed that, yes, this would really classify as an entrée. You wouldn’t be looking for something else. You find lots of eggs in restaurants. The other day, we had a lunch with something called Pea Bouillabaisse -- a pretentious title, by the way -- sort of clear pea soup with a grilled piece of bread with a poached egg on top, and that’s in the magazine. snowangel: You had a book tour for Sara's Secrets recently. What was it like, Sara? Did your fans turn out? Sara: This is a no brainer, but when I gave a talk or did a demo, there was a crowd, whereas when it was just a book signing in a generic book store, we didn’t get such a good crowd. The whole celebrity thing has gotten over the top, bigger than ever. You only get crowds and crowds and crowds if you are the hottest new thing on the Food Network. I’ve been there for 10 years, so I’m certainly not the hottest new thing. But what I’m hearing from other chefs like me is that they are having the same experience. snowangel: What do you like to prepare during a demo? Sara: From this book, I had a lot of fun. My philosophy has always been that a cooking demo should not be about a recipe but about a technique, right? The trouble with my new book is that it really is recipe-driven. So, I just bit the bullet and thought to myself, “You can say anything about anything, even if it’s not a technique.” So, I would make the eggs and ham cups. There’s stuff to talk about there. The base of the recipe is a sofrito, so you can talk about vegetable mixtures around the world and how this is the Spanish one. I can talk about eggs endlessly, so I found lots of things to say. Each demo lasted about 20 minutes. It was fun for people, especially when they are getting samples. And if people were getting samples, I’d make sure that they were over-the-top delicious. Not that everything in the book isn’t delicious, but maybe something a little different or "Wow!" snowangel: It has been a pleasure to talk to you, Sara. We’re really looking forward to the eG Conversation. Sara: Nice talking to you, Susan!

Sara Moulton: Biography Sara Moulton is among the busiest and most recognizable women in the world of food, and her work is beloved by professionals, gourmands, and busy parents alike. Moulton moves efficiently among her many toques: host of Cooking Live and Sara’s Secrets on Food TV, regular guest on Good Morning America, executive chef at Gourmet magazine, and bestselling author of Sara Moulton Cooks at Home. Balancing those responsibilities with her deep commitment to her own family life in NYC lead her to write her new cookbook, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals. Moulton's intelligent approach to food, cooking, and eating is grounded in both a solid education and a variety of professional experiences. She holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the Culinary Institute of America, and has staged in many important restaurants in NY, culminating in serving as chef tournant at La Tulipe in New York in the early Eighties. Recognizing the challenges faced by women in the restaurant business, Moulton co-founded the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance, which for over twenty years has helped women working in the culinary field. After two years teaching at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School (now the Institute of Culinary Education), Moulton took a job in the test kitchen at Gourmet and would eventually become executive chef at the magazine. Meanwhile, work behind the scenes on public television’s Julia Child & More Company led eventually to Moulton’s regular appearances at Good Morning America, first off- and then on-camera. Then, in 1996, Moulton started the Food TV call-in phenomenon, Cooking Live, quickly becoming one of the superstars upon which that network was built. Having succeeded in food magazines and television, Moulton then turned to cookbooks. Suffused with the personality, intelligence, and style that makes Moulton so resoundingly popular, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals, her most recent book, embraces the belief that all cooks, from novice to expert, can learn important insights and techniques to create simple, tasteful dishes drawn from the world's kitchens. Along the way, her book teaches us the food science behind healthy main courses, the history and culture of many cuisines, and the methods necessary to extend the reader's expertise beyond any single dish. We live in an age in which chefs strive to be food writers, and food writers seek television stardom; if you watch your television closely enough, you can see the strain of ambition beading on well-pancaked foreheads. Strange, then, that the woman who has been one of the defining pioneers of contemporary food media makes the books and shows and recipes all seem effortless, communicating so much genuine warmth and caring about food in her work that we call her by her first name: Sara.

Sara Moulton The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters is honored to have the multitalented Sara Moulton, one of the pioneers of contemporary food media, with us this week for an eG Spotlight Conversation. Moulton will join us to discuss the many aspects of her busy professional life. As executive chef at Gourmet, Moulton plays an active role in shaping the culinary focus on the most influential food magazine in the U.S. Her television work -- starting with PBS's Julia Child & More Company and continuing to Good Morning, America and her revolutionary Food TV shows, Cooking Live and Sara's Secrets -- have set the standard for thoughtful, inclusive cooking programming that focuses on food, not flash. Her two cookbooks, Sara Moulton Cooks at Home and the new Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals, display Sara's informed, encouraging, and practical approaches to even the most complex of dishes. Linda LaRose (fifi), Susan Fahning (snowangel), and I invite you to join the eG Spotlight Conversation with Sara Moulton, in which she will answer your queries concerning her two decades working in the world of food, her cookbooks, and her adventures at Gourmet, FoodTV, PBS, and beyond. Join us as we welcome Sara to this latest eG Spotlight Conversation! Participating in the Conversation is simple. To post an initial question in a new thread, just click on the "New Topic" button at the top of this forum. Once a question has been posted, we ask that the membership refrain from additional posts until Sara has responded to the post directly. At that time, the topic is open for in-depth discussion by all members, and we warmly encourage followup conversation. Please note that this eG Conversation will be moderated, and your question may not appear as soon as you post it. Also, we may edit new topic titles for clarity. More on Sara Moulton: "Sixty-Minute Woman" in the Daily Gullet Recipes from Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals in RecipeGullet: Oven Baked Chowder Korean Style Beef with Spicy Cabbage Potato Pancakes with Smoked Salmon and Fried Eggs Creamy Baked Polenta

You can also use a cast iron skillet on the stove top, which is a common Mexican technique.

First, a pho find. Alford and Duguid's Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet tells us to char both the onion and the ginger to give the broth that added depth of flavor (along with the anise, cloves, and cinnamon). I'm hoping to get out to the stores today to get the ingredients for the pho stock, and both recipes call for gravy or stew beef. I know that thinly sliced rump is the preferred meat to be served with pho bo -- but does anyone use that stewed beef, or is it just kaput? edited to correct several errors -- but I kept the cheap alliteration joke -- ca

Hot dogs are also a classically North American foodstuff in that they are very malleable. This prompts me to say that, Jack, if you had ever had the pleasure to sneak under a tent to escape the 110F July sun of South Tucson AZ to have a few Sonoran hot dogs (wrapped in bacon, served with charred chilis, scallions, tomatillo salsa, and -- not a typo -- mayonnaise) with some icy beer, well, you'd be unable to dismiss the humble weiner.

Nope, Ictd. We're 24/7/365.25! Ellen, that looks amazing. You must, must, must put the recipe into RecipeGullet for us. Please oh please! I'll even let you call dumplings noodles!

If your butcher wags his head at you when you ask him for pork belly (skin on, ribs on, if possible), then he's not a real butcher. ← You said it, man. I didn't.

But of course!

My first thought was that the significant amounts of water both prevent the pasta from cooling it below the boil and allow for the dissolution of the starches. So this device would turn your spaghetti into sticky strands.

I want! RecipeGullet that sucker, Barb!

While I wait for my order of DC/Q #s 1 and 2 to arrive (damn you, UPS, and your bumbling handlers, damn you!), I have a question about pork belly for bacon. I can pretty easily get massive slabs of pork belly from a local Asian butcher or carnicaria, and it looks like it's pretty good quality. However, my best source for prime pork, the Whole Foods butcher, wags his head at me whenever I ask him for belly; apparently, if I bug him, I probably can get some carefully fed, organic, utterly pampered pig on special order. Of course, I'll also have to pay him two or three times what I'd pay the other butchers. Is it worth it? Should I take the plunge at WF or give the belly elsewhere a go?

Yeah!! Only a fellow blogger can truly appreciate such a brazen money shot, eh, Ellen? I feel like it's about to explode, Mr.-Creosote-like, into the camera.... What the hell is in that thing? Details, woman!!

They need to accommodate the new stars a bit, methinks, by, you know, cutting the time to 30 minutes, or insisting that the ingredients can only total $40.

I'm not sure "poor" is the adjective I'd use to describe anyone who submits to this sort of spectacle, as the word suggests a lack of financial resources, wherewithal, or both. I think Mario et al are flush and cognizant, thank you very much.

Trainwreck, yes, as in "ratings bonanza for Food TV" trainwreck. akebono, surely you aren't harboring some illusion that Iron Chef is something other than a contrived stunt advertising Food TV personalities.

A quick plug for Lemi's Chinese BBQ, 38 Pontiac Ave (just north of Rt. 10/Park Ave and off of Reservoir Ave/Rt 2, across from Ocean State Job Lot Plaza). I got some very good takeout duck and char siu there, and they had run out of good looking ribs. Still had a couple of pig heads, though.

I don't think that anyone has mentioned one key step to eating steamers, which is serving a big mug of the steaming liquid for dunking to get off any extra grit. And butter, of course, for dunking to add on any extra calories. Oh, and those little turtleneck sweaters the clams are wearing? Don't eat 'em.

That's what I thought -- and I anticipated that idea above:

Jack, say more. I'm confused.

Maybe the flavors had rounded out sufficiently in freezing such that the capiscum, which had been at the forefront initially, was now melding with other flavors, making it seem to be less pronounced. Or maybe Carrot Top's right. Perhaps the flavor change was caused by the human belief in the possibility of a flavor change (the placebo effect).

Cook-Off XVIII: Asian Noodle Soups.

Every now and then since December 2004, a good number of us have been getting together at the eGullet Recipe Cook-Off. Click here for the Cook-Off index. For our eighteenth Cook-Off, we're making Asian noodle soups. We're talking about Vietnamese pho, bun bo hue, and hu tieu, Chinese niu rou mian, Phillipino mami, Japanese tonkotsu and miso ramen, Korean kuksu... and dozens more. If it's Asian soup and it has noodles in it, then you've got a Cook-Off dish! If you ask me, it's taken a bit too long for the Cook-Off to get here, given that there's a movie devoted to the subject (Tampopo), that the dish of pho is likely one of the big eGullet go-to foods (see, for example, the adopted comfort foods thread, where pho makes regular appearances), and that a noodle soup, well prepared, is a thing of beauty, care, and warmth. (Of course, if you're like me, you've also had a lot of noodle soups, poorly prepared -- but gussying up your Sapporo Ichiban is a subject for this thread, and not our Cook-Off, deal? ) When preparing Asian noodle soups, there are three distinct and crucial components: the stock or broth; the noodles themselves; the accompaniments or other ingredients. I'm hoping we can share strategies and tips for the first and the last here -- but if there are any noodle makers out there, please do chime in, as we all would find that art fascinating. No surprise that other Society members have paved the way for our efforts here. There are threads devoted to Ramen and to Tonkotsu Ramen broth, ruminations about pho, Chinese beef noodle soup (Niu Rou Mian), and guppymo's Vietnamese cooking, which starts off with Bun Bo Hue. Those approaching stock making with trepidation will find calmer nerves after perusing the eGCI stock course -- and Ah Leung (hzrt8w)'s directions for soup bone stock here are very useful for a Cantonese method. Time to find some big bones and meat, some lemon grass and ginger, some rice or wheat noodles, and get cooking!

Salt pork is cured pork fat, so it can't really be substituted for fat back or belly. Trust me, I know.