Month: February 2011

Spices 101: What is a Spice?

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A spice is an aromatic, edible dried part from plant’s buds, root, bark, stem, leaves or seeds that we find in small bottles in markets. Spices originated in India, Indonesia, and Asia where they were used as medicine remedies to heal different ailments. Turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, ginger and black pepper are a few spices that were used in the ancient world and long ago spices were often more precious than gold… Imagine that!

Now, The question is:  How can spices heal? The answer is phytonutrients.  This nutrient derived from the plant material contains anti-flamatory and powerful antioxidants that control and disarm “free radicals” that damage cells, causing aging and many illnesses.

Can you get this phytonutrients from fruits and vegetables? Unfortunately no, They are only found in spices!  Some of these spices are curcumin found in turmeric, piperine found in peppercorns and anethole found in anise and fennel. Many spices fight bacteria, viruses and fungi. They can also regulate blood sugar and insulin levels, calm nerves, anxiety and ease pain. Some spices can even boost your metabolism by burning calories and can give you strength and energy. You can have all these benefits by using spices in your daily cooking!

Spices a plenty. The use of spices that I had growing up in my mom’s kitchen were limited compared to the bountiful that I use today in my cooking. My mom’s favorite spice was saffron and she use it in her Paella dish. Paella is also one of my favorites dishes too.  It is a regional rice dish from Valencia, Spain that contains vegetables, and all sorts of meats and seafood. Usually we enjoyed this dish around the holidays.

Intriguing meets exotic! One of the best spice experiences I had in the beginning of my Culinary career was working for Ludovic Lefevre at L’Orangerie. He’s well known for using different combinations of exotic spices in his amazing cuisine. This is where I was exposed to many different types of exotic spices that I now use in my recipes, both savory and sweet.

Embrace the spice! I understand that the use of spices can be intimidating, especially if you’ve  never been exposed to them, but you will be surprise that many of the spices I use in my cooking might not be foreign to you. Some spices that you think you’ve never tasted before are actually an important ingredient in some of your favorite ethnic dishes.  For example, in Thai dishes galangal is like garlic to Italian food and Mexican cuisine uses cocoa and many savory sauces as well as the use of many kind of chilies.The use of spices can enhance you palette and your food. It can make it more exciting, fun and has many health benefits.

Just because a recipe contains a lot of spices does not mean that a dish is fiery-hot!  On the contrary, spices are filled with aromas that open your appetite, can add sweet, sour, or hot flavors and give you more enjoyment when eating.

Why have bland food? Imagine a pesto without basil? An ice cream or cookies without vanilla? Spices defines and gives body and flavor to your dishes. Find out how can I bring all these exciting flavorful foods to your Kitchen!

Chef Cinthia

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Mindful Eating : Using Your Senses

Have you ever caught yourself really starving tired by the end of the day? You just might want to shovel anything you can find on your way home, like a fast food restaurant or make it home just in time to microwave frozen store bought food to satisfy your hunger. Only to later make you feel full and unhealthy. Do you want to change your eating habits but you just don’t know how?

I use my senses when it comes to cooking food. Seeing, a combination of colors such as red, yellow, green, purple and dark browns. This can offer you a beautifully crafted dish that makes you salivate when you see it! Having pile of food thrown together on a plate, can be overwhelming and certainly unhealthy.

The soundsthat food makes when your cooking it is amazing, that sizzle! The steaming and bubbling of a stew, the sound of hearing bread crackling in your mouth, or the sweet crunch of fresh fruit.

Using herbs and spices can really add wonderful aromatic and healing properties to your food. I like using herbs such as thyme, rosemary, garlic, ginger, star anise, cumin, cayenne , and saffron.I also love different kinds of curries and chillies from all over the world. The sizzling smell of salted garlic in a pan can really awaken your hunger from its slumber.
I love going to the farmers market and being able to touchfruits and vegetables and checking for the freshness as well as ripeness. Try to use your fingers when your eating it makes the experience more satisfying and a lot more fun.

Taste, this is the most important of all. A combination of sweet, salty, sour, and bitter is essential to cooking the perfect meal. It can make food filled with excitement without the addiction of unhealthy fats. Healthy foods don’t have to be boring. You can combine a salty flavor with something sweet. In addition you can use citrus or vinegars to add acid in order to complement it. The use of oils such as olive, walnut, and coconut can smooth your palette and add the healthy fat that the body needs. It’s better opposed to heavy fats which can coat your palette enabling you to experience more flavors. The use of spices can add an element of surprise to dishes. It can be hot or exotic spices to enhance the flavor and also add the healing properties it contains.
A combination of all the senses in cooking food can really make the difference when enjoying the experience of eating. It can be fun, exciting, and fulfilling. Most importantly, is the gift of medicine that healthy food offers! -Its mindful selecting of ingredients, cooking, and eating!

 
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My Love for Truffles

Growing up in a tropical country where bananas, pineapples and mangos are part of our daily diet, I never came across anything like Truffles…. “The Diamond of the Kitchen,” as the French Gastronome Brillat Savarin called it. I remember the first time I smelled and tasted one. It was in my introduction to French Culinary Education with Chef Laundry at Le Cordon Bleu. It was a black truffle. He show the truffle to everybody and was making a huge fuss about it! It was this weird black looking fungi that almost looked like a black potato! I fell in Love with the smell and the taste. Instantly, I became a Truffle Lover!

I’ve been very fortunate to have worked for amazing French restaurants, where truffles were common place on the menus. I remember Chef Ludovic Lefevre and his amazing white truffle sauce, poured over a leg of chicken and potatoes, yum! I can still taste it every time I think of it…. I loved that sauce! Of course it was a top secret recipe… as no one ever saw him making the darn sauce! We used the “truffle slicer” (it slices it so paper thin), and served them thinly sliced, over many dishes! Its so difficult to explain the incredible aroma. It took every bit of energy I had not to dive it eating them.

There is a huge difference in the smell and the taste of a white and a black truffle. I actually prefer white truffle. To give you a little history, white truffles come from the Langhe area of the Piedmont region in Northern Italy. The most famous area for white truffles is in Alba but is also found in Croatia. Truffles grow close to the roots of tree species like beech, poplar, oak, birch and hazel. The white truffle is so fresh, and it’s cream color shows off it’s beautiful marbling when you slice it.

The best experience I ever had with a truffle was back in November of 2002, while I was working at Bastide Restaurant in Melrose, owned by TV commercial director Joe Pytka. During that time, the largest white truffle was found in Italy and was being auctioned live! It was an amazing three way truffle auction with Santa Monica CA, New York NY, and Alba, Italy all in the mix. Victory! The 2.2 pounds white truffle giant was bought for $35,000 by my former boss.

I was fortunate enough to hold this truffle in my hands!!! It was beautiful and delivered in a wooden box with guards! I was there that morning and ohhh the smell. Every time someone opened that walk-in refrigerator the whole place was taken by the smell of truffle…what a beautiful memory! It lasted for quite a while, and a whole Truffle Tasting Menu, including a truffle tea, was designed for this beauty! I even remember my a colleague making breakfast truffle omelets for Pytka!

One of my favorite pairings is one I created for “The Backroom”. It is an Italian Verde Capra goat cheese, made by Guffanti, accompanied by honey truffled, pink, green and black peppercorn sauce, and paired with a nice glass of Chianti. What an explosion of flavors in your mouth! It was also used as the finishing touch in the Mushroom Flatbread, served with sliced prosciutto, and fresh figs, as well as my favorite truffled parmegiano reggiano Mac & Cheese… I am also creating a bite size versions to be served as hors d’ouvres, for our soon to be available private chef service!

Truffles can be very expensive, but I use infused truffle olive oils to get a great value and taste. There are some really good ones on the market, which enable you get to experience of the wonderful smell and taste of truffles, without braking your bank. Tip, use a couple of drops on top of pastas, salads and even your eggs in the morning! It’s my morning favorite! Enjoy!

Salud!

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Meatloaf: An American Tradition

I have been in this wonderful country for fifteen years and always wanted to learn how to make a meatloaf. I experimented with this American comfort food while studying at Culinary school but it I never really tried to making it again. While I was working for the legendary Sky Room Restaurant in Long Beach, I realized that there was a huge amount of ground beef that I decided to use for “Family Meal”, which is one of my favorite things to do while working. “Family Meal” is a family style dinner that the front of the house and back of the house enjoy together before service begins. How fortunate my co-workers have been! I’m always the one cooking it!

Anyways, back to my meat loaf story. When I saw all this ground beef, I said to myself …what should I do this time? I guess I will take another try at Meatloaf!!! It may seem like a basic dish to most people, but I really wasn’t sure exactly what went into meatloaf, so I went around asking everyone. I repeated the question, “How did your mom make meatloaf?” After collecting numerous wonderful stories, my own recipe of meatloaf was born! The satisfaction of seeing everyone enjoying my creation was an incredible feeling!

The next time I made Meatloaf was at my friends Luc and Nina. They asked me to cook dinner and as I was looking in their refrigerator for ingredients, what you know… ground beef again! Of course, it was so great to see everyone (including the neighbors) enjoying my new favorite American dish! It was like they were tasting something they never had before. As they were reminiscing this meal I realized there was plenty of leftovers to enjoy again….so I thought!

Two days later while Luc and Nina went for a small trip to the dessert: their neighbor Lee White AKA“The General” a 60 year old brick mason had a tough decision to make it was between frozen pot chicken pie or the leftovers he had the previous evening to feed dinner to his granddaughters 5 year Riley and his 2 year Charlotte so he came through the unlocked house of his friendly neighbor Luc , walked straight to the kitchen on a covert operation. He opened the fridge, reached for the remainder of the meatloaf and took it back to his house. Except for a few slices! What a nice gesture! I had no idea he enjoyed it so much that he would feed his grandchildren…they Love it!

This story made my day! I was so flattered that my meatloaf made such a good impression! Especially to people who have eaten this food their entire life. Where I come from, this is not a common dish, but this is what my cooking is all about… Learning, incorporating new ingredients, sharing, and building wonderful memories. To be able to gather people together and share those special moments is a blessing that I always treasure in my heart!

Bon Appetit!

I

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