no time?

I find myself with no time lately. I wake up and I'm cooking for family, cleaning, putting Little Man in clothes, fielding emails like Derek Jeter, corralling the pooch away from something she's not supposed to have her nose in, fixing, fixing, picking up, dealing, showering, shaving , and somewhere in there I find time to eat. Coffee is my personal fuel. I called my brother and remarked that a family man's finest personal time is the 5-10 minutes he spends on the John each morning- paper in hand.

And so, the other day I found myself with too much finely chopped chives. The butter was out. Hmm...Maybe an herb butter? Now, I'm not re-inventing the wheel here. Every chef on the planet uses herbed butters, but for me this was a new highlight. All of a sudden I now had instant 'good' sauce! Ta da! It was like the clouds parted and the sun shown down on my Mr Mom briliance. And so, I'm not here advocating a recipe or a pairing. I'm simply putting it forward...

If you are like me. If you have no time...Actually if you owe time...then make yourself some herbed butter. It takes half a second while you're making the normal meal...but it will make bland food taste so much better....

In Defense of Classicism

I met with a family member that had recently dined at one of the top classical French restaurants in NYC. As I've never been to this restaurant- and want to go- I will leave it nameless for now. He had the tasting menu paired with wine. The menu was super classically French. Very simple, but intensely pure flavors were his description. Spice, heat, and aromatics used but in the most delicate sense.

Now this family member knows wine and he was disappointed with the wine. Sparkling Torrontes? Off beat Californians? Like him, I don't get it. I...yes 'I'...think that there is a place for the unique and weird in the world of wine, but then there are places...dining experiences...that do demand structure- especially when one is paying so much, and especially when one is eating food which is so delicately made. There is a matter of taste to be considered.

As I stroll around Long Island, visit New York, and even flip through the various foodie magazines...I am piqued by the new flippancy of food and wine pairings. I am American and I do believe in 'no rules' wine pairings. But, I also believe in the foundations of pairing structure. Just like a chef, the basics have to be mastered and many times the old adage of 'there is a reason this goes with that' applies.

For example...for ME (and I'm stressing ME because I want to be clear that this is my sole opinion) classical Italian food can only be drunk with Italian wine- preferably of the traditional style. That food culture is completely unique to that peninsula and the wines and their style have been developed over hundreds of years to match exactly with that food. In France...and with that French restaurant...the classical dishes are the same. There's a reason the Sauce Bordelaise tastes magnificent with Bordeaux. There's a reason ham steaks with a tomato cream sauce taste fantastic with Chablis...and why roast lamb matches so well with Rhones...

The opposite might be asked about the rest of the wines of the world. Great, so what do we do with California? What about Oregon Pinot Noir? What about the New Zealand Riesling? When is it classically appropriate to drink those wines?

Well, again...for ME...when those wines are being paired I look for the foods that are classically eaten around them...Californian wines- Mexican and Central American cuisine and classical American dishes. Tacos. Chile. BBQ. Hamburgers.....New Zealand Wines- Pan Asian, specically Malayasian aor Thai styled foods. Thai green curried mussels....Oregon- Alaskan Salmon in all of it's glory.

There are no rules...but there are rules. I hope that when I dine at that great French restaurant in New York they re-discover their classiscm.

Marco Pierre White

I must admit that I have a bit of an obsession with people who are absolutists. You know, people who live life- who work at such intense extremes of quality- that it's everything or nothing.

In the food world, my obsession began the first time I read through Keller's French Laundry cookbook. To hear him discuss sourcing, discussing the intricate details of why even the most mundane and seemingly inconsequential tasks make the biggest difference, that level of artistry captured me.

And my latest obsession of foodie observation is the philosophy of Marco Pierre White. I was introduced to him through a client/chef whom I deeply respect: Douglas Gulijia of the Plaza Cafe in Southampton, NY. Doug showed me Marco's cookbook, if you could call it that. It's really more of a rock star's biography, really. So, I did some research. Who is this guy? What made him so controversial? Youngest guy ever to win 3 Michelin stars. Mentored Gordon Ramsey. Mario Battali worked under him. A legend in Britain. An absolute tirant in the kitchen. So, what was his story?...And I stumbled upon this Google Chef's interview.

47+ minutes long and I found myself respecting him even more. It's the absolute "Miyagi-ism" of the way he lives his life- left side or right side, in middle, squish just like grape. Like Bourdain he doesn't apologize for his bad habits or his darker side- it comes with the job. But like Keller he truly believes in food- in the reverence for it. And beneath the sex, drugs, and rock n' roll he promotes a heavy ethic of accountability. My financial obsession, Buffett, would like this guy.

It is an amazing interview...just to hear a great chef speak. I'll put eating at one of his restaurants on my bucket list...or even eating with him, which would be a double-bucket...maybe a starred bucket list item(?)...on the list. Doubt if it'll ever happen.

Regardless, the man is inspiring.