Giving thanks for the letter "N," among other things

So I didn't make good on my promise to update with a new recipe last weekend. I'm terrible. But in the interest of wallowing in excuses, there are plenty of good ones.

For starters, Whole Foods didn't have the mushrooms I needed for the soup I planned to make from Poland. Then it occurred to me I was going out of town and wasn't going to be around to eat much of it anyway.

And then of course there were the holidays, those times of relaxation and joy that somehow suck so much energy from us. Why exactly is that? With the first of the spate looming in front of me - and since I shortened my weekend by agreeing to pick up a Sunday shift - I already felt drained just thinking of sitting for hours in an airport and decided Saturday would be best spent mentally bracing and physically detoxing for the upcoming indulgences ahead of me.

But aside from all of that, perhaps my best excuse of all is that the letter "n" on my keyboard is not working (I am at home now in Buffalo using my mom's computer).

Yes one morning I woke up and it was gone. Push the button, and nothing. I've been getting by until I have time to get it fixed copying and pasting the letter into e-mails and Facebook messages, but for some reason I can't paste things into this blog program.

Have you ever thought about how many times you use a simple letter in your daily communication?

I'm sure I'll be able to figure that one out. But for now, it's just there. Something to struggle with. Something to figure out, keeping me from doing things I enjoy. A nagging inconvenience.

Yesterday my 9-year-old cousin asked my mother why I just don't stay in Buffalo in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. She thought it seemed like a lot of trouble to have to fly back and forth in such a short time span, and didn't get why I can't just write my stories and e-mail them to my editors. Fair point, but when you're nine I guess it's hard to grasp only getting four weeks of vacation.

So how does all of this tie together? Perhaps it provides pause this Thanksgiving to reflect on all of the simple, little things in life we take for granted and that can be taken away from us in an instant.

The endless weeks of vacation we enjoyed as children thanks to an underachieving and heavily unionized American school system. The babkah kuchen they no longer sell at Wegman's. Judgment free zones. The carefree daily texts and phone calls from one of your best friends that just stop one morning. The relationships we have that change and morph as we do, whether or not we like it.

The letter "n" on the keyboard.

Yes of course there are the big things too, but day by day there are so many little things we rely on to get by. What happens when they disappear?

I guess things come and go over time and all we can do is try not to dwell on them. We can redirect our energy to the little things we still have that we rely on to make us happy before they're gone too and we miss them.

The new friends we have who bring us dinner and wine when we are having a bad week. A ticket home for the holidays. Hugs. Judgment free zones. Bourbon turkey and green bean casserole. Brunch with an old friend, one of your very favorites. Fitting into that dress you wore in high school.

A slice of pie, delivered by someone who might turn out to suck but at least for now is feeding your sweet tooth. A Thanksgiving buffet with free mimosas. The Whole Foods rosemary Christmas tree with little kitchen-themed Sur La Table ornaments.

And work out some of the other things. I'll figure that whole "n" situation when I get back next week, and get back on that mushroom soup from Poland.

In the meantime... Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, I am lazy

So after all of that excitement meeting Emeril and hitting the wine fest last week, this weekend I think I'm staying out of the kitchen. I need to relax and recharge my battery. Besides, I still have a ton of leftover etouffe from last week's recipe.

But I'll be ready to get back on my international expedition next weekend, so stay tuned ... Much excitement lies ahead of me.

Before Remy, he taught me anyone can cook

I had been trying to go to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival for about a month, but every weekend something kept me from it.

I put it off until the very last day, and as it got closer I was getting pretty excited. I studied the list of international food and wine offerings (field research for the blog, if you will) and marked all of the things I would indulge in. Part of the reason I wanted to go is because I had a park ticket that would expire at the end of the year, and we all know how I feel about wasting things.

There were few things that would have kept me from going that last day. One of them was Emeril Lagasse.

So what's with this obsession with Emeril, and several other celebrity chefs for that matter?

I guess it's sentimental.

I wrote in my inaugural blog post about how when I first set out on my own and moved to Florida I didn't have many friends and had to adjust to being an adult in my new surroundings. I missed my family and friends, and put a great deal of pressure on myself to succeed in the workplace. Pressure that caused incredible stress and anxiety.

At those times when I felt lonely or down I found solace in the kitchen.

But I never would have ended up there if it wasn't for personalities like Rachael Ray and Emeril. They inspired me into this world where an hour chopping vegetables is better than any other therapy. They taught me to cook, and helped me realize the satisfaction that comes with making a good meal for yourself or to share with others. Food brings people comfort, and over the years has helped connect me with some of the people I am now closest with.

They will probably never know, but their recipes helped me through some of the toughest times at work and in life. They helped me survive the hardest stories. I think it's even fair to give them credit for helping me get through the three consuming and stressful years spent working on the teacher abuse project, which hopefully some good came of. Them and my friends and family : )

They taught me how to manage my stress so I could keep going.

Not to mention, Emeril's food is amazing.

These were the kinds of things going through my mind, and yes I think there were even tears starting to well in my eyes, as I walked up to the table to see Emeril.

But how do you say all that to someone you don't even know without sounding like a mentally unstable stalker?

So I didn't say much at all. The whole experience was somewhat blurred by my excitement and nervousness. I do think I told him he is my culinary hero, and he kind of smiled.

For some reason, at least I'd like to think, he knew what I was thinking. Just like I hope my stories might make a difference in someone's life, or the barista at Starbucks takes satisfaction in pouring the perfect shot that helps get a doctor or teacher going in the morning, I think Emeril probably realizes the impact of his cooking.

So that's why I dropped everything I was doing to make two trips to Brandon to meet the guy.

Now, I just have to figure out what to do with that Disney ticket with a looming expiration. Perhaps I will have to go back to see Chef Remy.

Death of the gourmet foodie?

We pulled into the parking lot just 40 minutes before the book store would open to start handing out tickets.

My stomach twisted in knots the closer we got to the mall, expecting to find hundreds of people who camped out overnight to see my favorite culinary super star. If Bobby Flay could draw a line of over 500, Emeril must bring at least 1,000.

But as we pulled into the lot it became clear there were no more than 40 people standing outside the Books a Million, a relatively few loyal fans who showed up early to ensure a spot for the book signing.

Where were all the foodies?

The scant crowd became the talk among our small group as we waited for the store to open. Maybe the event wasn't well publicized. Maybe Emeril has lost popularity since Food Network dropped his show a few years ago.

Maybe most people - even the most hardcore foodies - just aren't that into cooking.

I love Emeril for so many reasons, not the least of which is that his food is amazing, all packed with bold and daring flavors that just perfectly meld together into incredibly sensuous culinary masterpieces. I've tried a number of his recipes - jambalaya, several gumbos, moussaka, ropa vieja, banana cream pie - and they were all amazing. But a word to the wise: Many will take you hours. Not a feat for the busy, broke or faint-hearted.

Emeril is one of the very best, and many of his recipes are intricate and precise, requiring a keen attention to detail.

But let's face it. How many people will stand there frying dozens of pieces of potato and eggplant just to get the base layers for your moussaka? Or stand by the counter blending a banana cream pie filling (or spend hundreds of dollars on the standing mixer)? Some of these gourmet recipes cost close to $100 to make, and after all we have been going through a recession.

This debate of gourmet versus Rachael Ray has been swirling around the food world this past month with the closure of the nation's oldest food publication. Gourmet magazine was one of the latest casualties of the advertising issues that are plaguing the whole print media industry. Its parent company decided it wasn't profitable to keep it going, especially when it stood in competition to its other food magazine, Bon Apetit.

Foodies all over the Internet have painted the two magazines as rivals in a sophistication versus superficial kind of battle. I've read both magazines over the years, and enjoyed them both. Although I will say I don't think anything jumped off the pages of Gourmet and commanded me to cook it. For whatever reason, it always made me want to sit back on the patio with a glass of wine and casually flip through its pages, not get into the kitchen. The most memorable article I ever read was an investigative piece on the chicken industry.

Something about Bon Apetit made me want to cook. Maybe it was snazzier pictures, or a more engaging layout. Maybe it was the monthly features about restaurants or new kitchen gadgets I found entertaining.

I can kind of understand why Gourmet went out of business. Maybe the recipes weren't any tougher. But there's a lot to be said for perception.

If there's any indication where demand in the food industry lies, just look at the shift in programming on the Food Network. Emeril and Mario Batali are long gone, replaced by home cooks that specialize in fast meals, cheap meals or those requiring minimal ingredients.

Call it the Rachael Ray phenomenon.

But at the same time, I'm not one to knock fast and easy, especially for people who don't know their way around the kitchen. I wasn't born into the cooking world with the skills to put together complex recipes. When I started cooking I pulled most of my recipes from Rachael Ray cookbooks and magazines. They were easy and undaunting, and wouldn't break my bank account with the grocery bill.

I moved up from there, and now I often have dinner parties with elaborate meals courtesy of From Emeril's Kitchen, the cookbook of his restaurant.

As much as many people will knock Rachael Ray - and the scores of people who have followed - there is a reason people like her. Call it lazy, but most people today want easy. They are pressed for time and money. There's a reason many people in this country are more inclined to pull up to a McDonald's then pull out a cookbook.

Even with the simplicity Rachael's style has brought to the food world, I recently saw an interview with Food Network officials who said it's not enough. They acknowledged that while the station has succeeded in drawing people in for entertainment purposes, it needs to find some way to inspire people to get into the kitchen.

Emeril's newest cookbook is called 20-40-60: Fresh Food Fast and gives home cooks instructions for preparing home cooked meals in that respective time period.

I'm sure some of the stuffier foodies will say he is a sell out, or dumbing his food down to make money or compete with other rising stars. But hey, don't we all? The whole world is changing. It's your choice if you want to come along.

As far as Emeril goes, I think it's great his new book might make him more accessible to the masses. His food is great and everyone should try it, even those who might not have hours of time or $100 to put toward making dinner.

Those few loyal hard core home cooks among us, we'll still have From Emeril's Kitchen as an option.

Food, friends and fun

When I'm not stalking celebrity chefs, I love a good food and wine festival. There's nothing like paying a somewhat exorbitant amount of money to then turn around and gorge yourself with food and vino. It's like a dare. Oh, you don't think I can eat $60 worth of food and wine in three hours? Watch me.

And I did on Saturday, but with all of this talk of Emeril haven't had time to post my update.

My lady friends and I headed out for the eighth annual Suncoast Food and Wine Fest at the Lakewood Ranch polo grounds. Despite the high price tag, I enjoy this event every year. It can get a little overwhelming - there are over 1,000 people and 300 kinds of winds - but the key is to just go enjoy being outside and being in good company.

I will admit, for the most part, that the food this year seemed fairly lackluster. Understandably, these restaurants are cooking for a mass crowd and have to be ready to man a three hour rush. I remember more luxurious dishes in past years, and wonder if some places scaled back because of the recession.

A friend of wine suggested I post some of my impressions on the blog, so without further ado ...

Best of show

Every year I've been to the fest, hands down, Tommy Bahama has the best food. It makes me wonder why I've never gone to eat there. They always have ribs that just fall off the bone and year after year are consistently memorable. The restaurant menu says that its a blackberry brandy sauce. They also served some sort of pineapple cake and probably the best thing at the festival, a creamy crab bisque that is just so smooth with a touch of sweetness that comes from sherry.

Perhaps the dark horse of the event was the lobster ravioli from Let's Eat!, one of those places where you go to make masses of dinner and bring it home to freeze it. My friends liked the steak sandwiches from Ruth's Chris. I, of course, enjoyed the little shredded pork sandwiches that Derek's was serving.

Can't believe I ate that

Just try to guess where the worst thing we all ate at the festival came from.

I'll start by saying it was a fairly small scallop served over a bed of carrot slaw and absolutely doused in some sort of dark soy sauce. As soon as the scallop hit your tongue you were hit by this overwhelming taste of salt, like eating a salt lick. If your taste buds survived the shock you could detect an extremely fishy taste that followed, which made me think the scallops were poor quality and I wondered if they over seasoned them on purpose to try and cover up the inferior seafood. The carrot slaw was no better. So where did this not-so-tasty delicacy come from? That's right. The elite Ritz Carlton Members Club. If they serve that in their restaurant, I guess you don't always get what you pay for.

There was another restaurant, whose name I can't remember, that served an etouffee with shrimp so soft that when I picked up the shell of mine the meat, literally, crumbled off. Yuck!

The thing I hate about big events like this is that there are so many wines, and not many of them are too memorable, that it's hard to find anything too exiting. It's definitely better as a social event to go relax with friends and enjoy the weather.

We were having so much fun, I started revving everyone up for the other big Sarasota food and wine fest, Forks and Corks, that they've done for the past two years in the spring at the Ringling. The big downside: spring in Florida is pretty frickin hot. Not the kind of weather you want to eat copious amounts of food in.

But out of curiosity I checked the event's web site Sunday to see if they set a date yet. It brought a smile to my face. They moved it up to January. The weather will be perfect : )

In case you were wondering ...

... that would be the amazing banana cream pie on the left. If you ever eat at one of Emeril's restaurants you HAVE TO try it. The other one was some sort of almond croissant bread pudding, also delicious.

In honor of Emeril

Well there was obviously just one way to celebrate meeting Emeril, getting my cookbook signed and receiving some long awaited banana cream pie advice.

That's right. Christening the cookbook.

The new cookbook is 20-40-60: Fresh Food Fast. The idea is to cook homemade meals in that respective timeframe.

I felt the shrimp etouffee would be an appropriate tribute to my culinary hero. But I did kick the recipe in the cookbook up a notch, adding in about a cup of white wine with the chicken broth and about six links of andouille sausage.

The spontaneous moment in which I met Emeril Lagasse

I came back to the office after an assignment Friday afternoon ready to start the weekend. I was so sick of covering the swine flu. I never liked it in the first place. I was more concerned about my big plans for the weekend than writing, yet another, mediocre swine flu story.

The plan was to hit the Suncoast Food and Winefestival Saturday with some friends and then head over to Epcot for the last day of their annual food and wine event on Sunday. In between would be plenty of time for relaxing and working out to burn off all of those calories.

Then a co-worker headed over to my cubicle and changed everything.

He handed me a copy of the St. Pete Times entertainment section.

"I don't know if you know about this," he said.

Staring up at me was a picture of the legendary Emeril Lagasse - my own personal culinary hero - in a field of fresh greens beside an announcement that he would be signing cookbooks about 40 minutes away on Sunday.

I was, seriously, speechless.

I later apologized to Ron for my lackluster and unenthusiastic reaction. I think I was just numb with some sort of disbelief. Every so often I stalk the Internet looking for appearances by my favorite food celebrities, and Emeril never seems to do many. Was it really possible that he was going to be just 40 minutes away at some random mall in Brandon?

My friend Cathy and I then found ourselves driving up Interstate 75 at 7:30 Saturday morning to secure our spot in line. The Books a Million would start giving out numbers when they opened at 9 a.m. and we wanted to make sure we'd get one. We got there about 40 minutes before the store opened and secured spots in the high sixties, meaning not only would we definitely get our books signed, Emeril would probably still be pretty fresh when we met him.

And then, we waited.

By the time Sunday morning rolled around I was surprised I wasn't more excited. When Bobby Flay came to Syracuse, I couldn't sleep the night before. And he's a fairly new obsession. In fact, I never used to like him.

Emeril has always been my favorite, and his food really ignited my passion for cooking.

I think I was just in disbelief. I thought it was too good to be true and braced myself for the possibility he would cancel at the last minute.

At one point Sunday morning it dawned on me that I didn't know what I would say to him. So many wonderful recipes I've tried. So many memorable dishes at his restaurant. So many stories from so many years of admiration of him. What could I say in a brief moment?

But given that Bobby Flay barely said two words to me and Paula Deen gave me a dirty look, I figured there wouldn't be much time for chit chat.

At about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Cathy and I were back on the road to the mall, where we found our prime spot in line for the signing.

Once it started it all went so fast. The line moved and we moved with it.

At some point Cathy told me something she was going to say to Emeril. I looked at her and said: "You know there probably won't be a lot of time to talk to him."

"I know," she responded. "I'm just going to tell him real quick while he's signing."

It made me think I should have something in mind to say, but how can I convey all of my love for Emeril's food without looking like a total idiot? I decided I would just tell him I tried to make his amazing banana cream pie, and that it did not come out as good as his.

So that's exactly what I did as I approached him wearing his chef's uniform at the table.

He kind of let out a gush of air and looked up and immediately started advising me on my baking.

"You've got to really whip it. Whip it real good. Just keep whipping and whipping until it stiffens."

(Any sexual innuendo or reference to that tacky song was totally lost on me at this point. I was so nervous. Practically shaking, and really could not believe Emeril was advising me on his banana cream pie recipe.)

"Oh, I'll have to try that," I said politely.

He looked down to sign the book then stopped and looked up again.

"That's a tough one. A really tough one. Good for you for trying. Keep trying and you'll get it."

And that was it. I walked away totally euphoric toward my friend Cathy and barely heard her asking me, puzzled realizing it was too late, if I wanted to smile for a picture. I was so wrapped up in this whole banana cream pie situation that I forgot to look up and smile for a photo.

How amazing though? Emeril was just like he is on tv. The voice, the mannerisms, everything. He was so incredibly nice (although I joked we should wait until the people at the end of the line went through and see how he was holding up by then).

As we walked out we swapped Emeril stories with this girl who was in line with us. She said she went up to the table and told Emeril that she can't cook.

He told her that couldn't be true, and - pointing to the cookbook - said it all starts here and advised her to go home and get started.

More food, more wine

Tomorrow at this time I will be sippin and strolling at the annual Suncoast Winefestival. What a great way to count down the last few hours of the workweek!

Along with literally hundreds of wines, some of the highlights of this event can be found at the three dozen restaurants that participate - many of which are too expensive for me to normally eat at.

In all, it's one of my favorite things to do all year. You can buy tickets or check out more information about the festival here.

The joy of a well-stocked spice cabinet

Some of my friends and I recently had a conversation about the cost effectiveness of cooking. There is a prevalent belief out there that cooking at home saves you oodles of money. Yes and no.

The major expense comes in the upstart costs of stocking your kitchen cabinets, especially when you have a palette for exotic dishes from dozens of different ethnic styles.

There is a distinct satisfaction, however, when you start accumulating so many of these ingredients - namely spices - that you have them on hand and don't have to be buying new ones with every recipe. That's when your grocery bills really start to plummet.

Even just two months into this little game, I am finding that I have built myself a sturdy arsenal of spices and am getting to the point I don't need to buy any. Take, for example, the pho I made this week. I had most of the spices I needed, along with the onions, garlic and some other veggies. I ended up spending just $25 at the grocery store - most of that on meat - and will likely get five days worth of dinners.

Now that's what I call cost efficient.

Appreciation

One of the things about cooking is that it really helps you appreciate the art of coming up with a good recipe.

Take, for example, cooking something out of From Emeril's Kitchen, which features recipes from his restaurants. Most of the recipes are extremely nuanced and complex. Not difficult, per say. Just extremely detailed, right down to making a veal stock for the Creole Meuniere Base that goes with a number of recipes.

Same goes for Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill cookbook. One recipe for a habanero duck pancake requires three different sauces, at least one of which requires you to make a completely different sauce. Oh. And the duck recipe also calls for chicken stock. But no worries. The recipes for all of these sauces and stocks are in the cookbook.

To think these guys have people doing this every day at their restaurants.

I have had several moments of zen appreciation preparing some of the recipes for this blog, particularly when it comes to the detail that goes into working with certain ingredients. The pho was definitely an example of this.

I mean, come on. Simmering a broth for 10 hours? Who ever thought of that?

There were a few things with the pho recipe I found suspect, so while I was waiting for the broth to finish I did some research. It seemed as far as basic technique goes, and ingredients for the most part, Emeril was right on.

The big thing that kept tripping me up was the accumulation of what seemed to be copious amounts of fat in the broth, especially after I put it in the fridge. A thick, jelly-like substance layered across the top of it.

It seemed like my takeout from Vietnamese restaurants had done the same thing, but it still bothered me. I thought maybe using the short ribs was a bad idea. Other recipes I found suggested ox tail, which might have been leaner. I had also skipped draining the broth through the cheese clothe the first night, so I reheated it to do this and that did seem to skim some of the stuff out of it.

Some more research indicated that there might not be anything wrong with my broth. Apparently the gelatin-like substance is not actually fat, but collagen from the bones you boil. That made sense. Some Vietnamese people will let their pho broth sit over night and then scrape the layer off the top before serving. Others apparently keep some of it on hand to add in extra for flavor.

Either way, at some point there was clearly a lot of thought put into this issue, which I can appreciate.

Happy days are here again ...

Call it Christmas, just two months early. This past week I came in official receipt of my tickets for two upcoming food fests - the Suncoast Food and Wine Festival in Lakewood Ranch and the South Beach Food and Wine Festival in February in Miami.

As mentioned before, I've been wanting to go to the South Beach fest for years, largely because it involves all of my favorite Food Network personalities.

Although it can't boast the likes of Emeril, Bobby or Rachael, the Lakewood Ranch festival is exciting in its own right. For $60, I get to eat and drink as much as I want, with much of the food coming from big ticket restaurants I can't normally afford to go to. Even better is that Starbucks is usually on hand giving away packages of their wrapped biscotti and cookies. I can easily find ways to get the most of my admission!

The worst thing I ever ate...

... or rather drank.

But who knew something that tasted so bad could make you feel so good?

I was feeling a bit under the weather all week, like I was coming down with a little cold or something (I ruled out H1N1, despite my constant interaction with small children). It didn't help that most mornings I woke up to a sky of thick fog and stifling humidity. Just the kind of weather where it seems the only place to be is under it.

It must have been pretty obvious I was off my game because the principal at the elementary school I visited Thursday asked if I was feeling OK. I told her I felt like I was coming down with something.

After giving me the horrified "I can't believe you came to my school, already a cesspool of germs, when you think you might be carrying something" look, she immediately suggested I try this natural herbal supplement.

"I swear by it for my family" she told me. "You will feel a million times better."

The one caveat ...

"It tastes NASTY," she said, much emphasis on the nasty. "But just choke it down, and I swear you will feel better."

Her stellar sales pitch didn't quite convince me to run over to Whole Foods and buy some. I stuck with my Yogi cold defense tea. But when I woke up Friday morning with a terrible sinus headache and all congested I became slightly desperate.

It's called Buried Treasure and it's basically a liquid puree of all sorts of herbs and plants that are supposed to be good for your immune system.

I have never tasted anything so awful. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly it tastes like, probably because I've never tasted anything like it. But I believe it would probably be similar to eating fish sauce, which also smells awful and is made of decomposed fish.

The directions on the bottle suggested mixing it with "your favorite juice." But I didn't see any sense ruining a perfectly good beverage. I thought if I mixed a few tablespoons in a glass of water that it would dilute the flavor and I could just sip it. Um yeah. That didn't really work out for me.

I probably would have just given up and succumbed to whatever virus was looming in my system if I hadn't spent about $25 on the bottle.

It's also important to note I have terrible gag reflexes, which made this experience all the more interesting. I finally gained a full understanding of the phrase "choke it down."

I realized the only way I would be able to get this little "treasure" down was to dilute it with some water and shoot it. At some point I became smart enough to plug my nose so I couldn't taste it. Even though I couldn't taste it, if I thought about what I was drinking I started to instinctively cough it up. So the only way I could make this work was to plug my nose, close my eyes and think about anything else.

(My editor who I shared some with, on the other hand, sucked it down like a champ. But he does occasionally go on this all sauerkraut juice diet ...)

So was it worth all this anguish? Heck yes. I've never felt such immediate relief to anything. Not only did I feel better, I felt great. No sign of a sniffling nose, or sinus headache.

Perhaps I should make it my next mission to come up with some sort of concoction to just make it taste better.