Don Genova's Blog

Food For Thought - The Young Man and the Sea

This week on Food For Thought, a chat with David Pasternack, executive chef at Esca, one of the best seafood restaurants in New York City, and his attitude toward cooking seafood.  Here's the audio file for your listening pleasure. and links coming up this afternoon.

In the audio file you'll hear tips about getting to know a good fishmonger and how to choose fresh fish.  I ended the piece with my admonition about buying seafood that is from a sustainable resource.  You can check this posting to find links on that.

There is a great series called Empty Seas running in the New York Times now about how West African fish stocks are being decimated by European and Chinese industrial fishers.  This link will lead you to the first story, and you'll see the other stories in the series in the 'related' box on the webpage.

Food For Thought - Had A Glass 2008

This week, a great new guide to choosing excellent wines.   The guide is called 'Had A Glass, Top 100 Wines for 2008 Under $20'.  The authors are James Nevison and Kenji Hodgson.  I took a tour of the Marquis Wine Cellar in Vancouver with them to talk about the book.  Here is the audio file for your listening pleasure.

You can save 27% off of the cover price by clicking the link above and ordering through amazon.ca.  Me, my wife and my creditors will thank you for the small portion of the proceeds I receive from leading you to the sale.

Food For Thought - Margaret's Kitchen

This week on Food For Thought, I chat with Margaret Dickenson and her husband Larry.  Margaret is the author of Margaret's Table: Easy Cooking and Inspiring Entertaining. 

You can listen to the audio file of our conversation here .  Margaret has a great website full of recipes, tips and even video instructions for some of her best dishes.  It's also where you can order her book, and her first effort, From the Ambassador's Table:  Blueprints for Creative Entertaining.

She is a graduate of the Food and Nutrition program at the University of Guelph, but 40 years of life with her husband Larry, who held posts in Canada's Foreign Service up to the rank of ambassador, gave her invaluable experience at entertaining at small dinner or cocktail parties all the way up to hundreds of people at a time.

I'll have more with Margaret and Larry in an upcoming podcast.

Food For Thought - Book Gifts 2007

This week on Food For Thought, surefire book suggestions for the foodie on your gift list.  Here is the audio file for your listening pleasure, and the list of books.  I'll have cover photos and links to Amazon.ca a little later...

 

There are many good things about giving a cookbook as a gift.  They can provide hours of enjoyment, even if the recipient never cooks from them.  Some people just like to look.
If they do cook from the book, you might get to eat the fantastic results.  And, as I like to remind people who are clumsy with scotch tape, shiny paper and scissors, they are easy to wrap.

Before I head into some of the latest books on the shelves this year, I want to remind you about some of the books I’ve already talked about this year that I feel are surefire winners, like Into The Vietnamese Kitchen, by Andrea Nyugen. This book is full of fresh, flavourful ideas, and Vietnamese salads are now part of my regular repertoire. 

Then there’s One Pot Italian Cooking, by Massimo Capra, the pork rib and cabbage dish is to die for.
Another great Italian cookbook is Two Meatballs, by Mark Strausman and Pino Luongo.  This book brings together authentic Italian with New York Italian cooking.

The Guy Can’t Cook, by Cinda Chavich, gives every guy the tools he needs to be a success in the kitchen, and maybe the bedroom.

Now, onto newer books. This year’s must have wine guide is a formula with tried and true success:  Had A Glass 2008, by James Nevison and Kenji Hodson, Top 100 Wines for Under 20 Dollars.  It’s the third edition, and sized just so you can put it in the glove compartment of your car when you’re out shopping.  Kenji Hodson explains the first edition sprung from demands from their friends who were getting excited by the world of wine. I’ll have more from James and Kenji in the new year. 

If you want to go beyond meatballs, get ballsy with this next book.  Balls! By Angela Murrills, puts everything round in perspective, from around the world, and more.

Regular listeners to this program know that my favourite place to shop for any food book is Barbara-jo’s Books to Cooks in Vancouver.  Even though Barbara-jo a specialty retailer, she’s been doing her best to even out the differences this season between American and Canadian prices.  When she takes a few days off after Christmas, she’s going to settle down with a couple of books about food you just read, not cook from.  Her first selection is The Tenth Muse, by Judith Jones, and details the life of the woman who was responsible for getting Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking published, and many, many more cookbooks.  The second book she mentioned is by Clarissa Dickson Wright, one of the Two Fat Ladies.  Her autobiography is called Spilling the Beans.

Food For Thought - Kitchen Gadget Parade 2007

Nothing like a handy pair of potato scrubber gloves for a Christmas stocking stuffer!  This week on Food For Thought, my annual gadget suggestions with Ming Wo store manager Fontaine Wong. All of the gadgets are available at Ming Wo, and the prices you see listed here are from the Chinatown shop. (and they do mail order!)

Here is the  audio file for your listening pleasure, and the list is about to be published as well.  Later this week I will be publishing a podcast with many more great suggestions from Fontaine, so be sure to check my podcast page for that.  Better yet, subscribe to my podcast from that page so you never miss another podcast!

Tender Press      $19.95        Fusion
-    gentle way to tenderize and flatten meat without
-    pounding , stabbing or using chemicals. 
By using a rolling motion ( like a rolling pin with tender teeth)
it reduces tearing and eliminates meat juice splatter.
The teeth tenderizes the meat and the bars flatten the meat.

Skrub’a       
Practical multi purpose nylon Scrubbing glove for removing dirt from potatoes and carrots and other vegetables.  Rinse after use, wring and hang dry.
Machine wash warm water or top rack dishwasher safe.
$12.95
* works great on golf balls too*

Gourmet Masher       $28.98      Chef Jamie Gwen
What makes the gourmet masher so special?
Innovative design of diamond shaped cutting tines/ blades
and a soft comfort grip handle makes preparing food a breeze.
Food doesn’t stick to the blades like other mashers.
It effortlessly mashes, rices and whips potatoes in 60 seconds.
Works with vegetables, egg salad, baby food and more…
and even blending berries for jams and jellies.
Allows for greater control over texture and food consistency.
Simply press the Gourmet Masher straight down through
the hot cooked potatoes / vegetables.

Gourmet Pastry Pro    $28.98
Designed to cut through flour and even cold butter .  No need to
Pre-sift your flour.  Just toss your ingredients into a bowl and
in seconds you get the precise consistency you need for pastry.
Dishwashersafe
Rigid stainless frame
Soft Comfort grip handle

Poach Pod        by Fusion         $12.95 pair
Simple to use and clean
Floats in water during cooking
Just crack a raw egg and pour into an oiled  pod
and place it in a pan of simmering  water until desired firmness
Simply run a spoon around the edges and gently remove the egg.
You can use to bake, mold and even make ice treats.
Great for melting butter or chocolate.

Buzz Buzz   2 in 1 Electronic Mill       Cole & Mason
Reg $79.95    Spec $63.99
Unique battery operated mill has two diamond sharp ceramic mechanisms for grinding salt and pepper.
Simply slide the top button  to choose salt or pepper and press.
Fully adjustable mechanisms for fine to coarse grind.
Viewing windows so you can tell when to refill.
Stylish Brushed stainless steel body
Batteries included    6 x AAA

U-select Peugeot Pepper/Salt Mills      
Takes the guesswork out of grinding pepper or salt.
U-select allows for the perfect degree of grind,
With 6 Pre-set levels for grind for pepper or salt.
Just adjust the mill to your preferred grind and
turn.

 

BREVILLE IKON BLENDERS
Patented Hemisphere 6 blade system, powerful enough to crush ice into snowlike consistency, while still making smoothies, pesto, and mayonnaise.

The revolutionary blade system is designed to hug the base of the bowl, therefore eliminating any food traps.   This prevents lumps in smoothies and cocktails, so that ingredients are shredded into fine and even particles.

Varies from 600, 750, 1000 watt motors.
5 speeds The 600 model offers a Pulse  & LCD countdown display.
550Xl  unit Reg $179.99   Spec. $139.99
600XL unit  Reg $229.99  Spec $179.99
800XL unit  Reg  $299.99  Spec $249.99

Food For Thought - Tribute to James Barber

Canadian culinary icon James Barber passed away last week at age 84.  This week on Food For Thought I pay tribute to him.  You'll hear clips from his TV and a very old appearance on the CBC Radio show Morningside, as hosted by Don Harron.  Click here to listen to the audio file.  To see some photos on my Facebook photo album tribute to James (and you don't have to have a Facebook account) just click here.

Food For Thought -BC Albacore Tuna

This week on Food For Thought I let a good idea out of the can...BC Albacore tuna.  That's a frozen tuna in the photo on the right, they are about 10 to 20 pounds when they are caught off the British Columbia coast, long before their bodies have a chance to build up any dangerous concentrations of mercury.

The tuna is available as a high quality canned product, cooked in its own juices with absolutely no waste.  It is also available in frozen, boneless, skinless loins, which I love to eat raw as sashimi or sear lightly with Asian seasonings.  This photo shows some of the chefs who gathered to demonstrate recipes at Albion Fisheries in Vancouver, with the loins at the bottom of the photo.  To listen to my mp3 documentary on albacore tuna, click here.

Here are a couple of the dishes they made.  You can find lots of recipes for using both raw and canned tuna at the Canadian Albacore Tuna website.  You will also find details of a recipe contest now underway that anyone can enter, with CASH prizes.  Contest deadline is December 15th, 2007.

Food For Thought - One Pot Italian Cooking

This week on Food For Thought I welcomed Massimo Capra into my 'Test Kitchen'.  Massimo is the author of One Pot Italian Cooking, and the owner of two Toronto Italian restaurants, Mistura and Sopra.  To listen to my chat with him, click here for the mp3.

You can order the book by clicking here to follow through to amazon.ca and save 37% off the cover price! 

In the kitchen, Massimo guided me through his braised rabbit with apricots and tomatoes; earlier I made some tasty back ribs cooked with julienned cabbage.  More photos coming soon!

Food For Thought - The Wine Islands

This week on Food For Thought, I look at one of Canada's emerging wine regions, the BC Wine Islands.  Pictured at left is the winery building at Morning Bay Vineyard & Estate Winery on Pender Island.  It's owned by Keith Watt, who used to work at CBC Radio, and trained me when I got my first CBC job back in Prince Rupert, nearly 20 years ago!

You can listen to the 6-minute documentary here.  To learn more about the wineries of the Wine Islands and how you can taste them if you're not in that region, visit the Wine Islands Vintners Association webpage.

Food For Thought - Two Meatballs

Okay, that's more than two meatballs you see here, but this week's show is about four chefs putting their best meatballs forward in a somewhat impromptu competition at Barbara-jo's Books to Cooks in Vancouver.

The Two Meatballs in the title are Mark Strausman and Pino Luongo, chef/partners in Italian restaurants in New York City.  They have just published a new cookbook called 'Two Meatballs', but these guys don't see eye to eye.  Here's the 6-minute audio file for your listening pleasure...

The cookbook goes much further than meatballs, but I have to admit, after watching these guys cook their favourite meatball recipes, I've been inspired to make more of my own.  You can order Two Meatballs via this link to amazon.ca and save 37% off the cover price.  You can see a few more pictures of the 'guys with balls' on my Facebook album.