Post Hurricane Drink: The Hurricane

First off, I hope everyone on the Right coast is safe and made it through Hurricane Irene with minimum damages. It was a doozy for some, especially in the Southern Vermont area and local farms all across the the Eastern half of New York State. My wife, who works near Manchester, VT was unable to drive East because of flooded roads and dangerous creek and river water levels. It's tough times for many - good luck with the cleanup! I figured what's better than celebrating the passing of a Hurricane, than drinking a Hurricane.

So, what's a Hurricane you say?

A Hurricane is an extremely sweet alcoholic drink made with fruit juice, syrup or grenadine and rum. It is one of many popular drinks served in the Big Easy where it's gained popularity during the roaring 20's. 

Via: (Wiki)

The creation of this passion fruit-colored relative of a Daiquiri drink is credited to New Orleans tavern owner Pat O'Brien. In the 1940s, he needed to create a new drink to help him get rid of all of the less popular rum that local distributors forced him to buy before he could get a few cases of more popular liquors such as scotch and whiskey. He poured the concoction into hurricane-lamp-shaped glasses and gave it away to sailors. The drink caught on, and it has been a mainstay in the French Quarter ever since. It is more commonly served in a disposable plastic cup, as New Orleans laws permit drinking in public and leaving a bar with a drink, but prohibit public drinking from glass or metal containers.

So, why not a Monday Happy Hour honoring those who were battered by Miss Irene?

Chopbiscuit at home: coffee review - Maragojipe microlot {Counter Culture}

Every morning when I'm not on the road, prior to performing 100 one-handed push ups (Jack Palance) style, acrobatic worthy somersaults and my 5K unicycle ride down an expert's only mountain bike run -  I make my cup of morning Joe. Generally, I have a new blend from one of the many favorite joints and roasters I've seen throughout my years on the road. Lately, I've been ordering most of my coffee (mail order) from Counter Culture. For me, it doesn't get any better than this. These guys and gals eat, sleep and breathe coffee and all the nuances around it.


This month's shipment featured selection: Maragojipe Microlot

This Nicaraguan microlot coffee is a single variety coffee that boasts spicy and sweet notes of citrus fruit and a nutty mouthfeel. As many of you know, I'm a big fan of Counter Culture coffee. But, I'm not a fan of this roast. It seems like the coffee is missing some roundness that I would normally get from a coffee from this region and process. I definitely can taste many of the attributes, but the classic citrus forward taste profile is definitely missing.

You can check out the history of the farm and the people that bring this coffee to life here.

So, what happens next? This may be the only coffee from CC that I haven't preferred. Should I just pack it in, hop on my couch, grab a sleeve of Fig newtons and watch Who's the boss re-runs? Maybe.

Chopbiscuit on the road dining review: Al Forno - Providence, RI

Welcome (again) to another delightful ad hoc Chopbiscuit inspection of some of the USA's most frequented saloons, dining halls, dive bars, food trucks, in-room dining and high end bistro's. At least one of your humble contributors is on the road virtually every week and luckily have the opportunity to dine at some of the finest institutions and loathsome watering holes known to man. Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, some deity would permit us to be pirates and savage our nutriment.

We like eating. It fascinates us. We sit and look at the food for hours. We often eat while laying down in my hotel room with a bib in my lap and my outlook calendar open. Eating is our tweeting, except it's much cooler. Food is often made into the celebrity of carnage, which makes us appear to be pompous and scarce in regards to the act of eating itself. You eat because you fuel. We eat because we're hungry. We eat because it's our job. We go out to these establishments to consume their lineups with arrogance.

I then judge it. (Poncho Sinatra style)

Al Forno
577 South Main Street
Providence, RI
401.273.9760

Greetings, it's been awhile. How is everybody post #earthquakeapocolypse? I just returned home after a long weekend celebrating our first wedding anniversary with my wife in Rhode Island. Did you know it's not really an island? On our way out to our final destination in Newport, we stopped in Providence and had the opportunity to stop at the renown Al Forno restaurant. This place is regarded as the first restaurant in the country to celebrate grilled pizza over hardwood charcoal. Also, it's regarded as one of the 100 best restaurants in the country for 2011.

From the excerpt:

Husband-and-wife owner-chefs George Germon and Johanne Killeen recently  received the Insegna del Ristorante Italiano from the Italian government, a rare honor for Americans, attributable to their informed passion for pasta along with their invention of the grilled pizza. They also, though, aim the culinary spotlight on Rhode Island's defining vegetables — corn, squash, beans, and tomatoes — prepared simply, with the authentic Italian panache one would expect of multiple James Beard honorees.

What I ingested:

Let's just skip everything else and talk about the famous Al Forno pizza. As a pizza lover, obviously one of my courses was going to be one of their famous flatbread creations. We chose the Grilled pizza with native corn (pomodoro, two cheeses and spicy oil). I always rate the flatbread pizza on tenderness and flakiness of the crust. The crust should also have some nice charring, with a slightly smoky note from the oven or grill. With the heat in a hardwood charcoal grill getting up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit, this crust was absolute perfection. The sweetness of the corn was offset by the cracklin' crust and heat from the spicy olive oil. A perfect combination of richness and soft cheese rounded the pie out. This may have been one of the best flatbread pizza's I've ever ate. Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix would have to tip the cap to this East coast rival.

Design and Concept:

 

Johanne Killeen and George Germon have earned untouchable status for their artfully simple and cerebral renditions of food rooted in the various regional cuisines of Italy and Southern France, re-crafted and re-imagined to integrate the products of New England farms and waters into their simple yet sophisticated menu. Matching the quality of their food is the environment they've created in the restaurant. In summer there is a lot of al fresco seating in their amazing garden settings, but we noticed many patrons liked the open bar the best. It is set back of the garden, but open to the fresh evening air. Inside, the very attentive staff are very efficient and graceful in the warm - turned over factory. Greenery gives the high ceilings a warm and comforting feel that completes the sense of space and sufficient elbow room for large parties.

When you're in Providence, this place is a must.

The best naan bead in the country? Maybe?

Naan is the bomb at Karavalli

Do you enjoy good naan bread as much as I do? Do you live and die by the texture of good naan bread? Really? Me too, how funny. The other day myself and a few of my culinary gifted work cohorts decided on grabbing some Indian food for lunch. If you're ever in Saratoga and your craving some decent Indian, make sure you stop by Karavalli on Caroline Street. (Review to come shortly)

Let's get back to naan bread. So, what makes a good naan? The bread is typically popular in South and Central Asia, Iran and in South Asian restaurants abroad. Generally, it resembles pita bread and, like pita bread, is usually leavened with yeast and unleavened dough  is also used.

Naan is traditionally cooked in a tandoor, or clay oven, from which tandoori cooking takes its name. Cool eh? Modern day recipes sometimes substitute forms of baking powder for the yeast. Yogurt and/or yogurt powder may also be used to give greater volume and thickness to the naan. Typically, it will be served hot and brushed with ghee or butter and can be used as a scoop and or carrier for a filling.

If you've never tried a good naan bread, go out and taste for yourself. It will make the Persian folk very happy.

I like Milkshakes. I like Booze.

A shake that "The Dude" would be proud of

What in the world is better than a mid-summer milkshake? Maybe a mid-summer cocktail? What if you combined the two for some Voltron like power and enjoyed  mid-summer Boozy Milkshake?

Perfect right?

Well, the creative folks at Imbibe put together their Top 5 Boozy Milkshakes for the summer and they look deelish. You can count on a few of these being made by yours truly prior to summer's end. Nothing like a creamy hangover!

Go check out the list here.

Oktobeerfest is approaching- Are you {Sich vor Angst in die Hose scheiben?}

From the guys that brought you this, they now bring you this.  That's right, Saratoga Festivals is going to get all "German" this September with Oktobeerfest on Saturday, September 17th, 1-6PM. It's going to be the same great beer (bier) and food with all the bells and whistles from the last event. Except this time, you're going to taste and sample all the German bier and fall appropriate selections you want and yearn. You know you're "yearning" for it.

So, make sure you put this in your Outlook calendar and sync it to your smartphone. This is where you will be on September 17th, not your cousin's wedding in Long Island. (You don't ever talk to her anyway)


Dein Mutter saugt schweine!
(translated: your mother suckles pigs)

Coffee Cupping - A Chopbiscuit lesson

A cupping I participated in while in Costa Rica

As you probably know, I drink  lot's of coffee when I'm not drinking wine, beer, milk, water, moonshine and Brass Monkey. I've been a hoity toity coffee snob now for about 7-8 years after understanding what Good Coffee really is. I was speaking to a co-worker last week and he asked me, "What the be-jesus is coffee cupping?" For many of you, this is foreign language and probably jibber-jabber that's pretty confusing. But, every good cup of coffee has it's beginning, so let's explain the process.

The cupping process was conceived as a means for evaluating and comparing different coffees on a level playing field. Because the differences between great coffees can be very delicate, observations about the characteristics of those coffees (flavor, body, finish…) can be easily influenced by small variations that occur as part of most brewing methods. By eliminating some of these variables, a carefully prepared cupping allows the coffees being tasted to compete on the basis of their own intrinsic merits. It's ultimately the gating rule for releasing a batch of coffee by a Vendor or Roaster.

Some degree of scientific rigor is key to conducting a fair cupping. Measurements of water and coffee grounds should be precise, any grinding equipment should be flushed between cups to prevent cross-contamination, and the pouring of hot water should be done with great consistency. Time is also a factor; once the grounds are wet the steeping process is underway, and the coffee will undergo many changes in chemistry and flavor over the next 20 minutes. Time is essential - think of it as the NFL combine for coffee beans.

The cupping room at Starbucks

It is very important to evaluate each coffee from the start of this cycle to the finish, so most cuppers have developed a protocol for managing this sequence of events to ensure that every coffee on the table gets equal treatment. Some are a little extravagent and some a bit, insane.

For casual cupping at home the protocols need not be so rigid, as the stakes are quite different. Cupping coffee at home can open you up to a whole new world of what makes coffee the special thing it is to many of us. You’ll discover flavors and nuances you never thought existed in a cuppa joe. You’ll learn to evaluate and categorize coffees that would do well in your own custom blends, if you’re a home roaster, or even if you’re buying a variety of single origin beans, and post blending them at home.

Cupping is also very much a social thing. While one can cup alone, cupping is best done in a group, where you can compare and contrast notes, opinions and thoughts on what you are sampling. For many beginning cuppers, evaluating coffee with others will open your eyes and your tastebuds to nuances in a coffee you might have otherwise missed - your cupping partners will point something out and you will revisit the sample and possibly discover it yourself.

Cupping at home doesn’t have to be rigid - in fact, it shouldn’t have the rigid and complex rules and rituals that professional cupping often has. If you’re cupping at home, you’re most likely doing it for the love of coffee, the sense of adventure from trying and discovering some new things, and you’re doing it to have fun! However, if the goal is to really compare the coffees to one another, it is a good idea to strive for maximum consistency in the set-up.

Instead of putting together a lesson on how to conduct a coffee cupping, I figure I would let the amazing folks at Intelligentsia coffee explain in only a way they can. You can see how to set your own cupping up here.

Iconic Athlete and food commercials

I bat cleanup for Steve's bar and tavern

Many of you know that I have a few passions in life. One being food and the other is competitive athletics. Falconry is no longer one of my passions since I mastered the craft in '97. Although it's been since college that I've competed at a high level, I've been an avid supporter of sports and follow my favorite teams fervidly.

Recently, the Daily Meal put together a slideshow of the most iconic athlete food and drink commercials. One of the funniest things about food and sports is that the food sponsors that are promoting athletics at a high level are some of the worst processed and commoditized crap out in the marketplace.

For example, look at some of the major sponsors for athletics over the past 20 years:


McDonald's
Oreo cookies
Coke
Chunky Soup
Coors Light
Burger King

Call me crazy, but I'm sure some of these Athletic freaks aren't throwing down a sixer of Coors Light with a sleeve of Oreo cookies on a daily basis right? Imagine a world where grass fed, free range beef association had the ability to sponsor a NFL player or the association of humanely raised pig farmer's had a logo splatted on the shirt of Tiger Woods.

One can only hope.

Chopbiscuit at home: coffee review -Guatemala Finca Nueva Armenia {Counter Culture}

Every morning when I'm not on the road, prior to performing 100 one-handed push ups (Jack Palance) style, acrobatic worthy somersaults and my 5K unicycle ride down an expert's only mountain bike run -  I make my cup of morning Joe. Generally, I have a new blend from one of the many favorite joints and roasters I've seen throughout my years on the road. Lately, I've been ordering most of my coffee (mail order) from Counter Culture. For me, it doesn't get any better than this. These guys and gals eat, sleep and breathe coffee and all the nuances around it.


This month's shipment featured selection: Guatemala Finca Nueva Armenia {Counter Culture}

I feel ashamed. My last shipment of coffee sat on my shelf for a little too long while I was gallivanting (do the kids say that anymore?) across the country for work. I like to pound back a pound of coffee per week and this sat on my shelf for about two full weeks. Shame on me. Foolish games.

Even with the extended shelf life this coffee had a fruitiness and crisp acidity. It also had  well rounded mouth feel. Make sure you check out here to find out about the brothers that founded the farm and the history of the bourbon trees that were planted there. A great solid coffee for beginner's who are learning the delicate nuances about flavor profiles.

Chopbiscuit daily links: Wendy's Dave Thomas is rolling in his grave

Please sell the Hot 'n Juicy, please!

Wendy's sues franchisees, unveils new prototype

As the newly independent Wendy’s prepares to report earnings Thursday for the first time since parting ways with Arby’s Restaurant Group, the quick-service brand is finding itself locked in a legal wrangle with a group of its own franchisees. The 5,877-unit Wendy’s Co. has filed a lawsuit against franchisees who have yet to install specialized equipment required to prepare the brand’s new Dave’s Hot ’n Juicy cheeseburger.

Wendy's: You will buy the new special equipment (waving hand like a jedi knight)
Franchisee: We will buy the new equipment. 
Wendy's: Move along, move along.... 

Food Day, modeled on Earth Day

Chefs, nutritionists and food activists are asking U.S. restaurants to buy more products locally or collect for food banks for Food Day in October. Groups such as Chefs Collaborative, American Culinary Federation and the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture are encouraging local restaurants to seek out partnerships with area hunger and sustainable-agriculture groups Oct. 24.

Sustainable food doesn't have to be Elitist: Pigs Edition

Over on the Atlantic site, the food politics writer Jane Black has a thoughtful post on farmers market sticker shock in brownstone Brooklyn. Confronted at her neigborhood market by the spectacle of $8/dozen eggs—which had sold out, no less—Black frets that "that the 'good-food-costs-more' argument is being taken to an extreme that puts at risk the goal of a mass food-reform movement, which is to make good food available to the greatest number of people possible."

Coconut Shrimp with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce (recipe - Fifteen spatulas)

I don’t think there’s ever a time when I don’t get TOTALLY excited about eating these.  Coconut shrimp is just so delicious, and it tastes even better with this spicy sweet dipping sauce.  There’s a lot of variation in coconut shrimp, but I prefer to use unsweetened coconut instead of sweetened.  I think the sweetened coconut makes it taste like a shrimp macaroon, and is a bit too sweet.  Take a look at your local grocery store for the unsweetened coconut, and if you have a Whole Foods nearby, I find the unsweetened coconut both in the bulk/scoop section with all the grains and also in the baking section.  Oh, and definitely go with panko rather than regular bread crumbs.  It will make ALL the difference in the crispiness.

Making Cheezoo-Kaykee (recipe - Joe Pastry)

I’m not going to call this chiizukeiki or Japanese cheesecake, I’ve decided. I’m going to call it “cheesecake surprise.” Because let me tell you, I put a bite of this into my mouth convinced that I already knew what it was going to taste like…but I was completely surprised. For Japanese cheesecake has the feel of a dense soufflé or angelfood cake, but it has none of the dryness those sorts of egg foam-heavy foods can have. Instead it’s entirely moist, lightly sweet and smooth, and it vanishes off the tongue almost instantly, leaving nothing but a hint of New York behind. Remarkable.