Week 10: Rushing to be a Sandwich

A loose definition of a sandwich: two pieces of bread with some filling in the middle.

With such an ambiguous definition the possibilities of the sandwich are endless. But where do we draw the line? Is a burrito a sandwich? Is a calzone a sandwich?

There needs to be some guidelines in place before we start calling anything we can get our hands on a sandwich. So here’s a sandwich checklist; if a qualified candidate satisfies half of the requirements it will be inducted into the sandwich brotherhood.

 Check List:

Accessibility – The candidate can be made within one to 10 minutes

Portability – The candidate can be carry anywhere, at anytime of day or night, if necessary the candidate can be consumed with one hand; the use of utensils after preparation time is forbidden

Cleanliness – The candidate should not be sloppy, the consumer should not have to worry about excessive amounts of napkins or stains

Satisfaction – Is the candidate filling enough

Let’s examine a few borderline sandwiches and see if they pass the test.

Burritos/Wraps –

Accessible, Portable and oh, so filling. They might get sloppy, especially if the tortilla isn’t folded well but they are very satisfying nonetheless. Sandwich.

 The Sloppy Joe –

This is a tricky one, mostly because it so very sloppy that portability is out of the question. It’s not something you can eat with one hand and while I personally think they are delicious I wouldn’t say they are the most filling. Non-Sandwich.

Crepes –

I doubt the French would even call it a sandwich. Forks are necessary, so non-Sandwich.

The Hot Dog –

Easy fulfills the first three categories, but usually only one won’t satisfy a hungry stomach. It gets a pass because it’s an American staple. Sandwich. 

Week 9: The Legend of Big Nooch

In the spirit of our classes’ field trip to Whole Foods, I’ve decided to tackle a subject I’m not all that familiar with, vegan food.

So, I did a little research on the topic and found that vegans don’t eat meat, eggs or dairy product. Sounds to me like vegans are missing a little protein in their diets, right? 

Wrong, I’m dead wrong. For years, vegans have used the holy grail of protein powders in their diets behind our backs. And I’m not talking about muscle milk.

I’m talking about “Nooch.” That’s right, vegans eat nooch.

Never heard of it? Neither have I. According to foodsalive.com, “Nutritional yeast [commonly refered to as “Nooch”] is an excellent source of protein, dietary fiber, vitamins. Especially the B-complex vitamins including B12 and minerals.”

So I thought, okay, well it’s a yellow power made of yeast, sugarcane and beat molasses, doesn’t sound too appetizing.

Wrong again. It tastes like cheese. The boxed version from foodsalive.com is the Swiss army knife of protein laden vegan product:  “[Sprinkle] some on hot popcorn, garlic bread, add a spoonful to cereals, juices, smoothies or use as a seasoning for salad, soup, gravy, casseroles, and so much more!”

Nooch is essentially the organic (and edible) version of the powdered cheese that comes in the blue Kraft Box. So why have us non-vegans rejected nooch for so long?

Eh, Philly “Nooch” Steak just doesn’t sound or taste right.

 

Week 8: The Great Foodie Pyramid

In The Atlantic magazine article “The Moral Crusade Against Foodies,” B.R. Myers contends that foodies – someone with a refined interest or job in the food industry – have added an unnecessary level of elitism to food culture, “It has always been crucial to the gourmet’s pleasure that [the foodie] eat in the ways the mainstream cannot afford.”

While there was always some level of elitism amongst the leaders in the food industry -- I believe now more then ever there is a separation of class in the food world -- due in large part to the reality cooking TV boom of the last decade.

Take a look at one of cables most prominent foodies, Anthony Bourdain. Myers argues that the foodie “in values, sense of humor, even childhood experience, its members are as similar to each other as they are different from everyone else.” Bourdain is certainly different from everyone else. He’s brash, unfiltered and extravagant. In a recent interview with Playboy magazine, Bourdain wasn’t shy about speaking his mind on his fellow TV chefs Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck: “I don’t understand why these guys would make this candy-colored sort of crowd pleasing television.”

Instead of catering his show towards the cooking needs of his viewers, Bourdain travels the world sparing no expense, eating foods in places the average viewer could only dream of visiting. Anthony Bourdain has used his new found celebrity and the popularity of No Reservations to try and hold Americans to a higher culinary standard, something that might be out of reach. In a New York Times article “Unsavory Culinary Elitism” Bourdain rips Paula Deen: ““telling an already obese nation that it’s O.K. to eat food that is killing us.” Deen responds to the loudmouth Bourdain’s criticism of her show:

““Not everybody can afford to pay $58 for prime rib or $650 for a bottle of wine.”

And not every foodie can aspire to eat at the level of Anthony Bourdain.

At the end of Myers piece he says “[Foodies are] not all bad.” Enter Julie Powell. The line between aspiring foodie and food star was blurred when Powell’s blog detailing her quest to cook like Julia Child for one year resulted in a book deal…and then a film. Class separation in the food world is inevitable. Powell’s story shows that the average cook can garner attention in the food world, even if they aren’t a Top Chef or have the character and resources of an Anthony Bourdain.

So where exactly do Bourdain and Powell fit into the foodie hierarchy?

I’ve created a foodie pyramid to better define the term:

Week 7: Shhh Don't Tell

My great grandmother was born in Sicily, the island being punted by the great Italian boot.  It may seem like a coincidence but in reality mainland Italy tends to kick around the people of Sicily. Despite mainland Italy’s self-proclaimed superiority, Sicilians have been cooking as well, if not better than their northern counterparts.  Sicilians sport a different dialect and a different type of pie (see the Sicilian pizza slice) but like most Italian immigrants my Sicilian great grandmother brought a lasagna recipe from the homeland. Here’s the “secret” preparation of the Sicilian version of lasagna as described through the keen culinary eyes of my aunt - the recipient of a recipe passed down through three generations – just don’t tell any other Italians!

Sicilian Lasagna:

A “heavy,” “rich,” winter dish fit for an Italian Christmas Eve or Christmas Day feast; has also made its way to the Thanksgiving table although it’s a heavy precursor to the turkey. 

The noodles aren’t as important as the slow cooked tomato sauce; you can’t have a good pizza without good sauce. The same rule applies to lasagna.

Ricotta and homemade mozzarella is mixed with one egg to bind the mixture together, keeping the ricotta from being runny. Add a handful of romano cheese, freshly grounded pepper pieces of parsley as well.

To make the lasagna with a Sicilian flavor, meatballs must be made separately then mashed up and put into the sauce. The Sicilian tradition is apparently to make more work than is necessary.

Just adding the meatballs won’t satisfy our stomachs. Sausage must be browned and sliced up into tiny pieces to ensure this dish force you to add another notch on your holiday belt.

Layer it as follows: sauce, noodles, ricotta, sauce, noodle. At the top: more sauce and more mozzarella. Bake it in the oven for an hour.

Warning:

This dish is not for every Italian. (See my Uncle's appetite). 

Week 6: Origin Of Kellogg's Brand Cereal

I’m going to do my best to make the history of the Kellogg’s company to be as theatrical as possible.

The story begins in 1863 in the rural valley town of Dansville in western New York. Dr. James Caleb Jackson, operator of the Dansville Sanitarium (a health spa/hospital), wanted to create a nutritious breakfast for his patients. He came up with the idea of soaking dense brand nuggets over night until they became a chewable breakfast treat (sounds good right?). Jackson created the first ‘cereal’ but little did he know that his invention would spark a controversy.

25 years later a man with a strikingly similar story struck gold...

John Kellogg of Battle Creek, Michigan operated his own sanitarium and also wanted his patients to have a quick, healthy breakfast. Kellogg used different ingredients than Jackson to make his cereal– biscuits made of oats, cornmeal, and wheat – but called it ‘granula’ just as Jackson did. To this day it’s unclear whether Kellogg had knowledge of Dr. Jackson’s creation, but when Jackson heard of the success of Kellogg’s cereal he did not go down without a fight.

An epic legal battle ensued…

Jackson sued Kellogg for brand name infringement. Eventually they reached a settlement and Kellogg was forced to change the name to ‘granola.’

Unfortunately for Jackson, his product never came close to reaching the popularity of Kellogg’s cereals.

The Kellogg’s brand didn’t take off until John’s brother, William Kellogg, helped create a cereal break-through. One night the brothers mistakenly left their boiled wheatmeal out overnight. They decided to try and salvage their wheatmeal by putting it through rollers. Instead of the normal flat sheet of wheatmeal they were accustomed to, a flaky creation emerged. The brothers then roasted these accidental flakes and served them to their patients.

And thus the modern day Cornflake was born.

John Kellogg, undervaluing the company’s worth, refused to package the cereal and market it. Will Kellogg saw the popularity of the Cornflake rise and decided to buy out John’s portion of the company and market the cereal towards supermarkets.

With Will’s leadership the new company sold over one million cases of cereal by its third year.

After 105 years in the cereal business, Kellogg’s continues to thrive. Snap, Crackle, and Pop – the original cereal characters – still promote Rice Crispies on boxes and in ads. Cornflakes – Kellogg’s beautiful mistake – is a top selling cereal brand and Tony the Tiger has led Frosted Flakes in Kellogg’s cereal sales for the last 50 years.

That’s one successful accident.

Sources: 

http://www.kellogghistory.com/history.html

http://www.mrbreakfast.com/article.asp?articleid=13

http://www.lavasurfer.com/cereal-guide.html

http://www.countryliving.com/cooking/about-food/best-selling-breakfast-cereals-0909

Week 5: "C'est ça que j'm" "I'm Lovin it"

 There are three reasons why I -- like most Americans -- continue to pump money into my local golden arches despite the well-known health risks.

Reason #1: Location

The McDonald’s in my town sits just off an exit for a major New York Parkway. If there are cars in front of mine as I exit the Parkway at least two out of every three cars will pull into McDonald’s. My house falls in the repeat customer zone, close enough to walk to and easy enough to grab for lunch/dinner on the go. McDonald’s isn’t something I seek out. It’s become a fall back plan, a stomach filler when I can’t think of anywhere better to go.

Reason #2: Over-Exposure

According to the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity – the average U.S. child sees 15 food commercials ever day, or about 5,500 per year – the most heavily advertised products are fast foods and high-sugared snack foods. As a kid I most likely spent more than 19 hour per week (the average for a person in the United States) in front of a television littered with ads of Ronald McDonald giving a convincing pitch for the Happy Meal and glorified collectable toys that come with it.  Smart marketing coupled with a convenient location makes McDonald’s something that kids seek out. Most of my memories of eating at McDonald’s revolve around the euphoria of getting the Happy Meal toy I coveted.

Reason #3: Money

In my teenage years I frequented McDonald’s because it was an inexpensive mid-day, or late night snack. The invention of the dollar menu clearly boomed sales within the teenage demographic and increasing service hours to beyond midnight made McDonald’s the only late night option around.

I’m partially a victim of a fast food nation. I live in a country that spends over $100 billion more on fast food then the nation with the next highest output. The only time I’ve left America was in 2002, when my family took a vacation to Montreal, Canada. We dinned in fancy French restaurants, tried escargot on pizza, shared Shepard’s pie and dared to taste anything the French Canadians put on our plates. Although we were north of the border, we couldn’t escape the reach of the McDonald’s empire. In bustling downtown Montreal there’s an upscale McDonald’s that was noticeably different then the one in my town. The façade of the restaurant blended in with the newer glass buildings downtown and there was noticeably less of the red and yellow that illuminated my hometown at night. The Happy Meal toys were replaced with hockey trading cards (welcome to Canada). This McDonald’s served the classics – McNuggets, Big Macs, Quarter Pounders – as well as gourmet sandwiches served on fancy dishes and coffees I’ve never seen in the United States. What we didn’t expect out of this McDonald’s was agonizingly slow service. We are used to getting our fast food within three minutes. After half and hour of waiting and one missed subway ride we became the stereotypical impatient, spoiled American tourists, complaining about not getting our food fast. Even in a high tech, progressive city like Montreal, there was no rush to produce or consume food. It’s meant to be enjoyed.

Fast food is American because it’s rooted in our culture, our way of life, more than any other nation. We are a corporation run country hooked on the over-indulgent foods that fit our schedules and make us happy, if only temporarily. And there’s no end in sight. 

Week 4: Carry Out Only

At some point Americans stopped living life in the fast lane and started living life in the drive through lane. As I’m on a bus driving through southern Ohio en route to Cincinnati, I can’t help but notice that at every gas stop there’s a fast food restaurant in the adjacent parking lot.  This bus can’t go more than two miles without passing the golden arches, the tipping Arby’s hats, or the ringing taco bells. The quintessential American cuisine has become fast food but maybe we shouldn’t be all that embarrassed. Somewhere along this highway there’s good food made fast. If I were to open an “American” restaurant in a foreign land I’d export the classic local dishes and the hole in the wall staples that make America the land of the free and home of the diet killers.  

My Menu:

“Brotherly Love”

Thinly sliced streak grilled alongside sautéed onions stuffed into a fresh roll topped with cheese wiz (the faker the better) and ketchup. If my brother worked at Pat’s, or Geno’s Cheesesteaks in Philly I’d love him too.

“Georgia Smoke House ”

This Smoked Ham BBQ sandwich, slow roasted to perfection with a pineapple honey-glazed shine on a hard roll, is a Georgia specialty representing the southern barbeque culture.

“State Fair Corndog”

If hotdog is an American classic then the corndog is an American classic on steroids. Grab it and go. Perfect for little kids or people who must eat while they drive. 

“New Yorker”

A deep-fried calzone with ricotta and fresh stringy mozzarella cheese might not be good for the heart but it’s great for the soul. Finding these crispy, oil covered, golden brown calzones are rare even in New York.

“Midwestern Limeade”

With crushed ice, half a lime, soda and a cherry on top, could this drink be anymore refreshing? It’s been made famous nationally by Sonic but the best Limeades can be found in the local ice cream shops like Topsy’s in Kansas City.