Foodies, chefs and cookbook authors

This evening I am preparing to serve dinner to 10 folks who represent all of the above title categories. Several are professional chefs, several have written cookbooks, and all just like to eat interesting food.

We know what a chef is and what cook book authors do, but what is a Foodie? Definition of a Foodie: Although the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, foodies differ from gourmets in that gourmets are epicures of refined taste who may or may not be professionals in the food industry, whereas foodies are generally (but not always) enthusiastic amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news. They read the publications, try the recipes, and enjoy discussing all things food with other foodies. Gourmets simply want to eat the best food, whereas foodies want to learn everything about food, both the best and the ordinary, and about the science, industry, and personalities surrounding food. For this reason, foodies are sometimes viewed as obsessively interested in all things culinary. I don't think that is totally true. I think they have decided that food is interesting and worthy of appreciation at an intellectual level higher that just nutritional maintenance.


So what do you feed chefs, cookbook authors and sundry foodies? I realized that one of my strengths is in the preparation of antipasti. Those small bits and bites of interesting foods that stimulate the taste buds and prepare you for the meal. For those of us who have had bariatric surgery, the antipasti can often make a meal. So considering that culinary element, I selected four different antipasti to start the meal. Two are served on crostini or bruschetta (bread carriers) and two are served without additional carbohydrates. A combination of the four can provide you with four very different tastes as well as provide adequate protein for the bariatric patient.



So let's start. The first antipasti was Baccala with potatoes. Baccala is salted cod from Europe where salting and drying the cod is a staple preservation method. The salt cod is soaked for a couple of days in successive changes of freshwater until the salt has been removed and the fish has rehydrated and it is then cooked like a fresh piece of fish. In this recipe, I poached the fish in a court bouillion of sliced onions and water with a bit of salt added. The fish had already been de-salted when I bought it. I poached the fish until it started to flake apart, about 25 minutes and removed it from the poaching liquid to cool.
I then put four peeled new potatoes cut into segments into the poaching liquid along with a chopped medium onion and four smashed cloves of garlic and cooked the potatoes until they were done. A sharp knife should insert easily into the potato. The potatoes were drained along with the onion and garlic into a sieve and then mashed coarsely in a bowl. The fish was flaked and checked for bones (there were some, so do check) and then stirred gently into the potatoes. A 1/4 cup of chopped parsley was added along with 1/4 cup of grated Parmesano Reggiano cheese.


To serve, I put the potato mixture in a ramekin and into the oven at 325 degrees F to warm. I grilled some french bread slices, rubbed with olive oil and garlic, in a grill pan on one side only. Serve a portion of the warm potato mixture with a couple of the bruschetta.

The second antipasti was truly a finger-food, Tomatoes with mozzarella. Cherry tomatoes are sliced in half, marinated in olive oil , oregano and basil, then dried in the oven at around 300 degrees F. Put them in the oven for about 45 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave the tomatoes in the oven over night. The next morning they should be soft but with a wonderful smoky flavor. Buy some fresh mozzarella balls, and slice them into thick slices, then into pieces about 1" square. From a small mozzarella ball you should get 12-14 pieces. Put the cheese in a bowl with a bit of olive oil, some of the dried basil and oregano, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Allow to sit out for a hour or in the refrigerator overnight. When ready to set up the tray, take a loaf of French bread and slice in half horizontally. With a toothpick, stick through a tomato half and then through a piece of mozzarella. Stick the toothpick into the loaf of bread. Fill the bread loaf with the colorful pieces and serve. Give the guests something to put their toothpicks in.

The third antipasti was a crostini with peperoni agrodolce and Strachinno. I use beer bread (the recipe was provided earlier) grilled and spread with Stracchino (a cream cheese) that has been mixed with chopped chives. The crostini is topped with sweet and sour peppers (recipe provided in an earlier post). Cut the crostini into 2-3 pieces for serving.

The fourth dish was small sweet peppers stuffed with a sausage and cheese mixture. This is an excellent appetizer and is served hot, directly from the broiler. Buy 1-2 dozen sweet green peppers approximately 3” long and about 1 ½” wide; 1 pound of fresh Italian sausage (you can use spicy hot or mild); 8 oz of cream cheese; 8 oz of Mascarpone cheese (or another 8 oz of cream cheese); and ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Brown the sausage in a saute pan and crumble into very small pieces when done completely and allow to cool. Mix the cheeses together with a hand mixer and add the sausage. Mix thoroughly and set aside to cool. Slice the peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds and ribs then blanch the peppers for 2 minutes in a small pot of boiling water. Remove and place on a rack cut side down to dry. When dry, place the peppers cut side up on a baking sheet.

Turn oven to broil and preheat. Fill the peppers with the sausage/cheese mixture mounding the mixture slightly and place the baking sheet with the peppers under the broiler to brown (1-2 minutes). Remove from oven and place peppers on a serving platter. Serve immediately.

We have now had our fill (and fun) with the antipasti. The rest of the meal awaits.

The first course was ravioli with a pumpkin filling served with butter and sage sauce. The pumpkin filling is made with spices, crushed biscotti and some mashed potatoes for body and texture. The ravioli are very tender and fragile and are cooked gently. They are then placed on a towel to dry a bit and placed in the butter and sage sauce . Serve three ravioli per person with a bit of the sauce and a good sprinkling of Parmesano-Reggiano.

The second or main meat course was BBQ salmon. I take salmon fillets and place them skin side down on a double layer of aluminum foil. I then fold up the edges to make a sort of tray to hold the fish. The topping is a mixture of brown sugar, seasoning salts, paprika, pepper, and some lemon juice and is applied rather thickly to the fish and is allowed to sit for an hour. The fish are placed in their foil tray skin side down on the barbecue grill over medium heat. The fish cook in about 20 minutes and you will know they are done just when a whitish fluid begins to come out of the fish. Remove the fish and place on a serving platter. Squeeze some lemon juice over the cooked fillets and cut the fillet into serving size segments. Pass the lemon.

The vegetable was braised chard with tomatoes. The chard is braised with a lot of chopped garlic until it is tender and then halved cherry tomatoes are added. A dash of wine vinegar and a bit of fresh olive oil, salt and pepper makes a nice dressing.

The dessert is a Zucotta with a berry coulis. The Zucotta is a dome shaped cake that is constructed in a bowl, The bowl is lined with thin cake strips, and then the cake has rum sprinkled on it. It then is placed in the refrigerator to cool. A chocolate ganache is made and is poured into the cake bowl and is smoothed up the sides to create a chocolate layer . The cake is then filled with gelato (chocolate and vanilla), and the bottom of the cake is replaced. The cake goes into the freezer to harden. Serving is done by inverting the cake onto a serving plate, removing the plastic lining covering the cake and dusting it with cocoa powder and some powdered sugar. It is kept frozen until right before serving and was sliced and served with a mixed berry coulis on the side and some whipped cream.

So there is my version of a dinner for foodies, chefs and cookbook authors. It was colorful, tasty, and had some interesting elements. Dinner was filled with conversation, appreciation, toasts, requests for recipes, and a great level of joy. It was a fun evening with nice people. I like this "job".