On the ground at Saratoga Chowderfest 2020

Posted on February 1, 2020 by Burnt My Fingers
Salt and Char Chowderfest Crowd

As usual, the longest lines at Saratoga Chowderfest 2020 was at Salt & Char. Not particularly memorable chowder after the wait.

Saratoga Chowderfest 2020 is now history, so I am revising this post. It’s worth leaving up as a chronicle of the complaints from locals and specifically from those in the food industry. “Gave me hives…. nightmare…. the worst… not a chance… nnnooooope” are typical comments on this Facebook thread which got 25 responses and nary a positive word.

The problem was not the size of the portions or the creativity of the chefs, but rather the hordes of visitors who took it on themselves to get as drunk as possible as early in the day as possible. I heard from a local news source that Chowderfest now draws bigger crowds than Travers weekend during the racing season, and these visitors are not here to sip the waters or catch the ballet at SPAC. A photo went viral of a young woman relieving herself in the doorway of a restaurant building (with a public restroom available in the library, not 100 feet away) and when we ventured out at 6 pm for an excellent early dinner at Dominic Colose’s Amuse on Broadway, the hollering, lurching and friends-propping-up-drunk-friends atmosphere was palpable.

But we’ll return next year in spite of all this, and you should too as long as you follow our simple rules. Get there at 11 am if you can, when serving begins, and plan to finish no later than 1 pm. If you’re driving, leave your vehicle at one of the shuttle locations (Saratoga Casino and Wilton Mall this year) instead of the madness of trying to get a parking spot in town.

Seneca Chowder

Best of the day was Seneca’s grilled shrimp chowder with ‘Nduja foam.

This year we tasted 7 chowders in about an hour. Best was Seneca, the wood fired place, where we also got to take a close look at their massive adjustable grill. As a bonus, it’s off Broadway so the line was much shorter. (If you want lines, stick to Broadway and Caroline.)

Seneca Grill

Wood Fired Grill at Seneca

Do a search for “Chowderfest” at right for previous years’ posts with many more tips for surviving this annual event. At its heart it is still a chance to see what kitchens that throw themselves into the project can do with a few ingredients and a dixie cup. For the reasonable investment of a dollar bill, you can be introduced to places that you might never have visited on your own. (We went back at 6 to Solevo for their dollar oysters–“they’re big” the receptionist promised–and all day happy hour; oysters were done and the bar was too packed to enter, but the oysters return on Wednesdays and so shall we.)

Posted in Eating, Events | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Hot and Not at the 2020 Winter Fancy Food Show

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Burnt My Fingers

We’re just back from the 2020 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, where the focus as you might expect was on “plant-based” everything. Impossible and Beyond weren’t there, but there were plenty of meat alternatives as well as products that never had any animal protein to begin with jumping on the bandwagon. We have several reports coming up, but first a quick look at the products that caught our eye.


Oat milk products were everywhere, and why not? It’s delicious, adaptable and completely meat- and dairy-free. It’s also quite high in sugar, but never mind.


Fat Bombs are the ultimate keto snack, with 3g protein and 9 g fat per serving. Not in love with the name, though, and the high fat content gave it a greasy mouthfeel.


Like cake? Like popcorn? Here’s a popcorn cake, embedded with confetti sprinkles.


The Jelly Belly folks always come up with a new novelty snack. This time it was a tasting challenge of five increasingly hot chile flavors, from jalapeño to Carolina Reaper. We only made it as far as Sriracha.


Crapola finds a new benefit, regularity, in a tired product category, granola. They were passing out “I pooped today” bumper stickers.


Calabrese chilis are a thing, both whole like this display and ground. Add the to a pasta dish. The only problem I found was that they varied widely in heat level, so taste before you serve.


An example of bandwagon-jumping. Pasta is made with wheat, so of course it’s plant-based!


This private-label tequila company came up with some terrific bottle designs with a Day of the Dead motif. They also had some awesome aged mezcal hidden under the counter.


Matcha was big, as was tea in general. Also lot of mochi ice cream. A former trend that was hardly visible: quinoa.

Posted in Eating, Events | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Recipe: Chinese-Style Pulled Pork

Posted on January 28, 2020 by Burnt My Fingers
Chinese-Style Pulled Pork

Chinese-Style Pulled Pork, just waiting to be paired up with some Thai-Style Cole Slaw

Chinese-Style Pulled Pork is a natural for the Instant Pot, cooking to melting tenderness in just an hour. We started with this recipe but added a sweet-and-sour element plus star anise which gives it the funk of a HK noodle dish. The natural accompaniment is, of course, a cole slaw with Asian flavors like this one. Makes enough to feed a crowd, 12 servings or so.

Ingredients:
1 pork shoulder, approx 4 lbs, cut in half (if it has a blade bone that’s a natural point of separation)
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chicken stock or water
1/2 cup soy sauce
¼ c Chinkiang vinegar or unsweetened rice vinegar or white vinegar
¼ c Shaoxing wine (optional)
¼ c oyster sauce (optional)
¼ c brown sugar
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin
8-10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 t powdered cumin
2 t paprika (use smoky Spanish paprika if you have it)
1 t five spice powder
3 heads star anise
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 T cornstarch

Method: pat dry the pork roast and salt and pepper liberally. Add oil to the inner bowl of the Instant Pot and heat on Sauté setting. Brown the pork in two batches, turning so all sides come into contact with the oil and get a crispy sear. Remove to a plate and add onion, garlic and ginger. Sauté till fragrant then add cumin, paprika, five spice and star anise and heat till fragrant, stirring frequently. Turn off Instant Pot.

Add liquids and brown sugar and stir to dissolve sugar. Add pork and seal; pressure cook on high for 60 minutes with natural release.

When done, pork will be falling apart tender. Remove the pieces carefully to a chopping board and chop into bite size pieces, discarding bone and outer layer of fat. Strain solids out of the cooking stock and return it to the Instant Pot. Use Sauté setting to reduce somewhat. Remove a small amount of stock to a cup and mix with 2 T cornstarch till thoroughly emulsified without lumps. Add more liquid from the stock to create a smooth slurry, then return this to the Instant Pot and thicken, stirring constantly. Pour over reserved pork in a bowl and serve, over rice or in a Chinese style pulled pork sandwich with Asian cole slaw on a bun.

Posted in Eating, Mains, Recipes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Cavender’s Greek Seasoning

Posted on January 23, 2020 by Burnt My Fingers
Cavenders Greek Seasoning

We’ve been using Cavender’s Greek Seasoning since the 80s at least, and the artwork on the label has not changed in all that time. The chef appears to be sticking a fork in the steak with his left hand and shaking on seasoning with his right. It’s anybody’s guess what those white things are on the grill; hopefully they are not folds of his jacket.

Cavender’s Greek Seasoning is something we always have in our kitchen. Although it’s advertised as the only seasoning you need, we mainly use it on grilled meats, especially steaks. An ideal prep will have Cavender’s on one side of the steak, Burger House Seasoning Salt on the other.

So what is this versatile stuff? It comes not from Greece but from a remote corner of the Ozarks. And, though the artwork makes it look like it’s been around forever, in fact it was introduced a mere 50 years ago. Spike Cavender grew up in Texas and Oklahoma and loved to hunt wild game; he developed this mix as a seasoning for his bounty. He and his wife moved to the Ozarks to take advantage of the outdoor environment and started producing it for sale in 1969.

The ingredients in order are salt, black pepper, corn starch, garlic, MSG, oregano, flavor base seasoning (hydrolyzed soy protein, sugar, onion powder spice extractives), parsley and “five other spices.” The cornstarch is undetectable and you wonder why others (like Burger House) don’t use it to keep their product from clumping. And it’s heartwarming, if you love MSG as we do, to see it as the fifth ingredient. As to the mysterious “five other spices”, our guess is they include a bitter herb (mint or oregano) and thyme, though this copycat recipe adds cinnamon and nutmeg.

Cavendar’s is still a one-product company (unless you count a salt-free version of the seasoning) yet they manage to have nationwide distribution in a way that other specialty products, like Durkee’s, finds challenging. If your local stores don’t carry it, you can order multiple packs from the source or get a single package, enough to last a very long time, for under $5 on Amazon with Prime shipping. It’s well worth checking out, and you might want to try it on vegetables as well as a mix-in for gyro meat (ground lamb or beef or a combination).

Posted in Cooking, Eating | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Recipe: World’s Easiest Thai Curry

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Burnt My Fingers
Worlds Easiest Thai Curry

World’s Easiest Thai Curry, made with kabocha squash

The secret to the world’s easiest Thai curry is those little cans of Maesri curry paste you see in Asian markets. If you’ve passed on these because you assume they are the Thai equivalent of hamburger helper, think again. The flavors are rich and complex and using them you really can make a satisfying bowl of curry in less time than it takes to read this recipe. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:
2 c cooked kabocha squash* or tofu chopped into bite size pieces (OR use chicken, shrimp, beef, pork or any combination of these items adding up to 2 c)
2 T neutral cooking oil
2 T chopped garlic
2 T thai curry paste (Maesri red, green or yellow curry)
½ c coconut milk (we use Chaokoh brand, which we’ve found to be most consistent)
¼ c finely chopped bitter herbs: Thai basil (best choice), basil, mint, cilantro or shiso
Lemon or lime wedges and additional bitter herbs for garnish (optional)

Mesri Curry Paste Cans

It may be we have too many cans of Maesri curry paste in our pantry. All you really need are the red, green and/or yellow curry.

Method: heat the oil in a wok or skillet and add garlic; sauté until fragrant. (If you are using meat protein, add it along with the garlic.) Add curry paste and spread it with a spoon to contact the oil and let it toast slightly. Add coconut milk and turn heat down to simmer. Stir to combine ingredients into a uniform sauce, a minute or so. Add cooked squash or tofu and cover; leave on stove at low heat till ingredients are heated through. Stir in bitter herbs and serve over rice with optional garnish.

*We’ve recently discovered the joys of this large (typical size is over 4 lbs), versatile gourd. To prepare, scrub the edible skin then heat in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. This will soften the hard exterior so it’s easier to cut. Cool to safe handling temperature then cut in half and remove stem. Scoop out seeds (which you can toast if you like), cut the halves into 2-inch thick sections, toss with some melted butter or oil and salt and return to the oven on a sheet pan. Bake 30 minutes or until tender but not soft. Serve as a side dish or use as an ingredient in curry and other veg-friendly entrées.

Posted in Mains, Recipes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Recipe: Thai-Style Cole Slaw

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Burnt My Fingers
Thai Style Cole Slaw

Thai-Style Cole Slaw

We came up with Thai-Style Cole Slaw for the carb-shunning Always Hungry diet. But it’s so good it’s joined our regular rotation. The sesame oil, rice vinegar, fish sauce and lime juice go together like a barbershop quartet, creating a perfect harmony. Makes 4-8 side dish servings.

8 c shredded cabbage or cole slaw mix
2 T toasted sesame oil
1 T rice vinegar
1 T fish sauce*
1 T fresh lime juice
1 t Kosher salt
½ t ground pepper
½ t crushed red pepper or to taste
¼ c roasted mixed nuts or peanuts
3 green onions, sliced into rounds, white and some of the green

Method: mix all ingredients except nuts and taste for seasoning. It should have a balanced flavor profile, not too salty or tart. Top with nuts and serve immediately.

*We tried it without fish sauce, thinking this is the one ingredient not everybody has in their cabinets, but it really is essential. If you need to buy some, get Red Boat.

Posted in Eating, Recipes, Sides | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Yummy (the 50s called, and it wants you to eat its tuna loaf)

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Burnt My Fingers

Yummy is a new song and video in which the shape-shifting Justin Bieber is seen cavorting with various 50s-inspired dishes and Jello molds. And my Yelp friend Eric T has alerted me to a Buzzfeed compendium called “21 Truly Upsetting Vintage Recipes” which features such gems as Ham and Bananas Hollandaise, recipe here. Where are these creepy foods coming from?

It seems the 50s are back, with Tuna and Jello Pie taking its place alongside such icons/memes as the iron lung and Our Friend The Atom. But why? To the observer, it seems like many of these dishes represented a conspiracy among home economists and food stylists to foist bizarre foods onto the American household which even the most ambitious homemaker would never come up with on her own. Often they featured sponsoring products, like Hellman’s Mayonnaise or Jello, and not a few highlight variety meats that were very cheap at the time. Some of us have spent a lifetime putting those memories behind us and it’s upsetting to see a new generation bringing them back, ironically or not.

But wait. What if some of these dishes are actually good? A visitor to the Highland Park Cafeteria will be greeted by any number of delightful aspics, jiggling and gleaming like a beached jellyfish in the sun. My grandmother’s recipe for Carrot Pineapple Jello is both easy and tasty. And let us not forget Amish Pickled Tripe in Aspic. If a new generation discovers the delights of congeals, maybe that’s okay.

Eric also pointed me to Mid-Century Menu, a site that does taste testing on vintage recipes by serving them to a pliable husband. It’s a treasure trove of old newspaper clippings, Jello art through the ages and whatnot and you should definitely check it out, especially this creepy video for Frosty the Slaw Man.

Perfection Salad

Perfection Salad. Yummy!

Meanwhile, here’s a recipe for “Perfection Salad” which reads just fine and only becomes repulsive when you view the Great American Recipes* photo which looks like shards of random vegetables were dumped into a knight’s helmet which was then filled with Jello, chilled, and tossed into the shrubbery. Why not put a toe in the water, and try it tonight?

Perfection Salad

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 can (12 oz) apple juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup finely shredded cabbage
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 can (4 oz) chopped pimiento

Method: Combine gelatin, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and mix well. Add 1 cup water. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar and gelatine are dissolved. Remove from heat.  Stir in apple juice, lemon juice, vinegar, and 1/4 cup cold water. Pour into medium bowl. Refrigerate 1 hour, or until mixture is consistency of unbeaten egg white.

Add carrot, celery, cabbage, green pepper, and pimiento; stir until well combined. Turn into decorative, 1 1/2-quart mold. Refrigerate 4 hours,or until firm.To unmold: Run small spatula around edge of mold; invert onto serving plate. Place hot dishcloth over mold; shake gently to release. Repeat, if necessary. Lift off mold. refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes 8 servings.

*In another life, your correspondent was responsible for the writing in the “control” direct mailing to sign up customers for this recipe card continuity program, meaning many thousands of people bought in as a result of our efforts. Yummy!

Posted in Cooking, Eating | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Recipe: Octopus Lentil Pesto Salad

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Burnt My Fingers
Octopus Lentil Pesto Salad

Octopus Lentil Pesto Salad

Octopus Lentil Pesto Salad seems sophisticated and complicated, thanks to the dramatic combination of tastes and textures. But it comes together in just a few minutes when you have the core ingredients on hand. Serves 2 as an entree or 4 as part of a mezze platter.

Ingredients:
½ cup black or green lentils
1 c water or chicken stock
Kosher salt to taste
½ c  broiled baby octopus, chopped
¼ c pesto

Express Octopus Lentil Salad

Your octopus dish won’t look as spectacular as this from L’Express in Montreal, but it won’t take hours to prepare either. Photo from Shawn on Foodspotting.

Method: cook lentils in water or stock until tender, about 15 minutes, adding more liquid if needed. Taste for seasoning and add salt as needed. Mix in pesto and set aside to let flavors blend as the salad cools to room temperature. Serve.

Posted in Mains, Recipes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Recipe: Broiled Baby Octopus

Posted on January 7, 2020 by Burnt My Fingers
Broiled Baby Octo;pus

Broiled Baby Octopus

Broiled baby octopus is easy to make and a versatile addition to mezze, antipasto or appetizer combos (terminology defined by the cultural palette you’re using) as well as a distinctive and flavorful addition to a hearty salad. Rest assured that no actual baby octos are harmed in the preparation of this dish; the base ingredient is actually a smaller species of octopus that is also more tender than the big guys. Allow ¼ pound per person as a main, maybe half that as a combo of an appetizer platter.

Ingredients
1 lb baby octopus, cleaned by your fishmonger*
¼ c good olive oil
1 t fresh lemon juice
1 T dried oregano
½ t salt

Method: mix all the ingredients and marinate in refrigerator at least 8 hours, and as long as a day or two. Broil over a medium-hot heat source (you may need to use a finer mesh grill basket like this one to keep the octos from falling between the grates on your grill) 5 minutes, turning several times, until legs have lost their white color and curled up and charred somewhat. If your guests are squeamish, consider coarsely chopping the octopus so it won’t look like a real animal. Serve warm, at room temperature, cool or reheated.

*I’ve only encountered pre-cleaned baby octos, which have a small slit cut in the sac from which the guts are removed. Do the same yourself if you need to prep the product at home. (Do not go in through the mouth, as you would with a squid, but do remove the hard beak if there is one.)

Posted in Eating, Mains, Recipes | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Recipe: Porchetta-Style Pork Loin Roast

Posted on January 2, 2020 by Burnt My Fingers
Instant Pot Pork Roast

Porchetta-Style Pork Loin Roast, sliced for serving

This Porchetta-Style Pork Loin Roast is a good way to enjoy the flavor profile of porchetta—primarily fennel and aromatic herbs—without the hassle of buying and rolling a whole pork belly (which we still have in our freezer, btw). We essentially followed Kenji’s All-Belly Porchetta recipe, modifying the amounts for a smaller piece of meat. The result was melt-in-your-mouth delicious, ideal for serving with applesauce or kraut or in a hot sandwich with some sharp cheese. Allow 1/4 lb per person.

Ingredients:
Boneless pork roast, approximately 3 lbs
2 T Kosher salt
1 t whole black peppercorns
2 t whole fennel seed
½ t crushed red pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 T fresh thyme leaves or 1 t dried thyme
1 T fresh rosemary leaves or 1 t dried rosemary

Method: rub in the salt all over both sides and the ends of the roast. Toast peppercorns and fennel in a skillet for 3 minutes or until aromatic; grind in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Mix with all other ingredients and rub into the roast on all sides.

Method 1: place the roast on a rack in a small pan and cook at 400 degrees for 30 minutes to crisp the surface, then turn down heat to 350 degrees for an additional hour. Allow to rest, then transfer to a serving plate and spoon juices over the top before slicing.

Pork Roast in Skillet

Sear pork roast after sous vide in a super hot cast iron skillet.

Method 2 (what we did, and recommend): seal the roast in a vacuum bag and sous vide at 140 degrees for the time recommended by your cooker for medium. (We cooked it for 6 hours.) Remove from bag, reserving liquid inside, and sear all sides in a very hot cast iron skillet. Transfer to a serving plate; add juices from bag to pan and cook down and spoon over the roast before serving.

Posted in Eating, Mains, Recipes | Tagged , | Leave a comment