Chef John Ash shares culinary tips and tricks during a Food & Wine Adventure at Cooking for Solutions © Monterey Bay Aquarium

I will be joining the Monterey Bay Aquarium for its tenth Cooking for Solutions celebration, May 20-22, 2011. In a weekend of celebrations, live cooking demonstrations, intimate salons and culinary adventures you’ll discover how I   and some of the nation’s top chefs find delicious ways to protect the health of our soil, water and ocean wildlife.

Cooking for Solutions 2011 will feature live events with special guests and celebrity chefs including:

Alton Brown – Be Square Productions, Atlanta, Georgia

Robert Irvine – host of Food Network’s Dinner Impossible

Lynne Rossetto Kasper – Author/host, The Splendid Table, St. Paul, Minnesota

Nathan Lyon - Chef/host, Growing A Greener World, Los Angeles, California

Rick Moonen – Rick Moonen’s rm seafood, Las Vegas, Nevada

Cindy Pawlcyn – Mustard’s Grill, Go Fish and Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, Napa Valley, California

P. Allen Smith – P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home, Little Rock, Arkansas

Joining this all-star weekend roster will be 40 other celebrity and regional chefs, as well as leaders in the sustainable and organic food movements.

The signature Cooking for Solutions Gala on Friday night is the feel-good

Photo from ©Monterey Bay Aquarium

celebration of the year with more than 70 restaurants and 60 wineries serving sustainable cuisine amid the aquarium’s award-winning exhibits and galleries.

Cooking for Solutions supports the Monterey Bay Aquarium respected Seafood Watch program. Seafood Watch is recognized as the leader in creating science-based recommendations that help consumers, chefs and businesses choose seafood that is caught or farmed in ways that contribute to healthy oceans.

Buy tickets for all Cooking for Solutions events at www.cookingforsolutions.org or call 831-647-6886 (toll-free 866-963-9645).

Friend the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Facebook

Follow the Monterey Bay Aqurium on Twitter – Use hashtag #CFS11 when you tweet about Cooking for Solutions!

Aquarium members enjoy exclusive Cooking for Solutions events and discounted tickets! To learn more, or to become a member, call (831) 647-6886 or toll-free (866) 963-9645.

•    One Big Table by Molly O’Neil.  Simon and Schuster $50.

•    Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson.  Chronicle Books $40.

•    In the Green Kitchen, Techniques to Learn by Heart by Alice Watters.  Clarkson Potter $28.

•    Sweet Magic:  Easy Recipes for Delectable Desserts by Michel Richard.  The Ecco Press $27.50.

•    The Gourmet Cookie Book,  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt $18.50.

•    Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy, Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies, by Alice Medrich.  Artisan $25.95.

•    Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys by David Tanis.  Artisan $35.

•    Street Food of India:  The 50 Greatest Indian Snacks – Complete with Recipes, I. B. Tauris $28.

•    The Essential New York Times Cookbook:  Classic Recipes for a New Century by Amanda Hesser,   W.W. Norton $40.

•    Around My French Table:  More than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan.  Houghton Mifflin

Let me know what you think of these choices.  And if you have any favorites I haven’t mentioned, I’d love to hear about them!

Photo from ©Monterey Bay Aquarium

Every year I look forward to the annual “Cooking for Solutions” get together in May at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It’s always a sell out and folks tell me that they wish they would have signed up for some or all of the awesome events.  Well here’s a little insider tip: Tickets go on sale right after January 1, 2011.  Go to www.cookingforsolutions.org and you’ll have the first pick.  This year’s event takes place May 20-22.  Look forward to seeing you there!

Photo from isante_magazine

I’m sharing Tom Simoneau’s “Best Wines of 2010″, which I think you’ll find interesting.  Tom is “The Wine Guy” on KSRO radio where I have my show, “The Good Food Hour”, broadcast every Saturday morning at 11 AM Pacific.  You can hear it live on the net or check out archived shows at www.ksro.com.  If you are in Sonoma County you can hear the show at 1350 AM.

Be sure to share your thoughts on these wines after you’ve tried them.  I’d love to hear what you think!

Tom Simoneau’s Wines of the Year 2010

Best Whites:
•    Sparkling Wine : J Vineyards and Winery, 2001 Vintage Brut, $50. Always among the top California Sparklers. Owner Judy Jordan and wine maker George Bursick make up a dynamic duo in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley.  250 million bubbles in each bottle. It has just been discovered that Champagne bubbles contain up to thirty times more flavor than the wine itself. The bubbles act like a flavor escalator.

•    Chardonnay: Saintsbury, 2008 Carneros , $19. From the original cool region appellation, lots of talk about the Russian River, but don’t forget Carneros. Multi-clone, 100%ML, unfiltered, and lees stirred – a classic. And it’s screw capped.

•    Sauvignon Blanc: Lake Sonoma Winery, 2009 Dry Creek Valley, $14. Lean and lightly grassy, delicious. Lake Sonoma Winery – part of Heck Estates which also includes Korbel, Kenwood, and Valley of the Moon.

•    Alternative White:  Hess Collection, Gruner Veltliner 2009 Small Block Series Mount Veeder, $36. This hard to find varietal with Austrian roots is worth a search. Hess is not afraid to stretch the envelope and I applaud them. Melon, granny smith apple, and snap peas.

•    Off Dry White:  Mill Creek Vineyards and Winery, 2009 Gewurztraminer, Dry Creek Valley, $19. How does that song go? “We are family.” Local boy and girl make good owners. Bill and Yvonne Kreck both attended Healdsburg High. Bill’s dad planted their Cab in 1965. Their son Jeremy is the winemaker while his brother Brian runs the web. Can you say locavore?

•    Rosé:  Boeschen Vineyards, 2009 Katie Rosé Merlot, St Helena, $20. I first discovered Boeschen through the Napa Valley Vintners and St. Helena Star Tasting Group. Every time I taste them, Boeschen is in my top three. This year’s discovery – a father, son, and son-in-law team.

•    Best Value White: Chateau St. Jean, 2008 Chardonnay Sonoma County, $14. Solid, best value, available everywhere, often discounted. Food friendly sipper that is a can’t miss, if you like Chardonnay, you’ll like this wine.

•    Dessert Wine: Merry Edwards, 2008 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley, $39 for the 375ml. Miss Russian River Valley known for her stunning Pinot Noirs scores big with this sweet nectar from the wine gods. Fruit drops, cane cut, bird netted, picked on Halloween, cold soaked, then finally barrel fermented producing a wine begging for fois gras, if you are so inclined, or dessert in the form of a white peach gallette.

Best Reds:
•    Cabernet Sauvignon:   Rodney Strong Vineyards, 2007 Reserve Alexander Valley, $45. Rodney Strong was a pioneer of Sonoma County’s modern wine industry. The Klein family purchased the winery in 1989. Every bottle of wine produced under their ownership has Sonoma County on the label. Their commitment to Sonoma is second to none. And this reserve is a great example.

•    Zinfandel: Wilson Winery, 2008 Sawyer Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, $34. In the Dry Creek Valley the name Wilson is synonymous with Zinfandel. Fruit forward and perfectly balanced. An electrifying, yum, yum of a wine.

•    Rhone Style: Bella, 2007 Syrah Lily Hill Estate Dry Creek Valley, $40. Bella Vineyards is a family owned red wine house located deep in the heart of Dry Creek Valley. Bella, Italian for beauty, was named after owners Scott and Lynn Adam’s daughter, Julia Belle.

•    Blended Red: Lancaster Estate, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, $65. A blend of all five of the Bordeaux varietals from their Alexander Valley hillside estate. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec, 9% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Could be the best yet from Lancaster.

•    Luxury Red: Opus One, 2006 Oakville, Napa Valley, $160. The head of the class. Opus One, the original cult wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon based wine with all 5 Bordeaux Varietals, 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 5% Cab Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec.

•    Alternative Red: Kent Rasmussen, Esoterica, 2007 Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley, $40. Originally intended for use as a blending component in their Cabernet Sauvignon, their Cab Franc was so good they bottled it separately and with one taste you’ll be glad they did.

•    Best Value Red: Columbia Crest, 2007 Grand Estates Syrah, Columbia Valley, $12. Washington State ranks second only to California in total U.S. wine production. Land cost and grape prices are the reason Washington State equals big wine value. And Columbia Crest is big on value and taste.

•    Most Fun Wine:  Parducci, True Grit 2007 Petite Sirah, Mendocino County, $29. So good they named a movie after the wine… or was the wine named after the movie? The latter is correct and let’s just say this is a John Wayne of a wine. True Grit the movie, the wine, the sequel.

•    Alternative Packaging: Black Box Wines, 2008 Malbec Argentina, $24.99 for 3 liters. The wine business is global and a wise wine consumer can find value if he or she is not afraid of innovation. Wine in cans, in plastic, and in boxes. Big on value and on the environment.

•    Pinot Noir:  Goldeneye, 2007 Anderson Valley, $55. Dan and Margaret Duckhorn of Duckhorn Vineyards established Goldeneye with the goal of creating a Pinot Noir house of equal stature to their Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot. They chose Anderson Valley and the wine defines the flavor of this Mendocino Appellation.

Merlot:  Duckhorn Vineyards, 2007 Napa Valley, $52. Duckhorn Vineyards was one of the first North American wineries to champion the idea of producing exceptional quality Merlot as a stand-alone varietal. Duckhorn played a big part in creating Merlot popularity. This ’07 is outstanding.

Winery of the Year: Duckhorn Vineyards. Since Duckhorn Vineyards was founded in 1976 they have grown slowly and thoughtfully through the years. Today the brands include not only Duckhorn, but Paraduxx, Decoy, and Goldeneye. Are you detecting a theme here? Hint – waterfowl. New Zealand born Bill Nancarrow is the executive winemaker.

ELIZABETH WHITE’S STEAMED CRANBERRY PUDDING
Serves 8

2 teaspoons baking soda dissolved in ½ cup hot water
1/2 cup molasses
1-1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon each cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg
2 cups cranberries cut in half
Butter for coating pudding mold
Dessert sauce (recipe follows)

Add soda mixture and molasses to a bowl.  Add 1/2 cup flour and mix till smooth.  Add spices, cranberries and rest of flour and mix. Till evenly moistened.  Butter the inside of the pudding mold, cover tightly and steam in a covered pot for 1-1/2 hours.  Serve hot with dessert sauce.

Dessert Sauce
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

Add ingredients to the top of a double boiler and cook whisking occasionally till smooth.  Serve warm.

Photo from Stuti

In an earlier blog entry I’ve written about my love of beans.  It seems that heirloom beans are experiencing a revival as more chefs and home cooks experiment with the many varieties being cultivated by farmers.  The September issue of The National Culinary Review ran an article about heirloom beans coming into their own, and I was interviewed by the writer, Clare Leschin-Hoar.  I have included the portion of the article that includes my interview.  I hope you enjoy, and I hope you’ll experiment with cooking beans on your own.  Let me know what varieties you enjoy!

“Beans’ versatility and broad appeal has won them steadfast fans.  Among them is John Ash, an instructor at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, St. Helena, Calif., who challenges each of his students to ‘adopt’ an heirloom bean in an effort to keep endangered varieties in the marketplace.

‘I think beans are coming to the forefront in a way they haven’t been before’, says Ash.  ‘There are a certain group of chefs who distinguish themselves by finding things people aren’t familiar with and presenting them in interesting ways.  If you’re Italian and cook in an Italian way, you stay with the beans you know.  I think the opportunity for all of us is there are hundreds of varieties of beans.  There is more opportunity to be creative with beans in a way that we aren’t yet.   Look beyond traditional dishes.  Look at it as a center-of-the-plate proposition rather than a side dish.’

Be more creative, Ash urges.  He includes himself in the challenge.  He’s selected the gigandes bean as his own, and is using it in as many ways as he can.  ‘It’s a big, beautiful white bean.  When it cooks, it can be an inch across.  I like to use it in any dish that might have used a piece of fish, and I use the bean, instead.  For example, it becomes my scallop- my much-less-expensive ingredient to replace an expensive protein,’ he says.”

— Excerpted from “Counting Beans”, written by ClareLeschin-Hoar, The National Culinary Review, September 2010

Pairing wine with food

Most cooks will tell you that adding wine to sauces, marinades, ri­sottos, braises, ragus, broths, the stuck-on browned bits in a sauté pan, and many other foods enhances flavor. If you ask why, they may tell you that the wine’s fruity character or its crisp acidity adds depth and sparkle to a dish. But there’s more to wine than just fruit and acidity. As a cooking agent, wine and other alco­holic beverages work a lot harder than you may think, thanks to alcohol’s amazing ability to extract flavors that would otherwise remain trapped in food.

To start with wine has its own wonderful fla­vors from the grape as well as fermentation.  During fermentation of grape juice, large, bland mole­cules break down into smaller, more flavorful compounds, producing dramatic changes in flavor. Enzymes break big car­bohydrates into sugars. Then yeast and other microorgan­isms ingest these sugars, plus sugars already present in the grape juice, and give off carbon dioxide, alcohol, and all sorts of flavorful byproducts, from organic acids like acetic acid and lactic acid to amino acids. The acidity causes more mole­cular breakdowns, until even­tually the amount of alcohol in the wine reduces the activity of the microorganisms. At some point, the winemaker decides that the wine has the desired flavors, and it’s bottled. Whether you’re drinking it or cooking with it, wine offers a complex mixture of flavorful compounds. 

The alcohol in wine plays an important role.  Some flavor components in foods dissolve in water, and some dissolve in fat. One of the reasons that fat-free foods often taste so boring is that the fat-soluble flavors in the dish remain locked in the food. Even a tiny bit of fat can dis­solve and carry flavors, mak­ing a dish much more flavorful than if it were totally fat-free.  Alcohol, be it in wine, beer, or hard liquor like vodka and bourbon, is a powerful flavor extractor, too. It dissolves not only water and fat-soluble flavors but also flavor compo­nents that neither water nor fat can dissolve. For example, we use alcohol to extract fla­vor from vanilla beans, and the reward is vanilla extract. This ability of alcohol to ex­tract and carry flavors makes it a great asset for cooks. When you splash a few tablespoons of wine into a skillet that was used to sauté meat or vege­tables, you usually scrape up the stuck-on bits of food so they’ll dissolve in the wine. By doing this, you’re not only get­ting the flavors of the wine and of the caramelized browned bits in your dish, you’re also getting some extra flavors that only alcohol can extract.

This may be why vodka, which is relatively weak on fla­vor but high in alcohol, makes an occasional appearance in sauces. Why would a tomato sauce spiked with vodka have so much more flavor even though the sauce simmers long enough to boil off most of the alcohol? There must be a key flavor component in tom­atoes that dissolves in alcohol.  Once the alcohol dissolves that flavor component and re­leases it into the sauce, its job is done, so it doesn’t matter that most of it boils off.

Does all the alcohol evaporate when you cook with it?

Alcohol boils at a lower tem­perature than water, so you’d think that the alcohol would completely evaporate before the water, but this doesn’t hap­pen. Some of the alcohol and water combine to form an inseparable mixture called an azeotrope. So even after lengthy boiling, some alcohol remains bound with water.  Not surprisingly, the cook­ing method and cooking time also influence how much al­cohol evaporates. Flambéing removes about 25% of the original alcohol. Simmering on the stovetop for 30 minutes evaporates about 65% of the alcohol. And 2½ hours of sim­mering removes about 95%.

So . . . What about cooking without wine?

Is there a substi­tute for wine in recipes? To re­place the flavor of the wine itself, you can use a little fruit juice or verjus (unfermented and unripe grape juice) but without the alcohol to do its flavor-extraction magic, you won’t get as much complexity. To draw out as much flavor as possible with­out the alcohol, include a little water and fat to dissolve and carry both the water and fat soluble fla­vors. You can also boost flavor with things like citrus zest, vinegar, fresh herbs, pepper and other spices.  Wine does however make a unique contribution in cooking.

Photo from LegalAdmin

the best one yet.  This event is part of the aquarium’s educational outreach to help all of us make good choices with the seafood that we buy.  Many top name chefs participate and the grand tasting in the Aquarium is one of the highlights of the weekend.  Here is the recipe I did this year.  Cooking for Solutions will be held again May 19 through 21, 2011. To find out more visit this link: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/vi/vi_events/cooking/

I hope to see you there!

CALIFORNIA BOUILLABAISSE WITH ROUILLE

Serves 4

Based on the classic soup/stew of the French Mediterranean.  Any sustainable fish or shellfish that you like can be used.

1 cup dry white wine

3 cups fish, shrimp or chicken stock or water

3 pounds Manila clams, scrubbed

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium leeks, white part only, halved, rinsed and sliced (about 2 cups)

1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and diced (about 2 cups)

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

3 cups fired roasted canned diced tomatoes with juice

1 large poblano chile, charred, peeled, seeded and chopped

1-1/4 pounds Alaskan cod or haddock

1/2 pound large (16 – 20) gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Rouille (recipe follows)

Lemon Wedges

Grilled rustic bread slices

In a stock pot heat the wine and stock to a boil and add the clams. Cover and shake and cook for 3 minutes or so or until the clams have open.  Remove the clams and set aside and reserve the stock.

In a large sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the leeks and fennel for a couple of minutes or until just softened. Do not brown.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute to remove its raw taste.  Add the tomatoes, poblano and reserved stock and simmer for a few minutes.  Add the cod and shrimp and cook for 2 – 3 minutes more or until just cooked through.  Be careful not to overcook.  Both should be slightly translucent in the center.

Add the reserved clams to reheat.  Add salt and pepper to taste and divide among 4 bowls.  Place a dollop of rouille in center for guests to stir in and pass lemon wedges and grilled bread.

Rouille

1/8 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads

1 teaspoon hot water

1 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade

1/4 cup roasted, peeled and chopped red bell pepper (homemade or drained bottled)

1/4 cup or so extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice or to taste

1 – 2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Salt to taste

Sprinkle saffron over hot water and let stand for a few minutes.  Add to blender with remaining ingredients and blend till smooth.  Best made at least an hour in advance for flavors to develop.

John Ash © 2010

However, on a hot day, a bowl of a flavorful cold soup really hits the spot.  Here are a couple of my favorites to try.  Let me what you think!

COLD AVOCADO SOUP
Serves 6 – 8

3 large ripe avocados; peeled, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lime or lemon zest
4 cups or so chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh ginger juice (crushed in a garlic press)
1 teaspoon minced serrano chile or drops of bottled hot sauce to taste
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro or mint
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Garnish:  Finely diced, seeded ripe tomato, cucumber and chopped chives, if desired.

Add ingredients to a food processor or blender (in batches if necessary) and puree until smooth.  Thin to desired consistency with additional stock.  Chill for an hour or two to allow flavors to blend and serve in chilled bowls with suggested garnishes.

SPICY COLD PEACH SOUP WITH PEEKYTOE CRAB
Serves 4

The soup base is inspired by the liquados of Mexico and Central America.  These are basically fruit purees often made with the addition of milk and spices and are a refreshing drink on a hot day.  The peekytoe crab story is an interesting one. These are Maine rock or sand crabs which were pretty much a throwaway by-product of lobster fishing before a brilliant marketing move changed their name to “peekytoes” around 1997. They are much prized today for their sweet delicate flavor.  They can’t be shipped live but the fresh picked meat is available during the summer.  Any other crab meat can be substituted.

1-1/2 pounds (3 medium) dead ripe yellow peaches or nectarines, pitted
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/3 cup thick Greek style yogurt
1/4 teaspoon chopped chipotle in adobo or to taste
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 small fresh Persian cucumber (3 ounces)
Fine Sea salt
6 ounces fresh peekytoe crab meat carefully picked over to remove any shell
1 tablespoon crème fraiche, if desired

In a blender add the peaches, lime juice, yogurt, chipotle and orange juice and puree.  Strain thru a medium mesh strainer to remove any bits of skin and chill.  Can be made a couple of hours ahead.  Adjust seasoning to your taste.

With a mandolin or knife slice the cucumber very thinly lengthwise and lightly salt.  Ladle the soup into flat soup plates.  Mix the crab and crème fraiche together if using and mound in the center.  Artfully arrange the cucumber around and serve immediately. Can be made a few hours ahead.

Answers:

• Cherries
• Citrus
• Cucumber
• Grapes
• Pineapple
• Pomegranate
• Soft Berries like straw and raspberries
• Watermelon

Be sure to keep these in mind when you’re at the store or farmer’s market.  You’ll want to pick these as close to perfect as you can!

Hope you’re having a great summer!