Firstly, a happy Halloween to those of you out there celebrating today.
Now, speaking of Halloween, the recent Iron Chef America battle between Michael Symon and Chris Cosentino has a certain, “ghoulish” flair to it. Offal fans should tune in, because both chefs go to work on offal in various forms–brains, livers, kidneys, gizzards, blood–you name it, they’re cooking it.
I caught a recent showing, and there is no doubt in my mind that Chef Cosentino really knows his offal, inside and out (my apologies for the terrible pun). Food Network looks like they are showing the Offal Battle again tomorrow, so be sure to catch it or set your Tivo.
Mike Pardus, famous for his teaching at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, has been posting and making instructional videos over at Bob del Grosso’s awesome blog, A Hunger Artist. Two videos in particular caught my attention:
and
Both posts are jam packed with information. People pay tons and tons of money to learn from Instructor Pardus, so when he talks, I damn well listen.
Finally, I was fortunate to receive an e-mail about fava beans (I’m still trying to learn all I can about them) from Patrick Ganey, who writes over at Duck Fat and Politics.
Here’s what he had to say:
Favas get a skin on them and when they have that they’re on their way to
being starchy. I live in Minnesota and run into the problem of a
too-short spring; when the temperature is too high, favas drop their
flowers and don’t form pods. The only fresh ones I get are the ones I
grow. Large seeded varieties are delicious raw, dipped in a little fine
sea salt or eaten with a shaving of Parmesan. We have a beautiful cheese
made locally – a hard, sheep’s milk cheese that has a nuttiness that’s
perfect with favas. A light steaming and then a saute in a pan is also a
way to keep them at their freshest.With dried favas, I use them in cassoulet and other stews, and like
small-seeded varieties.
He’s also got a post up with more information here. Thanks Patrick!
