This delicious recipe (said to be Oprah’s favourite) from the cookbook “Taste Pure and Simple“, Nischan interestingly uses fresh vanilla bean. Not something you would expect from a corn chowder but Michel Nischan explains quite endearingly why he thought of the unlikely combination:

“This recipe proves a belief of mine. When you cook with ingredients that sound good in your head, they will taste good, too. I feel this way about vanilla and corn, which may seem like a strange pair, but once you try this combination, you’ll like it.”

Sweet Corn and Vegetable Chowder

Serves 4

About 2-4 fresh ears corn, shucked
1 Yukon Gold Potato
½ split vanilla bean, or ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds fresh or frozen edamame, fava, or lima beans (about 1 cup shelled)
1 to 2 tablespoons water
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup shredded spinach, sorrel, or arugula
1 tablespoon julienned lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat over to 450°F. Place 2 ears of corn directly on the over rack and roast, turning occasionally, until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. When cool, cut the roasted corn kernels off the cob. You should have about 1 ½ cups.

Meanwhile, cook the potato in salted boiling water until tender in the center when pierced, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and let cool to the touch, Slip off the skin and cut the potato into ¼-inch dice.

With a large, sharp knife, cut the kernels off the remaining ears of corn. Run the kernels through a vegetable juicer. You should have about 4 cups of juice. Combine the corn juice and the vanilla bean in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly so the liquid doesn’t curdle. The natural starch in the juice will thicken it to a sauce consistency. The degree of thickness will depend on the amount of starch in the corn. If the soup is too thick, thin it with a little water or lemon juice. Remove from the heat.

Fish out the vanilla bean and, with the tip of a small knife, scrape the seeds from the bean into the soup; discard the pod. If the soup appears a little broken, don’t worry. Blend the soup in a blender at medium speed for a silky-smooth consistency. Return the soup to the pot.

Put the roasted corn kernels, beans, and potato in a medium sauté pan or skillet with the water. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes until the vegetables are hot. Pour off the water and add the vegetables to the soup. Stir in the shredded spinach or other greens, the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Note: If the corn milk curdles during cooking, don’t worry. Beat the curdled milk with an electric mixer set on medium speed until it returns to its perfect smoothness before you add the rest of the vegetables.

Try your hand at one of Michel Nischan’s healthy recipes which are known for its freshness and intense flavours. It is important to use the freshest ingredients possible here, and of course, make sure that everything (or as much as possible) is organic.

Find organic produce at your local farmer’s market, at specialty shops, or even in your supermarket’s organic section. It really does make a big difference in taste as well as your health!

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 cup large dice carrots
1/2 cup large dice celery
1/2 cup large diced onions
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1-1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tbsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 whole egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp plus hot chicken stock
1 tbsp plus 1tsp grapeseed oil or chicken fat
3 cups pulled cooked chicken meat such as left over fried, roasted or rotisserie chicken.

Heat the oil in a 2 quart sauce pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook about 2 minutes or until soft and clear. Add the carrots and celery. Cook one minute more or until the vegetables smell fragrant. Add the stock and increase to high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are just done. Set the pot of stock and vegetables aside but keep warm.

For the dumplings, combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl, blend the egg, chicken stock and oil and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir with a fork until just mixed together. It is important not to over mix the dough or it will become tough. Transfer the dough to a well floured cutting board and spread the dough out as thin as you can by hand. Keep your hand and fingers well dusted with flour so the dough does not stick. Lightly flour the surface of the dough and finish rolling to a thickness of about 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch.

Return the stick and vegetables to the stove and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cut the dough into noodle shapes the size you like and drop them into the simmering stock. Be careful to drop a few at a time and to stir the stock to prevent the dumplings from sticking together. Cook 6 to 8 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through and tender. Add the pulled chicken meat and cook one minute longer. Turn off the heat and let stand 3 minutes before serving.

Michel Nischan decided that he would create a new way of cooking- based on health and well-being, when his son Chris was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 5.

“Chris’s illness made me realize that floating on foie gras and bathing in butter might not be in the best interest of my customers”

This was back in 1994, and since then, Nischan has revolutionized cooking, creating a cuisine where the dishes are not just good for you and taste fantastic, but more imporatntly, the ingredients used are purely organic products.

A farmer’s son, Nischan was raised on the land, which laid the foundations for his organic understanding about food:

“I was raised to understand that the soul of a vegetable comes from the soil, and the rain is its life-blood…The food we grow and eat in the place we call home defines who we are and what we care about.” He says.

His career flourished through several successful restaurants in the Mid-west, until he shot to stardom when he introduced his new concepts of organic eating at the Heartbeat restuarant at the W Hotel in New York City in 1997.

Since then, Nischan has authored two groundbreakingcookbooks on the subject of organic eating - Homegrown Pure and Simple: Great Healthy Food from Garden to Table (2005) and Taste Pure and Simple: Irresistible Recipes for Good Food and Good Health (2003), which went on the New York Times Bestseller lists as well as win James Beard Foundation awards.

His clear vision, talent and know-how on organic eating has caught the attention of people everywhere, and Nischan has been a busy man indeed, making numerous television appearances, writing for newspapers and magazines, serving as board member for Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and The Global Environment, is one of the key organizers of the New American Farmers Initiative (NAFI), and he takes part in helping major food companies work on their issues on sustainable food systems. He also served as host chef for a dinner for the Dalai Lama.

More recently, Nischan has opened a retaurant with another organic food advocate, Paul Newman, “The Dressing Room - A Homegrown Restaurant” in Westport, Connecticut.

If there ever was a celebrity chef to remember for the 21st century, it would be Michel Nischan.

Technorati Tags: michel nischan, organic, organic food, paul newman, farming

Since the poularity and almost cultish status of his television show “Good Eats“, Alton Brown’s succeeding projects have been met with even more acclaim, with his cookbooks “I’m Just Here for the Food” and “I’m Just Here for More Food“, and cookware book “Alton Brown’s Gear for Your Kitchen” getting to the New York Times Bestseller list and winning the coveted James Beard Foundation Book awards. And of course, his job as emcee for Iron Chef America.

His latest project is the Food Network’s first ever film, Feasting on Asphalt, which is based on Alton’s food adventures on a motorcycle travelling through America and exploring its roadside food culture.

How on earth does he turn the science of food into entertainment? Read on in this recent interview where Alton gives some answers on his new film, cooking, and the food culture of America:

How did you come up with the concept for Feasting On Asphalt?

Yeah, I think I’ve been working on the concept since about 1969 and uh…I was born in California, my parents were from Georgia and, um, they moved back the summer of 1969 and we drove mostly on back roads across America, and it really put the wham on my head because I was this West Coast, North Hollywood kid who, all of the sudden, was seeing what appeared to be a different country a day, and, um, each day was new food, new people, new everything, and for me there were two connection points: There was actually the road itself and the food we were eating every time we stopped.

When did you realise you could cook?

College. I had a pathetic social life, and I couldn’t get dates very easily — at all — and I found that if I offered to cook for a girl, my odds improved radically over simply asking a girl out. Through my efforts to attract the opposite sex, I found that not only did cooking work, but that it was actually fun.

I worked in restaurants all through high school and college. I had always been in a kitchen with my mom and grandma and relatives and then, yeah, I watched cooking shows, although I found them to be uniformly unsatisfying, which is why I ended up where I ended up.

To become a successful chef, which is more important: receiving professional schooling or learning the ropes “on the street”?

I would say that it is like anything else: Professional schooling can get in the way as much as it can help. So I would have to say: the street. Life is always the best teacher, no matter what you’re doing.

When you were on the road filming Feasting on Asphalt, what did you learn about American food culture?

We’re losing it like the rainforest. We’re losing it every day. Oh yeah. Because the problem now is that even the really great little mom-and-pop places are trying to make themselves more like the thing that’s trying to kill them. You know, “I own a little hamburger stand but because the standard for hamburgers is McDonald’s, I’m going to make my hamburgers more like McDonald’s does so you’ll like me.” So smaller places are losing their identity by attempting to conform in order to survive.

Technorati Tags: Alton Brown, Motorcycle, Road Trip, Interview

In his “Tricks For Treats” episode of Good Eats, Alton Brown talks about how Americans spend billions of dollars each year on factory-manufactured candy, and in true Alton Brown style, tells us how simple it is to make these goodies, as well as giving a LOT of other useful facts and advice on the topic.

So with Halloween looming even closer, I dare you to resist dashing to the nearest supermarket to load up on your candy stash this year, and try this recipe below:
Chocolate Taffy

2 cups sugar
2/3 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, plus additional for greasing pan and hands

In heavy medium saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir until thoroughly combined. Add corn syrup, water, and vinegar to pan and place over medium heat. Stir until sugar and cocoa dissolve, raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low, clip candy thermometer to side of pan and cook until mixture reaches 260 degrees F. Remove pan from heat, add the butter and stir. Butter edges of sheet pan, line with silicone baking sheet and pour on taffy. Allow to cool until you are able to handle it.

Once you are able to handle the taffy, don vinyl gloves, butter them, and begin to fold taffy in thirds using the silicone mat. Pick up taffy and begin to pull folding the taffy back on itself repeatedly twisting as you go. Taffy is done when it lightens in color, takes on a sheen, and becomes too hard to pull. Roll into log, cut into fourths, roll each fourth into a 1-inch wide log, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Making sure to keep pieces separated or they will stick to each other. Wrap individual pieces of candy in waxed paper. Store in airtight container 3 to 5 days.

Technorati Tags: Alton Brown, Halloween, Chocolate, Taffy, Sweets, Chef, Recipe

When I first saw Alton Brown’s show, “Good Eats” some years ago, he didn’t strike me as a chef, and had as much “celeb” in him as that fish you see on the picture above. Bespectacled and always clad in those Florida-esque loose short-sleeved shirts, Alton may not have the silkiness of Wolfgang or the pukka charm of Jamie, but his shows are by far the most interesting and well-informed.

In fact, Alton Brown won’t just give you the recipes to the typical yummy-looking dishes, you’ll learn about the ingredients, the alchemy and the cookware used too. Top that off with a little history, more trivia and Alton’s dry sense of humour, and you’ve got one great show, uniquely Alton Brown’s.

Alton started off as a cinematographer and video director (which you can see through the unique way his shows are shot and edited), but decided to pursue his real passion (food!), when he saw the lack of “good” cooking shows on television at the time. Remember the video of REM’s “The One I Love“? Alton was the director of photography.

He enrolled at the New England Culinary Institute to learn the fundamentals of cooking, finishing in 1997. In July of 1998, the pilot of Good Eats made its debut, and has been going steadily strong to this day, most popularly known for its quirky references to pop culture, where Alton dresses up and makes us giggle, while making some very good points on food and cookware too.

Technorati Tags: Alton Brown, Chef, Good Eats, Recipes

Ina is just so cuddly and earthy, yet at the same time with a nose for timeless style, that I thought it would be a good idea to post some of her favourite things, as inspiration.

Favorite cookbooks?

“Some of the other books I use most are Nantucket Open House Cookbook by Sarah Leah Chase, The Loaves and Fishes Cookbook by Anna Pump, Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells, and Cucina Simpatica by George Germon and Johanne Killeen.”

Favorite glassware?

“Barney’s in New York City carried my stemware for years, but unfortunately, they’ve now discontinued it. But, thanks to one of our readers, we’ve found another source. The name of the glassware is Cristallerie La Rochere, the Amite pattern and the website to order it from is lafermedelamer.com. My glasses are the white and the red wine stemware. They also carry the large water glass and champagne glasses to match.”

Favorite pots and pans?

“I love All Clad pots. I would recommend you start with small and medium saucepans and 8-inch and 12-inch sauté pans. I don’t even bother with non-stick because if you soak the pans after you use them, they will clean beautifully. I know they’re expensive pots, but you can collect them one at a time. They’ll last a lifetime and you’ll enjoy using them. For Dutch ovens, I prefer Le Creuset. These are all available at Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table, and Crate & Barrel stores nationally. “

Favorite ice cream maker?

“I use a Krups ice cream maker which I bought at Williams-Sonoma many years ago.”

Favorite places to stay in East Hampton?

“My favorite places are the Baker House 631-324-4081 and the Pink House 631-324-3400 in East Hampton, which are both lovely bed and breakfast inns, and the Bridgehampton Inn 631-537-3660 in Bridgehampton. There are no big hotels but these are lovely places to stay.”

Favorite restaurants in East Hampton?
“Three of the restaurants I like most in East Hampton are Nick & Toni’s, The pub at 1770 house, and the Palm Restaurant.”

Technorati Tags: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa, Food, Specialty Food, Recipes, Favorite

Happily married to her husband Jeffrey for 38 years, this divine steak with a bernaise sauce was from the “Wedding Anniversary” episode of the Barefoot Contessa. Accompanied by rosemary roasted potatoes and string beans with shallots, this simple but heart-warming meal was also winningly combined with shrimp with cocktail sauce as its starter.

Strangely enough, this menu could very well be my husband’s idea of “the perfect meal” - so thanks to Ina, I now have our next anniversary menu mapped out, but probably with the addition of mushrooms!

For the Sauce Bernaise:

1/4 cup Champagne or white wine vinegar
1/4 cup good white wine
2 tablespoons minced shallots
3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, divided
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 extra-large egg yolks*
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

6 (1-inch thick) rib eye steaks
Olive Oil
Coarsely ground black pepper

For the sauce, put the Champagne vinegar, white wine, shallots, 1 tablespoon tarragon leaves, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is reduced to a few tablespoons. Cool slightly.

Place the cooled mixture with the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon salt in the jar of a blender and blend for 30 seconds. With blender on, slowly pour the hot butter through the opening in the lid. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of tarragon leaves and blend only for a second. If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon of white wine to thin. Keep at room temperature until serving.

Season the steaks liberally with salt and coarsely ground black pepper on both sides. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat until it’s almost smoking, then sear the steaks on each side for 1 minute. Lower the heat to low and cook the steaks for about 7 to 10 minutes, turning once, until very rare in the middle. Remove to a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Serve with the bernaise sauce on the side.

Note: To make the sauce in advance, prepare an hour before serving and allow it to sit in the blender. Before serving, add 1 tablespoon of the hottest tap water and blend for a few seconds.

Technorati Tags: Ina Garten, Anniversary, Barefoot Contessa, Steak, Bernaise Sauce, Recipe

I never did get to visit Ina Garten’s hotbed of gastronomic delights, the Barefoot Contessa in the Hamptons, but judging from her show, her cookbooks and now online shop of foodie goodies, Ina is a celeb chef a head above the rest whose been sung praises by giants like Martha and Oprah.

But more than that, what I like best about Ina is her genteel, graceful manner, her flair for effortlessly stylish eating and simple, country-chic food.

Unlike a lot of celeb chefs, Ina was not formally schooled in the culinary sense, did not start her career as a lowly dishwasher, nor did she apprentice under some sullen uber-chef of the 80’s. In fact, she first got truly inspired during a 3-month long camping trip in France in the 70’s, when she was exposed to the country’s love for the elegantly fresh food. The rest she learned from cookbooks like you and me.

While working in the White House on nuclear energy policy, Ina decided to make a drastic change. She bought a small store in the Hamptons (a place that was completely alien to her) called the Barefoot Contessa.

Twenty years later, the humble food specialty store grew into a 3,000 sq.feet veritable food emporium where people came from far and wide to buy Ina’s fabulous home-cooked meals, baked goods, condiments, salads and breads.

She sold the business to her employees in 2001 (which numbered to nearly 50), who sold it themselves in 2003. Good news though - you can now buy Ina’s goodies online at the Barefoot Contessa Pantry, put together in conjunction with the Stonewall Kitchen.

Technorati Tags: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa, Entertaining, Recipes, Food

To compliment your Halloween cocktails, here’s another recipe from Emeril that fits the bill for a spooky celebration - Torched Pumpkin served with a tasty Asian dipping sauce. Fiendishly good!

2 pounds yellow pumpkin, peeled and seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch by 3-inch strips
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups dark beer
1 tablespoon Emeril’s Essence, plus more for dusting, recipe below
Vegetable oil, for frying
Salt
For the sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

In a heavy, deep saucepan, heat the oil to 360 degrees F.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, beer, and Essence. Dip the pumpkin strips into the batter, letting the excess drip off. Fry in the oil until golden, turning to brown evenly, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and Essence.

For the sauce: In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, sesame oil, and green onions.

Serve hot with the sauce.

Essence (Emeril’s Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Technorati Tags: Halloween, pumpkin, pumpkin recipe, emeril