Nooooooooooooooo!
Full details here
While Gourmet was certainly not the most practical magazine to cook from, it was one of the most informative. I sure hope Saveur keep publishing! Even though most of us are mainly interested in the daily tasks of getting food on the table, the food world will be poorer if there is no forum for thoughtful food writing as well.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Eating Alaska - the movie!
Mr EA and I just got back from the Bear Tooth, where we watched the Anchorage showing of Eating Alaska! This film, locally created and produced by film maker Ellen Frankenstein, was presented as part of the Eating Local Film Festival of earlier post fame.
Told from a personal perspective, this movie is an intelligent, down-to-earth view of eating sustainably and locally here in Alaska. The film maker, formerly a vegetarian, asks pertinent questions about how we get what we eat here. She asks everyone, from Native school kids to a vegetarian group in the Mat-Su valley, penetrating questions about why they eat what they do, and how they get it. Another hard question she examines is that of toxins - a very real concern when you are looking at subsistence hunting and living.
Many of the points she makes while discussing agriculture here are points I have wondered about (and written about) as well. We don't have a lot of local agriculture - there aren't a lot of farms and there is a very abbreviated growing season. This presents some real challenges on the local eating front. Hunting and fishing are a reasonable and locally popular way to get your protein - Mr EA and I work office jobs here in the city of Anchorage, and we both work with a LOT of people who fish and hunt for part of their food.
On a personal level, there is a moment early in the film where Ellen is at a farmer's market elsewhere, and she is discussing the point of the film she is right then making with another woman. The woman asks if we grow vegetables here, and then makes a remark about how we can just eat whale blubber. Very similar statements to us from loved ones back in the lower 48 where what inspired me to start writing this blog. So I am not the only one who reacts strongly to blubber remarks!
The film presents a balanced, good-natured view of the issues discussed, and raises questions and sparks discussion without presenting a dictatorial set of answers. There was also a reasonable humor level, which is refreshing in a documentary. I can honestly say it was a wonderful movie, and I enjoyed it immensely. If you are at all interested in the issues of sustainable local eating, I cannot urge you strongly enough to see the film.
Told from a personal perspective, this movie is an intelligent, down-to-earth view of eating sustainably and locally here in Alaska. The film maker, formerly a vegetarian, asks pertinent questions about how we get what we eat here. She asks everyone, from Native school kids to a vegetarian group in the Mat-Su valley, penetrating questions about why they eat what they do, and how they get it. Another hard question she examines is that of toxins - a very real concern when you are looking at subsistence hunting and living.
Many of the points she makes while discussing agriculture here are points I have wondered about (and written about) as well. We don't have a lot of local agriculture - there aren't a lot of farms and there is a very abbreviated growing season. This presents some real challenges on the local eating front. Hunting and fishing are a reasonable and locally popular way to get your protein - Mr EA and I work office jobs here in the city of Anchorage, and we both work with a LOT of people who fish and hunt for part of their food.
On a personal level, there is a moment early in the film where Ellen is at a farmer's market elsewhere, and she is discussing the point of the film she is right then making with another woman. The woman asks if we grow vegetables here, and then makes a remark about how we can just eat whale blubber. Very similar statements to us from loved ones back in the lower 48 where what inspired me to start writing this blog. So I am not the only one who reacts strongly to blubber remarks!
The film presents a balanced, good-natured view of the issues discussed, and raises questions and sparks discussion without presenting a dictatorial set of answers. There was also a reasonable humor level, which is refreshing in a documentary. I can honestly say it was a wonderful movie, and I enjoyed it immensely. If you are at all interested in the issues of sustainable local eating, I cannot urge you strongly enough to see the film.
Sacks Cafe and a bonus recipe!
Went downtown to do the First Friday Art Walk with some friends - had a great time, looked at some neat art in the galleries. For those of you in the Anchorage area, it's well worth the effort to get out and see some of what downtown has to offer! Anyway, the snacks on offer at the galleries were not quite doing the trick, so we started talking about all the great places downtown has to eat. My friends had both been to Sacks Cafe, and insisted we try it. The place was packed with other art walkers, and we almost didn't get a seat. We finally wheedled our way in by promising we would clear off in an hour, the point at which the table was reserved.
The entrees were pricey, although the descriptions in the menu made them sound incredible. In the end though, we decided on getting a bunch of appetisers and sharing. We got the olive sampler, the Alaskan scallops, baked Brie en croute, and the cheese plate. After placing our order, we enjoyed the ambiance (sophisticated cafe) and the art (varied and pretty good). After a short wait, we got out food. We looked at our plates, looked at each other, and just started laughing. There were these tiny little islands of food on these vast white china planes... the table was covered, but it was with dishware more than anything else. At this point, we were somewhat disillusioned - the surly guy at the front counter, the tiny portions... But then we started eating, and all that was forgotten.
The olives were delicious - warm and unctuous and rich. The cheese plate had a rich hard cheese and a strong goat cheese, along with a complex gastrique, slices of bright strawberries and some glazed nuts. All together it was a well-chosen collection for tasting the cheeses at their best. The baked brie was also wonderful. It is pretty hard to screw up Brie, and this plate enhanced it artfully. The cheese itself was delicious, warm and buttery with its crisp flaky crust. The olive tapenade provided a wonderfully salty and sharp counter point. Roasted garlic provided an earthy base to the light cheese. And apricots and strawberries were bright and sweet next to the cheese. Altogether another hit.
Then we got to the scallops. I don't like seafood in general, and have never eaten a scallop. However, my friends double-dog-dared me, so I tried one. It was very good! So I have no basis as to whether this particular scallop was superior in any way to other scallops. I just know that one was pretty good. They were served with a mango curry puree, which was also delicious, and a mini-salad served in a little Parmesan-crisp bowl. The salad was also delicious, and the bitterness of the cheese crisp was a neat addition to the fresh greens.
About midway through our meal, we realized that there was indeed plenty on our plates, it was just that the dishes were so terrifyingly huge that it made the appetizers look so tiny and forlorn. The three of us just barely managed to finish, and we were wishing we hadn't gotten so much - although there wasn't one thing we had regretted eating!
Then one of my friends ordered a desert - her favorite, which she has only ever gotten here. It was Russian Cream. Out came a creamy orange desert - custardy in texture, served cold - with a fruit sauce over it. We puzzled over what was in it, and my friend challenged me to figure it out. After I got home, I did just that. I have to confess, I cheated a little - I found a recipe that was close, and changed it up some to get it closer still. It's still not exact, but the flavor is right, and the texture is darn close. Just in case you want to try it, here's the recipe...
Russian Cream with Tangy Fruit Salsa
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp cold water
1 orange
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 can pineapple chunks
1/4 tsp. salt
The entrees were pricey, although the descriptions in the menu made them sound incredible. In the end though, we decided on getting a bunch of appetisers and sharing. We got the olive sampler, the Alaskan scallops, baked Brie en croute, and the cheese plate. After placing our order, we enjoyed the ambiance (sophisticated cafe) and the art (varied and pretty good). After a short wait, we got out food. We looked at our plates, looked at each other, and just started laughing. There were these tiny little islands of food on these vast white china planes... the table was covered, but it was with dishware more than anything else. At this point, we were somewhat disillusioned - the surly guy at the front counter, the tiny portions... But then we started eating, and all that was forgotten.
The olives were delicious - warm and unctuous and rich. The cheese plate had a rich hard cheese and a strong goat cheese, along with a complex gastrique, slices of bright strawberries and some glazed nuts. All together it was a well-chosen collection for tasting the cheeses at their best. The baked brie was also wonderful. It is pretty hard to screw up Brie, and this plate enhanced it artfully. The cheese itself was delicious, warm and buttery with its crisp flaky crust. The olive tapenade provided a wonderfully salty and sharp counter point. Roasted garlic provided an earthy base to the light cheese. And apricots and strawberries were bright and sweet next to the cheese. Altogether another hit.
Then we got to the scallops. I don't like seafood in general, and have never eaten a scallop. However, my friends double-dog-dared me, so I tried one. It was very good! So I have no basis as to whether this particular scallop was superior in any way to other scallops. I just know that one was pretty good. They were served with a mango curry puree, which was also delicious, and a mini-salad served in a little Parmesan-crisp bowl. The salad was also delicious, and the bitterness of the cheese crisp was a neat addition to the fresh greens.
About midway through our meal, we realized that there was indeed plenty on our plates, it was just that the dishes were so terrifyingly huge that it made the appetizers look so tiny and forlorn. The three of us just barely managed to finish, and we were wishing we hadn't gotten so much - although there wasn't one thing we had regretted eating!
Then one of my friends ordered a desert - her favorite, which she has only ever gotten here. It was Russian Cream. Out came a creamy orange desert - custardy in texture, served cold - with a fruit sauce over it. We puzzled over what was in it, and my friend challenged me to figure it out. After I got home, I did just that. I have to confess, I cheated a little - I found a recipe that was close, and changed it up some to get it closer still. It's still not exact, but the flavor is right, and the texture is darn close. Just in case you want to try it, here's the recipe...
Russian Cream with Tangy Fruit Salsa
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp cold water
1 orange
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 can pineapple chunks
1/4 tsp. salt
- Start by grating the peel off the orange. This is going in the cream part of the desert. Reserve the rest of the orange for the fruit salsa.
- Soften the gelatin in a small bowl with the tbsp of cold water - use a little more water if necessary.
- Mix the sugar, the half cup of water and the orange peel in a pan and heat just until boiling, stirring steadily.
- Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the gelatin - stir steadily to make sure the gelatin is even mixed in. There shouldn't be any gelatin lumps when you stop stirring.
- Mix in the cream and the yogurt. Again, whisk until it is completely mixed together and all is incorporated.
- Finally, add the vanilla, making sure to blend thoroughly.
- Divide the cream mixture into molds or bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
The original recipe said this made 6 servings. That was not the case in our house! Maybe for tiny eaters.
Once the cream in gelling in the fridge, start the fruit salsa. Dice up the pineapple chunks very small, but do not crush them. You want to leave some texture in the fruit. Then the orange. For me, this was the most tedious part of the operation. Peel the orange, then section it, removing the membrane from around each section. Then break up each section into smallish parts but again, trying to maintain the texture. Mix the fruit chunks in a bowl, and very very lightly salt it. Taste for flavor - you may want to add a little of the pineapple juice to the mix.
When the cream has gelled, top with the salsa and enjoy!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Eating Alaska - The Movie
For anyone who doesn't check out comments (and if not, why not?) the post about the Beartooth Local Food Movie Festival got a lovely comment from Ellen Frankenstein concerning her movie "Eating Alaska" . Here are the key parts.
Please come on by the Beartooth Local Food Festival and to the EATING ALASKA screening this Sunday. Plus on Sunday, any part of proceeds we get from a share of ticket sales or fun Eating Alaska pins and DVDS will help us travel to Cuba to show the film and do a workshop with filmmakers there. Been doing some fun educational regional screenings with kids too, getting them to talk about food and where they live!
Cheers,
Ellen Frankenstein
Filmmaker
So come see an interesting movie and participate in a good cause too! The movie sounds very interesting, and Ellen seems like a great person - I'm looking forward to it very much!
Please come on by the Beartooth Local Food Festival and to the EATING ALASKA screening this Sunday. Plus on Sunday, any part of proceeds we get from a share of ticket sales or fun Eating Alaska pins and DVDS will help us travel to Cuba to show the film and do a workshop with filmmakers there. Been doing some fun educational regional screenings with kids too, getting them to talk about food and where they live!
Cheers,
Ellen Frankenstein
Filmmaker
So come see an interesting movie and participate in a good cause too! The movie sounds very interesting, and Ellen seems like a great person - I'm looking forward to it very much!
Lucky Wishbone
Acting on a hot tip from the Best of Alaska booklet of earlier post fame, Mr EA and I stopped in at the Lucky Wishbone on our way to some downtown activities. From the outside, the place is somewhat ratty looking, but the steady stream of customers to both the sit-down and drive through part of the restaurant assured us this was the place that had won a stunning 5 Best of awards.
When you get inside, what you will find is a place with the classic coastal diner sensibilities. Since the place is in operation since the 50's or 60's (the menu had their history, but I did not write it down), that makes a certain amount of sense. Located near Merrill Field, the place is rife with airplane memorabilia and photos. A patron in a nearby booth was pointing to pictures of airmen on the wall and saying who they were and what they did later in life! Whether this was factual information or malarky to amuse the grandchild he was with I don't know, but it was interesting anyway.
Mr EA got the Mom sized order of their famous pan-fried chicken, and I got a chiliburger and an order of onion rings. I wasn't impressed with my chiliburger - an openface burger and roll smothered in a blanket of midwestern-style hamburger and kidney bean chili. However, my onion rings were awesome! Rings of real whole onion in a light cornmeal crust were fried just right. Mr EA's chicken, however, was astoundingly delicious! The light crust was flavorful and lightly seasoned. It was just the right balance to complement the chicken without overwhelming it. When you got through the crust, the chicken was moist and flavorful. Before trying a few bites of this chicken, I had kind of wondered what the fuss about pan-fried chicken was all about. Now I know.
The delicious chicken, which I urge you to try without delay if you like chicken at all, is available in three portion sizes - Pop, Mom and Jr, with piece types assigned ( Jr is a leg and a wing, for example). However, we hear nearby patrons bargaining with their waitress for different piece types than their portion names, and she seemed able to meet their wishes. Also, the menu does say that if available, you can get all white meat, but they don't make any promises. The menu also says that sometimes livers and gizzards and giblets are available. We didn't go there, but if you like chicken innards, there's something to look forward to. Also available are t-shirts with their retro-cool logo! But first, get the chicken.
When you get inside, what you will find is a place with the classic coastal diner sensibilities. Since the place is in operation since the 50's or 60's (the menu had their history, but I did not write it down), that makes a certain amount of sense. Located near Merrill Field, the place is rife with airplane memorabilia and photos. A patron in a nearby booth was pointing to pictures of airmen on the wall and saying who they were and what they did later in life! Whether this was factual information or malarky to amuse the grandchild he was with I don't know, but it was interesting anyway.
Mr EA got the Mom sized order of their famous pan-fried chicken, and I got a chiliburger and an order of onion rings. I wasn't impressed with my chiliburger - an openface burger and roll smothered in a blanket of midwestern-style hamburger and kidney bean chili. However, my onion rings were awesome! Rings of real whole onion in a light cornmeal crust were fried just right. Mr EA's chicken, however, was astoundingly delicious! The light crust was flavorful and lightly seasoned. It was just the right balance to complement the chicken without overwhelming it. When you got through the crust, the chicken was moist and flavorful. Before trying a few bites of this chicken, I had kind of wondered what the fuss about pan-fried chicken was all about. Now I know.
The delicious chicken, which I urge you to try without delay if you like chicken at all, is available in three portion sizes - Pop, Mom and Jr, with piece types assigned ( Jr is a leg and a wing, for example). However, we hear nearby patrons bargaining with their waitress for different piece types than their portion names, and she seemed able to meet their wishes. Also, the menu does say that if available, you can get all white meat, but they don't make any promises. The menu also says that sometimes livers and gizzards and giblets are available. We didn't go there, but if you like chicken innards, there's something to look forward to. Also available are t-shirts with their retro-cool logo! But first, get the chicken.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Food Movie Festival at the Bear Tooth!
Hey, fellow Anchorites (Anchorigians?), the Bear Tooth Theatre Pub is holding a Local Food Film Festival October 2-8!
...
Let me unpack that for you. The movies are not locally made, except for one of them, which I will get to in a minute. Rather, they are about the Locavore or "eat local food" movement. The films are on a diverse range of topics, from how we are fishing the oceans empty to how we are wrecking the entire world. But I exaggerate for comic effect.
What I am hoping for is a thoughtful examination of how and what we eat. What I'm afraid we're going to get is 8-10 hours of shrill, thought-free screed about how everyone sucks. However, I did not notice that Michael Moore is involved, so there's hope. :)
Now, to the local movie about eating local. It is titled Eating Alaska, and has nothing to do with this blog whatsoever. Their blog is here. It looks like an interesting movie, and I very much look forward to seeing it!
The festival also seems to be connected in some unspecified way to the Alaska Center for the Environment , the website for which also has some interesting things to say about local eating here in Alaska.
So I plan to attend, and hope to get to every movie on the schedule. This will also allow me another excuse to go to the Bear Tooth, which is excellent. See you there!
...
Let me unpack that for you. The movies are not locally made, except for one of them, which I will get to in a minute. Rather, they are about the Locavore or "eat local food" movement. The films are on a diverse range of topics, from how we are fishing the oceans empty to how we are wrecking the entire world. But I exaggerate for comic effect.
What I am hoping for is a thoughtful examination of how and what we eat. What I'm afraid we're going to get is 8-10 hours of shrill, thought-free screed about how everyone sucks. However, I did not notice that Michael Moore is involved, so there's hope. :)
Now, to the local movie about eating local. It is titled Eating Alaska, and has nothing to do with this blog whatsoever. Their blog is here. It looks like an interesting movie, and I very much look forward to seeing it!
The festival also seems to be connected in some unspecified way to the Alaska Center for the Environment , the website for which also has some interesting things to say about local eating here in Alaska.
So I plan to attend, and hope to get to every movie on the schedule. This will also allow me another excuse to go to the Bear Tooth, which is excellent. See you there!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Best of Alaska 2009
Well, the Anchorage Daily News just published their Best of Alaska awards booklet for this year. For those of you playing along from elsewhere, this is an annual issue where readers can vote for their favorite providers of various goods and services, and then the paper publishes what amounts to a special advertising issue with the winners. It's certainly no Michelin guide, but the Food and Drink section has much to interest the foodie - we have certainly discussed it at our house!
First off, the biggest benefit to us is finding out about places that we had no idea of - a good example of this is the Lucky Wishbone. We had not ever heard of this establishment, but it won 4 awards (!). So we will definitely need to check them out, along with pretty much all the winners from the Italian and Greek categories.
The other best thing about this publication (for my purposes) is agreeing with or railing against the winners as selected. For example, Arctic Roadrunner winning for burgers and Moose's Tooth/Bear Tooth winning for pizza are proof that God's in his heaven and all's right with the world. I'm glad sort-of local Kaladi brothers beat out Starbucks.
On the other hand...
McDonald's winning the French Fries category? And White Spot not even placing? A travesty!
Gallo's winning for Mexican while Mexico in Alaska is denied? An outrage and a scandal!
I disagree with some other categories, but can kind of see why the votes came out like they did. For example, Sugarspoon clearly beats the pants off of Glacier BrewHouse's desserts as far as taste goes, but I'm sure way more people have eaten desserts at GBH than at Sugarspoon. And Sugarspoon only came in second, so I can kind of see that.
And I wish there were a few other categories. There should be a small plates or appetizers category, and also maybe an Alaska spirits other than beer category. But at least I've got something to work with for the next year or so.
What's your opinion? If you are an AK reader and have seen the Best of Alaska awards booklet, what do you think about the outcome?
First off, the biggest benefit to us is finding out about places that we had no idea of - a good example of this is the Lucky Wishbone. We had not ever heard of this establishment, but it won 4 awards (!). So we will definitely need to check them out, along with pretty much all the winners from the Italian and Greek categories.
The other best thing about this publication (for my purposes) is agreeing with or railing against the winners as selected. For example, Arctic Roadrunner winning for burgers and Moose's Tooth/Bear Tooth winning for pizza are proof that God's in his heaven and all's right with the world. I'm glad sort-of local Kaladi brothers beat out Starbucks.
On the other hand...
McDonald's winning the French Fries category? And White Spot not even placing? A travesty!
Gallo's winning for Mexican while Mexico in Alaska is denied? An outrage and a scandal!
I disagree with some other categories, but can kind of see why the votes came out like they did. For example, Sugarspoon clearly beats the pants off of Glacier BrewHouse's desserts as far as taste goes, but I'm sure way more people have eaten desserts at GBH than at Sugarspoon. And Sugarspoon only came in second, so I can kind of see that.
And I wish there were a few other categories. There should be a small plates or appetizers category, and also maybe an Alaska spirits other than beer category. But at least I've got something to work with for the next year or so.
What's your opinion? If you are an AK reader and have seen the Best of Alaska awards booklet, what do you think about the outcome?
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