07.01.09
Posted in Reviews, Greatest Hits, Other Fun at 6:58 pm by Chef Matt
Given that I’m not exactly a person who is awash with cash, I have to find ways to save money on a regular basis. Since I don’t like to cut corners on the ingredients I use in my cooking, one of the places I have found I save a few bucks is in the world of my drinking. Again, since I have a palate that can taste the difference between good and bad wine, I know what I prefer, but I can also taste a good value.
My times at Rustico taught me about the joys of very good beer as well. The resident beer snobs were amazingly knowledgeable, and I learned a ton. But what I also learned was that for personal consumption, while these assorted brews from around the world were indeed preferable, they were not exactly affordable.
So it is left to me to find beers that are affordable enough for drinking in the mass quantities I enjoy, while at the same time being drinkable enough to actually swallow without vomiting. And over the years, I have narrowed it down to three beers that are not only way down on the cheap end of the spectrum, but are also quite drinkable:
Miller High Life (The Low Life) |
National Bohemian (Natty Boh) |
Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) |
While Natty Boh is one of the harder ones to come by as its distribution is basically only in parts of Maryland these days, it is one that I had a long and lingering love affair with in college, so whenever I have the means, I usually buy it.
But the question is: which of these really is the BEST? For this, we are going to need a blind taste test!
The method was quite simple. I had my assistant pour each of these beers into a similar glass, and had him keep track of which was which for me. Meanwhile I tasted away and determined which was the winner. Hardly the stuff of higher science, but still, it looked professional enough.
Maybe not scientific, but at least it looks professional! |
Well, the tasting commenced, and armed with a series of sourdough pretzels to keep all the (lack of) flavor from blending together, I embarked on a tasting tour de force. I fully expected Natty Boh to be the hands-down winner followed by the Low Life, followed by PBR.
The results:
3rd Place: National Bohemian
This was a shock to me. I expected it to be the winner, and to win by a long shot. It was comparatively flat, thin and lacking in flavor that I would consider to be “beer-like”. I have always thought it was my favorite of the cheap beers, but in a side-by-side taste test, it really was not up to the challenge.
2nd Place: Miller High Life
This was not a surprise, I expected this one to be second place. Only, it came in second behind the one I expected to come in third! Anyway, there was a smooth, clean finish to this beer that I expected to find, but the really impressive thing about this beer was it had a head that persisted through the testing process. Hell, there’s still a head on what’s left in the glass as I type these results out.
The Winner: Pabst Blue Ribbon
I know, I’m as shocked as you. But really, with a name like “blue ribbon” how could it lose? (It was actually given it’s “Blue Ribbon” name after winning the title of “America’s Best Beer” at the World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago. To be fair, that was in 1893…) But there was no question that the biggest hops flavor and best “beer-like” taste was in this glass. It really was a run-away win. I confirmed this with other tasters I had on hand just to make sure I hadn’t accidentally gotten drunk in the testing process…
But it’s not fair for me to hand down the definitive answer, is it? Let me give you a chance to chime in. Here’s a list of cheap beers, feel free to vote on your favorite, or throw in some other nominations in the comments.
None of this will serve as the ultimate answer to this heated debate of course. But for my money, it looks like I’m personally going to heretofore relax with a Pabst.
Chef Matt
Scooped! I know, it’s hard to believe, but the same day I work on this blog post, the Washington Post does the same thing on one of their blogs. And their results came out in the order I expected! (1. Natty Boh, 2. High Life, 3. PBR…) Though to be fair, at least my post gives you the chance to post your vote…
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06.22.09
Posted in The Story, My Cookbook at 6:16 pm by Chef Matt
It’s funny how every day I think about what it is I’m going to work on for my cookbook. Do I make up a new recipe and give it a shot? Do I try a new revision of a previous recipe that dawned on me when I gave it it’s first test run? Or do I just screw it all and eat out instead? (Anything but Italian…)
Mmmm… starch. |
And of course I have to choose between working on antipasto dishes versus pasta dishes versus polenta and so forth. I have to keep all the chapters afloat like an expert plate-spinner if only so I don’t get too tired of one type of Italian food. (No matter what I choose though, my starch intake remains firmly through the roof…)
There is the other decision that has to be made whenever I try a new recipe. Does this recipe have potential, and thus just needs a tweaking or slight revision, or is it so far off the mark that is has to be scrapped? As luck would have it, I’ve only had one recipe so far that I felt needed to be thrown out completely. It involved sugar snap peas, bacon, mint and balsamic vinegar. And we’ll never speak of it again.
But the best part so far is the recipes that are so good, that are hitting on all cylinders, that people are already asking me for copies of the recipes so they can make these dishes themselves. I guess the question is - do I share the recipe with them, or tell them to wait for my cookbook to come out?…
To help illustrate this dilemma in my head that I find myself faced with, I will re-use a previous photo I made for this blog:
Of course I never choose the “Dickhead” route in this situation…
But tonight is time to re-work the cauliflower pasta recipe. I’m gonna give it a shot as a risotto instead. We’ll see where that takes us, and who knows? If it works for me, maybe I’ll finally share it here with y’all!
Chef Matt
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06.10.09
Posted in The Story, My Cookbook at 7:40 pm by Chef Matt
A lot of the recipes I have for this cookbook are ones that I have made over the years, and I’m practically using the cookbook as an excuse to write them down for the first time. However, there are others that actually seem to come to me from the ether. Recipes that just appear in my head for one reason or another which need to be worked on and tested, because I think that they may actually show promise.
One such recipe came to me while I was taking a brief nap one afternoon. I was lying on the couch, and suddenly the flavors of olives and hot peppers on spaghetti started to come to me, and so I awoke with a recipe idea that I needed to write down right away. I actually ran it by some friends of mine as well, asking for some input as to what the “green” element of the pasta should be. I’m playing with the name “Pasta alla Swan” for this recipe as it develops right now, since that’s the nickname of my friend who came up with the winning idea.
Who am I to question where inspiration comes from?… |
A different recipe came to me when I saw a beautiful head of cauliflower at the farmer’s market the other day. Sure, it was obviously out of season, but hey, inspiration happens where it happens. I wanted to make a dish that used brown butter and cauliflower on a pasta dish. I started working with other flavors that go great with cauliflower. Flavors like hot pepper, garlic, Parmesan, almonds, walnuts, parsley and scallions were all tested in my trial runs for the dish. The result was a sauce where blanched cauliflower was browned in butter with almonds, then garlic, a little bit of red cherry peppers and scallions were added and heated through. When the pasta was cooked, it was coated with a tablespoon of butter and some breadcrumbs. Then the cauliflower mixture was stirred in, and the plates were topped with Parmesan and parsley.
The result was good…but not great. The real problem is that the flavor was one that slowly built in complexity and depth as you ate the dish, which is true of so many dishes that feature cauliflower. Everyone who has tried this recipe so far was uninterested at first, but by the end was begging for seconds. I need a better way to make the dish really jump out at people and have more kick from the start. If only there was some way to push that desire for more with every bite people take – not just the last few.
If you’re doing cauliflower, it better have garlic. But that’s just me… |
After kicking a few other flavor ideas around in my head, I decided to turn the whole problem on its head. Instead of a pasta, why not make it a risotto instead? A rich, creamy, garlicky risotto into which I stir the brown butter, cauliflower and peppers at the end, and then top it with scallion greens, Parmesan and parsley. The flavor profile would be very similar, but maybe with this more strongly flavored base, I could perhaps have a recipe that was top-notch from the first bite to the last.
But as it stands, I have no idea. That is the next test I have to try. It’s a rough business making a cookbook from scratch - especially with no publisher helping me to foot the bills at this point. But all the same, it’s not so bad eating the test results as I go!
Now I just need to go out and buy another head of cauliflower…
Chef Matt
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06.05.09
Posted in Other Fun, My Cookbook at 3:32 pm by Chef Matt
Those of you who have been following the story, know that when I was in culinary school, I had to take classes in pastry arts and desserts and so forth. It was fun, but it was hardly my specialty.
My carrot cake from culinary school. It tasted OK, but hardly one that should be sold professionally. |
I tried my best, and the food tasted OK, but I would never think of my making of cookies and cakes as being something I was particularly talented at - nor would it be something I would take up as my full-time profession.
It’s not that I think I’m hopeless. With practice, I can work a pastry bag with enough quality, and I know how to apply a crumb coat. I just think it’s that I know the life of a pastry chef is not for me, so I’m not going down that route myself. Getting up at 3 AM (or earlier!) and baking like crazy all day. It’s rough.
And worst of all, in a baking recipe, you can make a little mistake at step 2 in a 12 step process, and not know about it until the end. And there is nothing you can do about it. When I mess up, I just reduce some wine and stock, brown some shallots and cover that mess up! Easy as can be!
No, my friends who are great bakers and dessert makers have always impressed me and while I don’t want to live the life they lead, I still have nothing but the highest respect for all of them.
As far as I’m concerned though, I think I’m gonna keep ordering cookies and cakes from the professionals. Maybe a “Dessert of the Month” subscription would be a better idea - if only to make people think I’m coming up with new ideas… 
Ooh! I get to use this photo again! Don’t they look awesome?!? |
But even still, I’m going to need to come up with some dessert recipes for my cookbook. I have about three done so far. I’m just going to have to learn how to make cannolis. Simple as that…
Chef Matt
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05.28.09
Posted in Reviews, Rants and Raves at 11:43 am by Chef Matt
Even though I was born and raised in the Washington, DC area, my whole family is from Philadelphia, and thus I grew up in a house considers that city to be the #1 city in the nation. And you know, from a culinary aspect, they might not be far off.
Cannolis are an interesting dish, in that they show you what your arteries are about to look like before you eat them… |
I have wandered the back roads of south Philly many times wearing my tattered old Philadelphia Eagles ski cap that is older than I’m going to all the great small-but-famous eateries that my father indoctrinated into my soul from a very young age. Places like Termini Brothers for cannolis or Marra’s for a brick-oven pizza that will knock your socks off.
But before you think the food of Philly is all greasy-spoon hoagies and the like, rest assured that the upper scale dining in Philadelphia is top notch as well. Lacroix at The Rittenhouse, Vetri Ristorante and Morimoto Restaurant are all nationally celebrated restaurants, and all call Philadelphia home. In fact, “Philadelphia food” is listed as one of the “1,000 places to see (eat) before you die” in the book of the same name.
But there is one food element to Philly that is nearer and dearer to my heart than any other. And that’s the cheese steak. This sublime sandwich was invented in Philly, and is meant to be eaten - standing up out on the street - in Philly. Yes, I cook my own from time to time, but they’re never as good.
A true Pat’s cheese steak, right off their website. Lovely. |
The tricks to this sandwich are simple. You need to have the right bread - which means Amoroso rolls - and the right meat, which is thinly sliced (not chopped or shredded) beef with minimal seasoning. And of course, you have to know what you are ordering. If you walk up to the window and simply ask for a “cheese steak,” yeah, you’re gonna get a steak sandwich slathered in hot Cheez Whiz. And some people turn their nose up at this for some reason…
If you want the best sandwich, ask for a “provolone with onions”. To be native, that’s a “provolone wit’.” The cheese is right, the grilled onions are a fabulous touch, and for God’s sake (I’ve said it before), keep the rabbit food (lettuce, tomatoes, etc) out of that sandwich!
And then there’s the question of where to go to get this sandwich. Sure, there are places all over town. But the real battle is fought around 9th and Passyunk Ave, where Pat’s King of Steaks is right across the street from Geno’s. If there were a civil war to break out in the city of Philly, it would be Pat’s Loyalists vs. Geno’s Loyalists. The truth of the matter is: Pat’s is a heck of a lot better.
And of course there are those of you who will disagree with me… but you’re wrong, so that’s OK. 
I don’t know if I will ever actually live in Philly. It might not be good for my physique considering the amount of eating I would be doing. If I ever decide to get a job in Philadelphia, I think I would be spending my whole paycheck at Pat’s every week. With enough left over for a cannoli for dessert. Maybe it’s better I just visit occasionally…
Chef Matt
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05.26.09
Posted in The Story at 5:16 pm by Chef Matt
Even in the down economy, I have to think forward to the time when I may be lucky enough someday to open my own restaurant. Sure, I’ve had such flights of fancy in the past, but if I’m going to give it a real go at my own place, I would need to really carefully consider such things as location, menu design/cuisine style, and of course the various and sundry restaurant equipment.
I mean, exactly how many of these do I actually need to open a restaurant?… |
When I was down in North Carolina visiting the (alas, now closed) Starlu Restaurant, the amazing head chef, Sam Poley, took me around and showed me all the things he had done to spruce up the space he had procured. The level of detail - since this was early in my culinary days - was truly astounding. All the things one had to think about from the tables and chairs, to how far apart they would be placed, to the plates, napkins, flatware - it was a dizzying array of items to consider, and the cost was also quite impressive.
I knew then that opening my own place was not going to be a flight of fancy, but rather something I was going to have to carefully consider since it was going to be quite the investment to procure not only the space and the food, but of course all the professional cookware as well.
Who knows when that day will come, but I’m thinking about where the economy is now as a possible time to consider my options. Places are closing, and while that means competition is tight, it also means there could be some great deals to be had out there. So long as I keep my eyes and ears open, I know I’ll be ready when the time is right.
Chef Matt
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05.23.09
Posted in Recipes at 4:13 pm by Chef Matt
When I tell people I have the recipe for the greatest Gin & Tonic, most people look at me like I’m insane. “Gin…. and tonic… on ice… right?” they say full of haughty skepticism. “No, there’s more to it than that, and you’re a douchebag,” I then reply. There are techniques and volumes and tricks that go into making the perfect Gin & Tonic, and with the heat of summer upon us, I’m going to share them with you now.
This recipe was actually taught to me by a TV weatherman in Anchorage, AK of all places. (I’ve lived an odd life to be sure…) They were and are the best Gin & Tonics I’ve ever had. Though I was barely able to say my own name after the party where he taught me this drink, I hold onto the recipe he showed me like it was a cherished family heirloom.
What follows is a step-by-step photo display of how to make this awesome summer cocktail properly.
First off, the ingredients:
1. A glass filled 2/3 with ice cubes
2. Tanqueray Gin - cold (I’m picky about the brand here, and I think Tanqueray is the best.)
3. Tonic Water (I’m not too picky on brand here - Schweppes does me fine.)
4. Lime - one wedge, not the whole lime…
5. Something long enough to reach the bottom of the glass, like a spoon |
The first departure from the traditional method, and we’re only at step 2. Squeeze the lime wedge over the ice cubes before you add anything else. Let the lime wedge drop in on top of the ice cubes. |
Next, in goes the gin. So, you’re looking to fill the glass to the halfway point here, but I’m NOT advocating a 1:1 ratio of gin:tonic. You’re filling the lower half of the glass, and it’s full of ice. So when the gin line reaches the halfway point, you’re hardly at 50% gin. In fact, since the glass was 2/3 full of ice, the line of gin shouldn’t be above the ice cubes. |
Of course, we follow this with the tonic. Fill the glass until the bubbles reach the top, then fill again when the bubbles settle, so the glass is almost totally full. |
And now for the part one might almost consider to be tricky. You don’t “stir” the drink. In a James Bond-esque move, you simply take your spoon (or whatever) and simply push the lime wedge to the bottom of the glass. |
Get it all the way down there to the bottom, and mash it a little against the bottom. This is all the stirring you do. Remove the spoon, and enjoy! |
OK, so now you’re ready to go with your perfect Gin & Tonic! Sure, maybe I have more love for a margarita given that adventure, but this is a fabulous drink to beat the heat of the summer.
I also want to note that I was NOT paid by Tanqueray to write this post. This is really how I do Gin & Tonics, and I just thought I’d share! (And I wasn’t paid by Schweppes either, but seeing as how I didn’t promote them much, it’d be pretty silly if they had…)
And of course, please enjoy these in moderation. I can speak from experience that too many of these can have you up until 3 AM playing Road Rash 3 on a Sega Genesis in the middle of Anchorage, AK. And that’s something I wouldn’t wish on anybody…
Chef Matt
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05.18.09
Posted in Reviews, Other Fun at 1:53 pm by Chef Matt
A short while ago, I brought to the attention of my US readers that the UK potato crisp company, Walkers, was having a contest to select their next flavor of potato crisp. Many of you commented on it, and some of you even thought it was funny.
An interesting analogy given one of the flavors… |
Hey, every now and then even a blind squirrel finds his nuts…
So as a service to you all, I hereby present to you the winner of the Walker’s “Do Us a Flavor” contest. (Yes, they really called it that…)
First, some more info on the contest. The first stage was where they asked the public for flavor suggestions. This resulted in over 1.2 million flavor ideas coming in. Yes, you read that right - the populace of England was creative enough to come up with over 1 million possible crisp flavors. The thing is, that based on the six they actually ended up choosing as their finalists, I shudder to think what else was in that pile. The finalists were:
- Fish and Chips
- Builder’s Breakfast
- Chili and Chocolate
- Onion Bahji
- Crispy Duck and Hoisin
- Cajun Squirrel
Good lord. 1.2 million suggestions, and “Cajun Squirrel” made the final six. Were the other people suggesting “Ear Wax and Denture Cream”?
For the record, that is to say, for people who are too lazy to click on the link to my original article (there’s another link you slobs!), the flavor I thought I was going to like the most was “Crispy Duck and Hoisin,” but it turned out that “Onion Bahji” was the best - and it was merely “Decent.”
But neither of those won. Thankfully “Cajun Squirrel” was also eliminated. The winner was (is):
Builder’s Breakfast |
Just based on how many “fans” there were of this flavor on Facebook, it was a runaway election, as their 1,900+ fans was way more than second place who only had 1,200 fans.
“Builder’s Breakfast” will now join such other illustrious Walker’s flavors as “Pickled Onion,” “Prawn Cocktail,” and “Tomato Ketchup.” (Yes, those are real.) In their never-ending effort to make sure that the world thinks the people of England are genetically engineered to have no taste buds, they have collectively chosen a potato chip that tastes of powdered eggs, tomatoey baked beans and bad sausage - served at room temperature on a potato crisp.
All I can say is: Good gravy.
A GIS for “good gravy” resulted in this being the first image. I think I’m on to something here… |
Hmmm… “Good Gravy”. That might have potential as their next flavor given what they seem to go for.
And I would like to be the person who suggests their next flavor. The winner of this contest, Ms. Emma Rushin from a town called “Belper” (really, I just can’t make this stuff up!) won a prize not only of £50,000, ($75,922), but she also gets 1% of ALL FUTURE SALES of this flavor! That is one hell of a great prize!
So in my never-ending effort to make sure I don’t do any work ever again, please, let’s start a letter writing campaign to Walkers to tell them to make the “Good Gravy” flavor. Just be sure to give me credit!
Thanks guys!
Chef Matt
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05.16.09
Posted in Rants and Raves at 9:39 pm by Chef Matt
There can be no doubt that I’m huge fan of peanut butter. I’ve loved it all my life, and likely would consider the ratification of PB&J as a food group. (I’m a grape jelly person for the record…) But it wasn’t until recently that I decided I would start opting for natural peanut butter. And that choice has made all the difference.
Hard to make a PB&J without the “J”. |
As I was growing up, natural peanut butter was sort of the “hard too find” item that you found only in country stores or health food shops. I remember having some as a young kid, and it was a batch that was also “salt free” so it was predictably bland. In a way, that sort of scarred my thinking about natural peanut butter for many years to come. I was a Peter Pan man as a result for much of the rest of my life.
Aside: To give you an example of how long I have been a taste-testing foodie, my parents actually set up a blind taste test for my brother and me with three different types of peanut butter. We chose Peter Pan as our favorite over Jif and Skippy. I was seven years old at the time.
It wasn’t until the recent trend to consider trans fats to be the cause of all evil that I learned what was going on in these commercial “regular” peanut butters. At the core of it all, the “regular” peanut butters are adding hydrogenated oils (trans fats) to their product to make them spread more easily and to keep the oil on the surface of the peanut butter from separating out of the product.
Mmm… that’s good looking peanut butter… |
Simply put, because people are so against the little bit of extra work it takes to stir in the oil on top of a jar of peanut butter, they would gladly rather serve peanut-flavored Crisco to their kids…
That raises the bar on the concept of American laziness to a whole new level.
Oh, and please don’t be duped by the label saying “Trans fat: 0g”. If you have 0.5g or less per serving, you are allowed under FDA rules to “round down” to zero. A “serving” of peanut butter is typically 32g, so assuming the worst, that means that the product could still be 1.5% trans fat. I don’t think that’s the same thing as “no trans fat,” do you?…
So in the wake of this realization about the true nature of my beloved peanut butter, I decided to give a jar of “natural” peanut butter its day in court again. Though nowadays it is available in most supermarkets, so I didn’t have to trek out to some health food shop and pay $13 for a small jar of it. Though I did in fact buy a small jar – since I wasn’t sure if my childhood memories of natural peanut butter were accurate or not.
True to its promise, the jar had a thin layer of oil on the surface when I first opened it. And stirring this in did take a little bit of dexterity on my part, as I was not used to manipulating a large mass of paste in a small jar while trying to incorporate little bit of oil into it without spilling it all over the place. My results were mixed at first, and I did lose a little bit of the oil to the counter top and my hands on my first attempt.
The true test… |
But that’s as may be. It’s not that much of a tragedy to have to stir in the oil. The proof is in the tasting. What does this peanut butter taste like in a PB&J?
Well, my first impression surprised even me. I didn’t like it as much. The flavor was different, the mouth feel had a sort-of drying effect, and the aftertaste was much more pronounced than I was used to. I was convinced that my memories of natural peanut butter were actually reliable. But I had a whole jar of the stuff, so why not put it to good use?
The second sandwich was amazingly different. Once my palate adapted to the differences between this new peanut butter and what I’d been to eating all my life, I could appreciate the differences for the better that this natural peanut butter was offering me. The flavor was more honest, the rich sinus-filling aroma of roasted peanuts was more pronounced. And of course, I was enjoying a product that was nothing more than ground peanuts - which is what I should be going for in this scenario, right?…
The fact of the matter is, natural peanut butter is just plain better. I was shocked, based on my past memories, but pleasantly so. Do I have to pay a little more for it? Sure. Do I have to stir it when I first open it? Yup. But are these enough to deter me from having the better product at my disposal? Heck no.
I have been converted. I’m a natural peanut butter man now. While I doubt I’m able to convert you over a blog post, maybe I can at least convince you to go out and try a jar and see what you think? Do a blind taste test. It worked for me!
Chef Matt
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05.15.09
Posted in The Story, My Cookbook at 4:42 pm by Chef Matt
It has been a while since I have reported on a test-kitchen scenario on this blog. Heck, I think the only time I really remember doing that here was back when I was working on different varieties of butternut squash soup. But in my continued research as part of writing my cookbook, I came across in my various notes and cookbooks a collection of different ways to make gnocchi. I was astonished. I really thought this was one of those recipes where the culinary jury had handed in its verdict long ago: the potatoes are boiled and you then proceed with making gnocchi.
But much to my surprise, I found several sources, all of which I consider to be very trustworthy, that had different methods of cooking the potatoes. Some said to boil, some said to steam and some said to oven-roast them. But what I found most interesting about these differences was the one thing they all had in common - they ALL said, no matter which cooking method they advocated, to cook the potatoes whole, with the skins on, and then peel them afterward. Interesting.
Three cooking methods, three pots and pans, three times the clean-up. |
So this called for a little test-kitchen magic! I knew that I didn’t like gnocchi made from 100% russet potatoes, and I found ones made from Yukon golds are a tad waxy. So I first measured out the potatoes to a 50-50 mixture by weight between these two varieties. (About 1 large russet to 2 medium Yukon golds.) One batch I steamed, one batch I boiled and one batch roasted away in a 350 degree oven.
Mmmm… 3 gnocchi. How can I be so generous?… |
As the potatoes finished, I noted the cooking times that it took for each method, and began to peel them and pass them through a food mill to make them wonderfully smooth (very necessary when making gnocchi). I measured in equal amounts of flour, salt and pepper into each batch and began the wonderful process of hand-rolling out the batches. But first, I made sure - as one must always do - to test cook a few from each batch to make sure I had enough flour mixed in. It is a delicate balance with gnocchi - too little flour, and they will fall apart in the cooking water. Too much flour and they will be heavy, gummy dumplings with no potato flavor at all.
Gee, I hope I made enough… |
Once I was convinced I had the right flour to potato ratio for the batches of gnocchi, I rolled them all out and assigned them numbers so that my tasting committee would not know which cooking method had resulted in which batch. From my tasting of the test gnocchi, I was pretty sure I knew which one I would like the best, but I wanted to see what others had to say as well.
What are you talking about? There’s no way this photo was staged! |
The taste test was simple enough. I cooked up small batches, dressed them all with a simple tomato-cream sauce I had whipped up on the side (one of the best gnocchi accompaniments known to man), and gave them score sheets to make notes on the different batches. I wanted to know what they thought of the flavor, the texture, the mouth-feel and so forth. So keeping the batches straight (I hope) they passed down their verdicts.
While it is of course impossible to have 100% agreement on which was the best, the strongest performer was by far the gnocchi made from the steamed potatoes. I also thought this one was the best, and at the end of the day, doesn’t my opinion matter the most here, seeing as how it will eventually be my name on the cookbook? Though I do have to admit, I was happy to see that my taste panel backed up my opinion by giving strong numbers to the steamed potato batch as well.
Obligatory beauty shot. Those really do look awesome… |
So there we have it. I have a technique for making gnocchi, and it was actually different from the one I thought would be the obvious winner. In fact, had I not done this research, I probably would have just advocated boiled potatoes for my gnocchi - the way I have always done it up until now…
While writing a cookbook is turning out to be a lot of hard work, all the same, it is a ton of fun when I get to do experiments like these. Especially ones that result in having a few tons of leftover gnocchi to enjoy!
Chef Matt
P.S. For those of you hoping to see my final gnocchi recipe here, please I have to save SOMETHING for the cookbook, don’t I?…
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