TNT is Dynamite
Can you feel the excitement? Have I told you I’m keeping a secret? Do you realize that after today, everything is going to be different?
Things are so busy, I can’t even tell you. But there has been a lot of preparation for the big announcement happening later today. I’m pumped, but in all honesty, could probably use more sleep.
Which is a great segue into why I drink so much coffee. I love coffee. My kids will tell you that “coffee makes adults go.” I need coffee, but I’m okay with that. I also appreciate really really great coffee and all the time and attention that needs to go into making something truly special. It’s one reason I’m thrilled that the Capital Region has a burgeoning coffee culture.
If you’re not convinced about that last statement, give me a few minutes and let me show you.
Sacrosanct
Earlier this month, Jenny asked a great question. It was a marvelous question. And I’ve been meaning to answer it every single day since it came up. This came in response to my post about hummus, which I steadfastly insist has to be made with both chickpeas and tahini as a matter of definition. So Jenny wanted to know,
“How do you determine which culinary traditions are okay to modify (such as Pizza) and which are sacrosanct (as in this case, Hummus)?”
Let’s start at the very beginning.
Rocking Breakfast – Recipe #4
I really need a blender. It’s kind of ridiculous that I still don’t have one. Earlier this week I found myself breaking out the hand cranked food mill to thicken a pressure cooked soup with bits of softened potato, white bean, celery root, and yellow carrots. The work wasn’t hard, and the soup was probably better for the effort. It just took time and was a pain in the neck.
You will need a blender to make Josh Coletto’s Salsa Roja.
Once again he’s sharing a recipe from his unimaginably popular Rock N Roll Brunch series. These are held just once a month at The Low Beat in Albany. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. and it gets crowded soon after. Popular dishes run out early. And last month it was so busy that late arrivals had to be turned away.
So maybe you missed the braised bacon enchiladas with dried chile sauce, aged cheddar, sunny side duck egg, black beans, lime crema, and home fries. It’s too bad, because the menu changes every month. This Sunday, when Josh brings his Brunch back to The Low Beat, the menu will be totally different.
But if you have a blender, you can make that dried chile sauce at home. I’ll let Josh tell you a little about it.
Garnish
Food goes on a plate. We’re not barbarians. Civilized people eat sitting down, at a table, without electronic devices. That includes the television across the room and the smart phone that so desperately wants to be touched.
Personally, I’m a lot more forgiving than most about the use of cameras at the table. But Mrs. Fussy forbids them. As such, I’m lacking photographic documentation of some of our finest meals. But that’s okay. It’s good practice to keep mental images of important life events.
Yes, food can be an important life event. Food has always been more than just food. And our desire to photograph it points to that fact. So often times, those who prepare our food want it to look the part. With the goal of increasing the visual appeal of a dish, chefs will garnish their foods with all sorts of things.
I want them to stop.
Carpocalypse
It’s Monday, a holiday, and I’m still in Albany. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to be in Providence on a little mini vacation. There may have even been meatballs involved.
But yesterday I was all set to drive. The plan was to beat the freezing rain before it started to come down in Albany. I woke up early on a Sunday to make it out the door. But I had failed to check when or if any freezing rain would hit the travel route.
I’ve driven in some hairy snow storms before. I’ve driven in massive, blinding rains. I’ve driven through fog and hail. I’ve driven the cliffs of the Pacific Coast Highway on dark moonless nights. I’ve driven narrow mountain dirt roads after days of rain.
But I’ve never seen anything like this.
The Challah Chronicles
Gluten is good. I don’t care what anyone says. Carbs make life worth living. Bread is essential. Pasta in all its shapes and forms is simply glorious. Pastry is poetry on a plate.
Bread is something I take seriously. Not baking it, mind you. I have simply no patience for that. But the hunt for the loaves of my dreams takes plenty of time and more mental energy than you might imagine. Still, I’m okay with that. It’s the cost for making sure I eat really really good bread.
Without a doubt, there is one bread I care about the most. And while baguettes are beloved, and miche is marvelous, the loaf at the top of the pile is my weekly challah. This is driven as much by its cultural and religious significance as it is by the deliciousness of a sweet, tender, eggy challah slathered with a full-flavored high-fat butter, and a generous sprinkling of crunchy salt crystals.
Getting a good one has been a struggle, but I think I’m finally out of the woods.
Leaving the Echo Chamber
How did I turn into a cheerleader? Once upon a time I was a massive grump. I mean, look at that face. But recently I feel like I’ve been all about the pom poms.
My hope is that I’m no less critical of restaurants than when I moved out here in 2007. In those early days I was highly suspicious of those who would lift up our better restaurants and try to make an argument for a vibrant food scene.
I suppose there is still a difference between the me of today and the cheerleaders of the past. It’s a small difference, but it’s a meaningful one. I see plenty of bright spots. However, I also still see significant gaps. And not just the lack of an Ethiopian place either. Chef Dominic hit on some of the lapses in the culinary community a while back, and we don’t have to linger on them now. Because, believe it or not, I want to accentuate the positive.
Perhaps you remember a while back I asked for your help in spreading the word about those few great restaurants that exist under the radar? The idea was to try and find non-food-focused audiences with whom to share these businesses.
Earlier this week, I stumbled upon just such a place.
Confessions of a Born Again Bachelor
That should really be, Confessions of a Born Again Bachelor (with kids).
Mrs. Fussy is away for the week, in Austin of all places. And I got a text from her last night taunting me about where she’s eating. It was the Salty Sow. The chef, as fate would have it, seems to have grown up in Albany. Small world. Anyhow, it was described to me as the best meal she’s had in over a year.
Once upon a time, when Mrs. Fussy would leave the first thing I would do was break out the onions. Actually, I still do that. And all of those healthy habits that we typically have for family dinner, are tossed out the window.
The Saucy Fish Fry
Hopefully you aren’t one of those people who looks at January as a time to get fit. It’s winter in upstate New York. Surviving it means putting on a protective layer of body fat. And I’ve been working my hardest to stay warm.
Mrs. Fussy who has been running, even in the dead of winter, seems to be cold all the time. On the other hand, I’ve been eating donuts like it’s my job, and I feel great.
I only mention this because in my bacchanalia of fried delights, just yesterday I made time for my first fish fry in far too long. For those who don’t already know, Albany fish fry isn’t like other fish fry. In fact, our version of this dish is one of the area’s few regional specialties.
Today’s post isn’t so much a poll, but I am curious about your thoughts on a related topic.
FUSSYlittleBLOG 