Mozz & Melba Highs & Lows
Last weekend the Tour de Mozz & Melba quietly made its rounds of five of the most storied local taverns that reportedly made “The Best” version of fried cheese with raspberry sauce.
Yes, it’s a regional food. That is defined by the fact that it exists widely right here in upstate New York and virtually no place else. I don’t care how many locals have never even heard of this combo, or how disgusting it sounds to some.
It is ours. And in an attempt to understand it better, I grabbed five other hungry and adventurous souls who were willing to sacrifice their bodies for the sake of science. Along the way we found the ones with the gooiest cheese and the brightest, most delicious raspberry sauce. But the very best version of the form belonged to another place entirely.
Here’s how it all went down.
The Importance of a Good Cookbook
Starting to cook wasn’t easy for me.
Sure, there were those early cooking experiences in my teens and in college, but those don’t really count. For the most part that wasn’t cooking, but rather doctoring. Browning ground beef and adding jarred tomato sauce and seasonings was a good starting place. In high school I made this for a first date one weekend when my parents were out of town. It went over well at the time.
In college I progressed to recreating the flavors of cheddar fondue with only the available shelf stable ingredients at my disposal. It was a good exercise in creating deliciousness, but it was more assembly than cooking.
Cooking didn’t start in earnest until I began reading cookbooks. And even still, a few of those early experiences were disastrous. However, sometimes you need to permit yourself to fail so that you can learn from mistakes and grow as a cook. It also helps to have cookbooks that you trust, and that don’t just give you recipes, but also help you to better understand a cuisine.
Of all my cookbooks, there is one that I consider central to my ideas on food. And I couldn’t be happier to have a brand new copy of it to give away to one of you.
SOS: Week of Wonders
Next week is full of treats. To start it all off, I’ve got a very exciting giveaway on deck for Monday. Tuesday I’ll reveal the results from yesterday’s Tour de Mozz & Melba. It’s already time for another Ask the Profussor, so that’s on tap for Wednesday. My birthday is Thursday; there will be cake and lobster. Friday is a pizza party. And Saturday I expect to be freezing my ass off.
Plus I’ve got plans to make pasta from scratch for the first time in my life, help the good folks at Albany Distilling Company put their Ironweed Bourbon into bottles, and let’s not forget that Saturday night is the first night of Chanukah. Let the celebration of the oil begin!
Like I said, it’s going to be a lot of fun.
So today, I’m just going to share some news with you about events and food goings on that have come to my attention over the past week. This includes the crazy thing I’ll be doing on Saturday in the cold, the thing I’m going to miss while I’m “working” at the distillery, and some good news from an Albany restaurant whose neighbors are all good.
Seasonal Beers
This is a beer town. I say that despite the opening of the Troy wine bar and their fantastic wine list. But there are many more places to drink great beer. I just wrote about The Ruck and their killer wings on AOA. And I have always loved Mahars even though I wish they had more seating. But the list of great beer halls is much longer than that of wine bars.
Not too long ago I was at The City Beer Hall with Mrs. Fussy and we created two different beer flights. Each was composed of four five-ounce pours from their beer lines. The first was a selection of IPAs. The second was a more wintery mix of brews.
For the curious, the IPAs included Crossroads Outrage, Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada Floral, and Dogfish Head 60-minute. The wintery mix was made up of Harpoon Winter Warmer, Ommegang Abbey Ale, Firestone DBA, and Southern Tier 2X Christmas.
One of the great things about these flights in particular is that they were only $6 a piece. It’s a steal. But the other great thing about flights in general is that a well selected grouping can really help you get a better understanding of not just a style, but also your own taste.
After drinking eight beers, what did I learn?
Eating Clean and Saving Money
There’s a lot of junk in your food. That’s not news if you read the FLB with any regularity. Luckily, there is an increasing number of places to get clean, ethically sourced, non-industrially produced foodstuffs.
But these things can be expensive. I was just looking at a pack of ground beef that was going for $9 per pound. And it was frozen. Maybe it’s the greatest ground beef in the world from the happiest of steers, and a value at the price. However, when a savvy supermarket shopper can find a rib roast for $6 per pound from a conventionally raised cow, it’s hard to swallow a 50% premium over primal cuts for hamburger.
So what’s an ethical omnivore with a finite food budget to do?
Weight Watchers
In upstate New York it’s starting to get cold. That means bundling up with undershirts, sweaters and jackets.
There may be a human being in that moving mass of material you pass on the street. It’s a biped to be sure, but its form is completely obscured. And that’s great news, because all those layers can easily obscure an extra five or ten pounds.
Did you step on a scale after Thanksgiving? Don’t! What’s the point. You ate a lot. You are going to get a little chunkier. Embrace it. There will be time to sweat the weight off in January, as you prepare for the spring and the early onset of swimsuit season. And in the meantime those extra pounds are going to help keep you warm.
This is great news. And I have a few ideas about how to earn those extra calories.
The Cheese Plate of Awesomeness
It’s possible that my cousin still credits me for his interest in specialty foods. But after working in Sicily for years and now back in the US doing purchasing for the best gourmet retailer in Philadelphia, his knowledge has far surpassed my own.
We don’t see each other a lot during the year. I’d love to spend more time together. But we always have at least a day or two to hang out at his childhood home for the family’s annual Thanksgiving rites in Milford, Connecticut.
For over a decade I’ve been bringing wine. I used to schlep it on the plane from California. Now I just drive it down. But in the past couple years I started bringing down some meats and cheeses as well. Last year they came exclusively from Adventure in Food. But this year The Cheese Traveler played a role too.
My goal is to bring something more delicious than my cousin. Perhaps it’s not a good idea to be so competitive. But our family is really the big winner, because they get to eat it all. Here’s a peek at this year’s throwdown.
A Delicious Regional Italian Pork Dish
Here’s a little background. The Bellini’s “Calling All Cooks” contest didn’t appear on my radar until a couple of days before the submission deadline. The requirements were to submit an original Italian-American recipe and a photograph of the dish. But I had no idea what I should make.
So I called up ADS and we brainstormed about it. And he told me the most delicious thing he put in his mouth this year had been something called Tonno del Chianti. He had it at Chez Panisse in Berkeley.
After doing some research online, I found a good recipe. Then came the task of modifying the dish to make it my own and Americanizing it just a bit. Overall I was happy with my entry, and on the day of the cook off despite some challenges with the induction range and the convection oven I was pleased with the execution. It’s really an easy dish to make and difficult to screw up.
Ultimately, the results of the contest bring back memories of losing the bake-off at Foote Cone and Belding to the Snicker’s Trifle.
Anyway, now I’m free to share this dish with you all. Below is a slightly revised version of what I submitted to the contest, only changed to reflect the purveyors and a few modifications I made on the fly in the cook off. It takes a long time to prepare, but the active time is minimal. Plus I’m happy to hold your hand or answer any questions as you try this at home. And you should totally try this at home. Because it’s a fantastic winter meal.
SOS: Three Great Gifts
Thankfully Black Friday (aka Buy Nothing Day) is behind us. Maybe you chose to participate in Small Business Saturday, which really seems to be picking up steam across the country. But people have lots of gifts to buy for the loved ones in their lives, so I’m guessing even if you spent the last two days shopping there is still more to be done in advance of the holidays.
For what it’s worth, Chanukah comes really freaking early this year and will be long done by the time Christmas rolls around. In fact, the first night of Chanukah is Saturday, December 8. So the time to start panicking about presents is right now. Eeek.
Luckily I got an email this week with a press release that could help you knock three names off your list. You know, provided that they are over 21 years old and actually like whiskey.
Today’s Sell Out Sunday contains only the one press release, but when I saw it arrive in my email box, the news made me giddy. As a result I’ve posted it in full. Now I have no direct knowledge of if this product is any good. But if its predecessor is any indication of overall quality, it should be great. Still, we won’t know for sure until December 7.
When Black Friday Comes
I’ll collect everything I’m owed
And before my friends find out
I’ll be on the road
~Steely Dan (hear it here)
The other name for today? International Buy Nothing Day. I’m not making that up. Let’s hear it for counter programming.
Truthfully, I’d love to support the cause, but as I’ve mentioned my family is celebrating Thanksgiving this year on Saturday. Not that we didn’t have a lovely meal last night complete with mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. But before we hit the road I need to stop in at The Cheese Traveler (who opens at 11am today) and pick up something stunningly delicious to knock the socks of my food loving cousin.
Then much like the fellow in the song, I’ll be hitting the road. Except I’ll be loaded down with delicious wines, meats and cheeses. Mrs. Fussy and the fussy little children will pile in the minivan with guitars, drums, books, and CDs for the three hour drive to Connecticut. And soon after we get there, we’ll be enjoying some great pizza and the comfort of my family.
But this Black Friday happens to have additional significance.
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