More Books! My Cookbook Top 10

Speaking of cookbooks, what are my favorites?  My friend, Heather, asked so here goes…

#1 The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution by Alice Waters.  If I was on a deserted island and could have only one cookbook…it would be 101 Ways to Enjoy a Coconut.  BUT - if my island came with a Viking stove, Sub Zero fridge, and a farm, this would be the book I’d want with me! 

If you’ve been reading my blog you already know I love Alice Waters and her restaurant, Chez Panisse.  Her outlook on food – fresh, seasonal ingredients, sourced from local farmers and purveyors, prepared simply and deliciously - is right up my alley.  To quote from the book:

I’m convinced that the underlying principles of good cooking are the same everywhere.  These principles have less to do with recipes and techniques than they do with gathering good ingredients, which for me is the essence of cooking. 

This book is like a locavore’s version of The Joy Of Cooking.  Alice does an incredible job of teaching the basics of cooking such as sautéing and roasting and sauces and stocks, while explaining the importance of selecting the best ingredients to make the most of a recipe.  I’m constantly pulling it off the shelf for recipes, yes, but also to walk me through her tried-and-true methods for cooking just about anything.  Take, for instance, plain rice; mine never used to turn out until I read her two-page description of how to make it.  Now my rice comes out great and I’m happy, grateful for her guidance.    

Alice is the leader of what she calls the “Delicious Revolution” and a seasoned 40-year restaurateur who knows her way around a kitchen.  The Art of Simple Food is the book I give to any friend, novice or expert, who has a serious love and appreciation for simple and tasty food. 

The rest of the books I’m not ranking in any particular order – I use and love them all!

All the Barefoot Contessa / Ina Garten books (there are six with another coming in October).  Why?  Her. Recipes. Work.  I’ve made many of them and not only do they never fail; they never fail to be delicious.  Ina’s food is comforting, easy, and elegant.  To top it off, she’s got great entertaining and culinary style - sophisticated but casual; polished yet laid-back.  I’d like to think that’s how I am; I know that’s how Ina is.

Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.  A classic, and the best book I know of for authentic, Italian food.  Again, the recipes are simple (I see a theme developing here), clear, and comprehensive. As Marcella explains, there is actually no such thing as Italian cooking; each region of the country has their own cooking style that differs distinctly from the others. She somehow manages to capture the sights, smells, and tastes of all of Italy in a way that transports you from sea to countryside to city with ease.  The first recipe I ever wrote down and made my own was Marcella’s Bolognese Meat Sauce. 

Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets by Deborah Madison.  She's authored over ten books, mainly vegetarian, but this one includes some carnivorous stuff.  Deborah grew up in California on a walnut orchard with a big vegetable garden out back.   She’s been a graceful, expert ambassador for farmers' markets throughout her life.  Her recipes are a lovely tribute to all the goodies that come from the ground and pastures of small farms across the United States.       

David Tanis' book A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes, is wonderful - great stories, beautifully written, and incredible recipes.  This book reads like a novel and if you’re like me, you’ll stay up late, turning its pages, and drifting off to sleep with dreams of goat cheese with honey and warm asparagus vinaigrette dancing through your head.  No surprise, he’s a Chez Panisse alum…

Okay, back to reality.  Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, published by Martha's Everyday Food magazine, is exactly what the title says – great, fast food.  The book is filled with tasty, mostly healthy, seasonal recipes that don’t take much prep or call for a lot of ingredients.  Every day – in fact, most days – are not Chez Panisse kind of days.  Work, kids, life gets in the way of elaborate meals.  This is the book to reach for during the week when you want something fresh, from scratch, and FAST.

Tom Valenti’s Soups, Stews, and One-Pot Meals is a classic in my family.  I thought the concept sounded appealing (One pot?  Sign me up!) and turns out, so did my dad.  I took the book home to my parent’s one weekend and never saw it again.  Dad swiped it.  After eating several dishes he prepared from the book, (my favorite being Simmered Shrimp Saute with Shitake Mushrooms and Scallions), I bought another copy for myself, which now never leaves my apartment for fear of another theft (yes, it's that good!).

Speaking of one-pot meals, there isn’t one much more satisfying than risotto.  Risotto by Judith Barrett and Norma Wasserman isn’t one of the famous chef/highbrow titles on my bookshelf, but you know what?  They taught me how to make risotto many years ago and I’m forever indebted.  I love this book – it’s an old friend. 

The Balthazar Cookbook.  Keith McNally has a reputation in the press for being a bit of a curmudgeon.  I’d like to believe it’s not true, but even if it is, I really don’t care!  I love his restaurants - they’re buzzy, hip, fun places and I’ve never had a bad meal at any of them.  His executive chefs, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson, excel at French brasserie cooking and I’ve made their Chicken Liver Mousse, Moules a la Mariniere, and Braised Short Ribs (okay, Dad made that one) to prove it.  The book is filled with wonderful, satisfying food, especially for the upcoming fall and winter months. 

No surprise, I’m ending with my current culinary crush, Frank Stitt.  I’m still waiting for someone to invite me to Birmingham!!  Anyway, both his books – Frank Stitt’s Southern Table and Bottega Favorita – are my idea of perfection.  Incredibly photographed by Christopher Hirsheimer (who I had the pleasure of interning under at Saveur back in the day – she really is lovely) his food is the epitome of elegant, seasonal, local food.  There are a mix of easy and more complicated recipes that I may or may not make but never mind; it’s sheer joy to page through his books.  Did I mention he used to work at Chez Panisse?  I sense a theme….

Salmon with Orzo Salad

Frank Stitt’s Bottega Favorita

1 ½ cups orzo

About 1 tablespoon olive oil

Four 6-ounce skinless salmon fillets, any pin bones removed

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup corn kernels (from about 3 ears of corn)

1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes

1 shallot or ¼ red onion, minced

¼ cup pitted Kalamata or Nicoise olives, coarsely chopped

¼ cup basil leaves, torn into little pieces or cut into chiffonade, plus 4 small sprigs for garnish

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons L’Estornell Spanish garnacha vinegar or other good-quality red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Grated lemon zest for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.  Add the orzo and cook until al dente, 5 – 7 minutes.  Drain and transfer to a large bowl.  Toss with a splash of oil.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet over high heat, then add just enough olive oil to barely coat the bottom of the pan.  Season the salmon with sea salt and pepper, place in the hot skillet, and cook until the fish is lightly golden on the first side and the edges are beginning to turn opaque, about 4 minutes.  Turn the salmon and transfer the pan to the oven to finish cooking, about 4 minutes for medium-rare, or about 6 minutes for medium.  Transfer the fillets to a rack and keep warm.

Stir the corn, tomatoes, shallot or onion, olives, torn basil, and salt and pepper to taste into the orzo.  Add the vinegar, drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil, and toss to coat.  Taste for seasonings and adjust to your liking.

Place a large spoonful of the orzo on each serving plate and top with a salmon fillet.  Garnish each plate with a little lemon zest, if desired, and a sprig of basil.

Serves 4

Sustainable Fish - Scallops Provencal

If there is an area my food knowledge is shaky it's seafood. As a person who puts quite a bit of thought into where my land-based food comes from, I wanted to be equally enlightened about my choices from the sea.  I’ve never managed to get a handle on which fish and shellfish are okay to eat and which, due to various reasons including overfishing and pollution, are not.

When I heard NYC Greenmarket's next Educated Eater panel discussion was about why local seafood is sustainable I was quick to sign up. What I hoped to learn was fairly simple, or so I thought:  when I head to the store filled with good intentions of buying seafood that is not only tasty but also plentiful and guilt-free, what do I choose?

The panel consisted of Christopher Moore from Sustainable Fisheries at NOAA Fisheries Services (FishWatch), Niaz Dorry, director of Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA), and Long Island fisherman and Greenmarket regulars, Alex and Stephanie Villani of Blue Moon Fish and Glenn Bickelman of American Seafood.  The moderator was Colin Alevras, chef and current beverage manager for Momofuku restaurants.

To a certain extent the discussion, held at the 92nd Street Y Tribeca, answered my question because it turned me on to FishWatch and NAMA, two organizations with meaningful answers to what is considered a sustainable fish and where to find it.  But I would be lying if I didn’t say I was still pretty confused when I walked out of the Y.  The issue of healthy, sustainable oceans is riddled by regulations, science, and politics and there simply isn’t an easy answer.

In fact I started writing this post a month and a half ago and got bogged down trying to sort through the complexity of it all.  I sort of gave up and instead did things like eat oysters on the Vineyard and take pretty pictures of flowers.  But then the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico occurred and my disgust and sadness over what is happening to one of the most productive, fragile ecosystems on any American coastline inspired me to get back at it. 

I’m not going to talk about my stance on offshore drilling (which gets further developed every day I hear more about the spill) but I would like to make the case for how important it is to support local fisherman and woman like those on the Gulf whose livelihoods are about to be wiped out by the spill.  Not only because it benefits these incredibly hard-working people and saves a culture and way of life, but because, as I learned from the Greenmarket panel, the best way to make smart seafood choices is by keeping them local.

Hardly shocking advice coming from me, I know, but what can I say? The United States has some of the toughest catch requirements in the world. The number of regulations fishermen must abide by (meaning when, where, and how much fish they can catch) is mind-boggling.  The granddaddy of them all is the Magnuson-Stevens Act.  This act was initially created in 1976 to limit the number of foreign vessels allowed in US waters and has since come to address overfishing, fish stock conservation, and pollution.  The original act also created the eight regional fisheries management councils that oversee all US waters from 3 to 200 miles offshore (each of the thirty US coastal states manage their own waters from the shoreline to 3 miles out). 

There are at least nine other US acts fishermen must follow, not to mention state and international laws. The United States does a very good job of managing our fisheries and as a result, 80% of our fish stocks are not overfished.

That’s the good news – our fish stocks are recovering and coming back.  The bad news is updates to regulations have not kept pace with these developments, much to the frustration and dire need of regional fisherman.

One example brought up by the panel concerned quotas: if the quota for a particular fish is 1000 pounds per day but a boat has the ability to bring in 3000 pounds, the fishermen would like to be able to catch the larger amount and tie up their boat for the next two days, saving them a tremendous amount of time and fuel money.  Currently if a boat brings in more fish than quota allows, heavy fines and penalties will be handed out.

Glenn of American Seafood recounted a recent trip to Hudson Canyon, a major commercial fishing ground 70 miles off Fire Island, where he spent three days trying to get away from schools of dogfish which could not be brought in because of quota restrictions. Each day his boat burned 500 gallons of fuel.  At the current price of $3.50 per gallon, that's $5,250.00 spent on fuel with nothing to show - or sell - for it. With numbers like that it’s apparent why so many small-scale fishermen are being forced out of business. 

Alex from Blue Moon spoke of the considerable amount of time spent on compliance – calling in before leaving the dock, filling out daily trip reports, throwing back bycatch, and reporting what fish were caught upon returning to shore.

Despite these headaches, neither Alex nor Glenn is against regulations as long as they are made within reason.  They realize their long-term survival is based on protecting marine life, not exploiting it for short-term gain.

Knowing little about the history of commercial fishing, I was interested to hear when and how the United States allowed overfishing to occur. According to Niaz Dorry, there are parallels between current trends in fishing to those in farming 30 years ago; just as the advent of processed foods led to the collapse of family farms and the consolidation of farmland into large, industrialized farms, the entry of the European fishing fleets into US waters at the turn of the century along with the conversion of WWII war frigates to fishing vessels led to massive amounts of fish being taken from the oceans.  The Magnuson-Stevens Act, as mentioned above, was enacted to counteract these developments but the damage was already done – there was too much capacity chasing too few fish.

Now regional fleets are left trying to compete with huge, consolidated fishing interests, as well as imports.  The United States imports 85% of our seafood, most of it from Asian countries, much of it coming from filthy, polluted water. What I learned from watching documentaries such as The Cove and The End of the Line is many European and Asian countries have a total disregard for the same international laws our fisherman uphold.  European fish stocks are currently 80% overfished.  Worldwide, illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing is a $25 billion dollar business.   

(A note on overfished vs. overfishing: According to NOAA, a species of fish is considered overfished when its population drops below a certain level determined by scientists to be sustainable. Overfishing means the fish are being removed from the population faster than it is spawning.)

With overfishing seemingly under control, everyone on the panel – fishermen, advocate, and regulator - agreed the number one problem facing United States fisheries today is pollution and runoff.  All heads nodded in agreement when one panelist questioned the point of rebuilding fish stocks if we continue to allow companies to contaminate the waters.  

It was impossible to mistake the sincerity expressed by both fishermen on the panel when they said they aren’t villains guilty of pillaging the ocean of its fish and damaging its ecosystems.  I heard a similar urgency in the voices of Glenn and Alex that I now hear every night on the news from fishermen in the Gulf.  Whether it’s oil in the Gulf, runoff in the Chesapeake, or chlorine-treated sewage pumped into the Long Island Sound when a rainfall over an inch falls on Manhattan, what is wrong in US waters today - pollution, increasing water temperatures, coastal development, drilling, dredging, dragging – is not a result of these types of fishermen and the way they fish.  Alex and Glenn simply want a fair opportunity to continue making a decent living doing what they love - working on their boats in the waters off our coasts. 

With the deck clearly stacked against independent fishermen, what can be done to support them?  A good place to start is by getting informed at FishWatch.  FishWatch is the consumer arm of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Services and takes data gathered from the eight US regional fisheries councils regarding fish stock assessments and boils it down to useful info you and I can use when buying fish.

Different environmental organizations have different criteria for determining which fish are okay to eat.  Some put a fish on their Don’t Eat list because they disagree with the way it is caught, not because it is overfished.  FishWatch’s list is based solely on scientific data obtained from the eight fisheries regarding stock size and health.

I love this site; it is an excellent resource for accurate facts about the sustainability of all types of American seafood.  Each fish and shellfish is listed by species and region where it is caught, along with info on whether it is overfished and if so what is being done to bring it back to sustainable levels, what its nutritional value is, how it is caught, and what bycatch might occur when it is harvested. 

NAMA is an organization looking to affect marine policy from the grassroots level.  They advocate for locally caught seafood and help foster relationships between coastal communities and their fishermen. NAMA started the country’s first CSF (Community Supported Fishery – think of it as a CSA on water) in 2007 and is working to found more throughout New England.  Fishermen can either fish for volume or fish for price; CSFs allow them to charge more and catch less – a win-win for both the fishermen and the oceans. 

Below is a series of green seafood guidelines taken directly from the NAMA website that I think does a great job of summing up a smart approach to sustainable seafood:

· Buy from a local fisherman when possible. Doing so helps a more sustainable way of life and better jobs in traditional fishing communities. Eating local seafood means fishermen get a better return on less catch - which in turn means the ocean gets a break. Money spent locally tends to stay in the community, which for those of you who live in coastal communities means you'll be supporting your own local economy. Buying from a community-based fisherman also ensures to some extent that you are eating fish that is "in season" rather than perpetuate the century-old demand for "any seafood, any time" regardless of the ecological consequences.

· Get involved in a Community Supported Fishery (CSF). NAMA is actively working to create CSFs in New England and provide the basic tools to fishing communities in other regions interested in staring a CSF. In addition, we are working to broaden the market for CSFs and other fishing community-based seafood marketing efforts by building connections between these organizations and sustainable, regional markets through working with chefs, restaurants, co-operatives, farmers' markets, local food enthusiasts and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). 

· What if you don't live near the coast? We highly recommend that you stick with eating what's available to you locally as much as possible. If you need to have seafood, look at the rest of our suggestions below and stick with what has had to travel the shortest distance to get to your table.

· Eat fish that looks like fish! That's a funky way of saying stay away from overly processed fish that is turned into squares or fingers or some other shape. And don't be afraid of whole, bone-in fish. Good cooks know that's where the flavor is!

· Avoid fake or imitation seafood products. The majority of fake seafood products come from factory style fishing operations. Alaska Pollock is probably the number one fish that is on the market today in just about every form and shape. It's turned into surimi to make fake lobster or crab or some other fake seafood product. Incidentally, like herring, Alaska Pollock is an important part of the North Pacific's food web.

· Eat wild seafood whenever possible. Some shellfish are farmed in operations that produce healthy animals and do not compromise the ecosystem in which they are grown. However, it is often difficult to get the information that will allow you to make an informed decision. With a few exceptions, shrimp is usually farmed in coastal areas of Asia and South/Central America where it destroys wetlands, introduces chemical pollution and disease, and may foster poor treatment of laborers. Most shrimp consumed in the US is farm raised and imported. Also, for all farm-raised seafood, do not trust an "organic" label, as true standards are not yet developed. If you can't get the information you need, opt on the side of caution and go wild!

· Ask how, where, and when your fish was caught. Doing so lets your seafood dealer or waiter or chef know you care about their buying choices. If whoever is selling or serving you the fish doesn't have the answers, or the answers you wanted, don't buy or order it.

  

I may have been confused when I left the Y discussion almost two months ago but the more thought and research I put into learning about the subject, the more I’ve come to realize the answer really IS simple.  It boils down to buying and eating seafood caught as close to home as possible, ideally from someone you know. 

This is much easier said than done unless you live on the coast or have direct access to fisherman like we do at New York City’s farmers markets.  One reason we don’t see more local seafood in the supermarkets is because the supermarkets need to know what will be available a week in advance so they can print their advertisements. Independent fisherman can’t guarantee they will have a specific fish on a specific day – nature doesn’t work like that.

There are sustainable alternatives such as VitalChoice.com, an online retailer, and packaged products with the Marine Stewardship Council seal that are perfectly acceptable and much more accessible for those without connections to local fisherman.  Whatever you do, try to resist buying imported seafood – for the health of the oceans, the health of traditional US fishing communities, and your health!

Scallops Provencal

Adapted from Barefoot in Paris

I’m extremely lucky to have Blue Moon Fish at my Saturday market in Tribeca.  Blue Moon owners Alex and Stephanie Villani are based on eastern Long Island and have been coming to Greenmarket since 1988.  The fact I can get such fresh seafood on the streets of New York City is nothing short of miraculous.  This is where I bought the sea scallops for this recipe.

I keep a bottle of dry vermouth in my apartment for times like this when a recipe calls for a splash of white wine and I don’t have any on hand.  I’ve found vermouth makes an excellent substitute.

1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

All-purpose flour, for dredging

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided

½ cup chopped shallots (2 large)

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/3 cup dry white wine or vermouth

1 lemon, cut in half

If you’re using bay scallops, keep them whole.  If you’re using sea scallops, cut each one in half horizontally.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off excess.

In a very large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in one layer.  Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on one side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side.  This should take 3 to 4 minutes, total.  Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and sauté for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops.  Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning.  Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Serves 3