If You're Looking To Buy French Food, Here's A Fun(Gus) Idea

Have you considered going online to buy French food this winter to spice up your traditional festive feasts? If you've not really considered going out to buy French food or gourmet ingredients then the reason may be either because your local supermarket simply doesn't stock such food or ingredients, which is of no surprise, or perhaps you're not too sure which gourmet ingredients you should be looking for, and what you can do with them.

In a previous article I suggested one or two things that can be done with goose fat, which is really one of the most incredible ingredients that you can introduce into a whole variety of traditional meals which we all do throughout the winter season. But today I want to introduce another gourmet ingredient which can also be used in a whole heap of feasts in a multitude of ways that can really take an old, slightly dull meal and totally transform it into something which will really get you noticed.

When you go to the supermarket to buy mushrooms you generally find that you have two or three varieties. The only particularly clear way of identifying which variety is which is that the button mushrooms are about the size of buttons, and the big mushrooms are, well, bigger. But they all really taste the same don't they? In fact most of the time I use supermarket mushrooms in recipes I can barely taste mushroom at all.

That's the problem with using supermarket ingredients, because most of us use the same ingredients in our recipes, completely oblivious to the fact that we are actually well aware that those ingredients made little difference as far as the flavour is concerned, and largely seem to end up only as adding texture. If you head over to France to buy French food or to eat at a French restaurant you will almost certainly notice that the flavours are very much more distinct, rich, and delicious.

Often you can tend to assume that it's a gourmet chef who has done something magical and horrendously difficult to the ingredients in order to rustle up something so monumentally fabulous. Rubbish. In most cases the only real difference is that they been able to buy French food. Proper French food, not just the stuff in your supermarket that begins with 'le' or 'la'.

You could easily do just the same with your own recipes this winter, and so the gourmet ingredient I would strongly recommend to you today is to buy a jar of dried porcini mushrooms. You don't actually need a great many dried porcini mushrooms because they have a very intense flavour, and used sparingly can be used in a whole variety of recipes.

For almost any stock, source or risotto in which you will usually include mushrooms, use dried porcini mushrooms instead and you'll find that the flavour is unbelievable. You'll need to soak the mushrooms in warm water for about half an hour before you need to use them, but here's a good tip: many people just throw the remaining liquid away, but this is an appalling waste. If you're going to use porcini mushrooms in a stock, source or risotto, then after you have finished soaking the mushrooms strain be liquid and add this to the recipe wherever possible in place of water.

For some meals such as casseroles, or meals including rice, add the dried porcini mushrooms right at the beginning. Just remember that porcini mushrooms have a very strong flavour, unlike the British mushrooms sold in supermarkets. For this reason it is important to make sure that when you are replacing the cardboard mushrooms from your supermarket with gourmet ingredients such as dried porcini mushrooms from France, reduce the number of mushrooms you use, otherwise the flavour can become overpowering.

If you're looking to buy French food or gourmet ingredients then visit The Good Food Network where you can find a wide range of ingredients, produce and advice.

Gourmet Cooking Schools And The Growing Demand For Quality!

Gourmet cooking schools are the high class educational centers focusing on imparting in-depth knowledge of not just history of the cooking techniques, but gives cultural and regional preferences and specialty learning info to all students besides ensuring that there is adequate personal interaction between teachers and taught. The highly qualified chefs and master-chefs, with a dedication to creating fine dining experiences the basis of all knowledge imparted to students enrolled herein, besides focusing on teaching in a customized format not available.

Most of these gourmet cooking schools are located in the metro cities in a nation and the top chefs, everyone knows, come from France! Earlier, cookery students keen to avail this highly specialized knowledge and base for continental cuisine styles and forms had to enroll in top cooking schools in France in order to understand and imbibe the finer nuances of French gourmand cooking; however, with technology and developments such as the internet and cooking shows on Television, this gap has bridged. Besides, many of the French chefs have opened training institutes in the heart of the United States along with setting up schools in other parts of the western world for those who love this artful cuisine.

Of course, the course fees don't come cheap, but the top gourmet cooking schools do ensure quality training and comprehensive knowledge about all aspects about buying food, preparing and presenting it for varied occasions and people.

Knowledge you will gain at best gourmet cooking schools:

Some gourmet cooking schools focus on teaching regional cuisine, others on country cooking and still others on confectionery items; you need to decide your interest and aims before enrolling for a training here.

1. Among the 3 important things taught at gourmet cooking schools are in-depth knowledge of various kinds of foodstuff, the chemical composition of foods and their break-down in the cooking process besides choosing and planning healthy, balanced meals. Various techniques of chopping, dicing and cutting food are also taught here besides related methods of preparing food.

2. Different ways of preparing meats, veggies, seasonal fruits and fresh dairy produce besides methods of sauce and dessert making are taught too as are the uses of different types of cookware and cuisine techniques from provincial France, including the traditional methods.

3. Those signing up for the top gourmet cooking schools with the aim of becoming a professional cook need to also understand beyond the fundamentals of great cooking style, the need for kitchen safety and the skills for business development, management and customer service, useful for those planning to start their own restaurant.

In order to have a bright future as a professional chef or even a continental cuisine expert, this is the place to be!

Abhishek is a cooking enthusiast! Visit his website http://www.cooking-guru.com and download his FREE Cooking Report "Master Chef Secrets" and learn some amazing Cooking tips and tricks for FREE! Learn how to create the perfect meal on a shoe-string budget. And yes, you get to keep all the accolades! But hurry, only limited Free copies available! http://www.cooking-guru.com

Smoked Cocktails

By Kate Krader, Megan Krigbaum American mixologists are creating smoked cocktails using everything from tobacco-laced syrup to smoke-infused ice. Frank Bruni explores the smoked cocktails trend.

Frank Bruni falls for the cocktail world’s new trend: smoky drinks.

It began with an impulse to rhyme. The mixologist Eben Freeman had been watching chefs in New York City smoke a whole lot more than meat—potatoes, bananas, ice cream—and he wanted to infuse a cocktail with a woodsy zing. “I should smoke Coke!” he thought. He did precisely that, then added bourbon. And so, in 2007 at the short-lived restaurant Tailor in Manhattan, a libation named the Waylon was born—and, with it, a great trend.

New York City bars used to be places where smoke got in your eyes. Since Freeman, they’re where smoke gets in your drinks. At Craftbar, for example, bartenders smoke the Campari in the Negroni. In Yountville, California, the Smoky Margarita at Bottega pulls off a smoky trifecta: smoked tequila, smoked jalapeño and smoked salt on the rim. The Smoker’s Delight at PX in Alexandria, Virginia, takes things even further, using strained water that has been steeped with three kinds of tobacco.

The mixologist Jim Meehan of PDT in New York City, who is also deputy editor of F&W’s Cocktails guide, calls this an inevitable outgrowth of the barbecue craze—“Cocktails have always followed food, and I’m fine with that”—and a next step for restless bartenders who have exhausted their experimentation with bitters, and then flowers, and then herbs. A logical step, too: Smokiness already exists in mezcals and peaty Scotches. At Death & Co., in Manhattan’s East Village, Phil Ward uses mezcal in his Oaxacan Old-Fashioned to excellent smoky effect.

These smoky drinks do just what innovative cocktails should: They expand the vocabulary of flavor without speaking in tongues. Smoke might surprise you, but in measured doses, it makes sense. It brings the outdoors indoors. Reframes familiar ingredients. And gives them fresh heat.

New York Times op-ed columnist Frank Bruni is author of the best seller Born Round.

In Brooklyn, a smoked simple syrup flavors an old-fashioned at The Brooklyn Star. thebrooklynstar.com.

The tequila-based Antigua drink at Oxford, Mississippi’s Snackbar uses agave syrup infused with chipotles (smoked jalapeños). citygroceryonline.com.

The Smoke on the Water cocktail at Jose Andres’s Bar Centro in Los Angeles literally smokes, thanks to a blast of liquid nitrogen; its smoky flavor comes from a spritz of Islay Scotch. thebazaar.com.

For its bourbon-laced Smoked Pear drink, Miami Beach’s Yardbird Southern Table & Bar adds smoked-pear puree and a smoked-almond rim. runchickenrun.com.

Bartender (and furniture maker) Todd Maul smokes ice over liqueur-soaked wood chips for the sidecar-like Frank-O drink at Clio in Boston. cliorestaurant.com.

At Father’s Office in Los Angeles, bartenders use both mezcal and tobacco-infused syrup to flavor the Oaxacan Fizz. fathersoffice.com.

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Holiday Food Gift Ideas

Holiday season is coming - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year - in succession. These occasions come with gift-giving and sharing life with food. So, isn't it a good idea to give the joy of a scrumptious, delectable and mouthwatering edibles to our family, friends and all our loved ones? Below are food gift ideas for the holidays.

Gourmet

Gourmet is not your everyday food. They are mostly made from ingredients not common to your neighborhood stores. It takes an exotic palate to really appreciate gourmet. They can be cakes, cheese, or spices. And they are just the perfect gift to give on the holidays. As a specialty food, gourmet makes special holiday presents. Special foods fit with special occasions. Gourmet gifts are usually packaged in a basket. Bring merriness to someone by giving them a basket of gourmet goodness!

Chocolates

You don't have to have a sweet tooth to love chocolates. Chocolates are good for all ages and is said to stimulate your senses (good as a wake up snack). It's also romantic. It is a suitable (and should I say safe?) gift that can be given to either gender. There are many varieties of chocolates. White, brown, or black (dark) ones. In some cases, they dye the chocolate in different colors and mold them in different shapes too. Imagine giving your loved one a dozen of red edible yummy roses? That's beauty and decadence combined. As everybody loves chocolate, why not give a basket of these good delights and make your loved ones happy this special season.

Cookies

Cookies will rule the planet again in this gift-giving season. They will be packaged in tin cans in all shapes and colors. They will also be placed in gift baskets. And of course, they will come in boxes, too. Cookies like chocolates come in all flavors, color, and shapes. They are very versatile. Just gift-perfect for any occasion. My favorite is the chocolate chip cookies. I also love oatmeal cookies. They are very delicious and at the same time healthy. Of course, cookies are always good to eat or to give. Be sure to stock up your cookie pantry this holiday.

Cakes

I'm a cake lover but never a baker. My favorite is the fudge-filled chocolate cake with fudge icing. It is really heavenly. I surely have a sweet tooth. This Christmas, I will definitely have a cake on the dinner table. Maybe a Santa decorated white cake. Or maybe with a Christmas tree as a cake topper. Cake is a symbol of celebration.

Fruits

Mouthwatering fruits in different colors and shapes, placed creatively in a gift basket, make them very welcome food gifts. Fruit baskets are a thoughtful way of saying "I care." When you give fresh fruits, it's like you're wishing the other person good health and long life. Make someone's holiday jollier by giving fresh fruit baskets.

Popcorn

Popcorn is a healthy, light, and satisfying snack. Now, there are gourmet popcorns. They come in variety of flavors, too. This holiday season, gather the whole family and enjoy see a movie at home. Popcorn is such a family snack everyone would enjoy.

Dinner Meals

Give the gift of dinner this holiday. Everyone deserves a good meal, especially on Thanksgiving and Christmas but not everyone can cook, right? Eliminate the hard work in having the perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Serve to the table a delightful and delicious dinner without slaving in the kitchen. Give it to your family, your loved ones, your special someone, or yourself.

Wine

Good food is not just complete without a good wine. It just completes the entrée. Wines can be inexpensive gifts but shows taste and elegance on the part of the giver. It brings an atmosphere of friendliness and air of sophistication when you give wine as a gift. A good wine is always a delight either as a gift or part of dining.

Additionally, wines can make the perfect corporate gifts. They would eliminate the guess work on what to give to a neighbor, a boss, or a new associate. Wines can be cheap to expensive but the packaging can make a whole lot of difference. Why not give a gift of wine this holiday? If you have tried it before, you know what magic it brings to the giver and the receiver. If you have not done it before, now is the time to try it.

Perfect food comes with planning and careful shopping. Shop now and have more time in the future. It would eliminate the rush and unnecessary stress brought by the holiday season. The food companies will do the packaging and shipping. You can order your food gift as early as 60 days from specialty food gift companies online. To know the food companies giving away coupon codes and giving free shipping this holiday season, go to Food Gift Ideas [http://www.foodgivers.com].

To read more articles from the same author, visit wowezine.com [http://www.wowezine.com].

Detroit Restaurants: Soul Food for a Hungry City

In Detroit, a city where bad news has long outweighed good, a group of young urban pioneers is bringing the community together around excellent barbecue and fabulous coffee and cocktails.

Even without floors or glass in the windows, there is something quietly captivating about Detroit’s Michigan Central Station. Opened in 1913, it is a grand, imposing structure, with heroic Corinthian columns created by the architects behind New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. But like so many buildings in Detroit, it has been abandoned. When Amtrak moved out, Michigan Central closed in 1988. It has sat empty, slowly decaying, ever since.

Detroit is a place where bad news has long outweighed good. The city took a big hit when the Big Three auto companies moved their manufacturing plants out to the suburbs in the 1940s and ’50s, it was devastated by the riots of 1967 and it was hit again by the mortgage crisis and recession of 2008. It seems naive to think that anything as simple as good food could help reverse decades of decline.

Excellent Detroit restaurants like Slows’s have turned one stretch of Michigan Avenue into a Motor City food hub.

But just across Roosevelt Park from Michigan Central Station, on a single block of Michigan Avenue, that’s exactly what’s happening. Families from all over the state wait for a table at the excellent Slows Bar BQ; musicians hang out over meticulously made pour-over coffees at Astro Coffee; locals and suburbanites come for craft cocktails at The Sugar House. A good food-and-drink scene isn’t the only thing this community needs, but it’s one of them. “There is so much work to do here in Detroit,” says Phil Cooley, Slows’s co-owner. “But I thought, I’m gonna bite off a chunk of it.”

Cooley, 34, is one of a growing number of people who have come to Detroit in recent years, attracted by the potential they see in the vacant lots, abandoned buildings and bare-bones cost of living. After working as a model in Chicago and Europe, Cooley moved to Detroit in 2002, bought a loft in the Corktown neighborhood and made a living as a janitor and barback around town. The rundown building next door to his apartment was deserted, so he bought it for $40,000 with the idea of turning it into a restaurant. He and his brother Ryan, along with executive chef and co-owner Brian Perrone and sous-chef Michael Metevia, renovated the space for $300,000, using mostly reclaimed wood from the original building. “We built the kitchen first and then hung up a dust cloth, so Brian would test recipes while we were finishing the dining room,” says Cooley. “He’d bring out food for us to taste as we worked.”

Highlights from the Detroit restaurant, Slows Bar BQ: Baby back ribs, Caesar salad, mac and cheese, lemon-brined chicken and Gouda-bacon burgers.

Figuring out what type of food to serve was easy. “When we opened seven years ago, it was not the time to have a farm-to-table restaurant in Detroit, so we settled on barbecue,” Perrone says. The kitchen relies heavily on its massive smokers for everything from baby back ribs rubbed with paprika and ancho chiles to lemony chicken. Even though Perrone says “just about everything tastes good out of a smoker,” he’s adamant about using high-quality ingredients, ordering most of Slows’s meat from places like Niman Ranch. He has also gained a following for his patty melt-inspired Slows’ Special Purpose Burger, topped with smoked Gouda and bacon, and gooey, béchamel-based mac and cheese.

Today, the restaurant is busy from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day, and Slows’s success has allowed Cooley to spend most of his time focusing on philanthropy—he spends over 40 hours volunteering every week. His latest project, called Ponyride, is a 30,000-square-foot warehouse space he rents out to socially conscious entrepreneurs, artists and nonprofits for 10 cents per square foot. There’s already a wait list to get in.

Daisuke Hughes of Detroit’s Astro Coffee shop (left) and Phil Cooley of Detroit restaurant Slows Bar BQ.

Cooley has also succeeded in turning Slows’s stretch of Michigan Avenue into a Motor City food hub. He and his father and brother, who collaborate on real-estate projects together, began focusing on the block’s abandoned buildings. First in line to lease space was the husband-wife team Daisuke Hughes and Jessica Hicks, who opened Astro Coffee last July. Hughes sources beans from top roasters (San Francisco’s Sightglass, Detroit’s own Anthology) and Hicks makes the baked goods. These include oat-and-coconut Anzac biscuits, inspired by her Australian roots, and a changing selection of yogurt- and nut-based cakes, like her tender lemon, rosemary and almond cake made with skin-on ground almonds for texture and drizzled with smooth crème frâiche icing.

A new spot on the block is The Sugar House, a pre-Prohibition-style cocktail bar run by Michigan native Dave Kwiatkowski. He taught himself how to make classic cocktails using homemade bitters and syrups and refurbished the beautiful wooden bar himself. Open since last fall, The Sugar House draws a mix of locals and curious suburbanites, says Kwiatkowski, who mixes drinks like his Campari-and-gin-based take on an old-fashioned while wearing a traditional bartender’s vest and arm garters made by his mother. “Our customers don’t want to go to the chain restaurants in the suburbs,” he says. “They crave culture and have a taste for places like this.”

Phil Cooley plans to launch a new Detroit restaurant in an old pawn shop.

Opening a small business anywhere is tough, and opening one in Detroit is even tougher. But the support of the tight-knit Corktown crew encourages it. Ryan Cooley’s wife, Meghan McEwen, opened Honor & Folly, a stylish little inn, last December, and it’s booked every weekend by tourists from as far away as Hong Kong. Phil Cooley aims to launch a new local, seasonal restaurant in an old pawn shop on the block this year. “Detroiters are way stronger than most people,” he says. “We work harder and are more resourceful. We’re forced to work together, because there’s no other choice.”

Fantastic smoked meat, excellent burgers and great local craft beers. slowsbarbq.com.

A low-key café with great coffee and pastries and a local pop-up market. astrodetroit.com.

Honor & Folly innkeeper Meghan McEwen, who also writes the design blog designtripper.com, reveals her haunts.

Honor & Folly innkeeper Meghan McEwen.

On Saturdays, this beautifully restored public market fills with produce stands. Open during the week: bakeries, nut shops and restaurants like Supino Pizzeria and Russell Street Deli. detroiteasternmarket.com.

The independent bookstore has a well-edited selection of literary fiction, graphic novels, comics and magazines. leopoldsbooks.com.

Housed in a former car dealership, it has hosted exhibits by Art Spiegelman and Gary Panter. mocadetroit.org.

This general store from brother and sister Andy and Emily Linn sells things like local mustard and canning jars. nestdetroit.com.

Every month, there’s a new set of designers, artists and jewelry makers at Margarita Barry’s pop-up shop. 71pop.com.

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Gastronaut: Simple Syrup, Xanthan Syrup, Creole Old-Fashioned

To give a luxurious silky texture to cocktails, this simple syrup (a syrup made by dissolving sugar in water) is thickened slightly with xanthan gum.

This variation on a classic old-fashioned calls for Cognac and dark rum in place of whiskey, and uses simple syrup thickened with xanthan gum for a silky texture.

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Torta di frutta candita

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