Podchef's Gastrocast Podcast

Welcome to the Podchef's Gastrocast!
The podcast about cooking, food, and the politics of what we eat.

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Gastrocast Cookbook

Shellfish Cooking Times

 I was just watching the Fine Living Channel--I use my dvr to record food/cooking shows and watch them later based on content--a show I recorded a month or so ago.  The show was on Spain, or entertaining in a Spanish way.  It was filmed at a flash house in L.A. with all the beautiful people, and an Executive Chef from some Tapas Bar down there.  The show was all about throwing an OTT party; entertaining in Style.  So the dude is telling us how to make a seafood paella and he starts by placing the olive oil in the special paella pan, and then he begins dumping in the clams and mussels--the host of the show even says, "I thought you'd begin with the onions. . . .". "No, no they'd be burnt by the time we're done. . . ."
Okay, valid point, but by the time he had begun to add the monkfish and some of the other ingredients the mussels and clams were cooked and turning into hard rubber pellets. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears.  Not only that, but they started cooking the paella in the bright sun-lit day but don't show them eating it until after dark. Utter crap.  Paella doesn't take that long to make, nor is it rocket science.
The key to making any dish with shellfish is to add it as late as possible, or cook it briefly at first and then cool it and keep it cool, adding it two warm through at the very end.  The other thing is--if you're throwing a flash party and hiring a big hancho chef: make sure they know what their doing!  Spanish Paella theme--ask him to cook it outdoors in the real, crowd pleasing traditional style: it would rock the party and amaze your guests.
I love cooking traditional paella.  I had a client who wanted to serve it on a beach to their wedding guests last summer. Alas, they got in a money pinch and the catering budget got cut. They wanted to keep the paella, but I couldn't do it for their final budget--especially cooked live, on the beach for 150 guests.  We changed the menu, pulled off the beach and every one still had a cool time.  The cool thing about a paella is that is can be cooked anywhere and with the exception of a few necessary ingredients that make it paella, almost any foods can make a great one. The trick with it, and with any layered or multi-ingredient dish is to add the foods in the order of their cooking times, or just cook everything up lightly ahead of time and add it back in towards the end, so nothing gets over cooked.
I guess I need to get together a garden full of friends and Gastrocast a paella later this summer!

by: ChefNeal at 04/29/05 19:27 | link | comments |
cooking, podcasts, podchef, chef, gastrocast, garden, fine living, shellfish, paella

Marked

 The Gastrocast has been mentioned on Bicyclemark's Audio Communiquè #29--and no, I'm not the famous lesbian. . . .We'll let Madge keep that tag.

Thanks for the mention Mark! Sorry about the crappy audio clicking--it turns out that my DVR was plugged into the phone line to be able to get the latest channel listings and that causes severe audio corruption while it is pinging the network.

To anyone who has stopped here because of Bicyclemark--thanks for taking the time to head over here. I hope you like what you see and hear. Please subscribe to the feed! to hear the Podchefs adventures and mishaps.

If you are wondering about the Mac Apps I was thinking of when I phoned Mark--here are two can't live withouts.

Circus Ponies Notebook -- a fantastic notebook, outlining, opml app which is truely amazing.

Quicksilver -- a free, opensource brain for your computer; a bit like Tiger's new spotlight, but too cool for words. Access anything on your hard drive, launch any program with a few clicks, search any website.  Check out 43 Folders' tips.

by: ChefNeal at 04/29/05 14:31 | link | comments |
podchef, notebook, circus ponies, gastrocast, 43 folders, bicycle mark, audio communique, yeast radio, quicksilver

Taxed

 Just been paying my Quarterly Business Taxes--four sets of forms and all their red tape. Actually I fill out most of my stuff on-line so I can do it at the last minute, or whenever I can but it still is a ton of information. What gets me is that you only have to do it every three months so you hope your computer will remember all the useless passwords and bit of information you need to fill out, including the obscure name of each website, but NO.  Not only that, they keep changing the websites' layouts so that the form fill features don't even work.  I've applied a lot of post-it notes to my files this time in hopes that in 3 months time I won't have to spend an extra hour spinning my wheels.  And all this for a quarter in which I've had no business, no employees, and collected no taxes. It's so unfair. The same amount of paperwork as Microsoft for a micro-corporation of two. Here's looking to a better second quarter. . . .

by: ChefNeal at 04/29/05 14:12 | link | comments |
taxes

IACP Conference

 Just recieved the syllabus for a conference in Oxford, UK called "Food without Borders--a forum on Culinary Diversity".  It takes place in August the week before my wedding Anniversary. . .hmm, perhaps the Wife would support this one. . . . I'd better start campaigning now. I have month to try to fund this adventure. I would love to head over and hit the lectures with my iRiver and podcast from there.  A) Oxford is a great place. B)Some of the guest there will be fantasic, among them Peter Gordon, Sri Owen and Raymond Blanc. A few of my Heroes.

Four days of food and more food and food theory. I won't bore you with the details of the lectures, but there is a cool sounding tour of the Oxford Botanical and Kitchen Gardens and some beer and sausage tastings. There is also a Raw Milk workshop and tasting of new flavor trends. Some of the keynote topics involve the Global Food Trade: Cook's Heaven, or Global Disaster; Maintaining Authenticity in the Global Kitchen; and Cultural Diversity and Survival. Certainly not everybodies Cuppa, but for me, an amazing schedule of treats. I think I'll trip on over to BA.Com and checkout flight costs. . . .

by: ChefNeal at 04/28/05 23:34 | link | comments (3)|
podcasts, iacp, sustainability, conference oxford

Podcast: Birthday Vignettes

A quick end of the month podcast offering. A fly on the wall sound experience during the days around my 5 year old twin daughter's birthday.  We were making the cake late at night, and their play by play of the action was keeping us amused, but slightly distracted. For a hasty, last minute island birthday things went pretty well. . . .

A few flickr photos here.

by: ChefNeal at 04/28/05 03:31 | link | comments |
photos, cooking, podchef, birthday twins

Contest!

Check out the photos below and see if you know the answer!

Yesterday was all cooking, stress and emails. I exchanged several emails with Resort Software and we are honing in on the new direction the software will take. For my part in the process I have been upgraded to the top level software and have a crack at testing and analysis the Nutritional Analysis package when it gets going.  Love it. Can't wait. I have hundreds of photos to process today from the twin's birthday last night and the last of my guests is leaving after Lunch! I can kick back and cook something fun, and non-demanding for dinner tonight.  Not since I worked in a fast-paced, coastal seafood restaurant have I had such a demanding crowd to cook for. If I had work, I could go crawling back today to relax!

Enjoy these food related pics:





I know--you're wondering what this last one has to do with food. I should really make this a contest entry. . .If it is two easy, let me know: what dish can you make with the items pictured in these two photos??

by: ChefNeal at 04/27/05 14:07 | link | comments |
photos, food, cooking, camera, contest, resort software

Resort Software

I've been using a program to cost and multiply my recipes for events and dinners for a few years now.  Resort Hotel is made by Resort Software and is perfect for many of the applications I use it for: weddings, intimate dinners for two, the cost of cooking on the mainland vs cooking on the island.  While this professional level software is more advanced than most people need for keeping track of recipies it is perfect for those who cater or cook for large groups such as a community organization or a church.  There is another program, one which I began using when I first started tracking recipes on my computer--Now You're Cooking. This is a very sound, basic program which includes menu planning, food costing and nutrition analysis. I used it for years before I switched to Resort Hotel--which refers to the size of the operation, not the fact that you have to own a hotel to use it.
The reason I mention all of this is that I have been consulting with Resort Software on a few issues lately which are interesting.  Firstly, since I switched to Macs 100% I have had to come up with a solution to running non-Mac software.  Virtual PC works, but is slow.  Resort Software didn't think their programs would work on Macs, but I proved them wrong (eaten that goat yet, Steve?) Since, I have been sending them data on ways to improve their software's performance under Virtual PC. Good for them, better for me. My next request for them was to include Nutritional Analysis of Menus and Recipes. Since I requested this feature they have had several more inquiries and have stepped up their program to bring it to their software.  I have spent the morning coming up with suggestions and ideas for them. It is an interesting age when a little guy in his kitchen on an island can talk and influence the outcome of a large software company 3/4 of the way around the world.  Some day I'd love the chance to get to Brisbane to meet the people I've been writing to for years.

by: ChefNeal at 04/26/05 15:40 | link | comments |
recipes, resort software, resort hotel

Food Photos

I don't know how food stylists do it. Years of experience and the right equipment I suppose.  Here are some basic results, playing around with a plate of Proscutto & Arugula Crostini. A proper light source would help. . .and mastery of my new camera ;-}

by: ChefNeal at 04/25/05 14:18 | link | comments (2)|
photos, food, camera, fujifilm