Food, chefs and culinary advice
The Imperial County Library book club is reading “Kitchen Confidential” by Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain was found dead on June 8, but here I want to emphasize the good things he has left us. It should be a lively discussion tonight as we discuss Bourdain and food over — what else? — dinner.
You’ve probably seen Tony Bourdain on CNN in “Parts Unknown,” or, prior to that, on the Travel Channel. He became a celebrity chef years ago, and authored several books on everything from chopping vegetables to the best days to order fish.
First off, I want to quote his comments on vegetarians. Hey, some of my best friends, and family, are vegetarians, but this is rich. “Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter-faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace (a rich, brown sauce), or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living.”
The Valley beef industry couldn’t have said it better. And there is not a rib of truth that Bourdain once said, “Beef, it’s what’s for bypass.”
What I’ve always liked about Tony Bourdain is that he didn’t hold back. You always knew where the guy stood. He didn’t mince words, and his advice on garlic is to mince it with a knife and not one of those presses. What comes out of the press, he argued, is some unknown substance unrelated to garlic.
He wasn’t from New York, but he liked to portray the Big Apple, wiseguy attitude. He was from New Jersey (close enough). He seems to have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Maybe it was only silver plated. I say this because he went to Vassar and later the Culinary Institute of America (the CIA). I visited the CIA twice. Once to attend a food studies conference, and I learned a lot about the institute and the students. I actually attended a lecture on using herbs. Bourdain was paying attention. In “Kitchen Confidential,” he stresses using fresh herbs both for the taste and adding to the presentation of the food.
I also appreciate his advice on not ordering fish on Monday. It’s Thursday’s fish. And avoiding brunch and certain specials where he insists the chef is just trying to get rid of ingredients that have been laying around the kitchen too long. In the Valley, there’s not much to worry about ordering fish seven days a week. It’s frozen. Bourdain is talking about fresh fish orders in big cities. The good thing about fish sticks is that you can eat them any day. They are not fish but what the heck. They are delicious with boxed macaroni and cheese. I realize I just lost all foodie credibility for that.
My friend and fellow columnist, Bret Kofford, just returned from Ireland where he led a band of SDSU students. He noted that the food is delicious, just as my daughter told me. The Irish chefs have realized in recent years that they are in the midst of a bounty of seafood and fresh agricultural products. So the Irish cuisine has advanced from the fare I knew. Unfortunately for Bret’s Valley students, the Irish think chilis are chemical weapons. So the students found the food disappointing.
Our friend and SDSU professor, Jeanette Shumaker, was on a tour of Greece recently. She was kind to share her diary, and I read jealously of all the lunches and dinners with lamb, fresh artichokes, and local greens. Most of my local family and friends think lamb is equivalent to gamey rhinoceros so I don’t cook it often. I did grow up with Irish stew, and nothing is better on a cold winter night. But that’s another time and place.
One last bit of advice from Tony Bourdain. Forget the expensive knife set, he wrote. Just buy one very good sharpening, heavy, stainless steel knife. Years ago I bought a non-stainless (stainful?) steel knife with a wooden handle. It’s French and has been with me for 40 years. It works well.