Copper Wonder

 General  5 Responses »
Apr 222005
 

I love copper. I always have. Perhaps I’m just like a magpie, attracted to shiny things. But no, because I’m not really enthralled with diamonds (thank goodness!), and I don’t find copper beautiful only when polished and shiny. I’m actually quite fond of its tarnished look as well. I like to see copper when it’s a dull, dark orange, perhaps with a touch of that blue-ish green … what is that? Rust? Corrosion? You find copper like this in antique stores, and what draws you to them is the beauty that lies within, or beneath. What I really like about its ‘you’ve-let-yourself-go’ appearance is that copper can change from its dull look to the opposite extreme - a brilliant beauty that’s hard to resist (at least in my case). I once read in a magazine that in order to look consistently great, you shoudn’t try to look your best every day. If you are always trying to look your best, then on your lazy days everyone will notice the lapse in your appearance. It is better for them to notice the really good days instead. Copper is like that to me. I think I appreciate its newly polished beauty so much because I also see it on its relaxed everydays.

Copper is more than just a pretty face, however. It’s also incredibly functional, especially in cookware. It’s quite widely known that copper is one of the best metals from which to make pots and pans because it is an excellent conductor of heat. That means that it gets hot fast, and cools down quickly. Why is that important? Because it gives you more control. You’re better able to control the temperature of your food and therefore control how it is cooking. That’s why copper is often used in candy making, where the temperature of the sugar needs to be closely monitored. It is a pleasure to cook anything with a copper pan, however. I think that perhaps it is hard to really grasp how effective copper is as a cooking metal until you actually try it and see for yourself.

The first experience that I had with copper cookware was when I was working in a Michelin rated restaurant in France. At L’Ousteau de Beaumanière, the kitchen was designed in the traditional French manner. That means that instead of a “line”, where different stations were defined by the equipment they used (oven station, versus grill station, versus saute station) and were positioned in a line next to one another, they worked on a “piano”. The “piano” was a square cooking unit, with burners and a large griddle surface, and the cooking stations, defined by the food they were cooking, were across from one another. So, the fish station would be facing the meat station. At L’Ousteau, the meat station used stainless steel pans and the fish station used nothing but copper. These pans were washed by the dishwasher (a person, not a machine) and then polished by the pot polisher, another person whose job it was to solely polish each pot twice daily. When the kitchen closed for the afternoon or for the night, all the pots were left on the “piano” and looked beautiful. I still have photos of all those impressive copper pots in the squeeky clean kitchen waiting to be used for the next service period.

Copper is special and conjures up special memories for me. I still have the 4 quart copper saucepan with beautiful lid, made in France, that was a going away gift from my Chef when I left a restaurant in Berkelely, California to move to Vermont. Everyone oohed and aahhed when I opened the gift. Clearly, if the chef was giving me copper, it was a gift from her heart.

I also remember polishing my mother’s copper and brass with her years ago. It was a nice thing to do - sit with my Mum in front of the fire and chat while we each picked a piece to polish next.

I love letting copper tarnish and lose its brilliance just so that I can polish it up again and see the fruits of my labour. It’s immensely satisfying to me, and I think this is where I differ from other lovers of all things copper. (Indeed, I’ve been told that perhaps I should see someone about this problem!) I’ve heard people complain, saying that they would get copper cookware for its superior cooking qualities, but they don’t want to have to clean it. I don’t understand this. Don’t get me wrong - I wouldn’t want to be the pot polisher at L’Ousteau de Baumanière, but I love cleaning copper. It is not hard to do. Simply take half a lemon and a little salt, sprinkle the salt on the lemon half and rub it on the copper. It’s as easy as that. I don’t know many things that take so little effort and give such great and immediate results. It’s something to do when you’re feeling unsuccessful or lacking in achievement. Nothing could boost your morale faster. Give it a try!

Still, I realize that time is a valued commodity in everyone’s life, and not everyone wants to clean copper. I also realize that I don’t have time to clean everyone’s copper for them. THAT’S why I’m so excited about tonight. Tonight we’re broadcasting our first full hour show of Technique cookware AND we’re launching a brand new line of cookware. I’m excited because it’s beautiful, brilliant, an excellent performer in the kitchen, and yes, it has a copper base. This is a pan that will make everyone happy, however, even those non-cleaning copper types. Why, you ask? Well, because we’ve put a new material on the very bottom of the pan that keeps it light weight, is durable, AND does not require cleaning. What could it be? What will they think of next? Kryptonite? No, wrong superhero. Think Wonder Woman.

Not so Chilly

 Personal Stories  No Responses »
Apr 072005
 

The weather is starting to warm up and winter is just about ready to bid us adieu. Before it left us for another year, however, I ventured on a downhill skiing holiday with some friends. (I say “ventured” because the last time I had skis strapped to my feet was on a Grade 10 ski trip, twenty years ago.) Once in the Rockie Mountains of British Columbia, you’d never know that winter was almost over. We had beautiful skiing conditions and were even able to enjoy fresh snow, making “first tracks” on the hills in the mornings.

Many people will tell you that ski holidays are not so much about the skiing, but about the après ski hours. Me? I was so exhausted after my first day of skiing in twenty years that I could hardly speak, let alone enjoy a few drinks and laughs with my friends. Yet, I did manage to make dinner. That first night, we enjoyed a simple roast chicken dinner with herbed new potatoes, and green beans, with chocolate Easter eggs to finish it off.

We had ordered groceries for the week ahead of time. This proved to be a bigger challenge to me than I had expected. For some reason, buying (or ordering) food that far in advance taxed my brain. I’m used to buying food today for tonight and thinking about tomorrow’s meals tomorrow when I’m better able to decide what I will want to eat. Still, I did my best. When we first saw the food that had been delivered to the condominium, our mouths dropped. It seemed our grocery shopper had doubled up on a few things, like orange juice, oranges, Kaiser rolls, onions, and carrots. In the end, the quantity of food was quite accurate and we polished most of it off. We forced orange juice and oranges on each other every morning, scoring points when we consumed more than our allotment; carrots were glazed for dinners and I think we broke records for carrot sticks eaten in one week; the Kaiser rolls became croutons; and the onions…well, we left most of the onions there.

The best idea I had all week was to do tomorrow’s mise en place each night while dinner cooked. This made the entire cooking process so easy, and made each evening’s meal land on the table a little sooner than it would have otherwise. I’ve always told students that being prepared to cook, with a completed mise en place, makes the cooking process so much more enjoyable. This week, I practiced what I preach, a novel occurrence, and proved myself right.

By far, the favourite meal of the week - the one that was enjoyed twice - was a Turkey and White Bean Chili. I like chili - all kinds of chili. Now, many chili aficionados would consider this a blasphemous statement. How is it possible to like all kinds of chili? H. Allen Smith, who claims to know more about chili than anyone else (rather an extreme claim) says that “the chief ingredients of all chili are fiery envy, scalding jealousy, scorching contempt and sizzling scorn” and that “the quarreling that has gone on for generations over New England clam chowder versus Manhattan clam chowder … is but a minor spat alongside the raging feuds that have arisen out of chili recipes.” This certainly is true. Telling a chili cook that all chilies are the same is like saying that Americans and Canadians are the same. (If you have trouble telling Americans and Canadians apart, say that to a Canadian.)

We could go on and on about what makes a chili a chili. What chilies have to be in a chili? Is it better to use ground or hand cut meat? Should tomatoes be added or not? Do beans belong in chili, and if so, which type? There are even huge debates on how to spell chili. Some prefer “chile” or “chilli”. Chili experts can really get worked up about it all.

When it comes right down to it, however, does it really matter? If you like the meal, then you like the meal, no? If it brings pleasure, whether it is made with strips of pork, no tomatoes and lima beans, then so be it. I think it is fantastic that there can be so many different variations on one dish. It speaks to the passion that is stirred by this concoction of meats, peppers, beans and other ingredients, combined with chili powder. The “chili” that I made on the ski trip did not start chili debates. It did not cause voices or fists to be raised. I was not told that my chili “would pollute the waters of the Great Salt Lake”, that it “should be eaten through a straw”, nor that it “could be molded into balls and used to hold down tent flaps in a high wind”. No, it was just enjoyed the way it was, with ground turkey (God forbid!), chickpeas and white beans (gasp!), and no tomatoes (say it isn’t so!), topped with some Cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream (shock and horror!). It did have cumin seed and chili powder, however. If you’re of the belief that what I made can’t be called “chili”, well, just call it “Turkey and White Bean Stew”, or “Turkey and White Bean Not-So-Chili”.

Turkey and White Bean “Chili”

 Recipes  1 Response »
Apr 072005
 

Turkey and White Bean “Chili”
Ingredients:
3 lb. ground turkey meat, white, dark or a combination of the two
olive oil
2 each yellow onions, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 each red pepper, chopped
2 each green pepper, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. dried ground cumin seed
2 Tbsp. chili powder
28 oz can white beans, drained
28 oz can chickpeas, drained
1 Tbsp. salt
3 cups chicken stock
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Cheddar cheese, grated (for topping)
sour cream (for topping)
green onions, chopped (for topping)

Directions:
1. Brown the ground turkey over medium high heat. When crumbled and cooked through, drain off any residual fat, and set the meat aside.
2. In the same pan, cook the onion, celery, carrot, peppers and garlic in the olive oil until tender.
3. Add the dried cumin and chili powder. Mix well and continue to cook for 5 – 10 minutes. Return the meat to the pan and add the white beans and chickpeas. Season with salt and add the chicken stock. Simmer for 1 hour and then stir in the fresh cilantro.
4. Serve with sour cream, chopped green onions and cheddar cheese.

Enjoy. Don’t fight.