The Busy Gourmand

Ultimate Mashed Potatoes

When I was a kid certain foods were reserved for Sundays or special occasions.  My mother worked, so I am guessing the time available had a lot to do with what ended up on the table.  One of my favorite Sunday meals was a roasted pork shoulder served with gravy and mashed potatoes.  When I look back on it there was nothing more comforting than a slab of roasted pork, and a heaping pile of mashed potatoes, smothered in a giant ladleful of gravy.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

As I have aged (we can argue about how well) I have done away with most of the roasts and most assuredly most of the gravy.  It is not that I do not like roasts and gravy it is just that I always feel like I have to take a nap after eating them.  Not so, however, with the mashed potatoes.  They are as much a part of my life as they were in my youth.  In fact I think I cook steaks and the occasional roast as an excuse to make some mashed potatoes.  Somehow eating a bowl of mashed potatoes by itself seems a bit decadent even for me.

Over the years I have experimented with mashed potatoes.  Like some people spend time looking for a cure for cancer, I was spending time determining just how much you could improve on the basic recipe.  With some success I actually have come up with the ultimate mashed potato.  They are not for the faint of heart or those of you looking to shed a few pounds before Christmas.  These potatoes are meant to just be thoroughly enjoyed.

For those of you who are brave enough my recipes are found here.

Mexican Mint Marigold

One of the nice things about living in a moderate climate is that a great variety of herbs are available to us.  With few exceptions most of the herbs are perennial.  The other nice thing about living in Texas is that many of the culinary herbs have migrated across the border from Mexico.  When people talk about the “New World” influencing what we eat they focus on the most important items; potatoes, tomatoes, corn, etc.  But the new world also brought us some important herbs which most of do not realize we may be using every day.

We grow and use a variety of herbs that have come predominantly from Mexico.  We use these herbs across cuisines, although you may more commonly encounter them in Mexican or Latin American foods.  With the exception of cilantro these Mexican herbs bloom.  We incorporate them into the perennial garden and nobody seems to know the difference.  The herbs listed in order of our most common usage are below.

Lentil Soup

Every year I seem to have to relearn the basics.  Not so much how to chop an onion or peel a potato, but about some of the basic things that we learn when we first start to cook.  The first thing we find out early is that simpler is usually better.  We also figure out that a meat, a starch, and a vegetable can actually all be combined in one pot to make a complete meal.  This of course saves on the clean up portion of cooking which I dread more than any other.

You usually start with the basic concepts of stews and soups.  My mother was a big fan of beef stew.  It was great but it had the added complication of having to cook a starch to go with it.  It was not really simple enough for me.  Then you move on to soups.  The first forays are usually what you ate from a can when you were young;  chicken noodle, chicken rice, cream of chicken.  All good but not really a complete meal unto themselves.

At some point you stumble upon beans and legumes and the whole possibility of a soup changes.  You combine fiber, protein, and starch in one component of the soup.  The rest is left up to your imagination.  Bean and legume soups when combined with a slice of bread can also be enough for a complete meal.  They are satisfying but not overwhelming.  And there you have it, you have found the perfect meal, cooked in one pot, and usually on the table in less than 45 minutes.

I seem to relearn all this in the Fall when the weather gets cold.  I am not sure why I never make soups in the Summer or Spring.  Perhaps it is the crush of all those fresh vegetables to turn into salads.  So last night I rediscovered the ultimate complete meal, lentil soup.  Whether you leave out the smoked sausage or not, pound for pound it has more protein and fiber than just about any other offering for a meal.  And with a fresh slice of baguette or sour dough bread, it just is the ultimate meal.

My version of the soup is here.

La Fogata - San Antonio, TX

Having traveled extensively throughout the world I always stay away from restaurants in the United States that boldly state that they serve authentic cuisine from a certain region of the world.  If they have to state it then I find that the only authentic thing about the place is the delusion that they actually serve something authentic.  But most Americans fall for these authentic labels mostly because they do not get the opportunity to travel and see for themselves.  Suddenly Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill become the basis for judging the quality of Italian food.  Which drives me nutty.

It is my experience that authentic cuisines share certain characteristics.  First, and foremost, the ingredients used are 100% fresh.  When you enter the kitchen of an American restaurant the largest space is devoted to refrigeration.  In a foreign restaurant the largest space is devoted to the cooktop.  There is an expectation in other countries that they will acquire their ingredients fresh daily so why waste space on refrigeration. 

The next most important characteristic is that fresh food is acquired locally.  Which means that menus are seasonal and that menus will reflect the local ingredients available.  This has changed somewhat with the availability of refrigerated transportation.  But regional cuisines have changed very little even with these new transportation alternatives. 

The third most important characteristic is that you can taste all the ingredients.  There is absolutely no attempt to trick the palette by adding gobs of salt (except as a preservative) or some generic sauce so that everything tastes the same.  The point of the food is to taste exactly what you are eating.  Many Americans I find complain about how bland the food is when they travel when in fact they have been eating so much salty food they cannot taste for real, fresh ingredients.

Once in awhile though you do run into something very authentic.  Something that does not try to be Americanized.  It is unabashedly serving food from the region it portrays.  I ran into one in San Antonio last week called La Fogata (the bonfire).  It is strictly cuisine from Northern Mexico.  There were no nachos on the menu (although if you asked for them I am sure they would oblige).  The ingredients were fresh (they even make their own refried beans).  And the service was just like in Mexico; efficient, low key, and friendly.  If you want some authentic Mexican cuisine in Texas you may have to go all the way to San Antonio.  But if you find yourself there skip the river walk one night and get some real Mexican food.  My review and contact information are here.

I have to travel for work every week.  My journeys take me to some places that are great and others that are not so wonderful.  In order to maintain my sanity along the way I try to collect menu mix ups that unfortunately make their way in print on a permanent menu.  Years ago I had actually collected about 20 or 30 menus with strange offerings on them.  Unfortunately in one of my moves I lost the collection.  So with nothing to do in the evening on my last trip I decided it was time again to put my efforts to good use and begin reassembling a collection of faux pas.

This new collecting habit was inspired by the room service menu at my hotel in San Antonio, Texas.  As you can see from the picture the Kid’s Menu is combined with the Wine List.  I guess the hotel is hoping that the kids will order some chardonnay with their mac and cheese.

Other interesting offerings I have encountered have included entrees served with a “melody of vegetables,” in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I asked the waitress if the vegetables sang or just played a tune.  “No sir” she replied “they’s just vegetables.”  Though hoping for vegetables with some entertainment value, the waitress was indeed right.  They were just vegetables.

Of course there are those restaurants in out-of-the-way places that aspire to greatness.  A restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas offered “Lobster Troubadour” on its menu.  I guess in the South dining menus take on a musical theme.  When I asked how the lobster was prepared I was astonished to find out that it was just like Lobster Thermador.  Maybe the cooking academy in Little Rock wanted to make the dish more accessible to the public.

The journey of menu collecting is a heavy burden for just one person to bear.  I hope you will all join me in the quest and forward any interesting offerings you may see on a menu during your travels.  You will get full credit for your find.  Hopefully we can make this a permanent feature of the blog.  After all, life is not just about cooking.  You can forward all such finds to jeremy@busygourmand.com.  Or if you already know of some faux pas please feel free to attach as a comment here.  Happy Hunting!