Sara Moulton's Blog

My Trip to Bakersfield

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0400

I have been working on a project with Gourmet and Häagen-Dazs for the past six months which is right up my alley finding the next great Häagen-Dazs flavor. The idea was to get the concept from a real person, not a chef, not a R & D person from Häagen-Dazs headquarters (R & D is short for recipe and development). We received 5000 entries and the HD folks narrowed it down to the top 30. I had the scary job of narrowing those down to the top 10. Contestants could send in a story, description, poem or video. I was not happy with just deciding who were the finalists by reading a description so I had my chef de cuisine at Gourmet, Jennifer Day, make the flavors. She just took HD vanilla or whatever base it appeared the ice cream flavor should have and then added ingredients to simulate the flavor. (As it turns out, after my trip to Bakersfield to visit HD headquarters, I found out that that is basically how they come up with a new flavor.) Well we got it down to the top ten and then the general public voted on the HD website to get it down to the top three: Cocoa y Cacao, Belgian Blueberry Waffle, and Pear and Caramelized Pecan.

The next step was to take the three finalists to Bakersfield and work on their flavors with a panel of flavor experts. I was already looking forward to this trip because I was curious to see how premium ice cream is made (How do they put those swirls in? ) but then when we threw these flavor experts, Jacques Torres, Floyd Cardoz, and Nancy Silverton, into the mix, it became even more exciting. The interesting thing is that we didnt always agree. For example, on the Cocoa y Cacao, which is basically coconut ice cream with an Aztec chocolate (meaning chocolate with some cinnamon and hot stuff added) swirl, Jacques wanted the swirl to be very hot and Floyd said no, it would wear on the taste buds after several bites. So the contestant made two versions. Nancy and I liked the salted pecans in the pear ice cream and Jacques liked the candied pecans. And so on I loved meeting the R & D people. They had amazing skills when it came to mixing flavors.

My husband, the music guy, had wanted me to visit Buck Owens Crystal Palace in Bakersfield. Alas, I never made it I was too busy tasting ice cream. But we all ate at a fabulous (though humble) Basque restaurant at the end of the day. And I had my first In and Out Burger. Who knew that Bakersfield had all these hidden secrets?

I have put up a few new pictures from my trip.
By the way, the HD next ice cream flavor will be announced on Sept 21 on Good Morning America.

Comfort Food

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0500

     I have been asked to contribute a recipe and inspirational message to a cookbook, The Susan G. Komen/Pink Plaid Cookbook The money from the sale of this book will go to cancer research.
    The recipe was easy. I sent in something very homey, gingerbread pancakes with butterscotch apples, from my second cookbook. But the inspirational message was not. I have lost two grandmothers to cancer and I have several friends who are battling the disease but my reaction besides just trying to keep in touch and be there if needed, is to cook. I know that food can be very healing. I am not just talking about chicken soup which some studies have concluded does indeed help cure at least the common cold. I am talking about the happy moment that freshly baked cookies or a pot of homemade minestrone can bring to someone who is feeling down. I remember when I was a kid and had a bad day at school and came home to find that my mom was making my favorite meatballs for dinner. The world suddenly seemed a lot brighter. Now, every Sunday night (my son has dubbed Sunday, National Homework Day, ) when my family is collectively dreading the beginning of the new week, I try to make a big comfort meal.
    I have a friend in Rhode Island who is sick with a new rare form of cancer. She loves cheese. I am going to send her a basket of French cheeses (her favorite) from this wonderful cheese store in New York, Artisinal. I am sure it will make her happy and let her know I am thinking about her.

Looking Forward to Thanksgiving

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Once Halloween is over, my family starts thinking about what we are going to have for Thanksgiving dinner. I always look forward to cooking on Thanksgiving because each dish has become a family tradition and reminds me of all the fun occasions when we have enjoyed it together. As I mentioned in the recipe introduction a few weeks ago, I dont make the usual turkey, I make Braised Short Ribs because they are one of my familys favorites. I would love to hear about the family favorites you will be cooking on Thanksgiving. Send me one of your family's favorites and I will put it up on the site.

Best, Sara

More About Miracle Fruit

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0400

A week or so ago, Don from California posted this comment in my blog about Miracle Fruit. I am curious where the miracle fruit originated? And why the word miracle is used to describe it? I was curious too, so, I thought I would see what I could find out. Miracle fruit or miracle berry (Sideroxylon dulcificum) is native to West Africa where it can grow quite tall and produce several crops a year. In the US it does well in South Florida and Hawaii and can be grown in a pot indoors. I couldnt find a place of origin for its English name but the consensus is that it comes from the fruits unique effect on our taste buds. Do any of you know more?

Buying cookbooks

Mon, 29 May 2006 00:00:00 -0400

I have been traveling a lot, mostly on mall tours around the country and I have noticed, as I did last fall when I was on book tour, that people arent buying cookbooks the way they used to. I would take it personally but my editor says that with a few notable exceptions (the absolutely hottest new stars on the food scene) cookbooks arent selling well, period.

So I was feeling a little frisky at a cooking demo I was doing in Evansville, Indiana and I mentioned right before I started to the front row of viewers that I would be selling and signing my book afterwards and they should really pick it up because there were only 8 1/2 months left until Christmas. Well, this one lady replied that she did not buy cookbooks anymore since she could download anything she wanted on the internet!!!!!! I was horrified. So this was the reason nobody was buying cookbooks. Of course I bullied her into buying one but I have been wondering ever since if that indeed was what was going on. I mean, why would you just download any recipe on the internet without knowing if it had been properly tested and developed? Is it all about quantity now and not about quality?

I would love to know what you all think.

Tropical Tastes in West Palm Beach

Mon, 22 May 2006 00:00:00 -0400

Last week I was staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida, for a Gourmet magazine sales meeting. I just happen to know the chef, Hubert des Marais, from several projects we have worked on together, and so the first moment I had a break I sought him out so we could catch up. I wanted to see the garden he had planted on the property because I felt reasonably sure it would be unusual. I wasn't disappointed.

It was filled with all kinds of tropical plants and fruits and I tasted quite a few fresh green peppercorns still on the vine (just vaguely spicy), the flower of a gingerroot plant (the ginger we use is the root I guess that is obvious) which was faintly reminiscent of the root, epazote (as Hubert suggested it tasted sort of like diesel oil) and miracle fruit which is a little red berry like fruit without a ton of flavor. However, it has the property of turning any sour item you taste after it into something terribly sweet.

Then we took a walk on the beach and just before we left the property and the pool bar, Hubert asked me if I would like something to drink. Since the sales meeting was officially over, I said I would like a glass of chardonnay. Well, it took me a few minutes to have my first sip and I thought right away how oddly sweet that chardonnay was, almost like a syrupy Riesling. I wondered if the bartender had given me the wrong wine. Then I remembered about the miracle fruit. I managed to choke that chardonnay down (after all I was celebrating) but it tasted that way for the whole 40 minute walk.

I wonder if any of you out there has ever tasted miracle fruit and if so have you ever cooked with it?

Web Site Interruption

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

I want to thank all of you who e-mailed when you found the "construction" sign on my web site. I was as surprised as you were to find it there. Turns out, when the new site was constructed no one changed the address with the domain company and they were sending the bills to the wrong place. It's all paid up now and I'll see that it never happens again, so please keep visiting. The home page content changes each week.

Being left handed

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0500

I get a lot of questions about being left handed and how it affects the way I do things. Actually, it doesn't affect me at all. There are several inconveniences I have to suffer, of course, because this is a right-handed world. Every time I have to sign one of those charge-it machines at the supermarket the pen is on the wrong side and it is a tad awkward. Ditto day planners and journals where the center fasteners are always in the way. Then there are those fabulous, extra-sharp, state-of-the-art Japanese knives, only made for right-handed people and the pots with the spouts on the wrong side. My friend Rafih Benjelloun who owns a Moroccan restaurant, The Imperial Fez, in Atlanta would insist I eat with my right hand. I understand there are sound cultural reasons for this, but I am not sure I would be able to do it.

Contrary to what people might think, I do not write funny. I could actually teach cursive in elementary school. But when I sign a book on the title page (on the right side) it is very hard to keep the ink from smearing because my left hand drags behind the letters, does not go ahead like a right hand (if you followed that description you are a genius).

When I was on book tour in the fall, I discovered that we left handers are only one in seven. I knew we were special. However, my cousin who has a very talented left-handed daughter, has done research on the subject and informed me that we do not live as long as right-handed people.

One other thing, it is only right-handed people who notice which hand I use. Why is that and why do they think it is so weird (especially when they see how beautiful my cursive is)?

My New Years Foodie Resolutions

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0500

I decided this year that instead of coming up with resolutions that involved giving things up after the excesses of the holidays, I would plan positive resolutions based on all the food related activities I fantasize about. It was far more fun to do this than think about dieting.

1. Go to more inexpensive ethnic restaurants (there are a million in New York City, although I might have to take a train to another borough, yikes! -very scary for a Manhattanite)
2. Watch more PBS cooking shows. I know I could learn a lot.
3. Do a sea salt tasting. Boil up a bunch of potatoes, slice them, sprinkle with 8 or so different kinds of salt, including fleur de sel, maldon, and Hawaiian. I must write notes about my favorites.
4. Make 1 new recipe a week
5. Once every two weeks perform in my own personal Iron Chef by cooking with only the ingredients I find in the pantry (that way I can empty out the pantry of all those exotic ingredients people give me)
6. Make homemade stock every two weeks (both chicken and brown chicken) and portion the regular chicken stock in several zip lock bags in the freezer for future soups.
7. Reduce down that brown chicken stock to a glaze and keep it in the fridge for instant sauces.
8. Make more soups.
9. Make my own vinegar
10. Try some new fruit or vegetable from the Farmer's Market every week.
11. Once a month go to Chinatown and buy a whole bunch of ingredients I am not so familiar with and then go home and cook a meal.
12. Set up hand written cookbooks with my favorite old recipes for both of my kids
13. Start a file with my favorite new recipes so that I can copy them up at the end of the year and give out little booklets for Christmas.
14. Try cooking up some of those new (at least new to me, some of them are ancient) healthy grains.
15. Cook vegetarian once a week (We'll see if the husband goes for this one).
16. Every other Sunday make several stews, pot roasts, etc and freeze them.
17. Play with all my kitchen gadgets my stovetop smoker, the grinding attachment to my kitchen aid (homemade sausages perhaps?), my popover pan, tortilla press, etc.
18. Make my own cheese (right.)

Week of November 28th

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Well, I am now three quarters of the way through book tour and happy to spend a little time at home. I still hate to travel. I think it is because for 6 years I did the live show on the food network and didn't get home every night until 8:15. When I left the restaurant industry in 1983 it was not only because I wanted to have kids and didn't think I could do that working 80 hours a week, it was also because I missed seeing the sun set. I know this seems like an odd comment coming from a New Yorker (what sunset?) but there is something about that time of day that I really appreciate whether I actually see the sun go down or not. And my idea of good clean fun on a weekend is to never walk out the door. I am sure that would wear thin if I got to do it more often.

Anyway, the good news is that even though I hate to travel I always meet nice people when I am on the road. I really like the escorts that take me around each city. I caught up with some of my buddies from the first book tour - Ellen Fishman in San Francisco, Joy Delf in Seattle, and Esther Levine and Gloria Smiley in Atlanta. What I like about them besides the fact that they take such good care of me (and all their authors) is that they like to read and read voraciously (we are talking 5 books and upwards a week!) and it is very inspirational. I usually come home with a suitcase of new paperbacks.

I also had some tasty food on the road. After my book signing at the Chapter 11 Bookstore in the Ansley Mall in Atlanta (nice book store, I wish I could have spent some time there!) I snuck over to Annie Quatrano and Cliff Harrison's new restaurant, Quinones at Baccanalia, and had one of the best meals I have consumed this year. It is a small restaurant in the bottom of the building which includes Baccanalia and their gourmet shop, Star Provisions. They feature an 8 to 10 course tasting menu based on local southern ingredients with delicious little courses like cauliflower custard with caviar in an egg cup with some little potato chip item on top and the best skate wing, braised with warm potato salad and bright light chard, not to mention quince soufflé with meyer lemon custard. I highly recommend it (just know that it is pricey).

After Atlanta I headed off to San Antonio where I also had some great meals. But that is for next week's blog...