STREET FOODS ~PART 1

There is nothing more memorable for me then attending the feast of Obelisco in Mirebella "the feast of Saint Mary". the third Saturday in September. I recall the statue of the Virgin Mary carried in a church vessel made up of straw being pulled by ox in the middle of the piazza. There is music, spirits and and more importantly the streets are littered with street vendors. I can recall the aromas of grilled meats like sausage and peppers, lamb shanks chicken and veal stew and they are distinct and unique to that region of Italy. You can't help but take in the sweet pungent woody smells of the dried peppers and cured meats. And on tables you will be mesmerized by the abundance of fresh food. There are wheels of farm cheese, plump tomatoes still on the vine,huge olives, walnuts so fresh you can peel the shells off with your hands, big black and green olives, and of course, grappa! On white linen tablecloths a colorful array of grilled vegetables, eggplant, zucchini, and thin slices of cured meats like prosciutto garnished with fresh herbs. Each vendor you pass smiles and beckons you over to taste from their table. I miss the feast but more importantly I miss Passo Di Mirabella, it was birth place, my home and it will always be a part me that I will never forget.
So now when I am in the North End I make it a point to try to got out to the markets almost every weekend .Especially, in the spring and summer months, more importantly, I try to always make one of the feasts. The big one in the North End would be the Saint Anthony feast and I look forward to the street vendors with their push carts, the live entertainment and I never ever pass by the booths selling hot peppers and sausages or as I coined it "S &P sandweech". There is so many vendors selling foods like fried calamari , grilled lamb kabobs and freshly made eggplant parmesan! The variety of street food is only limited to your palette and more importantly the size of your wallet! Oh, I almost forget the array of sweets at the Italian feasts is phenomenal! I can never pass up the homemade cannolis, you can either choose between ricotta cheese or cream cheese filling and I can never decide so I get both one for each hand! Most street food is considered fast food but not all vendors prepare quick snacks, there are fresh fruit and vegetables and healthy alternatives. Now you can find so many vendors selling grilled and steamed foods and compact fine dining. The only issues facing street vendors is hygiene and cleanliness and lack of temperature control and refrigeration. This is a global issue and cross contamination and food safety, yet there is a growing monetary incentives to vendors to provide training and incentives to maintain adequate safety provisions.
There are street vendors all over the globe from South America that serve foods like bunny chow scooped out loaf of bread with curry. Ethiopia has their injera bread and enjoy a variety of street foods like Tbs Wat ( a pungent stew with inera and fried Neeka stalks). China has many small front door vendors such as grilled rice balls and pan fried noodles. India is notorious for street foods and you will find foods like Chaat, which is made up with a variety of ingredients like lemon and pomegranate seed. It can be used for example, to make small crisp pancakes from fried flour called "paprika". Now people in Puerto Rico are known for their vendors and they have a large following in the Caribbean and North America. Puerto Rico is known for their Pinchos ( a kabob of pork, or chicken spiced which is labeled with barbecue sauce and often served with fried bread).
While in Europe, the French you will find common street food like a crepes or baguette bread sandwiches , In Germany it's curry sausage and Currywurst, while their neighbors in Poland street carts and long lines for their of love ice cream.
Although, not all countries prefer street vendors like Spain for example, the people rather sit and eat inside restaurants. Also, in Switzerland they prefer motorized trucks instead of booths or carts for their finger food! And depending what region you are in Canada that have specialist street vending. So french fries with gravy and cheese curds are found throughout Canada but Quebec this street food is extremely popular and there are specialized vendors for that region. We can not forget North America we just love to party and so with Mardi Gras held in New Orleans selling mouth watering creole to so many festivals, feasts and fairs all across this great country, we love street food!. In New England we just ave love our fairs and festivals nothing bigger in Massachusetts than the "Topsfield Fair" in October. There are rides, games, a petting zoo, a couple of fortune tellers and yes, the food! The smell of deep dish apple pie, candy apples, fried dough, hot dogs and even corn of the cob! We enjoy our food and it would not be the same without our street vendors. Let's not forget that street food provides a place for people to gather and experience the many diverse cultural traditions. So for example, if you hop a ferry in places like New York City seek out street vendors selling roasted chestnuts, or their famous New York Cheesecake. Let's face it New York is an economic melting pot and a great place to experience a variety of street food.
So let's forget our neighbors "southwest of the border"  Mexico, they are noted for their street food and they have so many vendors who serve hot foods like graaches, tostada's, tacos their tequila. Never mind their wonderful hospitality. And even further south a continent away South America, Rio di Janeiro vendors sell Mate Gleado (erva mate iced-tea) for those hot days lying on the beach  or biscoitas de polviho (sour manioc flour puffs), for a quick snack! 
There is so much more to the local market places and street vendors. If you allow yourself to be open minded to try new experiences you can not only enjoy the cusine but in the process gain knowledge about a different culture. And who knows, maybe you can adopt a new family tradition in the process!

My next blog will cover more stories and a in depth look on Street Vendors. Fo now I am enjoying that spring is finally her, yeah! 
So did you here that vending machines will be on planes very soon ? What's next, will we see them on the moon?

Finally, I just want to mention to those of us celebrating Passover and Easter have a wonderful holiday!

PS: I will say a special blessing this holiday for my loved ones, our sons and daughters in the military and for the people of Haiti !

Signing off for now,

Chef Sam

RATIOS TO VOLUME COOKING IS NOT ALWAYS A NUMBER

Now there is a ratio relationship between what you purchase and the actual food being served in a plated meal or a buffet. So let's use an average party of one hundred people and make those comparisons. It is important to note that with a buffet you need to be aware on your qualities, especially when it comes to your starches like potatoes, rice and some vegetables. On most events that I handled there are entrees that require some starch and almost all of the time there is a potato dish. I would suggest that you try to purchase this item ahead of time. My ratios will consists with a party made up of a hundred guests. Remember, if you do not use all of your product if stored properly ( like all tuber plants they should stored in a cool dry place, bulb plants grown underground ). Now when serving this starch for a buffet purchase at least 30 pounds of potatoes  it equates to 6 to 8 ounces per person for a buffet ( there should be somewhat of a fudge factors when it comes to servings for a buffet because you may serve either one or more starches and then the ratio changes to approximately 6 ounces). Now for a plated meal use approximately 20 pounds of potatoes which equate to 4 ounces per person.
You should  always be concerned for on purchasing enough vegetables and so for a plated meal it should be at least 16 pounds  which should equate to 3 ounces per serving . However, for a buffet you would purchase at least  20 pounds which is less than 4 ounces per person. Also, the ounces may vary from each vegetable  and usually in a buffet there is more than one vegetable served at a buffet but try to keep within 4 ounces. Now with a protein for example like meat purchase approximately 50 pounds which comes to p on a plated meal to at least 8 ounces raw ( the weight is measured prior to cooking ) per person. Yet, in a buffet it could be less, if you have more than one protein and typically there is always two or more, than it's  the same roughly 50 pounds but 6 ounces raw.
I can not go without mentioning rice, which can be tricky when establishing  a measurement for a single serving plated meal. It's usually 12 pounds and it means for a plated dinner 1 half cups of rice. Yet, for a buffet there is usually more than one starch so the ratio will be the same as plated , you are not always able to control the portion sizes and may prefer more starches served.
Finally, when it comes to sauces you can always figure on 2 ounces per person on a plated dish and at least 3ounces for a buffet for added waste.
Now with all this information on ratios, there is a method to the madness when building on a meal . So for a plated meal you start with your protein, then your starch and vegetable and end with your sauce. If it is a breakfast or lunch it always equal up to (12 ) ounces of food per person. So if you were breaking this down it's (4) ounces of meat, (3) ounces of vegetables, (3) ounces of starch and (2) ounces of sauce. For supper it is more up to (6) ounces of meat , (3) ounces of starch and (3) ounces for vegetables and (2) ounces of sauce. Now if we are discussing a buffet it goes the opposite way, first your dish starts with a starch then a vegetable a sauce and it ends with a protein.  Also, whether it lunch or dinner the ratio is always  one half  times more than a plated dish and it will vary depending on the amount of entrees you are offering.

My next article will be on Street Vending and it's loads of fun!

Signing off for now,

Chef Sam,

Wishing my lovely wife Phyllis a Happy Birthday , Love Sam

SO YOU THINK YOU CREATED A UNIQUE RECEIPE?

 

A unique recipe is one that separates itself from the rest by marrying ingredients that you normally would not think would work together. For example, I created a recipe using pulled pork and sushi rice. You would be amazed on how well the tender pork compliments it's sour dense counterpart, it created a very distinct flavor. Again, please check out my site for this dish and many others www.bostonfooddesign.com.
Now last week I served a select group of students at the university for a special function called "Taste Your Palette". We turned our dining hall into a mini gourmet restaurant and I put on a demonstration for the students. I created an Italian menu which consisted of my own special take on some favorite Italian recipes. I added my spin to one of my appetizers, Arrancinis which were sweet and had almost a nutty creamy texture. My main entree Chicken Saltimbocca had a pungent and earthy flavor by adding a few additional ingredients like red pepper. Then I finished the meal with an all time favorite item, Cannolis.  I made them from scratch and offered two  unique fillings one that offered chocolate chip and the other pistachio. The students participated assembling their desert and they had a blast! Later on, there was a Q&A and I was pleased to hear that they wanted more of these demonstrations. Finally, for those students who were there that day I want to give you a personal thank you from Chef Sam! 
On occasion, I will put together an array of ingredients together and then test them out in our kitchen in the hopes of creating a new recipe. I have been able to come up some very interesting food combinations by using the exact blend of flavors that burst with flavor and better yet, subtly enhance the taste buds! You need to be willing and more importantly, to be daring. Challenge yourself to combine various ingredients and measurements to come away with your very own version. I will say this time and time again, think of yourself as the scientist and pretend your kitchen is a laboratory and who knows, maybe you will create something new?

I am amazed when I am in the testing kitchen we are always trying out various combination's to bring about the next big food item. Sometimes we hire food scientist and other times we create testing groups made up of average individuals who will try out various dishes.  There information is so crucial gathering feedback allows us to come up with the right combination to create a new recipe. Finally, if it passes a few more hurdles, the next step would be to market their product to the public. I will tell you this much, there is nothing like it when you hit a home run! Better yet, sometimes, you can knock the ball right out of the park! So take the invention of potato skins, in 1974 T.G.I. Friday's came up with an appetizer using none other than the skins of a potato! They tested and tried this new concept on the general public and it wasn't too long before these bitter scraps became the newest food craze! So today Potato Skins are still the most popular item on their menu, with nearly 4 million orders served every year. This new food item is not only delicious but it created another revenue stream for the food industry!
In closing, with a little ingenuity and creativity T.G.I. Friday came up with a scrumptious appetizer packed with a ton of taste and found a way to eliminate all of their waste! How great is that ? No wonder why this is my favorite food!

FYI: I will be adding my very own potato appetizer and it will be coming out very soon!

My next blog will be on ratios to remember when planning to cook in large numbers.

Signing off for now. and "Grazia mille" ( thanks a lot) for stopping by my site !

Chef Sam

PS: Follow me on Twitter under ChefSamBFD!!