About Today's T.V. Show

Today on "Carmine's" I cooked with guest chef Sandra Lotti from Italy. She was in town for a short visit and was kind enough to stop by the restaurant/studio to cook with us. Here's some behind the scenes thought on video.

Chef's Table

O.K., it's late, but tonight was a lot of fun. I just finished cooking a 10 course "Chef's Table " menu in our studio kitchen. The good thing about it is I get off of the line in the main kitchen, and I get to hang out with some really great people. This time, it was my friend Joe, a former staff member at Carmine's, who was dining with his family. It was Joe's birthday (I won't mention what number)). The bad thing is, I started at about 12:00 noon, and it is now after 10:00 p.m., so obviously it is a lot of work. Here's a sample of tonight's menu:

1st) Tasting Spoons: Tomato Brushetta; Artichoke & Spinach Brushetta; Asian Calamari; Scallop, Forbidden Rice, Blood Orange

2nd) Roasted Red Pepper Stuffed Mozzarella with Marinated Heirloom Tomatoes

3rd) Parma Prosciutto Crostini with ASian Pears and Parmesa-Reggiano Ice Cream

4th) Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon with jicama-celery root-toasted Pignoli nut relish, lemon zabaglione

5th) Speck Wrapped Jumbo Gulf White Shrimp with Tuscan Beans, Crispy Spinach, and aged Balsamic Gastrique

6th) Roasted Red Pepper Bisque, herbed croutons, Strega essence

7th) Mozzarella en Carozza, anchovy-caper sauce

8th) Sorbetto al Limone

9th) Chianti Braised Pork Osso Bucco, garlic smashed potatoes

10th) Butterscotch Souufle, French Vanilla Ice Cream

I think everyone really enjoyed the meal. I know that they enjoyed the time celebrating Joe's birthday. Especially young Eli.

Happy Birthday Joe, and thanks for celebrating with us here at Carmine's

Super Bowl Snack Pairings

During the game, there's going to be a lot of snacks eaten, and of course a lot of beer drunk. Much attention is paid to the beer part; especially about things that pair well. Things like chili, pretzels, etc. But what about those folks who enjoy wine? Here's some tips on some great wine / snack combos. I'm a BIG fan of potato chips, so I bought 20 something different brands and then tasted them all will some wines.He it's a tough job, but someone had to do it.


Carmine’s “Flavor Punch” Ratings:

Originally, I had thought that there would be a correlation between saturated fat content and “flavor punch”, but that wasn’t so. The total fat content for all of the chips tasted was relatively the same.

The first thing that you notice is the salt content on your lips, or lack there of. Saltiness varied widely from chip to chip.

Overall, salt content, chip texture, and flavor power effects the final wine pairing.


Flavor Ratings and Pairings:

Chips are rated from 1-5, with 1 being the lowest flavor punch, and 5 being the biggest flavor punch.

1- Wise Lightly Salted: Thin sliced, very subtle potato flavor, less oil than the original chips, light salt, short start & finish

1- Lay’s Baked: Very thin texture, o fat, cooked rare, “processed” taste, no potato taste, barely any salt

A great style of wine to pair with these chips would be white, light, crisp, slightly fruity, such as

**** Pinot Blanc, Italian Soave or Orvieto, or a lighter style reisling from New York.


2- Wise All Natural: Thin sliced, lightly cooked, not overly salty, slight potato and somewhat oily taste

2+- Lay’s Classic: Thin sliced, not overly salty, short start, just a hint of salt on the lips, cooked slightly more than the Wise.


**** Use whites again, but go bigger and bolder, with a spicy Gewurtztraminer, or Sauvignon Blanc, or even a lighter style Chardonnay with little or no oak


2- Wise Lightly Salted: Thin sliced, very subtle potato flavor, less oil than the original chips, light salt, short start & finish

3- Lay’s Baked: Very thin texture, o fat, cooked rare, “processed” taste, no potato taste, barely any salt

A great style of wine to pair with these chips would be white, light, crisp, slightly fruity, such as

**** Pinot Blanc, Italian Soave or Orvieto, or a lighter style reisling from New York.


4- Wise All Natural: Thin sliced, lightly cooked, not overly salty, slight potato and somewhat oily taste

2+- Lay’s Classic: Thin sliced, not overly salty, short start, just a hint of salt on the lips, cooked slightly more than the Wise.


**** Use whites again, but go bigger and bolder, with a spicy Gewurtztraminer, or Sauvignon Blanc, or even a lighter style Chardonnay with little or no oak


5- Lay’s Kettle Cooked: Light to Medium baked, great snap & crackle, beefy texture, bigger start, long lasting potato finish, less salty than expected

3- Charles Chips: Classic look and taste, nice potato taste, even saltiness

3+- Lay’s Salt and Vinegar: Light color, dry, less oily texture, strong vinegar nose, long, sweet vinegar finish but no potato taste

3 Wise Honey BBQ: Bright orange color, which is deceiving (the bbq taste isn’t very strong, the honey is), BBQ hits the lips to start, honey brings in a sweet short finish

3+ Ruffles Ridged Chips: Well cooked, tastes like “hops”, good degree of saltiness

**** Wines need to be a big bold oakey, buttery Chardonnay, or a light style red, such as a Beaujolais, Barbera from Italy, or a thin, light Pinot Noir (light red, slightly chilled is also great)


4-Wise Ridges: Slightly oily, lots of salt, lots of potato, but thin

6- Wise Ridges Cheddar & Sour Cream: typical ridged texture, bright orange color, big bold start, mellows out on the finish, medium potato taste (overwhelmed by cheese & sour cream flavor)

4-Cape Cod 40% Reduced Fat Kettle Cooked: Very hard, crunchy texture, dark color matches the taste; like a dark beer vs lite beer comparison, smoky taste,earthy, but still not a real “potato” taste

*** Matching wines here include those that are medium body reds, with good tannin structure such as an earthy Merlot, Sangioves, a heavier, “thicker” Pinot Noir, or a young Chianti


7- Cape Cod Dark Russet Kettle Cooked: Dark, ruby red color, soft-crunchy texture, very little salt; tastes like a great, big , baked potato with a rich smoky flavor.

5-Lay’s Baked KC Masterpiece BBQ: Light color, “fake chip” texture; slow BBQ start, very faint nose, sweet smoky finish, but hardly any potato taste

*** Here’s we pull out the big boys with the powerful flavors: Super Tuscans, fine California Cabernet Sauvignon, Meritage blends, or the big Italian Barolo

Things That Make Me Hungry

Simple things. Easy things. Tasty things. I like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, mint chocolate chip ice cream, potato chips (any kind), and risotto.

This one was a quick plate for some of us here in the restaurant kitchen. I made a little Shrimp, Langostino, and Spinach Risotto to power u up before dinner service. 

Yeah, we eat pretty well here!

Super Bowl Sunday

If you're like most people, you are either going to attend,  or are hosting a Super Bowl Party this Sunday. Do you have a favorite team for the big game? I don't have a dog in this fight; my team, the Giants, played like a bunch of Girl Scouts in the playoffs (sorry if I offend any Girl Scouts). 

 

Most restaurants find Super Bowl Sunday to be a waste of time to open. Now don't get me wrong. There are a lot of neighborhood taverns and sports bars that will due exceptionally well. And I'm sure the chain restaurant won't feel much of a pinch. 

But local, independent, white table cloth places like "Carmine's" usually don't draw a crowd on the greatest game day in football. The  only way that we'll see a lot of traffic is if:

a) The game is a blowout and everyone would rather be somewhere else.

b) The commercials really suck.

c) The football widows decide that they don't want to cook OR clean up.

Snow and Other Lousy Weather

Recently, one of the local television stations called to ask if inclement weather was detrimental ot a restaurant's business. When I finished laughing at the question, I told the reporter to come on over and see for herself. She said she would be over in 10 minutes. 

When she arrived over 90 minutes later, she saw a pretty empty house. Not many years ago, bad weather didn't stop many guests from dining out. Today however, it's rare to get a crowd in the restaurant when the weather is terrible. 

So, we here are in an upstate N.Y restaurant, all hoping for 70 degrees and sun for the whole month of February (especially on Valentine's Day!).

First Posting

Well, it seems everyone is blogging these days. So why me? Because I find that sometimes the best way to clear your head is to put your thoughts to paper. Does that warrant a blog site of my own? I'm not sure, but I figured maybe it's a good dose of therapy!