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Leave well enough alone
The older I get the more I realize that as far as food is concerned, simpler is
better. Classic dishes are classics because they're already perfect on their own. Lavender creme brulee may be perfectly nice, but a creme brulee on its own is better. Fries with nothing but salt have it all over seasoned fries, or fries with garlic, or pepper, whatever else some enterprising chef decides to put on them. But chefs, like opera directors, just can't seem to leave well enough alone. They have to innovate. Please, stop innovating, and just give us a perfectly prepared Waldorf salad or Boston cream pie with no fancy frills. I find myself saying this all the time, as I did this weekend. I sampled two desserts at a rather expensive restaurant: Boston banana cream pie, and angel food strawberry shortcake, both with disappointing results. As is the custom nowadays, both desserts had been prepared in small circular molds, with fancily decorated sauce surrounding them on the plate. The Boston cream pie was not topped by a chocolate glaze, but rather by a thick round of hard, rather tasteless chocolate. The cake itself and the cream were quite nice, but the flavor of the banana overpowered them both. The banana was a case of gilding the lily. Just leave the lilies alone! The strawberry shortcake was encased in a shell of hardened white chocolate, which, I'm afraid added nothing to the cake. The angel food cake absorbed the syrup so that it was a soggy gop. The strawberries and cream were fine. The truth is, a dessert of just strawberries and cream would have been so much better! To our restaurant chefs: Just stick to the basics and we'll all be better off. |
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Leave well enough alone
Loire21 wrote:
> The older I get the more I realize that as far as food is concerned, simpler is > better. Classic dishes are classics because they're already perfect on their > own. Lavender creme brulee may be perfectly nice, but a creme brulee on its own > is better. Fries with nothing but salt have it all over seasoned fries, or > fries with garlic, or pepper, whatever else some enterprising chef decides to > put on them. > > But chefs, like opera directors, just can't seem to leave well enough alone. > They have to innovate. Please, stop innovating, and just give us a perfectly > prepared Waldorf salad or Boston cream pie with no fancy frills. > > I find myself saying this all the time, as I did this weekend. I sampled two > desserts at a rather expensive restaurant: Boston banana cream pie, and angel > food strawberry shortcake, both with disappointing results. > > As is the custom nowadays, both desserts had been prepared in small circular > molds, with fancily decorated sauce surrounding them on the plate. > > The Boston cream pie was not topped by a chocolate glaze, but rather by a thick > round of hard, rather tasteless chocolate. The cake itself and the cream were > quite nice, but the flavor of the banana overpowered them both. The banana was > a case of gilding the lily. Just leave the lilies alone! > > The strawberry shortcake was encased in a shell of hardened white chocolate, > which, I'm afraid added nothing to the cake. The angel food cake absorbed the > syrup so that it was a soggy gop. The strawberries and cream were fine. The > truth is, a dessert of just strawberries and cream would have been so much > better! > > To our restaurant chefs: Just stick to the basics and we'll all be better off. Go to McD's, because that is the final outcome of what you are advocating in a fashion. If everyone cooked everything just alike, you would end up being bored to death. Just think about how much satisfaction you would be missing as you express yourself in bitching about the food. Here's your review as you would have it. Went to ABC and had a very good piece of salmon grilled on wood. But, it was just like the one I had at XYZ and at 123 and at 9F6. No real reason to go there for the food, it is the exactly same as everywhere else, but the atmosphere is a bit quainter than my normal haunts. So, don;t go there for the food, go there to be quaint. What a crock. jim |
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Leave well enough alone
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Leave well enough alone
"Loire21" > wrote in message news:20040525153159.19095.00001483@mb <snips> > The Boston cream pie was not topped by a chocolate glaze, but rather by a thick > round of hard, rather tasteless chocolate. The cake itself and the cream were > quite nice, but the flavor of the banana overpowered them both. The banana was > a case of gilding the lily. Just leave the lilies alone! > > The strawberry shortcake was encased in a shell of hardened white chocolate, > which, I'm afraid added nothing to the cake. The angel food cake absorbed the > syrup so that it was a soggy gop. The strawberries and cream were fine. The > truth is, a dessert of just strawberries and cream would have been so much > better! > > To our restaurant chefs: Just stick to the basics and we'll all be better off. It seems to me that you had experience of something being done poorly, and the problem with it was how it was done more than what it was. To me, the moral of your tale is, "Whatever you do, do it well" Doing something poorly isn't a case for not doing it well. I have in mind a recent Stilton Cheesecake with Peppery Port Compote (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/da...wit_4790.shtml) I recently made. It's scarcely classically simple cheesecake but no-one who ate it seemed to think there was any reason why I shouldn't have made it. Guess I got it right. |
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Leave well enough alone
Loire21 wrote:
>> JimLane wrote: > >> What a crock. >> > > Thanks, Jim. I agree with you, Loire, up to a point. Some things don't need much improvement. I can't for the life of me figure out (and here's where I'll get flamed) the fascination with adding garlic to mashed potatoes. I love garlic. I love mashed potatoes. But put them together and I feel absolutely no sense of overwhelming joy. Yet I add a little minced garlic if I'm making potato pancakes from leftover mashed potatoes. Go figure. I think the chefs in those fancy places are pressured to come up with 'signature dishes'. Lilac creme brulee isn't what is served at ABC down the street, therefore if we do it, it will attract more customers. Rather like the $1000 omelet discussed here last week. Sure, I'll rush right out and order one. But the point was, they got the publicity. I don't think everything is going to wind up tasting like McD's if chefs keep things simple. But that's just my opinion and like other things, everyone has one  Jill |
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Leave well enough alone
"Loire21" > wrote in message
... > The older I get the more I realize that as far as food is concerned, simpler is > better. Classic dishes are classics because they're already perfect on their > own. Lavender creme brulee may be perfectly nice, but a creme brulee on its own > is better. Fries with nothing but salt have it all over seasoned fries, or > fries with garlic, or pepper, whatever else some enterprising chef decides to > put on them. > > But chefs, like opera directors, just can't seem to leave well enough alone. > They have to innovate. Please, stop innovating, and just give us a perfectly > prepared Waldorf salad or Boston cream pie with no fancy frills. > > I find myself saying this all the time, as I did this weekend. I sampled two > desserts at a rather expensive restaurant: Boston banana cream pie, and angel > food strawberry shortcake, both with disappointing results. > > As is the custom nowadays, both desserts had been prepared in small circular > molds, with fancily decorated sauce surrounding them on the plate. > > The Boston cream pie was not topped by a chocolate glaze, but rather by a thick > round of hard, rather tasteless chocolate. The cake itself and the cream were > quite nice, but the flavor of the banana overpowered them both. The banana was > a case of gilding the lily. Just leave the lilies alone! > > The strawberry shortcake was encased in a shell of hardened white chocolate, > which, I'm afraid added nothing to the cake. The angel food cake absorbed the > syrup so that it was a soggy gop. The strawberries and cream were fine. The > truth is, a dessert of just strawberries and cream would have been so much > better! > > To our restaurant chefs: Just stick to the basics and we'll all be better off. I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments but not your prescription. Remember, today's classics were once someone's experiments! -- Peter Aitken Remove the crap from my email address before using. |
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Leave well enough alone
"Loire21" > wrote in message ... > The older I get the more I realize that as far as food is concerned, simpler is > better. This is a matter of individual taste and in general I agree, fine ingredients, nicely cooked, simply presented and politely served are hard to beat. OTOH look at what, for example, Thomas Keller is doing (or perhaps was doing!) at The French Laundry and you can see how interesting pushing the limits can be. |
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Leave well enough alone
In rec.food.cooking, Loire21 > wrote:
> The older I get the more I realize that as far as food is concerned, simpler is > better. Classic dishes are classics because they're already perfect on their > own. Lavender creme brulee may be perfectly nice, but a creme brulee on its own > is better. Fries with nothing but salt have it all over seasoned fries, or > fries with garlic, or pepper, whatever else some enterprising chef decides to > put on them. Malt vinegar can be nice... -- ....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy... - The Who |
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Leave well enough alone
"jmcquown" > wrote in message ... >I can't for the life of me figure out (and here's where I'll > get flamed) the fascination with adding garlic to mashed potatoes. I love > garlic. I love mashed potatoes. But put them together and I feel > absolutely no sense of overwhelming joy. Yet I add a little minced garlic > if I'm making potato pancakes from leftover mashed potatoes. Go figure. i'm not a big fan of raw garlic in mashed potatoes however, roasted garlic mashers nearly give me wood! :-P |
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Leave well enough alone
I've witnessed this from inside the kitchen and inside the culinary schools. I
think part of the problem is the popularity of the term "culinary arts". Many high schools have changed the name of their home ec classes to "culinary arts". The kids from these classes talk to a recruiter from a culinary school, get fed a bunch of hype about the glamour of the profession, and here we are 10-15 years into this trend and nobody really understands culinary craft anymore. There is no glamour in craft. Craft won't get you on the Food Network. Its all about creativity and trying to create something unique and different. Which is good to a point but it seems the profession has lost its perspective. There are very few culinary artists out there. I think there is quite a bit of culinary folk art out there and some of it is really good but very little "high art". I've witnessed many mediocre attempts at art and admittly I made a few in my younger days but now I'm older and my tastes have changed. I think leaving the profession allowed me to step back and view things differently. I haven't cooked professionaly for a couple of years now but I think I've learned alot and improved in certian areas also. I remember a few years back I interviewed with the exec chef at a restaurant that was part of a triple A four diamond resort and he asked me about "culinary art". I started talking about culinary craft and he looked at me like I had started shooting flames from the top of my head or something. I didn't get the job. I think that ws the begining of the end for me. I realize that I've rambled here and I apologize for ranting. This something that been simmering inside me for a while. Thank you allowing me to let it out. .. John |
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Leave well enough alone
>(JAdkins392) bloviated:
> >I haven't cooked professionaly for a couple of years now but I think I've >learned alot and improved You haven't learned shit... "alot" is NOT a word... you're a pontificating illiterate *******, ie. blowhard. ---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =--- ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- ********* "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation." Sheldon ```````````` |
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Leave well enough alone
On Tue, 25 May 2004 22:06:54 +0200, "Michael Rolfe"
> wrote: > > I have in mind a recent Stilton Cheesecake with Peppery Port Compote >(http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/da...wit_4790.shtml) >I recently made. It's scarcely classically simple cheesecake but no-one who >ate it seemed to think there was any reason why I shouldn't have made it. >Guess I got it right. This looks quite good with the exception of rhubarb (it's one of the few veggies I never acquired a taste for), but it can certainly be substituted. I really like stilton with port, but never thought about making it into a sweet dessert. Is caster sugar what is known in US as regular sugar? With the description of golden not sure it is. Sounds more like less refined sugar. Thanks for pointing this recipe out. Will try it. Nona Myers |
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Leave well enough alone
You haven't learned shit... "alot" is NOT a word... you're a pontificating
illiterate *******, ie. blowhard. YES!!! I leave this newsgroup for a couple of years, come back for a few weeks and the first time I post Sheldon jumps on me. I feel like one of the gang now! John |
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Leave well enough alone
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Leave well enough alone
"Nona", "Michael Rolfe" : > wrote: : > : > I have in mind a recent Stilton Cheesecake with Peppery Port Compote : >(http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/da...ncheesecakewit _4790.shtml) : >I recently made. It's scarcely classically simple cheesecake but no-one who : >ate it seemed to think there was any reason why I shouldn't have made it. : >Guess I got it right. : : This looks quite good with the exception of rhubarb (it's one of the : few veggies I never acquired a taste for), but it can certainly be : substituted. I really like stilton with port, but never thought about : making it into a sweet dessert. Is caster sugar what is known in US : as regular sugar? With the description of golden not sure it is. : Sounds more like less refined sugar. Thanks for pointing this recipe : out. Will try it. : : Nona Myers ============= That recipe looks nice. We do something similar but instead of the compote we do a little drizzle of stuff and pecans... LOL. This is amazing when paired with a glass of Port! Cyndi Liz's Bleu Cheesecake This is the recipe for what cousin Liz served while we were in Cincinnati, visiting over Memorial Weekend 2003. The "base" of this recipe comes from GG (Grandma Gertrude Hackett) and she simply adds the additional Roquefort to make it Bleu. Her preference is to add Gorgonzola, instead, but she wasn't able to procure it from the store (in time). 24 oz Cream Cheese 3 Egg Yolks 5 Egg Whites (whipped & folded) 1 1/2 c Sugar 1 t Vanilla 4 oz Roquefort Graham Cracker Crust Caramelized Sugar with toasted Pecans for topping Cream the cream cheese and the sugar, blend in the egg yolks and vanilla. Then fold in the egg whites and pour into a springform pan with the graham cracker crumb crust. Sprinkle on Bleu Cheese and poke into the cheesecake. Bake at 350 F. for 1 hour. Caramelize some sugar, add toasted pecans and sprinkle/ladle over the cheesecake once it's chilled. |
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Leave well enough alone
On Tue, 25 May 2004 20:32:27 GMT, "Peter Aitken"
> wrote: >"Loire21" > wrote >> The older I get the more I realize that as far as food is concerned, >>simpler is >> better. Classic dishes are classics because they're already perfect on >>their own. > >I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments but not your prescription. >Remember, today's classics were once someone's experiments! Indeed. Cooks and restaurants can screw up simple things as well as complicated or innovative ones. Food also swings between extremes according to fashion. Nouvelle Cuisine was an reaction against rich French cooking with elaborate sauces, and became a ridiculous exercise in producing tiny portions of elaborately-arranged ingredients in unlikely combinations. The eventual result, however, was a greater appreciation of fresh, seasonal ingredients and simplified preparation. Recent 'architectural' presentation will doubtless linger as a way to tidy up the plate a bit and stick some garnish on top ifor a pleasing appearance. Fusion cuisine, too, is new (and sometimes extreme) to the ethnic traditions it marries, but is no reason to prohibit rice-stick noodles from appearing with a non-Asian dish. The OP mentions 2 desserts as examples of her point of view, but "traditionally,* desserts are where the most elaboration and innovation happen. Sometimes for good, and sometimes evil in the extreme. One might as well say no one has ever improved on chocolate ice cream and refuse to try New York Super Fudge Chunk. :-) |
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Leave well enough alone
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