THE PORTABLE CHEF^TM
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Chef Chip Desormeaux - 678.480.4973

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AMUSE BOUCHE                 by Chef Chip Desormeaux

/ah-mooz boosh/ def: A small complimentary appetizer offered at fine restaurants. From French, literally, "it entertains the mouth."

Food & Entertaining Tips from The Portable Chef

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How are you?

Y ou know, Valentine's Day is coming up. If you start planning now, you could really pull off something nice.

Just last weekend I prepared a romantic dinner for two  for a lady and her husband. When she contacted me, she explained that each year for their anniversary they take turns trying to outdo what the other did the previous year.

So this year she hired me to prepare a nice brunch for the two of them in their home. For afterward, she had arranged a helicopter ride  over Atlanta for the two of them. After the helicopter, ride they enjoyed twin massages at one of Atlanta's premier spas.

I thought it was fantastic that after nine years of marriage and two children that their relationship is still producing that much vitality!

A Little History About Meat

If you're anything like me, you probably wouldn't feel like your meal was complete without a piece of meat on your plate. But, did you know that it wasn't until the 19th century that meat became a major staple in our diets?

It wasn't until very recently that meat has become so commonplace. In fact, ask your grandparents how often they had chicken when they were growing up.

Meat was too expensive. It was for the simple fact that grain crops are a far more efficient form of nourishment than animals grazing on the same land. It takes much less grain to feed a person than it does to feed a cow or chicken in order to feed a person.

The late 19th century developments of the cattle car for railroads and refrigeration made it easy to transport meat from the countryside into the cities. It was then that meat gradually gained a more prominent place on the dinner table.

In fact, since that time, demand for meat has become so great that farmers have needed more efficient methods of raising cattle and poultry to meet with the growing demands. Science has introduced antibiotics and hormones to reduce the risk of disease and increase the growth rate of farm animals.

As a result, the meat on our table today isn't the same as what our great-great grandparents were eating. Those hormones and antibiotics make their way into our own bodies and have been found to cause myriad problems in the human body.

Compound that with the fact that, while meat is much more widely available, our level of physical activity is much less than our ancestors. Thus, meat's otherwise valuable endowment of energy becomes our enemy, with the unused calories being converted to fat in our own bodies.

So it seems a sort of double whammy. We consume so much more meat than our recent ancestors and the meat we consume is lacking in nutrients and laden with harmful antibiotics and hormones.

I personally don't intend to stop eating meat—I think I would just shrivel up and die if I had to do that! But perhaps the importance we place on meat is a carry-over from a time past when our level of activity afforded us a taste for a good looking steak.

I think the lesson from this is perhaps to consume a little less meat and accompany it with veggies and fruits to round out its nutritional strengths and limitations.

Bon Appetit!

Chef Chip Desormeaux

The source of information for this article is the book, "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen" by Harold McGee.

But, Wait! There's More!
(Recipes, Nifty Gadgets, & Stuff Like That)

Recipes. One of my favorite seafood dishes is my Nut & Veggie Halibut.

The dish is specifically designed to be highly satisfying by utilizing beauty of presentation, and a strong medley of flavors. This dish has no carbs whatsoever with only 329 calories and 13 grams of fat (almost all of which come from olive oil).

One important ingredient is fresh lime juice. Citrus juices—especially lime and lemon—have similar flavor enhancing qualities to salt and help to give the feeling of satiation without a ton of calories.

Click here  to view the recipe.

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The finest kitchen gadget I'll never buy. There's a product by the Nestlé company that's been around for a few years but is just now showing up in more stores. It's called Nespresso.   The espresso beans come pre-ground in single-serving capsules which are uniquely made to fit the Nespresso machine. Discounting the cost of the machine, a serving of espresso will cost you about 50 cents. The system can be hooked up directly to your own filtered water supply. Loading espresso capsules is like loading a rifle: when you lift the lever the old capsule pops up and slides back into a little waste compartment at the back of the machine. I have a client who owns one of these and I make him give me a shot every time I cook for him! This machine makes the finest espresso I've ever had in my life, with a very thick crema.

I would never buy one of these machines for the simple reason that I would have 10 espressos a day. You, on the other hand, should buy one and invite me over for coffee.

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