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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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Happy Valentine's Day! My dad came to visit last week. He had just visited the doctor a few weeks ago and, like most men his age, the doc said his cholesterol's a little high and he needs to start watching what he eats. He called me up after the doctor visit and we decided he should come down and get some cooking lessons!

We're from Louisiana. Everyone knows how to cook in Louisiana. My dad grew up on a huge working farm where almost everything his family ate, was raised on the farm. Garden veggies. Fresh citrus fruit. Fresh milk. Poultry, beef, pork, wild game, you name it.

But you can't lose weight on Louisiana cooking. If you do, you're doing something wrong. So I thought I might help Dad tweak his culinary skills a little bit.

We had a lot of fun together in the kitchen. He was most amazed how enjoyable a low fat piece of meat can actually be if you know how to cook it right and use some good seasoning.

So I loaded him down with a deep freezer of food and a few good recipes.

But, besides the convivial aspect, I think the things he prized the most were the seasonings. And so my inspiration for this week's newsletter.

This is the first of a two part series (or maybe three) about the use of spices and herbs and their proper care.

Enjoy!

Spices, Herbs & Seasonings, Part One

Even the simplest combination of spices can transform an otherwise boring piece of meat or vegetable into something exciting!

The subject of spices is one that I could write an entire year of articles about. In the early centuries of civilized man entire wars were waged just for the control of spice trade!

The flavorings we use in our foods can be divided into three categories: spices, herbs, and seasonings.

Spices come from seeds, barks and roots. Cumin, black pepper and mustard come from seeds. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a tree (usually the cassia tree). Ginger comes from a root. These are all spices.

Herbs come exclusively from the leaves of plants. Basil, parsley, rosemary, are all leaves from plants, therefore herbs.

A seasoning is simply any combination of spices and/or herbs mixed together to produce a certain flavor. If someone asks you what seasoning you used in a dish, they want to know what combination of herbs and spices you used.

You will find many cookbooks insisting on only fresh herbs. Let me tell you that this is not always good advice. I use a lot of dried herbs as well as fresh. The deciding factor between fresh and dried herbs is WHEN they will be used in the dish.

In the case of long-cooking stews or braises, a slower release of flavor is necessary, requiring dry herbs and whole spices. Whereas, in the case of a quick sauté of chicken or fish, fresh herbs and finely ground spices are more appropriate.

Fresh herbs, especially cilantro and dill, are completely useless when added at the beginning of the cooking process. They quickly lose their potency when exposed to cooking temperatures. This is why you'll usually see recipes that call for these herbs to be added at the very end. Or even as a garnish on the finished plate.

You may not realize this but the spices and herbs you buy in the grocery store are very often already six months to a year old. I order all my spices, herbs and seasonings from The Spice House.  (A recent episode of Good Eats informed me that Alton Brown also uses the same source. He learned that from me—just to set the record straight!) In the next issue, I'll share with you a rapid summary of proper care of herbs and spices. Bon Appetit! Chef Chip Desormeaux

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

Recipes. Since we're on the subject of spices and herbs, here's a great recipe that makes maximum use of fresh herbs and has become a definite client favorite.

Chicken Toscana with Cannelini Beans uses a medley of five herbs typical of Italian cooking. I usually prepare this dish with dark meat chicken because that's what we like. But a lot of my clients ask me to prepare it with white meat to cut the fat down even more.

Either way, it's very satisfying, especially over about ½ cup of brown rice. With dark meat chicken, it's 450 calories and 22 grams of fat per serving. White meat, 422 calories and 11 grams of fat.

Click here  to view the recipe.

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