A principle that has always been of paramount importance to me in my work is authenticity. If I wrote on a menu that the entree was a French Cassoulet, then it would have sausages, duck, a bread crust and other essential ingredients. Although the sausages might be American made, they would be as close to the French ones as possible.
I am extremely bothered by things on restaurant menus written in quotation marks. Sometimes this indicates “in the style of” or a “creative riff on an old favorite” or that it is supposed to something it’s not.
When a chef presents a dish as “Hungarian,” the paprika that is the staple ingredient in Hungarian cooking needs to be the proper Hungarian paprika, not red powder in a jar purchased at a local store
The "On the Road" special I did in my cafe was as authentic as it was possible to be. I took the time to order the right spices, procure the right cuts of meat and, in general, tried to give my customers a taste of another place without leaving home.
This principle has stuck in my cooking soul like a cocklebur on a sock. I just can't seem to let it go.
The big thing at my house right now is planning a third birthday party around the theme of the Disney blockbuster movie “Frozen.” Set somewhere in Scandinavia (it looks like Norway to me), the story is about yet another Disney princess with a wasp waist and oversized eyes.
Dutifully, I did my research on the site all my former brides used, Pinterest. Imagine my shock and horror with some of the foods suggested:
• Blue jello squares to represent ice. Have you ever seen what toddlers do to jello squares?
• Large pretzel sticks coated with canned icing and dusted with rock sugar. This atrocity of taste is supposed to be icicles.
• White sugared mini-donuts to represent snow balls. Loaded with sugar and trans-fat.
• A dish moderately true to the region would be meatballs. The neighboring country of Sweden has a favorite dish known as "Swedish Meatballs.” Meatballs are suggested, but are labeled as “Troll Stones.”
• Worst of all, a plate of small carrots labeled "Olaf's Nose.” Olaf is a snowman, one of the principal characters. There is something inherently wrong about eating the body part of a named character.
Perhaps I am getting a bit stiff and stringent in my later life. I happily took some interest in some of the decorations suggested on Pinterest. There are crown templates to make for the little girl who dreams, thanks to Disney and its gigantic marketing department, of someday being a princess. Sticks from the yard can be sprayed with white paint, frosted with glitter and hung with paper snowflakes - I've done this for 30 years for Winter Wonderland parties … great ideas.
A pin suggested that Epsom salts mixed with water created a paint that will dry and resemble ice crystals. This could be a fun idea and teach a bit of science. There was even a serving tray created with a couple of coat-hangers and a painted cutting board to (loosely) resemble a sled.
Just to let you know how far I was able to go to mix my principles with the present-day realities. We are having a photo booth, the latest craze in wedding receptions. We are having a place to paint foam cut into snow flake shapes with Epsom salts so they will sparkle. We are going to update Pin the Tail on the Donkey with Pin the Nose on Olaf (much better than eating it, don't you think?). We'll have blue and silver decorations, befitting a princess from some far northern region.
As for food, we'll be serving chicken tenders fried from scratch (still no frozen products for me), fresh fruit, blueberry muffins and Goldfish crackers. All child friendly food at my house and I hope child friendly to our guests. Of course, we will have a splendid birthday cake featuring the characters from the movie.
As for true Norwegian cuisine, the most basic and available in our area is salmon. Reindeer, boysenberries, herring and fermented shark will have to wait until the ingredients are more available.
Salmon, on the other hand, has become widely available to consumers across the world. Salmon is on the list of nutritional powerhouse foods. It is lean and loaded with Omega3, a critical building block for health. It is easy and quick to prepare.
Just a few words about salmon: the big debate is wild-caught vs. farm-raised. Wild salmon has been horrifically over-fished in recent years. Salmon are carnivorous. In the wild they eat shrimp, krill and other very small fish. This diet gives salmon their distinct color. Farmed salmon are fed ground up wild salmon, depleting the very stock they are grown to replace. They are fed dye to created the color of wild salmon. There is a new practice called ocean ranching being developed in Alaska. This system hatches salmon roe in hatcheries, then releases the baby salmon in certain places. Following typical salmon behavior, they will return to these places to spawn themselves where they can be caught.
Looking for wild-caught salmon is the best. However, using guides online regarding wild vs. farmed salmon will answer many questions and help you become well informed.
Salmon with Lime and Sriracha - from Gwyneth Paltrow
• 1 juice and zest of 1/2 lime
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sriracha sauce*
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 1/4 pounds salmon fillet, skin removed
• 2 Tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro
Pre-heat oven. Combine juice, zest, syrup, sriracha and salt.
Place salmon in a baking dish lined with parchment or aluminum foil. Pour the lime mixture over the top of the salmon. Roast the salmon for a general time of 10 minutes per 1 inch of fish.
Let the fish rest for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle
with chopped cilantro to serve.
Fran Ginn is former chef/owner of The Back Door Café, who retired after 31 years in the food industry to be a grandmother. She can be contacted at fran@franginn.com.
