News
Does it seem to you like every time you read a paper or food magazine lately the title contains the words locavore, local, sustainable, or slow food?
It takes me awhile to get my head around the new “buzzwords,” and I often find them to be just a new take on an old idea. But we must all decide for ourselves whether a “new” concept is right for us or not, and I know that if a subject doesn't interest me I quickly move on.
For those of you who are still on the fence over these new feel-good/taste-good lifestyles, I wanted to share an experience I had with an early “food movement” that proved to be pivotal in convincing me the time had come to join in.
It was January 2006 and Colorado Culinary Academy faculty and students were attending the ACF chef's association western regional convention on the Big Island of Hawaii. The list of seminars included: “In from the Deep” - learn about lobsters and crabs raised in Kona's deep sea water; “Hawaiian Chocolate” - learn about and taste the only chocolate grown in the USA; “Oishi Sushi” - a hands-on sushi class; and more.
But the one I will always remember was a presentation by Chef Alan Wong, who is a chef and restaurateur known as one of the 12 co-founders (along with Sam Choy, Roy Yamaguchi, Peter Merriman, Bev Gannon, etc.) of “Hawaiian Regional Cuisine.”
Choy, who co-presented with local farmers, explained how over the previous 20 years independent restaurants in Hawaii had been losing market share to national chains. At the same time, sales of bananas, Hawaii's biggest commodity crop, had suffered from market pressure and shipping prices. To fight back, farmers and chefs were working together to promote this new American regional cuisine, highlighting Hawaii's amazingly diverse local ingredients, and its many ethnic cooking styles. Chain restaurants are required to serve the same menu items wherever in the world they are located, and they saw this as an opportunity to differentiate their own menus — with Hawaiian regional cuisine. So as we bid a fond farewell to Kona, we asked ourselves: “If there is a Hawaiian regional cuisine, is there a Colorado cuisine as well?”
Generally speaking, regional cuisines like Tex-Mex, New Mexican, or Cajun, need no explanation. But try as we might, we could not think of a clearly defined flavor profile that could be identified with home (If you have some thoughts you would like to share with readers on this subject please pass them on to me). But the same could be said of other regions of the country as well. So is it important that people identify a particular food with Colorado? If our focus is instead on using fresh, local, organic (when available) ingredients in the preparation of dishes, won't we enjoy the benefits of a more flavorful and healthful dining experience, regardless of the recipe's origin?
And when it comes to fresh and local, there is much for us in western Colorado to celebrate. Produce of all kinds including asparagus, sweet corn, peaches, and grapes, ranch fresh beef, pork, elk, bison and the often ignored Colorado lamb. What better local product to eat than one with our name on it? Could this be the one? Colorado lamb on the menu next to Alaskan salmon, Idaho potatoes, and Wisconsin cheese. Yet, according to the American Lamb Board of Denver, the average person living in the U.S. consumes less that a pound of lamb per year, compared to 60 pounds of beef, and a full third of the population has never even tasted lamb.
Some chef's are trying new species of lamb to differentiate themselves from the poor perception of commodity lamb. In an article for the National Culinary Review (March 2010) titled “From Pasture to Plate,” author Jan Greenberg interviewed Mark Fisher, chef/owner of the Carbondale restaurant Six89. Fisher buys a Targhee/Hampshire cross breed of lamb from rancher Pat Sturgeon of the Cross Six Sheep Co. of Meeker, which Fisher describes as “profoundly lamby in the best sense of the word. It's not like a gamey mutton-type taste. It just has a clean flavor, cooks well and is popular with customers and we are just enchanted by it.” By the way, Colorado lamb is available in Grand Junction at Fishers Market Premium Natural Meats and Quality Meat Co.
A close, personal friend of Greek descent has been inviting us into her home for what I can only describe as fabulous Greek food, including lamb, for more than 30 years now. While at her home this past Sunday for Greek Easter dinner I asked her permission to print one of her family recipes that I think you will enjoy.
Spanakopita (SPAH-nah-KO-pee-tah) is Greek spinach pie wrapped in phyllo dough. I wanted to share this recipe because I'm one of those people who likes side dishes as much as the main course, and this is the best version of “Span” I have encountered. I'm told this recipe is not just famous in Colorado, but internationally, having recently been shared with friends in England, Holland and France. So pick up your favorite cut of Colorado lamb, toss a Greek salad, bake off this recipe for spanakopita, sit back with friends, and enjoy!
Demi's Famous Spanakopita
Ingredients (prefer organic when available):
2 10 oz. packages frozen leaf spinach
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 lb. cottage cheese
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1 lb. melted butter
1 lb. phyllo dough sheets
5 large eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
Defrost and drain spinach in a colander under refrigeration for at least two hours or overnight.
Squeeze excess liquid from spinach and coarsely chop.
SautО onion in 2 tbsp. of butter over medium heat until translucent.
Add spinach and sautО until just hot, one-two minutes, pull from heat and set aside to cool.
While cooling, prepare phyllo as follows: brush a 10x14 cake pan lightly with melted butter, layer the entire bottom with phyllo, brush phyllo with butter and add a second layer of phyllo. Repeat until you have 10 layers.
Beat eggs , add cottage cheese and blend with onion-spinach mixture, pour filling over phyllo and gently spread to evenly cover.
Cover the top of the filling with another 10 layers of phyllo, brushing the top of each layer with melted butter.
Score the top layer of phyllo with a knife, gently cutting into the portion sizes you plan to serve.
Bake on the center shelf of a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until top is golden brown and center reaches 165 degrees.
Cool for a minimum of 10 minutes, or until filling has set up. Cut through all layers and serve.
Makes 10-12 portions.
What food(s) do you think characterizes Colorado cuisine? E-mail Dan at dkirby@mesastate.edu or call 255-2632.
Dan Kirby is the program coordinator of culinary arts at Western Colorado Community College.
It takes me awhile to get my head around the new “buzzwords,” and I often find them to be just a new take on an old idea. But we must all decide for ourselves whether a “new” concept is right for us or not, and I know that if a subject doesn't interest me I quickly move on.
For those of you who are still on the fence over these new feel-good/taste-good lifestyles, I wanted to share an experience I had with an early “food movement” that proved to be pivotal in convincing me the time had come to join in.
It was January 2006 and Colorado Culinary Academy faculty and students were attending the ACF chef's association western regional convention on the Big Island of Hawaii. The list of seminars included: “In from the Deep” - learn about lobsters and crabs raised in Kona's deep sea water; “Hawaiian Chocolate” - learn about and taste the only chocolate grown in the USA; “Oishi Sushi” - a hands-on sushi class; and more.
But the one I will always remember was a presentation by Chef Alan Wong, who is a chef and restaurateur known as one of the 12 co-founders (along with Sam Choy, Roy Yamaguchi, Peter Merriman, Bev Gannon, etc.) of “Hawaiian Regional Cuisine.”
Choy, who co-presented with local farmers, explained how over the previous 20 years independent restaurants in Hawaii had been losing market share to national chains. At the same time, sales of bananas, Hawaii's biggest commodity crop, had suffered from market pressure and shipping prices. To fight back, farmers and chefs were working together to promote this new American regional cuisine, highlighting Hawaii's amazingly diverse local ingredients, and its many ethnic cooking styles. Chain restaurants are required to serve the same menu items wherever in the world they are located, and they saw this as an opportunity to differentiate their own menus — with Hawaiian regional cuisine. So as we bid a fond farewell to Kona, we asked ourselves: “If there is a Hawaiian regional cuisine, is there a Colorado cuisine as well?”
Generally speaking, regional cuisines like Tex-Mex, New Mexican, or Cajun, need no explanation. But try as we might, we could not think of a clearly defined flavor profile that could be identified with home (If you have some thoughts you would like to share with readers on this subject please pass them on to me). But the same could be said of other regions of the country as well. So is it important that people identify a particular food with Colorado? If our focus is instead on using fresh, local, organic (when available) ingredients in the preparation of dishes, won't we enjoy the benefits of a more flavorful and healthful dining experience, regardless of the recipe's origin?
And when it comes to fresh and local, there is much for us in western Colorado to celebrate. Produce of all kinds including asparagus, sweet corn, peaches, and grapes, ranch fresh beef, pork, elk, bison and the often ignored Colorado lamb. What better local product to eat than one with our name on it? Could this be the one? Colorado lamb on the menu next to Alaskan salmon, Idaho potatoes, and Wisconsin cheese. Yet, according to the American Lamb Board of Denver, the average person living in the U.S. consumes less that a pound of lamb per year, compared to 60 pounds of beef, and a full third of the population has never even tasted lamb.
Some chef's are trying new species of lamb to differentiate themselves from the poor perception of commodity lamb. In an article for the National Culinary Review (March 2010) titled “From Pasture to Plate,” author Jan Greenberg interviewed Mark Fisher, chef/owner of the Carbondale restaurant Six89. Fisher buys a Targhee/Hampshire cross breed of lamb from rancher Pat Sturgeon of the Cross Six Sheep Co. of Meeker, which Fisher describes as “profoundly lamby in the best sense of the word. It's not like a gamey mutton-type taste. It just has a clean flavor, cooks well and is popular with customers and we are just enchanted by it.” By the way, Colorado lamb is available in Grand Junction at Fishers Market Premium Natural Meats and Quality Meat Co.
A close, personal friend of Greek descent has been inviting us into her home for what I can only describe as fabulous Greek food, including lamb, for more than 30 years now. While at her home this past Sunday for Greek Easter dinner I asked her permission to print one of her family recipes that I think you will enjoy.
Spanakopita (SPAH-nah-KO-pee-tah) is Greek spinach pie wrapped in phyllo dough. I wanted to share this recipe because I'm one of those people who likes side dishes as much as the main course, and this is the best version of “Span” I have encountered. I'm told this recipe is not just famous in Colorado, but internationally, having recently been shared with friends in England, Holland and France. So pick up your favorite cut of Colorado lamb, toss a Greek salad, bake off this recipe for spanakopita, sit back with friends, and enjoy!
Demi's Famous Spanakopita
Ingredients (prefer organic when available):
2 10 oz. packages frozen leaf spinach
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 lb. cottage cheese
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1 lb. melted butter
1 lb. phyllo dough sheets
5 large eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
Defrost and drain spinach in a colander under refrigeration for at least two hours or overnight.
Squeeze excess liquid from spinach and coarsely chop.
SautО onion in 2 tbsp. of butter over medium heat until translucent.
Add spinach and sautО until just hot, one-two minutes, pull from heat and set aside to cool.
While cooling, prepare phyllo as follows: brush a 10x14 cake pan lightly with melted butter, layer the entire bottom with phyllo, brush phyllo with butter and add a second layer of phyllo. Repeat until you have 10 layers.
Beat eggs , add cottage cheese and blend with onion-spinach mixture, pour filling over phyllo and gently spread to evenly cover.
Cover the top of the filling with another 10 layers of phyllo, brushing the top of each layer with melted butter.
Score the top layer of phyllo with a knife, gently cutting into the portion sizes you plan to serve.
Bake on the center shelf of a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until top is golden brown and center reaches 165 degrees.
Cool for a minimum of 10 minutes, or until filling has set up. Cut through all layers and serve.
Makes 10-12 portions.
What food(s) do you think characterizes Colorado cuisine? E-mail Dan at dkirby@mesastate.edu or call 255-2632.
Dan Kirby is the program coordinator of culinary arts at Western Colorado Community College.
