EATG 711: Dining In. This course will explore achieving the double bottom line returns of tasty food and networking at Wharton. Detailed analysis of how managers make decisions that will optimize output through a relationship-building structure and menu strategy will be conducted. Prerequisite: a huge appetite.
Syllabus. I’ve always been obsessed with food, but this summer, I was particularly immersed; my internship was at a soup kitchen in San Francisco (required reading: Michael Pollan’s 2006 Omnivore’s Dilemma), where I was surrounded by the Slow Food Movement (http://www.slowfood.com/) and slapped upside the head by the muse. I gave myself an assignment, requiring much research and several final presentations: make pasta sauce from scratch. Included in my syllabus were the following ground rules: 1) whenever possible, use only ingredients found in nature (i.e. no canned tomatoes!), 2) whenever possible, use organic/free-range ingredients, and 3) other Wharton grad students must be involved.
This is how I came to be carrying 7.5 lbs of organic, vine ripened tomatoes, 1 lb of bones from free-range chickens, a 3.5-lb whole, organic, free-range chicken, a bottle of pinot grigio, and other sundry items, through all of Hurricane Hanna’s vicious glory last weekend.
Midterm Exam. The roast chicken dinner was my problem set. I decided that inviting only one WG ’09 (my husband) to pontificate on the chicken-y-ness of free-range chicken wouldn’t be enough and therefore emailed a certain WGA President to come over. Two bottles of wine later and with absolutely no leftovers making its way back to my refrigerator, the three of us found ourselves content and heading over to Ten Stone to watch fights break out and to ask even more people about what they did this summer. (OMG, really?! That’s so cool! Are you going back? Are you going to recruit again? Blah, blah…)
Midterm Presentation. Did the free-range chicken taste more like chicken? Though tasty, the overwhelming consensus was no, not really. Was it juicier? Yes, even the white meat portions were more tender than that of my prior roast chickens... but, I guess that without a control chicken, we’ll never really know. Was the 100% premium and trip to Reading Terminal Market on a crowded Saturday afternoon in the rain worth it? No.
The chicken, however, was only the midterm in an iterative course. All the leftover bones, plus carrots, celery, and the pound of extra bones that I picked up, were drunkenly thrown into a slow cooker when I got back from Ten Stone and set on low heat for 8 hours. When I woke up with a mild hangover, voila, I had chicken stock, which was part of my final assignment.
Final Exam. I haven’t purchased canned pasta sauce in over two years. No Ragu. No Prego. No Classico, Buitoni, or even Newman’s Own. I’ve been making my own in the slow cooker using a 1:1 ratio of canned whole San Marzano tomatoes and canned tomato paste. To recreate the whole tomatoes, I stewed peeled tomatoes in chicken stock and white wine (extra credit for alcoholic ingredients!). For the paste, I saw Ina Garten roast plum tomato halves in the oven with just a sprinkling of kosher salt, pepper, and olive oil—which I did, only for a lot longer, at lower temperature, and then pulverized into a paste in the food processor.
Final Presentation. I accidentally threw in too much hot pepper flakes into the sauce as it was reducing (yes, I was again a bit tipsy after “catching up” with a fellow WGA ’09 Community Service DVP), so I guess it became an arrabbiata. The final presentation dinner was penne con melanzane (penne with eggplant… Wharton Italians, please do not kill me for making the American bastard son of this dish). My husband was at a corporate sell dinner (Really? Already?), so I had another WG’09 come over in between Fashion Show and BizWorld meetings.
Seven pounds of tomatoes, purchased for about $15, reduced to something like one normal, 25-oz jar of pasta sauce, which one can find for around $2.50 in a grocery store ($5 for an organic version). We agreed that, though the sauce tasted better than jarred versions, $20 for raw materials plus about 8 hours of direct labor were not a cash flow positive investment. No economies realized, that’s for sure.
Debrief & Take-Aways. Though networks were built through meaningful conversations over yummy, though impractically made meals, I will go back to making pasta sauce with canned tomatoes. I can, however, say that I tried and if ever in a consulting interview someone asks me how many tomatoes one needs to make a 25-oz jar of pasta sauce, I will know. And so will you. You’re welcome.
Next Time: The Wharton Palette goes on a double date to the new Stephen Starr mega-bistro, Parc, on 18th and Locust Streets. Will this Balthazar wannabe hold a fork to Keith McNally’s 11-year, New York City hotspot?
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Recipe: Simple Roasted Rosemary Lemon Chicken, with Sauce
Ingredients:
1 3.5-lbs Whole roasting chicken (take out but keep whatever offal is included)
2 Lemons (1 cut into eighths, 1 juiced)
1 Medium yellow onion, unpeeled and cut into eighths
6 stalks Fresh rosemary
4 cloves Garlic (3 whole w/ peel on, one peeled and minced)
2 Tbs Butter, unsalted
1 Tbs Kosher salt
1 Tbs Fresh ground pepper
4 Tbs Olive oil
For Sauce:
1 cup Chicken stock
1/2 cup White wine
2 Tbs Lemon juice
Kosher salt
Pepper
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 425ºF.
Chop finely the leaves of 4 stalks of rosemary and place in small bowl. Mince one garlic clove and add to rosemary bowl. Add salt, pepper, olive oil, and juice of one lemon. Mix with spoon. Set aside. (The beauty of roast chicken is that you can use whatever herbs and spices you might have laying around–parsley, tarragon, dill, oregano–and if you do not have fresh herbs, try and get some but if you absolutely cannot, use smaller amounts of dried herbs... whatever you have on hand!)
Place removed offal (neck, livers, etc.) at the bottom of the roasting pan.
Rinse chicken (inside and out) and pat dry with tons of paper towels. Stuff inside of chicken with cut lemon, onion, whole garlic cloves, and two stalks of rosemary. Carefully creep fingers in between the skin and the breast. Place one tablespoon of butter under the skin over each breast. Rub the outside of the entire chicken with the rosemary mixture. Tie legs together with kitchen string (I often get creative because I never have kitchen string for some reason) and place chicken on roasting rack in roasting pan.
Place chicken in oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375ºF. Roast for 1.5 hours. Baste chicken every 30 minutes with the juices that gather at the bottom of the pan – the skin will become golden brown and crispy… yum! I don’t have a meat thermometer, but really should invest in one since cutting into the chicken to look for any pink just ends up releasing the juices into the pan instead of keeping it in the meat! But, if you don’t have a thermometer, cut into the thigh—if clear juices run out (not pink), then you’re done! Remove the chicken from the oven and set aside for at least 10 minutes to let juices settle back into the meat.
As the chicken rests, remove and set aside roasted offal for later use in stock. Tilt pan to gather juices in one corner and with a spoon, skim off and discard the clear fat from the top of the puddle. Place roasting pan over stove burner and turn on heat to medium. Add wine and with wooden spoon, scrape bottom and sides of pan to loosen all the baked in goodness. Once wine has reduced and brown bits have been loosened, add chicken stock and lemon juice and reduce to just ½ of original volume. Remove from heat and serve with carved chicken. towels.
1 3.5-lbs Whole roasting chicken (take out but keep whatever offal is included)
2 Lemons (1 cut into eighths, 1 juiced)
1 Medium yellow onion, unpeeled and cut into eighths
6 stalks Fresh rosemary
4 cloves Garlic (3 whole w/ peel on, one peeled and minced)
2 Tbs Butter, unsalted
1 Tbs Kosher salt
1 Tbs Fresh ground pepper
4 Tbs Olive oil
For Sauce:
1 cup Chicken stock
1/2 cup White wine
2 Tbs Lemon juice
Kosher salt
Pepper
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 425ºF.
Chop finely the leaves of 4 stalks of rosemary and place in small bowl. Mince one garlic clove and add to rosemary bowl. Add salt, pepper, olive oil, and juice of one lemon. Mix with spoon. Set aside. (The beauty of roast chicken is that you can use whatever herbs and spices you might have laying around–parsley, tarragon, dill, oregano–and if you do not have fresh herbs, try and get some but if you absolutely cannot, use smaller amounts of dried herbs... whatever you have on hand!)
Place removed offal (neck, livers, etc.) at the bottom of the roasting pan.
Rinse chicken (inside and out) and pat dry with tons of paper towels. Stuff inside of chicken with cut lemon, onion, whole garlic cloves, and two stalks of rosemary. Carefully creep fingers in between the skin and the breast. Place one tablespoon of butter under the skin over each breast. Rub the outside of the entire chicken with the rosemary mixture. Tie legs together with kitchen string (I often get creative because I never have kitchen string for some reason) and place chicken on roasting rack in roasting pan.
Place chicken in oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375ºF. Roast for 1.5 hours. Baste chicken every 30 minutes with the juices that gather at the bottom of the pan – the skin will become golden brown and crispy… yum! I don’t have a meat thermometer, but really should invest in one since cutting into the chicken to look for any pink just ends up releasing the juices into the pan instead of keeping it in the meat! But, if you don’t have a thermometer, cut into the thigh—if clear juices run out (not pink), then you’re done! Remove the chicken from the oven and set aside for at least 10 minutes to let juices settle back into the meat.
As the chicken rests, remove and set aside roasted offal for later use in stock. Tilt pan to gather juices in one corner and with a spoon, skim off and discard the clear fat from the top of the puddle. Place roasting pan over stove burner and turn on heat to medium. Add wine and with wooden spoon, scrape bottom and sides of pan to loosen all the baked in goodness. Once wine has reduced and brown bits have been loosened, add chicken stock and lemon juice and reduce to just ½ of original volume. Remove from heat and serve with carved chicken. towels.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Recipe: Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
Ingredients:
1 gal. Water
1 Bones and offal (roasted) of whole roasted chicken
1 lb. Chicken bones (ask your butcher!)
2 Celery Stalks
2 Carrots
2 Medium yellow onion, unpeeled and quartered
2 cloves Garlic (3 whole w/ peel on, one peeled and minced)
1 Tbs Kosher salt
1 Tbs Fresh ground pepper
Directions:
Add all ingredients (I add a stalk or two of rosemary or a bunch of fresh parsley if I have some around) into a slow cooker and set to low temperature for 6-8 hours. (If you do not have a slow cooker, you can use a stock pot or Dutch oven, but be careful to set the stove burner to a very low simmer for only about 3 hours.)
Turn off heat and strain the liquid of the bones and vegetables, which can be discarded. Take the saved liquid and place in refrigerator overnight. The cooled liquid should have a solidified layer of fat at the top. Skim off and discard the fat. Remaining stock can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen and kept for much longer!
Use stock for soups, sauces, rice, cous cous…
1 gal. Water
1 Bones and offal (roasted) of whole roasted chicken
1 lb. Chicken bones (ask your butcher!)
2 Celery Stalks
2 Carrots
2 Medium yellow onion, unpeeled and quartered
2 cloves Garlic (3 whole w/ peel on, one peeled and minced)
1 Tbs Kosher salt
1 Tbs Fresh ground pepper
Directions:
Add all ingredients (I add a stalk or two of rosemary or a bunch of fresh parsley if I have some around) into a slow cooker and set to low temperature for 6-8 hours. (If you do not have a slow cooker, you can use a stock pot or Dutch oven, but be careful to set the stove burner to a very low simmer for only about 3 hours.)
Turn off heat and strain the liquid of the bones and vegetables, which can be discarded. Take the saved liquid and place in refrigerator overnight. The cooled liquid should have a solidified layer of fat at the top. Skim off and discard the fat. Remaining stock can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen and kept for much longer!
Use stock for soups, sauces, rice, cous cous…
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Recipe: The Most Time-Consuming Pasta Sauce. Ever.
Ingredients:
24 Very, VERY ripe medium sized tomatoes
2 cups Chicken stock
1 cup Dry, white wine
2 cloves Garlic, minced
8 leaves Fresh basil
4 leaves Bay leaves
1 Tbs Dried oregano
24 Very, VERY ripe medium sized tomatoes
2 cups Chicken stock
1 cup Dry, white wine
2 cloves Garlic, minced
8 leaves Fresh basil
4 leaves Bay leaves
1 Tbs Dried oregano
2 Tbs Sugar
Red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Olive oil
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 300ºF. Slice 10 of the tomatoes into ¾ inch rounds. With fingers, scrape out and reserve seeds and juice of tomatoes. Place tomato slices on greased baking sheet, sprinkle slices with kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and drizzles of olive oil. Bake tomatoes for one hour, until tomatoes look a bit dry and shriveled.
While tomatoes are baking, take remaining 14 tomatoes and make a small cross cut at the bottoms of each of them. Scald in boiling water for 30 seconds and immediately shock in a bowl of iced water. Peel tomatoes and place, with reserved tomato juice/seeds, in a large pan. Add stock and white wine, adding more of each if necessary to cover tomatoes. Bring pot to boil, then reduce to simmer. Add bay leaves, basil, oregano, sugar, pinch of salt and generous pinch of pepper. Simmer until only ¼ of liquids remain (about 45 minutes).
After baked tomatoes are done, place in food processor and pulverize into a thick paste. Add this paste to the boiling pot of peeled tomatoes, which should start to easily break apart when crushed with a wooden spoon.
Continue to stir and break up tomatoes as liquids reduce until sauce becomes desired consistency. Also continue to taste and adjust seasoning during simmering. Don’t be afraid of sugar and salt, which often brings out the great tomato flavors! Once sauce reaches desired consistency, serve immediately, work into a lasagna, or cool and freeze for future meals!
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