I really hope that making recipes which incorporate a coulis doesn't make me a food snob. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here's a definition of coulis (see green substance resting on the piece of salmon).AC and I have been watching a relatively new reality show (*gasp* - yet a new reality show has made it to the airwaves?) called Top Chef and one of the more obnoxious contestants always manages always to incorporate a coulis into all his recipes. He also is WAY too creative for his own good and the king of crazy fusion - check this recipe he made for a challenge that was aimed at housewives. Ridiculous! But I digress...if any of his famed coulis (how do you make that word plural?) are half as good as this one, then I approve of his snobbery.
Overall, the recipe for Seared Salmon with Tomatillo Coulis was incredible.
I really have nothing to complain about but definitely have learned a few good things from this cooking experience.
#1 - Incorporating fresh herbs into shallow slits on the surface of fish results in an incredibly tasty dish.
#2 - I love my food processor and seriously don't know how we'd cook without it.
#3 - Bring on more coulis!
On a side note, a friend bought me a mini tripod for my birthday and a book on photography to help me out with my food photos. Plus, she knows I've been dying for a SLR digital camera so she wants me to be informed before I make the splurge. I did not get a chance to fully utilize the tripod for this picture because I still need to figure out how to rotate the tripod 90 degrees to get a nice shot from above. I'm working on it though....Thanks again! Very thoughtful gift.
4 comments:
You're welcome again! Hopefully you'll be able to do something useful with the tripod :) Glad you enjoyed the coulis!
Stephen is hilarious. I often use his quote "I am in the top 3 percentile of everything I do."
Another classic is when Miguel said to Tiffani "You're a snake!" and then stared at her for awhile before hissing.
If they get rid of Billy Joel's wife and the other two non-entities and get Ted Allen to host, it's an all-time most awesome show.
Anyhow, Emeril was doing coulis on his show back in the late 90s so you're not really a food snob. Get yourself an immersion blender (boat motor)! If you buy frozen berries, throw them in a sauce pan over low heat with a bunch of sugar and once things get going, blend it with the boat motor. Good stuff.
For a digital SLR, look at the Nikon D50 or D70. Good user interface (the D70 is close to my N80) and not as heavy as the Canons.
I don't normally make coulis, and I've actually never used it outside of a dessert recipe, so it's neat to see the difference. I'm used to that berry coulis -s was talking about. Until I actually read the definition I knew it was sauce...but not what made it "coulis", so this post was educational!
Sometimes when you use french terms it seems like it's being snobby, but really, it's just french. When you know what it is it doesn't seem so over the top...I mean...it's not like your coulis was made of some rare plant only found in the Loire region.
I absolutely can't stand that contestant on Top Chef. Ugh, so conceited and always having to say he's a "sommelier". I mean, I get it...your job is fancy and has a fancy french name. Also, when is it actually ON? I keep missing it and seeing re-runs.
Even though I'm a die-hard Canon (20d) shooter, I can salute the D50 and D70s for what they offer. I would strongly recommend going to a nice camera store (i.e. NOT best buy) and trying out the models for yourself, a tool can't be used if you aren't comfortable holding it. Sadly if I'd have known you were in the market for a camera... I would have told you about this http://www.slickdeals.net/#p7375 much faster. Basically a 1000 camera for 550-600$ . A steal that relied on a limited use 20% off coupon that's been maxed, DOH. I'll keep you posted when I see a DSLR deal come up (Nikon or Canon).
Back to the food. Stick/Immersion blenders rule, even the 20$ cheapass Oster I bought (only one in stock at the time, doh) works as long as I'm not trying to chop ice.
The thing I can't really understand so much about "french" cooking terms is that it's usually just the freaking French word for the "thing". Foie Gras? FAT LIVER. (for those not hooked on Food Network, specifically it's fatty goose liver). So in the sense that it's basically french layman's cooking terms, it's not snobby. Insisting on calling something French when it doesn't need to be; a la maile electronique(e-mail), is fucking (pardon my french) snobby.
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