Chef Aaron Sanchez calls pozole, a hearty Mexican soup, 'table-slapping good'. (Photo by Michael Harlan Turnbull/Courtesy of Atria)

Aarón Sánchez, chef, restaurateur, author, Food Network star and human heat-seeking missile, knows his pozole.

He can go on about the qualities of the long-simmering stew, how it finds its richness in pork and hominy, chiles and Mexican oregano, the kind that grew wild in his family’s ranch in northern Mexico. Pozole is soul food.

“It’s our Vietnamese pho. It’s coddled and taken care of. If there’s one word to describe it, it’s ‘nourishment,’” Sánchez, co-star of the Food Network’s Heat Seekers and Chopped, says by phone.

But it’s also party food, best served community-style, alongside small dishes filled with cool, crunchy and vibrant toppings. The steaming hot soup, swimming with pork chunks and hominy puffs, is topped with contrasting garnishes like crisp radish slices, raw, diced onion, fried corn tortilla strips, a pinch of dried oregano and a squeeze of lime.

“I have a lot of fun with it. I put pickled red onions in mine,” says Sánchez, 36, who comes to South Florida later this month for several appearances during the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. “I love the briny-ness of the onions with the richness of the pozole.”
Read the full story

When you’re lining up the shots at your New Year’s Eve party, don’t hesitate to go a little nuts.

Really.

Nuts are loaded with heart-healthy nutrients. They also a good source of protein and fiber, both of which are helpful for controlling hunger if you are trying to take off a few pounds.

Almonds, pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts are thought to be particularly healthy. But even snacking on favorites such as cashews and peanuts (which are technically beans) is a good choice. Just don’t go crazy, as you’re still looking at plenty of calories and (in many cases) tons of salt.

Luckily, nuts are easy to portion control, even at a party. Instead of putting out a big bowl, offer shot glasses and small bowls filled with nuts.

This easy-to-make curried tropical nut mix is a little bit more indulgent because of its olive oil and butter-based seasoning blend, but it’s a perfect nibble to put out at a New Year’s Eve party and certainly a healthier choice than a fried or puff pastry hors d’oeuvre.

Curried Tropical Nut Mix
Makes about 7 cups (50 servings)
Time: 15 minutes

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 cups almonds
2 cups salted cashew halves
2 cups salted peanuts
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup dried mango, coarsely chopped

In a 3-quart microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter, oil, curry powder, cumin and cayenne. Cover loosely with a paper towel to avoid splatter, then microwave on high for 30 seconds, or until the butter is nearly melted. Whisk the spices and butter together.

Add the almonds, cashews, peanuts and coconut to the bowl and toss to coat. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 2 minutes. Stir well, then microwave, stirring every 2 minutes, until the nuts and coconut are lightly browned and fragrant, 4 to 6 minutes longer, depending on the wattage of the microwave. Stir in the mango.

Transfer the mixture to a baking sheet to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The Super Bowl may have come and gone, but we’re still thinking chips, albeit in a slightly different vein than the usual potato variety. We’re talking the Food Should Taste Good line of gourmet chips, made from all-natural ingredients.

I’ve tried almost all the varieties and it’s hard to pick a favorite among such ones as Jalapeño, Olive and Buffalo (as in Buffalo chicken wings).
Moreover, the spices are baked right into each chip — meaning no oily seasonings sprinkled on top. The result: Food Should Taste Good chips taste, well, good. On second thought, make that great.

I’ve just found a wonderful new bakery called The Sugar Monkey. I =met owner and baker Jennifer Reed at the Oceanside Farmers Market, in downtown Lake Worth.

There, I bought banana bread as a gift. I learned that she makes real French macaroons, which I love. She made cupcakes for a friend’s baby shower, and another friends’ birthday. She has a sense of whimsy, of fun, that I admire.

The Sugar Monkey specializes in modern American pastries, wedding cakes and special occasion cakes. They use natural and organic products, fresh fruits, single estate chocolates, and European style butter. They focus on the natural progression of the seasons – a juicy Florida strawberry in the winter or wild Maine blueberries in the summer.

Reed is the pastry chef and owner of the Sugar Monkey. She worked with the famous chefs Remy Funfrock and Daniel Boulud in New York and Palm Beach learning classic French pastry.

While working at Café Boulud Palm Beach, she received numerous accolades for her desserts. I can vouch for her cupcakes, macaroons and banana bread. Her prices are reasonable, too. You can find her on Saturdays at the Oceanside Farmers Market on J St. in Lake Worth, and her contact details are below.

Details
Phone: 561.252.8400
Email: jennifer@thesugarmonkey.com
Website

When it comes to snacking, Americans love their potato chips.

We eat more than $6 billion worth of the salty favorite each year, making it by far the chip of choice (sorry, tortilla chip fans). And we enjoy those chips in countless varieties — seasoned, kettle-style, baked — courtesy of brands big and small.

But which chip is truly tops?

With the number-one snacking day of the year — Super Bowl Sunday — just around the corner, we thought we’d find out. So, we enlisted four football and spud-crazed local chefs and we put 15 varieties of chips in front of them — without revealing the brand identities.

To keep things on an even playing field, we limited our picks to varieties that could be readily purchased in local markets (in other words, no regional brands à la Utz). We also decided to keep it simple — we considered only chips that contained three ingredients: potatoes, oil and salt (no barbecue or salt-and-vinegar chips).

Oh, and forget about any chips made from potato flakes (à la Pringles) or prepared in a low-cal way (à la Baked Lay’s). We wanted the real deal.

And so did our four judges: Nunzio Billante of Rocco’s Tacos in West Palm Beach, Chris Corvelle of The Breakers’ Seafood Bar in Palm Beach, Joey Giannuzzi of The Green Gourmet in Delray Beach and Bobby Orfanos of Taverna Opa in West Palm Beach. After an hour’s worth of crunching (and swigging plenty of water), they settled on a top spud and a few other worthy contenders:

Click image to see the chip taste test.

Click jump for our chefs’ tasty dips!
Read the full story

To show support for Tuesday’s big game, participating Dunkin’ Donuts in South Florida and the Treasure Coast will be making custom donuts for Orange Bowl parties and for fans to show support of their favorite team.

“With college football hosting its traditional bowl game in Miami, and fans traveling from the South and Midwest to be here, it seemed only natural to make custom donuts showing support for the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Iowa,” said Jeannie Graff of Dunkin’ Donuts.

The custom donuts come in two colors – plain donut with gold icing and blue sprinkles, and plain donut with gold icing and black sprinkles. Some locations may also weave the colors together with a marble frosted look.

The donuts are expected to be a big seller with college football fans, and with a $9.99 for two dozen donuts special, Graff envisions them as the ultimate tailgating treat.

Sometimes samosas can use a little flair, but they don't have to, as evidenced here. (Post file photo)

A week before Thanksgiving, my wife and I invited a group of our Muslim and Jewish friends, including three rabbis, for an evening of dinner and interfaith dialogue.

On a speaker phone, our group had dialogue with Walter Ruby, Muslim-Jewish relations program officer of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, who joined us from his New York home.

The evening was a success, but the biggest hit were not the wise words — but the hot samosas, veggie-filled pastry turnovers that were the prologue to our dinner.

The rabbis, including Geoffrey Botnick, Nason Goldstein (and his wife Carole) and Richard Chapin, and particularly Dr. Luis Fleischman, director of community relations of the Jewish Federation, couldn’t stop talking about them as we went through dinner.

Read the full story

This is one of those high-calorie items I almost wish I didn’t know about. Häagen-Dazs Reserve Fleur de Sel Caramel bars come three to a box, and each has 270 calories.

Each bar is caramel ice cream, with ribbons of fleur de sel (sea salt) caramel throughout, and the whole bar is dipped in dark chocolate.

When I’m working out, I do extra reps so I can have one of these about once a week. The combination of slightly salty caramel, creamy ice cream and dark chocolate is amazing. Häagen-Dazs also makes fleur de sel caramel ice cream in a tub, which is also excellent, and easier to portion-control.

Available at Winn-Dixie, Publix, and most other major grocery stores.

Question: Where can I find the spice asafoetida, sometimes called for in Indian dishes. How can it smell so bad but taste so good? — R.B., Jupiter

Answer: You can find asafoetida in any Indian grocery store, of which there are several in the West Palm Beach area. Ask for “heeng,” which is the Indian name for it.

It is generally sold in a powder form that also contains rice flour and gum Arabic powder. Internet sources may have the pure resin chunks, which are much more powerful and hard to grind and use. The powder, costing around $3 an ounce, keeps for a year or more, but store it in a well-sealed container or its powerful odor may contaminate other spices.

As the name suggests, asafeotida is extremely smelly. The name itself is a Persian-Latin compound — “asa” for Farsi aza, meaning resin or gum, and the self-explanatory Latin “foetida,” the root for fetid. The common name for it in English, “devil’s dung,” speaks volumes on its virtues.

Read the full story

You’ve crafted the perfect gruesome or goofy jack-o’-lantern. But what to do with all the glop you scraped out in the process?

Don’t even think of tossing it. Pumpkin seeds are a great healthy snack and a delicious addition to salads, granola or trail mix.

“I look at pumpkin seeds like popcorn. They can be spiced and seasoned so many different ways,” says Lucinda Scala Quinn, executive editorial director of food at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. “And spicy pumpkin seeds are perfect for munching.”
Read the full story