June 8, 2005 Ask the Chef Article

Boy, oh boy - excellent tomatoes already! A small grower is doing a fabulous job bringing in the best tomatoes I've seen this early in the year. I'm talking heirlooms and a great Japanese variety which are now being served in my restaurants. These sweet beauties are also available at our favorite local Markets: Monte Vista, Grove, Nielson's and Star.

Q). Would you happen to have any recipes for home made condiments such as mustard, ketchup and steak sauce you could share with us? If they're home made, you know for sure that they have only the best ingredients.

Jeff McBride
Monterey

A). Ketchup also known as catchup or catsup, has long been prized as a dipping sauce and

published recipes go as far back as the late 1600's. It's been a long time since people made there own condiments, and it's not all that difficult. Of course it's always a lot easier just to pick up bottles at the store, but give this recipe that I found a try:
Home Made Catsup Recipe
* 8 pounds tomatoes
* 1 med. onion, chopped
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup white vinegar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
* 1 1/2 inches stick cinnamon, broken up
* 1 teaspoon celery seeds
* 4 teaspoons salt

Directions:
Wash tomatoes then, peel, remove stem ends and cores, and cut into quarters. Let tomatoes stand in colander to drain off excess liquid. In an 8 to 10 qt. kettle or Dutch oven, mix tomatoes, onions and

cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until the tomatoes are soft, about 15 min., stirring occasionally. Put tomatoes through food mill or a coarse sieve and press to extract the juice. Add sugar to tomato juice and return to the kettle. Bring to a boil; then simmer briskly 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. or until mixture is reduced by half (measure depth with ruler at start and end). Meanwhile, in small saucepan combine the vinegar, cloves, cinnamon and celery seeds. Cover and bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand. Strain spiced vinegar mixture into tomato sauce and discard the spices. Add salt to the mixture and simmer until it reaches your desired consistency, about 30 minutes. Stir the tomato catsup often. Pour the hot catsup into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath (pints) for 10 minutes.

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Folks, an Eagle has landed in my kitchen - Glen Frey to be exact. Great guy and a good eater, not to mention a great singer as part of one of the best bands of all times - The Eagles. Now if I could only get him to do a cooking show with me. We could Take it Easy, drink a Tequila Sunrise and enjoy a Peaceful Easy Feeling over a thick juicy steak!

Q). Dear Mr. Pisto, What different types of fish should I keep my eye out for besides halibut and salmon?
Robert
Via e-mail

A). Well Robert, first of all keep both of your eyes in, you'll need them. Other fish in season right now would be mahi-mahi, tuna,

swordfish and paka-paka from Hawaii, petrale sole, rockcod (on occasion), New Zealand Blue Nose, grouper, and don't forget all of the fresh shellfish readily available.

Q). Love Abalonetti's! Just wondering where you got that enormous fish tank outside? My son's school is looking for a 500+ gallon aquarium for the science department and would like to find a (free) used one. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Kathleen Crapo
Via e-mail

A). Tanks of that size can be very expensive. This sounds like a good idea for a fund raiser. You also might try placing an ad in the paper for anyone who might have one not in use or search on EBay.

Q). Dear Mr. Pisto,
My wife and I frequently visit Monterey (and your restaurants) from the U.K. When we return to the U.K. we have cravings for sourdough bread which cannot be found here. We have experimented with commercial starters all of which have been unsuccessful. Please help. Many thanks.
Peter & Susan Williams
Via e-mail
P.S. Wonderful restaurants and TV program

A). The starter is available at the San Francisco Airport as well as the Cheese Shop in Carmel (831) 625-2272. I'm sure they will ship to you. Thanks for watching and thank you for eating at the restaurants.

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Q). Hey Chef, how about a Local's Day Special at the Whaling Station? Let us taste some of your super USDA Prime steaks!
Via e-mail

A). Funny you should ask. I am about to unveil my newest discovery. It's a USDA Prime beef steak that will be added to Local's Day menu - 3 courses for
$9.95. This is the juiciest & most flavorful piece of meat you have ever tasted. It will be available next week at Abalonetti's, Domenico's (Tuesday's & Wednesday's) and at Blue Moon (Thursday's). Hope to see you there!

Q). Last month, we saw you in the audience at the aquaculture forum, hosted by the Monterey Bay Aquarium during the Cooking for

Solutions event. The discussion about farmed salmon was fascinating. Will there be more forums like it? We didn't see anything about it in the local newspaper.
Via e-mail

A). I recently spoke with Monterey Bay Aquarium officials and they've agreed that the aquarium needs to host another forum to get to the bottom of the farmed salmon issue soon. I strongly support such a forum, but the focus must be on science and facts - not political rhetoric and emotion. The general public is being purposely confused by paid activists whose sole purpose is to demonize the salmon farming industry. The forum, by including scientists with objective positions - not activists with

political agendas - should focus on separating the facts from the fiction. I'd say 99 percent of the salmon farming critics I speak to have never even been to a fish farm. They are basing their position on information (it's nothing but propaganda) supplied by paid anti-salmon farming activists. I have taken the time to review the real scientific data; I've been to a fish farm. I strongly believe farmed salmon is a heart-healthy, nutritious product and that salmon farms are environmentally sustainable. I hope the Monterey Bay Aquarium can put together an unbiased, science-based forum that can truly examine the farmed salmon issue while leaving the politics at home.