Quick rant about traditional recipes. There are certain dishes that are fairly well defined and there is an expectation when you order them in a restaurant that they will meet a certain standard. Those expectations also carry through to recipes, and especially traditional recipes. When I order a cassoulet, I do not expect undercooked, canned black eyed peas and canola oil with bean sprouts. There are lots of variations on the base dish, and impassioned arguments over breadcrumbs and types of meat or sausage, but it is a slow cooked meat and bean stew made with animal fats originally made in a cassole, a glazed earthenware pot. When I order a Thai peanut sauce, it should have a little heat from a red curry paste, maybe actual peanuts, fish sauce, and tamarind or lime juice, it should not be Jiffy peanut butter with pomace oil added. (I sneak looks into kitchens) Where it really gets ridiculous is when I see a recipe for vegetarian beef Stroganoff. Yes the original was cubed beef, floured and cooked with mustard and sour cream and over the last 1½ centuries the recipe has evolved considerably with some interesting variations, (the Scandinavian sausage) but when you start using TVP and ketchup, I think the base of the dish is too far removed to justify sharing a name.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 16:02:39 +0000
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