By Lynne Rossetto Kasper
Scripps Howard News Service
Dear Lynne: My guy lied. He said the junky "helpers" and mixes in the cupboards were his roommate's. Now I'm his roommate. They are his and he loves them. Onion dip is his crowning achievement. He says no "real" food tastes this good. He's going to kill himself eating this. Please help me help him or I am out of here. -- Love Him, Hate His Food
Dear Lover: This is like detoxing a drug addict. Go slow. When possible, cook for him, doing home versions of dishes he likes. Remember tomatoes, cheeses and crusty browned foods truly satiate.
He is right about taste. Fat, salt, sugar and chemical flavor enhancers pack prepared foods. They blast the palate with flavors, then play havoc with blood-sugar levels so cravings keep returning in waves. "Real" food can't compete unless flavors are big and satisfying.
So try good take-out Italian, Mexican, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai or Southwestern. For easy, great-tasting recipes, look at books by Mark Bittman; king of grilling Steven Raichlen and Food Network's Jamie Oliver.
I personally accept his onion dip challenge. This "real food" is so lush he'll be grinning. Skip the chips; raw vegetables are sensational with this.
Lynne's Outrageous Onion Dip
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium to large onion, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
generous pinch hot red pepper flakes
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon tomato paste (optional)
1/4 tightly-packed up fresh basil, chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 to 1-1/2 cups sour cream (not low-fat!)
fresh lemon juice to taste
fresh vegetables for dipping (cucumber, cauliflower, celery, carrots, etc.)
Preparation:
Film the bottom of a 10-inch skillet with oil. Set over medium-high heat. Stir in onions and pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper.
Quickly saute to golden brown, taking care not to burn the brown glaze developing on the bottom of the pan. Stir in garlic, tomato paste and basil. Saute 1 minute or until fragrant.
Stir in wine to scrape up brown glaze at the bottom of the pan. Boil off. Taste for seasoning. Cool, stir in sour cream, then lemon juice to taste. Sample for salt and pepper. Serve with raw vegetables.
Makes 1 to 2 cups. Keeps 1 week in refrigerator
Dear Lynne: Why is butter salted? What is cultured butter? How long can I keep butter? And is any butter worth $5 a pound? -- Inquiring Minds Need to Know
Dear Inquiring Minds: You are covering the waterfront. Five dollars a pound makes sense only if you think the butter is extraordinary. If so, consider it an affordable luxury -- several extra dollars every few weeks deliver small pleasures every day. Store butter tightly wrapped up to two weeks in the refrigerator, one year in the freezer.
Salting butter delays spoilage and covers its flavor as rancidity develops. Unsalted butter smells sour or "cheesy" when rancid, which is why professional cooks prefer it. They know immediately when their butter is "off."
The European tradition of cultured butter evolved naturally from times when raw cream was churned into butter. The cream contained lactic-acid-producing bacteria that is naturally present in raw milk, but now is added to the pasteurized cream everyone uses. This bacteria and other cultures "ripen" the cream, coaxing out nutlike, floral aromas and flavors.
Taste is everything in butter, and each cultured butter is an individual. These brands get consistently high marks: America's Organic Valley European-Style Cultured Butter, Plugra (which I find lacking taste but others love), Vermont Butter and Cheese Company Butter, France's President Unsalted Butter and the beloved Beurre d'Isigny.
Dear Lynne: I got coffee and tea gifts for my birthday. I can't drink fast enough. How should I store them? -- 30 and Loving It in Tacoma
Dear 30: Keep them away from heat, light and air, which translates as sealed airtight in an opaque container in a cool cupboard. Tea keeps this way for a year. Coffee beans hold their own about 2 weeks at room temperature. Even though experts say not to, I freeze my beans when they are fresh and grind them straight from the freezer. The coffee tastes great.
(Lynne Rossetto Kasper is host of "The Splendid Table"(r), Minnesota Public Radio's national food show. Find recipes, station listings and more at splendidtable.org, or 800-537-5252.)
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