Posted on 10/17/2009 8:29:25 PM PDT by Steelfish
OCTOBER 16, 2009 Recipe for an Outrageous Cookbook
A dish that calls for boiling a pig's head (use a blowtorch to dispense with any hairy patches). Liberal use of profanity. David Chang's confrontational approach to cookbook writing.
By KATY MCLAUGHLIN
David Chang, outside Momofuku Ko earlier this year, had never run his own kitchen when he opened Momofuku Noodle Bar in 2004.
Chef David Chang's first cookbook is long, laced with profanity and full of complicated, labor-intensive recipes, many of which require obscure ingredients like kochukaru (Korean chili powder) and sliced country jowl. In food circles, it's one of the most highly anticipated books of the year.
Mr. Chang, 32 years old, has emerged as one of the country's hottest chefs since launching Momofuku Noodle Bar, then a 27-seat restaurant in downtown Manhattan, in 2004. Today, he has accumulated three more restaurants and two Michelin stars, and visitors from all over the world endure long waits for his inventive creations. Much as Wolfgang Puck leapt to national fame in the early 1980s when his Spago restaurant in Los Angeles launched California cuisine, Mr. Chang is the anointed star of the current dining scene—the young gun that other chefs world-wide are watching and copying.
Mr. Chang has been widely lauded for his signature cooking style, which combines Asian and all-American flavors, makes meticulous use of French technique and incorporates a dash of molecular gastronomy experimentation. He is almost equally well known for his blunt attitude and penchant for cursing.
With his first book, titled "Momofuku," Mr. Chang will take his message to a wider audience. The 303-page book, coming out Oct. 27 and priced at $40, aims to replicate Mr. Chang's natural voice, which means occasional use of the word "like" to punctuate Mr. Chang's thoughts, and liberal use of profanity.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
"Readers are instructed not to "f— it up" when handling a pricey piece of foie gras, for instance. "
Looks like Ohio State didn’t take heed to Chang’s instructions to not “f*ck it up!” :P
Who cares?
I had juice from my organic Honey Crisp trees this AM and an organic Haralson this afternoon. In between I had fresh baked 7-grain bread, farm eggs a nice cheese & onion enchilada. Finished the night with a generous mug (or two) of fresh ale.
Urban weenies looking for a thrill would be well advised to get a life.
My momma would send him to bed with no f-ing supper.
Mr. Chang says the book’s tone is a conscious attempt to capture the brutal, gritty and exhilarating tone of the restaurant kitchen. “There are so many more f-bombs and terrible things that happen in restaurants. It’s an ugly, nasty business, the cooking world. It’s hard, hot and grueling. Other books choose not to document this,” Mr. Chang says. Prettifying the restaurant business and the world of food is fundamentally dishonest, he says, which is why he includes the recipe for a pig’s head torchon (a cylindrical pâté) with instructions to “grasp that fact” that “pigs have heads.”
Sounds like a interesting cookbook.
Wot? No Spam?
I eat (and like) both SPAM and Oscar Mayer’s Olive Loaf meat products - proudly.
Too bad these @sshats don’t have a clue about good food . . .
People who recoil at that idea probably have never tried a couple of old American favorites, souse and head cheese. I don't know where the recipes originated but people who have known hardship use every part of a pig except the squeal, to steal an old phrase.
Chicken foot soup (literally made from scrupulously cleaned chicken feet) is a Ukranian favorite. Ukranians not fortunate enough to have chicken feet and other basic if perhaps not appetizing foods perished in Stalin's purge of the Kulaks.
Wife and I had grilled elk burgers on homemade buns with homegrown organic tomatoes and lettuce. Canned the rest of my beets from the garden and made some chokecherry syrup today too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.