Lately, I’ve been thinking about food fads and trends that have come and gone.
Cuisine Minceur and Nouvelle Cuisine, which came into their own in the late 1970s and early ’80s, began in France and quickly spread to the United States. To accommodate health-conscious diets, French chefs virtually eliminated butter and cream from their culinary creations. Portions were tiny and served on oversized white plates. These trends fizzled out by the mid-’80s.
Although Alice Waters opened her internationally acclaimed restaurant, Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, Calif., in 1971, her unique vision of American bistro fare didn’t spread throughout the country until Nouvelle Cuisine was banished from menus. The godfather of Philadelphia American bistro fare was Steve Poses, who opened Frog in 1973. American bistro fare is best described as a combination of French, Italian and Asian techniques and ingredients used to create new dishes. This trend is here to stay.
The late ’80s brought us the Mediterranean diet, in which olive oil reigns supreme. The cuisine of Greece, Israel, Morocco and other nations in the Eastern Mediterranean, along with nations such as Spain, Italy and France, which jet out into the Mediterranean, influenced restaurant menus and home cooking. Olive oil and cous cous are now ubiquitous ingredients. These types of cuisine are here to stay as well.
Remember Asian fusion and Pacific Rim food? These fads came and went. Thai and Vietnamese fare still contain European — particularly French — influences, but they are not fusion.
By the time the ’90s arrived and into the new century, Philadelphia boasted a bevy of restaurants featuring nearly every conceivable type of fare found around the globe. The Cuban craze and South American/Caribbean styles of cooking had an impact, but few people I know cook these styles of food at home.
Italian cucina is the most popular ethnic style of food in the United States. More Italian restaurants — many of them BYOB — opened within the past few years in the area than any other type of eatery.
My culinary crystal ball tells me we will see more Italian no-frills BYOB places and restaurants featuring classic ethnic fare. Patrice Rames, the Provence-born owner of Bistro St. Tropez, will soon open Patou in Old City. The cuisine will be pure Provence. Olivier de Saint Martin, who purchased Caribou Caf� on Walnut Street, created a classic French bistro menu, just like the ones you would find in Paris.
I am weary of pretentious food fads. I am tired of tiny portions on a plate. I am really sick of overpriced, mediocre restaurant food, whatever the cuisine. It’s the easy-to-prepare classic dishes we will cook at home.
Here are recipes for an international selection — the kinds of foods I like to eat in restaurants and prepare at home.
Leek and Potato Soup
Ingredients:
4 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
6 large leeks, with some pale green, washed, split down the center and sliced
1 (32-ounce) package chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 cup half-and-half
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
Place the potatoes in a large pot. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, lower to simmer and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain immediately in a colander and rinse in cold water. Drain well and set aside.
Heat the butter and oil over medium heat in the same pot in which you cooked the potatoes. Add the leeks and saut� for about five to eight minutes, or until the leeks become translucent. Add the stock and return the potatoes to the pot. Bring to a boil and blend well. Shut off the heat and add the half-and-half, salt and pepper. You may wish to add more half-and-half for a richer texture. Reheat when ready to serve.
Serves four to six.
Note from Phyllis: You can serve this soup hot or cold. You also can puree the soup, in batches, in a blender or food processor. During winter, I prefer this soup hot and chunky.
Chicken and Cous Cous
Ingredients:
6 chicken breast halves on the bone
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Handful pitted black and green olives
Sprinkling of cinnamon
Sprinkling of cumin
1 cup dry white wine
1 (15-ounce) package cous cous
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and saut� for about two minutes or so on each side. Place the chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish, skin side up. Add the salt and pepper. Scatter the olives over the chicken. Add the cinnamon and cumin. Pour the white wine over the chicken.
Bake the chicken in the oven for 45 minutes. Check for doneness. All ovens are different, so the chicken may need to bake a few more minutes.
Cook the cous cous according to directions on the package.
Serves four to six.
Note from Phyllis: This is another freeform recipe. Home cooks in Morocco and France often add chopped dried fruits, such as pitted prunes and apricots, to the chicken.
Pork Cutlets with Sauerkraut
Ingredients:
6 boneless pork cutlets, pounded thin
Flour for dredging
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 cup dry white wine
1 (16-ounce) bag fresh sauerkraut, rinsed and drained several times in a colander, liquid squeezed out
Sprinkling of caraway seeds
Directions:
Dredge each pork cutlet into the flour, shaking off any excess. Add salt and pepper. Set aside.
Heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the pork cutlets and saut� a few minutes on each side. Place each cutlet on a plate after they are all saut�ed. Turn the heat up to high and add the wine. Reduce the sauce, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium, return the cutlets to the skillet and cover with the sauce. Keep warm.
Heat the sauerkraut in a pot. When it is hot, make a bed of it on a serving platter. Place the cutlets and sauce on top of the sauerkraut. Sprinkle with caraway seeds.
Serves four to six.
Note from Phyllis: If you happen to have a few mushrooms on hand, you can add them to the skillet after you have saut�ed the pork.
