Hey, readers. Wondering where the Pachamama's blog went? It's still around, we promise. Check out our blog at its new address:
http://www.pachamamas.com/blog/
(Now it's more closely linked with the main Web site.)
Thanks!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Hello and Good-bye!
Well, faithful blog-readers, it's time for me to formally introduce myself... and then say good-bye. I'm Becca Evanhoe. I've been writing these posts for the Pachamama's blog since its inception. And tonight is my last night as a manager here.
I started as a server two years ago, and moved up to manager about 8 months ago. Now I'm headed of to graduate school in a few weeks. I'm getting a little misty-eyed, trying to write about how much I've loved being part of the Pachamama's crew. It's difficult to talk about something you love without using cliches, but it's late, and I'm tired, so I'm going for it.
This has been the best job I could imagine. I've made some of my best friends. I've had a job that I looked forward to going to every day. I got to live in a world of daily food adventures and incredible cocktails. I feel lucky, lucky, lucky to have had the chance to work for this place.
Below is a picture of me, taken tonight. Pachamama's tradition: On your last night as an employee, you get a pie in the face. A pie** thrown with love and respect, of course. Tonight, for my pie-ing, the kitchen staff talked one of our favorite patrons into doing their dirty work: former Jayhawk and NBA retiree Scot Pollard. That's right; I had the honor of taking a pie in the face thrown by a sports superstar, making this pie-ing one for the Pach history books.
Scot looks great, but this isn't a flattering picture of me -- mostly because I'm laughing hysterically.
There IS a new manager hired in my stead who is the designated blogger and Facebooker. So rest assured that the Pach blog continues on!
Well, the restaurant is getting quiet, so it's almost time to close 'er on up. Goodnight, Pachamama's! I love you!
** We call them "pies," but it's really just whipped cream.
I started as a server two years ago, and moved up to manager about 8 months ago. Now I'm headed of to graduate school in a few weeks. I'm getting a little misty-eyed, trying to write about how much I've loved being part of the Pachamama's crew. It's difficult to talk about something you love without using cliches, but it's late, and I'm tired, so I'm going for it.
This has been the best job I could imagine. I've made some of my best friends. I've had a job that I looked forward to going to every day. I got to live in a world of daily food adventures and incredible cocktails. I feel lucky, lucky, lucky to have had the chance to work for this place.
Below is a picture of me, taken tonight. Pachamama's tradition: On your last night as an employee, you get a pie in the face. A pie** thrown with love and respect, of course. Tonight, for my pie-ing, the kitchen staff talked one of our favorite patrons into doing their dirty work: former Jayhawk and NBA retiree Scot Pollard. That's right; I had the honor of taking a pie in the face thrown by a sports superstar, making this pie-ing one for the Pach history books.
Scot looks great, but this isn't a flattering picture of me -- mostly because I'm laughing hysterically.
There IS a new manager hired in my stead who is the designated blogger and Facebooker. So rest assured that the Pach blog continues on!
Well, the restaurant is getting quiet, so it's almost time to close 'er on up. Goodnight, Pachamama's! I love you!
** We call them "pies," but it's really just whipped cream.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
We love Quince Paste.
Yes, we love quince paste (especially on the Ham and Cheese Baguette!), but what is a quince? Well, glad you asked. Quince is a pale yellow, pear-like fruit that is sour to the taste.
It was first cultivated in the middle-east and subsequently brought over to Greece, where it gained culinary popularity and mythological stature. In fact, quince domestication predates that of the apple, and is considered by many scholars to be the forbidden fruit described in the Garden of Eden. Exciting, no?
Despite it's sour taste, quince can be made into delicious marmalade, jams and jellies. The term "marmalade", originally meaning a quince jam, derives from "marmelo," the Portuguese word for this fruit.
It was first cultivated in the middle-east and subsequently brought over to Greece, where it gained culinary popularity and mythological stature. In fact, quince domestication predates that of the apple, and is considered by many scholars to be the forbidden fruit described in the Garden of Eden. Exciting, no?
Despite it's sour taste, quince can be made into delicious marmalade, jams and jellies. The term "marmalade", originally meaning a quince jam, derives from "marmelo," the Portuguese word for this fruit.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
On the Safe Side: Our thinking on the Gulf of Mexico's seafood
Although the culinary impacts of the BP oil spill are the least of the nation's concerns, here at Pachamama's we do have a responsibility to think about the issue from the epicurean lens. Should we continue to serve seafood from the Gulf, or find another source?
Most of our fish comes from Hawaii*** (with a few exceptions, such as the Alaskan halibut on this month's dinner menu). The main Gulf-of-Mexico-sourced product we serve is rock shrimp, in our "Rock Shrimp and Mac & Cheese 'Lollipops'". So it's our duty to figure out if Gulf seafood would be safe, and to do that, we had to figure out what safe meant.
An AP article in Sunday's Lawrence Journal World, "Agency: Gulf seafood tested so far is safe for eating," says that the FDA has deemed Gulf seafood safe for eating. They do a "smell test" (that's what it sounds like) and some basic chemical analysis for just some of the chemical compounds resulting from the oil spill.
But the problem is, the Gulf of Mexico and its fishing industry is huge. The FDA can't test all the fish all the time, and seafood processors get seafood from many different fishermen. So doing a wide enough sampling is difficult, and controlling where the seafood is caught is difficult, too.
And this sort of statement is worrisome, too: "One fish sample has failed the smell test, but did not show concerning levels of contaminants, Kevin Griffis of the Commerce Department said Friday." To paraphrase: the sample did contain some contaminants, but FDA says that the levels weren't high enough to be problematic. But isn't any amount of oil-based contaminant a bad thing?
To be on the safe side, we're backing away from shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico. Once we run through our stash of shrimp (we buy a high-quality frozen product), we'll be looking for other sources of a high-quality rock shrimp to use. We'll keep you posted on what we're able to find.
***Note to readers: The eco-impact of serving any seafood in Kansas is something we think about a lot, and it's a topic worth discussing on this blog. Stay tuned for posts on our viewpoints concerning environmental issues such as over-fishing and farm-raising, quality of product, human health, transportation and fossil fuels, etc.
Most of our fish comes from Hawaii*** (with a few exceptions, such as the Alaskan halibut on this month's dinner menu). The main Gulf-of-Mexico-sourced product we serve is rock shrimp, in our "Rock Shrimp and Mac & Cheese 'Lollipops'". So it's our duty to figure out if Gulf seafood would be safe, and to do that, we had to figure out what safe meant.
An AP article in Sunday's Lawrence Journal World, "Agency: Gulf seafood tested so far is safe for eating," says that the FDA has deemed Gulf seafood safe for eating. They do a "smell test" (that's what it sounds like) and some basic chemical analysis for just some of the chemical compounds resulting from the oil spill.
But the problem is, the Gulf of Mexico and its fishing industry is huge. The FDA can't test all the fish all the time, and seafood processors get seafood from many different fishermen. So doing a wide enough sampling is difficult, and controlling where the seafood is caught is difficult, too.
And this sort of statement is worrisome, too: "One fish sample has failed the smell test, but did not show concerning levels of contaminants, Kevin Griffis of the Commerce Department said Friday." To paraphrase: the sample did contain some contaminants, but FDA says that the levels weren't high enough to be problematic. But isn't any amount of oil-based contaminant a bad thing?
To be on the safe side, we're backing away from shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico. Once we run through our stash of shrimp (we buy a high-quality frozen product), we'll be looking for other sources of a high-quality rock shrimp to use. We'll keep you posted on what we're able to find.
***Note to readers: The eco-impact of serving any seafood in Kansas is something we think about a lot, and it's a topic worth discussing on this blog. Stay tuned for posts on our viewpoints concerning environmental issues such as over-fishing and farm-raising, quality of product, human health, transportation and fossil fuels, etc.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
What is "New American Market Cuisine"?
This post aims to shed light on the basics of Pachamama's culinary philosophy. Perhaps this explanation is coming to you a little late -- afterall, this blog has been going for half a year now. But lately, we've been training new staff members, and part of their training is to learn more about Pachamama's and its cuisine, so the topic is on our radar. In training new service staff, we explain how to answer the question, "What kind of food does Pachamama's serve?"
Here's what we tell them: "Pachamama’s Restaurant serves New American Market Cuisine, a term for upscale cooking that blends flavors from America's melting pot with traditional techniques. The cuisine includes ethnic twists on old standbys and Old World peasant dishes, re-introducing us to America's diverse culinary heritage with an emphasis on seasonality and sustainability."
So "New American Market Cuisine" may seem like a catch-all — and it can be; the description covers a lot of ground, which reflects the sprawling nature of the style of cooking. It’s a way of combining all of the “Bests,” such as highest quality ingredients, most favorite dishes in a cuisine, and elegant and complex cooking methods.
Sometimes our chefs cook dishes inspired by peasant food (shepherd's pie), other times it’s homestyle soulfood (shrimp & grits), and even classic French cooking (coq au vin).
Some passions of ours:
* Local produce & meats.
* Ingredients (particularly seafood) that are as sustainable as possible.
* House-made (a.k.a. from scratch): If we can make it, we make it here with our own little hands. That includes mozzarella, ketchup, marshmallows, simple syrup, infused vodkas and whiskies, burger buns, salsas, broths, etc.
* Great wine and cocktails: Here, too, we try to blend old classics (cocktails like Manhattans, and traditional French and Italian wines) with new innovations (original cocktails designed by our bartenders, and wines from younger wine-growing regions like South Africa and Virginia.)
* Nose-to-tail eating. We are passionate and respectful carnivores. No part of an animal goes to waste on our watch. Cow heads are boiled into headcheese; duck fat is reserved and used to make dishes richer; chicken bones meet carrot and celery stubs to be turned into stock; pork scraps are ground with spices and sausaged; ends of tenderloins and steak trimmings are ground into our Star Bar burger meat.
Whew. That's today's bit of insight into the viewpoint from which Chef Ken and his crew work from. Chef Ken Baker’s guiding principle for Pachamama’s cuisine, whether the dish is simple or refined, classic or avant-garde, is this: that every dish be striking, playful, thoughtful, and of course, delicious.
Here's what we tell them: "Pachamama’s Restaurant serves New American Market Cuisine, a term for upscale cooking that blends flavors from America's melting pot with traditional techniques. The cuisine includes ethnic twists on old standbys and Old World peasant dishes, re-introducing us to America's diverse culinary heritage with an emphasis on seasonality and sustainability."
So "New American Market Cuisine" may seem like a catch-all — and it can be; the description covers a lot of ground, which reflects the sprawling nature of the style of cooking. It’s a way of combining all of the “Bests,” such as highest quality ingredients, most favorite dishes in a cuisine, and elegant and complex cooking methods.
Sometimes our chefs cook dishes inspired by peasant food (shepherd's pie), other times it’s homestyle soulfood (shrimp & grits), and even classic French cooking (coq au vin).
Some passions of ours:
* Local produce & meats.
* Ingredients (particularly seafood) that are as sustainable as possible.
* House-made (a.k.a. from scratch): If we can make it, we make it here with our own little hands. That includes mozzarella, ketchup, marshmallows, simple syrup, infused vodkas and whiskies, burger buns, salsas, broths, etc.
* Great wine and cocktails: Here, too, we try to blend old classics (cocktails like Manhattans, and traditional French and Italian wines) with new innovations (original cocktails designed by our bartenders, and wines from younger wine-growing regions like South Africa and Virginia.)
* Nose-to-tail eating. We are passionate and respectful carnivores. No part of an animal goes to waste on our watch. Cow heads are boiled into headcheese; duck fat is reserved and used to make dishes richer; chicken bones meet carrot and celery stubs to be turned into stock; pork scraps are ground with spices and sausaged; ends of tenderloins and steak trimmings are ground into our Star Bar burger meat.
Whew. That's today's bit of insight into the viewpoint from which Chef Ken and his crew work from. Chef Ken Baker’s guiding principle for Pachamama’s cuisine, whether the dish is simple or refined, classic or avant-garde, is this: that every dish be striking, playful, thoughtful, and of course, delicious.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Summer Desserts!
These pictures were taken just a few minutes ago at our staff tasting. Here's the summer dessert line-up:
Baked Alaska with Raspberry Sorbet, Bittersweet Chocolate Brownie, and Torched Meringue.
Callebaut Chocolate Bread Pudding with Chocolate Swirl Brioche, Caramelized White Chocolate Ice Cream, and Warm Chambord Sauce.
Ricotta Vanilla Bean Crêpes with Ricotta Chocolate Chip Filling, Strawberries, and Candied Citrus Ice Cream.
Moist Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Pineapple Ice Cream, and Macadamia-Coconut White Chocolate Bark.
Cherry Tarte Tatin with Puff Pastry and Rhubarb Ice Cream.
Baked Alaska with Raspberry Sorbet, Bittersweet Chocolate Brownie, and Torched Meringue.
Callebaut Chocolate Bread Pudding with Chocolate Swirl Brioche, Caramelized White Chocolate Ice Cream, and Warm Chambord Sauce.
Ricotta Vanilla Bean Crêpes with Ricotta Chocolate Chip Filling, Strawberries, and Candied Citrus Ice Cream.
Moist Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Pineapple Ice Cream, and Macadamia-Coconut White Chocolate Bark.
Cherry Tarte Tatin with Puff Pastry and Rhubarb Ice Cream.
Friday, July 2, 2010
TGIF Wine Tasting: Firecracker Reds for the 4th
IL POGGIONE | 2007 ROSSO DI MONTALCINO, TUSCANY, ITALY
Younger, more accessible version of Brunello, but already very well-developed with a strong character, Rosso di Montalcino is a very important wine for Tenuta Il Poggione. Produced entirely from Sangiovese grapes from the youngest of the estate’s vineyards, Rosso di Montalcino is matured for 12 months in large barrels before undergoing a period of bottle aging. Aging in wood, though not obligatory for the production of Rosso di Montalcino, tones down the tannins typical of a young Sangiovese and gives this red wine the complex aroma and body that make it a great “young Brunello”.
EBERLE | 2006 ‘VINEYARD SELECT’ CABERNET SAUVIGNON, PASO ROBLES, CA
Eberle Vineyard Selection Cabernet Sauvignon displays 100 percent varietal characteristics blended from five distinguished Paso Robles vineyards, including the Eberle Estate vineyard. Approachable and enjoyable in its youth, lush with flavors of wild berries, cassis and moderate tannins, it is also worthy of aging for several years.
DRY CREEK | 2007 ‘HERITAGE CLONE’ ZINFANDEL, SONOMA, CA
The 2007 Heritage Zinfandel combines fruit from the warm Dry Creek Valley and cool Russian River Valley appellations. Aromas of blueberry and raspberry are framed by notes of white pepper and chocolate. On the palate, an abundance of fresh berry fruit mingles with dollops of creamy oak. The tannins are refined and smooth, giving this wine a long and satisfying finish. 87 percent Zinfandel, 13 percent Petite Sirah.
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