December 2009 Archives

Aerobie AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker

By Vincent Scordo on December 30, 2009 | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

The Aerobie AeroPress Coffee / Espresso Maker produces the best American/drip style coffee I've ever tasted. There, I've said it and I mean it! I've come out and made the aforementioned claim because the AeroPress looks more like a high school chemistry prop than a world class coffee maker and looks can indeed be deceiving when it comes to making excellent coffee at home.

Here are the facts on the AeroPress:

- The unit retails for $29.99 and was invented by Stanford University engineering lecturer Alan Adler (Adler is also the inventor of all the cool Aerobie sports products).

- The AeroPress coffeemaker makes coffee in about 30 seconds (typically a French Press coffeemaker takes about 4 minutes and a high end espresso machine about 10-15 seconds).

- Adler designed the unit so that boiling water is not needed. Rather, the unit specifies using water at the 175 F (80 C) mark which prevents the typical bitterness and acidity found in drip machines.

- The unit requires fine grind coffee (an espresso grind) as opposed to a course grind used in French press coffee makers. Adler argues that fine grind coffee has more surface area for better extraction of full bodied coffee (I love when products are designed with science/engineering in mind!).

- The unit does require small, paper, microfilters. Thankfully, a large amount of paper filters are included with the unit and they should last 6 months (brewing two daily cups).

- The unit is not made out of fancy stainless steel or tempered glass but rather high quality plastic which is easy to clean, will not break, or become a smudge attractor.

- The unit works by way of creating air pressure in a small chamber that houses both the ground coffee and hot water. After filling the chamber with coffee and hot water, the user stirs the mixture for 10 seconds and thereafter plunges down for a steady 20-30 seconds. The coffee is brewed right into your favorite mug.

Here are my observations on the AeroPress:

- The flavor component of the coffee is excellent but one shouldn't expect the unit to produce true European style espresso with crema and complex notes of chocolate, for example. The AeroPress excels at producing superb American style coffee (and by superb I mean the best cup of American brew I've ever tasted).

- To produce a full cup of American style coffee you actually brew 10 ounces of rich coffee. Thereafter, you top off your mug with hot water (this was strange at first). I consume my coffee without milk and just a bit of sugar.

- The unit comes with a large scooper and requires 2 scoops for about 10 ounces of coffee. The AeroPress unit does require more coffee than, say, a typical French press maker. Specifically, I'm using about twice as much coffee on a weekly basis since incorporating the AeroPress into my early morning and post lunch coffee habit (i.e., two 10 ounce cups per day).

- You can make a great mug of coffee in about 1 minute (20-25 seconds to grind your coffee beans, 10 seconds to stir the hot water/coffee mixture, and 30 seconds to plunge).

- Although the unit creates a cup of coffee in under 1 minute the user does have to fiddle with lots of items. For example , the main unit is comprised of a plunger, chamber, filter holder, and filter. All of the aforementioned parts needs to be assembled and then the user needs to grind his or her coffee and make hot water. Thereafter, the coffee needs to be scooped into the chamber and stirred. Finally, the user has to plunge the mixture into a single mug and add more water to yield a single serving of American style coffee.

- Cleaning is very easy and the plunger also acts as an extractor to gently push the spent coffee grinds out of the unit. The plastic components just need a quick rinse. My French press maker, as a counter example, is a royal pain to clean.

- At $29.99 the price point on the AeroPress is a huge bargain. The unit includes enough microfilters for 6 months (350 individual microfilters) , a coffee scoop, a stirrer, funnel for grounds, and the unit itself.

Overall, I prefer the AeroPress over a French Press maker and the countless drip style makers on the market. The AeroPress produces a rich, flavorful, and hearty cup of American style coffee that is the best I've tasted in both the US and Europe. The AeroPress should not be confused for an Espresso maker, however, as it cannot compete, for example, with a semi pro home machine like the Rancilio Silvia (yet the Silvia costs about 20X more than the AeroPress). I can imagine ubergeeks and techies using the Aeropress along with coffee aficionados looking for a more refined variant of the French pressed cup of coffee.

You can purchase the AeroPress here.

From the Archive: Feast of the Seven Fishes

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By Vincent Scordo on December 24, 2009 | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Here's a goodie from the Scordo.com archive and a recently highlighted post in the What's New Newsletter (sign up if you haven't done so already):

Material Satisfaction and the Feast of the Seven Fishes

Have a great holiday!

Best wishes,

Vince

Recipe: Tuna Niçoise Salad

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By Vincent Scordo on December 20, 2009 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

While flipping through TV channels on a lazy Sunday afternoon I came across an old episode of the classic TV series, "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home" The series was tapped in Julia's kitchen in Cambridge and while Julia was clearly passed her prime the interplay between the two food stars is sincere and straightforward (Jacques wants to do things the classic way and Julia calls for butter instead of oil or onion instead of scallion, for example).

A recent episode focused on salads and, specifically, Julia Childs and Jacque Pepin made a terrific Tuna Nicoise Salad; featuring fresh grilled tuna or tuna packed in olive oil, boiled potatoes, string beans, boiled eggs, tomatoes, Boston lettuce, capers, and anchovy. The salad looked so good I decided to have a go at making the dish for a late lunch this weekend. And while I didn't have fresh Tuna laying around the house I always keep 3-4 cans of tuna packed in olive oil in our pantry (here's my list of Italian products to keep in your pantry at all times) so one ingredient was present! Our fridge also included some green beans, fresh farm eggs, olives, a red onion, and, yes, some chick pea soup! The chick pea soup was used to make a rustic hummus with lots of lemon juice, some tahini paste, and plenty of salt and pepper (I used a morter and pestle as opposed to the Cuisinart, which I didn't want to clean). Here's my classic hummus recipe. The green beans were quickly steamed and then moved to a bowl of ice water to preserve the color and stop the cooking process. Thereafter, I tossed the beans with a simple lemon juice/Dijon vinaigrette (see my recipe here). The hard boiled eggs were made via the Bittman way, including placing the eggs in a pot with water and letting them come to a boil (and thereafter turning off the gas and letting the eggs sit for 9 minutes). Finally, I included some green olives flavored with fennel.

We enjoyed the salad with a fresh baguette and a bottle of $9.99 Torre Dei Gesuiti from Puglia (basically Italian Zinfandel) purchased at Total Wine (a chain wine shop with some decent inventory). There's no proper way to assemble the salad, just make sure all items are seasoned well (kosher salt, black pepper, and dried oregano) .

Creminelli Salami Holiday Give Away Contest

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By Vincent Scordo on December 15, 2009 | 38 Comments | 1 TrackBack

(photo: Creminelli owner Cristiano with his artisan salami)

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of tasting and reviewing a wide variety of Creminelli salami, including Cacciatore, Sopressata, and Piccante and the salami was some of the best I've tasted (and I've consumed a ton of both US and Italian salami). In fact, I was so excited about the Creminelli salami I asked both the company President Chris and head salami maker and owner Cristiano if we could somehow let folks taste artisan salami at its finest. What we all came up with is a Salami Holiday Giveaway!

Here are the details:

(photo: Creminelli salami developing it's unique flavor)

- Prize Giveaway includes a sampling of Creminelli's finest salami, including: 1 piece of White Truffle Salami, 1 piece of Wild Boar Salami, 2 pieces of Salami Barolo, and 2 pieces of Salami Piccante (note by pieces these are whole salami!!)

- What you need to do to enter: 1. leave a comment under this post on your favorite Italian salami or how you like to consume salami (for example, in a sandwich, with wine, with cheese, by itself, etc. and 2. sign up for Creminelli's fan page on Facebook here.

- Only one entry per person please.

- The contest is open until 12 midnight on 12/19 and a single random user will be picked (sorry contest only open to folks from the US given shipping logistics). The winner will be announced immediately on Twitter (so please follow me) and on Scordo.com on Sunday 5PM EST, 12/20.

- Please use a valid email address when leaving a comment so I can contact you just in case you're the lucky winner.

- Creminelli will send out the salami package on 12/21 via 2nd day air so you can enjoy the product during the holiday season / Christmas!

Just think how impressed your family and friends will be if you come out with a dish of expertly crafted, artisan, salami during one of your holiday parties!

Good luck and spread the word! Read more about the products in the Creminelli contest here!

Update: The lucky winner (picked via Random.org) is Luanda! Congratulations and thanks to everyone for participating.

Monday Night Fried Fish Fest: Whole Sardines, Smelts, and Wild Dandeloins

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By Vincent Scordo on December 14, 2009 | 2 Comments | 2 TrackBacks

(Photo: Tommaso staring down a fried sardine: this is one metaphysical moment)

A simple rule for buying fish goes as follows: buy what's fresh, as opposed to what you want. The idea may sound counterintuitive but freshness is king when it comes to seafood. I'm mentioning the whole buying fresh seafood concept today because I headed to my favorite fish shop thinking salmon for dinner and I came home with whole sardines and smelt. I've become friendly with my local fish monger and given that he 1. told me about the fresh sardines and smelt that just came in and 2. that the wild salmon wasn't looking superb I opted for the fish monger's suggestion as opposed to the salmon I was craving.

(photo: closeup of a close friend: Sardine Scordo - notice his great eyes and skin))

(photo: beheaded smelts waiting for flour and the frying pan, notice the beautiful skin)

I grew up with smelts as they are a favorite amongst Calabrians especially during the winter months and, at times, during the traditional Christmas Eve fish fest. Smelts are small, fresh water (native to New England as well!), fish and are best prepared whole and fried with a light coating of flour (I like mine with lots of kosher salt and a splash of red wine vinegar). While smelts were common during my childhood, we consumed sardines mostly via the salt or oil packed variety. And I do love canned sardines, but the fresh variety (again, lightly floured and fried) is fish nirvana! Fresh sardines have an oily and firm texture and are high in omega acids. Fresh sardines do contain many small bones, but part of the eating fun is using your hands and finding nuggets of steaming white meat and crispy skin!

(photo: sardine nirvana)

(photo: post fry sardines. notice the very light flour coating, you're not making Kentucky Fried Chicken here)

(photo: post fry smelts, salted heavily with kosher salt)

(photo: our simple dinner table)

Our sardine and smelts dinner included wild dandelions and brown jasmine rice. The dandelions were sautéed with garlic, olive oil, and some red pepper flakes. The brown rice was tossed with olive oil and lots of fresh ground pepper. We had a bottle of Altos de Luzon 2003 Jumilla (a Spanish wine consisting of 50% Monastrell, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Tempranillo). Admittedly, I thought the wine wouldn't pair well with fish, wild greens, and nutty brown rice, but I was shocked at how well it tasted with our meal. Proving again that consuming wine is about drinking what you like (or at least what your mouth tells you it likes with the food you are consuming).

Avoiding the Disease of Self Entitlement: 3 Symptoms and Cures

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By Vincent Scordo on December 11, 2009 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

(photo: cast from the film, American Psycho)

I see it all the time, twenty and thirty somethings ingrained with the idea that they deserve what they deem desirable, whether it be a new wardrobe, apartment in a trendy city, new luxury car, a monstrous new kitchen, the latest Smartphone, and/or a 6 bedroom home in a privileged suburb. Let me break the news to you in a subtle fashion: Dear Twenty or Thirty Something, You don't deserve anything! It doesn't matter if you've lived a privileged life in the past or attended the finest universities where high-brow culture and aesthetics are taught alongside neurobiology and philosophy, when it comes to self entitlement you might as well be begging on the street because what you desire isn't always what you should or can get!

I see less of the self entitlement disease in the offspring of recent immigrants and amongst the working class set, but there does seem to be a trend amongst middle class adults (whether young adults <Gen X and Y> or burgeoning teenagers) to want and acquire what hasn't been earned or deserved.

Let's look at a few examples of specific symptoms associated with the self entitlement disease and how an average, middle class, twenty something can rid him/herself of the early symptoms and, in turn, find a cure for the larger, possibly life debilitating, disease:

1. Symptom: Yearning for gadgets and services with monthly, auto renewing, fees.

Often the young adults will look around and notice peers with $200+ Smartphones like the iPhone, HTC, Droid, etc, and crave not only the hardware but also the data, phone, and text plans. The same adult also needs his or her own DVR (like Tivo or add on from the cable company), unlimited cable stations, Netflix subscription, game console, and an open door policy on iTune purchases.

How to cure the symptoms: Stick with a basic phone with a bare bones monthly plan (and use you work computer and home or office land line for calls). Use your personal workstation for viewing free shows on the web and rent movies for free from your local library. Your local library will also find any new music you may want to listen to, so just pick up the CD from your local library and burn it at home.

2. Symptom: Yearning for a new car with all the bells and whistles via monthly lease.

How to cure the symptom: The adult has to first get it in his or her mind that it doesn't matter what type of car one drives. Thereafter, the adult should buy a use vehicle with basic safety features and good reliability and low cost of vehicle ownership. There's plenty of time to maybe one day own a nice vehicle (if that sort of thing is important, but folks between the ages of 18-45 should focus on building real wealth and not German nameplates and leather seats).

3. Symptom: Yearning for an apartment in a big city or big home in the suburbs.

How to cure the symptoms: As we all now clearly see not everyone can afford a home or, more specifically, an ideal home. If you're 25 or so and suddenly want a 5 bedroom home in a quiet street in the suburbs because you grew up in that sort of environment or because you have that image in your head, that's not good enough. If you want to own your own home, then you'll need, at the least, a 20 percent down payment, ability to spend lots of money and time on home improvement and necessary maintenance, and the ability to build wealth along side paying your mortgage and property taxes (that is to say, if your total housing expenses exceed 20-25 percent of your take home pay, then you are in over your head and aren't doing other things with your money).

In addition to self entitlement being bad for the individual, it also sets up unnecessary desires, beliefs, and wants in the children of the self entitled class.

Car Buying Tips on WiseBread.com and Mention on The Simple Dollar

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By Vincent Scordo on December 7, 2009 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

(Photo courtesy of: Jupiterg)

Scordo.com is on the homepage of Wisebread.com! I recently shared 9 practical car buying tips with the Wisebread.com community, here's a little preview (click through to to read the full article):

"The process of buying a car is just not what it used to be. Gone are the days of brand loyalty, limited selection, and awkward and long-winded pricing negotiations. Nowadays, consumers often focus on car reliability rather than nameplates, the exact model that meets their families' needs, and are well versed on exactly how much their car should cost, including all selected options. It's safe to say that the car buying momentum has shifted from car dealer to car consumer, and it's a great time to be buying a car!"

Click Here to Read the Full Article!

Also, Trent from The Simple Dollar included my article in one of his weekly roundups - it's an honor and privilege to be mentioned on Trent's inspiring practical living and personal finance blog.

Handmade Salami Review: Creminelli and Columbus Artisan

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By Vincent Scordo on December 3, 2009 | 0 Comments | 2 TrackBacks

(photo: notice the natural mold on the exterior of the Creminelli product; this mold imparts lots of taste on meat and also prevents it from drying out, along with the casing)

There are certain items or products that are immediately associated with a given country, for example: ice hockey and Canada, beer and Germany, haute cuisine and France, hot dogs and the USA, and vodka and Russia. As a first generation Italian-American kid growing up in New Jersey, I secretly associated Italy with just one magical product, and it wasn't Ferrari or Soccer (calcio), but rather salami! Yes, salami (or salumi, as the Italians would say), that seductive product comprised of salty / cured / spiced perfection!

(photo: I sliced up four different types of Columbus Artisan product for a Thanksgiving appetizer)

My love of salami started as a young child during summer vacations in Southern Italy, as I described in my recent Guide to Italian Cured Meats and I thought it was a short lived love affair until I rediscovered that there are, indeed, high quality salumi that are being hand crafted and sold in the US (one doesn't need to hop on an Alitalia flight to Rome to find pork perfection).

With the above said, I recently had the pleasure of sampling eight distinct salumi from two US producers: Creminelli Fine Meats of Springville, Utah and Columbus Artisan Collection from San Francisco, CA. On the Creminelli side, I sampled Cacciatore, Sopressata, Piccante and on the Columbus Artisan Collection I tried Cacciatore, Finocchiona, Crespone, Salami Secchi, and Sopressata. Not only did I try the salumi but all of the varieties were tasted by immediate family including many salumi dignitaries who have produced and sampled hundreds of products both in Italy and the US. Some of the comments I heard at the gathering included:

"Is this from Italy?"

"Wow, what great flavor and texture!"

"Vinny, did you fly to Italy this weekend, where did you get this?!"

What follows, then, is an entirely subjective review of the aforementioned salumi (which were enjoyed with simple bread from Angelo's in Jersey City, NJ, homemade wine, and a variety of cheeses). Let's start with the Creminelli products:

(photo: I think the packaging on the Creminelli product is top notch!)

I'll begin by saying that the Creminelli packaging is top notch. Each individual sausage is hand wraped in fine butcher paper and held together by an elegant sticker with the Criminelli logo, name of the product, and ingredients. The passionate owner Christiano Creminelli understands that along with a great tasting product, a customer starts his or her food "user experience" with their eyes and hands. Christiano uses no sodium nitrates in his products and his salumi recipes originated in Italy and are now being duplicated, by hand, in the US (Christiano is a Maestro of Salumi!). The Creminelli products I sampled were naturally molded salumi and were soft to the touch out of the packaging. I would have preferred to have had the salami age for 1-2 months in my cellar before sampling the product so that more complex flavor could develop, but I couldn't wait (I tried the product after having the product sit in fridge for 4 days)!

(photo: Creminelli exterior)

(photo: starting from upper right clockwise: Creminelli Piccante, Sopressata, and Cacciatore)

Creminelli Sopressata
Sopressata is traditionally made with wine and garlic and Creminelli's sopressata was no different, yet the wine and garlic flavor was muted letting the intensity and quality of the pork come through. The meat to fat ratio was also ideal, which is tough to get right in Sopressata. I would have preffered a bit more garlic flavor in the Sopressata and little bit less upfront salt but overall it is a fine salumi. Creminelli Sopressata would work well in a sandwhich combined with other ingredients.

(Photo: Creminelli product)

Creminelli Picante
My favorite of the bunch and not overly spiced with red pepper. The salt content was perfect in the Picante and the combination of high quality pork with mild heat made me quite happy. The color of the Picante was also well done, it's not the typical fiery red color you see in most spiced salami.

(photo: Columbus Artisan Cacciatore)

Creminelli Cacciatore
The first thing that jumped out was the subtle juniper berry flavor in the Cacciatore! Moreover, the consistency and texture was typical old world, as was the physical size of the sausage itself (very small; afterall, tradition has it that hunter's stored the salami in their coats and when they got hungry in the forest they simply cut a few pieces and had a quick bite). Next to the Piccante, I really enjoyed the Cacciatore. There were some bitter components (at the very end) that may have been coming out of homemade wine I was having when sampling the salami, but overall you could tell that high quality ingredients were used in production. Finally, this salami also had a wonderful scent! This is a great all around salami to keep in the house for a quick meal on the weekend or for impromptu quests.

As I said above, I would have liked to have tried the Creminelli salumi after the aging process has a bit more time to do it's thing and, in fact, I do have a few samples aging in my cellar and I'm excited to retry the product in a month or so (stay tuned for an update here).

(photo: The Columbus Artisan collection is top notch and miles ahead of the standard fair salumi, the taste, texture, and ingredients are all old world and fabulous)

Next I moved on to the Columbus Artisan Collection salami which are produced in San Francisco and differ, to a large extent, from the mass production line of cured meats from the same company. Columbus does use sodium nitrates in their products and the salami did arrive pre-aged and hard to the touch. Like Creminelli, Columbus Artisan has a natural mold skin with all natural imported casings.

(photo: Columbus Artisan Finocchiona, my favorite amongst both the Creminelli and Columbus products)

Columbus Artisan Finocchiona
Let me qualify the following sentence first by saying that fennel seed was one of the key ingredients in my grandfather's salumi making arsenal and, as a result, I've been pre-programmed to respond positively to fennel flavor. And there's tons of authentic fennel seed flavor in the Finocchiona, in fact it was my favorite salumi out of the 9 products sampled. The Finocchiona had great texture, rich and flavorful pork, and the perfect balance of salt and bitter that is needed in any artisan salami.

(Photo: Along with the Creminelli cacciatore, the Columbus Artisan Salame Secchi would be an excellent overall choice for pre-dinner appetizers, small parties, and to enjoy with a glass of wine and good bread)

Columbus Salami Secchi
Columbus claims this is their oldest recipe and product and it shows. The Salami Secchi (meaning very dry) is the most subtle of the Columbus salami's I tried and I love the ratio of fat to pork. The salt and spice seasoning was also idle. This type of Salami is a good all round choice for keeping in the house at all times, while the Finocchiona, for example, would be something that you would consume a little less frequently (just because of the intensity of the fennel seed).

(photo: Columbus Artisan Cacciatore)

Columbus Cacciatore
My first thought when trying this cacciatore was, wow, this is kind of sweet tasting with lots of deep flavor. It was difficult to pick a winner between the Columbus and Cremenilli cacciatore, but Columbus had an advantage because the product seemed to have been pre-aged and, of course, the sodium nitrates help quicken the hardening process in the refrigerator. I think with more aging time, the Cremenilli would come out on top because of better ingredients (stay tuned!).

Columbus Crespone and Columbus Sopressata

Similar to the Finocchiona but without the fennel seed Crespone is a very rustic interpretation of salami (I should also say that Crespone and Finocchiona are also slightly larger in size than the rest of the salamis sampled). I found the Crespone, similar to a sopressata, to have a bit more fat composition than I ordinarily like but I did appreciate the simplicity and adaptability of the product (it went well with basic bread and cheese). A bit more course in texture than the Cremenilli sopressata, Columbus Sopressata was also a good basic salami but I would have liked a little bit more flavor profile. The sopressata was my least favorite of the Columbus salamis, but still light years ahead of any mass produced salami in the US market.

(Photo: Columbus Artisan Crespone, Sopressata, Cacciatore, and Salame Secchi, from left to right)

Where to Buy

- You can buy Creminelli products at retail or online at Creminelli.com

- You can buy Columbus products online or at your local retailer.

One observation that many of my family members made about both artisan salamis was the price! At between $25 - $30 per pound for the Creminelli product and between $11 - $15 for the Columbus Artisan, the salamis aren't cheap and are on par with a product like Prosciutto di Parma (which is one of the few Italian cured pork product allowed to be imported into the US). Charging the same amount of money (or more) for a US salumi product is a big risk for hardcore Europeans customers who are particular about value.

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December 2009 Archives

Aerobie AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker

From the Archive: Feast of the Seven Fishes

Recipe: Tuna Niçoise Salad

Creminelli Salami Holiday Give Away Contest

Monday Night Fried Fish Fest: Whole Sardines, Smelts, and Wild Dandeloins

Avoiding the Disease of Self Entitlement: 3 Symptoms and Cures

Car Buying Tips on WiseBread.com and Mention on The Simple Dollar

Handmade Salami Review: Creminelli and Columbus Artisan

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