The U.S. Stands Alone – Using Fahrenheit Temperature

Have you ever been challenged with recipes using Celsius and metric measurements? If you are an American, using international recipes for your supper club dinner party, you have been. Americans stand alone in sticking to Fahrenheit and non metric measurements.

It is like the old joke…

What do you call someone that speaks many languages…MULTI-LINGUAL
What do you call someone who speaks two languages…BI-LINGUAL
What do you call someone who speaks one language…AMERICAN

It is an old joke and in many ways, a sad story. Americans traveling or doing business outside of the country have to learn Celsius/Fahrenheit and metric conversions. I am writing this blog from Ottawa Canada where my daughter lives and having to relearn conversions that became standard during my many years running an international business. The problem is that I still think in Fahrenheit.

Again an old joke…

The teacher tells her French class that you know that you really know French when you think in French.

The next day the class clown comes in and announces: “Teacher, teacher, I must really know French now because last night I dreamed and I was thinking in French. Didn’t understand a freaking word, but I was thinking in French.

Conversion between Fahrenheit and Celsius isn’t easy:

To convert degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius:

You will need to subtract 32 to the Fahrenheit temperature, multiply by 5, then divide by 9.
For example, to convert 350 degrees Fahrenheit to Celsius you would complete the following equation:
- 350 degrees Fahrenheit – 32 = 318
- 318 x 5 = 1590
- 1590 / 9 = 177 degrees Celsius

To convert degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit:

You will need to multiply degrees Celsius by 9, divide by 5, then add 32.
For example, to convert 177 degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit you would complete the following equation:
- 177 degrees Celsius X 9 =1593
- 1593 / 5 = 318.6
- 6 + 32 = 350

Using a conversion table is a lot easier

Just the standard Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe on a package of Hershey Chocolate Chips gets complicated

Note: * R.O.W. equals Rest Of World

A buddy of mine in Holland once told me that his kids had to learn at least 3 languages in standard schools in the Netherlands. The problem is that very few people speak Dutch around the world. I told him that I thought his kids would be advantaged going forward because of their advanced communication skills versus American kids only learning one language. He disagreed with me. His theory was that Dutch children had to expend too much intellectual energy on language versus Americans that focused more on math and science.

To be honest, I don’t know who is right. One thing I do know is that around the world kids like, pizza, cheeseburgers and chocolate chip cookies. One thing I do not know, and that is, who the real joke is on.

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

Compound Butter – One Of God’s Gifts

Compound butter is one of god’s gifts. It delivers flavor and mouth-feel to a multitude of dishes and should be a regular ingredient for supper clubs menus.

One of the challenges that every chef faces, is the fact that flavor gets cooked off under the high heat of any cooking process. It is particularly bad with the high heat of grilling. You can try to add flavor with marinades, rubs and even salt and pepper, but the reality is that a lot of what you are trying to add, gets lost or changed during the cooking process. The beauty of compound butter is that you get to add it after cooking, so that the flavor is not lost. Additionally, you get the added benefit of adding it as your cooked meat (or vegetable) is resting. The fat from the butter combines with the juices of your meat enhancing the overall flavor. It’s a wonderful thing.

There are all kinds of compound butters, but I have a standard that I use all of the time.

Ingredients

1 stick butter (1/2 cup) softened to room temperature
2 cloves garlic sliced
1 shallot minced (1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons of freshly chopped herbs (Chive or scallion for beef/pork. Dill for fish)

Process

Sauté garlic and shallot in olive oil under low heat for five minutes until translucent
Add all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined

The beauty of this ingredient is that you can make larger quantities and store in the freezer for months. Pull it out and use it liberally on all sorts of things. Friends and family will think you are a culinary genius.

I use compound butters all the time but it was a central ingredient in one of my most favorites events. We had 75 people at my mom’s in Westhampton at a kickoff party for my daughter’s wedding weekend. The main course evolved around using compound butters with grilled strip steak, local swordfish and eggplant. There is a seafood wholesaler on the North Shore of Long Island where we can get a whole loin of freshly caught swordfish. The fresh fish was a thing of beauty. Combined with grilling with our hero compound butter led to a memorable culinary event.

Check out the video

It doesn’t matter if you are cooking for a supper club dinner party or a quick weeknight supper, compound butters will make your dish better. And remember, you can put it on shoe leather and it would taste good.

“I Will Have What She Is Having”

Have you ever noticed that when a party of four orders dinner at a restaurant, if someone orders something, the chances are that someone else will also order the same thing. It’s a rule. It might not be a supper club rule, but it happens all the time.

This rule isn’t always a good thing. We were once in a restaurant outside of Paris with two other couples. While my French isn’t great, my 8 years of high school and college French, made me the spokesperson for the group. I knew that veau was veal and I like veal, so I ordered rognon de veau. As the third person ordered the same thing, it occurred to me and I announced: “Rognon de veau is probably organ meat”. Of course it was, and while it wasn’t what we would have ordered, it certainly was a learning experience.

The “I’ll have what she is having” scene from the movie “When Harry Meets Sally” was filmed at the famous Katz’s deli on the lower east side of Manhattan. My connection to Katz’s goes to my Aunt Mary Johnson, the consummate shopper. Aunt Mary lived on Staten Island and worked in Manhattan. Just about every weekend she would go shopping on the lower east side and a couple of times a year my family would drive in from White Plains to visit with my aunt and shop. These visits usually included lunch at Katz’s and while the deli food was great, I never saw the reaction that Meg Ryan’s character had.

A favorite story about my Aunt Mary’s shopping prowess, goes back to when my grandparents passed away. As way of background, my father always claimed that our family was part Jewish. In the family dynamic, Aunt Mary was closer to the Jerry Seinfeld side and my uncle Jim was definitely of the Archie Bunker ilk. My grandparents died within a month of each other and as the family was preparing for their burial, Aunt Mary announced to uncle Jim that she had gotten a great deal on a tombstone. She told him she had found it in a shop of the lower east side and while it was slightly used the shop promised they could buff out the Star of David. Poor uncle Jim went into a tirade about not marking their good Catholic parent’s grave with a Jewish tombstone. To which my aunt Mary replied….”Gotcha”