# 20 Trends for 2002



## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

20 Trends for 2002
From the Chicago Tribunes
Published January 2, 2002

Upscale goes down the market

On restaurant menus, look for some high-ticket ingredients replaced by less costly alternatives. For example, lamb shank instead of rack of lamb, or chicken instead of duck. Look, too, for more daily special items such as filled omelets and hearty soups that offer chefs an opportunity to recycle ingredients.

Phytochemicals

Antioxidants will continue to generate heat in nutrition circles as researchers in 2002 discover even more about the health benefits of these phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables. Many of these natural antioxidants have been shown to help against cancer, heart disease and other illnesses by neutralizing "free radicals," which can destroy healthy cells.

Phyllis Bowen, associate professor of human nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says that specific antioxidant vitamins such as C and E will be studied, as will the phytochemical anthocyanin (found in blueberries, raspberries and cranberries), which is thought to improve mental acuity.

Organic goes mainstream

Americans will increasingly "go organic"--but not where you'd expect. Organic products totaled $7.8 billion in sales in 2000, according to a report by the Food Marketing Institute, which found that 69 percent of shoppers surveyed said they bought their organic products at their primary supermarket. This was borne out by the Organic Trade Association, which reports that mass-market supermarkets accounted for 45 percent of organic sales.

One-dish dining

With the recession officially under way, look for more meals to be prepared at home. But American diners, accustomed to the convenience of takeout meals and restaurant cooking, are even less interested now in spending a lot of time fixing dinner. That's why you'll see a steady growth in fix-it-fast meal kits and comfort food in stores, such as the new Stouffer's Slowfire Classics, Campbell's Supper Bakes and Ragu Express pasta dishes. Even the side dish is disappearing, according to NPD's Harry Balzer, as consumers skip the extra step needed to make an extra dish, and instead throw vegetables into one-dish meals such as stir-fries, stews and casseroles.

Super-ply panache

It's the age of "super-ply" in home cookware. The trend for pots and pans will be anything "clad," according to the Cookware Manufacturers Association. Even the humble saucepan may be made with up to nine separate pieces of metal. In these new pans, a stainless-steel bottom (and sometimes a stainless interior) wraps around layers of aluminum or copper. The multiple metals improve heat conductivity that stainless alone can't give. Traditional copper pans are superb heat conductors but also are expensive and time-consuming to maintain. The new pans combine the best of both worlds.

Cow safety

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service released a risk analysis Nov. 30 about the prospects for mad cow disease in the United States, which up to now has avoided Britain's fate. The "executive summary" of the analysis, produced by scenario modeling at Harvard University's school of public health, predicts little threat to American cattle, and even less to burger lovers.

"If BSE [bovine spongiform encephalopathy] has been introduced into the U.S., as has been suggested by some observers, the course of the disease has been arrested and it is destined for eradication by the measures currently in place," the authors conclude.

Doubters, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest and Public Citizen, object to how much money Harvard's Center for Risk Analysis gets from the very industries whose issues it studies.

Color craze

Maybe Heinz started the fad last year with green ketchup (purple has since been added). Parkay now has neon pink and blue squeeze margarine, and Dannon Sprinkl'ins includes "sparkle packets" to stir into cups for boldly colored yogurt. Behind this trend: Getting to Mommy through Junior. Expect to see more surprising hues in otherwise ordinary food products, say industry watchers.

Vitamins with your water

Neither man nor woman can live by wine alone, but the new-product gnomes are making strides toward a pure water diet. Energy Brands, a New York State company, has introduced Glaceau Vitaminwater, "the must-have accessory of the modern consumers' on-the-go lifestyle." It is a line of 11 low-calorie, vitamin- and electrolyte-enhanced flavors of water, each in a distinctive color. "Endurance peach," for example, contains vitamin E and ginseng. "Focus kiwi-strawberry" offers vitamin A, ginkgo biloba and gotu kola.

More dessert, please

Restaurant customer numbers and per-customer spending have sagged since the Sept. 11 tragedies, but the expense of employing a pastry chef is paying dividends for fine-dining establishments. Dessert sales have gone up in this down market, and heightened demand should continue in the coming year. For instance, Mary McMahon (left), executive pastry chef at the Italian Village in the Loop, reports a 10 percent to 12 percent increase in dessert orders over a year ago. On a recent weekend, 65 percent of the diners in the Village's up-scale Vivere dining room ordered desserts such as chocolate hazelnut ganache tart and warm chocolate molten cake with chocolate malted gelato and deep-fried chocolate truffles. Will stay-at-home dessert-lovers be eating these? Not likely. The very definition of "dessert" also is broadening. A cheesecake that is savory, not sweet, is selling well on the Vivere dessert menu.

Food security

"Making food safe" used to be all about bacterial contamination of raw foods and the cleanliness of kitchens, at home and in restaurants. But the boom in the security business since September's terror attacks has extended to "food security" as well.

The National Center for Food Safety, a public-private venture in south suburban Summit, is touring the state with a seminar that teaches smaller processors the basics: screening employees, securing the physical plant, and procedures to safeguard raw and finished products. Center Director Charles Sizer predicts that prevention of food tampering will be high on processors' agendas in 2002.

On a national scale, the Senate's Bioterrorism Preparedness Act proposes broadening the authority of the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department to inspect imports and the records of domestic food processors. Consolidation of various federal agencies' food-safety functions also has been proposed.

Artisan attention

The trend toward handmade, small-batch foods will continue as consumers seek higher quality. Artisan cheeses from small farms in Europe or America, rustic breads from high-quality bakeries, chocolates made by hand, even olive oil from "estates" in Italy and California--all will find their way to our cupboards in 2002. According to Howard Solganick, an Ohio-based supermarket industry consultant, "I don't know how else to put it, but once you taste really good bread, it's hard to go back to Wonder."

Comfort food

Home cooks will continue to yearn for the foods of their memories. Things Grandmother used to make: stews, meat loaf, roast chicken, mashed potatoes and layer cakes.

According to New York City industry consultant Clark Wolf, "Now cooking is comforting--and when entertaining, it's no more show-off cooking, it's communal cooking."

Spanish libations

As in any country that throws off the cloak of tradition, modern Spain embraces the new. Wine is no exception. From the staid bodegas of Rioja to the shiny stainless-steel tanks of Galicia, bold experiments are resulting in a new species of wines, brighter and more vibrant than those of the past. Not only are these wines priced attractively when they reach American wine shops and restaurants, the reds also have been aged by the producer before release and are truly ready to drink. Look for reds from Navarra, Ribera del Duero and Rioja; and whites from Galicia.

Cooking schools come back

Across the country after Sept. 11, couples with show-off home kitchens began to take cooking classes to learn to use them, while younger couples and singles have been signing up too, hoping to eat better--and more cheaply--when they eat at home. Look for the trend to continue in 2002.

"People seem to be finding lots of comfort in the kitchen lately," sys Shelly Young, owner of The Chopping Block. "We could do double our current enrollment, but we don't have the space."

Dish of the year

Mac & cheese earns Good Eating's predictions as the most yearned-for dish in 2002, at least until the weather warms up again. Who can resist? Plump pasta nestled and baked with creamy Cheddar cheese sauce until the whole thing mingles and melds. Trust us, this is not just food for kids!

Greens go global

With the multi-ethnic makeup of American diners, look for more markets to stock edibles such as mustard greens, water spinach, sea vegetables, chards, bok choys, "dinosaur" and other hearty kales.

Expanding cookbooks

Publishers are learning that cookbook buyers want a lot more information when they wade into recipes. Check out the growing inclusion of background information, extensive glossaries, kitchen tips, supplier lists, menu ideas, wine suggestions, measurement conversion charts and other hand-holding hints. These soon-to-be-standard extras appeal not only to eager cooks but to the totally clueless. Two upcoming examples: "Lorenza's Italian Season" from Lorenza de Medici's (Trafalgar Square), with holiday menus and preservation tips; and an American regional barbecue book from Dallas writer Dottie Griffith (Simon & Schuster), packed with history, cooking tips, Web sites and a bibliography.

Next hot-shot chef?

If the king of Chicago chefs, Charlie Trotter, is lured to London as rumored, who might inherit the mantle of Chicago's most prestigious chef? Good Eating ventures a guess that many will be willing. From among a bumper crop of talented chefs in their 30s, we vote for the following candidates: Paul Kahan of Blackbird, Shawn McClain (on cover) of Spring, Sandro Gamba of NoMi and Michael Kornick (above) of MK.

Chill-free foods

Shelf-stable foods (which do not require refrigeration) will mushroom in the supermarket aisles, predicts Art Siemering, editor of Noble & Associates' Food Channel Trendwire newsletter. It's another of our convenience-oriented cooking habits.

"We'll see continued growth among shelf-stable entrees and canned items in general," Siemering said. "The bowl format still has lots of unexplored possibilities, including the conversion of many existing canned items. Why not shelf-stable vegetables that can come directly to the table?"

Self-serve supermarkets

The need for speed is everywhere, especially in the supermarket and most especially at the checkout. That may explain why some customers would rather scan products themselves, and why supermarkets are increasingly willing to oblige them.

"Self-scanning has grown in various pockets around the country," says Michael Sansolo, senior vice president of Food Manufacturers Institute, a trade group for the supermarket industry. "For a quick trip, it's much simpler for shoppers."

"The customers who use self-checkout are usually in a hurry and don't mind technology," said Karen Ramos, director of public relations for Jewel-Osco, which opened its first self-scanner in July in its Melrose Park store and now has seven in place for customers with 15 or fewer items. Self-scanning won't replace clerks but usually occupies one or two aisles in stores that offer it. Expect to see it grow.


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## nancya (Apr 30, 2001)

Interesting, Isabelle. But not more shockingly colored foods, please. No, no, no....

Did anyone ever find those peanut butter slices? I am still curious about those in a disturbed kind of way.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

The only way to stop this Nancy is if people stop buying it...


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## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

Seen the Peanut butter slices. Have you ever left peanutbutter on the end of a knife, like after making a PB&J, for several days. That's the consistency. It reminds me of 'natural' peanut butter that has all the oil drainned off. A bit dry. Something like chewing on sand. Care for some?


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## nancya (Apr 30, 2001)

Well, Jim....I did say it was a _disturbed_ curiousity....Sounds real, uh, interesting.


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## risa (May 11, 2001)

Seems like Mac and Cheese has been on similar lists for at least 3 years. I remember watching a food segment on CNN about NYC restaurants serving Mac and Cheese about 3 years ago and reading about its popularity in finer dining establishments in several food magazines.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

Mac and Cheese is it hamburger???


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

No Athenaeus, it's macaroni and cheese. If you can call it that. It's an orange powder to which you had milk I think and butter. You pour it over the cooked pasta. 

You're not missing much, it has a very chemical taste.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

I knew that it would be something that SOUNDS dreadfull ( correct me please if I am wrong) 
Thanks Isa for your explanation.

I think that the trend is mainly ONE, world wide: Junk cheap food.
The rest is in the minds (?) of journalists ...


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## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

Actually, what Isa described is KD. A VERY poor substitute for mac n' cheese. 

True mac n' cheese is a thing of beauty when well prepared. You'll have to try in Atheneaus next time you're in America. THe key as usual is in the ingredients: nothing orange, nothing powdered. I like mine with a bit of gorgonzola... :lips:


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

Of course I will Anneke, I taste everything in my life 

As for the rest of my post, stays as it is. 
I think that the 20 trends for the2002 are 
Cheap Junk Food x20
The comment for the journaists stay as it is as well.


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## peachcreek (Sep 21, 2001)

I refuse to be buffeted by the fickle winds of fashion. 'Nuff said......

P.S. Kill your television.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

:lol: Personally I don't have TV.

Sorry, I thought that it was obvious


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Doesn't Mac 'n Chess with blue catsup sound appetizing just about now? Mmmm mmm. Eeet's goot!:bounce:  :bounce:


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

:lol: hahaha
Ok! Now I am on the floor


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## peachcreek (Sep 21, 2001)

Who exactly are these lists meant for-the consumer so they know what to expect or the professional as a what to do next. I don't like them. All they are doing is spreading mediocrity on a nationwide or worldwide level. Who do you think is making up the lists? Could it be that it is all contrived b*lls*it by big multinational food companies that tell us this is what we HAVE to eat? Or is it a "restaurant trend" because some guy in Chicago is making a killing on "monkey noses" or what ever else, so the biz rags are going to tell us all to do it? Get a clue folks!

Its' not about what we eat, its about what we get fed-Peachcreek


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

I couldn't agree more.
Sometimes I have the impression that there are two worlds. The one that actually exist for everysingle of us and another one the image of which is spread by the media and is copied by some minority in the Metropolis of the world.
Exactly. I have the same question. Who is building those lists?

If you check the list, you will see the most controversial things be trendy the same time (according to this list).
If those are true we are talking about a society which is in big and serious conflict.
And, please don't tell me that having supporters of the blue mayonese on the one hand and supporters of organic food on the other ( Thank God we have only two hands) isn't a big controversy.It is , if it exists and it's an obvious one.
The funny thing is that this is noticed not only to your country but in my tiny country as well...
And of course it's ridiculous.


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## peachcreek (Sep 21, 2001)

It is all tied together. The food companies make what the big buyers tell them to make. The cooking schools churn out chefs-to-order for the big corporate work farms. The media sells it to the rest of us, in and out of the profession as "the new trend".
By the way, did I tell you that YOU pay for it all in the end?


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

The most annoying of all, is that at the end, there is nothing that can be done to break this chain... or should I say THE chains


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## peachcreek (Sep 21, 2001)

Your money is your vote. Use it wisely.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

I hate to admit it but it's true. I wish it was the contrary.

That our vote would be enough to change things...

At least I agree and I keep saying that everysingle of us has responsibility to what is done! We are not to accuse some vague others.
I am responsible too for what is going on.


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## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

Let's be grateful that there is enough variety out there that we can decide which of Atheneaeus' hands to be in! 

I'm with you on your frustrations regarding fast-food and green (purple?) foods. However, I also have to say that I found this list to be pretty accurate. This is based on my own observations of course.

I don't see a problem with such lists as such. They cater to the foodie or the wannbe foodie who wants to be on the cutting edge of what's hot and what's not, even if they don't necessarily agree with everything. As a junior culinary professional, I read these lists with interest because I want to see how the general public views the trends that my community starts, what 'sticks', what doesn't, and what do I need to stay away from in order to be unique. It offers me a challenge. 

Keep in mind that trends are just that: trends. Not necessarily improvements. I don't think the autor was passing jugement on any of them, just pointing them out.

Just my 2 Canadian cents!


PS: No ketchup, red, blue or otherwise on this gal's mac n' cheese!!!!


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

I am a culinary school gradutate and I have never fallen into the corporate mindset. Neither has many of my collegues. I have always created the food I want to do regardless of what the "trendsetters" say is going to happen. Sometimes my cooking will follow a trend and sometimes not. As for these lists, I find them sometimes amusing, sometimes insightful, sometimes informative, and sometimes downright stupid. Much of it depends on who or what organization put that list together. Either way I take offense at the inference that culinary school=coporate flunky. I have never been a "yes man" for any corporation and never plan to become one. And I believe that many chefs feel the same way, whether culinary school grads or not.


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## rachel (Oct 27, 2001)

One thing on the list that sounded great (although I don't know if its a good idea to let you Americans in on the secret - when ever you learn the prices go up!) is Spanish libations.
Not just Rioja, but Ribero del Duero, and if you can get (although I've heard that in the US prices are really high) Priorat. Pure smooth velvet - many of these wines are as good as the thing that James Bond makes oblique references too to avoid being censored. 
I'm wondering which one would go well with my horoscope sign?? Or would I be lucky and have them all??

thge only thing that I'm not so sure about is the white wines from Galicia. Albarin~o, is a grape that makes wonderful wine, but it doesn't travel well. If you can get some eat it ONLY with lightly cooked shellfish or fish - that's all Galicians eat with it


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## nancya (Apr 30, 2001)

...._shuffles in.....but Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with orange powder is really good once in a while you know,....it's comfort food. It's also something I ate made with just water for 25 cents per box when in college....._

I agree on the trends thing. Many trends come and go - some stick with us and I'm glad. We have had trends which introduced new and exciting veggies or better ways of preparing foods. I think of the stir-fry trend of the late 70s which my poor mother really screwed up for a while, but now she makes really great, healthy, stir frys.

We've got the coffee trend thing still going on and who could hate that Starbucks and Jitterbean and dozens of other little coffee houses springing up right and left with half caf double shot lattes I mean a little caffiene just getsyourdayoffontherighttrack! Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! JAVA!

I think the weird colored food trend will eventually go away. Or at least I hope.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

I think that our opinions are personal and they do represent the universal and katholic truth, so why to be offended.I am glad we have different opinions. 

Anyway. 

IMHO trends exist in the minds of people that write those lists and in the lives of the very few that follow them.
Some day, a wise friend told me that some people behave as if they are playing to the movies and not as if they are living their lives... 
These are the trendy people. They perform a life they don't live one.
In my village we eat saltfish for 200 years now but in Athens' hot spots they eat it this year only.
My village is very trendy I guess... 

Of course none died of the existence of those lists ...

You have to admit though that promoting a trend needs money and support from a whole series of persons or institutions that form a chain. And chains usually, are not for the good


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Athenaeus, it is not personal opinions that I have an issue with, it is the use of a gross generalization that can be construed to be belittling, that I have a problem with. Voicing opinions is what makes these forums, fun and interesting. Sterotyping and making gross generalizations are not voicing opinions, its perpetuating ideas that have little basis in fact.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Well, I leave for a couple of weeks to talk around the state of Mo on community involvements with the local farming community and come back to trends that are anything but. Ok, Food Economics 101.....Our state ag budget is $33m 78% of our farmers are small farmers they access little of that money. Universities recieve monies for reseach from large corps (MONSANTO>>>>)
they are also recieving public monies from the tobacco settlement to the tune of $21Million.....how much land is used on organic research? or public fundage to small farm and sustainable pratices?
Dr. Bill Heffernen wrote about 5 corps running our food system....we are paying for farmers that raise commodities (corn, wheat and soy) to recieve ($73.5BBBBILLION proposed in the farm bill) to offset the low rates our farmers get from the corps. So essentially you are paying large corporations to stay in biz with your tax dollars. 
Large grocery stores sell organic shipped in from large farms on the coasts....it is cheaper for them to buy and ship across the country than to buy locally....what is wrong with this picture?
I'm not giving up, this is not my vision of the world. I want to live in a community with farmers raising wonderful products, I wanna teach kids an ecologically viable way to raise food, I want to not have chemical companies out for the bottom line monopolizing our seeds, I want to have birds, bugs, bees, bats seen as important to our environment rather than labeled pests......So I'm off to talk tomorrow and am writing two papers involving working with sustainable farmers, going to a new board meeting on confinement animal iradication and lobbying for fundage for Mo organic certification monies. If you spend $10 every week buying local you will support your community....in the winter it may be bread, honey, jam, meats, tofu.....Don't give up! I won't.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Oh yeah Paul Kahan is pretty darn cool.....so is Sarah Stegner....


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Oh Shroom, Did I ever miss you!!!!

Powerful post
cc


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Thanks, it's been awhile.....


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## rachel (Oct 27, 2001)

Thank you Shroom, I think that we taxpayers living in 'democratic' company should pay a lot closer attention to how our money is spent. Especially when it comes to food, pharmaceuticals and weapons (or 'defence' as we are supposed to call it - although what a nuclear submarine site in the middle of a Scottish loch is supposed to be 'defending' i don't know - Nessie??). The appropriation of OUR money to big businesses is incrediable.


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## risa (May 11, 2001)

Athenaeus: Good macaroni and cheese isn't all that different from Pastitsio if you don't include the ground lamb or beef.

Welcome back Shroom.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

I beg your pardon?


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## risa (May 11, 2001)

Athenaeus: I said GOOD macaroni and cheese. It wasn't an insult on pastitsio which I happen to like very much. In the way I learned to make pastitsio, you start with a nice bechamel sauce and you either add the cheese to the sauce or layer the cheese. I usually added the cheese to the sauce because it somehow tasted cheesier. The way I make macaroni and cheese is the same way. I just make a bechamel sauce and add good cheese. With pastitsio, you would also have a meat layer, but you wouldn't have that with mac and cheese. Now both would also have pasta such as macaroni. Isn't that pastitsio or have I been misled? Now that I think about it, my friend from Athens called it something else that sounded something like macaroni -- makaronia?


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

:lol:

Risa! My question was not a rhetorical one!
I wondered what had to do with trends that's all

Pastitsio is a great dish but I think it is Italian


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## chefboy2160 (Oct 13, 2001)

Colored blue ketchup on mac and cheese , wow what a concept .
All I know is that mac and cheese is a simple dish with no stable recipe . Cook your macaroni al dente and mix with your most favorite cheese sauce ( home made ) place in a buttered 2 inch baking pan and top with seasoned and buttered bread crumbs .
Bake at 350 till bread crumbs brown and you have a great pasta dish that most everyone likes .
P.S. I love the gorgonzola effect also ..................


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

To get back to an earlier question: Who is the customer for these lists of trends -- the "average" consumer, or the culiary-industrial complex, or the high-end food professional (that is, all ChefTalkers!), or or or ...?

Whoever the lists are aimed at, it's not always such a terrible thing when "trendy" stuff gets interpreted by the chains and Con-Agra types, so that it trickles down (oops, sorry about the image!) to the supermarket or fast-food level. Think about it. A lot of people are eating a wider variety of foods than they used to 20 years ago. Why? Because somebody decided to try to make money on a strange, ethnic delicacy. *And succeeded at popularizing it.* I may not like Taco Bell (actually, I do :blush: ) or P.F. Chang's (no, sorry, can't stand them) -- but they have made some new foods readily available to the general public. Is their stuff "authentic?" Of course not! So what?! People who a few years ago never heard of tofu or shiitakes now eat them, and maybe, if we're all really lucky, sometimes buy them to use at home. (Well, that's a stretch, but you get the idea.) And that means that farmers have to grow different things, not just the same 5 crops over and over ... AND it means that maybe, just maybe, people are becoming a teeny-tiny bit less provincial. Of course, I too am generalizing, and placing too much hope on the power of food to open minds as well as mouths, but still ...

Gee, anybody want to join me on starting a chain of aushak restaurants?


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

As a member of St Louis Culinary Society, I've been privy to hearing local members that speak nationally on food trends. Many of the speakers are PR/Marketing people for large corps. 
Yes there has been an insurgence of interesting foods (Thank you Frieda). BUT, the land that is growing altered crops and the pollen generated from them is blowing onto organic or non-GMO crops....Corporations are suing farmers for using saved seeds....it is a scary time for many of us, you can not bring back what is lost.
Mexican corn has been in the news the last few weeks, there has been an effort to keep pure strains of corn and they've found traces of GMOs in these plots.
It's the politics behind it. If there were not wind drift nor soil contamination or seed companies bought out, nor gov't subsidizing corporations that makes an unlevel playing field in the marketplace, then I would not be as adament.....but this shtuff is happening.


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

I will start with a bit of history, then a recipe:

It’s difficult to know exactly when the first batch of macaroni and cheese was cooked, but the dish’s history reaches back at least to the colonial era. Thomas Jefferson returned from a trip to Italy with a pasta machine, and served macaroni and cheese at dinner parties. Centuries later, in 1937, Kraft introduced a version that came packaged in the familiar blue boxes that are staples in pantries across the country. The following version of macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods—rich, flavorful, and easy to make. 

MACARONI AND CHEESE
Serves 12 

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar cheese
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyère or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) pecorino Romano cheese
1 pound elbow macaroni

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place the bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set the bread crumbs aside. 

2. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat the milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a medium pot over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. 

3. While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick. 

4. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyère or 1 cup pecorino Romano; set cheese sauce aside. 

5. Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer’s directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce. 

6. Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese and1/2 cup Gruyère or 1/4 cup pecorino Romano, and bread crumbs over top. Bake until browned on top, 45 to 60 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Serve garnished with sour cream if desired.



:lips:


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

It's seems that I am the only one who suppose to hate Mac'n cheese although I said that I haven't tasted it...

What so ever, thanks a lot especially for the story. 

This reminded me of the children that don't want to eat something and they tell them stories to swallow it down...
I am SURE that trendy or not Mac n cheese is a wonderful dish. 
I swear, I believe you. Very soon I will have the opportunity to taste it.Or after second thoughts I will make it tomorrow since I didn't know what to cook anyway.

Strange though... My husband lives for the last 45 years of his life in the States (NYC) and his best -like brother- friend is one of the biggest restauranteurs of NY... Both of them haven't even tasted this thing ( the world thing belongs to them) although the latter serves it


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Don't despair you'll be able to taste it soon Athenaeus...


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

Back to the mac & cheese for a minute - my mom used to make a side dish from canned tomatoes, croutons and a little sugar to put over the mac & cheese. Has anyone heard of this?


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## marmalady (Apr 19, 2001)

What a wild thread!

Let's see.........
from mac and cheese, 
to green ketchup, 
to Rioja,
to more mac and cheese, 
to TV, 
to food politics, 
to more mac and cheese, 
then to pastitsio, 
the back to more mac and cheese,
to mad cow disease, 
to more food politics,
to coffee, 
to saltfish, 
to Taco Bell, 
to Mexican corn, 
and aaah, back to mac and cheese?

I don't know how to respond?!


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