Food For Thought

By Paul Apgar

Nov '02

Hello again. Fall is here, the leaves need raking...no really, the leaves need raking at my house. I pay $5/hour, with a max of 4 hours to finish the job. Let me know if you're interested.

Essay: Giving Cake Its Just Desserts

There have been rumors that after your 10th year at Meditech you get a really big cake.

Most people at Meditech get to enjoy an office cake party for their birthday. This is usually provided by an especially thoughtful coworker or supervisor, at no additional cost to the happy Birthday boy or girl. There are probably cake parties at least once a week in most offices.

While I am not in any way complaining about the past performance of these cake offerings, I'd still like to point out that some cakes are better than others. Everyone must agree that any type of well-made homemade cake (even if from a mix) is far better in quality than one of those Stop n' Shop cakes. Stop 'n Shop cakes are first dried out from sitting on a cooling rack too long, then they are hopefully brought back to life by a thick layer of that lard and sugar icing smeared on top. At the very least try to get a buttercream icing if you need a cake in short notice.

Even the nastiest cake from Shaw's or Demoulas or whichever other kind of fastfood bakery can be improved greatly just in the presentation of it. This is what I'd like to focus on in this essay, because even the best cake can be ruined with thoughtless presentation techniques.

It's all about the Temperature

All you manly men should find this cake funny.

Now I can understand why we do what we do with cakes. I mean, Eggs are kept in the refrigerator at the store (along with milk and cheeses, too.) We take them from the refrigerator in the store to the refrigerator in our house. We don't let eggs warm up before we use them for cooking, nor do we stick milk in the microwave to heat it up unless we have a baby, or certain painful digestive problems. So when we get a cake from the refrigerator at Roche Bros we should keep it in the refrigerator right up to the minute before we serve it, right? A big NO to that!

What needs to be done is the cake should sit out at least a half-hour before serving in order to bring it back to edible temperature. If you can peel off the icing with your fork and it gives way in one piece... the temperature is too cold. The flavors of the cake itself are also muted when it is cold, so you're not getting the full cake experience. Don't think it matters? Try eating a frozen piece of chocolate, then warm up the same chocolate... heat will activate all that cake goodness that you've been missing for so long you forgot it was there! Also, the sugar in the frigid icing starts out all grainy and gross, and it sticks to your cavities, causing you to writhe in pain. OUCH!

Please, the next time you're in charge of getting the cake, take it out of the chiller for at least a half-hour before serving it... your taste-buds and co-workers will thank you. You might even get a promotion for it!

Poll of Last Quarter

Poll of This Quarter

Recipe of the Quarter

How to Make a GOOD Lasagna

This is due to the request of an Italian employee in the Westwood building who will remain anonymous. He wanted some Italian recipes, and since he was a supervisor I felt that I had better listen and do what he says! I also didn't want to get any knees, knuckles or any other bones broken, which would be possible since he sits near me (but not as close as Joe Neslusan.) Well anyway, this recipe is dedicated to that anonymous person.

Frozen Lasagnas should be outlawed. Bleck!

So what does this overweight German have to tell you about Lasagna? Well I've had plenty of lasagna experience, and I must say that a good Lasagna is hard to find these days. Much to my chagrin, I've found that even my (Italian) wife's elderly aunts can't make a good lasagna. It's amazing, but true. And don't even try to get a lasagna from a restaurant unless you've actually SEEN it or have a review from someone you really trust... there is just too much that can go wrong with it for you to be messing with that stuff. And catering places? They should be arrested for the nasty noodle-mess that they serve people, and charging them for it to boot!

If you'll notice, the short list of ingredients are obvious to making a Lasagna. Making a good Lasagna isn't in the ingredients (although using high quality stuff does help), it's all in the METHOD.

Ingredients:
Lasagna Noodles (boxed is fine)
Jar or two of Spaghetti Sauce
Small container of Ricotta Cheese
A large bag of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
A bit of Basil (to put on top)

The Method

Below are some basic tips with explanations to help you make that perfect Lasagna and be the hero of all that dine at your table.

Place a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Ever have a Lasagna burn on the bottom? That should never happen in a civilized society such as our own. Putting sauce on the bottom prevents this from happening.
Only cook the noodles halfway, never fully cook them!
This is the number one problem I have with most Lasagnas. Ever get a piece of Lasagna that had these super thick noodles that were all starchy and gross? Bleh!! The noodles should cook the rest of the way in the oven with the sauce and cheese surrounding it, this also lets the noodles absorb those flavors and all that good stuff.
Easy on the Ricotta!
Instead of caking on the ricotta cheese between the layers, give a slight smear on the noodles, and add some mozzarella cheese too. If I want a ton of that cheap Ricotta cheese I'll go have some stuffed shells, or even worse, Manicotti (which I think is Italian for too much cheese.)
If Garfield were here, and real, he would agree with me about Lasagna.

Don't be chintzy with the shredded mozzarella!
You'll find this mostly with restaurants and catering places, but some people fall into this trap too when they try to save money. Mozzarella doesn't only belong on the top... put some in between every other layer or so. It makes for a much more balanced Lasagna. Also, don't put these huge slabs of mozzarella on the top, it ends up making the whole thing look like a picnic blanket. To give it some aesthetic flair, make it like one of those Jackson Pollock paintings... nice and random.
Use spaghetti sauce in the layers.
A properly made Lasagna should not need an extra scoopful of sauce, unless you are weird and require an inordinate amount of sauce. These catered places which sell a Lasagna without sauce except on the side are just plain lazy.
Allow the Lasagna to set before serving.
Many a soupy mess could have been avoided if people just waited a few extra minutes for the Lasagna to set. It allows for easier cutting and serving too! Give the Lasagna at least 5 minutes to settle down on the counter before you serve it.
If you stuff the lasagna with extra goodies, chop finely and pre-cook them.
Nobody wants a lumpy Lasagna. I mean, come on! You spend over an hour constructing this work of art, and it ends up looking like a landfill. Do everyone a favor and finely chop up the sausages, mushrooms, or whatever else. And if there's anything crunchy or hard (like a green pepper), cook it extra long in a skillet first to take the snap out of it. Nobody wants to crack a molar on your Lasagna.

If you think I'm opinionated about Lasagna, wait until you see the Food For Thought column on PIZZA. Look out!

Questions and Answers

Please submit any and all food questions to me by email.

With the upcoming Christmas party that Meditech offers every year, I was wondering how I can best use my time in the Framingham Cafe?
Submitted By: Anonymous

I have 6 words for you: It is all about the shrimp!

The shrimp at the holiday party are utterly gargantuan! Sometimes I think that a few lobsters must have gotten caught in the net and their tails mistaken for large shrimp. Take one of those Jumbo Shrimp that you see at the supermarket, pump it full of steroids and amino acids and leave it at the gym for a month. What comes back out would probably look like the shrimp we get at the party.

So how do you maximize your shrimp intake? You need to stay away from most of the other items on the menu that may fill you up. Unless you really like Swordfish, I would pass on that, and you can get chicken wings anywhere. Besides, ever try eating chicken wings at a standing position while you talk about Career Development with your supervisor? (It's not pretty.) You should also stay away from the heavy liquids, no matter how good the Egg Nog is... go for the soda.

The little pastry trays that get passed around are good to cleanse your palette with. The little crab-meat thingies are worth trying, but again stay away from the chicken- tenders-on-a-stick unless you're really in the mood for that.

Now I know I just said that the giant shrimp are impressive... but having shrimp that are TOO large might not always be a good thing. Sometimes bigger isn't better. Large shrimp meat seems to be a bit tougher and more chewy than their smaller brethren's is. So what I usually try to do is get at least one or two large shrimp just to say I did it, and the rest of them I try to pick from the smaller ones.

And don't forget to save some room for those awesome desserts!!

(For some general buffet tips... check out this page.)

Do you spend hours and hours writing this column? When do you get your work done?
Submitted By: My Supervisor

I can type approximately 100 wpm, and I obsess about food all day. This column takes me very little extra time to think about, or to write up. Besides, was I supposed to be doing work all this time?

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