My list of New Year's hopes and wishes
By By Robert St. John / food columnist
Jan. 1, 2003
n Robert St. John is the executive chef/owner of New South Restaurant Group www.nsrg.com. His weekly food column appears in various newspapers throughout Mississippi and Louisiana. If you have any questions or comments, he can be reached at robert@nsrg.com or (601) 264-0672.
Where did 2002 go? It seems as if we jumped from the Fourth of July to Christmas over the course of two weeks.
As I set my sights on 2003, I will resist the compulsion to make a bunch of unachievable New Year's resolutions (most of which I never intend to keep). This year I'm taking the wish-list route.
So, in addition to another healthy, happy and prosperous year for my family and friends, here are my 40 culinary hopes and wishes for 2003:
1. I wish more restaurants would make food their No. 1 priority.
2. I wish more independently owned pizza parlors would open.
3. And when they do, I hope they use the finest imported Italian tomatoes and cheeses available.
4. I wish more restaurants would focus on new and innovative salad preparations.
5. I wish I could meet one person from New Orleans who doesn't claim to be an "expert" on food and a "gourmet chef" just because they live in the city.
6. I hope, sometime during the year, someone will deliver a homemade chicken pot pie to my house.
7. I wish more barbecue restaurants would smoke their meats in real wood-burning pits.
8. I hope that no one I know has to eat leftovers (unless it's fried chicken).
9. I hope this year's peach crop is the best ever. I love fresh peaches.
10. No more terrines!
11. I wish someone would bring back the Marathon candy bar.
12. I hope drug stores will start adding short-order food counters and soda fountains again.
13. I wish more restaurants would serve fresh-cut french fries.
14. I wish someone would figure out a way to make a sugar-free, fat-free ice cream that tastes even better than the sugar- and fat-laden variety.
15. I hope I don't eat anything with blood sausage in 2003.
16. I wish a boatload of jumbo lump crabmeat on everyone.
17. I wish more restaurants would focus on service instead of atmosphere.
18. I wish more non-restaurant businesses would be as focused on customer service as the restaurant industry.
19. I hope my 18-month-old son starts eating sushi like his big sister.
20. For my friends, I wish truckloads of Mississippi State Edam cheese and imported Brie. To my enemies, trainloads of Limburger.
21. I wish more Mississippi restaurants served foie gras.
22. Enough with the big fried-onion-flower things already!
23. I wish the Elite restaurant would sell their rolls in grocery stores.
24. I wish a minimum of 18 fried oyster po'boys on everyone in 2003.
25. I hope Trent Lott stays in Washington, but visits Mississippi more often for some real home cooking (which always tastes better than a foot).
26. I wish more restaurants would start serving Coke in those little bottles.
27. I hope I can make it one full year without having to hear a song sung by Helen Reddy or Anne Murray.
28. Can I add Kenny G., Neil Diamond and Eminem to that list?
29. I hope that Julia Child and Edna Lewis have at least one more cookbook left in them.
30. I hope someone releases the results of a study that finds butter and heavy cream are good for you.
31. No more pats!
32. It is my New Year's wish that all "gourmets" and "foodies" stop being so snobby and admit that every meal doesn't have to contain fiddlehead ferns, 36 exotic micro-greens and infused oils. I wish we will all begin to see the beauty and perfection in a skillfully grilled and aged-strip steak or an expertly made chicken pot pie (friends and family please see wish No. 6).
33. I hope for a bumper corn crop this summer and that everyone gets to eat all of the freshly picked sweet corn they want.
34. Dessert for everyone!
35. I wish McDonald's would make their fries taste like they did 20 years ago before they took the beef fat out of the cooking oil.
36. I wish positive cash flows on all restaurateurs.
37. I hope to eat home-cooked fried chicken at least once a week in 2003.
38. I wish that the Brennan family would open a satellite Commander's Palace next door to my house.
39. I hope that everyone eats well, whether at home or in a restaurant, and goes back for seconds and even thirds.
40. I hope we will all do everything we can to see that no one in this country goes hungry.
Homemade french fries (twice fried)
Idaho potatoes
Peanut oil
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon black pepper (freshly ground)
1 tablespoon garlic salt
Wash and scrub the potatoes. Cut them lengthwise into 3/8-inch strips (leaving the skin on). Place them in a bowl of water and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes, rinse and drain again. Repeat the soaking process one more time. Mix the salt, pepper and garlic salt and set aside. Bring the peanut oil to 275 degrees in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Drain the potatoes and pat completely dry (make sure the potatoes have no water on them or the oil will splatter). Cook in two-to-three batches for approximately five minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels and place in refrigerator to cool completely. When ready to serve, bring peanut oil to a temperature of 350 degrees and cook fries 4-5 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Transfer cooked fries to paper towels to drain and sprinkle immediately with a pinch of the salt mixture. For a real treat, sprinkle with truffle oil and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
