Free Range Bird is Always Best for Roasting

A simple winter roast to warm even the coldest of hearts.

I've been getting well into bird bastin’ and roastin’ this season. I’m pretty sure this is the coldest I've EVER been in my life and it’s been a great time to get back into the kitchen. I always remember thinking growing up how ‘meh’ I felt about roasts, the only thing I truly loved was the leg of the chicken, the soft tender meat! And maybe a spud. Now I’m experiencing a renaissance of passion for a good roast.

Rule # one: Always use a free range chicken at the very least. Caged birds never roast as nicely. Free range is generally more robust in size and flavor.

Rule # two: Keep the sides simple. Chuck your favorite winter vegetables onto a tray with some olive oil, salt and pepper herbs of choice and call it a day.

Rule # three: Get the butter involved. Butter brings a lot to the table. Place inside the chicken, between the skin and meat and even over. This creates a wonderful flavor all over and you can keep the juices for accompanying gravy.

Rule # four: Always make your own gravy!! 

Gatherin’

1 Large Free Range Chicken

Carrots

Baby Beets

Parsnip

Mixed Baby Potatoes

Onion

1 Lemon

1 stick of butter

Thyme

Garlic (lots)

Rosemary 

Cookin’

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Let’s start with the bird. The skin, like the meat are both make or breaks so I like to start by separating the skin from the meat by stuffing with butter. This moistens the meat and makes it super juicy and tender. Don’t be too aggressive, just slide between gently. If you've been given the insides to the chicken, keep them inside the chicken, stuffed with garlic, a halved lemon, thyme, rosemary and butter. For the skin, coat in butter with salt & pepper and chopped thyme and rosemary. Don’t be afraid to use your hands! Place in oven and cook for one hour and thirty minutes at 400 degrees.

For the vegetables, a rough peel and wash will suffice. I placed them on a separate tray, but some like to roast together. Splash liberally with olive oil, herbs and cloves of garlic. Remember to salt and pepper.  Cook for forty five minutes, give or take to your liking. Be sure to rotate once or twice.

Keep an eye on your bird and baste half way with butter and some cider if you’re keen. After the chicken has roasted and the meat has been cut, you should be left with a surplus of juices. To this, add a little salt and pepper, a splash of cream and some flour to thicken into gravy.

Eatin’ 

Brand Power Versus Celebrity Power

The importance of mapping endorsements against a broad brand lifecycle. What is the dollar value versus the brand value?

Endorsements are a given, nothing new to the market, but still remaining a huge influence as brands close in to marry their product to a personality, an aspiration. Chain stores and luxury brands alike are becoming increasingly interested in the dynamics between the celebrity and the consumer.

H&M launched the face of H&M Winter 12 campaign with Lana Del Ray, relatively new ‘all-American’ music success. The advertising budget was a significant spend, and also an investment to draw in sales for the last quarter for 2012, just before Christmas sold the product itself. David Beckham, a key fashion sex symbol has gone from Armani to H&M. The question here is not just what this endorsement has provided in dollar and branding value, but more interestingly, what has been the market response, second time round for Beckham as an underwear ambassador? Has his time with Armani diminished or heightened his presence as at H&M? Recycling endorsements must be a very mindful manoeuvre. The chain store champion knows itself and its scope to procure correct endorsements that match the brand fit. Dollar value aside, it’s aligning value to its brand, equally.

 In a paper published by the University of Arizona, ‘Economic Value of Celebrity Endorsements’, author Kevin Chung concludes that endorsements have a positive effect on profits if the company is mindful of the allocated endorsement time frame and behavioral evolution of the celebrity, making reference to Tiger Woods and the decline in Nike’s profits after his 2000 scandal.

To a lesser extent, Tom Ford pinup boy Jon Kortajarena was snatched up by Kenneth Cole in an attempt to resuscitate its lost brand personality and image. Kenneth Cole was viewed by many as on the decline and has since announced a move back to the premium clothing market. Giving a personality to your brand and marrying an endorsement to it does entail more carryover than acquiring the latest model, it requires a strategic shift in branding, an upheaval. These two cases really show the short shelf life endorsements have with a brand; the difference is who creates the stronger resonance? Tom Ford, at the height of global popularity launched with a personality before the model and the brand wore Jon. Jon wore Kenneth Cole for a campaign. Two separate markets to be sure, but Cole’s Winter Campaign spoke very little to the consumer of the brand and more of a popular face of the times.

No endorsement, no matter the scope or size, is ever long lasting, without a gamble. Revision is a must. It should always be periodic and mapped to the DNA of the brand at one given time. The key is to understand the power of the brand versus the power of the endorsements. You must be aware of each value and to play them with strategy. Mapping a brand life cycle against endorsers and understand that at each phase an endorsement can mean many different things and leave varying impressions. 

Brand Protection and Retail Promotion Damage

It is late December and Barneys has already emailed consumers reminding them of a final 60 percent off international designer. It is January and Mr Porter has announced a final 80 percent off. Why would you go to a boutique and pay full price when it’s available in department stores or online at more than half the price at an earlier, more convenient time?

Mr Porter Final Sale

In a great effort to combat the ever expanding digital market, sale monopolies and to stand against the sluggish economy, many retailers are falling victim to ‘promotion addiction and dependency’.  A universal truth is that the market is more unpredictable than ever.

With such instant access to cross price checking online, cheaper substitutes and increased suppliers, the retail sector has no chance of coordinating sale seasons and commanding power over consumers. Consumers today hold more power than ever and retailers now must be in the bid to equal out the playing field. Falling into a cycle of constant discounting and price cutting is perceived as unavoidable by many retailers today. The only benefits are short term and the damages are all long term.

Walking through New York, a supposed fashion capital, a supposed fashion bubble economy, evidence of an aggregate fail can be seen everywhere, from luxury to lump sum chain stores, end of season sales are starting earlier and heavier. Signs of little growth over the last year are omnipresent and this conditioning exercise is training consumers to wait for sale season. What a brand is essentially doing by folding to sale earlier is diminishing a respect for the brand and its price points. Why would you pay full price when you can wait to get it half price or more. Department stores holding the monopoly on sale movements will suffer the most, but will also cause a domino effect, forcing all housed brands to match tactics or suffer. Any retailer should not bank on majority profits received from sales mark downs; it will only hurt the brand.

With such little coordination or an unspoken agreement for appropriate sale time frames, consumers have retailers cornered and margins will be the least of retailer’s worries in the long run. To resonate during sale time, retailers are aiming to leave greater impressions with heavy additional discounting; ‘save an additional X %’. This is now a widespread tactic and is loosing impact.

Leading Australian retailer Saba is a key example to the case at hand. Since the GFC and many earlier internal changes, the company has been a market leader in many ways but also an advocate for promotions that have diminished all brand value. The brand once held a premium positioning, it now is known for sales and repeat designs. Saba have a very active marketing team and are moving paces with their digital marketing and community building, but are still falling short of the legs needed to stand in an unstable market place, a heavier investment in branding needs to be understood as priority and key to business and brand longevity. A market with consumers that have little respect for a brand means no brand value and a dead brand.

Full priced season for Saba is aided with weekly discounts, spend drivers and gift with purchases. They were at one point buying Facebook likes with vouchers; you cannot buy consumers or a community. While the promotion mix is strong, there has been a heavy decline in full price customers over many years.

‘It will probably be on sale next week, I’ll wait until then’.

A middle ground solution is to invest priority in shifting the fashion seasons, moving them forward as many retailers have started rolling out with the ‘pre-collection’ movement. An earlier start to the season and a quicker finishing time to keep current and profitable. Keeping up with the Kardashians of retail will, like in real life, get you nowhere fast. Abstinence from regular discounting is the only real way to beat the addiction. 

Baked Brie and Vine Ripened Tomatoes

Shrimp Creole

A dish from the Deep South

So my latest endeavor was Shrimp Creole, a dish originating from the Deep South, with an eclectic taste reflecting French, Spanish and African Cuisine. The benefit of Creole cooking, from what I've learnt is that it’s a recipe that you can add to for personal taste.

The core elements consist of cooked shrimp, diced tomatoes, onion, celery, bell peppers, heated with Tabasco sauce and other warming spices like cayenne. This dish is cooked to achieve a nice thickness, served over rice. I wanted to find a very traditional and timely recipe, one that required hours of stewing and a whole lot of herbs.

I decided not to take any short cuts. Paula Deen had a really watered down version that didn't really use any spices or herbs and looked bland. I’ve never been the South, I want to go mostly for the food. Researching and understanding how a full body of flavors interact for any given recipe is important, especially when you’ve never cooked anything similar before; it will help you create and understand the meal and its origins. So don’t skip on anything!

 It seems to be a very popular dish, but lots of people point towards the diminished quality available in the States. This is mostly I guess because Creole cooking remains so that you can really add whatever spices and vegetables you have in your kitchen. I had a certified Southern food expert to dinner and the approval was given!

If you don’t like spicy dishes, half the quantities of Tabasco, cayenne and pepper! My mouth went up in flames, but it was all well worth it.

Ingredients

Serves 4 – 6 people

1.5 pounds of large unpeeled Shrimp

3 Celery Sticks (diced finely)

5 Vine Ripened Tomatoes (diced finely)

1 Large Onion (diced finely)

1 Green Bell Pepper (diced finely)

2 Cloves of Garlic

3 tbsp Butter

3 tbsp Tomato Paste

1 tsp Brown Sugar

½ cup Port Wine

1 tbsp Tabasco Sauce

1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

3 tbsp Parsley finely Chopped

2 Bay Leaves

1 bunch of Fresh Thyme

2 cups Jasmine Rice

Creole Seasoning

½ tbsp Onion Powder

½ tbsp Garlic Powder

½ tbsp Dried Oregano

½ tbsp Dried Basil

½ tbsp Dried Thyme

½ tsp White Pepper

½ tsp Black Pepper

½ tbsp Cayenne Pepper

1 ½ tbsp Paprika

1 tsp Salt

Shrimp Stock

Shrimp Skins and Tail

½ Lemon

¼ cup White Wine

1 tbsp Butter

½ Stick Celery

1 Small Onion

1 tbsp Sea Salt

Thyme

¼ Teaspoon of Creole Seasoning

Directions

We’re going to recycle the skins from the prawns earlier and make our own stock. The soup stock should be warm and not too over powering, so we’re going to balance the intensity out with some lemon and thyme.

NOTE: Cook the stock in advance for a much bolder taste and to save yourself becoming manic. Combine ingredients and cook on medium heat for 1 hour. Also cook the rice as per usual, but with salt, 2 bay leaves and some butter for rich warm rice.

As any good meal starts, melt the butter in a pan, add the onions, garlic and brown sugar and let them caramelize until they are golden brown. Then add the celery and bell pepper and combine with half the Creole seasoning. We are gradually adding vegetables in stages to allow each to cook appropriately. Once everything starts to wilt, we are going to add the tomatoes.  At this stage feel free to add kosher salt to let everything break down and cook better. Add tomato paste and cook until it has browned, and then follow by adding the port and cooking until the alcohol has evaporated.  We now have our base!!

Continue by adding pre-,made stock and stir well. Now adjust the stock to the base of the dish to meld the flavous better. At this point, also add remaining Creole seasoning, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Tie the bay leaves and thyme in twine and place in the middle of  dish.

Let the dish cook on a low-medium heat until it thickens, adding the shrimp to cook for the last 10 minutes. Enough of the taste from the shrimp is captured in the stock, so we are essentially just trying to cook the shrimp until they are tender and soft.

Brooklyn Brussels and Salad

A sweet and savory adaptation of brussels. 

Despite my disliking of the American green grocer and it's questionable (and unknown) quality, one vegetable that I have taken such a huge liking to is brussels. I never really grew up eating them and I never really remember seeing them much in grocers, but they always had the stigma of being unsavory - 'eat your brussels', force feeding children. Here they are plentiful, cheap and delicious. Every second restaurant will serve them seasonally. Seasonal foods are all the rage. They are cooked many delicious ways, so when I spent time unemployed I learnt to cook well with them. A complete matter of trial and error. Undoubtedly, brussels must be cooked in good butter. Try it and die. But from this platform you can really start to play with sweet and also savory to build an amazing brussels dish. 

I have named my brussels Brooklyn Brussels because I've spent a great deal of time cooking them out here, and also enjoying them at so many restaurants. I died when summer came round and they had been ripped from all of the menus around the city. But now as winter comes round, they are again everywhere and even more delectable. 

I've cooked brussels as I always do and then added them to a salad that you can have warm or cold, served with mixed nuts and fruits, rice and egg.

Ingredients

Serves 4 – 6 people

Brussels

1 Pound of Brussels

3 tbsp Butter

2 tbsp Pickapeppa Sauce ( a Jamaican Worcestershire)

2 tbsp Light Brown Sugar 

2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce 

3 tbsp BBQ Sauce (smokey)

1 tbsp Burnt Sugar

Cumin (sprinkle)

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Directions

In a hot cast iron pan, melt butter and start to cook the brussels. Using a cast iron pan will help brown and cook the brussels immediately. You want them to brown well before adding the sauces

Once they start to brown, add the wet ingredients, mixing well and follow with the dry ingredients. Turn down the heat from high to low and cook until the sauces really meld and cook through with the brussels. The smoky BBQ sauce will add a wonderful taste paired with bitter brussels and salt, the combination of all of the sweeter ingredients works wonders. These can be enjoyed as is, or as a side dish. 

Brussels and Salad

This is to make more of a hefty meal, or a larger side serving. It's great for dinner parties, cheap and most of all, it's all senses engaging dish. Looks, smells and tastes good. The texture of the dish is curious too. 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup Mixed Fruit and Nuts

Balsamic Marinated Chicken

2 Eggs 

1 cup White Rice

While cooking the brussels, add the mixed nuts and let them heat and soften. Once done, combine with cooked white rice and toss. For some color and texture add 2 diced hard boiled eggs, keep the yoke soft if you'd like. It's runny and will mix beautifully through the salad. Serve either hot or cold. 

Braised Beef in Red Wine and Juniper Berries

Having had an overheated summer and a half working oven, I've really put cooking with the oven on the back burner. I decided to give the old cooker a go and success, she works! Kind of.. So I decided to cook a dish that always gives me comfort when it's cold.

Proper braised beef, not the quick cooked, readily available, over saturated market option at every second restaurant in New York, is a well kept diamond. 

Two VITAL non negotiables for braising beef are anchovies and juniper berries. The anchovies soften, dissolve and enhance a strong flavor in all meats, especially beef. Juniper berries on the other hand almost create a nostalgia without even knowing it. The berries when cooked with the beef give a woody, bitter sweet taste that takes you to a time of wholesome, hardy eating. It makes you feel like you're eating around a fire in middle of the woods, on a cold winter night. Over the top? No.

So here's what you need to get started, 

1 Pound of Topside Beef

1 TBSP of Juniper Berries

1 Brown Onion

3 Carrots

4 Anchovies

5 Garlic Cloves

3 Bay Leaves

½ TSP Cayenne Pepper

½ TSP Chilli Flakes

3 Parts Red Wine

1 Part Beef Stock

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 TBSP Butter

The quantities above will vary depending on how many people you’re cooking for and or taste preference. I personally like my wine darker, garlic and anchovies more plentiful and the robust heat from the cayenne.

Two notes before cooking;

     Dry beef with a paper towel before browning – the beef won’t brown as nicely

2.            It is important to smash the juniper berries and garlic cloves to release flavors

Start by browning the beef in a pan, making sure all sides are sealed and well browned. After, keep the pan hot and pour one cup of red wine over it. The wine hits the heated pan and collects all of the wonderful flavors. Pour the stock immediately into a baking pot and the follow with the rest of the above ingredients. Dice the carrots and onions as you like.

I’d like to say three hours is fine for braising, I baked at 350F and achieved a wonderfully soft meat. If you've got time, continue to bake until the meat melts. It’s also important to make sure that if you’re cutting the beef into cubes that each piece is of equal size, to help braise at an equal rate.

Back in Sydney I used to buy whole topside, cut through the middle and stuff it with watercress, mustard seeds and garlic, it was a dream in a tagine.  Cooking meat in a tagine makes for amazing braising. One of the best culinary investments ever made!

After an hour and a half, bake your accompanying vegetables. I chose baby beets, potatoes (skin on), carrots and garlic. Covering all the vegetables in hot mustard seed oil and salt, bake for an hour and a half, the potatoes respond really to baking when the skin is intact with a little olive oil and the beats and carrots keep their sweetness in the center and are wonderfully soft on the outside.

Paul Smith Marrying History, Business Savvy Strategy and Design

With Sir Paul Smith growing his business against a struggling economy, his menswear collection for Spring/Summer 2013 reflects an industry champion status.

Menswear is headed for brighter pastures, literally and Paul Smith’s coming collection captures spring in a bottle. With a nostalgic color pallet throwing minds back to the cinematic feats of Grey Gardens and Edward Scissor Hands, kodachromatic color was key. Weaving this with whimsical holidays with the Kennedys in muted pastels, Smith creates an escape from the cold before it has even begun.

While the collection has been praised as wonderful and wonderful as it may be, the overall color pallet is nothing entirely new to the market. We have seen bright pops of color and toned down pastels for many seasons. Fueled by the brand’s signature tailoring, the collection is a market pleaser and will surely sell itself. I personally found the fall/winter collection much more original and inspiring, despite average reviews. The collection was based on the world of The Deep Blue, with pops of neon to reflect bio-luminescence and coats inspired by sailors of the turn of the century. The concept was beautifully executed and evident through all product categories in the collection and in store. Although not to everyone’s liking and an underwhelming market response, it had character.

With spring/summer pre-collection hitting stores already, the response has been overwhelming and a welcomed changed from the bleakness of winter fashion. Consumers are enjoying bright pops and pastels and once again hailing the color block. The decision to compromise clear inspiration for people pleasing pastels isn't extremely apparent to the market, but most definitely seems like a tactical to draw in sales during economic downtime and a strategic linchpin for business expansion measures. The spring/summer season is aligned to the brand’s design DNA, but by no means is it a measure of innovation and market leadership. The collection coming stands to represent market demands instead. Furthermore it represents business tact and success.

In closing, I think Paul Smith is more than just a designer; he’s a strategist and understands the weigh off between design, inspiration and business.