Hog was where I last left it. I promised to tell you what that authentic Southern barbecue served at the Worlds of Flavor Conference at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena tasted like.

Well, I’m sad to tell you that I didn’t like it all that much. It was very plain tasting, on a soft white bun. Then someone explained that I was to pour the sauce on top of the meat.

I poured. I tasted again. It was wickedly vinegary, kind of unbalanced in flavor. I guess it’s an acquired taste. The most interesting thing about it is knowing that it was prepared exactly as it is eaten in the South.

Basically, that’s what all of the food served at the conference is about. It’s aimed at delivering authentic flavors, not foods tweaked to please the masses. That, I have to admit, is what makes the meals so exciting.

Nearly every meal served at the conference is in the “Marketplace,” a giant hall filled with aisles of food booths. It’s like a massive, worldwide feast, a giant potluck of delicious foods from all over the world. As we entered the hall, we were given menus _ two pages of very fine print. At first, I thought I might consult the list for must-try foods. But it was impossible. I grabbed a plate and started grazing.

I ate a huge scallop on a bed of perfectly cut carrots and other vegetables at the African foods booth. I ate a little mound of black eyed peas and smoked catfish. I downed a small scoop of avocado-seafood guacamole that was absolutely perfect. Wanting to try new and different things, I stopped for a long visit at the Thai booth, trying lotus seed soup, another soup with a deep fried morning glory in it and a deliciously silken sweet dumpling with some sort of peanut filling. I liked the filling, but the texture of the dough was so luxurious that I can’t get it out of my mind. I want a bowl full of them to lay across my forhead after a bad day..

Sated, but not willing to forgo more taste adventures, I noticed a group of young chefs-in-training dressed in white hovering around the Turkey booth, so I stopped and waited. They were serving a rice-nut pilaf topped with a savory, slightly bitter sauce and a small bit of lamb. Alongside was a small cup of raita to drink. The combination was perfect. As I enjoyed the flavors, I discovered some of the spices and ingredients that go into Turkish food, including an aged, dried yogurt that is used to build flavor in soups. It smells really tangy.

More bites included a salt cod tapas, a cheese-filled piquillo pepper, bites of sorbet, cardamom(n) brittle from San Francisco’s Michael Recchuiti and Fran Gage, who are here to promote their brand new book about chocolate.

Later in the evening, I couldn’t resist a miniature sweet potato pie. The crisp-fried sweet potato chip stuck in the top of the toasted marshmallow was delicious. The crust was way too soft, so I didn’t bother to eat it.

Before calling it one long, food-filled day, I ducked into a private party hosted by Torani, the South San Francisco syrup makers. The party was lively, the drinks were way too strong, but the interesting detail I picked up is that Torani is making a whole new line of flavored syrups that are not sweet at all, but savory. I tried a cilantro martini. It smelled fabulously herbacious. But the alcohol overwhelmed my senses. I ditched the drink and went in search of my pillow. _ Jolene Thym

OK, so maybe I don’t remember every detail, but last year about this time, I went to this incredible event sponsored by Yountville Epicurean Affair. I still remember watching as French Laundry Chef Thomas Keller demonstrated how to make steamed fish and orange marmalade. I remember that he was a “real” teacher, explaining exactly why you do what you do and what happens if you don’t. A year later, I’m still impressed with the demeanor of this world-famous chef. After the demonstration, we gathered in a large room, where we learned about blending wines, tasting quite a few along the way. I especially loved the enthusiasm and passion of Gemstone Vineyards owners Paul and Suzie Frank.
Capping the experience was an exquisite dinner at The French Laundry. I can still remember the people I met as we indulged in the most perfect meal I’ve ever had; from the cone filled with ultra-fresh, barely spiced sushi to the luxurious chocolate tart. The reason I’m sharing these memories with you now is that I was snooping around online and noticed that Epicurean Affairs is offering a similar program on Dec. 4. The day-long event isn’t cheap _ it’s $450 per person _ but it’s the kind of event you will remember for years to come. My advice would be to go the extra cash and book a room at The Villagio Inn & Spa, where every detail is attended to with style. Rooms start at $245. For more details about the event or Yountville Epicurean Affair, call (707) 944-9429 or visit www.epicureanaffair.com.
–Jolene Thym

I am slightly tardy, but I have to share with you some of the many, many savory food bits and bites I enjoyed at this year’s Worlds of Flavor Conference at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena.

The three-day event is a whirlwind of seminars, demonstrations, lectures and FOOD, food, food. A lot of the lectures and presentations are very academic, even slightly boring. But this year the conference kicked off with a documentary film that was a riot. The film is titled “Ecology of a Barbecue Sandwich,” and I’m not exactly sure if it’s supposed to be funny. But to this born-and-raised Californian, it was hilarious.

Filmmaker Joe York interviews a handful of people from a very special part of the South, where barbecue is, to put it best, sacred. In those parts, they don’t take kindly to newcomers using newfangled electric heat, barbecuing a batch of shoulders and ignoring the rest of the hog. That, they explain with authority, is heresy.

What do they barbecue? The whole hog, thank you. There is no part of the hog that isn’t deliciously edible once it’s been cooked by embers for 18-24-27 hours. In fact, you know a real barbecue fan from a tourist by how they order barbecue. Tourists and know-nothing people come in and say, “I’d like a pound of barbecue.” True lovers of authentic Southern barbecue order up their meat specifically, a little shoulder, a little, some butt, some loin.

“If all you got are shoulders, then you just don’t have it.”

These barbecuers are utterly serious, and representative of a food tradition that dates back hundreds of years. One of the voices in the film, Ricky Parker, even came to the conference so he could make people understand what all the fuss about Southern barbecue is all about.

Parker and his family built a barbecue pit right there in the CIA parking lot, and roasted an entire pig to serve to the hungry crowd of food professionals.

Since true barbecue takes a long, long time to cook, and I have a lot to do today, tune in later for a flavor report on authentic, whole hog barbecue.
– Jolene Thym

The past month has been a treat. Each night as I tuck in, I open the covers of “Don’t Try This at Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World’s Greatest Chefs,” (Bloomsbury, $24.95) by Kimberly Witherspoon and Andrew Friedman to read about another kitchen disaster.

Each chapter features a story from a different chef, told in their own words. Some of the stories are forgettable, mostly because the chef is more interested in making himself look good or clever instead of telling a good story. But some are downright thrillers.

Take the lobster caper, when a chef hired to cook for thousands hired sous-chefs to clean, shell and store for the night thousands of pounds of lobster. Eager to get a jump on the day, he placed the lukewarm lobster in foam containers, placed the lids on tight and stacked the goods in the fridge. Funny thing about those foam containers, they just don’t know when to let the cold in. The lobster went south, leaving the frantic chef and his staff to recreate something slightly less wonderful for his guests.

Other stories include foods on fire, chefs who refuse to accept help until their floor is clean, a pastry chef who resorted to feeding a wedding cake to the bride’s dog _ since it had accidentally taken a spill enroute.

Many of the stories center around transporting large batches of food which confirm my recent refusal to transport my parents’ 50th anniversary cake.

I just couldn’t do it.

Instead of picturing a perfect cake to present to my parents, I imagined disaster. A sudden stop. An accident, A trip up the walk. My sister assured me that all such thoughts were silly _ she had transported her own wedding cake just an hour before she said her vows. I had no idea.

Perhaps I lack courage. I’m not sure. I’m also not sure if she would be as entertained by the stories of adventure and mistakes in this book as I was.

_ Jolene Thym

Big ideas take lots of time and effort, but when the result is something as impressive as “Hungry Planet: What the World Eats,” (Ten Speed Press, $40) it’s important to stop and appreciate everything about it.

The Dong family living in Beijing, China photographed with a week’s worth of food. Photograph by Peter Menzel.

The book, which was nearly 15 years in the making, is essentially a photographic report on what the world eats. Authors Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio traveled the world to find 30 families in 24 countries who would agree to purchase and display all of the food their family eats during a week. Families are pictured in the photo, and details for each family are included: methods of cooking, methods of storage, money spent on various categories of foods, including desserts, condiments, beverages, restaurants.

The Revis family photographed, in their home in suburban Raleigh, North Carolina, with one week’s worth of food. Photograph by Peter Menzel.

More photographs share details about the daily lives of the subjects, but the families with their weekly groceries are the most compelling. The amount of packaged foods versus fresh foods consumed in France vs. Kuwait, for example, is shocking. A North Carolina family’s weekly foods include just two handfuls of grapes, six pieces of fresh fruit and two tomatoes. The rest of their diet is packaged, bottled and prepared.

The Ayme family photographed in their house in Tingo, Ecuador, with one week’s worth of food. Photograph by Peter Menzel.

Text that accompanies the pictures share revealing details about food choices. Included in the book are essays on the politics of food by Corby Kummer, Michael Pollan and others. The book is the wake-up call Americans need. It should be in every public and private library and on every coffee table. Buy one. Read it and share it.

_ Jolene Thym

I’d like to raise my chef’s knife in salute to that king of the fall cornucopia, the mighty butternut squash, and say: I will never cut you up in vain again.
“Cut” doesn’t adequately describe what happens when a recipe nonchalantly tells a cook to “peel and chop” the rock-hard gourd, whose impenetrable shell belies its tender flesh, which roasts into a sweetly perfect addition to wintery soups, pastas and risottos.

Yes, the b.s. is my friend again, thanks to a 400-degree oven.
On the advice of my friendly food editor, I decided to shun the ritual of trying to butcher the unyielding vegetable, risking life and limb in the process.
Of course I did have to split the yellow beast open, getting my knife momentarily stuck in its guts, but after the whole became two halves, all was well. I just tossed them naked into the oven, only to remember what I was doing an hour later when a smoky caramel smell filled the house.

I rushed to the kitchen, fearing that I had ruined the whole thing, only to find a perfectly soft roasted mound of goodness ready to be blended into a soup.
The flesh, which tasted delicious au naturel, fell away effortlessly from the skin, and I herded some bits into a bowl for my baby’s lunch the next day.
With just dashes of olive oil, salt and pepper, plus four cups of low-fat milk and a can of chicken broth, I had a huge batch of golden yellow goodness ready in minutes.
Oh mighty squash, I shall never chop you up again.

–Kari Hulac

This year, I am on top of the game. I already ate Thanksgiving dinner and I’ve started my holiday shopping. And I have to tell you, the dinner was stupendous. It was the kind of Thanksgiving dinner I like best _ all of the familiar flavors served with interesting little tweaks.

The dinner was courtesy the Sunset Kitchens, who invited me to join them as they announced the winners of their Thanksgiving contest, a massive call for new, exciting recipes. The magazine recieved 6,500 recipe submissions. They actually tested 20 to 40 recipes in each category.

Runners-up from all categories of food and drink were invited to the dinner to find out who would win first prize _ a $50,000-kitchen makeover.

Our evening kicked off with hors d’oeuvres and tall, elegant Herbal-tinis, delicious sour-sweet drinks with a hit of rosemary and gin that were created by Carry Porter. Her recipe earned third place and a year’s subscription to the Sunset Wine Club. After Porter’s cocktails, we took our seats for the delicious holiday repast.
Plates piled high with squash and snap peas, courtesy Kristine Snyder; spicy cornbread and chorizo dressing, cranberry relish and moist, rosemary-infused turkey were placed before us.

The turkey was the best of 30 turkeys the staff at Sunset roasted (yikes! I just bet they’re not quite ready for Thanksgiving yet.) It was a dry-rubbed rosemary-infused bird that was three-days in the making. It was utterly moist flavorful.

Full, but looking forward to dessert, our eyes followed the plates of what looked like pumpkin pie was served. We consulted our menu. No, this was not pumpkin, but roasted sweet potato cheesecake with maple cream. It was standout. The crust was a little soft for my liking, but the flavor was excellent.

Before we were quite done, the awards were presented. The pie before us had wowed the judges, earning its creator Kari Bowers of Bellevue, Washington a $50,000 kitchen makeover. She was stunned.
“I started testing the recipe 6 to 9 months ago. I tried lots of differnt pumpkincheesecakes but I figure out that the secret to making a cheesecake this light is to roast the vegetables,” she said.

Earning first place was the author of the recipe for the succulent rosemary turkey Helena Darling of Ashland, Ore. She walked away with a pocketful of cash _ $5,000. For more details on the Sunset Magazine Thanksgiving Contest awards, go to www.sunset.com or get your hands on a November issue of the magazine.

– Jolene Thym

GRAND PRIZE WINNER - BEST DESSERT
KARI BOWERS, BELLEVUE, WA

Roasted–Sweet Potato Cheesecake with Maple Cream
Recipe courtesy of Sunset Magazine

“My two sons, ages 10 and 12, normally don’t like sweet potatoes,” says Kari Bowers. She suspected that roasting the potatoes for deeper flavor and then putting them into a cheesecake would change things. Many trials later, she came up with this recipe, which the whole family loves. In our test kitchen, it produced a luscious, silky texture every time—and rave reviews from our entire staff.

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 2 1?2 hours, plus at least 2 1?2 hours to cool and chill
MAKES: 12 to 16 servings
NOTES: You can make this cheesecake up to 3 days ahead; cover and chill. Garnish with cream up to 6 hours before serving; cover and chill until serving.

2 dark orange–fleshed sweet potatoes (1 1?4 to 1 1?2 lb. total), such as jewel or red garnet (sometimes sold as yams)
1 tablespoon melted butter
Pecan crust (recipe follows)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, regular or light
(neufchâtel), at room temperature
3?4 cup granulated sugar
1?2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
1?4 cup whipping cream
1?4 cup sour cream
1?4 cup maple syrup
1 1?2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1?2 teaspoon ground ginger
Maple cream (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 375° (convection not recommended). Peel sweet potatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Place in a 9- by 13-inch baking pan and brush with melted butter. Bake until potatoes are soft when pressed, 45 to 55 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prepare crust. Bake in same oven with potatoes until lightly browned all over, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Scrape any charred spots off potatoes, then cut potatoes into chunks. Whirl in a food processor or mash in a bowl with lemon juice until smooth. Reserve 1 cup; save any extra for another use.

4. Reduce oven temperature to 325°. In a bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in granulated and brown sugars, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, until mixture is well blended and smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until blended. Add reserved sweet potato mixture, the whipping cream, sour cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Mix on low speed until well blended.

5. Wrap bottom of cheesecake pan with heavy-duty foil, pressing it up the sides. Pour batter over crust. Put cheesecake pan in a 12- by 15-inch roasting pan at least 2 inches deep. Set pans in oven and pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cheesecake pan.

6. Bake until cake barely jiggles in the center when gently shaken, about 55 minutes. Remove pans from oven. Lift cheesecake pan from roasting pan and let cool completely on a rack, about 1 hour, then chill until cold, at least 1 1?2 hours, or up to 3 days (cover once cold).

7. Up to 6 hours before serving, cut around inside of pan rim to release cake; remove rim. With a pastry bag,
pipe dollops of maple cream onto cake. Or serve maple cream separately, to
spoon onto each wedge.

Per serving: 418 cal., 60% (252 cal.) from fat; 6.2 g
protein; 28 g fat (16 g sat.); 38 g carbo (1 g fiber);
239 mg sodium; 130 mg chol.

Pecan crust:
Whirl 1?4 cup coarsely chopped pecans in a blender until finely ground; you should have 1?4 cup. In
a bowl, mix pecans, 11?4 cups fine graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 5 tablespoons melted butter. Pour into a 9-inch cheesecake pan with removable rim (21?4 in. tall). Press mixture evenly over bottom of pan. Maple cream. In a bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat 3?4 cup whipping cream until stiff peaks form. On low speed, beat in 1?4 cup maple syrup just until blended.

FIRST PLACE - BEST TURKEY
HELENA DARLING, ASHLAND, OR

Dry-Cured Rosemary Turkey
Recipe courtesy of Sunset Magazine

The dry-cure for this turkey was born during a party-advice phone call Helena Darling had with her bachelor
brother in Hollywood. It reflects her idea of Thanksgiving dinner—“an earthy feast that acknowledges our
farm-to-table roots,” she says.

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 31?2 hours, plus 3 days to cure
MAKES: About 14 servings (with leftovers)
NOTES: Use a turkey that hasn’t been infused with broth or butter.

3 tablespoons sea salt or kosher salt
3 tablespoons dried marjoram
3 tablespoons dried thyme
3 tablespoons dried juniper berries
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons anise seeds
1 turkey (14 to 15 lb.)
12 fresh rosemary sprigs (3 in. each)
12 cloves garlic, peeled
1?2 cup (1?4 lb.) unsalted butter,
at room temperature
Pan gravy (recipe follows)

1. Three days before serving, in a blender or spice grinder, finely grind salt, marjoram, thyme, juniper berries, peppercorns, and anise seeds.

2. Remove and discard leg truss from turkey. Pull off and discard any lumps of fat. Remove giblets and neck; save neck for gravy. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry. Cut off wing tips to the first joint and reserve for gravy. Rub half the herb mixture all over turkey; sprinkle remaining in body cavity. Cover and chill for 3 days.

3. Preheat oven to 325° (convection not recommended). Put rosemary sprigs and garlic inside turkey body
cavity. Gently push your hand between skin and turkey breast to separate skin from breast. Spread about half the butter over breast under skin. Melt remaining butter and brush lightly over top of turkey. Coat a V-shaped
rack with cooking-oil spray and set in a 12- by 17-inch roasting pan. Place turkey, breast down, on the rack.
Roast turkey for 1 3?4 hours.

4. Meanwhile, cook turkey wing tips and neck for pan gravy (recipe follows). Remove turkey from oven and turn breast side up. Return to oven. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted straight down through thickest part of breast to the bone registers 160°, 45 to 60 minutes longer.

5. Tip turkey to drain juices from cavity into pan and transfer to a platter. Let stand in a warm place, uncovered,
for 15 to 30 minutes. Finish gravy, then carve turkey.

Per serving: 420 cal., 41% (171 cal.) from fat; 57 g
protein; 19 g fat (5.7 g sat.); 1.7 g carbo (0.2 g fiber);
sodium (N/A);167 mg chol.

Pan gravy:
Pour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil into a 5- to 6-quart pan over medium-high heat. Add turkey wing
tips and neck and brown well, 4 to 7 minutes. Add 41?2 cups low-sodium chicken broth and bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 1 hour. Remove wings and neck. While roasted turkey rests, pour
pan juices into a 1- to 2-quart glass measure. Skim off and reserve fat. Add turkey wing broth to make 4 cups; if
you don’t have enough, add water. Return 1?3 cup fat (if not enough, add butter) and 1 clove peeled and minced garlic to unwashed roasting pan; set over two medium-hot burners. Add 1?2 cup all-purpose flour and stir until
bubbly and smooth. Stir in the 4 cups broth and 1 cup whipping cream; scrape pan sides and bottom to loosen browned bits. Whisk gravy until smooth and boiling, 4 to 7 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Makes about 5 1?2 cups.

Per 1?4-cup serving: 86 cal., 80% (69 cal.) from fat; 1.3 g protein; 7.7 g fat (3.2 g sat.); 2.8 g carbo (0.1 g fiber); sodium (N/A); 15 mg chol.

Photo and recipes courtesy of Sunset Magazine - www.sunset.com

Pardon me for just a few moments, as I join one of my favorite chefs on a soap box. I’m pretty sure there’s room. Recently, I got a fax of a letter to the editor written by Christopher Kimball, the brains and inspiration behind Cook’s Illustrated, a test kitchen and publishing house doing its best to teach Americans how to eat well. The letter has to do with school lunches. In short, Kimball stomps his foot and demands that we as a nation stop feeding our kids fake food, particularly the surplus leftovers that the government provides for school lunches.
“Our kids are nothing more than a gigantic captive market for our nation’s fast-f0ood industry and dumping ground for low-quality USDA surplus.”
Kimball’s advice: STOP

Kimball suggests that child obesity and other medical conditions becoming epidemic among the nation’s children may well be caused by poor eating habits. Children, he says, are being fed — by their parents and by public schools — a steady diet of pseudo-food that is packed with all things manufactured. The problem is the more they eat it, the more they like it, and the less apt they are to even recognize real food when it arrives on their plate.

Kimball suggests a return to the simple life, when lunch consisted of a hunk of cheese, a piece of bread, some fruit and maybe a carrot or two. Just forget about any “food” that comes in a package. Teach your children to reach for real food, and they will feel better, weigh less and likely enjoy food more for the rest of their lives. That’s all. Kimball sent his letter to the Boston Globe, but since we here in California are slightly out of their circulation area — but still within USDA dumping range — I thought I’d share.

– Jolene Thym