Braising (from the French “braiser”), is a combination cooking method using both moist and dry heat; typically the food is first seared at a high temperature and then finished in a covered pot with a variable amount of liquid, resulting in a particular flavour. Braising of meat is often referred to as ''pot roasting'', though some authors make a distinction between the two methods based on whether additional liquid is added.

Method

Braising relies on heat, time, and moisture to break down the tough connective tissue collagen in meat, making it an ideal way to cook tougher cuts. Many classic braised dishes such as coq au vin are highly evolved methods of cooking tough and otherwise unpalatable foods. Pressure cooking and slow cooking (e.g., crockpots) are forms of braising.

Techniques

Most braises follow the same basic steps. The food to be braised (meat, poultry, but also vegetables or mushrooms) is first seared to brown its surface and enhance its flavor. If the food will not produce enough liquid of its own, a small amount of cooking liquid that often includes an acidic element, such as tomatoes, beer, or wine, is added to the pot, often with stock. The dish is cooked covered at a very low simmer until the meat is fork tender. Often the cooking liquid is finished to create a sauce or gravy.

Sometimes foods with high water content (particularly vegetables) can be cooked in their own juices and no extra liquid is required.

A successful braise intermingles the flavours of the foods being cooked and the cooking liquid. This cooking method dissolves collagen from the meat into gelatin, to enrich and add body to the liquid. Braising is economical, as it allows the use of tough and inexpensive cuts, and efficient, as it often employs a single pot to cook an entire meal.

Barbecue-braising

It is possible to braise meat and vegetables in a pot on top of a grill. A gas or electric grill would be the best choice for what is known as ''barbecue-braising'', or combining grilling directly on the surface and braising in a pot. To braise on a grill, put a pot on top of the grill, cover it, and let it simmer for a few hours. There are two advantages to barbecue-braising: the first is that this method now allows for browning the meat directly on the grill before the braising, and the second is that it also allows for glazing the meat with sauce and finishing it directly over the fire after the braising, effectively cooking the meat three times, which results in a soft-textured product that falls right off the bone.

Braised foods

Familiar braised dishes include pot roast, beef stew, Swiss steak, chicken cacciatore, goulash, Carbonade Flamande, coq au vin, sauerbraten, beef bourguignon and Moroccan tajines, among others. Braising is also used extensively in the cuisines of Asia, particularly Chinese cuisine, where soy sauce is often the braising liquid.

See also

Pot roast

Hot pot

Lancashire hotpot

Red cooking

Jugging

References

Category:Cooking techniques Category:Barbecue

cs:Dušení (vaření) de:Schmoren es:Braseado eo:Brezi fr:Braiser it:Brasato nl:Smoren (culinair) pl:Duszenie (gotowanie) ru:Жар sv:Bräsera th:การตุ๋น zh:烧 (中餐)

name	Mario Batali
birth date	September 19, 1960
birth place	Seattle, Washington United States
style	Italian
education	Rutgers UniversityLe Cordon Bleu
restaurants	Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, Lupa Osteria Romana, Italian Wine Merchant (shop), Esca, Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, Casa Mono, Bar Jamon, Del Posto, Enoteca San Marco, B&B; Ristorante, Carnevino, Zefferino (last four located in Las Vegas; all others are located in New York City)
television	''Molto Mario''; ''Ciao America with Mario Batali''; ''Iron Chef America''; ''Mario, Full Boil''
website	http://www.mariobatali.com/ }}

Mario Batali (born September 19, 1960) is an American chef, writer, restaurateur and media personality. In addition to his classical culinary training, he is an expert on the history and culture of Italian cuisine, including regional and local variations. Batali co-owns restaurants in New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Singapore. Batali's signature style includes shorts and orange Crocs.

Personal life

Batali was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of Marilyn and Armandino Batali. His family moved to Yakima, Washington shortly thereafter. When Batali was about 8, his family moved back to Seattle when his father got a job as an engineer for Boeing. His father worked for Boeing for thirty years, then, after retirement, opened a meat-curing shop, Salumi, in Seattle.

He is of Italian ancestry on his father's side, and French Canadian ancestry on his mother's side.

According to research done by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (of Harvard University, in 2010 for the PBS series ''Faces of America)'', his maternal great-great grandparents opened an Italian foods store in 1903. Batali's family roots are found almost entirely in the Western United States. Mario’s great-great-grandfather left Italy in 1899, going to Butte, Montana to work in the copper mines, but later moved west to settle in Seattle.

Mario moved to Spain with his family in 1975 and returned to the U.S. in 1978 to attend Rutgers University, where he majored in Spanish Language, Theatre and Economics, and graduated in 1982. He later went to attend Le Cordon Bleu, though he left because he found the pace too slow and felt that the best way for him to learn was in a professional kitchen. Mario currently lives in New York City with his wife Susi Cahn (of Coach Dairy Goat Farm) and two sons, Leo and Benno. He also owns homes in Northport, Michigan, and Red Hook, New York.

Batali is one of the principal subjects of Bill Buford's 2006 book, ''Heat''. He is an advocate for same-sex marriage.

In an interview, when he was asked what dish his mother made for him that he enjoyed the most, Mario stated that it was Mock Chicken Legs, which are made of ground pork and veal and then shaped around a Popsicle stick and baked.

Professional career

During college Batali worked as a dishwasher at "Stuff Yer Face" restaurant in New Brunswick, New Jersey, quickly moving up to stromboli and pizza maker. Batali went on to serve as an assistant in the kitchens at the "Six Bells" public house in the Kings Road, Chelsea, under Marco Pierre White, La Tour d'Argent in Paris, Moulin de Mougins in Provence, and the Waterside Inn, outside London. In 1985 he worked as a sous chef at the Four Seasons Clift in San Francisco before being promoted to helm the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel's La Marina restaurant in Santa Barbara. At twenty-seven, Batali was the highest paid young chef in the company. In 1989 he resigned and moved to the northern Italian village of Borgo Capanne to apprentice in the kitchen at La Volta, where he sought to master a traditional style of Italian cooking inspired by his grandmother, Leonetta Merlino.

In 1993 Batali opened "Po". In 1998, with business partner Joseph Bastianich (son of Lidia Bastianich), he went on to start "Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca". The pair have since opened seven additional restaurants, Lupa (1999), Esca (2000), Otto Enoteca Pizzeria (2003), Casa Mono (2004), Bar Jamon (2004), Bistro Du Vent (2004, closed in 2006), Del Posto (2005), Enoteca San Marco (2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada), B&B; Ristorante (2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada), Tarry Lodge in Port Chester, NY, CarneVino (2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada) and a shop named Italian Wine Merchants (1999) which is no longer under Batali's ownership.

The ''New York Post'' reported in September 2007 that Batali’s contract with the Food Network would not be renewed, and that he would no longer be featured on its ''Iron Chef America'' series. The article further reported that although Batali had not initially been dismissed from ''Iron Chef America'', he decided not to make any further appearances on the show after the network made the decision to cancel his cooking show, ''Molto Mario'', which had been airing on Food Network since 1997. A Food Network spokesperson confirmed to ABC News that ''Molto Mario'' would no longer be aired, but said that "Mario Batali is still part of the Food Network family. Sometimes family members go off and do other things. We completely blessed his decision to go to PBS ... He is still going to appear on ''Iron Chef America.''" No new episodes of ''Molto Mario'' have been filmed since 2004, but the network continued airing re-runs, with reruns currently airing first on Fine Living and currently on Fine Living's replacement channel Cooking. Batali was absent on the season ''finalé'' of ''The Next Iron Chef'', but he appeared twice during ''Iron Chef America's'' 2008 season, and his likeness has been licensed to appear in the Nintendo game ''Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine''. As of episodes airing in 2010, Batali's name and likeness do not appear in the show's opening credits.

Batali is featured in PBS’s show Spain... on the road Again with Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Bittman (of ''The New York Times'') and Claudia Bassols (a Spanish actress) featuring Spanish cuisine. The 13-episode series was filmed from October 2007 into early 2008. This will be the first of a series of shows that will be developed for PBS over the next several years. Batali is also in negotiations with Travel Channel to develop a series on Italian cuisine and culture with Anthony Bourdain that reportedly will be an "exhaustive, definitive Italy series with the kind of production values that Planet Earth had".

Batali teamed up with premium drum stick producer Vic Firth to create custom kitchen tools. Together they designed a line of wooden rolling pins, pepper grinders and salt grinders.

In 2009, Batali announced the creation of the Mario Batali Foundation "to educate, empower and encourage children". The foundation is an event-driven fundraiser for children’s disease research, children’s hunger relief, and literacy programs.

Batali has been critical of fellow international chef Gordon Ramsay, calling his cooking styles dated and boring. Although the New York Post reported, in 2009, of a feud between Ramsay and Batali, Batali has stated, "We really don't even know each other.... I'd love to hang out with him."

In 2009 Batali made his film debut in Wes Anderson's ''Fantastic Mr. Fox''.

Batali recently lost 45 pounds, hoping to shed about 80 pounds total. Batali said he decided to lose weight after he saw a picture of himself. He counts on light exercise and portion control to lose the weight. Batali said, "It’s really about calorie intake and calorie outtake. You just have to eat enough to get you to the next meal."

Mario is featured also in the MMORPG World of Warcraft: Cataclysm: in Stormwind City there is the NPC ''Bario Matalli'' (almost Mario Batali with the initial letters swapped) which is regarded as "Sous Chef" and feature the highest-level cooking recipes available.

Television credits

''Molto Mario''

''Mediterranean Mario''

''Mario Eats Italy'' ''Ciao America''

''Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters''

''Iron Chef America: The Series''

''ICA:All-Star Special''

''Mario, FULL BOIL'' (Special)

GladWare container commercials

''Emeril Live'' (guest appearance)

''Chefography'' (guest appearance)

''Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' (guest appearance)

''Spain... on the road Again'' (2008)

''The Daily Show'' (guest appearance) (2010, 2011)

''Bitter Feast'' (2010)

''Saturday Night Live'' (cameo; 2010)

Awards

Michelin Guide to New York City; One Star

Three Stars from ''The New York Times'' for "Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca"

"Best New Restaurant of 1998" from the James Beard Foundation for "Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca"

"Man of the Year" in GQ's chef category in 1999

D'Artagnan Cervena Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America in 2001

"Best Chef: New York City" from the James Beard Foundation in 2002

"All-Clad Cookware Outstanding Chef Award" from the James Beard Foundation in 2005 (national award)

"Best Restaurateur" from the James Beard Foundation in 2008

Bibliography

''Mario Batali Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages'' (1998), ISBN 0-609-60300-0

''Mario Batali Holiday Food : Family Recipes for the Most Festive Time of the Year'' (2000), ISBN 0-609-60774-X

''Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy'' (contributor) (2002), ISBN 0-609-60848-7

''The Babbo Cookbook'' (2002), ISBN 0-609-60775-8

''The Artist's Palate'' (foreword) (2003), ISBN 0-7894-7768-8

''Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home'' (2005), ISBN 0-06-073492-2

''Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style'' (2006), ISBN 0-89204-846-8

''Spain...A Culinary Road Trip'' (2008), written with Gwyneth Paltrow, and Julia Turshen. ISBN 978-0-06-156093-4

Social activism

Mario is on the board of directors for The Lunchbox Fund, a non-profit organization which provides a daily meal to students of township schools in Soweto of South Africa.

See also

List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards

References

External links

Mario Batali's official site

Biography on Food Network's site

Mario Batali at the Chef and Restaurant Database

Category:1960 births Category:American television chefs

Category:Food Network chefs Category:American people of French-Canadian descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Living people Category:American restaurateurs Category:People from New Brunswick, New Jersey Category:Rutgers University alumni

it:Mario Batali ja:マリオ・バターリ fi:Mario Batali zh:馬利歐·巴塔利

Mary Ann Esposito is the host and creator of the television program, ''Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito'', which has been on the air since 1989 and is America's longest-running cooking program.

With roughly 1.4 million weekly viewers , ''Ciao Italia'' is viewed on more than 270 PBS stations nationwide, and is also seen in New Zealand, and Japan. This program is produced by Rhode Island PBS for national distribution.

Writing

Mary Ann Esposito is the author of 10 cookbooks, including the best-selling titles: ''Ciao Italia, Nella Cucina, Celebrations Italian Style, What You Knead, Mangia Pasta, Ciao Italia – Bringing Italy Home, Ciao Italia in Umbria, Ciao Italia in Tuscany, and Ciao Italia Pronto!: 30-Minute Meals from an Italian Kitchen''. Her most recent cookbook, ''Ciao Italia, Slow and Easy,'' was published in fall 2007 by St. Martin's Press. More than 1000 of the recipes found in her books can be viewed at www.ciaoitalia.com, the television show's companion Web site. There, viewers may also watch video clips of recipes preparation and tutorials.

She is a native of Buffalo, New York.

Features

She has been featured in ''USA Today'', ''Family Circle'', ''Better Homes and Gardens'', ''La Cucina Italiana'', ''TV Guide'', ''Yankee Magazine'', ''Coastal Living'', ''Quarterly Review of Wines'', ''All About Italian Food'' and metropolitan newspapers across the country.

Media appearances

Mary Ann Esposito has appeared nationally on PBS' ''Victory Garden'' and ''Simply Ming'', NBC’s ''The Today Show'', ABC’s ''Live with Regis and Kelly'', Discovery Channel’s ''Home Matters'', Lifetime’s ''Our Home'', and the Food Network. She has also been heard on the Sirius network's ''Martha Stewart Morning Living'' radio program on the Martha Stewart channel.

Among the organizations that have honored Esposito are the National Italian American Foundation, National Organization of Italian American Women, the Columbus Foundation, and the Pirandello Lyceum, Washington, D.C.

She is currently a spokeswoman for King Arthur Flour.

References

Category:Living people Category:People from Buffalo, New York Category:American food writers Category:American television chefs Category:American television personalities