Check Nicky Digital’s vid of our girls The Suzan covering Peter Bjorn and John’s “Amsterdam” at the PB&J 10th anniversary party at Bowery Electric on Monday night. He also took some quality flicks of the festivities.
In these lean times, we home cooks are faced with many fiscal decisions each time we step foot in le grocery shop. Do we get the extra virgin olive oil pressed by beautiful barefoot 22 year old virgins in Tuscany? Or do we go with the Goya? Morton’s salt or the Flor De Sal imported from Portugal by trans-Atlantic pigeons? For this week’s edition of Food Gold, we’re going to let you know when it you need to go for the top shelf stuff (PIMP) and when any old product will do (SKIMP). Let’s start with the basics that every cook will need in their pantry.
Before we go in, Imma break down the difference between utility products and finishing products. As their names imply, utility products are used before and during the cooking/preparation processes while finishing products are used, often sparingly, at the end to really highlight and elevate the flavor profiles of a dish. A good rule of thumb is that you should always pimp out on the finishers, as they are often the secret weapons of restaurant chefs. And if they are good enough for folks who HAVE to worry about the dollars and cents of every dish they create, you know they must be worth the splurge.
Olive Oils
Pimp: Use a high quality, expensive olive oil (my favorite is Arte Oliva from Spain, available at D’Espana on Broome Street in New York) for drizzling on top of cooked veggies and fish or serving with warm breads. You might also want to throw a little splash in if you are making a vinaigrette. *These will often have a very bold, fruity flavor to them, so you want to use them sparingly, the oil will add a strong flavor profile just on its own. Think of them as ingredients in and of themselves, not just vessels for getting the job done.
Skimp: When a recipe calls for olive oil to saute or gently fry something over medium heat, you can use any decent product and get excellent results. I’m rather partial to the Trader Joe’s Spanish Olive Oil. It has a mild, buttery flavor and is just a little bit sweet. If you want the most flavor neutral Olive Oil, California varieties are a good bet as well.
Salt:
Pimp: When you need salt to add a textural, crunchy component to your dish, as is the case when you are salting a steak or finishing a salad, you need to go for a coarse Flor De Sal. $15 or more might seem like a lot for a one pound bag of salt, but it goes a long way.
Skimp: For basic seasoning needs, I go with a fine, kosher sea salt. My go-to guy is Redmond’s RealSalt, which is a bargain at $4 for a 9 ounce shaker. They sell it at Whole Foods, so it’s pretty easy to find. *Pardon my French but DO NOT under any circumstances fuck with Iodized Morton’s salt, or any bullshit product like that. I know the umbrella girl is cool (shout out to Jawbreaker) but this stuff is just unacceptable. And it’s bad for you.
Vegetable Oils:
Pimp: To be honest, I never see a reason to use expensive vegetable oil for sauteing things. If you only have money or room for one vegetable oil in your pantry, canola oil is the most utilitarian.
Skimp: The only thing you should care about is getting something with a high smoke point. Olive oil burns at a lower temperature than corn, grapeseed or peanut oil, so don’t use that for medium-high heat cooking. That said, many faux fancy cooks like me will swear by Grapeseed Oil, as it is supposedly the most flavor neutral but I don’t really notice a big difference. You probably won’t either.
Wines:
This one is dead simple. NEVER, EVER use cooking wines. EVER. I really mean that. They are by nature of poor quality, loaded with salts and preservatives and they will ruin any dish you are making. You are better off dumping in a gallon of vinegar, that’s how bad this shit tastes. Besides, do you really want to cook with any wine that you wouldn’t want to drink on its own? Part of the fun of cooking with wine is having a glass or two as you cook (BIG UP to Keith Floyd, RIP) so best to tell the folks at your wine shop what you are making and what your budget is so they can hook you up. I’ve made wonderful meals with $9 or $12 bottles of wine, and got mad crunk too!
The latest addition to the Fool’s Gold cavalcade of hits is the Big Fun EP from our Sydney, Australia brothers Bag Raiders. Buy it from Beatport, iTunes and anywhere else fine digital music is sold in North America (vinyl on its way as always!)
It’s a family affair, led off by the extra-funky Donnis collab “All The Girls,” along with brand-new, unreleased remixes of BR hits “Fun Punch” by Jokers Of The Scene and XXXChange and “Turbo Love” by Jan Driver. If you’re already a fan of Bag Raiders’ wiggly, synth-driven dancemania, we’re happy to give you some new treats - and if this is your very first introduction to the duo, buckle up!
More soon, including a very special Sammy Bananas remix. Be sure to check the Raiders on the new Bang Gang 12 Inches compilation out now as well.
Exactly one week from today you can finally cop Kid Sister’s debut album Ultraviolet in-stores and online. It’s been a long time coming, and we’re super proud of the record and excited for our girl!
Check the preview clips at Amazon.com, full tracklist + production credits after the jump. Also be sure to catch KS rocking with The Roots this Friday on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and on her other upcoming tour dates.
1. Right Hand Hi (prod. Steve Angello + Sebastian Ingrosso)
2. Life On TV (prod. Yuksek)
3. Big n Bad (prod. Hervé + Sinden)
4. Step (feat. Estelle) (prod. Rusko)
5. Let Me Bang 2009 (prod. XXXChange)
6. Pro Nails (feat. Kanye West) (prod. A-Trak)
7. Daydreaming (feat. Cee-Lo) (prod. Brian Kennedy)
8. Switch Board (feat. DJ Gant-Man) (prod. DJ Gant-Man)
9. 54321 (prod. XXXChange)
10. Get Fresh (prod. A-Trak + XXXChange)
11. You Ain’t Really Down (prod. A-Trak)
12. Control (prod. XXXChange)
Check out this project from our Vancouver pal DJ Neoteric: a new mix for Discobelle with no artist or track titles, creating a game for obsessive internet DJ fans and regular ol music lovers alike. And we have a tune from an upcoming release in there. GUESS WHO MOTHERBITCHES! Prizes for correct answers, happy hunting…
When Alexander Robotnick was in NYC two months ago, he recorded an exclusive interview and DJ set for Turntable Lab’s Scion Radio show. Listen to it here!
For the latest edition of our FG Q&A series, we had a quick chat with UK beat chameleon DJ Zinc about his excellent new Crack House EP, keeping up with musical trends, studio secrets, and more. Bo bo bo!
Read the complete interview after the jump, download the free Crack House sampler mix and be sure to cop the whole thing on Beatport. Stay tuned for more exclusive back-n-forth with interesting folks and creative types very soon.
10 tracks is hefty for an EP - is there a thread that ties all these tunes together for you to release them all at once, rather than split into different singles?
I was planning to do an album but when I got near finishing it, it didn’t really have an “album” vibe. I’d have released them as singles, but I wanted to have a quite strong package to introduce the new stuff I’m doin.
Were these tracks recorded in a quick burst of creativity, or over an extended period of time?
Over about a year, maybe a bit more. I work really, really slow.
What’s a typical day in the studio like for you?
Probably get there about 2-3pm, work till 4-5 am with a break for food or to hang out with my kid for a bit. Tempa records and Rinse FM are based in the same office as me, so theres always something goin on.
How does the UK music scene (past and present) inform the kinds of music that you make?
I guess being exposed to music - mainly pirate radio - all my life means I’ve got loads of random influences, from Indian music to African, Jamaican etc.
There are some very interesting collaborations on the record - can you take us through the making of a tune like “Jekyll N Hyde” from beat idea, to recording Angela’s vocal, to the finished track?
I’ve worked with Angie before, so when she was in the UK working on another project, I asked her to pop into the studio and lay down a few vocals - I had a rough beat up and she just freestyled, she’s really easy to work with, she can do all kinds of voices, from opera shit to kids (she did the kids vocals on that Nas tune, the “I know I can…” bit). I only took some of the parts that she sang. Most of what I used was her doing a ruff, but I liked that you cant really hear what she’s saying. I stripped the track down to just beats and then wrote the bass melody.
You revisit “138 Trek” on the EP as a housier “128 Trek” - planning any other dips back into the catalog for crack house versions? “SUPER Super Sharp Shooter”?
There is a Jack Beats mix of “Super Sharp Shooter,” but I dunno if it’ll see the light of day… I’m defo gonna have a play with a few old beats I did, why not!
How do you approach your DJ sets these days? Is it a challenge balancing “your” tracks that people expect (especially with such an extensive / varied discography) with brand new tunes you want to play out?
I just play what I’m feelin, I think it frustrates people a bit cos I don’t play that many of my old tunes, but I’ve gotta be excited by what I play.
What’s your take on the current emphasis placed on brand new and “unreleased” cuts amongst certain blogs, DJs, etc - do you feel like records are getting hyped up and burnt out before they really have a chance to live as a “real” release?
How long have you got! Music in general seems more throwaway now than ever, cos its so easy to make tunes. When I started, nearly every tune that was released was made in a pro or semi pro studio by a half decent engineer, so even if a song was crap it was quite well made. When I used to play DnB I realized that we left tracks on dubplate for far too long, but the scene I’m in now seems to have gone a bit too far the other way. I dunno. It’ll find its feet!
Any new favorites - musical or otherwise - you’d like to highlight or encourage people to check out?
Lots of the stuff going on around Rinse FM is really interesting, from Roska, Geeneus, Skream, loads of the DJs. Also some of the more underground heads like the Clairvoyants, Circle.
What rap records are you feeling these days? Does grime count as rap? If so Wiley is the guvnor!
After this Crack House EP, what else can Zinc fans stay on the lookout for?
More of the same. I cant get enough of this sound. More colabs!
Jokers Of The Scene’s “Bright Black Magick” Tour with Acid Girls finishes up real big in LA a week from tonight at Discotheque. Don’t miss out! Full details at the Discotheque site, advance tix here. Meanwhile tonight they are in SF for Popscene, and hit Chicago on the 10th. JOTS ARE LOOSE!
Making up for last week’s quickie Minaj-arie with standout joints from YG, Gucci Mane, Brisco with Lil Wayne & Birdman, Fly Gypsy and Cormega.
YG “Toot It And Boot It” [mp3] YG “Drunk And High” [mp3]
I first heard YG’s stuff on Jerkin With JHawk and zips of jerk tunes Mr Ducker and folks would send me. His mumbly, bedhead delivery is exactly what you’d expect from a teen solidly raised in this Gucci Mane-ozoic era, but he favors beats that blend cheap jerk 808s with dusty samples - an odd combination, but a winning one. (Sidebar: “Drunk And High” is produced by SF’s Skin and Bones, one half of whom also is in Caligula with longtime FG homie Vin Sol. More from them soon…)
Gucci Mane “No No No” [mp3]
Speaking of Radric… man, I haven’t even cracked his most recent mixtape trilogy, I JUST made it through the Burrprint. This one was tacked near the end but is a keeper. “Your jeweler is a loser.” More synth cowbell please.
