Final Project: Swiss Chard Gratin. Part I: The Recipe

UPDATE: Check the great recipes on our network on my Twitter Feed! =>

"Gratin," as defined in Wikipedia:

a widespread culinary technique in food preparation in which an ingredient is topped with a browned crust, often using breadcrumbs, grated cheese, egg and/or butter. Gratin originated in French cuisine and is usually prepared in a shallow dish of some kind. A gratin is baked or cooked under an overhead grill or broiler to form a golden crust on top and is traditionally served in its baking dish (citation).

I have made this delicious dish a couple of times before. It reminds me of the kind of food I ate as a child, because part of my family comes from France.

The original recipe is from the November 2005 edition of Saveur magazine, page 74. I have modified the recipe a bit less butter, but if you are cooking French, butter is hard to avoid.

You will need:

1 BIG bunch of Swiss chard
2 tbsp. olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 stick butter (I used 3/4)
 1/4 cup flour
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup grated cheese such as Parmigiano or Gruyere
red pepper flakes
grated nutmeg
 salt pepper

Since I planned to make this into a meal, I decided to accompany the gratin with a tomato salad, hearty bread, and red wine.

Part II: The Shopping

Here I am on 14th Street, shopping for the ingredients, which were all readily available at 

 1. Trader Joe's 

2. the Farmer's Market

Here are the main ingredients

And here is how much the ingredients cost (keep in mind that the bread, butter, cheese, and milk I will use for several other meals):

Organic Swiss Chard $ 3.00
1lb. Organic Whole Wheat Bread $ 4.00
1/4 lb Organic Cheese $ 6.00
1 qt. Organic Milk $2.50
1 lb. Organic Salted Butter $4.79
1 lb. Organic Tomatoes $3.49
Red wine 4.99

The flour and spices I already had at home. The whole meal, then, comes under $30.00 and it serves 6 people, so it comes to $5.00 a plate (with wine included). 

Part III: The Cooking

As I explained in Part I, I have cooked this kind of meal before. It is actually simple.

Turn the oven to 400 F.
Wash the Swiss Chard two or three time to get rid of any sand.
(Nobody likes gritty greens!)

Trim the green leaves from the white stems. 

(Stems and leaves have different consistencies and so 

need different cooking times). 

Then cut the white part into 1/2 inch pieces and the leaves into strips.

The Saute: 

You can either 

a) saute the white stems first, then the green leaves, or 

b) blanch the white stems and saute the green leaves.  

Either way, use olive oil and 2-3 garlic cloves. 

Add red pepper flakes and salt and pepper as preferred. 

The Bechamel Sauce: Where would the French be without it?
Melt 3/4 stick of butter and slowly stir 1/4 cup flour over a low flame.
After stirring for 3 minutes or so, slowly add 2 cups cold milk.
Stir like crazy until the whole turns into a thick sauce.
Add LOTS of nutmeg as well as salt and pepper.

Rub your baking dish with some butter.
Fill the dish with the greens.

Ladle the bechamel sauce on top, covering the greens well.

Top with the grated cheese.

The whole goes into the oven for 25 minutes,
or until it is bubbling and golden brown.

The whole meal: gratin+ tomato salad + whole wheat bread + glass of red wine.

I started the meal at 7:30 pm and we are eating at is 9:00pm. Not bad!

So, what did I learn?

• Well, first of all, that interacting with food makes the whole eating much more satisfying: you feel that you have earned the meal.
• Also, that it is extremely rewarding to see others enjoying what you have prepared.
• That fatty foods should be accompanied with a glass of red wine rather than a Diet Coke (yuk!).
• That food companies want us to believe that they can take away the "hassle" of preparing food for ourselves and our loved ones, but what they are really taking away is the pleasure of doing something psychologically and physically fulfilling that would enrich the lives of others as well and substituting it with shallow food experiences.

Schedule of Last Classes

Th 12/01:  Final Projects Begin. Assignment HERE. (I will be doing a project also).
T 12/06: Work on Final Projects.
Th 12/08:  Work on Final Projects.
Sunday 12/11: Final Projects and Blogs 14-18 due.
T 12/13:  Reading Day (no classes).
Th 12/15: Meeting for Scores and Advising in B-219 at 2:15

CAT Practice # 4; Class Reflection: Final Project (11/22)

The Government and the Corporation
Image from The Story of Stuff

1. Watching The Story of Stuff.
2. Write Blog 18: The Story of Stuff. Instructions HERE.

• Need to watch the video again? Check the video on The Story of Stuff website HERE or on YouTube HERE.
• Also, you will find a list of facts from The Story of Stuff on pages 36-37 of your packet. 

Want to know more about who pays for our stuff?

Check out a clip about sweatshops from the film The Corporation HERE.

Blog 25: Final Project (due 6/11)

For your final project this semester you will pick a text or activity that connects to the themes we have explored in this course. You will engage with your choice (watch it or visit it) and then discuss your experience on Blog 25: My Final Project. This last blog is due Saturday, June 11 by 9:00AM.

Choose ONE of two projects:

I. FOOD

From GrowNYC

Visit the Farmers Market at Union Square (find more information about the market HERE). The market is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 8AM to 6PM, but it is at its best in the earlier hours.

Specifically, you should

1. Walk around, jotting down what types of food are being sold and what other activities are happening.
2. Take photos.
3. Buy food for a small meal.
4. Go home and make the meal. Take photos of it.
5. Lastly, write Blog 25, a narrative of your visit, what you learned, and explain what meal you made. Add any/all photos to the blog entry.

II. FILM

From Zazzle.com.au

Rent ONE film from the list below (some are available for free online). Watch it. Then,



1. List the main topics of the film as they connect to the ideas in the class:

• How is contemporary reality produced?
• Who produces this reality and how do we collaborate in its creation?
• What are the ends of producing reality and who benefits and who suffers from it?
• Are there any ways in which an individual or a group can achieve agency (control over their lives) in contemporary reality?

2. From your list, choose a topic to write about.

3. Select three (3) web images, web videos, or websites that you think speak to or represent the topic. Keep track of the websites where you got the images or videos.

4. Now write Blog 25:

• Begin by introducing the film by mentioning its director, its title, and describing what the film is about in one or two lines (in your own words, please--no quotes from Wikipedia).
• Then post the images/videos/name the websites and write 400+ words explaining how the three web images, web videos, or websites you have chosen "speak to" or "speak about" the film.
• Your images or videos should indicate where you got them from via a link to the appropriate website. You may place these links in the caption under the photo or video or at the very end of the blog entry.

List of Films

• An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim
• Capitalism: A Love Story. Dir. Michael Moore
• Darwin’s Nightmare. Dir. Hubert Sauper
• Fahrenheit 9/11. Dir. Michael Moore
• Flow: For the Love of Water. Dir. Irena Salina
• Food, Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner
• The Future of Food. Dir. Deborah Koons Garcia
• Is Walmart Good for America? PBS' Frontline
• Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media. Dir. Mark Akbar and Peter Wintonick
• Outfoxed:Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism. Dir. Robert Greenwald
• Sicko. Dir. Michael Moore
• Taxi to the Dark Side. Dir. Alex Gibney
• The Tillman Story. Dir. Amir Bar-Lev
• When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. Dir. Spike Lee

Final Projects/Last Meeting

Hello Everyone.

As promised, here are the announcements for our last week:

1. Projects/Blog 19 are due Monday, December 13 before 3:25. 

2. We meet for final grades on Thursday, December 16 at 3:25 in E 141. Remember that a few of you may need to fill out a form for the express class.

Final Project (12/6; Blog 19 due 12/13)

For your final project this semester you will pick a text or activity that connects to the themes we have explored in this course. You will engage with your choice (watch it, visit it, do it, read it) and then discuss your experience on Blog 19: My Final Project. I would encourage you to illustrate your report with images and helpful links. Projects/Blog 19 are due Monday, December 13 before 3:25.

Choose ONE of three projects:

1. FOOD: Visit the Farmers Market at Union Square. The market is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 8AM to 6PM, but it is at its best in the earlier hours. Specifically, you should

• Walk around, jotting down what types of food are being sold and what other activities are happening. 
• Take photos. 
• Buy food for a meal. 
• Go home and make the meal. Take photos of it. 
• Lastly, write a narrative of your visit, what you learned, and explain what meal you made. Add any/all photos to the blog entry.

2. FILM: Rent Sleep Dealer, watch it again and then write a 400+ word blog entry explaining in what ways the future of Sleep Dealer is really happening already. You will need to support your views with RESEARCH on the topics you mention, so at the end of your blog entry make a list of the readings you used to write your answer. Please don't just paste a bunch of URLs, but explain what  topic they cover. Add images.

Issues to think about:

• Race/Racism: How does race/ ethnicity dictate how we interact with technology?
• Social Class: How does social class dictate how we interact with technology?
• Corporate Control of Water: How do corporations control who gets access to water (and food)?
• Virtual War: Drones like those in Sleep Dealer now fly in Iraq and on the border between the US and Mexico. So what? What difference does it make that a pilot can shoot it up Iraq all day and sleep at home at night?
• Virtual Labor: The manager of the cybermaquilas jokes that Mexico is finally providing the U.S. with what it really wants: work without the (Mexican) workers. What are some forms of virtual work already happening around the globe?
• Virtual Reality: Luz sells her memories for a living. How is this similar/different from videoing your life and putting it up on services such as YouTube? Or is there a difference because she is selling her memories? 

3. STUFF: Choose one of the two items from The Story of Stuff: Cotton T-shirt or Jewelry on pages 40-43 of the packet. Then

• Read the narrative that explains how your item gets made, highlighting important points. 
• Create a list of bullets point that summarize the narrative.
• Find an image that illustrates each bullet point.
• Create a presentation in your blog that uses the bullet points and images to illustrate how the item gets made.
• Conclude the presentation by answering the question at the end of each reading: What do you think the TRUE COST of this item should be? Why?