Saturday, October 23, 2010

Mmm Me Gusta's Picadillo with Apples and Walnuts

Better late than never! I've been wanting to feature more videos from my fellow creators on Hungry Nation, and what better choice than the lovely and talented Claudia Yuskoff, from Mmm Me Gusta. I love this recipe and it's been requested on the blog before, so until I get around to doing my version, please enjoy this one! Great job Claudia, and thanks for sharing!

8 comments:

Jason said...

Hey Chef John,

I like her video but your cooking demos are much better. Here is some feedback on why your style is unique and more successful:

- her video used a shallow depth of field too much in an attempt to be "cool". Your simple style illustrates the food because we can see what's going on.

- Your videos present technique and instruction, where as hers is more about a recipe. She browns the meat but doesn't say what temperature. Not even a "check the blog post for exact temperature." :)

- You have a sense of humor. A lost art on online-cooking demos.

- Lastly, your videos are more complete. Her dish seems to be a filling but she never fills anything with it.

Keep up the good work Chef John!

Anonymous said...

I liked that, thanks chef. She has a nice personality for video. Never made that before but looks good!

Claudia Yuskoff - Mmm Me Gusta said...

Chef John, it's a tremendous honor that someone who has just released their 500th episode is recognizing my show. Thank you very much for sharing this recipe with your viewers. The recipe is originally from my mother, who has been making picadillo for my family for years. Because I'm a curious cook, I gave her dish my own spin (the apples and walnuts addition). As you can see, my mom is a huge inspiration to my show. I'm just 473 episodes away to getting where you are! Congratulations on all your success. It's well deserved!

To Jason's comment...Thanks for your feedback. Sometimes it feels like no matter how hard I work on my episodes, someone out there is never happy. I'm either not funny enough, giving too much details, not giving enough details, wearing my hair wrong, or "too cutesy" as someone else once said. Producing episodes, especially cooking ones, are a ton of work. This is purely a labor of love. I have a regular fulltime job so I spend my nights and weekends working on my show. Why? Because I love food and enjoy sharing my passion for cooking with anyone who appreciates it.

Sorry, Chef John, I hope I don't start a war on your blog post, but today I felt I had to stand up for my show.

Chef John said...

thank you for sharing!! i deleted a few old non-food videos off the channel so i still have a couple to go for 500, but i'll let you know and thanks for helping me celebrate!!

re: criticism... im glad you defended your show! thats why i published the comment. good answer!

Jack Parker said...

There are almost as many different cooking styles as there are people. Consequently, there are almost as many different teaching styles for cooking, too.

Some people like humor and some want their lesson straight-up. Some like a personable teacher and some want a more formal one. So, it really isn't a matter of anyone being better. It's about finding a teacher whose style fits with yours.

I understand what Jason was trying to say about Claudia's video being more about the recipe, than the technique or detailed instructions. But the fact of the matter is that some of us DO know how to cook and don't need exact details all the time. Some of us know how to brown hamburger and toast walnuts. We can guess amounts fairly easily by seeing how an ingredient is used in a video. Some of us automatically know by common sense reasoning to go to the official website for more information.

John's videos are humorous, thorough and he's incredibly gracious to all levels of home cooks out there. Claudia's video was informative, personable and intelligent. Two great teachers, with different styles, both being honest and true to themselves and benevolent to their viewers. It's all Win/Win!

I thought Claudia's animations and "bloopers" reel at the end were great touches! Her videos are well done.

Claudia Yuskoff - Mmm Me Gusta said...

Thank you, Jack! : ) - Claudia

Anonymous said...

I think your video is classy and your recipe delicious. I love that you grind your own cinnamon. Who does that!

yaraticigeceler said...

18 crumbled graham crackers is equal to 240gr or 2 1/2 cups.
I did add 2 table spoons of sugar to cracker and butter base to get a caramelised texture.
I used same amount of creamy plain turkish yoghurt instead of sour cream.
I also added 160gr of roughly chopped bitter chocolat and 80gr of cacao power into 1/3 of the final mix and then loosely combined it to the 2/3 in the springform pan.
I didn't use any zest.
after letting completely cool down in the oven, I let it stand an other 4 hours in the room temperature and it turned out delicious.
thanks and love to Chef John for such a fabulous recipe.