i8tonite

Author: Brian Garrido

I8tonite with Food Person: San Francisco’s FoodGal, Carolyn Jung

Carolyn Jung and Celebrity Chef Ming Tsai

For more than fifty years San Francisco’s Bay Area is considered to be North America’s epicurean kingdom – long before the term Silicon Valley entered into our lexicon and made it a technology-based realm. With American Wine Country, Napa and Sonoma, sitting at the back door along with Thomas Keller’s famed French Laundry, Charles Phan’s Slanted Door, Cindy Pawlcyn’s Mustard Grill and Fog City Diner leading the culinary pack, it’s also created and ushered some of the country’s best wordsmiths and journalists in the world of food and wine. Michael Bauer, John Birdsall, Amy Sherman, Marcia Gagliardi, Harvey Steinman all stand at M.F.K Fisher’s door including winning awards from the famed epicurean organization James Beard. However, for almost two decades, James Beard award-winner Carolyn Jung, the former food editor at San Jose Mercury News, and sole proprietor of FoodGal.com, have put on a different face to the Northern Californian dining scene. Residing outside the kingdom’s walls in the San Jose area, although born and raised in the City by The Bay – Jung’s writing’s on the area’s food scene is full of knowledge and has made her one of the pre-eminent voices in the national culinary circle . FoodGal is read far outside Northern California with readers international in scope. She is also one of the area’s non- Caucasian food media which we discussed at length after she posted an article from First We Feast about the lack of diversity in food writing.

A true San Franciscan, Jung was born at Clay and Polk to Chinese parents. She was then raised in Diamond Heights, near Twin Peaks where the roads are all named after gemstones. Jung has been at the forefront of San Francisco’s cookery explosion reporting first-hand on its continued national influence including visiting my client, at the time, The Restaurant at Meadowood when it received its second star Michelin star under Chef Christopher Kostow.

Jung with Chef Alex Ong, formerly of Michelin Bib Gourmand Betelnut

Before becoming the food editor at San Jose Mercury News, which she refers to as “the Merc”, her beat was on race and demographics. She says about the transition to food writer, “In a great way, my previous beat allowed me to transition seamlessly into the food one. There were so many times on my former beat where I’d start to report on a story, and community leaders would always say, ‘Let’s go eat first.’ Food has always been important around the discussion of community. It may be a cliche, but breaking bread with someone really is the ultimate icebreaker.”

After she was laid off in 2008 from San Jose’s leading newspaper, she craved an avenue to continue communicating with the readers she carefully cultivated, hence FoodGal.com which has nearly a hundred thousand unique visitors per month. It’s where Jung continues to use her journalistic reporting on the area she loves so much and the epicurean people and foodstuff within. When asked if she ever considered leaving, she responded, “I had several opportunities before I left the newspaper but I wanted to stay. My parents lived here. I’ve also love working the Bay Area and its diversity. We start the food trends – although New Yorkers might disagree.”

Jung is also a gifted emcee hosting many events throughout the Bay Area including many of the Macy’s cooking demos in Santa Clara as well as in San Francisco.

She just completed for the fourth year Chefs’ Holidays at Yosemite’s luxury Ahwanhee Hotel. Upcoming, Jung will be at Macy’s on February 10th with Pastry Chef, Christy Ikezi.

Her cookbook on her hometown San Francisco Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the City by The Bay is available at leading retailers and online. Her stories have also appeared in San Francisco Chronicle, VIA and Eating Well.

Food People Questionnaire (with a nod to Proust):

Book Cover: San Francisco Chef’s Table

What is your favorite food to cook at home? Does baking cookies count? It is my favorite thing to make. In fact, there are times when I get so stressed with deadlines that I think, “I must go bake some cookies right now — or else!” It’s my relaxation; and my vice.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? Condiments of all kinds — I love them. Cheese; fresh seasonal fruit; good jam; and a jar of preserved Meyer lemons (I make them every winter with lemons from my dwarf tree).

What marked characteristic do you love in a person with whom you are sharing a meal? Good conversationalist, great sense of humor, and a willingness to try most anything at least once.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a person with whom you are sharing a meal? Talking about themselves non-stop, taking no interest in the other people they are dining with, and staring at their cell phone constantly.

Comrades in arms: (L to R) Pastry Chef Rodney Cerdan of Prospect Restaurant, yours truly, Chef Will Pacio of Spice Kit, and photographer Craig Lee

Beer, wine or cocktail? I like all three. But I am partial to a creative and balanced cocktail, followed by wine — if someone else is driving me back home.

Your favorite cookbook author? My friend Andrea Nguyen, because she is so meticulous with her recipes, and we share a love for perfect dumplings. Joanne Chang and Emily Luchetti because their baking recipes never disappoint. Bruce Aidells because he is the authority on meat. Jean-Georges Vongerichten because he is as renowned and sophisticated a chef as there is, yet he can actually write recipes that won’t make your head spin, teach you practical techniques you may not have known before, and create distinctive, flavorful dishes that one can actually make at home.

Your favorite kitchen tool? My Le Creuset Dutch oven. In fall, winter and spring, it gets a real workout, as I use it for all manner of soups, stews and braises. Not to mention, it’s a looker in dazzling blue.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Most anything. That’s the fun part about getting so many cookbooks to try — you get to learn about so many different cuisines and cultures. And of course, the baking books are always the ones I look at first.
Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Ooh, that’s a tough one. I’m going to have to go with pork because it’s such an important part of my Chinese heritage. Plus, pork is so versatile. And let’s face it, so delicious, too.

Absinthe German Chocolate Cake: Photo by Carolyn Jung.

Favorite vegetable? I would like to say heirloom tomatoes, but that’s a fruit, despite what most people think. So, I’ll go with asparagus. I look forward to its appearance every spring, then go crazy buying it every week at the farmers market, until its season comes to an end all too quickly. I like it especially grilled or roasted, which brings out its natural sweetness.
Chef you most admire? There are so many. I give them so much credit for how hard they work, the endless hours they put in, cooking on the line, on weekends and holidays, and missing so much family time. I admire Thomas Keller for being a class act, and always pursuing perfection; Jamie Oliver for shining a light on childhood obesity; and Jose Andres for working to get solar ovens in third-world countries, where young women are often accosted, beaten or raped while trying to gather firewood for their families.

Ginger Apricot Cookies from Carolyn Jung’s website. Recipe available. Photo by Carolyn Jung.

Food you like the most to eat? Have I mentioned cookies? OK, well, there’s also my obsession with kouign-amanns. Basically, if I could eat pastries morning, noon and night — without any consequences — I would.
Food you dislike the most? I’ll try anything once. But I must say after having natto once, I probably don’t need to have it again.
What is your favorite non-food thing to do? Exercise (heck, I do have to burn all the calories I consume); read a good book for hours on end (a luxury I rarely have time for, unfortunately, except when I’m on a long plane ride); treat myself to a spa day (yeah, that happens about once every five years); catch up on movies with my husband; hang out with friends and family (though, that most often does involve food in some shape or form); and watch “American Ninja Warrior” (yes, I’ll cop to that).
Who do you most admire in food? Farmers, who are so dedicated, don’t make a whole lot of money in return, and have to put up with the uncertainties of Mother Nature year in and year out. Without the work they do, our lives would be a whole lot less delicious, nutritious, and full of wonderment.
Where is your favorite place to eat? It can be a fancy restaurant, a hole-in-the-wall, or even my own home — as long as the company is delightful, the food prepared with care and love, and the vibe comfortable, relaxing, and stimulating.
What is your favorite restaurant? Depends on my mood, craving, and thickness of my wallet on any given day. I could pick The French Laundry because I’ve had several memorable meals there, and my husband actually proposed to me in the parking lot there. I could choose Yank Sing because I adore its dim sum, and I held my wedding banquet there. I could say Nathan Myhrvold’s “Modernist Cuisine” lab, because I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to actually dine there. Or I could pick the Honolulu bare-bones, plate-lunch spot, Nico’s Pier 38, where chilly and bleary-eyed after getting up at the crack of dawn to tour the Honolulu Fish Auction, I ate a simple ahi omelet made with fresh fish from that auction, while sitting outside as the sun came up on a glorious Hawaii morning.

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? None. My Mom never would have approved of that.

Carolyn Jung’s Recipe:

Chicken stir-fry over Hong Kong noodles at M.Y. China restaurant in San Francisco, California, on Friday, May 10, 2013. Photo by Craig Lee

I chose this dish because it’s nearly Chinese New Year’s. It’s also a dish that reminds me of the type of comforting, satisfying food my Mom used to cook when I was growing up. I’d pick the crispy noodles out of the pan with my fingers, as she’d shoo me away. When it was finally ready, my brothers and I would line up at the stove to help ourselves to a tangle of noodles, and sit down to a bowl of joy.

Crispy Noodles with X.O. Chicken & Bok Choy
(Serves 4)

For the marinade:
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1∕8 teaspoon ground white pepper
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced

For the sauce:
4 tablespoons chicken broth
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon X.O. sauce (available in jars at Asian markets)
1 teaspoon chili bean sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar

For the rest of the dish:
8 ounces fresh, thin Chinese egg noodles
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 fresh hot red chili, thinly sliced
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, caps only, sliced
1 small zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise

To make the marinade: Combine the rice wine, cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and mix well. Add the chicken and stir to coat evenly. Let stand for 10 minutes.

To make the sauce: Combine the broth, soy sauce, rice wine, X.O. sauce, chili bean sauce, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

To cook the noodles: In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water, and drain again.

Place a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, swirling to coat the sides. Spread the noodles in the pan and press lightly to make a firm cake. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the noodle pancake over, add 1 more tablespoon oil around the edges of the pan, and cook until second side is golden brown, 3–4 minutes. Remove to a serving plate and keep warm.

Place a stir-fry pan over high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, swirling to coat sides. Add the garlic, ginger, and chili and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the marinated chicken and stir-fry until no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to a small bowl and set aside.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan over high heat, swirling to coat the sides. Add the mushrooms and zucchini and cook for 1 minute. Add the sauce and bring it to a boil. Add the bok choy, cover, and cook for 1 minute.

Return the chicken to pan and stir to heat through. Pour on top of the noodle pancake and serve immediately.

Recipe Courtesy of San Francisco Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the City by the Bay by Carolyn Jung. Photo by Craig Lee.

The end. Go eat.

February 5, 2016
i8tonite: Los Angeles’ Franco on Melrose, Chef Franco de Dominicis
Along a strip of Melrose Avenue, just past La Brea is Franco on Melrose. It’s location is in the City of Angel’s culinary corridor featuring a few of the most lauded epicurean stops in the city including Providence, Mozza, Mud Hen Tavern and Trois Mec. To the south, one can wander to Republique or Odys + Penelope. It’s a hidden gem of an Italian eatery although a favorite among the celebrity set. However, the trattoria has been under the radar since its inception over four years ago. Why? Partially, says chef and owner Franco de Dominicis, “I didn’t have a beer and wine license. It was BYOB but now I do and things have changed.”

Originally born in Venezuela to Italian parents, de Dominicis was then raised in Paestum, Italy about a hundred miles south of Naples, renowned for its Greek and Roman archeological sites. The 2600-year-old settlement has also been known as the second largest agricultural center in Italy, the first being in Umbria. De Dominicis had an excellent childhood and gained a love of cookery via his family. He had formal culinary training at a Naples based school which supplied him with European apprenticeships. Now, in the States, the food he makes is indicative of his European and Italian roots, staying true to his youth.
Proudly, de Dominicis makes all of his own pasta, ravioli, and lasagna. Many of the recipes are adapted recipes from his mother and childhood. He also sources as much as he can from the farmers markets throughout Los Angeles. It’s a true Los Angeles-based trattoria serving up Neapolitan fare without having to travel to Italy.

Franco on Melrose is a lovely place with a sidewalk awning extending out to the valet. Its roof is canopied and during the summer is open to the stars. The best thing about the new Italian-centric wine menu which was personally selected by de Dominicis it’s priced so reasonably you can imbibe with that second bottle while looking at the stars.

Chef Questionnaire:

How long have you been cooking? Since I was 13.

What is your favorite food to cook? Meat and fish and pasta.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? Milk, juices, herbs, prosciutto, burrata, eggs.

What do you cook at home? Sometimes I get together with friends and I love to do brunch with roasted beef tenderloin and rack of lamb.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? An open mind to try different things.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? Unwilling to expand their palate.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Rubbermaid.

Beer, wine or cocktail? Definitely wine. A full body red and champagne.

Your favorite cookbook author? Julia Child.

Your favorite kitchen tool? Hand mixer

Your favorite ingredient? Extra virgin olive oil.

Your least favorite ingredient? Okra.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Stirring for hours.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Italian, French, Caribbean,

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Beef.

Favorite vegetable? Haricot vert and brussels sprouts.

Chef you most admire? Gordon Ramsey.

Food you like the most to eat? Breakfast items.

Food you dislike the most? Russian.

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? None.

Franco on Melrose’s Roasted Chicken and Pears
- 3-4 lbs. chicken, whole roasting
- 3 Anjou pears (Peeled and cut into quarters)
- 3 shallots (Cut into quarters)
- 2 carrots
- 2 celery stalk
- 2 cups white wine
- 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme
- ½ a tablespoon of freshly cut sage. Or thereabouts.
- Salt and pepper
To Make: Pre heat oven a 400 degree. Take the chicken and stuff it with the whole pears, some thyme, some sage, and 1 shallots cut into quarters. Tie the legs back with twine. Place the chicken in a roasting pan, with all the carrots and celery, cut into pieces, add the rest of the shallots cut in ¼ as well, disperse the herbs around, poor the wine and salt and pepper to taste. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil and place in the oven for about 45 minutes. Uncover the chicken and let it finish cooking, for another 15 to 20 minutes, until a nice golden brown and juices run clear.

The End. Go Eat.
January 27, 2016
i8tonite: A Day at H8ful Acres by Julie Fisher, Poet
This is the first of the on-going series on Food Musings written by award-winning poet and writer, Julie Fisher. She is also the founder of Litmore, Baltimore’s Center for the Literary Arts.
I live on the East Coast, in Northern Baltimore County to narrow it down. We had three days media notice of the impending snow doom threatening the Mid-Atlantic. I am responsible for hunkering down prep. H8teful Acres is our “farm” a little off the beaten path with a ¼ mile driveway, so it’s smart to be prepared. We are fortunate as a family, my time is flexible during school/work hours so I can stroll through a supermarket during non-panic hours and before the shelves are stripped of bread, milk and toilet paper. Maryland started getting notice of the incoming snow on Wednesday. By Friday shelves were basically bare.

On Friday, I realized we were nearly out of milk. So I sauntered down to the local farm where we buy or pastured foods. Their business hours are weekends only, so they were just opening and were plenty stocked with their pastured milk. I even remembered to grab some bacon, eggs and sausage patties too.

I look forward to big snows. Maybe it’s the remnant thrill of snow days from school or the anticipation of slowing down, sleeping in, leisurely meals and snacking.

For Snowmageddon 2016, I’ll give my attention to turning a baked chicken into chicken soup, a pork butt for pulled pork barbeque, some Italian turkey sausages. I’m thinking mornings that begin with eggs, hash browns and bacon or sausage and for a pre-shoveling low effort morning meal, you can’t go wrong with Irish oatmeal. I’m eager for no bossy schedule defining my time so I’ll have the calm to undertake gluten free blue corn muffins, yellow cupcakes with chocolate icing and maybe some chocolate chip cookies.

Since I’m a Pinterest user, I have lots of recipes I’ve saved. I daydream about uninterrupted time that to try these recipes. Some of the recipes are common dishes customized to be gluten free-I’m fixated on baking actually tasty gluten free breads. Some recipes are gorgeously photographed and I want to recreate the work of art. Of course, a range of flavors or ingredients I’m repeatedly drawn to- figs, aged cheeses, dark chocolate, pears, hazelnuts, quinoa and brassicas.

So this morning, squinting at the dawn glitter on 30 inches of snow, I had lethargic, cozy plans. The snow did not quiet my demanding senior cat Whitney. I still shuffled down to feed her and grind my coffee. It also did not quiet the apparently nocturnal, terrified kitten we adopted two days ago and named Scully. She mewed pathetically, off and on all night. Despite this, in my pre-coffee blur I snapped some camera phone shots of the sunrise-tinted trees before their drapery of snow melted.
Kidlets and hubby intermittently arrived downstairs. Coffee levels were topped off, bacon was sizzled, eggs were fried in ghee and gluten free blue corn muffins were baked. Soon, my fantasy of cozy, lethargy became suiting up to shovel. First we dug a path to The Dragon (our outdoor wood burning furnace), knock icicles from the gutter over our doors. More shoveling to free my Subaru, even more shoveling to clear a path to the Subaru, and to the front and back door.

It’s not until the sun starts to sink behind the tree line that we go inside to shed our snow and ice crusted clothing. Our ache-y muscles whined when our stomachs growled. Dinner, or more accurately foraging in the kitchen, included hot dogs, Trader Joe’s Olive Oil popcorn, some slabs of cheddar and crackers and blue corn muffins. The pork butt will keep marinating. The Italian turkey sausages made it into a frying pan. Just the sausages. No onions or peppers or such. We just managed to get some pasta boiling. Oh, it’s whiskey o’clock after dinner.

Fireplace

Finally, we reach destination cozy. Feet and fingers are thawed. We sit together in the glow of our laptops and phones while outside is almost daylight bright with full moon on expanse of snow. And I think to myself, what crazy, beautiful luck to live here at H8teful Acres with my family –a total surprise trajectory in the arc of our lives. I think of all the people who lived here before us and built this house and farmed this land and raised critters here. For roughly 100 years now, this has been someone’s home. 100 years ago would be when my great grandparents would have been raising families. How, I wonder, would they have prepared for a blizzard bearing down on them? Would they scramble for bread, milk and toilet paper?

As it turns out, after leaping into internet rabbit holes, the answer depends greatly on where you lived and if you had any money. For one thing, toilet paper was a brand new product in the early 1900’s. It was expensive AND it was difficult to market to customers with delicate Victorian sensibilities. Most used the less vulgar Sears Roebuck Catalog or Farmers’ Almanac pages. So my great grandparents who lived in Baltimore City would need to run to the newsstand. My great grandparents who lived on a farm in West Virginia probably had to make do with corn husks or cobs. Yikes.

After reading, I’m hoping my great grandparents who lived in Baltimore City had some money. If they were a poor immigrant family, they were basically at the mercy of shop owners. Most likely they lived in a tiny apartment with only a coal or woodstove and maybe running water. No pantry or root cellar and definitely no refrigerator. No critters either to give eggs or milk. The most common groceries were cabbages, potatoes, onions and oats. If you had more money to spend you could get eggs, milk and a poor cut of meat. A green vegetable beyond cabbage was a splurge. Vegetable scraps were a staple for the really poor. Yum.

My West Virginia farming great grandparents were set if Mother Nature cooperated. They would can, ferment and smoke their cellar full. A good harvest would mean full winter stomachs especially if they had livestock to slaughter. But rural West Virginia can be unforgiving-harsh weather and a lot of brutal physical labor. A good year would let them store jerky, bacon and hams alongside pickled veggies and jams. Flour would be on hand for breads and cakes. Lots of root vegetables stocked in the cellar. Often the reality was- not quite enough. Mother Nature can be fickle and cruel. Injuries and sickness took their tolls too. So, even farmers likely ate a lot of cabbage, potatoes and oats through the winter. I don’t even want to think about what they did if they went without coffee.

I’m glad I wondered about my great grandparents…. Surfing the internet reminded me again what a cool life I’m living. I am spoiled in so many ways my ancestors couldn’t even imagine. I know I’m not going to starve or even really lose any variety in my eating choices through this blizzard. I can reach in the fridge and pull out the marinating pork butt. I’ll pop it in the oven to bake on low for a few hours and fill my warm house with a barbeque aroma. I’m going to grind some beans and brew one more pot of coffee before I go out to finish shoveling. Thanks Universe!

Marinade for any pork roast
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 3 – 4 cloves of chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoons of coarse mustard
- Salt and Pepper
- 4 tablespoons of honey.
Whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Place thepork loin in a large resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Fifteen minutes per pound. Cooked covered for the first half, and uncovered for the second.

The End. Go Eat.
January 25, 2016
i8tonite’s Call for Submissions
Food, for all of us, has many implications. We need it and can’t do without it. Yet, something so necessary can create illness, disease, laughter, memories and happiness – it’s as conflicting as hot and cold. We manipulate what we eat so we can become leaner, bigger, faster and stronger. There is no end to the discussion of what food can do and the stories we can tell.

Therefore, we, at i8tonite, have decided to open up “Food Musings” to writers who want to write about food. Whatever that may be from the extremes of eating, tending to a garden and maybe raising a family chicken. It’s a no-holds-barred story.

Unfortunately, we aren’t paying – yet. We are working on finding a sponsor but then, just to be clear; we started i8tonite five months ago.

Besides, I get sick of listening to my own ramblings. When we don’t have one, I will pinch hit because – personally, every time I eat something, I have a story.

Please send all submissions at a word count of 1000 – 1200, and photos you would like to use (because we all love photos) to submissions@i8tonite.com.

With every essay, we want the author of each story to supply a recipe. Something fun for the reader to make at home — easy and homecooked. It can be part of the story or something you just want to highlight. You decide.

We will promote the story for you to our readers – making you famous.
- — Brian and i8tonite team
January 18, 2016
i8tonite with Anson Williams: Entrepreneur and Happy Days Icon
What do stars of iconic television shows — such as Anson Williams from Happy Days — do after their show goes off the air? Do they continue to act like The Mysteries of Laura Debra Messing, leaving lovable Grace Adler of Will & Grace behind? Or do they create entire behind-the-cameras careers, such as Laverne & Shirley’s Penny Marshall, who went on to much acclaim directing Tom Hanks in Big and Madonna in A League of Their Own? How about the Olsen Twins from Full House – Mary-Kate and Ashley — creating a billion-dollar fashion business? Williams, who played the adorable Potsie from Happy Days, turned out to be all those things and more. He’s directed many television shows, including episodes of the fabulous Melrose Place and The Secret Lives of An American Teenager. But he also became an incredibly successful entrepreneur with Joanna Connell, a Hollywood make-up artist. For the past 18 years, Connell and Williams have created a mini-empire with StarMaker Products, a skin line used by a variety of television actors.

Williams, QVC’s Bob Warden and nutritionist Mona Dolgov

After a trip to his local store, there was a lightbulb moment when the actor-director-entrepreneur saw the 100 calorie snack packs. Williams said, “I realized it was all about portion control. I can eat all the foods I love, but I need to keep it at 100 calories.” Williams approached QVC’s Bob Warden and nutritionist Mona Dolgov to help him create The Perfect Portion Cookbook. Over a two-year period, testing and re-testing, writing and re-writing, tasting and re-tasting, Williams – along with his team of Warden and Dolgov – developed his vision, starting off with this debut cookbook. Eventually, Williams will turn the perfect portion into a library of cookbooks and healthy products.

Fundamentally, all the recipes in the book are divisible by 100 calories, creating the perfect portion. Each recipe has a graph, calorie count, and how much is in that portion. For example, follow the instructions for the Pumpkin Pie cookie and once made, each sweet is 100 calories. Simply, it’s not so much a diet, which is restrictive, as it is a change in eating habits. Nothing is taken away, as much as everything is counted.

At the age of 66, with four kids, Williams – who over the phone sounds as if he’s thirty — states, “I’m as buff when I was in my 30s. I did the 100 calorie portion. Sixty is the new sexy.” And a new food trend is born.

Food Questions (with a nod to Proust):

Guacamole Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

What is your favorite food to cook at home? Gosh. Definitely Saturday and Sunday morning breakfast with my kids. I love getting together and making French toast as a family.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? It’s what stays in the fridge when you have four kids. We are always adding to it. Always greens. Quick proteins. Healthy drinks. Mostly stuff for the kids.

What marked characteristic do you love in a person with whom you are sharing a meal? Connection with that person.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a person with whom you are sharing a meal? Self-involvement.

Beer, wine or cocktail? Red wine. I love finding small, family-run vineyards.

Bob Warden, Williams and Mona Dolgov

Your favorite cookbook author? Bob and Mona. We put the cookbook together. Giada de Laurentis is good, too.

Your favorite kitchen tool? Blender.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? I’m not an expert cook, but I do love family recipes. Food that has meaning. My wife Jackie, who is Swedish, cooks family recipes handed down to her.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Chicken and tofu. But all of them in moderation are good.

Favorite vegetable? Spinach.

Chef you most admire? Hope Berk. She is our eighty-four-year-old next door neighbor and has made all the kids their birthday cakes for years. She’s been a huge influence on our family. Making food for us that has been generational.

Food you like the most to eat? Bob’s Pot Pie from our cookbook. Best thing I’ve ever eaten.

Food you dislike the most? I despise fast food. I think the companies are corrupt and greedy. They created an addiction.

Boneless BBQ Ribs

What is your favorite non-food thing to do? Before the kids, I sailed planes. Now, I love being with my kids and spending time with them. I love creating. Writing scripts. I do more now than ever.

Who do you most admire in food? Bob and Mona.

Where is your favorite place to eat? Home.

What is your favorite restaurant? Café Escobar in Malibu. All the food is made from family recipes and is really delicious. Inexpensive. No pretense. I can sit at the bar, have a great meal and a glass of red wine.

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? No tattoos.

Anson’s “Hot Cocoa” Pretzels (Adapted from The Perfect Portion Cookbook)
- 100 mini pretzels
- 1 large beaten egg white
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, mix the egg white and vanilla. Toss in the pretzels and coat well.

In a smaller bowl, combine the sugar and cocoa. Taking 2/3 of the sugared cocoa mixture, toss with the pretzels.

Spread evenly on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with the remaining sugared cocoa. Bake for 20 minutes, turning the pretzels over after the first 10 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

The End. Go Eat.
January 15, 2016
I8tonite with Miami’s Drunken Dragon Chef Xavier Torres: Recipe for Drunken Dragon Popcorn
Drunken Dragon Chef Xavier Torres cooked for both for his mother and brother while growing up in Puerto Rico. It’s what he loved to do. With his family’s support, the well-traveled chef sought out new flavors and cooking opportunities — but every step of the way his family had his back.

In 2014, the Johnson & Wales culinary graduate Torres was given the reins to create whatever cuisine he wanted by Homecookin’ Hospitality Group, owners of Miami’s Foxhole. The area is typically known for repetitive, albeit delicious international flavors consisting of sushi and sashmi bars, neighborhood bodegas with out delectable Latin food and American steakhouses. It was a welcome surprise when Torres settled on a speakeasy dining experience of Korean barbeque, the first South Beach restaurant devoted to this Asian cuisine.

Korean Ribs: Credit Drunken Dragon

Interestingly, Torres is classically trained in European cookery starting his career under Chef Paul McDonald at Ireland’s Adare’s Manor Hotel & Golf Resort. This led him to Lasarte, Spain where direction emanated from famed, three Michelin-starred Basque Chef Martin Berasategui at his eponymously named restaurant.

Upon returning stateside, Torres took a variety of chef positions at some of South Beach’s illustrious restaurants such as Andrew Carmellini’s The Dutch, Sushi Samba and Nobu. Torres says, “I worked at Sushi Samba, (the now defunct) Wish and Nobu. I wanted to stay with Asian flavors but allow the city to try something which we didn’t have in South Beach.” (Korean barbeque is incredibly popular in Los Angeles where the team sourced Los Angeles-based Studio Collective to design Drunken Dragon’s Asian gastro-pub space.)

Table: Credit Drunken Dragon

Ironically, his family never cooked Asian food, as they were steeped in the tradition of Puerto Rican cuisines. When asked how Torres’ family perceives his success, he answers, “They are happy with the job I’m doing. If I’m happy – they are happy.”

Chef’s Proustian Questionnaire:
- How long have you been cooking? Twelve years.
- What is your favorite food to cook? Basque cuisine – food from Spain.
- What do you always have in your fridge at home? Fresh fruit.
- What do you cook at home? Depends what I want to eat … sometimes fish.
- What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? When a customer calls me over to their dinner table to compliment my dishes and really express their gratitude for what I cook.
- What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? When a customer tries to make their own dish with ingredients they see on the menu.
- Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Tupperware.
- Beer, wine or cocktail? Wine.
- Your favorite cookbook author? James Oseland.
- Your favorite kitchen tool? Knife
- Your favorite ingredient? Garlic
- Your least favorite ingredient? Radish.
- Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Receive orders.
- Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Basque cuisine, food from Spain.
- Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Beef.
- Favorite vegetable? Asparagus.
- Chef you most admire? Thomas Buckley.
- Food you like the most to eat? Spanish Food. I like to cook food other than my own because I always learn something new.
- Food you dislike the most? Caribbean Food.
- How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? No tattoos.
Recipe: Drunken Dragon Popcorn
- 3 Tbsp coconut, peanut, canola oil or clarified butter
- 1/3 cup of high quality popcorn kernels
- 1 3-quart covered saucepan
- 1 Tbsp or more (to taste) of butter (optional)
- Salt to taste
In a 3-quart saucepan, melt the oil or clarified butter over high heat. Take a couple of kernels and place in the pot. Cover. Once these have popped, the oil is ready for the rest of the popcorn. Add everything in a single layer cover and take off heat. Everything should pop without burning.

In a mixing bowl add a little truffle oil, then toss with truffle salt. Add a little freshly grated pecorino cheese followed with nori powder. (Note: Nori powder is a staple found in most Asian markets or purchase through Amazon.com)

The End. Go Eat.
January 13, 2016
I8tonite: with Friends, Team Changes and Mashed Cauliflower

Courtesy of Apatow Productions

I was watching “Bridesmaids”, the hysterical friends and relationship comedy with Kristen Wiig. Though the movie is heavily based on deep female friendships, there is a poignancy — that as a gay man with a multitude of amazing women comrades I can identify — that underlies the relationships. In one side-splitting scene, and there are so many, Melissa McCarthy’s character visits Wiig’s Annie, who is feeling sorry for herself. Her baking business went belly-up. She’s lost her apartment because she doesn’t have a job, lives with her mother. Her car is a junker. The only thing she isn’t doing is entering rehab. Basically, she’s hit rock bottom. But McCarthy, with her robustness, throttles Wiig’s character, by knocking her upside the head, proclaiming, “I’m life. Is life bothering you?” And yes it is…,.and it’s not going away, like McCarthy in the scene.

Six years, ago it was like that for me. A 14-year relationship went into the toilet. My business tanked. My ex-partner in business and in life, well — turned out not to be such a significant other. Broke. No home. No car. And starting life again past the age of forty. After leaving everything behind in San Francisco– including the dog – (heartbreaking), I retreated to Los Angeles and to my best friends: Shelley, Lulu, and Bonnie. There are also my dear friends such as Kim, Pat, Sophia, Margot, Barbara, Kathy, and Jenny – many of whom I have known since the beginning of my career — but the pattern for me is women. With a couple of exceptions, such as my oldest friend Sean, John and former therapist Peter, these women, plus many more (Tanya, Annie, Myra, Myrna, Linda Chester, Katherine Lape, Julie, Charlotte, Teryann, Rita, Beverly, Katherine, Christine, Beth, Janet, Penny, Sharon – I know I’m forgetting someone. Forgive me if I am as the list is lovingly long) have been my salvation. My family. My friends. My confidantes.

I know the fairer sex isn’t all peaches and cream. There are some women I would never want in my corner: Lizzie Borden, the female half of Bonnie and Clyde, and Sarah Palin to name a select few.

Overall, the ladies in my life have been strong, resilient and loving. (This is what my memoir is about: a series of personal essays on the women I have loved as a gay man.)

Jessie with Mallard Cottage’s chef Todd Perrin

With all that said, in less than five months – I can’t believe it – i8tonite.com has grown as a site to roughly over 10,000 unique visitors per month. I can’t keep up with its content and rapid growth. So, I have brought on Dr. Jessie Voigts to become my collaborator, co-publisher, and co-editor to assist in the endeavor. Another great feminine presence – to keep my ass moving forward.

Jessie has another site called Wandering Educators. There she is Queen Bee, holding court amongst her loyal subjects discussing the importance of travel in education.

Cauliflower by Liz West.

Mashed Cauliflower: This holiday eating season, I baked up cheesecakes, biscuits, breads, assorted pies, and cakes. Now, I need a sugar and flour respite and some weight loss. I’m getting older, and it doesn’t come off as fast as it once did. Additionally, I’m 49. I want to look good as I hit that mid-century, I want to look Daniel Craig-splendid, all sinew, and muscle, one more time before I hang up the Speedo. Not for anyone else…..but for me, and Nick.

I made this dish, and I may never ever go back to mashed potatoes again. (I love potatoes!) It held the pot roast gravy perfectly and was luxuriantly delectable. Who cared that there wasn’t a spud in it? And it’s low carb.

To Make: Boil a head or two of chopped cauliflower, minus the outer leaves, along with several garlic cloves. Cook until it falls apart. Strain. While, the vegetables and garlic are still hot, add a dollop of cream cheese (don’t argue), grated parmesan or asiago. Use an immersion blender to puree. Add some chives. Serve this puppy with anything. Game-changer.

The End. Go Eat.

January 11, 2016
i8tonite: A Cheat Sheet to Eating in Boston’s Beacon Hill
Credit: David Fox

Colonial America boasts an astonishing number of great walking cities. For our forefathers –and mothers – let’s not be sexist, land travel was either horse, buggy or early American settlers’ feet. Rambling from the North End to Boston Common, Financial District to West End, visitors can walk with the ghosts while reading plaques denoting historical spots, great bars and shopping along 18^th-century cobblestoned streets. And Beacon Hill, Boston’s tony neighborhood is a microcosm of all three experiences.

Before the Revolution, Beacon Hill was a livestock grazing pasture with notable residents such as John Hancock, the flourished signer of the declaration. Now the historical area is home to over 10,000 occupants enfolded in restored early American brick row homes and carriage houses styled in Federal, Greek and Revival periods. Situated on a petite one-half square mile, the densely populated area is bordered by Beacon Street, Bowdoin Street, Cambridge Street and Storrow Drive, with Charles Street as its commerce hub. Ambling throughout the vital area to America’s birth, visitors are greeted with tree-lined lanes, gaslights, brass knockers and distinctive wrought iron decorations.

Credit: Greater Boston CVB

It’s hard to believe that the area, during the mid-20^th century was home to urban decay, now it’s considered to be one of Boston’s most desirable neighborhood with homes well over the million dollar mark. For visitors and residents alike, Beacon Hill is one of the most historically-laden and significant areas in the country. It’s also one of Boston’s best locations to discover great eats while getting a history refresher course on how the US began – right in time for an election year.

Breakfast: The Paramount, opened since 1937, has long been considered the place for breakfast and inexpensive dining. Families, students, and young couples gather to sip coffee, eat waffles and fortify themselves before heading starting their day. The restaurant has received many “best of” by Beantown’s local media. Don’t question, just eat. Dinner is also superb.
- My suggestion: The Buttermilk Pancakes are fluffy Frisbees of American goodness. Sprinkled with powdered sugar, served with whipped butter and pure maple syrup. Warming. Comforting. Fortifying.
- Price: $8 for a stack of three. Yes, that’s right. Eight dollars in an area with multi-million dollar homes. For some of us, it may be the closest we get to living in one.
- Hours: Breakfast is served daily until 4:30 pm
- Address: 44 Charles Street, Boston, Mass., 02114.
- Phone Number: (617) 720 – 1152
- Website: www.paramountboston.com
Credit: Figs by Todd English

Lunch: Figs by Todd English. Long before I’ve eaten Mr. English’s illustrious pizza, I’m headed to Umbria with a former wine client from Montefalco – before the blog. She’s drunk on ecstasy and champagne before we are even off JFK’s international runway. (Trust me, the relationship did not end well.) After knocking back a few to keep myself sane – sans drugs – she starts tapping and whispering in my ear, “Isn’t that the famous chef Todd England?” (That’s what she called him.) I look at her, then him and shrug. She does it again. I say with an irritated edge because she’s becoming a nightmare – all touchy-feely, “I don’t know. Why don’t you go ask him?” It turns out it is. Very nice man and on his way to Perugia to sample Italian produced foodstuffs for his restaurants. Yep, dedicated, handsome, with a lumberjack-like stature, Todd – as he suggests we call him, is very nice. She is all over him. Todd and I stayed in touch and hung out with him at Olives, one of his dining New York City outposts. Lost touch after a period of time. That was my Todd English experience. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.
- My suggestion: Pizza. Seriously. The man goes to Italy to source product for his customers. Get the pizza. Any of them will do.
- Price: $17.00 – $24.00
- Hours: Monday – Friday, 11:30 am – 10:00 pm. Friday – Saturday, 11:30 am – 11:00 pm. Sunday, 12:00 pm – 10:00pm.
- Address: 42 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02114
- Phone Number: (617) 742 – 3447.
- Website: http://toddenglishfigs.com/
Credit: Courtesy of TipTap Room

Snack: The Tip Tap Room. Okay, Boston is a beer town. It’s has a lot of swilling ale lovers of all persuasions who belly up to the bar. And The Tip Tap Room has a 100 of them and counting. The food – cheffed by Brian Poe — is delicious as evidenced by its accolades from places like Stuff, Urban Daddy, Maxim and Boston Magazine. After the food service is over, it becomes a hotspot for swinging singles. If you stayed for the food, stay for a little longer – you may not need Tinder.
- My suggestion: Drink a beer. Any beer. Order something to go with the beer like the Baked Brie, Boar Meatballs or Hoisin Riblets.
- Price: Who cares? You’re drinking beer in a Boston bar. Cheers!
- Hours: 3:00pm – 1:30 am
- Address: 138 Cambridge Street, Boston, Mass
- Phone Number: (857) 350 – 3344
- Website: www.thetiptaproom.com
Credit: Mooo Restaurant. (Love saying, “moooo.)

Dinner: Mooo Restaurant is a steakhouse housed under the roof of XV Beacon Hotel. Created in 2007, by Chef Jaime Mammano, who also opened the famous Mistral – the legendary restaurant which put both the chef and Boston on the culinary map. Since, Mooo serves the food for a luxury hotel you don’t really have to leave the building as the eatery serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to the patrons of the property. (But get out – get some exercise and fresh air, unless you’re on a romantic weekend.). More importantly, Mooo (great name) features a Strube Ranch Wagyu steak on the menu. With fries. Steak and fries. In Boston. With beer. Sweet dreams are made of this.
- Credit: Mooo Restaurant
  
  My suggestion: Strube Wagyu Steak Frites. Strube is one of the leading bio-ranchers in the country. Their beef is well-marbled and succulent. If you’re going to eat a steak, make it a good one.
- Price: $38.00
- Hours: Sunday – Thursday, 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm, Friday and Saturday, 5:30 pm – 10:30 pm.
- Address: 15 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass, 02108
- Phone Number: (617) 670 – 2515
- Website: www.mooorestaurant.com
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The End. Go Eat.
January 8, 2016
i8tonite with Chef Barret Beyer:TV’s Reality Chef Opens Up About Cooking Sober
Chef Barret Beyer epitomizes new beginnings and change, inspiring millions with his cooking and actions. While working in New York City’s financial industry and boom era during the aughts, Beyer was arrested ten times for drug charges, even overdosing in 2006. For ten years, from 1998 until 2008, he was in and out of jails. However coinciding with the birth his daughter in 2008, the reality TV star finally got sober.

Beyer said, “I couldn’t do it anymore. I wanted to be a father she could look up to.” He did.

Leaving the world of finance and clanging cells bars behind, the love of cooking become the inspiration for his life’s next course. Always a home cook, Beyer attended culinary school in his native Long Island. Before even graduating the ambitious New Yorker already had a job as a sous chef.

Beyer then made it to “Hell’s Kitchen” with the legendary kitchen screamer Gordon Ramsey. His favorite television experience. Although, he didn’t win the show, Beyer realized that working in the kitchen is the work he loves.

It’s that drive to succeed and healthy ambition which drove him to participate in “Cutthroat Kitchen”, another on-camera cooking competition. “I was the first one cut. It was for not putting the chicken on a Chicken Caesar Salad,” the chef says while chuckling at his folly.

From his experience on reality TV, the cheffing professional has become a consultant opening a multitude of East Coast restaurants, receiving many accolades along the way. Food & Beverage Magazine and Chef Works have both named him “Chef of The Month”, in 2013 and 2014, respectively. With his new found celebrity status, Beyer volunteers or works non-profits events around the country including the Long Island Hospitality Ball, spokesperson for “Bullyin’ We’re Kickin it”, a Rocky Marciano Jr. organization and the annual fundraiser for Michelle’s Place Breast Cancer Resource Center in Temecula, California.

With eight years of sobriety and five years of cooking, it’s clear Chef Beyer has changed his life.

Chef’s Questionnaire:

How long have you been cooking? I just came up on my 5th year anniversary. I started culinary school this past December, five years ago.

What is your favorite food to cook? I love cooking comfort food but elevating it to the next level.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? Gatorade, water, bacon, butter and French vanilla creamer

What do you cook at home? For myself, anything that can be done in 3-5 minutes, but when I’m trying to come up with recipes, it’s no holds barred.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? People who aren’t afraid to try new things

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? The opposite of the above answer. LOL.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Tupperware at home. Rubbermaid for my equipment and Pyrex in any kitchen.

Beer, wine or cocktail? To drink, I would say none of them; however to cook? (I use) all of them.

Your favorite cookbook author? I honestly never had a favorite cookbook author because I rarely use them.

Your favorite kitchen tool? My knives. Isn’t that every chefs’ favorite?

Your favorite ingredient? Hmmmmm. I have a few. Grape seed oil because of its high smoke point, Himalayan pink salt because of its mineral value, and garlic.

Your least favorite ingredient? Curry. I had neighbors that abused it.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Standing still. I love cooking.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? American classics with maybe a fusion of Latin or French

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Pork. I believe in low and slow to achieve flavoris maximus. (Ok, I made that word up.)

Favorite vegetable? Corn and Cauliflower

Chef you most admire? Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay and Anthony Bourdain

Food you like the most to eat? Pizza, pulled pork and ramen… and sometimes all at the same time

Food you dislike the most? Anything with curry

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? 14 total. None of food yet I am not a fan of colors. I do have a tattoo on my forearm that says mise en place – everything in its place.

Chef Barret Beyer’s Scallops with Wasabi Cream

Ingredients
- U10 Scallops (largest available)
- 1/4 head cauliflower
- Heavy cream
- Wasabi powder
- One corn on the cob
- One red pepper
- Peppadew
- Grenadine
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1/4 cup Vinegar
- One small can pineapple juice 6 oz
- One tbs chili flake
- Two tsp honey
- Micro-greens
Cooking Instructions

For the gastrique: Place vinegar, pineapple juice, about 1/3 cup grenadine, sugar, red chili flake, honey, 3 tbsp. water and about 5 Peppadew peppers in pot. Let it reduce for about 20 minutes on high heat. Blend with an immersion blender. Should be the consistency of syrup; if it’s not, place back on heat and reduce more.

On medium heat put about 1/4 cup of heavy cream in a medium pot and add about 1/4 of a head cauliflower and cover. Let simmer until cauliflower is cooked through and tender; using an immersion blender, puree cauliflower. Add about 1 oz of wasabi powder, 3-4 Peppadew peppers and 2 tbsp. of juice from the jar while mixing.

Cut corn kernels from the cob, tossing with oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 8 minutes at 425 degrees. Put in a bowl with small diced red pepper, about 1 tbsp. of grape seed oil salt and pepper. Mix and set aside. In a large sauté pan, put heat on high and let the pan get hot. Add grape seed oil and let the oil heat up.

Put scallops on a paper towel to absorb the moisture, so they are dry, and then dash them with salt and pepper. Place the scallops in the pan and let them get a good sear on one side for about 60 seconds. Flip the scallops and leave them on high heat for about another 30 seconds. Then turn off heat and remove the pan from stove. Put the scallops on a clean paper towel to absorb oil.

On a plate, place a spoonful of the wasabi cauliflower under each scallop and place corn salsa on top of the puree. Add scallop and top with micro greens. Drizzle the gastrique about the cauliflower. Serve.

The End. Go Eat.
January 5, 2016
i8tonite: with James Beard Award-Winning Chef Naomi Pomeroy from Portland, Oregon’s Beast featuring her recipe for Lacquered Duck Confit
NOTE: This is the first post of 2016. You would think I would write something with a little more auspiciousness or something marking the occasion. However, I loved this story from 2015. I feel Naomi Pomeroy is a great chef making amazing inroads into an industry dominated by men. The recipe — although difficult is amazing. I would love to highlight more entrepreneurial female chefs like her, Kelly Chapman of Macolicious and Monica Glass.

I’ve been to Portland and had delicious food many times but not to Chef Naomi Pomeroy’s restaurant Beast. Portland has become one of the great food cities of our country. It’s placement on that list is certainly attributable to Chef Pomeroy.

Photo Credit: Alicia J Rose

She has many accolades including stories in Gourmet and Elle Magazine; Bon Appètit named her one of the top six of a new generation of female chefs in September 2008; Food & Wine Magazine recognized her as one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America for 2009. In 2010, Oprah magazine named her one of the Top 10 Women to Watch in the Next Decade, and Marie Claire named her one of the top 16 Women in Business. She has given several lectures on creativity, including a TedX talk given in 2013.

In the local Oregon publications, Portland Monthly voted Naomi Chef of the Year in 2008. Beast was honored as Restaurant of the Year in 2008 by the Oregonian and chosen as best Brunch by the Willamette Weekly. Naomi has been the sole owner of Beast since 2009 when she paid back her investors.

In 2010, 2012, and 2013, she was selected as a finalist for the James Beard Awards in the category Best Chef Pacific Northwest. In 2014, she was selected as the recipient of this prestigious award.

How long have you been cooking? Since I was 5.

What is your favorite food? Corn Dogs.

What do you always have in your fridge? Condiments.

What do you cook at home? Right now I’m working on my cookbook, so whatever recipe I’m testing. Currently, that means a lot of soufflé.

What marked characteristic do you despise in your customer? I hate it when people really examine their food, pick it apart, and look at it too long before the eat it. I’m standing right in front of them!

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? When people come up after a meal and take the time to say that they loved it.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Pyrex, I don’t cook in plastic.

Beer, wine or cocktail? Rosé.

Your favorite cookbook author? Madeline Kammann.

Your favorite kitchen tool? Ricer.

Your favorite ingredient? Demi-glace.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Scoop ice cream.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Indian.

Chef you most admire? José Andrés.

Food you dislike the most? White pepper.

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? One. Not food.

Lacquered Duck Confit with Cracked Green Olive & Armagnac Prune Relish

Serves 8

For the spice blend:
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorn
- 6 whole allspice berries
- 1 teaspoon coriander seed
- 4 whole cloves
- 1/2 stick cinnamon
- 6 juniper berries
- ¼ teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 4 bay leaves
For the duck:
- 10-12 duck legs (preferably 6-8 ounces each, from Muscovy ducks)
- 1 head garlic, cut into quarters (no need to peel the cloves)
- 1/2 bunch fresh thyme
- 1 bunch thyme
- 3 quarts duck fat (more if the duck legs are closer to 10-12 ounces)
- ¾ teaspoon salt per leg for duck /8 teaspoons
For the lacquer:
- ½ cup aged sherry vinegar
- ½ cup muscovado or dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the relish:
- 1 cup cracked and pitted castelvetrano olives
- 1 cup Armagnac prunes, quartered
- 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons shallots, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced
- 1 generous pinch chili flake
- ½ teaspoon fennel pollen
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Make the spice blend: In a medium skillet, lightly toast all spices, with the exception of the bay leaves. You will know the spices are properly toasted when they begin to slightly change color and their aromatic oils begin to release a lovely fragrance.

Add the toasted spices and bay leaves to a spice grinder (or a coffee grinder reserved for this purpose) and finely grind. Shake spices through a mesh strainer to ensure that there are no large, un-blended spices. Re-grind as necessary.

Make the duck legs: Rinse the duck and dry it well on a paper towel. At the end of the long bone opposite the meaty side, use a sharp paring knife or good kitchen shears to score all the way around the circumference of the bone to cut away any tendon, which helps prevent any meat from tearing. This will create a more beautiful presentation.

Combine the salt with the spice mix. Season each leg with about ¾ teaspoon of the salt-spice mix, evenly on both sides, and place in a single layer in a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish or Dutch oven. Place the dish in refrigerator overnight.

The next day, take the duck legs out of the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 325°F. Remove and dry each of the duck legs. Clean out the dish and return the dried duck legs to it. Add the garlic and thyme. In a small saucepan over low heat, gently warm the duck fat. Pour the fat over the duck legs so that they’re completely submerge and covered by at least ¼” of fat. (If necessary, some of the legs can be moved into a second dish and covered in fat, so long as they’re all still completely submerged, meaning that you may need a little more fat.)

Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit over the top of the dish, then completely cover the top with foil. Place the dish onto a sheet tray to catch any bubbling fat that might spill over into the oven. Place the dish into the oven and set a timer to check on it in one hour. Depending on the size of your legs, they can take anywhere from 1 ½ to 3 hours to cook.

You’ll know the duck is finished when you carefully remove one leg from the fat and place it on a plate, then, using your tongs, press down with medium pressure at the place where the meat and the bone join in the crook of the thigh. The meat will begin to release easily from the bone.

When the duck is cooked, remove the foil and parchment and allow the legs to cool for 20 minutes in the duck fat before moving them onto a parchment-lined sheet tray. Reserve the duck fat in a plastic container and place the sheet tray with the legs in the refrigerator overnight.

For the relish, combine the olives and prunes in a medium mixing bowl. In a small saute pan, warm half of the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add shallot, garlic and chili flakes. Lower heat to ensure nothing gets color. Add fennel pollen. As soon as the shallot and garlic are translucent, after about 5 minutes, remove them from heat and add to the prune and olive mix. Add sherry vinegar and additional olive oil and stir. Set aside.

On the day of serving, make the lacquer: Pull the duck legs out of the refrigerator and bring them to room temperature.

In a small saucepan, heat the sherry vinegar over medium-high heat. Add muscovado sugar and salt and bring to a boil until slightly thickened, 3-4 minutes. Set aside.

If this mixture has thickened too much upon cooling, add a splash of sherry vinegar. Its consistency when hot should be slightly thinner than honey (when room temperature it should be thicker, but still brushable). Leave this out at room temperature; it will harden it it gets too cold.

Preheat oven to 400F°. In each of two medium-sized nonstick or cast iron (oven-proof) pans, heat 2 tablespoons of the duck fat used to confit the duck over medium-high heat. Sear the duck legs, skin side down, weighing them down onto the pan with a heavy plate, until golden brown, approximately 1-2 minutes. Check frequently for an even, golden brown, crisp surface. Remove the plate and flip the legs.

Brush the legs with a thin layer of the lacquer. Add about ¼ cup water to the bottom of each pan to prevent the sugars from sticking. Move the pans to oven and cook until the lacquer is bubbling, 5-6 minutes.
Remove the pans from the oven and serve immediately. Serve with cracked green olive & Armagnac prune relish.

– The End. Go Eat. –
January 4, 2016