i8tonite

Category: Chef

I8tonite: Charred Broccoli with Lemon and Asiago
I discovered Charred Broccoli with Lemon and Asiago absolutely tasty. Tasty enough that there aren’t leftovers the next day. I now believe roasting is the best thing for anything even broccoli which I like but isn’t necessarily my go to. So, when in doubt — roast. (My new motto.)

I discovered the recipe in “Family Table: Favorite Staff Meals, From Our Restaurants to Your Home”, compiled by Union Square Hospitality Group’s Culinary Director, Michael Romano and written by Karen Stabiner, with a forward by Danny Meyer, chef and owner of the just mentioned company. (Yes, Danny Meyer of Shake Shack fame.) I briefly worked for him as a waiter at Union Square Café back in the late eighties. Written in 2013, the cookbook’s recipes are staff meals from his restaurants that are part of the said conglomeration. These establishments include some of the Big Apple’s gastronomically acclaimed: Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, The Modern and others. (Sadly, Union Square Café will be moving from its current space of 30 years to another area of Manhattan due to high rents.) Traditionally, staff meals are served at the beginning of the dinner shift and end of lunch.

El Teddys. Courtesy of I Loved New York

Truth be told, taking all the romance out of the cookbook, along with the “familial” sappiness — the staff meals that we were given before or after our shifts came from leftovers that didn’t sell – too much chicken, Bibb lettuce getting ready to turn, fresh pasta that needed to be boiled so it didn’t go to waste. Working at the now defunct Soho Kitchen & Bar (SKB), we were served pizzas and salad pretty much every staff meal. The kitchen quickly needed to use up any dough from the day before and replenish with freshly made. The salad was at least a couple of days old but it was still had a good crunch going on. At El Teddy’s, torn down in 2004 — we were allowed to eat any of the appetizers such as chicken achiote, machaca or steak arrachera burritos, any of the salads or the quesadillas which included huitlacoche (corn fungus), nopales and a puerco. We could order as much as we wanted as the back of the house had already made the dishes with fresh ingredients for that day’s clientele. (We were eating yesterday’s.) At the Cajun/Mexican fusion of How’s Bayou – it was mostly leftover fried chicken, jambalaya, gumbo, day old enchiladas, reconstituted black beans, red rice and sometimes something green. (Not complaining about any of this. It was free food and truly delicious. The pizza at SKB was some of the best I had. I learned a lot about life, cooking, drinking and made some of the best friends ever while working in restaurants. I loved it.)

This brings me back to this recipe and cookbook…yeah, I don’t think any of the staff at my restaurants would have eaten this as “family meal”. It would have would have been sitting under the heat lamps drying out…but now that I’m older and definitely stockier — it’s pretty stellar stuff.

Ingredients:
- 2 bunches of broccoli cut into trees with stems. Trim off about two inches from the bottom.
- ¼ olive oil.
- 2 lemons.
- Several dashes of red pepper flakes.
- Italian hard cheese such as asiago, pecorino or parmesan. Two to three cups grated.
- Maldon salt, fresh cracked pepper. (Okay, you can use kosher….but I love the Maldon stuff.)
- ½ cup of Panko bread crumbs.
Let’s make this puppy:

Preheat the oven to 450 – 475 degrees. Toss the broccoli, olive oil and breadcrumbs into a large bowl coating the broccoli really well. Spread into a single layer onto a baking sheet and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, charring the ends of the broccoli but not burning them.

While the broccoli is cooking, zest the two lemons into a large bowl and add the grated cheese stirring well until mixed.

Once the broccoli is cooked, toss the broccoli in the bowl mix with juice of a ½ a lemon. Serve.

The End. Go Eat.
September 21, 2015
i8tonite: with New York City’s Chef Joey Campanaro, The Little Owl featuring his Eggplant Parmigiana
Meatball Sliders, photo courtesy of Little Owl

The Little Owl is one of the New York City’s quintessential and great dining institutions. Sitting on the corner of Grove and Bedford, this West Village establishment is romantic in it’s atmosphere yet serves up lusty food. On the outside, with its scarlet-painted window panes and large blue awnings it seems like a colonial Manhattan bistro or tavern and comforting as if it’s been there forever. You almost expect to have Woody Allen or Martin Scorsese yell, “CUT!” it seems that familiar. On the inside, in the 28 seat dining room with vaulted ceilings, Chef Joey Campanaro creates seasonal American menus for which he has become known. Some of the restaurant’s signature dishes include Campanaro’s Gravy Meatball Sliders (featured on the website), Pork Chop with Butter Beans and a burger which was called by The London Observer as one of the “50 Best Things in The World to Eat.”

The burger; photo courtesy of The Little Owl

He is co-owner with Chef Mike Price of Market Table and still maintains his own catering and consulting firm, Blackfoot Consulting. Not far from The Little Owl is The Little Owl Venue which can host up to 40 people for receptions, meetings and assorted gatherings. Campanaro has appeared seemingly on every Food Network show and been interviewed by every food writer….and now this one. (Small aside: Campanaro was also the Executive Chef of The Harrison, which used to be Hows Bayou, a Cajun restaurant in Tribeca. Hows Bayou was the restaurant in the late 80s where I waited tables for about 3 years and met some of my greatest friends – whom I still know today.)

Like each one of these Chef’s Questionnaires, we learn something a little interesting about the person at the stove such as his love of pasta and that his favorite cookbook author is Donna Hay.
- How long have you been cooking? 25 years.
- What is your favorite food to cook? Pasta.
- What do you always have in your fridge at home? Butter and grated cheese.
- What do you cook at home? Pasta.
- What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? (People) with no expectations.
- What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? Know-it-alls.
- Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Tupperware.
- Beer, wine or cocktail? Beer.
- Your favorite cookbook author? Donna Hay.
- Your favorite kitchen tool? My hands.
- Your favorite ingredient? Clams.
- Your least favorite ingredient? Heavy cream.
- Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Washing lettuce.
- Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Italian.
- Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Pork.
- Favorite vegetable? Onion.
- Chef you most admire? Jimmy Bradley.
- Food you like the most to eat? Blue claw crabs.
- Food you dislike the most? Falafel.
- How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? Zero.
90 Bedford Street, corner of Grove

New York, New York 10014

Website: www.thelittleowl.com

Hours:

Lunch:

Monday to Friday 12 – 2:30pm, Saturday (Lunch) and Sunday (Brunch) 11:00am – 2:30pm

Dinner: Monday – Saturday 5pm – 11pm, Sunday 5pm – 10pm.

Eggplant Parmigiana, photo courtesy of The Little Owl

Eggplant Parmigiana at little owl restaurant by Chef Joey Campanaro

Note: I loved the way Campanaro wrote out this recipe. It was beautiful — reading it, I felt like I was watching him cook — so I just left it with very few edits.
- Canned whole peeled tomato
- Medium eggplant
- Garlic (chopped)
- Onion (diced)
- Basil
- Parsley
- Olive oil
- Chili flakes
- s/p
In an ample sauce pot, add olive oil and garlic and onion and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, then add the tomatoes. I simply squeeze them (with my hands) before adding them to the pot. Add the cleaned chopped parsley and basil, season with salt and pepper and simmer for up to 2 hours. Cool and reserve.

Slice the eggplant, sprinkle with salt and layer on paper towels for 3 hours, this removes the bitter liquor. Prepare to bread the eggplant, you‘ll need, flour, eggs and bread crumbs mixed with grated parmesan cheese. The slices get dredged in the flour, then dipped into the beaten eggs and then finally in the mixed bread crumbs to coat thoroughly. Layer on to a baking sheet, drizzle the breaded slices with olive oil and then bake on very heat until lightly browned, remove from the oven and all time to cool. When cooled and the sauce has had time to cook and taste delicious, prepare the cheese mixture.

I mix grated fontina, parmesan, aged provolone and pecorino romano. The slices are layered each with sauce and cheese and stacked and baked.

The stacks get re-heated until the cheese melts, plated with a bit more of the sauce and then topped with a tomatoes salad. The tomatoes are diced and tossed with olive oil, a splash of sherry vinegar basil leaves, salt pepper and basil.

The End. Go Eat.
September 2, 2015
I8tonite: Chef’s Questionnaire with Kelly Chapman, Chef and Creator of Studio City’s Macolicious
Chef Kelly Chapman is a rare find in the culinary world. Her Macolicious, a restaurant serving up the comfort of macaroni and cheese, located in Studio City, California is from the heart. She has an earnestness not seen in the restaurant industry showcasing “paying-it-forward”, honoring recipes from her elders and good old-fashioned, taste-bud loving cooking. Chapman’s pasta and cheese started off as a food truck which road-tripped throughout the Los Angeles, Santa Monica and San Fernando Valley before becoming a brick-and-mortar in September 2014. Currently, her menu features over 12 different variations of macaroni and cheese, all of it baked with it’s base being a sharp cheddar. (” …although The Dreamy Creamy Mac is prepared stove top because that’s the way kids like it”.) There are fancy versions such as “Frous Frous” which is made with blue crab; “5 Cheeses” which includes Asiago, Fontina, Gruyere, Parmesan and cheddar and “American Mac” which combines asparagus and bacon two of Chapman’s favorite ingredients. Some of the proceeds of her restaurant goes to Kelly Chapman’s Ministries Mobile Pantry which has fed over 20,000 people in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio including low-income families, battered women and single mothers.

How long have you been cooking?   Since I was 7 years old making breakfast pancakes with Mom.

What is your favorite food to cook? Macaroni and cheese of course!

What do you always have in your fridge at home?   Cheese, blackberries, raspberries and pecans

What do you cook at home? Bacon, eggs, pancakes and cheese grits

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? They appreciate the little details, like our pillows, the grass, the mac’n’cheese covered lamps or the noodle knobs in the bathroom.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? Cheap and uninformed. They don’t know the difference between “cheese” and “cream”, or “fresh squeezed juice” and “bottled fresh squeezed”. Even worse? The customer who is miserable. They arrive miserable and want to make everyone else suffer.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Pyrex all day long because it cleans easily, and withstands various temperatures.

Beer, wine or cocktail? Wine because it tastes great in a glass or in your food.

Your favorite cookbook author?   My late stepmother introduced me to Norma Jean and Carole Darden, Authors of Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine.

Your favorite kitchen tool? A fork and knife so I can eat; second, my Crofton electric wine bottle opener.

Your favorite ingredient? I put cheese on everything.

Your least favorite ingredient? Curry.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Grate cheese.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Southern cuisine, soul food or Italian.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Eat Right for your Blood Type says a B- needs red meat. #lovebutton

Favorite vegetable? Asparagus but I just heard that it makes your pee a bit stinky. Oh well…

Chef you most admire? First, my mom and second, B. Smith.

Food you like the most to eat? Cheesy baked potato skins.

Food you dislike the most? Any type of fish.

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? None, but if I did you would see 4 noodles at the nape of my neck with the words #maclove.

Kelly Chapman’s Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:
- 1 pound of Hot Sausage
- 8 slices of bread
- 4 cups of Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 1/2 Teaspoon Dry Mustard
- 5 Eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 can mushroom soup
Layer in an baking dish starting with the bottom layer:
- 8 slices of bread – cubed
- 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 pound of sausage cooked and drained
Second layer
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 5 eggs (beaten)
- 2 cups of milk
Third layer
- 1 can of mushroom soup mixed with 1 can of evaporated milk
Forth layer:
- 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese
Bake at 300 for 1 1/2 hours. Cut into squares. Serve with fresh fruit, Cheese Grits, and banana bread or a muffin.

Extra: Freeze squares in individual sandwich bags placed in one large freezer bag. Thaw overnight and broil for 5 minutes. If you must microwave — you can.

-The End. Go Eat. –
August 12, 2015
Chef Questionnaire with Chef Scooter Kanfer-Cartmill, Palm Springs’ Tropicale Cafe.
Chef Scooter Kanfer- Cartmill is pretty much a California cooking legend as much as the celebrated chefs she’s worked beside. She’s worked and trained with everyone from Fred Eric (Vida), the late Michael Roberts (Trumps), Wolfgang Puck (Spago), Thomas Keller (The French Laundry) and Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feninger (Border Grill). After stints at The Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop and Nic’s Beverly Hills, Kanfer opened her much-lauded restaurant the house in LA’s Larchmont. Customers could find her cooking up American comfort food at its finest such as “Animal Cookies with a Shot of Milk”, “Grandpa’s Mac-and-Cheese”, varieties of spoonbread and other comfy delights in the early aughts. (The cookies — which came in forms of dragonflies, dragons and monkeys with a shot of milk — was a favorite of mine.) Now, she is coming up with salivating and fun dishes – such as Three Little Pigs (housemade sausage, grilled pork loin and BBQ pork ribs) — in Palm Springs at Tropicale Café. Beside the cool nights and warm days, eating Kanfer’s food truly makes the desert community a destination to relish.

“…this is one chef who delights in feeding people,” Irene S. Virbila, Los Angeles Times.

How long have you been cooking? Too long to remember, fire had just recently been invented. All the “cool” kids had to have it.

What is your favorite food? Don’t have one. It’s like picking your favorite child.

What do you always have in your fridge? Sriracha. Hot Sauce. Schmaltz. Pickles. Iced green tea. Champagne. At least three different kinds of mustard. Stinky Cheese. Roast chicken.

What do you cook at home? Roast Chicken with all the fixings (i.e.: Hungarian noodles, French green beans, or mashed potato with a garlic butter). Sunday Style Roast-Pork Prime Rib. Beef Bourgogne. Coq au vin or poached eggs with avocado on toast. Simple things that I can put on in the morning (slow-cooker) and that my wife can finish while I’m at restaurant… so we can eat together.

What marked characteristic do you despise in your customer? Wow. Let’s go deep here. Abusive arrogance displayed to my staff — being a celebrity or hipster douchebag.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? An adventurous eater with a sense of humor as well as desire for exploration and appropriate recognition of my staff.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Tupperware and Pyrex.

Beer, wine or cocktail? Champagne, good wine, the occasional Negroni and 15-year old single malt scotch.

Your favorite cookbook author? Too many to list (but that won’t stop me). Julia Childs. James Beard. M.F.K. Fisher. Gabriella Hamilton. Mark Bittman. Harold McGee. Clementine Paddleford. Michael Roberts!

Your favorite kitchen tool? Iced tea spoon and my intuition.

Your favorite ingredient? Salt. Flavored salts. Chicken, duck and bacon schmaltz (Fat). Foie. Scooter says, “Salt and fat are where it’s at!”

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Yell at a cook and paperwork.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Pretty much anything that strikes my fancy. (By fancy, I mean American regional, re-thinking and re-imagining old classics in a modern and accessible way.)

Chef you most admire?
- Michael Roberts: He taught me how to grow and trust my palette.
- Odessa Piper: She is the Alice Waters of the Mid-West.
- Fred Eric: He taught me to not just think outside the box — but to blow the box up.
- Mary Sue Milliken & Susan Feninger: They gave me my foundation. “Simple food is the most difficult to do. It’s either perfect and tells a story…or it just sucks”: Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feninger.
Food you dislike the most? Food that is pretentious, derivative or arrogant. Food that tries to be “hip” or trendy. Food that is disingenuous.

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? None. I’m going to be buried next to the Goldbergs.

Recipe from Chef Scooter Kanfer – Cartmill. Chef, Tropicale Café (Palm Springs, CA.)

Sunday Style Roast: Prime Rib Of Pork With Dried Fruit Sauce
- 4-5 LB Pork Rib Roast (Have your butcher remove the chime bone so it’s 5-6 bones)
- Drizzle Roast w/Olive Oil
- Scooter Spice Rub: Kosher Salt, freshly crushed black pepper, crushed fennel seeds or pollen mustard seeds, garlic, celery Seeds and red pepper flakes.
Make a bed of sliced onions, celery, fennel, and dried fruit (apricots, prunes, raisins, sour cherries) in a heavy bottom roasting pan, Dutch oven or cast iron pan. Place the roast. Add a cup or so of Marsala, little water or chicken stock. Cook in a pre-heated oven of 350 degrees. Internal temperature needs to reach 140 degrees inside thickest part of roast (push the meat thermometer until half way inside the meat). Juices should just run clear. Let roast rest for 20 minutes before carving. Serve with the dried fruit and veggies.

– The End. Go Eat. –
July 15, 2015
I8tonite: A Chef’s Questionnaire with Oakland, California’s Chef Roland Robles, Handlebar and FiveTenBurger.
Chef Roland Robles first came to prominence with FiveTenBurger, a food truck that cooked up delicious burgers throughout the Bay Area garnering amazing notices from such publications as Oakland Magazine and San Francisco Chronicle. Last year, he opened Handlebar, a brick-and-mortar with partner, Jennifer Seidman who also owns the area’s Acme Bar & Company. Handlebar is a neighborhood restaurant and bar where Robles explores fare outside the bun. However, he still serves up the best burger – in my humble opinion – in the Bay Area. Hands down.
- How long have you been cooking? Since I was a boy, 35-40 years.
- What is your favorite food to eat? I adore Chinese, especially the Americanized delivery style but any really.
- What do you always have in your fridge at home? Herbs and eggs.
- What do you cook at home? Extravagant ten-course dinners and tacos.
- What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in your customer? Entitlement.
- What marked characteristic do you love in your diners? Patience.
- Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Pyrex
- Beer, wine or cocktail? Beer and a shot. I’m a cook.
- Your favorite cookbook author? That’s tough… (Marcella) Hazan, (Julia) Child, my mom, (Kylie) Kwong
- Your favorite kitchen tool? My run of the mill Japanese deba.
Japanese deba
- Your favorite ingredient? Salt.
- Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Wash dishes.
- Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Chinese, TexMex, Italian.
- Chef you most admire? For television: Mario Batali, Jacques Pepin.
- Food you dislike the most? Poorly made anything.
- How many tattoos? A lot.
- And if so, how many are of food? One. A sacred jalapeño.
A “No-Recipe” recipe from Chef Roland Robles:

I often make these chicken tacos:
- Diced boneless chicken breast
- Onion, garlic, jalapeño, turmeric, salt, sugar, garlic granules, onion flake, chili flake
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Mix all these ingredients and a little oil. Let rest. Heat a cast iron way up, dump the mix in and sear it almost all the way through for great color and turn over to finish. Put it in a bowl, mix in chopped cilantro. Serve with raw onion, chilies and hot tortillas.

— Go Eat. —
July 8, 2015