i8tonite

Tag: Chefs

i8tonite: Chef Questionnaire with Brian Konefal, Flagstaff’s Coppa Cafe, and Lemon Tarragon Vinaigrette
Dining Room at Coppa Cafe. Photo by Awe Collective.

Roses, Spain. Yountville, California. Terni, Italy. Corenc, France. Flagstaff, Arizona. These small, unique picturesque towns share a very special attribute. Each offers a gastronomic dining experience in their respective locations created by master chefs. Roses was home to El Bulli with Ferran Adrià. Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry located in Yountville. Terni, a small town of less than three thousand houses the two-Michelin starred Casa Vissani, home to celebrated Italian chef, Gianfranco Vissani. The Golden Horn (Le Corn d’Or) in Corenc, France is populated by a little less than four thousand and Flagstaff, Arizona (population: 68,784) is becoming notable for Coppa Café.

Since opening four years ago, Coppa Café, helmed by husband and wife cooking team, Brian Konefal and Paola Fiorvanti, has become a noteworthy restaurant in Arizona’s growing epicurean scene. Konefal was born in Flagstaff and trained to be a chef in Italy. While in culinary school, he met the lovely Fiorvanti, Brazilian by birth, she was learning the dessert trade – spinning sugar and learning the nuances of buttercream.

Chefs/ Co-Owners, Brian Konefal and Paola Fiovanit. Photo by Awe Collective.

Once married, they traveled throughout Europe and the gastronomic countryside, learning the hallmarks of great European cooks. Eventually, Konefal landed a position at San Francisco’s famed Campton Place working under Chef Daniel Humm. At this petite and elegant hotel, a block from the celebrated Union Square and just feet from Michael Mina and Hubert Keller establishments — Humm and Konefal, became an award-winning culinary team gaining praise from the finicky City by the Bay’s food world; ultimately receiving four stars from Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle’s noted restaurant critic.

The restaurant world took notice and Konefal moved with Humm to New York City’s Eleven Madison Park, then just another elegant eatery. Humm, Konefal and the Eleven Madison Park team established the restaurant as a destination inside the Big Apple – already one of the world’s great culinary stops. During their tenure as a team, the restaurant received multiple New York Times stars, accolades from the James Beard Foundation and eventually received three coveted Michelin stars making it only one of nine establishments in the United States to do so.

All things come to an end and Konefal and Paola, ambitious in their cooking wanted to open their own establishment. They looked no further than Konefal’s hometown of Flagstaff. Hence, the couple opened, Coppa Cafe, a delicate and nuanced European eatery.

With its global sensibilities, small town location and it’s attentiveness to flavorful French techniques, Coppa Café is a restaurant to be reckoned; indeed, some of the interesting menu aspects include locally foraged edibles such as herbs and mushrooms,

Veal Agnolotti. Photo by Awe Collective.

a growing trend in France, Umbria and the burgeoning Arizona restaurant industry. The café atmosphere is homespun filled with thrift-store finds, not the fussiness one associates to an accomplished chef who once dwelled in a Michelin-starred room. All the charcuterie is house-cured. The pastries and breads are made in-house and I don’t believe you will find too many Flagstaff restaurants serving Seared Foie Gras, Roasted Braised Wild Boar with Juniper Berries, RidgeView Farm Quail or “Kelly Farm” Veal Agnolotti raised humanely from a local Arizona producer.

So, if you are traveling Route 66 or headed up to the Grand Canyon, you might want to stop for the night and eat a little bit of sophistication. Good food exists all around us, sometimes you just have to travel outside your comfort zone.

Beef Tartare with Juniper Berries. Photo by Awe Collective.

How long have you been cooking? I’ve been cooking 13 years in professional kitchens. Personally at home, nearly all my life.

What is your favorite food to cook? Foie gras.

Photo by Jeremy Keith.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? Fermented veggies. I eat them with everything.

What do you cook at home? A mix of everything. Mostly ethnic foods, particularly Brazilian. Lots of rice and beans.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? An adventurous and curious diner.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? Legitimate allergies aside, diners with stubborn food hang-ups. Life’s too short to limit yourself from exploring different foods and new flavors.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Pyrex.

Beer, wine or cocktail? Wine.

Your favorite cookbook author? Pellegrino Artusi.

Your favorite kitchen tool? A great chef’s knife.

Your favorite ingredient? Good quality salt.

Your least favorite ingredient? Cheap table salt.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Yelling. I like a quiet, organized and efficient kitchen environment.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? French.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Pork.

Favorite vegetable? Fennel.

Photo by Nick Saltmarsh.

Chef you most admire? Daniel Boulud.

Food you like the most to eat? French.

Food you dislike the most? Hard to say. If prepared correctly, most foods can be delicious.

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? Non.

Lemon Tarragon Vinaigrette:

A popular French dressing used on many salads or seasonal vegetable dishes throughout the year. One that needs to be in every homecook’s tool box.
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 3 1/2 T olive oil
- 1/4 small shallot, finely minced
- 2 tsp freshly chopped tarragon
- Pinch of good-quality kosher or sea salt
Start by peeling and mincing the shallot, continuing until the shallots almost turn to a paste. Place shallots in a small mixing bowl, add lemon juice and pinch of salt. Whisk together vigorously while incorporating the most of the olive oil simultaneously in a small stream into the mixture, reserving just a little oil. Stop whisking temporarily to add the chopped tarragon. Begin whisking again while adding the remaining oil.

Mix preferred greens or vegetables in a separate bowl and toss them with the vinaigrette. Finish with an additional sprinkle of salt to taste.

The End. Go Eat.
September 23, 2015
i8tonite: with Raw Food Chef Diana Stobo, The Retreat Costa Rica and “Naked” Mac-and Cheese.
Food has transformative powers. There is no denying it. It can make you feel better but it can also make you feel terrible. That’s what makes Chef Diana Stobo’s story – a tale in eating naturally — fascinating. After attending Cornell University with a degree in the culinary arts and food chemistry, she had a career as a food professional. It was at that time, Stobo topped the scale at 247 pounds while she was pregnant with her twins. Once giving birth, she found the medications she had used to become pregnant – via in-vitro –they had perpetuated serious health issues. Furthermore, she states on her website and YouTube channel, that her weight was a proverbial yo-yo throughout most of her life. She is now a fit mother of three and defies age categories with her glowing taut skin, lean frame and healthy chestnut hair. She pulled this feat by transforming her diet and becoming a “vegan raw” chef. She now writes about her transformation and how she maintains it with her book such as Get Naked Fast and Naked Bliss. Matter of fact, the Southern California-based entrepreneur has fashioned a mini-empire discussing how she became fabulous and fit.

Recently, Stobo opened up The Retreat Costa Rica situated in a mountain area 45 minutes outside of San Juan, the Central American’s country capital. It’s a hotel – nay, a retreat — to provide calming sanctuary, yoga and amazing food. The secluded and verdant town of Altos del Monte is her backdrop, while Stobo’s fitness and food philosophy become realized with farm-to-table dining and daily yoga sessions. It provides visitors the opportunity to slow-down and experience the beauty of the country as well as quench the desire to become healthier through fitness and eating. All the food is provided by local farms including the meats and seafood. There are a variety of food menus – omnivore, carnivore and vegetarian — for guests to choose from and yes…there is even wine.

As I’m witness to my own family and their eating habits – my mother and stepmother are both severely diabetic — food can be quite toxic if not consumed with clarity, wellness and appropriately. There are all a variety of ways to be healthy and consumers need to be find the best fit for them.

How long have you been cooking? I’ve been cooking since I was a little girl. My mother and I would make specialty cakes, very decorative and festive. I remember one cake where we crystallized grapes and created a sugar crystal sculpture on top of a shaved coconut cake.

What is your favorite food to cook? Well, I am truly an artist, so many of my items need to have an art form, so baking and chocolates were my go to when I was in my early years, but now, I play with healthier version of everything- so making classic food with a healthy twist is my favorite go to now.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? I tend to have tons of produce, greens and fruits, almond milk (home-made of course), Kefir, green juice that I make fresh and tons of condiments. I’m sort of a grocery store addict, I love finding new condiments that add punch and flavor to a new dish when cooking on the fly.

What do you cook at home? I’m a simple eater but love throwing dinner parties. So when it’s time to party, anything goes. Again, I tend to take the classic home-style favorites and give them a healthy or what I call “naked” twist. Naked means substituting classic dairy, wheat, and sugar, with healthy alternatives. I just made ribs, with mashed yams, sautéed spinach with shallots and honey glazed carrots last weekend. What was new and unusual is that I made a broccoli coleslaw using cashew butter as the cream base instead of mayonnaise. Everybody loved it.

Thai Lettuce Wraps

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? The unwillingness to try something new.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? Openness to new things.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Pyrex- Glass ONLY!

Beer, wine or cocktail? Tequila or bust! And, only the best.

Your favorite cookbook author? I can’t say since I don’t follow cookbooks.

Your favorite kitchen tool? An 8” chef’s knife. (Global)

Your favorite ingredient? Goat cheese and coconut milk.

Your least favorite ingredient? Soy sauce.

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

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? From all regions and international cuisines, I call them component meals. Making several different flavors and layering them on top of each other to make the perfect dish. Imagine Sprouted Quinoa Moussaka with Bean Béchamel, or Butternut Squash Lasagna, layered with Pine Nut Ricotta, Pistachio Pesto and Sundried Tomato Puree. I’m just making this up but you get the idea.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? None of the above.

Favorite vegetable? That’s a tough question, because I am a vegetable lover all around.

Chef you most admire? Jamie Oliver- not because of his food, but his message.

Food you like the most to eat? Totally embarrassed, but I love Mexican food. (It’s) mostly the beans — but what can I say, it’s the ultimate comfort food.

Food you dislike the most? I’m just not into meat. Once in a while I crave it, but really- it’s not my thing.

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

“Naked” Macaroni & Cheese

Diana Stobo says of this recipe, “I’m a lover of rich sauces so a good, old-fashioned macaroni and cheese is at the top of my list as a decadent and delicious treat. If you like “mac and cheese” like I do, I know you will be delighted at this “Naked” version my daughter affectionately named “mac-a-faux-ni”. The butternut squash adds a bit of sweetness as well as creaminess. The macadamia nut butter and coconut milk provide a richness and the ghee gives it that buttery taste. The rest is magic.

Ingredients:
- 2 heaping cups of butternut squash cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 ½ tablespoons of ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 ½ tablespoons of sea salt
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 12 ounce package Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta elbows (or any gluten-free pasta of your choice).
For the topping:
- ¼ cup walnuts, pine nuts or sunflower seeds
- 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper (optional)
Directions:

In a 4-quart pot, prepare pasta according to package directions. Cook al dente, strain and run under cold water to immediately stop the cooking process. Pour cooled pasta back into the pot.

In a medium saucepan over the medium heat, melt ghee and gently sweat the squash, do not brown. Add sea salt and coconut milk, simmering uncovered for 10 minutes. Carefully pour hot squash into blender and add macadamia butter, nutritional yeast and lemon juice. Blend on low with the machine’s center cap lid removed to release the heat while blending. Slowly increase speed until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Pour mixture over pasta and stir.

This can be served immediately with topping sprinkled over the macaroni or baked in a 350 degree over for 15 minutes until browned.

The End. Go eat.
September 9, 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: Questionnaire with Chef Mat Schuster of San Francisco’s Canela Bistro & Bar

Chef Mat Schuster is a master of Spanish cuisine. He is the executive chef and co-owner, along with his partner, Paco, of the four year-old Canela Bistro & Bar located in San Francisco’s Castro. With Schuster’s creative hands, diners will eat a phenomenal Croquettas con Jamon, a fried small egg shelled shaped tapa, crunchy on the outside and once bitten, oozes out a creamy béchamel interior, dotted with Iberico jam bits. He also submits guests to his version of iconic Spanish albondigas (meatball), a thoughtful mixture of pork belly and shoulder with a hint of housemade chorizo served in an apple cider sauce. Most of San Francisco’s dining landscape is steeped in Anglo, Italian and French cooking, but the food of Spain is some of the most under represented in the culinary capital. Chef Schuster, along with his talented staff, serve up a variety of the country’s tasty bits without having to pull out your passport. In i8tonite’s Chef Questionnaire, he talks about his love of fish, his dislike of sea cucumber and love of Spain.

How long have you been cooking? Sixteen years I suppose but some days I feel like I just started!

What is your favorite food to cook? I love cooking fish and seafood in general. That is my favorite.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? Cheese, yogurt, fruit, almond milk, something pickled, something spicy, something creamy.

What do you cook at home? When I do cook at home, its usually things that we don’t cook at the restaurant like fish tacos or barbecue.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? Great question. Adventurous, friendly, approachable.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? Unadventurous, unfriendly, unapproachable. Ha ha!

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? All of them and multiples.

Beer, wine or cocktail? Beer, beer, beer.

Your favorite cookbook author? Its like asking a parent to choose a favorite child.

Your favorite kitchen tool? Knife.

Your favorite ingredient? A good olive oil.

Your least favorite ingredient? Sea cucumber. Seriously, we actually were served this at a Michelin-star restaurant. Yuck.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Waste time.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Spanish, of course!

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Pork, duh.

Favorite vegetable? Onions, yum.

Chef you most admire? Joyce Goldstein. She knows everything.

Food you like the most to eat? I have a sweet tooth. I need a patch for it.

Food you dislike the most? Haven’t really met one. Oh wait, sea cucumber.

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? None…at the moment.

Recipe from Chef Mat Schuster: Seared Mushrooms with Sherry

Here is a recipe that Chef Mat likes to make at home. Its origin is pinxto bar in Logrono in the North of Spain called Bar Soriano. This place only makes this dish – seared mushrooms in their own juices.

It is simple to make. Take 3 large very white mushrooms. Remove the stem. Heat a pan on high and add in some olive oil, not too much. Sear the mushrooms on one side, then flip when brown. Be careful not to burn. Remove the mushrooms from the pan, add in a little minced garlic and sherry. Skewer the mushrooms on a toothpick and serve on top of a piece of bread. Sprinkle with salt and lemon juice. Delicious.

– The End. Go Eat. –

July 29, 2015