i8tonite

Tag: cooking

i8tonite with St. John’s, Newfoundland Chef Mark McCrowe & Seafood Chowder Recipe

Chef Mark McCrowe at Food Day Canada 2015

I first met Chef Mark McCrowe at RANL‘s Food Day Canada event in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on my very first day in town. Held in a large ballroom, the event showcased several dozen chefs from around Canada – and some extraordinary local dishes. Newfoundland is in the middle of a culinary renaissance – so much good food, so many excellent and creative chefs, and an eat local ethic that is impressive, given the northern Atlantic locale on an island called The Rock.

I was impressed with his presentation and flavor of his dish – a salt beef and potato crusted cod with mustard pickle puree, collard greens, and a whelk beurre blanc sauce. It was the perfect introduction to Newfoundland.

Mark was born and raised in St. John’s, NL. Growing up around simple Newfoundland dishes, using fresh seafood and wild game, inspired an appreciation of the local style of food and where it comes from. After studying culinary and baking and pastry arts in British Columbia and working in some of Van city’s best kitchens, he returned home to further his own individual style as a chef. Mark opened his first restaurant, Aqua, at the age of 26 and his second more casual gastropub, The Club, at the age of 29. Mark is living his dream: cooking the food he loves to cook and doing it in the place and for the people that mean so much to him…………Happy cooking!!

Find him in St. John’s, Newfoundland, at EVOO in the Courtyard.

Chef’s Questionnaire (with a nod to Proust):

How long have you been cooking?
Since I was about 13. I would record all the Wok With Yan episodes on VHS and recreate them for my family. Still my favourite show!

What is your favorite food to cook?
I’m obsessed with the wide variety of flavours and ingredients in Asian food, but I like to work my way around the globe though ingredients without ever spending the money to travel :p

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
I use way too much sambal olek and sriracha.

What do you cook at home?
I’m a one pot wonder kinda guy. I like simple flavourful food and dislike doing the dishes.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer?
I like when customers are having fun and are just plain into what they are eating. Life is too short to be a stuffy loser.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer?
You never know what kind of day someone has had or what they may be going through in their personal life, but there is never an excuse for treating a server like garbage.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?
I’m all about the ziplock, baby.

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
All of the above, please.

Your favorite cookbook author?
Jacques Pepin is and always will be.

Your favorite kitchen tool?
My hands

Your favorite ingredient?
Pork and pork related products

Your least favorite ingredient?
Kiwi (I’m allergic)

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen?
Inventory

Catching Capelin

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
I adore so many types of food. What really interests me is the simple recipes using local Newfoundland ingredients that my grandparents would use. I always like applying them to modern day cooking.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu?
Pork with tofu, if I could

Favorite vegetable?
Onion

Chef you most admire?
Shaun Hussey of Chinched bistro in St.John’s, Newfoundland. He’s a good friend and the type of chef that is always pushing himself. The real deal.

Food you like the most to eat?
I like anything you have to get into and eat with your hands…like a platter of Newfoundland seafood with lobster and crab.

Food you dislike the most?
I hate food that looks to pretty to eat and is too smart for its own good. Sometimes a tomato is nicer than a tomato gel.

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
I do have “Jiggs dinner” tattooed on my forearm. It is the quintessential Newfoundland one pot meal that involves salt beef and root vegetables. It’s my death row last meal and by far the most popular dish from Newfoundland, but my Nan makes it the best, so everyone else is out of luck!

Recipe: Newfoundland Seafood Chowder with Roasted Fennel, Dill, and Evaporated Milk

Newfoundland Seafood Chowder

This chowder is a canvas to show off some of the Rock’s best seafood. You can use whatever you have available here. The flavors of roasted fennel, dill, and lemon really make it special – and by using evaporated milk, you really get that authentic chowder flavour.
Serves: 10-12 portions

FOR THE CHOWDER
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup all purpose-flour
1 onion (diced)
2 stalks celery (diced)
2 heads fennel (diced)
2 potatoes (diced)
¼ cup Pernod
1 cup dry white wine
1 litre fish stock
½ litre heavy cream
2 cans evaporated milk
½ cup chopped dill
5 tbsp lemon juice
3 dashes Tabasco
3 dashes Worcestershire
Salt
Cracked black pepper
1 cup cold water shrimp (peeled)
1 lb fresh cod
½ lb mussels
½ lb clams
1 lb cooked lobster meat
½ lb cooked snow crab meat

In a large roasting tray, mix the diced fennel with 4 tbsp of olive oil, salt, pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven until lightly caramelized. In a large heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter and flour together, forming a roux, and cook for 2 minutes.

Add all of the vegetables and cook them for roughly 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the roasted fennel and deglaze the pot with the pernod and white wine while stirring constantly.

Add the remaining liquids, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer to cook slowly for roughly 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the soup has slightly thickened. Season with salt, pepper and add all the seafood to cook for just a couple of minutes. In a separate pan, cook the mussels and clams with 2 cups of the chowder base until the shells open, then add back into the main pot. At the last minute before serving, add the fresh dill and adjust the seasoning.

Recipe: Lemon Pepper Smoked Cod and Crispy Britches with Mint, Lemon, and Green Pea Risotto

Lemon Pepper Smoked Cod and Crispy Britches with Mint, Lemon, and Green Pea Risotto

Cod britches are the roe sac of a female cod and are named for their resemblance to a pair of baggy trousers. In this dish, we smoke cod loin with lemon zest and cracked pepper, fry the cod britches till crispy, and serve it on top of a creamy mint and pea risotto. So good!
Serves: 4

FOR THE LEMON PEPPER SMOKED COD
1-8 oz cod loin
1 lemon (zested)
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
1 cup wood chips (soaked in water)

To smoke the cod loins, put the woodchips in the bottom of a frying pan or wok and put it over a burner on medium heat. Once it starts to smoke take the cod loin and sprinkle it with the lemon zest and cracked pepper. Place on a rack that can fit in the frying pan. By this time there should be quite a bit of smoke, so you want to cover it tightly with tinfoil to capture all that smoke. Let them go for about 10-12 minutes, then take them off the heat. The cod should be flakey and cooked through.

FOR THE CRISPY BRITCHES
2 cod britches (cut into small pieces)
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
Canola oil for frying

Season the cod britches and dust them in the flour, shaking off any excess. Fry them in a household deep fryer set at 375 degrees until golden brown. Drain on paper towel and season again with sea salt.

FOR THE MINT, LEMON, AND GREEN PEA RISOTTO
5 to 6 cups fish stock
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 onion (finely diced)
Sea salt
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups frozen peas
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Heat the fish stock in a saucepan over medium-high heat until very hot and then reduce the heat to keep the broth hot.

In another heavy saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and sautée, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the onion softens and starts to turn lightly golden, 3 to 5 min. Add the rice and stir until the grains are well coated with butter and the edges become translucent, 1 to 2 min. Pour in the wine and stir until it’s absorbed, about 1 min.

Add another generous pinch of salt and ladle enough of the hot broth into the pan to barely cover the rice, about 1 cup. Bring to a boil and then adjust the heat to maintain a lively simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the stock has been mostly absorbed, 2 to 3 min. Continue adding broth in 1/2-cup increments, stirring and simmering, until it has been absorbed each time, at intervals of about 2 to 3 min. After about 16 to 18 minutes, the rice should be creamy but still fairly firm.

At this point, add the peas and another 1/2 cup broth. Continue to simmer and stir until the peas are just cooked and the rice is just tender to the tooth, another 3 to 4 min. Stir in another splash of broth if the risotto is too thick. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the mint, lemon juice, lemon zest, the remaining 2 Tbsp butter, and the Parmigiano. Season with salt to taste.

Serve the risotto immediately with a sprinkling of chopped mint and grated lemon zest. Top with some crispy britches, flakes of the smoked cod loin and Bob’s your uncle.

-The End. Go Eat.-

March 2, 2016
i8tonite: On the Joy of Deviled Eggs

Deviled Eggs – the highlight of any group gathering…one look and people cluster to snag some, long for more, become sad when they are gone too soon.

What is it about deviled eggs that we so love? It could be the variations – from Chef Thomas Keller’s classic deviled eggs for the Oscars last night to the blasphemy/brilliance of buzzfeed’s deep fried deviled eggs. It could be that they are comfort food, or holiday food, or party food, or deeply nourishing food.

I don’t know one person who doesn’t love deviled eggs – if I met one, I’d be suspicious (Are they human? Do they have taste buds? Who are these people?).

While in Milwaukee last month (“researching” our great food recommendations for our Cheat Sheet to eating in Milwaukee), my friend Amy Sobczak and I started discussing deviled eggs (because Vanguard was OUT of them. Oh, the sadness). The longer Amy and I talked, the more I realized how important deviled eggs are – to our meals, families, and celebrations.

Here are some deviled egg musings from Amy and I – and a few family recipes.

What is your first memory of deviled eggs?
A: Ah, the deviled egg… a cherished treat made for holidays and celebrations. I realized as a young girl that these little delights go fast at family functions, so the hover and snatch move at the serving table was necessary to enjoy as many as possible. Once they’re gone, they’re gone!
J: I remember peeking over the table when I was small, eyeing that platter of deviled eggs and wondering if “they” would know if I took one out. Of course, I was too short to see that the deviled eggs were placed on special dishes that had egg-shaped indentations on them, thus letting anyone know that there had been a egg-snitcher. Two words: WORTH IT. And, I went back for more.

What family traditions do you have around deviled eggs?
J: Well, deviled eggs are holiday food in my extended family. My aunt brings them at Christmas. Others bring them to summer gatherings. In our house, I make them often because they are good protein, and good snacks, and we can’t get enough of them.
A: Deviled eggs are a special occasion treat for us as well, rarely made for just your typical day. A family member or friend would always bring them to showers, birthday parties, and holiday get togethers.

My mom’s collection of deviled egg plates

What ingredient can’t you stand in deviled eggs?
A: I never met a deviled egg ingredient I didn’t like.
J: Pickles. Onions. Anything super strong or crunchy. My granny added olives, and/or topped them with caviar and I’d (gasp) avoid them.

Favorite part of the deviled egg… Yolk or white?
J: YOLK all the way!
A: The yolk… hands down!

What’s with the name ‘deviled egg?’
A: Hmm… perhaps it’s deviled because of the mixing and mashing of several ingredients.
J: I add a titch of horseradish – devil-ish? Or maybe that the Hungarian paprika we sprinkle on top can be spicy?

Why yes, there are *four* kinds of Paprika here.

Why do you think deviled eggs are so popular? They are always first to go, at a potluck!
J: Maybe because they can be tedious to make (although easier than many) and people reserve that cooking effort for holidays? I’m not sure, but when I see them anywhere, I grab a few!
A: They go with anything and everything!

We’ve seen some pretty crazy things (such as deep fried deviled eggs!) – would you eat them? why or why not?
A: Look, I love to try new things but I’m old school when it comes to the deviled egg. There’s something about that delicate balance between the firm white against the tangy yolk mixture. It’s just so delicious. Can’t mess with that.
J: Um, NO. Just no. It’s blasphemy. Eggs need to be cold, not warm; soft, not fried. Please stop.

Our favorite ingredients:
A: A good horseradish, pickle relish, and celery seed
J: Mayo, mustard, horseradish, chives, topped with paprika and salt

How to boil eggs

You can’t beat the directions from Food 52 and Serious Eats.

Recipe: Amy’s Deviled Eggs

Amy’s Deviled Eggs

6 eggs, hard boiled, shelled, cut in half
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp pickle relish (drained)
½ tbsp cream style horseradish
¼ tbsp dried chopped chives
⅛ tbsp dried green onion flakes
⅛ tbsp dried onion powder
¼ tbsp dried celery seed
Hungarian paprika to taste/finish

Remove the yolk from each egg half and place in a small bowl. Put whites aside. Mash yolks with a fork add next eight ingredients and mix well to a fluffy consistency. Add relish juice if mixture is too dry (¼ tsp at a time). Fill egg whites full to heaping and sprinkle with paprika. Store in refrigerator.

Recipe: Jessie’s Deviled Eggs

Jessie’s Deviled Eggs. See the ones my dad loves at the bottom?

1 dozen eggs (from a local farm is best. Trust me, I grew up reaching under chickens to grab them)
Squirt of yellow mustard
Mayonnaise, to taste
Grated horseradish, to taste
Fresh chives, snipped to small pieces
Salt, to taste
Sweet and Hot paprika, to taste

Boil your eggs. Run them under cold water and crack the shells a tiny bit, to let the cold water in and cool them down. Drain. Peel the eggs and cut in half.

Place the whites onto your special deviled egg plate (or a regular plate, if you don’t have one yet). Put the yolks into a food processor and buzz a few times to create crumbles. Scrape into a bowl and add your ingredients.

Be careful with how much mayonnaise you put in – you can always add more, but you can’t take it out. Stir carefully until all is blended. Then scrape with a spoon into the hollows of the whites. Sprinkle with paprika, to taste. Keep them chilled until serving.

My husband and dad love the hot paprika. I love the sweet. Everyone loves different amounts, so start with a light hand and keep the paprika next to the plate, for those that like to add more. We usually have several kinds of paprika around – the latest is some very delicious paprika direct from Budapest, brought back by my best friend (thank you!).

What do you add to your deviled eggs? How often do you make them?

– The End. Go Eat. –

February 29, 2016
i8tonite: with America’s First Culinary Couple, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough
NOTE: This is an original post we wrote in October 2015. We like to pull a Saturday Night Live, and occasionally have rebroadcasts. Heh.

Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough are America’s first culinary couple sort of like Julia Child and Jacques Pepin except, they are married, like Lucy and Desi. As a business partnership, they have written 26 cookbooks and ghost-written six more for star vanity projects. Ham: An Obsession with the Hindquarter (2010) and Vegetarian Dinner Parties (2014) were nominated for the coveted James Beard Award for “Best Cookbook”. As a couple, they have been together for 19 years – meeting in an AOL chatroom while living in New York City. Even then, they were ahead of their time.

There isn’t a comparative food coupling in the culinary world like Bruce and Mark. Certainly, not cooking in a restaurant, on a Food Network or Cooking Channel show. Or for that matter on PBS or Logo. Instead of going through today’s star-making channels – YouTube and reality television – the pair did it the old-fashioned way. Hard work.

You might say, “What about so-and-so?” They started on reality television running around the world.

“What about the Food Network’s blah?” They stick to one food type.

“What about…?” Nay. She was a well-known actress before she met her husband.

Bruce and Mark are a team, having written and eaten their way to a successful career and a country Connecticut home. They finish each other’s sentences in the adoring, long-time love affair way and they laugh at each other’s jokes. If Woody Allen were casting for a movie during his Annie Hall days, Bruce and Mark would embody the perfect museum-going Manhattan pair. Smart. Literate. Witty.

The type-A personality couple spends almost 24 hours together but maintain separate endeavors to keep the relationship strong. Weinstein, the cook of the couple, knits runway-ready sweaters (of course, he does) and has written a book about it (of course, he has). Scarbrough, the writer and academic, teaches Chaucer (of course, he does) and has just created an iTunes podcast for the couple (of course, he has). Supposedly, they do play a mean game of bridge as partners in their off-time from the stove and computer.

Somewhere – amongst over two dozen cookbooks written –the prolific twosome has time to appear on QVC hawking mass cookbooks about pressure cookers to mid-Western cooking hobbyists. There’s also the column contribution to Weight Watcher’s online and they can be viewed on Craftsy.com espousing on – what else? – cooking.

Photo by Eric Medsker

Like fellow comedic pairings before them, such as Gracie Allen and George Burns, making the audience laugh is much a part of who they are as what they do when whipping up garlicky mash potatoes. It’s a blend of entertainment and cooking.

To the outsider looking in, their relationship seems to embody a lot of laughter….and eating. And drinking…. with lots of laughing. For Bruce and Mark, it all appears to be about having fun and enjoying life. After all is said and done, the inspiring pair is enjoying it all except they would like to have a little bubbly with all that love.

Food People Questionnaire:

What is your favorite food to cook at home?

Ham: An Obsession with the Hindquarters. Photo by Marcus Nilsson

Bruce: Oxtails, beef tongue, or veal cheeks—tough choice.

Mark: As you can see, there’s no need for me to cook at home. I write the books. I get fed. It’s a great trade-off.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?

Bruce: See the above answer.

Mark: Skim milk—because I think it actually makes the best foam for my morning four-shot latte.

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

Bruce: A nice shirt—I’m going to be looking at it all night.

Mark: Well, maybe not, Bruce! I really like good conversation skills. Give-and-take. Back-and-forth. First time someone says, “Another thing about me is . . .” I’m out of there.

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

Bruce: Slurping solid food.

Mark: Texting. Please. Stop.

Beer, wine or cocktail?

Bruce: Cocktail to start, wine with, beer after.

Mark: Wine. I hear they’re making it in other colors besides red these days. Wouldn’t know.

Your favorite cookbook author?

Bruce: Fuchsia Dunlop. My Sichuan master.

Mark: Abby Dodge. It’s right every time.

Your favorite kitchen tool?

Bruce: My hands.

Mark: His cleaned and dried hands.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?

Bruce: Anything east of India. Crazy about Sichuan these days. Want to come over for a ten-course tasting dinner?

Mark: Worcestershire sauce. Seriously. I make the best.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu?

Bruce: If only tofu had bones.

Mark: Well, lately, salmon fillets. Cilantro, mint, sliced fresh jalapeños, olive oil, crunchy salt. Trust me.

Favorite vegetable?

Bruce: Artichokes, preferably trimmed and cleaned by someone else

Mark: Winter squashes as so much. I had a roasted Blue Hubbard the other night that was orgasmic.

Chef you most admire?

Bruce: Tony Wu. Ever see this guy hand-pull noodles? Check out his youtube videos.

Mark: Right now, Daniel Eddy at Rebelle in New York City. Kick. Ass. Food.

Food you like the most to eat?

Bruce: Grilled burger any day of the week.

Photo by Edsel Little.

Mark: I have a healthy appetite. Enough said. But my choice indulgence is Époisses de Bourgogne.

Food you dislike the most?

Bruce: Root beer. I have to wipe it off my tongue with a rag.

Mark: Jell-O. Period. Also, panna cotta, its evil twin.

What is your favorite non-food thing to do?

Bruce: Play Chopin preludes.

Mark: Read lyric poetry. I have a podcast on it. Check it out: Lyric Life on iTunes.

Who do you most admire in food?

Bruce: Bill Niman. He changed the way we think about food in this country.

Mark: My agent. Twenty-seven cookbooks sold for us ain’t too bad.

Where is your favorite place to eat?

Bruce: Siena. No questions.

Mark: Joucas, France. (There’s only one restaurant. See below.)

What is your favorite restaurant?

Beach Point Coast, Prince Edward Island

Bruce: Richard’s Fresh Seafood on Covehead Wharf in the national park on Prince Edward Island, Canada

Mark: The restaurant at Le Mas des Herbes Blanches in Joucas, France. Go in the summer when the lavender fields are in bloom against the red cliffs of Roussillon down in the valley.

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?

Bruce: Some things you have to leave to the imagination.

Mark: No. And I still have things you can imagine.

Ricotta/Spinach Dumplings, Parmesan Cream Sauce (6 servings)

Photo by Eric Medsker

From Bruce and Mark: Winter weekends are made for dinner parties. As the sun sets early and the darkness creeps over our yard, we banish the cold by lighting the candles and serving hearty, warming fare like this casserole. The tender, spiced, even lemony dumplings are baked in a simple cream sauce that emphasizes their luxurious texture while softening some of their sweetness. It’s best minutes out of the oven, so plan your timing carefully.
- One 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 8 ounces regular or part-skim ricotta
- 4 ounces Pecorino Romano, finely grated (about 1 cup)
- 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup semolina flour, plus additional for rolling the dumplings
- 1 tablespoon minced chives
- 1 tablespoon minced dill fronds
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole or 2% milk
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine, such as a California Chardonnay
- 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (about 1/4 cup)
1. Squeeze the thawed spinach by the handful over the sink to remove excess moisture, then crumble it into a large bowl.
2. Stir in the ricotta, pecorino, egg yolks, semolina, chives, dill, zest, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, the salt, and nutmeg to form a wet but coherent dough. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. Spread more semolina flour on a large plate. Use damp, clean hands to form the dough into 24 balls, each about the size of a golf ball, rolling them one by one in the semolina to coat thoroughly before setting them on a large lipped baking sheet.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Working in batches, add 5 or 6 dumplings and boil for 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop them out, drain them, and transfer to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
5. Position the rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.
6. Make the sauce by melting the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until a creamy paste. Slowly whisk in the milk in a steady, fine stream until the paste has dissolved. Whisk in the wine and continue whisking over the heat until thickened and bubbling, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, then pour this sauce over the dumplings in the baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper over the casserole.
7. Bake until lightly browned and bubbling, about 20 minutes. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Ahead: Complete the recipe through step 6 up to 2 hours in advance; store, lightly covered, at room temperature.

Garnish: Although we’re not a fan of side dishes at dinner parties, this casserole could use a little contrast. Spoon the baked dumplings and sauce onto plates, accompanied by grilled asparagus spears, drizzled with a flavorful but light vinaigrette.

Note: Make sure the lemon zest is in fine bits. If you don’t use a small-bored microplane to grate the zest, mince it on a cutting board to make sure no one ends up with a big thread in a single dumpling.

The End. Go Eat.

(Correction: Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough’s monthly column was incorrectly attributed to Fine Cooking Magazine. It is Weight Watcher’s Online.)
February 26, 2016
i8tonite with Toronto Chef, Consultant, and Entrepreneur Joanna Sable

Toronto-based Joanna Sable is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef who grew up with gourmet foods – her mother started Sable and Rosenfeld (love their Tipsy Olives!) with one condiment – Russian Mustard – and expanded it to the global company we know today. Her grandparents moved to North America after WWI – and by then, people didn’t want to get their groceries from a farm anymore – opening a can of food was a sign of prestige! She grew up in a family that opened said cans, and learned to cook from those humble beginnings. She remembers being quite young and making an after-school snack for her sister of sautéed zucchini – and her life in cooking snowballed from there.

Her innate love of food has inspired her interesting and full career in the food industry, from consulting to writing to chefing to recipe development and testing for cookbooks. Her gourmet canning business, Bumpercrop (which she has since sold), turned unwanted items on farms and made it into good food, such as pickled garlic scapes and green tomato garlic jam. She is currently a consultant to the food industry, and helps food businesses maximize their potential within their existing spaces.

Blowing out the candles on the birthday cake Benj made me. Gotta love the jacket. I think he is proud to wear it.

When we talked, I was inspired by her love for good, delicious, interesting food. She is also passionate about educating and giving back. Joanna cooks every Sunday with her 20 year old autistic cousin, Benj – and these cooking classes make a difference not only for Benj, but also for other autistic people, to learn to connect with food and cooking. You can follow Benj’s cooking classes on pinterest.

Nutella granola, drizzled with more Nutella and ripe bananas. Here’s the kicker….skim milk

When I asked Joanna about her work, she noted, “This is the most wonderful industry – the people in it have bigger hearts than anywhere in the world- they are passionate, givers, and every day I am proud to be in this place that I am. There’s not a minute of the day that I don’t love my industry and most of the people in it.”

Chef Questionnaire (with a nod to Proust):

How long have you been cooking? Since I was born! My first food job was in a gourmet food shop and the owner pulled me into the kitchen and put me to work! My first recipe as a chef was chocolate mousse.

Without a doubt, braising is one of my favourite ways to cook veggies. Halved Belgian Endive with a hit of lemon and @stirlingbutter Whey butter, a good sprinkling of sea salt and cracked pepper and into the oven they go.

What is your favorite food to cook? Italian. The reason is because you have to buy the best quality of the simplest products. It has to be perfect to start with – the best olive oil, beautiful fresh lemons – there are so few components that everything has to shine. I love the challenge of starting from square one with the most perfect thing.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? Water, eggs, lots of condiments, bread, pickles, dog food, Sable and Rosenfeld goods. Always good cheese, always good breads.

Flecks of saffron and spicy Portuguese chorice are a perfect base with loads of fennel, garlic, onions, white wine and soon tomatoes for a brilliant seafood stew.

What do you cook at home? Everything. It depends on if I am having a dinner party or just home. When I became a chef, I became bored with the same thing every night – I really like cooking like a caterer. When I have a dinner party, everything can be ¾ done before the guests come. The other night, I made a San Francisco style seafood stew – chorizo, seafood, fennel, etc. and everything was ready – just dumped it together 10 min before we sat down to eat and called it dinner. I like to cook where it looks effortless. Simplistic, easy things – what country do I want to cook from tonight? That challenges me. As a chef, I want to be challenged.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer?
Someone who is willing to make changes and allows me to do the job they hired me for.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer?
People who are stuck and who hire me and waste their money and my time. Procrastinators.

Gorgeous tacos filled with the most lovely moist pulled park and plenty of good crunchy veg. Best part is the sweet hot jalapeño relish. From @Morocochocolat

@Morocochocolat

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Pyrex

Beer, wine, or cocktail? Wine

Your favorite cookbook author? Fanny Farmer and Craig Claiborne. These were my first two books when I was 19 and going to Europe to cook for the first time just before I went to Cordon Bleu in London – my best friend gave me those two books and to this day, they are my go to for reference. Also Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything – a phenomenal book for the start out cook. The other cookbook author I think is truly genius is Jamie Oliver – every recipe works.

Your favorite kitchen tool? My 8 inch chef knife.

Your favorite ingredient? Olive oil

Your least favorite ingredient? Anything processed

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Wipe down appliances

Cavernous heaven. Porchetta the way it should be. Crack, crunchy, moist and tender. Inspirational. From @porecllocantina

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Italian, French, Mediterranean, Spanish, Portuguese, Jewish

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu? Pork

Favorite vegetable? Artichokes

Chef you most admire? Daniel Boulud, Dan Barber – and for his generosity of spirit, Paul Boehmer

Food you like the most to eat? Simple, perfectly made food from any cuisine

Food you dislike the most? Bad pizza, soggy, gross, yucky pizza

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? 0

Recipe: 5 Ingredient Mock Kimchi

Shred Napa cabbage and chinese cabbage – use both or whatever you can find. Dump it in a bowl with a jar of Chinese Chili Garlic Sauce, a few shots of Tamari, a few spoons of rice wine vinegar, and a sprinkle of sugar. Massage well and leave in bowl. Every once in a while, give it a mix. Cover overnight, drain, and use as a side for pork tenderloin or on sandwiches.

Joanna Sable’s Mock Kimchi

More of Joanna Sable’s recipes without amounts.

– The End. Go Eat. –

All photos courtesy and copyright Joanna Sable

February 24, 2016
i8tonite with Mona Dolgov: A Perspective on the Food Experience…Why I Do What I Do

This is part of our on-going series on Food Musings. Today, we share the words and thoughts of Mona Dolgov, co-author of The Perfect Portion Cookbook.

I have always been fascinated with our relationship with food. It fuels our bodies, heals our ailments, gratifies our accomplishments, expresses our culture and identity, and graces our happiest celebrations. It can also be the culprit for risk and disease, even a crutch to combat sadness. Despite this, the pure chemistry and sensory experience in the kitchen, of cooking a meal from sight and aroma, to taste and the “natural” (vs. chemical) reaction satisfies both my creative spirit and my scientific curiosity.

As a nutritionist, business marketer, product and recipe developer for the past 30 years, I’ve pondered the complexity of the food and how consumers value it.

America’s dramatic decline in healthy eating is striking. The increase of dual working households and overscheduling of children, and technology has altered the traditional sit down meal and led to minimal time for “real home cooking”. The microwave oven, a welcomed kitchen technology, in addition to the myriad of prepared food items has led to the decline of quality food and the uptick of quick and easy prepared meals. Mealtime has become a function to feed a belly fast to get to the next task, rather than focus on the soul-satisfying home-cooked food.

The result? Weight gain, obesity, and all the bad stuff that comes with it—increased incidence of diabetes, heart disease, and based on medical research, certain forms of cancer. On an emotional level, it has led to diminished self-image, emotional stress, and depression. All of this drives me to provide consumers with knowledge, advice, healthy recipes and kitchen products that encourage a return to the kitchen to eat “real” food. I’ve chosen to work with product goods companies, home appliance companies, and supermarket chains that similarly embrace these goals.

Some phenomenal thought leaders have recognized these issues: the rise of healthcare costs (due to the increase of obesity, Type II diabetes and heart disease), the recognition of the “paragraph ingredient lines” filled with unpronounceable additives, and the unacceptable better-for-you quality of the food served at schools today for our children. Over the past 5-10 years, there has been resurgence toward eating healthier. Incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables, “perimeter supermarket shopping,” and product development in the appliance and food industry that has led to slow cookers, blenders for nutrient juicing, and cleaner and healthier ingredient in products, such as Greek yogurt, snack bars, plus lower sugar and sodium options, in boxed foods, like pasta, cookies, and soups. Consumers are beginning to seek this new lifestyle, and the tables have started to turn.

An issue still remains. The baby boomer generation is reluctant to cook and their lack of participation in the kitchen influences their children. Parents have worked like crazy, had families, and relied on the microwave and other pre-made offerings to get food on the table. Cooking has become a “holiday hobby”, or a goal if I had the time (and wasn’t using that time for something else I preferred to do).

The weekday home-cooked family dinner is a real challenge. Who doesn’t want to serve dinner around the table to family and friends? To overcome, consumers have increased buying delicious prepared foods, take-out, and frozen meals instead of toil over a hot stove and fail. Everyone eats at a different time, and most of the meals are eaten on the go or standing up! Moreover, kids are not taught the basics of cooking. I am one of the rare mothers who taught my children to cook. Their friends are amazed that they can prepare a meal from “scratch”.

For the past ten years, it has been my goal to make the entire food experience from purchase to the table, better for consumers by making it less intimidating, engaging and easier. I like making it fun — creating game changing products or sharing healthy tricks that ease the intimidation and open the door to blissful food experiences. Such was my involvement with launching the one-pot slow cookers and cooking systems, easy one-press blenders and food processors to make smoothie making and vegetable chopping a breeze. Plus, I’ve worked with great teams to create and design cookbooks for countertop appliance manufacturers and retailers, developing entertaining, easy- to-make recipes that provide 5-star cooking results. By having this lofty goal, my other intention is to help reduce obesity in this country. Knowledge is power—if I could, in some way, be an ally to provide actionable advice to better eating habits, then my personal passion has been fulfilled.

The Perfect Portion Cookbook is my personal and most exciting project to date. Co-written with Anson Williams of Happy Days TV fame and Bob Warden, this two-year project combines all of my scientific background, product development, marketing, consumer insights, and nutritional and culinary expertise. Anson’s idea to create recipes and snacks that use a 100-calorie system spoke to me. It is a simple way to help consumers eat responsibly and visualize how much to eat (100-calories at a time!) with simple and delicious comfort food favorites. Yes, you CAN have great tasting food that IS better for you! The biggest challenge was improving recipes to make them satisfying, delicious, and the caloric value divisible exactly by 100. We wanted readers to be mindful of their everyday food choices through 100-calorie portions.

My favorite part of the book was sharing nutritional and culinary tricks that are simple and clever. Our 100-calorie French toast, made with “better butter batter” (can you say that 5x fast) uses a little butter and honey in the batter. It replaces the butter cooked in the pan and can save hundreds of calories, without compromising on taste. The creamy mac and cheese recipe serves up a filling portion at 300 calories and has a punch of flavor using extra sharp cheddar and Parmesan cheese. Or how about using simple cupcake pans for making individual 100-calorie cheesecakes? I hope that these cooking tips are passed through the generations to become easy go-to habits for a healthier life.

I dream of many goals: the return to the kitchen as a ‘family central’, inspiring future cooks, and once again sitting around the table talking about our day. Small steps to create eating patterns through healthier meals and scaling recipes to 100-calorie portions is the future to getting consumers back on track and will help to contribute to slashing diabetes, heart disease and lowering obesity. Yes, we can do it!
A nutritionist by training from Cornell University, with 25 years of acquired marketing acumen, Mona Dolgov has created her sweet spot. She has led and contributed to over 20 launch campaigns, created over 75 products in her career, and owns 3 product patents (NINJA®, Jarden®, and The First Years®). She has led the development of over 20 cookbooks for Jarden® (Crock-Pot® Slow Cooker), Ahold® (Taste of Giant®), and for Euro-Pro® (NINJA®). She is known for defining innovative trends, creating engaging consumer stories and WOWs, and creating innovative consumer uses and recipes that are on-trend.

Mona has also led and created scripts, recipes, and tips with a variety of celebrity chefs and food bloggers, dietitians, in addition to co-producing the development for You-Tube recipe videos.

February 22, 2016
i8tonite with Eleni’s New York Founder & Food Entrepreneur Eleni Gianopulos

Eleni Gianopulos began her career in the media world working at the venerable Time Inc., eventually moving into the editorial division of Life Magazine. Through a twist of fate, Eleni, who had a passion for baking, began a small catering business in her apartment. What began as a side business featuring Eleni’s mother’s famous oatmeal-raisin cookies quickly outgrew her home kitchen and evolved into a full-fledged cookie empire. Eleni is a business owner that is also committed to giving back to female entrepreneurs trying to start their companies today. Eleni is about to share some exciting news regarding her mission to help female entrepreneurs. Stay tuned!

Language of Love cookies

Since 1997, Eleni’s New York has been a must-stop at Manhattan’s iconic Chelsea Market, later followed by her website, where irresistibly designed custom “Conversation Cookies TM” and other treats, including Color Me Cookies, await for fans located around the world. Today, Eleni’s custom cookie creations are a favorite of celebrities, luxury brands, Fortune 500 companies, and cookie lovers alike. Her cookie concierges design cookies around events, holidays, and popular trends. All of Eleni’s cookies are certified nut free. We love them.

Eleni’s Day of the Dead cookies

Eleni and I had a lively chat about parenting, cookies, and growing and running a business. Eleni noted that it was challenging to be a mom in business, but it’s also rewarding and exciting for her kids to see that their parents have careers they love. She grew up watching her father, who owned his own company, going to work every day and loving it. Her kids are happy that their mom owns a bakery (lucky kids!), and Eleni said that she’s a better boss for having kids.

Eleni’s New York butterfly cookies

Eleni remarked that she feels fortunate and is strategic in finding employees that are in different phases of their lives – many of her employees have kids of all ages. It is this wide range of experience within the company that helps Eleni’s New York continue with their business expansion – a recent Valentine’s Day partnership with 650 Target stores in the Northeast (crisp chocolate chip, butterscotch, and pink sugar cookies!), a new grocery line that will be launched at the Fancy Foods Show this coming July, as well as more retail locations and an expansion of the very popular Color Me Line of cookies.

Eleni’s New York Sea Breeze cookies

What I loved most, as a non-New Yorker, was talking about living in the city with Eleni. She’s moved to keep close to her work – starting in Chelsea Market, when she first opened; then a move to be near her cookie plant in Long Island City; and recently a move back to the center of the city to be closer to all the action as they open locations in Manhattan this coming year. When talking about the local bakery (Maison Kaiser) that she heads to every morning with her King Charles Cavalier, Lovey Pie, to pick up croissants and breads for the kids every morning, her love of her neighborhood shone through – she mentioned stores, spaces, colors, and flavors. And while she hits the farmer’s market many times a week, it’s closed on Sundays – and is a perfect place for her young kids to ride their bikes.

Eleni and her team are surrounded by design inspiration, so look for new cookies inspired by this neighborhood – as well as museums, parks, something from one of the kids’ schoolbooks, etc. And yes, they all still sketch on the back of a napkin at times, to save their ideas. But Eleni’s cookies are also influenced by technology. An exciting development in cookie design at Eleni’s is a new process which allows them to put ink onto a cookie with no sugar film. This adds more and more layers and intricacy – you can see this in the upcoming Easter cookie line, inspired by Faberge designs.

It is this creativity, passion for her work, and inclusion of family that makes Eleni’s work shine.

Food People Questionnaire (with a nod to Proust):

How long have you been cooking? Over 20 years

What is your favorite food to cook? Cookies, pies, cakes, and Greek specialty appetizers like dolmathes, spanakopita and baklava.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? Milk for my coffee, butter for kids’ toast, and Pellegrino

What do you cook at home? Mexican food. I love America’s Test Kitchen Favorite Mexican Recipes and test new recipes on my family often.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? Direct and to the point.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? This customer requested the most beautiful design, my team executed to perfection. The client received the order and complained that the frosting was off ¼”. From that point on, we insist on sample approval for custom work. And I just knew even if we remade the order this customer would never be satistfied, so I quickly accommodated the request and moved on. I have only seen something like this happen 2 times in 20 years, though.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Tupperware

Beer, wine, or cocktail? Cocktail

Your favorite cookbook author? America’s Test Kitchen Series of Cook Books, I love how they start off every paragraph…we made this recipe 34 times and found that …

Eleni’s Lemon Cupcakes

Your favorite kitchen tool? The plastic pastry bags I bring home from work, I use them for everything.

Your favorite ingredient? Lemon, I add it to everything.

Your least favorite ingredient? Orange, I don’t like orange in desserts nor entrees.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Dishes – my husband says when I cook at home I think I’m at work! I tend to make a big mess, and use every pot and pan in the house.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Greek, Mexican, Italian

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu? Chicken

Favorite vegetable? Broccoli

Chef you most admire? Thomas Keller

Food you like the most to eat? Indian

Food you dislike the most? Eggs, cottage cheese, odd scary meat.

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? 0

Recipe: The Crispy Roast Chicken recipe from America’s Test Kitchen!

The Crispy Roast Chicken recipe from America’s Test Kitchen!

For best flavor, use a high-quality chicken, such as one from Bell & Evans. Do not brine the bird; it will prohibit the skin from becoming crisp. The sheet of foil between the roasting pan and V-rack will keep drippings from burning and smoking.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds), giblets removed and discarded
1 tablespoon kosher salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Place chicken breast-side down on work surface. Following photos above, use tip of sharp knife to make four 1-inch incisions along back of chicken. Using fingers or handle of wooden spoon, carefully separate skin from thighs and breast. Using metal skewer, poke 15 to 20 holes in fat deposits on top of breast halves and thighs. Tuck wing tips underneath chicken.

2. Combine salt, baking powder, and pepper in small bowl. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle all over with salt mixture. Rub in mixture with hands, coating entire surface evenly. Set chicken, breast-side up, in V-rack set on rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, for 12 to 24 hours.

3. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Using paring knife, poke 20 holes about 1 1/2 inches apart in 16- by 12-inch piece of foil. Place foil loosely in large roasting pan. Flip chicken so breast side faces down, and set V-rack in roasting pan on top of foil. Roast chicken 25 minutes.

4. Remove roasting pan from oven. Using 2 large wads of paper towels, rotate chicken breast-side up. Continue to roast until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast registers 135 degrees, 15 to 25 minutes.

5. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Continue to roast until skin is golden brown, crisp, and instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees and 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, 10 to 20 minutes.
6. Transfer chicken to cutting board and let rest, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Carve and serve immediately.

Recipe and photo: America’s Test Kitchen

– The End. Go Eat. –

February 19, 2016
i8tonite: A Cheat Sheet to Eating in Stratford, Ontario

The famous Stratford Swans on the Avon River

Shakespeare, swans, shopping, and spectacular eats – where are you? You’re in Stratford, Ontario!

This small town is one of the most vibrant arts and food towns I’ve ever visited – and like many who visit, I long to move there. Stratford is known for being a theatre town – it’s the home of the Stratford Festival, one of the best theatre festivals in the world (which runs from April through October each year). There are Shakespearean Gardens to meander through; make time to see the swans along the Avon River – the 24 swans are well-cared for and have an annual parade each spring! Be sure to tour the Costume Warehouse and see the tens of thousands of costumes used in the productions, and stop and shop at Bradshaw’s, a fantastic kitchen store.

Stratford Costume Warehouse

This town is a foodie town. There’s the Stratford Chef School and a plethora of extraordinary restaurants. The prevailing theme is locally grown/sourced, organic, fresh foods – you can see this when you talk with chefs, or shop the weekly farmer’s market. It’s amazing, and progressive, and just lovely.

A variety of sizes for your fresh eggs at the Stratford Farmer’s Market

Freshly baked bread at the Stratford Farmer’s Market

Explore the Savour Stratford food trails – Bacon and Ale, Chocolate, Pumpkin, Maple, and other seasonal trails that offer food and food items at stores all throughout town. Purchase trail passes at the Visit Stratford office downtown – it’s a great way to explore local food – and local stores.

I was completely surprised by the quantity of excellent food and great restaurants here – you will be, too. For a small town, Stratford just explodes with art, theatre, museums, and fine dining. The choices overflow – it was hard for me to narrow this down!

Please note all prices are in Canadian dollars.

Breakfast: The Bruce

Buttermilk & caramelized apple pancakes with bacon, courtesy of The Bruce

My suggestion: We ate breakfast at our B&B, so I asked my foodie friend Cathy Rehberg, of Visit Stratford, for a suggestion. She made me hungry! Here’s what she recommended: “Chef Arron Carley, who will be featured on Food Network TV’s Chopped Canada, describes the vision for his new menus: “Looking into our past and understanding our roots as well as looking forward into the undiscovered wilderness of our nation we will forge New
Canadian Cuisine.” Now he is offering the Bruce-alicious menu which offers excellent value. Take a look at the fall and winter breakfast menu. Everything I have had there has been so good! And, it comes with a lovely view of the gardens just south of Upper Queen’s Park and a 5 minute walk to the Festival Theatre.”

Price: Bruce Breakfast Sandwich: Perth pork sausage, Avonlea cheddar, duck egg, tomato, awesome sauce, flaxseed bun, crispy spuds – $15
Hours: Restaurant: Thursday-Saturday plus Sunday Brunch; Lounge open every day.
Address: 89 Parkview Drive
Phone Number: 855-708-7100
Website: www.thebruce.ca

Second Breakfast: Rheo Thompson Candies

I have a soft spot in my heart for Rheo Thompson – not only for their extraordinary chocolates, but for the fact that we both came into this world in 1969. I adore this chocolate shop – and so does everyone who’s been to Stratford. It’s a must-visit. If you go on Savour Stratford’s Chocolate Trail, Rheo Thompson is one of the options.

My suggestion: While all of the chocolates I have ever gotten from Rheo Thompson have been delicious, try to snag some Dark Chocolate Covered Marshmallows. They are homemade marshmallow pillows, square, drenched in a thin coating of luscious dark chocolate. Yes, they deserve all of those adjectives.

Price: inexpensive
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9am-5:30pm, closed Sunday
Address: 55 Albert Street
Phone Number: 519-271-6910
Website: https://www.rheothompson.com/

Lunch: Mercer Hall

I absolutely LOVE this restaurant. Chef Ryan O’Donnell is the epitome of a chef that cares about locally grown, sustainable food sources, while being a great mentor and boss, AND bringing his creativity to the table.

Mercer Hall also serves hot tea from Canada’s first tea sommelier, Karen Hartwick (visit her shop, Tea Leaves, while you are in town), so be sure to order a pot.

My suggestion: House smoked beef dip sandwich, seasonal slaw, fries & jus – I can’t resist a great sandwich. This one was incredible.

House smoked beef dip sandwich, seasonal slaw, fries & jus

Price: lunch mains $12-$17
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11am-9pm, Friday and Saturda, 11am-10pm, Sunday 11am-8pm
Address: 104 Ontario St
Phone Number: (888) 816-4011
Website: http://www.mercerhall.ca/

Coffeeshop: Revel Caffe

Because there are many great coffeeshops in town, it’s hard to recommend just one. But I’ll try. Revel’s tagline notes: “independent coffee for a revolution home of direct trade coffee, delicious pastries & revelers” – indeed, this is the case. We walked into a bustling cafe – the sounds of the crowd were so happy and joyful – like old friends meeting up. Revel offers delicious baked goods and a variety of coffees and teas.

My suggestion: We went for lattes and a chocolate croissant. Heaven.

Price: large latte – $4.70
Hours: Monday – Saturday, 8am-6pm, Sunday 9am-5pm
Address: 37 Market Place
Phone Number: 519-305-1600
Website: http://www.revelcaffe.com/

Happy Hour: Revival House

A restaurant and bar in an old church? It works! You walk in to this gorgeous space, and immediately want to sit down and cozy in. There is sometimes a band at the front of the hall! Revival House uses fresh, local, seasonal ingredients in their menus. While we were there, we saw large families, couples, mother-daughter teams (us!), and more… This is a fun, upscale place that is hopping.

My suggestion: I don’t drink, so take your pick from their extensive drinks menu. What I will suggest is the charcuterie board ($27, to share) to tide you over until dinner.

Just look at that!

Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 11am-1am. Closed Monday and Tuesday
Address: 70 Brunswick Street
Phone Number: 519-273-3424
Website: www.revival.house

Dinner: Pazzo

Located on the main corner of Stratford’s downtown, this is the perfect place to stop in for dinner. BE SURE to make reservations if it is theatre season. If you’re not going to see a play that evening, make it after 7:30pm, so the theatre rush is done and you can relax in the large, comfy dining room. Chef Yva Santini, in her 9th year at Paazzo, received the Ontario Hostelry Institutes Top 30 under 30 award in 2014. She’s creative, friendly, and a genius in the kitchen. I love how she comes out into the dining room herself, to deliver the mains and chat with customers.

My suggestion: I could eat just off the appetizer menu, honestly. My favorite is the Burrata with balsamic roasted cherry tomatoes and pesto, $13. But there is much to recommend on the mains menu, including the unlimited hand made pasta special – enjoy as much of Chef Yva’s daily pasta as you like, $20, or try the Taverna fondue (!!!).

Burrata at Pazzo

Price: $$
Hours: Sunday, Tuesday-Thursday, 11:30am-10pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30am-12am, closed Monday
Address: 70 Ontario St
Phone: 519-273-6666
Website: www.pazzo.ca

Pazzo Taverna Dinner from One O Six Media on Vimeo.

Pin for later:

– The End. Go Eat. –

All photos courtesy and copyright Jessie Voigts, except where noted

February 15, 2016
i8tonite with Food Person Bob Warden: QVC Pioneer and Cooking Legend

There is no arguing that Bob Warden is one of leading figures in today’s food world. His presence on QVC shopping network has pushed several billion dollars in sales, ranging from small kitchen appliances such as a pressure cooker, the Ninja bullet, and countless cookbooks. Furthermore, he is a pioneer in television shopping – selling the FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing Systems in 1986 ushered in the first kitchen product infomercial.

Born in the Midwest, Warden studied to be an accountant. However, with the adage of being in the “right place at the right time,” opportunities began opening up in the food world, taking him to Alaska, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City. Now, residing in New England and Pennsylvania, the seventy-one year seems to have no bounds and endless energy, starting a new project, The Perfect Portion Cookbook with actor and food entrepreneur Anson Williams and nutritionist and co-author, Mona Dolgov.

Flatbread Pizza for Perfect Portions Cookbook 2015

Warden has collaborated with a variety of kitchen companies, bringing over 1,000 products to the consumer. From 1998 to 2014, Warden was instrumental in developing QVC’s private label Cook’s Essentials® and Technique® cookware and small electric appliance lines. During that span, Warden personally appeared as a celebrated QVC on-air chef for more than 5,000 live presentations.

Warden and his team have authored, developed, printed, and published over 30 cookbooks, totaling over 3 million books sold. By doing so, he has become the recognized international expert in creating cookbooks specifically designed to support specialty housewares products, such as pressure cookers, Ninja blenders, slow cookers, steam ovens, etc. It’s quite an accomplishment, as he may be better known than Elvis, Madonna, and The Beatles.

Grandpa Bob needs help

Asked what his greatest accomplishments are, he replies, “My six children and fourteen grandchildren, but I’m almost proud on a professional level about bringing breakthrough kitchen concepts to the consumer.”

Food People Questions (with a nod to Proust):

What is your favorite food to cook at home?
My over-researched and over-tested Short Rib recipe served over Risotto

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Fresh Berries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries

What marked characteristic do you love in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?
Intelligent, witty conversationalist!

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?
Rudeness, especially talking on the phone, texting or reading email

Bob Warden’s perfected potroast

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Yes, Yes, and Yes. If only one, a really good red or white table wine to fit the occasion.

Your favorite cookbook author?
Americas’s Test Kitchen – I use their work as my reality check.

Your favorite kitchen tool?
My Sarah Weiner chef’s knife, because I am a snob when it comes to knives.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
Discovery food, trying new ethnic combinations in old comfort food recipes

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
Pork! I was raised on a pork farm and know how to pig out!

Favorite vegetable?
Eggplant, because it is so versatile

Chef you most admire?
So many for different reasons. If I could pick one to be my private teaching chef, it would be Eric Rupert.

Food you like the most to eat?
Flat Bread Pizza, because you can put and endless array of tasty food on a pizza, and always have crunch.

Food you dislike the most?
To look at: Overcooked Asparagus. I never eat it!

What is your favorite non-food thing to do?
Play Tennis so I can eat more food!

Who do you most admire in food?
Anthony Bourdain, because he is brave enough to try the food that I am not brave enough to try.

Where is your favorite place to eat?
My local Pub, its like being wrapped in a comfortable warm sweater of food and people I know.

What is your favorite restaurant?
Le Bernardin because there is no better combination of food, service, ambience, and grandeur in America.

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
No, but if I were to get one, I would wear a radish in the right place.

Recipe: Berry Good and Nutty Whole Grain Cereal Breakfast

Recipe: Berry Good and Nutty Whole Grain Cereal Breakfast

1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill 10 grain cereal mix
1 cup water
7 walnut halves
5 pecan halves
1 pinch pumpkin seeds
1 pinch flax seed
1 cup of berries I like four at once: raspberries , blueberries, blackberries and strawberries
1 tablespoon demerara or brown sugar

Bring water to boil in a small saucepan.
Add cereal mix and stir, reduce heat, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add all remaining ingredients to a cereal bowl, spoon cereal over the top, and stir together.
Eat, feeling good about yourself, because you have all the darn grains, fruit, seeds, nuts, and fiber out of the way for the day.

The End. Go Eat.

February 12, 2016
i8tonite: with Palm Springs’ Workshop Chef Michael Beckman

Chef Michael Beckman: Photo by Van Roo

Palm Springs is known as a resort town – an enclave for second homes, secret hotel pools, and cocktails. The cocktail culture is the town’s prevailing modus operandi. With a population of a little over 50,000, it’s never really been considered a food haven. Ask a few of the locals who live in the desert year round, and the answer is their private chef does the cooking. Or, they recommend one or two restaurants which are more about an elongated drink menu rather than a superbly pan-roasted fish or braised greens from the surrounding Coachella Valley farmers. There are a few notable exceptions to this observation. The first that comes to mind is the four-year-old Workshop, owned and cheffed by Michael Beckman, which can be the honest answer to the question: “Where to eat in Palm Springs?”

Workshop: Photo by Michael Horton

There are two reasons for this. The first is that Mr. Beckman is a classically French-trained chef with stints apprenticing, cooking, and learning in European kitchens, including Burgundy’s three Michelin-starred Lameloise and working under noted German chef Thomas Kellerman at the Ritz-Carlton, Berlin. Beckman maybe the only independent chef in the Southern California desert communities to claim to work in a Michelin-starred dining room.

Secondly, he’s smart enough to promote his restaurant outside the Palm Springs area, getting the first and the last reservations from area visitors. It’s been a very smart business move to market his talents to the gourmand set, rather than wait for visiting travel media shuffling through for an annual Palm Springs pilgrimage. Instead of getting the backend of travel pieces, Beckman put forth the effort and it’s paid off with stories in Sunset Magazine, Bon Appetit, Eater, and Wall Street Journal. But the question remained: how could someone with Beckman’s background become part of Palm Springs? Truthfully, he stated he was a private chef working with a client based in Rancho Mirage. He grew to love the area’s farmers markets and vendors, as well as the community’s natural beauty, so he stayed, opening Workshop and having a family.

Interestingly, Beckman – though successful — is so dedicated to his

Workshop: Photo by Michael Horton

craft that he recently completed a several month staaj (cooking apprenticeship) with celebrated New York City’s chefs Dan Barber, Blue Hill Farms and Daniel Hume, Nomad (also of the Michelin-starred Eleven Park Madison). Beckman, as a chef, wants to continue to creatively evolve.

Beckman will have another feather to add to his list of accomplishments – Truss + Twine, a bar serving handcrafted cocktails and small bites; a chef will work in tandem with the bartenders behind the bar in a dedicated cooking area. Palm Spring’s newest watering hole is slated to open fall 2016. Lastly, he also partnered to oversee the food and beverage program for an unnamed independent 44-room hotel concept that that will have a restaurant and rooftop pool area. The hotel’s construction will start at the end of 2016.

Beckman will soon be hailed as Palm Springs’ Emperor to All Things Culinary. Rightly so.

Chef’s Questionnaire (with a nod to Proust):

How long have you been cooking? 16 years.

Chicken Diavolo: Photo by Van Roo.

What is your favorite food to cook? Braises are most satisfying for me with deep flavors that develop, and the cozy aromas and feel of a braised dish is somehow emotional for me.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? Quesadilla mise en place. Eggs for omelettes. A perfectly made omelette is one of my favorite challenges to see a chef’s skill set.

Lentil salad

What do you cook at home? I love my Weber grill for smoking and grilling fish and meats. I also get nostalgic for the Lebanese food I cooked as a private chef in Beverly Hills and love those flavors. Super healthy and super flavorful.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? Someone who puts us in the drivers seat and trusts us.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a

Workshop Burger and Fries: Photo by Michael Horta

customer? People who lie at the host stand about their reservation. People who don’t even read the menu and want to order something they can get anywhere.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? None of the above. Deli cups.

Beer, wine or cocktail? Yes, please.

Your favorite cookbook author? Dan Barber for “The Third Plate”

Your favorite kitchen tool? My Chef de Cuisine Max.

Your favorite ingredient? Eggs.

Your least favorite ingredient? Balsamic reduction.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Cleaning the fryer.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Mediterranean basin.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Beef.

Favorite vegetable? Right now I’m digging parsnips.

Chef you most admire? I like Paul Kahan’s rustic straight-forward style and also how prolific he is with his projects.

The food you like the most to eat? Oysters

Outside Workshop: Photo by David A. Lee.

The food you dislike the most? Shitty banquet food.

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? None yet. Never could figure out the first one…we’ll see.

Recipe: Beet Braised Lentils

Here’s a recipe from Feasting at Home, inspired by Chef Beckman’s dish at Workshop. She notes, “This recipe was inspired by a dish we had at a restaurant in Palm Springs, called Workshop. They topped their Beet braised lentils with a warm, crispy breaded goat cheese “cake”. It was divine. The chef, Michael Beckman, adds browned butter to the finished lentils, which brought it over the top.”

Beet braised lentils, inspired by Chef Beckman, Workshop. Photo & Recipe: Feasting at Home

Beet infused lentils are a healthy side dish, with chicken or fish, or serve it on its own, as a vegetarian meal in a bowl with crumbled goat cheese.

Ingredients
3 T olive oil
1 C diced red onion ( ½ a red onion)
1 C diced carrot
½ C diced celery
1 Cup peeled and diced beet (one large beet, plus 2 more for juicing)
4 cloves roughly chopped garlic
1 T fresh Thyme leaves
1 Bay leaf
1 1/2 C black caviar, beluga, or Puy lentils ( soaked overnight if possible)
4 C chicken or vegetable stock
½ tsp salt
salt and pepper to taste
splash balsamic vinegar
1 Cup fresh beet juice (either purchase from a juice bar, or juice 2 extra large beets)
2- 3 T browned butter (optional but delicious)
crumbled goat cheese (optional)

Directions
In a large heavy bottom pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, carrot, beets and celery, and saute for 5 minutes, until slightly softened. Turn heat to medium, add garlic, lentils and herbs and sauté for 2 more minutes.

Add stock and salt. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover with lid, and turn heat to low, maintaining a gentle simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add the beet juice, taste for salt, add more if necessary, and continue simmering on low for 10-15 more minutes or until tender. If you feel there is too much liquid for your liking, keep the lid off, and increase the heat, letting it reduce. (I like the braise slightly juicy, personally, so I just replace the lid.)

Stir in a generous splash of balsamic vinegar and browned butter (optional) but the brown butter is divine.

Serve in a bowl with crumbled goat cheese, or as a base for fish or chicken.

Read about this recipe – and see more gorgeous photos – here.

The end. Go eat.

February 10, 2016
i8tonite: An Ode To Biscuits

Warm, flaky, steam rising, slathered with creamy Irish butter… you’re visualizing my favorite food in the world: BISCUITS.

Brush the tops with butter

It started when I was small. No tube biscuits for this family, oh no. We’ve got strong southern blood in our veins, and it shows at biscuit time. My gramma or my mom would make them, and I’d sit in the kitchen and “help” by taste testing. Of course, anyone knows that when you have this kind of help, you need to double the recipe. It’s worth it for the hot biscuits, enjoyed before dinner with someone who appreciates them. Who GETS YOU. You know who you are.

Hungry yet?

There are (vast) differences between southern biscuit culture and northern biscuit culture. Here’s a bit of history from our family, showing just how different they are. My gramma and her mother (full south, all the way) went over to my grampa’s mom’s house (northerners, every one). Biscuits were on the menu. My paternal great gramma pulled the biscuits from the oven, and SET THEM ON THE COUNTER TO COOL. Gramma and Gramma Lillie waited, aghast, for these northern biscuits. Who eats cold biscuits on the first bake? Sure, for leftovers (ha! who has leftover biscuits?), with country ham for a sandwich, or buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and put under the broiler until the tops are crunchy. Those are all great uses for old, cold biscuits. But to not eat them hot? Well, I can’t even imagine. I’d have stared, too, sad at the warm biscuity goodness rising into the air and not into my mouth.

One of the ways my gramma served up biscuits was with southern ham (a country ham, salty and chewy) and milk gravy. Sometimes, she’d make redeye gravy (with coffee). Now, the only gravy I want to touch my biscuits is sausage gravy – homemade, because everyone else puts too much pepper in, and I don’t do hot.

But mostly, I love biscuits hot, buttery, and plentiful. For my birthday this year, I asked for biscuits for dinner at my parents’ house. My mom asked what I wanted for sides – ribs? salad? coleslaw? She gets me.

Melted butter works best like this: put a large slab of butter on one half, then put the two halves back together and flip upside down, so the butter melts one way – then flip it and let it melt another way. IF you can wait, that is. Here, I obviously could not wait. That poor biscuit half needs more butter.

Recipe: Flaky, buttery biscuits with yogurt

This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour or cake flour
3 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t sea salt, fine grain
5 T cold butter, plus a bit more, melted, to brush the tops
7/8 c plain yogurt (I love Trader Joe’s European whole milk yogurt) or buttermik

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in your food processor. Add the butter, cut into bits, and pulse until it is crumbly. If you don’t have a food processor, mix it with your hands until it is completely blended.

Add the yogurt and stir until it is just mixed into a ball – no more! Knead 10 times. Too sticky? Add a tiny bit of flour. It will stick to your hands – this is normal.

Scoop out onto a floured board and pat it into a 3/4 inch rectangle. Cut rounds with a biscuit cutter or glass. Bittman notes this will produce 10-14 biscuits. Au contraire for me – 9 max. So, you might want to double or triple it. Note: In the photos below, my dough is a bit too thick – I could have gotten a few more biscuits out if it was patted out a bit more.

Cutting out biscuits – just push STRAIGHT down, do not twist.

Cutting out biscuits – if the dough goes over the top of the biscuit cutter, as this one shows, you need to pat it out a bit more.

Place onto an ungreased cookie sheet, with or without a silpat. Take the last bit of scraps and form into the tester biscuit (cook’s reward!).

Place biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet

If you put them close together, the sides that touch will be extra tender

Bake 7-9 minutes, until golden brown. If you want to gild the lily, brush those tops with melted butter. My dad eats them with honey. My daughter eats them with jam. I just eat them.

Eat. Be Happy. Biscuits are good.

Pin for later:

The End. Go Eat.

February 8, 2016