i8tonite

Tag: food

I8tonite with San Francisco’s Anzu Chef Michael Raub on Asian Fusion Cuisine & Citrus Glazed Mahi Mahi Recipe
Anzu’s Chef Michael Raub‘s story is one that seems to exemplify the phrase, “Life is what happens when you’re making plans.”

From Texas barbecue to the French Laundry to Asian-Fusion cuisine, Michael Raub, Executive Chef at the Hotel Nikko San Francisco, didn’t plan a career in the restaurant business.

Though cooking was a big part of his youth (with not one, but two grandmothers in the kitchen at every family gathering), his coursework was in marketing while at university in Houston, Texas. After college, he went to Colorado to pursue an internship in the hospitality industry. It was there that fate (or life) took over, and Michael’s career in the restaurant business really began.

After a brief return to Texas, he pursued the best of the best: The Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. His ambition and initiative served him well, and he was soon on his way to Napa Valley, California, where he interned at Bouchon, quickly moving on to a full time position as Garde Manager. In 2010, he was promoted to Sous Chef. Michael stayed with the Keller Group for four years, also working at Ad Hoc and the French Laundry, a Michelin three star restaurant.

In 2012, Michael accepted a position as Executive Sous Chef at Ame Restaurant in the St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco, where he worked with Hiro Sone, winner of the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chefs of California award.

Michael credits both of his grandmothers with instilling in him an appreciation of good food and fresh ingredients, his first employers with his work ethic, and his determination with a bit of luck, for the opportunity to work alongside some of the best chefs in the business.

Anzu is the perfect venue, allowing him to create dishes like Sichuan Peppered Filet Mignon and Citrus Glazed Mahi Mahi (recipe below). The menu incorporates his love of high quality meats and fresh local sustainable seafood. It seems that life was just waiting to bring Michael’s particular blend of experience and skill to Anzu at the Nikko.

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

How long have you been cooking?
16 Years

What is your favorite food to cook?
I love cooking with fresh seafood. It is very delicate and takes constant attention.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Kimchi

What do you cook at home?
I love the experience of smoking fish and meat all day to make delicious Barbeque. A great way to spend a day off!

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer?
I haven’t served a customer in a very long time. What I find appealing about one of our guests is a sense of adventure.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer?
Rudeness

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?
Pyrex, but prefer a good old fashioned mason jar.

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Wine

Your favorite cookbook author?
Right now, I can’t put Dominique Crenn’s new book down

Your favorite kitchen tool?
My hands

Your favorite ingredient?
The lettuces and herbs we are getting from Ecopia Farms right now!

Your least favorite ingredient?
Lavender

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen?
Leave for the day

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
French, Japanese, Italian, and Korean

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu?
Chicken

Favorite vegetable?
Whatever is at the peak of the season

Chef you most admire?
Laurent Gras

Food you like the most to eat?
Grilled Fish

Food you dislike the most?
Hard Boiled Eggs

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

Citrus Glazed Mahi Mahi

Recipe: Citrus Grilled Mahi Mahi with Thai Green Curry
Serves 4

Ingredients:

Curry
- 1 T Olive Oil
- 3 T Green Curry Paste
- 1 Shallot (Minced)
- 1 Inch Peeled Ginger (Minced)
- 2 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
- .5 Each Lemon Grass (Chopped)
- 1 C Coconut Milk
- 1 C Dashi
- 5 Each Kaffir Lime Leaves
- 1 T Fish Sauce
- 1 T Brown Sugar
- 2 Bunches Thai Basil
- 1 C Baby Spinach
Citrus Cure
- 2 T Kosher Salt
- 1 T Sugar
- 1 Lime (Zested)
- 1 Lemon (Zested)
- 1 Orange (Zested)
- 1 t Cracked Coriander
- 4 each 5 Ounce Mahi Mahi Portions
- 1 Large Butternut Squash
- 12 Mixed Marble Potatoes
- 4 C Baby Spinach
- 1 Clove Garlic (Minced)
- .5 Lime
For the curry, heat the oil in a medium heavy bottom pot on high heat until slightly smoking.
Add the shallot, garlic, ginger, and lemongrass and brown for about two minutes.
Add the curry paste and kaffir limes and continue cooking another minute. Add the coconut milk and dashi and bring to a simmer.
Add the sugar and fish sauce and cook for thirty minutes.
Season to taste and let cool to room temperature.
Remove the kaffir lime leaves and place the curry in a blender with the spinach and basil.
Puree until completely smooth and pass through a fine mesh strainer.

For the citrus cure, combine all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and reserve.

Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and flesh. Peel the outer layer and cut into one inch pieces and roast in the oven at 400 degrees.
Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Season the mahi with the citrus cure and grill until medium to medium well. The internal temperature should be 150 degrees F.
Take the half of lime and place on the grill, flesh side down, until a dark caramel crust forms.
We like to finish our mahi in the oven on a smoking plank of cherry wood.
Take a large sauté pan and heat up a small amount of olive oil and place the garlic in the pan and sweat for thirty seconds.
Place the spinach in the pan and cook until just wilted.

Blanch the mixed marble potatoes in boiling salted water until just tender. Heat the curry and add the squash and potatoes.
Ladle the curry in four separate bowls and top with the wilted spinach.
Serve the fish on the side on the wood planks, so you can add the fish as you eat the curry.

The End. Go Eat.

All photos courtesy and copyright Anzu at the Hotel Nikko, San Francisco
January 20, 2016
i8tonite’s Call for Submissions
Food, for all of us, has many implications. We need it and can’t do without it. Yet, something so necessary can create illness, disease, laughter, memories and happiness – it’s as conflicting as hot and cold. We manipulate what we eat so we can become leaner, bigger, faster and stronger. There is no end to the discussion of what food can do and the stories we can tell.

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

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

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

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

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

We will promote the story for you to our readers – making you famous.
- — Brian and i8tonite team
January 18, 2016
From Ohio To Newfoundland: My Best Eats, 2015 Edition

What a year this has been! It started last December, when I was one of the top travel bloggers in the world to visit the White House for a special summit on Study Abroad and Global Citizenship. There was plenty of great food in DC (food trucks! and on the way, Cleveland’s Westside Market!) – a fantastic prelude to this year.

2015 heralded many trips, including a trip to Turkey in May, with Turkish Airlines, weekends at our cottage in northern Michigan (with grilled meats and fresh tomatoes), an epic Canadian road trip – driving from Kalamazoo, Michigan all the way to St. John’s, Newfoundland!, forays into Ohio and over to Stratford, Ontario, and circling back to a cozy Thanksgiving with family that live close by. Here are the highlights. I think you’ll notice that the underlying theme is friends and family – because who else do we want to share meals with?

that popcorn mango creme brulee…

Whilst in Turkey, I had many memorable meals (because, after all, Turkey is known for its delicious cuisine!). From the huge, dripping

Honeycomb at breakfast in Istanbul

honeycomb on our breakfast buffet to freshly baked simits slathered with nutella to roasted chestnuts and corn on the cob to Turkish tea and coffee and freshly squeezed strawberry juice, we did not go hungry. I loved the meals of fresh fish, yogurts, and grilled meats, but the highlight for me was at 360 Istanbul, a rooftop restaurant that served traditional Turkish cuisine with modern twists. I had the kebabs, and a gorgeous salad, but the highlight was the dessert – a creme brulee with mango sauce, salted caramel popcorn, and a nutty caramel ice cream. It was a melange of every taste you can imagine – sweet, salty, umami, smooth, crunchy, syrupy, icy, warm. The view was pure Istanbul, wide-ranging and gorgeous; the company was delightful.

the view from the terrace at 360 Istanbul

Toronto hit my 2015 best food list because of our lunch at America Restaurant, by Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants, located on the 31st floor of the Trump International Hotel and Tower. Our daughter enjoyed a cauliflower macaroni and cheese that she said was the best she’d ever had; Ed had a delicious Wellington beef burger with brisket, slaw, and artisanal bun. I had the speckled trout tartine – this genius dish consisted of grilled piece of house made sourdough bread, with French remoulade sauce, daisy capers and elderberries and leafy greens, finished with pieces of sous vide smoked speckled trout, served rare. This dish? It is one of the best things I have ever eaten – the crunch of the bread combined with the creaminess of the trout and remoulade, and the fresh and pickled accoutrements – it was perfect. We enjoyed a great view, lovely art, and excellent company, including a new friend that felt like family.

Smoked trout tartine at America Restaurant, Toronto

Newfoundland
St. John’s gets a three-fer for the nod for favorites, with a plus. The plus is an event we went to on our very first night on the Rock – Food Day Canada. There were chefs from Newfoundland, as well as from all over Canada, each showcasing the best of their restaurants and regions. I can’t even begin to say how great the food here was, but I will say that I have built a healthy respect for the chefs, farmers, and producers that work within the island and the weather to create such imaginative, delicious food. (Interviews to come!) Also, please note that while I have many favorite restaurants in St. John’s, I’ve focused on fine dining for this 2015 roundup.

Tavola
Tavola, a small Mediterranean bistro, is located downtown. What the unassuming facade hides is a treasure within. The food, mostly small plates, is a mix of Mediterranean and local. Take, for instance, a dish I’d sampled at Food Day Canada and was delighted to find on the menu: BBQ Smoked pork shoulder with Newfoundland Molasses Baked Beans, a roll of crispy chicarron, and a swoosh of arugula puree.

BBQ Smoked pork shoulder with Newfoundland Molasses Baked Beans, a roll of crispy chicarron, and a swoosh of arugula puree.

Now, let me tell you why this is so amazing. First, the Rock is known for its baked beans. And, as a midwesterner, I can attest to the nourishing properties of baked beans, especially in the cold winters, but also for fun in the summer. These baked beans? The absolute best I’ve ever eaten. A humble dish, elevated to the stars. Now, I must mention (because my brother is a firefighter, and you know how they love food and work hard on bbq dishes) the bbq smoked pork shoulder. There were crispy bits. The kind you long for, covet when someone else is pulling the pork, snitch when you’re pulling the pork, guard with a fork when there are poachers about. LOTS of crispy bits. Any restaurant that serves this? Immediately in my favorites list. Tavola on that list? CHECK.
The second reason why I love Tavola? It’s owned by Great Big Sea musician Bob Hallett. I was lucky enough to dine with him that day, and hear stories of growing up in Newfoundland, fish, halibut (did you know they are enormous?), community, and bringing the meals he loved while touring home. It isn’t often you dine with a famous musician – even less so, I’d imagine, one that is so down to earth, friendly, and welcoming.

Fresh oysters at Adelaide Oyster House, St. John’s, Newfoundland

Adelaide Oyster House
While this happening restaurant is somewhat loud and a bit hip for this mama, I have to say that not only was the service incredible, but the food was extraordinary. Adelaide Oyster House has won many awards – and in one visit, you can see why. I had the kale salad (don’t hate – it was sooooo good!); we also ordered oysters (of course), fancy cocktails, fish tacos, charcuterie with olives, and a birthday cake/dessert plate that needed to be tripled. By the end of the evening, we’d danced in our seats (and out of them) to the fantastically curated dance music, made new friends with our servers and chefs, and cemented friendships over food – the best way, isn’t it?

Kobe beef lettuce wrap with pickled vegetables, wild rice puffs, and special sauce at Adelaide Oyster House, St John’s, Newfoundland

Mallard Cottage
Chef Todd Perrin of Mallard Cottage has not only restored an historic cottage in Quidi

Myself with Mallard Cottage chef Todd Perrin

Vidi Village, but has brought back traditional Newfoundland cuisine – with a twist. There’s an herb garden outside, and across the alley, another garden. The fish is freshly caught, and on Sunday brunch, there’s a $10 CAKE TABLE.

Chilled lobster bisque at Mallard Cottage, St. John’s, Newfoundland

Now that alone should do it for you, but let me tempt you with other things we ordered at our table, including a fresh Caesar salad with cured pork cheek and piled high with thinly grated parmesan, a fresh scallop ceviche, a chilled lobster bisque that was the best soup I’ve EVER EATEN, fresh halibut, cod, fresh Newfoundland scallops, and a dessert assortment that should be on everyone’s bucket list.

Mallard Cottage Menu

New Brunswick
New Brunswick, Canada, was a complete surprise. I had no idea of the fresh seafood along the Acadian coast, the locally sourced food, the creative cuisine, the beauty of the landscapes, and the rich cultural heritage. My best meal here was in Miramichi, at 1809 Restaurant, along the Miramichi River. Yes, I loved it so much that I interviewed Chef Jesse MacDonald for i8tonite.

My stuffed haddock – divine!

The seafood chowder was the best I’ve ever had – even with daily seafood chowder eating in Ireland – and my stuffed haddock
filet was divine. We dined out on the deck at sunset, enjoying the ambience, company, and delicious food. Our time in Miramichi was too short, but filled with great meals, excellent company, interesting conversations about place and food, and a warmth that the Rodd Miramichi so beautifully filled in our travels.

Montreal
Montreal gets two best food nominations – and I know that if we were there longer, it would have been many more. Another reason to go back…

Oh! Dumplings
Let me tell you how much we love dumplings. Wait, it can’t fit into this very small paragraph. Let’s just say top 3 foods our family loves. So when we were in Montreal, a visit to Chinatown was a must. We’d had great dumplings in Toronto, but not SUPER GREAT dumplings. Canada needed to step up to the plate and bat some excellent dumplings our way.

Dumplings and one of many scallion pancakes we ordered at Oh! Dumplings in Montreal

Meandering through Montreal’s Chinatown almost seemed sacrilegious – why weren’t we getting Montreal smoked meat? The lure of the dumpling, I answer. We found Oh! Dumplings, right next to a square where a hundred people or so were dancing. It was a sign. We ordered some of the 12 types of dumplings here, and then the scallion pancake, because the table next to us kept ordering more of them. Well, it’s a good thing the dumpling ladies were fast at making the fresh, juicy dumplings. Everyone left happy, including we three. Canada’s dumpling reputation was restored.

Making dumplings at Oh! Dumplings, in Montreal

Breakfast at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth
Often, hotel breakfasts are meh. Cold cereal, hard apples, gross coffee. The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth changed all that with their luxurious breakfast buffet. Now, the thing that enticed me most

Bread station at the Breakfast Buffet at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, Montreal

was the bread station. LOOK AT THESE GEMS! But if you didn’t want to carb out, there were several kinds of yogurt, an array of cut fruit (11 bowls!), pitchers upon pitchers of fresh squeezed juices of all kinds, and the spacious hot bar. Here, you could get a made to order omelette – or 3 other kinds of eggs, several kinds of sausages, plenty of bacon, french toast, crepes with a brown sugar glaze, several kinds of breakfast potatoes, and, my favorite, a European-style array of many sliced meats and even more gourmet cheeses. The coffee was delicious, the environment was beautiful and elegant, and the service, well, these waiters know their stuff – and are funny, to boot. We fueled up here and were satisfied until dinner. It was the perfect start to every day in Montreal.

Guild House
Closer to home (in Columbus, Ohio), we enjoyed an incredible meal at Guild House. One of the Cameron Mitchell Group restaurants, this new restaurant is worth visiting. We loved it so much that we interviewed Chef Patrick Hofer for the Chef’s Questionnaire here at i8tonite.

Toast with burrata, avocado, pickled red onion, and salsa verde at Guild House, Columbus, Ohio

The restaurant is beautiful, has outstanding talent in the kitchen, and sources locally and organically when possible. As the Guild House notes on the menu, “There’s a lot of love on every plate.” We had extraordinary appetizers (be sure to get the cheese plate with house made crackers and local sourdough toast), entrees (Lillie said that lasagna was a masterpiece, and the best lasagna she’d ever had – and she’s a lasagna connoisseur), non-alcoholic shrub beverages (swoon), and desserts. My favorite was the toast with burrata, avocado, pickled red onion, and salsa verde.

Prime rib cap, sweet onion relish, Pointe Reyes blue cheese, mustard vinaigrette at Guild House, Columbus, Ohio

OR the Prime rib cap, sweet onion relish, Pointe Reyes blue cheese, mustard vinaigrette. Let’s be honest – you can’t go wrong with anything on this menu. It also features in my mind as a top pick because it was here that our teen daughter announced that she was a gourmet cuisine aficionado. Now, while I’ve known this for years, it was this restaurant that sharpened her instincts for dissecting a menu, picking out the bits that attract you, and chatting with the waiters and chef to learn more.

Closer than Newfoundland, a visit to Stratford, Canada taught me a great deal about this well known theatre town. There is so much going on here with the food scene that I can’t wait to go back and eat. Every meal was a treat, and much of it is locally sourced. One of my favorite meals was our lunch at Mercer Hall Inn.

House smoked beef dip sandwich, seasonal slaw, fries & jus at Mercer Hall Inn, Stratford, Canada

The meal was outstanding – truly, some of the most clean and fresh tasting food I’ve had in a long time. We went back into the kitchen with Chef Ryan O’Donnell – and saw some of the ingredients he was working with, including freshly baked bread, wild rice crackers, and gorgeous, colorful vegetables straight from local growers. He’s an artist, with a full palette of organic, local food to create with – and an instructor at the Stratford Chef School. Mercer Hall also features tea from Tea Leaves – home of Canada’s first Tea Sommelier, Karen Hartwick – a genius at delicious, enriching teas.

Thanksgiving was special. I loved it for the family, for cooking

Our Thanksgiving Dinner – delicious, familiar, and full of love

together with my mom and aunt and daughter, for the tablecloth and dishes and place cards we use every year, for the decorations that are familiar and the dishes that we tweak a bit each year (or not). It’s the perfect combination of tradition and deliciousness, and is always a highlight of my year.

And the coffee:
We moved to Kalamazoo this spring, although I’ve lived here before and grew up a half hour away. I am so happy that there are many great coffeeshops in town, including Black Owl (purveyors of Kalamazoo Coffee, roasted out back), and Something’s Brewing, home of delicious coffee and homemade cinnamon pop tarts. Yep.

Delicious coffee (and tea) at Black Owl Cafe, Kalamazoo, Michigan

When you think back to your favorite meals, what made them so great? For me, it’s a combination of company and delicious food. Luckily, I have had plenty of both this year.

The End. Go Eat.

December 18, 2015
i8tonite: Chef’s Questionnaire with Michelin-Starred Chef and Author Greg Malouf
Michelin-starred chef and cookbook author Greg Malouf has inspired a generation of cooks, transforming the global restaurant scene with his love for the flavors of the Middle East and North Africa.

He was born in Melbourne, Australia of Lebanese parents. After serving his formal training in several of Australia’s finest restaurants, he went on to work in France, Italy, Austria, and Hong Kong. Drawing on his cultural heritage and European training, Greg has forged a unique style of cooking that combines Middle Eastern tradition with contemporary flair. Greg is in constant international demand for chef master classes, media interviews and guest-chef appearances in leading hotels of the world.

He is the co-author, with Lucy Malouf, his former wife, of the multi-award-winning cookbooks Arabesque, Moorish, Saha, Turquoise, Saraban – and his latest book Malouf – New Middle Eastern Food. In 2014, Greg and his co-author, released their new vegetarian Middle Eastern cookbook, New Feast.

Greg currently resides in Dubai and has opened his signature kitchen, Clé Dubai.

‘But it’s not just brave, it’s clever…. Dishes like hummus, moutabel, muhammara, fattoush and tabbouleh are recipes we eat constantly in the region, and those which many of us will gauge a restaurant’s capabilities by. They set a benchmark, and by giving us his versions, Malouf has painted his own standard.’ – Sarah Walton, The Hedonista

From the United Kingdom Michelin Guide: While Malouf has rolled out such touches slowly at Petersham, they have not gone without notice. The editor of the 2013 Michelin Guide to Great Britain & Ireland, Rebecca Burr, says Michelin’s reviewers had been impressed with Malouf’s originality. ”The star was retained solely on the food and it was an easy decision to make,” Burr says. ”Greg Malouf has stamped his own mark on Petersham Nurseries and we are delighted to highlight his original cuisine to our readers.”

How long have you been cooking? It frightens me to think this but I started cooking at the age of 17 (1978). 37 years!

What is your favorite food to cook? My favorite cuisine is Lebanese and I love to cook with all its exotic ingredients.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Yogurt, olives, and eggs.

What do you cook at home?
I spend most of my time in my kitchen at work. However, when at home cooking, it’s usually for friends. Lentil tabbouleh, salmon kibbeh nayee and chicken in saj (mountain) bread are a staple for a dinner party.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? The willingness to leave a part of their mother’s food at home and understand what a restaurant experience offers.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? Customers who aren’t open to any interpretation in a restaurant.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?
Glassware = Pyrex
Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Wine and champagne

Your favorite cookbook author?
Claudia Roden – her inspiration book called The New Book of Middle Eastern Food

Your favorite kitchen tool? Mortar and pestle. Smashing garlic with sea salt and blending it with spices and olive oil.

Your favorite ingredient?
Murray River Crystal sea salt.

Your least favorite ingredient?
Brussels sprouts.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Kill and skin live eels.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Lebanese, Italian. and Cantonese.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu?
Grass fed beef from Scotland, Bresse chicken from France and UK old breed pork ….. I don’t eat tofu!
Favorite vegetable?
Eggplant (aubergine).

Chef you most admire?
Raymond Capaldi. He is an unmarked bottle of poison. He’s such an explosive character and you never know what you’ll get from him and on his plates.

Food you like the most to eat?
Late night Lebanese mezza

Food you dislike the most?
Capsicum. (Bell peppers.)

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
One tattoo – a scar that produced two heart transplants

Recipe: Pigeon tagine with Dates and Ginger (Or Cornish Game Hens)
- 4 squab pigeons, breasts and marylands removed (Or Cornish Game hens)
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup of sherry
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon saffron (1/2)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 2 cups dates, chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 6 cups water or chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Prepare the pigeons or hens by cutting them into quarters. If you don’t feel confident about doing this yourself, ask your butcher to prepare them for you.

Briefly sauté the carcasses to add colour, then add the vegetables and sauté a few more minutes. Add sherry and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour on the water and bring to the boil. Skim off any surface fat, then lower heat and simmer for an hour, skimming off any fat from time to time.

Melt the butter and oil and fry the onions and garlic over a medium heat until softened. Add the pepper, saffron, cinnamon and ginger and stir well. Season pigeon pieces with salt and sauté in the spicy mixture for about 2 minutes, until well coated. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Then add the chopped dates and stir in well. Cover again, and simmer for a further 20-30 minutes – check to see when pigeon pieces are nice and tender. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with plain buttered couscous or a simple rice pilaff.

The End. Go Eat.
December 1, 2015
i8tonite: Chef’s Questionnaire with Peruvian Brothers Giuseppe and Mario Lanzone and Ceviche

(Editor’s Note: We decided to re-run last week’s story as we had some technical glitches…besides, the Lanzone Brothers are attractive enough to see every week. )

As Washington, DC food entrepreneurs, Giuseppe and Mario Lanzone are certainly no strangers to hard work. Mario is a full time bartender at Napoleon Bistro & Lounge and spends his summers captaining yachts in the Mediterranean. Giuseppe competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics for the United States rowing team and currently coaches rowing at Georgetown University. He applies the same Olympic intensity and drive towards he and his brother’s Washington, DC food truck, Peruvian Brothers. In fact, the duo spent two full months hunting down the perfect bread that most accurately inspired their Peruvian taste buds – now a custom Peruvian Brothers recipe on the menu at The French Bread factory in Sterling, Virginia.

The brothers were born and raised off the coast of Lima, Peru, in a close-knit community of La Punta, where family and the ocean reigned. The flavors that dominated their childhood are the tastes they crave the most, inspiring the Lanzone brothers to team up to represent the tastiest part of their Peruvian heritage.

The history behind the Peruvian Comida Criolla cuisine is as appealing and complex as the unique combinations of flavor. With roots in Andean-Spanish-Afro-Peruvian and Asian influences, Comida Criolla boasts powerful flavors that are sorely missing from the streets of D.C. Recipes passed down in the Lanzone family, as well as Mario’s own original spins on traditional Peruvian favorites, give their menu an authentic taste with a unique twist.

To sample their authentic Peruvian fare, follow the Peruvian Brothers truck via @PeruBrothers on Twitter and Facebook, and find them online at http://peruvianbrothers.com/

Chefs Questionnaire

Giuseppe Lanzone = GL

Mario Lanzone = ML

How long have you been cooking?
GL: Since I can remember
ML: For the past 15 years

What is your favorite food to cook?
GL: Breakfast
ML: Peruvian food

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
ML: Eggs, milk, avocados
ML: Milk, eggs, vegetables, ice cream

What do you cook at home?
GL: Omelettes with whatever meat and cheese I can get my hands on
ML: Meat stews, stir fries and ceviche in the summer

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer?
GL: When they are cordial
ML: When a costumer assumes they know what they want because they’ve been to our food truck many times

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer?
GL: When you say hello, and they answer by saying nothing or by saying that they are just looking at the menu
ML: Some of them are just never happy

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?
GL: Pyrex, it’s cleaner
ML: Pyrex

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
GL: Dark beer or a good whiskey
ML: Cocktail

Your favorite cookbook author?
GL: Any book with good ideas is my favorite book
ML: Ceviche by Martin Morales

Your favorite kitchen tool?
GL: Meat slicer
ML: My really sharp knife

Your favorite ingredient?
GL: Rocoto pepper
ML: Yellow Peruvian Pepper

Your least favorite ingredient?
GL: None, really
ML: Cumin by itself

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen?
GL: Clean the floors
ML: Wash dishes

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
GL: Peruvian, of course!
ML: Peruvian

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu?
GL: Beef
ML: Pork

Favorite vegetable?
GL: Beets
ML: Onions

Chef you most admire?
ML: Gaston Acurio
GL: My brother

Food you like the most to eat?
ML: Peruvian and Thai
GL: Italian and Peruvian

Food you dislike the most?
ML: Indian
GL: none

How many tattoos?
ML: One on my arm. I got it about 10 years ago. It has faded away.
GL: none

Recipe: Ceviche

8 lb fresh fish fillets (tilapia works well)
Fresh lime juice
Cilantro
Garlic
Salt
Aji limo pepper
Red onion
Baked sweet potatoes
Corn

Cut the fish in small cubes and put them in a large bowl with a couple of ice cubes to keep the fish cold. Then add minced aji limo pepper, salt, pepper, garlic, cilantro, thinly julienned onion, and one cup of freshly squeezed lime juice. Mix for a couple minutes and add a squirt of evaporated milk. Plate on a butter lettuce leaf and accompany with corn kernels and thickly sliced baked sweet potatoes.

The End. Go Eat.

November 19, 2015
I8tonite with Food Person: Sasha Martin, Author of “Life from Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family and Forgiveness
“Most people who have had a rough background will admit there’s something unsettling about finding happiness after difficulty – that even after we unwrap this gift, we don’t know how to stop searching, rummaging, pilfering for something else. We walk haltingly through life, ready for the other shoe to drop. The question is not if, but when.” – Sasha Martin, “Life from Scratch” (National Geographic Society, March 2015).

I had never heard of the food blog GlobalTableAdventure.com until I read Sasha Martin’s engaging food memoir “Life from Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family and Forgiveness” (ISBN 978 – 1- 5462 – 8, National Geographic Society) published in March of this year. Martin’s blog is about cooking globally and bringing that experience of culture to the table, but it’s her book and story that’s the winner. “Life from Scratch” begins light-heartedly enough but as Martin’s life progresses from child to teenager, it becomes disquieting and uneasy. Once, Martin moves to Tulsa, Oklahoma as an adult, I breathed a sigh of relief. To Ms. Martin’s credit, it’s her calm style of writing that gives the reader emotional balance to understand the truth of what’s transpiring. Otherwise, one might get squirmy reading in the Lazy-boy.

Speaking with Martin on the phone is a pleasure. Her voice is like her writing — soft, easy with hints of apprehension. (Apprehension because she’s talking to me. I make people wary.) She disclosed that
Life from Scratch came about in an unusual manner. Martin was approached by a literary agent who liked GlobalTableAdventure. The agent shopped the proposal around to a variety of publishing houses — they all loved it — but Martin felt a “kinship” to National Geographic Society (NGS). Interestingly, her NGS editor really liked the story of the blog and global cooking up until the first draft. But she felt that Martin wasn’t forthcoming with her childhood history…. that she was holding back. Martin admitted she was. She explained to her editor about growing up, the death of her brother and the twelve European countries she visited with her legal guardians. She details the story of her mother letting her and her brother go into foster care. Once, the real story of Sasha Martin was out, it was the truth and book the editor wanted.

Martin said, “I never expected so much of this book to be about my past. It was supposed to be a lighthearted exploration of world cooking but digging deeper made me realize the real story wasn’t how I cooked the world but why. Being forced to face my past was a gift. I have so much more understanding and perspective now.

Punctuated with loving memories of home cooking with her mother, a lonely teenager in European and global cuisine from her blog, GlobalTableAdventure.com, such as Hungarian Paprika Chicken, German Cake and Maldivian Fire-Roasted Fish, “Life from Scratch” may turn out to be my favorite book of 2015. It offers hope and fulfillment on a spiritual scale.

“There’s a difference between poverty of resources and poverty of spirit.” – Sasha Martin, Life from Scratch.

(Correction/Revision: Previously, it was noted that Ms. Martin lived in twelve countries her foster parents. She visited twelve with her legal guardians. A correction and revision to the original post was made. )

Food People Questions: (with a nod to Marcel Proust)

What is your favorite food to cook at home? Argentinian Acorn Squash Salad with baby arugula and aged goat cheese.

The Marshall Islands.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? Spicy mustard.

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

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a person with whom you are sharing a meal? Treating their cellphone like a guest at the party.

Beer, wine or cocktail? Any cocktail with grapefruit or a Riesling spritzer with a wedge of orange.

Japanese Bento Box for kids

Your favorite cookbook author? I’m a huge fan of what Christopher
Kimball does – very methodical, reliable recipes. Every single time.

Your favorite kitchen tool? Microplane.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Cooking a meal from every country in the world taught me to love trying recipes from obscure-to-me parts of the world.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? Tofu.

Favorite vegetable? Brussels Sprouts.

Date Balls

Chef you most admire? Nigel Slater – he overcame a rough childhood and has the most beautiful way with words. Tender and Ripe are masterpieces

Food you like the most to eat? Hmmm… on most days a hearty salad, like Malaysian Herbed Rice Salad, with a crusty loaf of homemade artisan bread.

Food you dislike the most? I’m not much for eating something just for the shock value. My goal is to share international food that’s easy enough for a weeknight and elegant enough for the weekend.

What is your favorite non-food thing to do? Write or paint.

Who do you most admire in food? The millions of families struggling to make ends meet. My own mother struggled to make ends meet and yet she scrimped and saved so we could eat foods like 19-layer German Tree Cake. She taught me that food can help us see beyond our circumstances; there’s a real difference between poverty of resources and poverty of spirit.

Where is your favorite place to eat? Any patio, 75F.

What is your favorite restaurant? I have fond memories of eating at Vietnamese restaurants in Paris. Go figure!

Martin and her daughter cooking.

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? No. I have a theory that I could never truly be naked if I ever got a tattoo.

Sasha Martin’s Recipe: Mongolian Carrot Salad (Serves 4 hungry people)

Ingredients:
- 1 lb carrots, grated or julienned (on a mandolin is easiest)
- 1/2 cup raisins, soaked in hot water
For the dressing:
- 1 large clove of garlic, grated
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar
- salt & pepper, to taste
Toss everything together and refrigerate until needed. Best after about 30 minutes. Check seasonings before serving (be sure to use plenty of salt to bring out the flavors).

– The End. Go Eat. –
October 16, 2015
I8tonite: with Chef Hugh Acheson featuring Butter Lettuce Salad with Feta, Radish and a Dill Pickle Vinaigrette

Southern chef Hugh Acheson is the cooking star of the moment…albeit one who is humble and has a really good sense of humor. He proclaims on his website, “To Athens, (Acheson) is the guy who owns those restaurants, has one eyebrow, a wife far better looking than he is and two young children who are the apple of his eye.”

Photo Credit: Emily B. Hall

And yes, with humor, there is always a modicum of truth but Acheson isn’t just the chef with one eyebrow, a beautiful wife and children and the guy who owns those restaurants – four to be exact — in Georgia which include his newest, The Florence (pictured above), the National, Empire State South and the one that started it all, 5 X 10. The Canadian-born but Southern food adopted Acheson is the chef who published an award-winning James Beard cookbook “A New Turn in The South” and won the prestigious award from the culinary organization for “Best Chef, Southeast”. In addition to these impressive accomplishments and many more, he has been awarded Food & Wine’s “Best New Chef” (2002), StarChefs.com “Mentor of the Year” (2012) and his town newspaper, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, presented him with “Restaurant of the Year”.

Photo credit: Emily B. Hall

Currently, Acheson is promoting his book “The Broad Fork: Recipes for the Wide World of Vegetables and Fruits” (Clarkson Potter, 2015) which showcases his love of vegetables, his family and cooking in the Southern with simple and easy to use recipes.

If you don’t live in the Atlanta/ Savannah, Georgia area, you have the potential of meeting Mr. Acheson in Los Angeles. He is cooking as the “All Star Chef” – along with “Local All Star Chefs” — Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo – for the James Beard Foundation’s “Night of Culinary Stars” on November 6, 2015. On November 7, he will be signing copies of his cookbook as well as demo-ing recipes at The Grove’s Sur La Table.

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

What is your favorite food?

Carrots.

What do you always have in your fridge?

Feta, carrots, eggs, prosciutto.

What do you cook at home?

Roast chicken with gravy and rice.

What marked characteristic do you despise in your customer?

Everyone is different. I rarely despise anyone.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer?

Adventurous eating.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?

Pyrex.

Beer, wine or cocktail?

Wine.

Your favorite cookbook author?

Paula Wolfert.

Your favorite kitchen tool?

A bench scraper.

Your favorite ingredient?

Farro.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen?

Dishes, just like everyone else.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?

Middle Eastern.

Chef you most admire?

Mike Solomonov.

Food you like the most?

Middle Eastern.

Food you dislike the most?

None.

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

Six. One radish is the only culinary one.

Recipe: Butter lettuce salad with feta, radish, and dill pickle vinaigrette

Clean the lettuce. Dry and set aside.

In a blender, puree 1/2 a dill pickle and then add two tablespoons of cider vinegar and 1/3 cup of olive oil. Season with salt. Crumble some feta and slice some radishes, and then add those to the lettuces, lightly torn up to the size of your mouth. Dress to your taste. Toss well. Eat.

The End. Go Eat.

August 19, 2015
i8tonite: Rajas con Crema

I’m living in Phoenix and yes…it’s very strange seeing that in black and white. My first touch of it, besides driving through it with my mother at the age of seven and a highway Stuckey’s, was Mesa Grill, celebrity chef Bobby Flay’s first restaurant on Manhattan’s lower 5^th Avenue. Housed in a large store-front with soaring 40 foot ceilings, it was the place to dine in the early nineties. Everything had a touch of chili, lime, avocado, cilantro and …crema! The room was festive with bright reds, muted browns and rusts, touches of oranges and greens with splashes of yellow, evocative of the Sonoran desert in bloom. I remember eating a nachos variation of six or seven massive house-made tortilla chips, beautifully plated. The appetizer which we had with some cactus fruit margaritas had a drizzle of black bean sauce in one direction, an avocado crema going in the other, and a melted cheese swirled somewhere. In the center of that action was a roasted chopped chicken and pico de gallo which diners dipped into. It was a living large experience and very much of the moment. Big hair, bold jewelry, bright colors with larger than life personalities.

Much of the urban world, was undergoing the AIDS crisis and New York City was very hard hit. We needed color. We needed it in our clothes (Stephen Sprouse), in our art (Keith Haring) and on our plates. We needed bold statements to say that we were alive and weren’t going anywhere. Or that we were dying and celebrating life as much as we could.

I was in my twenties, working in an art gallery and waiting tables…and Mesa Grill was truly a culinary torch. The restaurant itself was loud and cavernous. Clanking and clinking of glasses and silverware were louder than the conversations. Hand-blown pendants lights hung from loft-ceilings. Dusky yellow walls, and pillars painted red. The banquettes were printed with lively cowboys on horses. It was a scene of the right out of the southwest minus the cowboys. (They could be found down in the Meatpacking district or the West Village.)

Now that I’m living in the Arizona, I’m starting to really look at southwestern recipes in a new light as something to explore. The food originated in Arizona, New Mexico, western regions of Texas and southern Nevada and Colorado is a marriage of foods and cultures from Native American (Hopi and Zuni), Mexican, Spanish settlers and European Anglo Saxons settling in the Wild West. Caucasians addition to the food was mostly with the use of dairy, specifically, butter and cheese. The Spanish showcased how to raise cattle. The Mexicans brought in the use of vegetables and the Native Americans had corn. These confluences, essentially created another distinct cuisine which are as American as fried chicken and barbeque or jambalaya and clam chowder. Consumers – of both of Southwestern recipes and in the area — will find lots of peppers, black beans and corn including red, blue and yellow. I think it’s about to make a comeback.

Rajas con crema (The word “raja” means slices)

This dish will make enough for essentially two people to use as tacos or for four people to use as a topping for poultry or fish.

2 – 4 Poblano/pasilla peppers, cut into strip of about a ¼ inch in length (Alternatively you could use sweet bell peppers including green, red or yellow)

Roughly a tablespoon of vegetable oil

1 half of a large onion

Heavy cream

Two cloves of garlic slivered thinly

Cut the onion into half-moon using a sharp knife or mandolin. Sauteé the onions in a in a large enough pan to hold all the ingredients. Get the onions soft but not browned. Add the peppers, cream and garlic. Cook at a low temperature, stirring the proverbial pot until everything is softened and Cream is reduced by about a quarter. You can toss in some fresh cilantro or parsley for color.

Serve with tortillas as tacos or as an accompaniment on top of fish or poultry.

-The End. Go Eat. –

August 17, 2015
I8tonite: Chef’s Questionnaire with Kelly Chapman, Chef and Creator of Studio City’s Macolicious
Chef Kelly Chapman is a rare find in the culinary world. Her Macolicious, a restaurant serving up the comfort of macaroni and cheese, located in Studio City, California is from the heart. She has an earnestness not seen in the restaurant industry showcasing “paying-it-forward”, honoring recipes from her elders and good old-fashioned, taste-bud loving cooking. Chapman’s pasta and cheese started off as a food truck which road-tripped throughout the Los Angeles, Santa Monica and San Fernando Valley before becoming a brick-and-mortar in September 2014. Currently, her menu features over 12 different variations of macaroni and cheese, all of it baked with it’s base being a sharp cheddar. (” …although The Dreamy Creamy Mac is prepared stove top because that’s the way kids like it”.) There are fancy versions such as “Frous Frous” which is made with blue crab; “5 Cheeses” which includes Asiago, Fontina, Gruyere, Parmesan and cheddar and “American Mac” which combines asparagus and bacon two of Chapman’s favorite ingredients. Some of the proceeds of her restaurant goes to Kelly Chapman’s Ministries Mobile Pantry which has fed over 20,000 people in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio including low-income families, battered women and single mothers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your favorite ingredient? I put cheese on everything.

Your least favorite ingredient? Curry.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Food you dislike the most? Any type of fish.

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

Kelly Chapman’s Breakfast Casserole

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

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

-The End. Go Eat. –
August 12, 2015
I8tonite: A Chef’s Questionnaire with Oakland, California’s Chef Roland Robles, Handlebar and FiveTenBurger.
Chef Roland Robles first came to prominence with FiveTenBurger, a food truck that cooked up delicious burgers throughout the Bay Area garnering amazing notices from such publications as Oakland Magazine and San Francisco Chronicle. Last year, he opened Handlebar, a brick-and-mortar with partner, Jennifer Seidman who also owns the area’s Acme Bar & Company. Handlebar is a neighborhood restaurant and bar where Robles explores fare outside the bun. However, he still serves up the best burger – in my humble opinion – in the Bay Area. Hands down.
- How long have you been cooking? Since I was a boy, 35-40 years.
- What is your favorite food to eat? I adore Chinese, especially the Americanized delivery style but any really.
- What do you always have in your fridge at home? Herbs and eggs.
- What do you cook at home? Extravagant ten-course dinners and tacos.
- What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in your customer? Entitlement.
- What marked characteristic do you love in your diners? Patience.
- Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Pyrex
- Beer, wine or cocktail? Beer and a shot. I’m a cook.
- Your favorite cookbook author? That’s tough… (Marcella) Hazan, (Julia) Child, my mom, (Kylie) Kwong
- Your favorite kitchen tool? My run of the mill Japanese deba.
Japanese deba
- Your favorite ingredient? Salt.
- Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Wash dishes.
- Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Chinese, TexMex, Italian.
- Chef you most admire? For television: Mario Batali, Jacques Pepin.
- Food you dislike the most? Poorly made anything.
- How many tattoos? A lot.
- And if so, how many are of food? One. A sacred jalapeño.
A “No-Recipe” recipe from Chef Roland Robles:

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

— Go Eat. —
July 8, 2015