i8tonite

Tag: recipe

My Indy Neighbor Makes the Best Jerk Chicken
Or, How I Learned About Chinese Jamaican Food

It’s easy to meet your neighbors when you have dogs. Owners seem to be on the same schedule. It’s either before work or after, sometimes it’s in the afternoon when you work from home. Such as it is with Scott, whom I met as he rolled by on his skateboard with Indigo in tow. However, with her sylph-like form harnessed to her owner, it seemed that Indy pulled Scott like a husky. Indy is sweet to watch; she lopes with determination and zest, eager to exercise.

In comparison, I trundled by with George. Our chocolate lab loves every dog, and every dog loves him. Indy, a pit and whippet mix, can be rough and needs galloping runs with her skater Dad. The two canines have become friends—a quick sniff and off to their worlds. George is finding good goose poop to eat – a never-ending process – and Indy is potentially racing the Iditarod.

Growing up as a half-Filipino and half-Caucasian-American boy, I feel acutely drawn to people like me. We are unique. I thought Scott might be bi-racial, too. As it turns out it, he identifies as Chinese Jamaican, a small group of the country’s immigrants that settled in the Caribbean. The son of an American Irish-Scottish father and a Chinese mother, he was born in the Caribbean nation of Jamaica. Raised in Indiana, he, a digital artist, and his wife, Berlin, a teacher are now empty nesters.

Scott and Berlin Hughes Photo, Scott Hughes

Being the food lover I am, I immediately searched the internet for recipes from his Caribbean background. His cooking heritage includes many dishes such as stir-fried goat, jerk chicken chow mein, and char sui dahlpouri. The last dish, literally is a melting pot of cultures, with tastes from Southeast Asia, China, and the continent of Africa.

According to the National Library of Jamaica website, the Chinese, mostly Hakka, arrived as indentured servants to work the sugar plantations from 1854 until 1886. Three well-documented ships sailed with almost thousand immigrants during this period. Then, a second and third migration occurred from the early 20th century until the 1970s, mostly of individuals and entrepreneuers looking for better lives. The online publication Gal-Dem, dedicated to telling marginalized people’s stories, says that 50,000 Chinese Jamaicans live on the island today. During an ethnic revolt during the 1970s, several thousand Chinese Jamaicans moved to Canada and parts of the U.S. for safety.

When I learned that Scott was Chinese Jamaican, I took it upon myself to learn more. It’s a fascinating immigration story about how Asians and Pacific Islanders came to create a diverse culture in Caribbean history. Through this, I discovered that the first Filipino settlement occurred in a Louisana in 1763 with a group of enslaved people and other people of color. Even earlier, Filipinos sailors aboard a Spanish ship landed in Morro Bay, California in 1587, reports PBS So Cal Focus, 33 years before the pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock. With this said, discovery of North America most likely were not European but from the Asian diaspora.

In his words: Scott Hughes

I was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1972. My father was American Scotch/Irish, and my mother was Chinese, whose parents came to China in the early 20th century. My mother’s people are called Hakka Chinese. They have a dialect but no longer speak it. They are native to Southern China but originally migrated to the region from the central part of China in ancient times. They are considered Han Chinese (a particular group which than moved to Southern China, before immigrating to Jamaica) and live in the traditional Hakka round houses.

Home grown scotch bonnets: Photo by Scott Hughes

My mother came to America through Catholic school connections and attended Marian College in the sixties when she met my father. They moved to Jamaica and lived with my mother’s family before migrating back to the U.S. in the seventies.

My uncle owned a small Jamaican eatery called Patties of Jamaica at the 52nd and Allisonville Road intersection. It has been there for over 40 years, now run by my cousin.

What is your favorite food to cook at home?

Jamaican food.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?

Scotch bonnet peppers that I grow.

What marked characteristic do you love in a person you share a meal with?

Trying new food.

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

Hogging the best shrimp.

Beer, wine, or cocktail?

No

Who is your favorite cookbook author?

Julia Child.

What is your favorite kitchen or bar tool?

Meat tenderizer mallet.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?

Chinese, Thai, and Caribbean.

Beef, chicken, pork, seafood or tofu?

I love chicken, beef and goat.

Favorite vegetable?

Green beans

What chef or culinary person do you most admire?

Bourdain

What food do you like the most?

Blueberries

What is your favorite non-eating thing to do?

skateboarding, water-coloring, digital design

Whom do you most admire in food?

Chef Ricardo

Where is your favorite place to eat/drink in the Midwest? Delicia

Where is your favorite place to eat and drink outside the Midwest?

New Orleans & Jamaica

What is your favorite restaurant?

Benyue Dim Sum House in Castleton.

Who is/are the person/s with whom you would share your last meal?

My wife.

Scott Hughes Recipe for Jerk Chicken
- One medium onion, coarsely chopped
- Three medium scallions chopped
- 3 Scotch bonnet chiles, chopped
- Two garlic cloves, chopped
- One tablespoon five-spice powder
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground fennel seeds
- One tablespoon Jamaican allspice berries, coarsely ground
- One tablespoon of coarsely ground black pepper
- One teaspoon of fresh thyme
- One teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
- One teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- One tablespoon of olive oil
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) chickens, quartered
- 1tsp Chinese MSG (that’s right)
- 1 Lime to wash the chicken pieces with (Jamaican practice but not needed)
Prep chicken pieces by poking them with a fork to allow marinade to seep into the flesh. Rub chicken pieces with fresh lime (optional).

Use a blender to make spices into a marinade, and place chicken into a 1-2 1-gallon size freezer bag(s) and marinate for a day. If you need to use two freezer bags, split the marinade into both.

Bake or grill at around 415 degrees for approximately 40 -50 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces.

If baking, use a slotted pan to release the chicken drippings below. However, roasting the meat in a glass baking dish allows the spices and juices to bathe. It all comes out delicious.

You can adjust to a lower heat but add extra time to accommodate.

Best served with Jamaican rice and peas and a mango coleslaw

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January 16, 2024
i8tonite: Top Favorites Eats, 2023: Delicious, Easy Recipe for Hasselback Potatoes
Our favorite meals over the last year. And a Thanksgiving Hasselback Potato Recipe.

I spoke to a born and bred Hoosier who said to me, “Hoosiers are humble. We don’t talk about the great things we offer.” In today’s day and age of marketing and promotion, no one wants to dine at your table if they don’t know what’s available. We have many opportunities to promote local Indiana food entrepreneurs, and we should. A friend and former editor-in-chief of the biggest food magazine in the world said her life was about traveling to eat. In 2004, London-based food writer Andy Hayler went to every three Michelin-starred restaurants worldwide and was the first to do so. He continued to do it six more times until the pandemic. Traveling for food is big business.

Having lived, worked and promoted destination and resort towns across the United States and internationally for most of my life, it’s always about the food and drink first, even more so than the hotels. Think about heading to Napa Valley without the wine? Leaving the lackluster conference hotel room, the food – and service –will make or break the experience. Before living in Indy, except once, I never read about great food from the Hoosier state, but there are stellar places. I’ve eaten at them.

Read our first two of 2023 until we get to eight!

Tinker Street

Four years ago, Nick and I spent my first birthday in Indy at Tinker Street, one of the city’s mainstays, which I place as one of the finest eateries in the Midwest. Opened in 2015, the small restaurant on 16th Street in the historic district of Herron Morton provides Chef Tyler Shortt an opportunity to be creative with Indiana-grown ingredients. It’s one of the few restaurants that promote the area farmers while also being in the 21st century with a female sommelier, Ashlee Nemeth, and providing reservations.

Shortt’s recipes showcase regional agriculture, corn and tomatoes, and meats like duck and pork. That’s a good thing. The New American fusion – that ubiquitous term that uses herbs and spices from international flavors with European cooking methods – shows in the sauces such as the yuzu garlic aioli on the scallop and scallion risotto or the cappelletti with a Korean braised short rib. It’s an eating destination where one is never disappointed in the food or service. Importantly, it’s that place you bring your Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City friends when they finally come to visit you. Thankfully, it’s 21 and over, too.

402 E. 16th Street

Indianapolis, IN 46202

(317) 925-5000

Reservations

Chicken Scratch

A graduate of Ivy Tech’s Culinary School, Chef Tia Harrison, who catered for ten years before opening her restaurant called Chef Tia & Co., started serving her wings as a special on Wednesdays. Upon being one of two $25,0000 Discover Financial Services recipients to support Black-owned food entrepreneurs, she opened her first standalone devoted to the hump day special on Keystone. It’s a pickup and delivery spot with over a thousand reviewers from happy customers giving it a thumbs up. Ms. Harrison creates mighty tasty wings and loaded fries from this location. And as a customer, your choices feel endless. Who knew there were so many variations on wings? Naked or breaded, bone-in, boneless, and vegan, made with cauliflower florets and tossed in almost a dozen hand-crafted sauces that make everything finger-licking good.

Parmesan garlic is a house specialty, and the spicy jerk BBQ fires up the tastebuds, but no one can do wrong with the hot honey. If you’re visiting Indianapolis, have them delivered to your room and source a wine from one of the Black female winemakers in Indiana (Sip & Share or Cultured Urban Winery). You will remember the meal much more than the keynote speaker.

Since debuting in 2021, Harrison opened two more this year, one in Cincinnati and another downtown Indy location.

5308 N. Keystone Avenue

Indianapolis, IN 46220

Order

Anthony’s Chophouse

Filet of Beef, courtesy of Anthony’s Chophouse

I’m fascinated by Carmel’s carefully planned community design, so much so that I often drove by Carmel’s Anthony Chophouse without noticing. The developed city has entranced me with its perfect walkways and storefronts, that I missed the illuminated sign, mistaking it for another chain.

But once inside, they transport you past the white picket fences and into a South Beach atmosphere, exuding sex appeal. A gas fireplace framed by brick illuminated the staircase leading upstairs and packed the bar area with crowds of Carmelites — sculpture and texture play in the dining room, with Rat Pack chocolate-covered banquettes and brass mid-century lights. A wood-planked floor allows for runway arrivals of Manholos and To Boots before stepping onto a modern weave. And, of course, the glass-walled kitchen allows diners to see the back of the house between sips of ready-to-pair meat cabernets.

As for the boeuf, it was standard with freshly seared ribeye and filets. We like the flight of beef, like tastes of wine, that featured four-ounce portions of USDA prime, grass-fed, and Wagyu. We have yet to eat in every steakhouse in the world, but we found this to be a novel idea. Dining at a butcher emporium, for the most part, is about something other than the steaks. It’s about the wine, the cocktails, service, appetizers and the sides. Diners will find creativity in these dishes, wine menu and libations. The bone marrow, harvest pig and the gambas pil pil are worth visiting every single evening. And if we could afford it, we would.

201 W. Main Street

Carmel, IN 46032

(317) 740-0900

Reservations

A Thanksgiving Recipe for Hasselback Potatoes

Ingredients:
- 4 large russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
- Olive oil or melted butter
- Salt and pepper
- Optional toppings: grated cheese, chopped herbs (such as rosemary or thyme), garlic powder, paprika, sour cream, bacon bits, or any preferred toppings
To Make:
1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Wash the potatoes thoroughly and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. Place a potato on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, make vertical slices across the potato, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart, ensuring it does not cut all the way through. Pro tip: To prevent cutting through the potato, place chopsticks or wooden spoons on either side to act as a barrier.
2. Once all the potatoes are sliced, place them on a baking sheet or in a baking dish.
3. Drizzle olive oil or melted butter over the potatoes, making sure to get some in between the slices. Use your hands or a brush to evenly coat each potato with oil or butter.
4. Season generously with salt and pepper, ensuring the seasoning gets into the crevices.
5. Optional: Add your preferred toppings such as grated cheese, chopped herbs, garlic powder, or paprika between the slices or on top of the potatoes.
6. Place the baking sheet or dish in the preheated oven and bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The cooking time may vary depending on the size and type of potatoes used.
7. Once done, remove the potatoes from the oven and let them cool slightly for a few minutes before serving.
8. Serve the Hasselback potatoes as a side dish with your favorite main course. Optionally, garnish with additional toppings like sour cream or bacon bits before serving.
November 16, 2023
I8tonite Learns from IG Entrepreneur Abby Breece

Thrifting, Parenthood and the Joys of Living in Indy; Plus, a Spicy & Sweet Hand Tart Recipe

I first met Abby Breece, 36, and her husband, Eric, as neighbors when Nick and I moved to Indianapolis. The mid-thirties duo allowed us to glom onto them since this was my first time living anywhere in the Midwest, and they knew a Midwestern newbie when they saw one. Together, we wandered around Massachusetts Avenue in Indy, bar-hopping before their baby was born. They met our respective families, we met theirs, and we joined their “Covid-19 circle” during the early days of the pandemic. We even went to Chicago together, eating in some stellar places while touring the city.

A native Hoosier, Abby, maintains a thriving practice as a licensed marriage and family therapist. On the side, she created an online vintage Instagram shop called Beulah, named after one of Eric neighbor’s growing up in Traverse City. As she says on her Instagram store, “(Eric) remembers Beulah’s home filled with rattan, wicker and other furniture from the sixties and seventies. After we got married nine years ago, he saw me follow suit, bringing home thrifted furniture from the same era and affectionately (or not, I’m not really sure referring to (my purchases) as “more Beulah.”

An empathic healer during the day, and in her free time, using Beulah Vintage as a creative outlet. Her company of four years sells on a single social platform, and the business thrives. Active 2: She sourced and curated items for her store over the past year, opened a small kiosk in the Lux & Ivy Shop located in the hipster area of Broad Ripple, appeared on a TV segment in the area, and occasionally sells in local outdoor markets.

Somewhere through all of this, she gives back to the community by volunteering for the Friends of Martin Luther King Jr. Park, a neighborhood volunteer initiative that helps to beautify the city’s neglected memorial green space.

And then she bakes. Delicious cookies. Holiday pavlova. Banana bread.

We inserted ourselves into Abby’s busy life to learn more about this new mom, her life and where she finds inspiration with i8tonight Questions.

I8tonite: Tell us about yourself. Where were you born, and what does a typical day look like? I was born in Indianapolis. My mom was an elementary education teacher, and my dad was in shipping logistics.

A typical day includes recent motherhood stuff. That means a lot of feedings every few hours and dog walking. Still, when I’m not doing that, I’m sourcing online or in person for stuff for Beulah or doing inventory.

I’m also a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice. And I’ve done that since officially 2016.

Why did you start Beulah?

I didn’t start it intentionally, but it came out of the joy of liking to source and thrift vintage and, honestly, inexpensive items while I was in college and as I grew into my career. And so that became a hobby for me, and I wanted to share it with others.

Instagram was a big platform that I could use. I started doing it on there, and it’s taken a lot of different shapes, sizes and evolutions over the years, but that’s where it began. I’ve wanted to keep it unencumbered without a third party. That’s been how I’ve done it, but I don’t say we’ll always be like that. It’s just like that right now.

What gives you the greatest joy with Beulah?

It is the sourcing. Going out and thrifting without an agenda, especially when traveling. Not looking for something specific, but finding that one-of-a-kind thing. It feels freeing.

What is your favorite period in interior design?

Eighties post-modern. I really like things like Formica or lacquered finishes when used tastefully. Things like faux marble, for instance. I have a console table right now that’s faux marble. It’s Formica, but there’s something about it – that I don’t know – I like the texture. Sometimes the versatility that certain textures are easier to care for, clean and maintain than marble. Sometimes I like the utilitarian surfaces of 80s post-modernism. They’re easier to keep clean, even fake brass. If not done right, they can look really gaudy, but I think tastefully done, it can be like a chef’s kiss.

Tell us about your favorite inspirations and who inspires you.

When I talked about different textures, it’s a bit of following the muse and not trying to be too specific. I try to be very open-minded to find my inspiration. I won’t find something if I’m looking too hard for something. I could miss out on something else that could give me inspiration. It is about timing and not having the blinders on too much. So usually, that takes the form of different textures that I like.

I’m really into tessellated stone, suede, or leather, which could be a specific color I’m feeling right now. I honor that, follow those whims, and trust that people will follow.

For people who inspire me, my friend Gretchen with Mama Ochre. Her compass is very much like her heart. She trusts her own taste and style and, always shows up for her work and won’t do it if it’s not genuine or authentic to her. And so I’ve always really liked that about her and her business; it doesn’t feel fabricated or fast fashion. It’s sincere and vulnerable. You can always see her when you see her work, so I’ve wanted to emulate something similar with Beulah and myself.

What are your favorite things about living In Indy?

I was thinking about this yesterday. I love the urban culture in Indy. It’s very walkable and still a small town, meaning you can access most things without having to be on a waitlist for months for new restaurants or stuff like that. Many people are really approachable and friendly and want to be engaged. It’s that Midwest nice. And for me, there’s definitely a familiarity since this has been the one place I have lived and done life, so there’s a comfort here.

What is your favorite city and why?

I really like Golden, Colorado. The backdrop is beautiful with mountains. It’s a quaint small town with delicious restaurants and bars but lovely scenery with rivers. It’s outside Denver, so it’s less noisy but still within the metropolis. Some good food and shops.

You and your husband are new parents. What is your favorite place to walk or stroll in Indiana with the baby?

The Monon Trail has always been my favorite. There are many restaurants and shops accessible from it, and you feel unencumbered by traffic. That’s the main reason I like it because you don’t have to stop at every street for a traffic light; there might be a crosswalk or two. And it’s surrounded by nature and a lot of trees. It feels like you’re in your own little world. When Eric goes to the office, I take Huck and Rooney in the stroller for a walk. I stop at Breadworks or someplace place afterward for iced tea. Or a coffee shop I last visited a while ago and get something on the way home. It makes me happy and gets me out of the house. A new and little tradition.

What do you have in the fridge currently?

I have a giant pitcher of iced coffee. A lot of things to make meal prep easier. Our grab-and-go stash of hard-boiled eggs and pickled bologna. (I want to be clear. That is not for me because it’s disgusting. My mid-northern Michigan husband loves the stuff.) And cookie dough. Always cookie dough.

Adapted by Abby Breece

Spicy Apricot Pop Tarts.

How to Make this Puppy!

1 stick butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup almond paste

2 large eggs

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cups flour

1 lb. pre-made pie dough

1/4 cup apricot jam

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

TOPPING

A dash of red pepper flakes

About 2 tbsps. milk

Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 400, then line a baking sheet with parchment. Put it to the side until ready to use.

In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, to make part of the filling, beat together the butter, sugar, and almond paste. add 1 egg (reserving the other for an egg wash), followed by the lemon juice and extracts. Once that has been mixed, add to it the salt, flour, and red pepper flakes until just combined. Place to the side.

Roll out your dough to a pie crust thickness. Using a sharp paring knife and ruler, cut out eight 2-inch by 3-inch squares of pie dough. Place onto the baking sheet about an inch and a half apart. In the center, dollop a teaspoon of apricot jam and spread. Do the same with the almond batter.

Roll up the remaining pie dough, and cut out eight more rectangles that are a 1/4-inch longer on all sides, so that they fit over the filling. Place that layer of pie dough over the filling and crimp the edges with a fork to seal the edges. If not done, well filling will bubble out. With the remaining egg and a thimble of water to brush the edges of the tarts. This will provide a nice golden crust. Gently poke the tops with a fork twice and bake for 10-15 minutes until ever so browned. While it cools, in another bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and milk to create the glaze. If it is too thick, add more milk. Two thin? Add sugar, to achieve your desired consistency. Spread over the top and add a sprinkling of sprinkles!

I8tonite.

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August 9, 2023
i8tonite with LA Cheese Tea Entrepreneur Jenny Zheng & Recipe for Cheese Tea

Get ready, readers! Cheese Tea is a new and interesting drink…boba with a twist! Have you tried it yet? What do you think?

Jenny Zheng, 25, is the Founder of Little Fluffy Head Cafe, one of the first cheese tea boba shops in Los Angeles of its kind. She graduated from the University of California Los Angeles with a Master’s degree in Bioengineering in 2016. While on a trip to Asia before graduation, she stumbled upon the latest millennials craze: cheese tea. Being a big fan of cheese, she obsessed on bringing the concept to the U.S.. So upon graduation, instead of going a traditional route with her degree, Zheng decided to spend the time to develop her own version of creamy cheese tea and opened her very first cafe in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles in the summer of 2017. Right now, she is fully dedicated to running the cafe to provide her customers the highest-quality and authentic cheese tea.

Find her online at https://www.instagram.com/littlefluffyhead/

Food People Questionnaire (with a nod to Proust):

What is your favorite food to cook at home?
My mom used to make me a tomato noodle soup every morning when I was younger, utimately it has become my favorite Asian comfort food I like to cook at home. It reminds me of my family.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Different kinds of cheese to pair with wine

What marked characteristic do you love in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?
One characteristic I look for in a person is the ability to criticize or the ability to question. Especially if I am going to eat with this person, I want the dinner table conversation to be as meaningful as possible, talking about things that we could be better at.

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

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Definitely wine!

Your favorite cookbook author?
I don’t have one yet. At this moment, I spend most of my foodie time searching for great restaurants to eat at, rather than a good cookbook to teach myself how to cook.

Your favorite kitchen tool?
Hand mixer

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
East Asian cuisine

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
Chicken

Favorite vegetable or fruit?
Tomato

Chef you most admire?
A sushi chef by the name of Kazunori Nozawa

Food you like the most to eat?
Squid ink pasta with lobster sauce. So yummy!

Food you dislike the most?
Anything with mushroom. My mom made me eat a lot of mushrooms when I was little, and I am mentally afraid of mushrooms now.

What is your favorite non-food thing to do?
Reading

Who do you most admire in food?
My mom. She could make you a platter of seafood like the ones you see at high end restaurants.

Where is your favorite place to eat? What is your favorite restaurant?
Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar inside the Grove in Los Angeles. Great atmosphere and fresh sushi.

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
I have two tattoos. I got them before I turned into a foodie, so sadly none of them were related to food.

Recipe: Jenny’s version of cheese tea

1. Prepare:
9 teaspoon of whipping cream
3 teaspoon of milk
0.5 oz of cream cheese
a pinch of salt and sugar

2. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whip together using a hand mixer until the texture is thick.

3. Brew a cup of tea

4. Sugar to taste

5. Add ice to cool down the tea

6. Layer the cream on top of the tea

– The End. Go Eat. –

December 20, 2017
i8tonite with Author, Jam Maker, and Hotelier Jamie Schler & Leek and Potato Soup Recipe

Jamie Schler writes stories inspired by food, culture, travel, and the real people she meets in real life, every day and she’s an advocate for authentic traditional French home cooking. Jamie has worked in the world of art in Philadelphia and New York, as a milliner in Milan, Italy, and gastronomic tourism in Paris. She grew up on Florida’s Space Coast but now lives in Chinon, France, where she owns and runs the Hôtel Diderot with her husband, and where she makes a whopping 1500 pounds of jam a year. An IACP award-winning writer, her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Art of Eating, Fine Cooking, France Magazine, Modern Farmer, Leite’s Culinaria, and The Kitchn, among other publications. She blogs at Life’s a Feast, and she just wrote her first cookbook, Orange Appeal, featuring her favorite fruit, the orange.

Orange Appeal highlights one of my favorite fruits…but the one I always forget how incredible it is until I’m eating it – the orange. Schler is incredibly creative with oranges, and brings them into everyday life with ease.

I asked Schler about including oranges into our cooking and eating repertoires. She noted, “A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine” was more than just a familiar television jingle, it was our mantra, emblematic of the culture of my childhood and youth. I grew up on the Indian River in Florida, famed for its citrus and one of the world’s largest producers of oranges. My first cookbook, Orange Appeal, is, in some sort, an homage to my favorite fruit, the fruit I became addicted to growing up in Florida, a central element of our food culture. But a transformation happened during the creation, development, and testing of the recipes for Orange Appeal – I stopped thinking of the orange as simply a fruit and began thinking of it as an astonishing and versatile staple ingredient. My recipe testers and I were just astonished at how the orange in one of its many forms (fruit, juice, zest, peel, marmalade, orange blossom water, liqueur) transformed the flavor profile of every single dish we made in such unexpected ways!”

Moroccan Orange Slices in Orange Blossom Water

It’s hard to stop reading Orange Appeal. When I queried Schler about her favorite recipes in the book, she said, “My favorite dishes from the book? That’s tough to answer, there are so many! Maybe the Sweet and Spicy Caramelized Onion, Raisin, and Orange Compote; the Blood Orange Hummus Vinaigrette; Mediterranean Lamb Meatballs and the Curried Cod in Coconut Milk, Lime, and Orange. For sweets, the Moroccan Spiced Orange Slices in Orange Blossom Water, and the Oranges in Spiced Wine Syrup; the Orange, Ricotta, and Chèvre Tart, and the Orange-Cranberry Spiced Granola with Almonds. Is that too many?”

Food People Questionnaire (with a nod to Proust):

What is your favorite food to cook at home?
Cake! Always cake! There have even been times when my family has arrived home after a long day of work and school and my answer to their “What did you make for dinner?” is “Cake!”

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Yogurt, milk, mustard and salad dressing, butter, olives and pickles, a jar of cherry jam. Packets of butter and a few out of date packets of phyllo.

What marked characteristic do you love in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?
There are 2 necessary characteristics I love in a person with whom I share a meal: real interest in and knowledge about food and a great sense of humor!

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a person with whom you are sharing a meal?
I get little pleasure out of dining with a glutton, someone who swallows down food without savoring or appreciating it.

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Wine, of course! I have never liked beer and rarely think of a cocktail, maybe because I have lived the last 30 years in France and Italy, both wine countries!

Your favorite cookbook author?
Anna Thomas and Françoise Bernard

Your favorite kitchen tool?
A great knife and my Better Zester zester! I love a good whisk, too!

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
French and Moroccan – and I have several recipes from these cuisines in my cookbook!

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
Lamb! Always lamb!

Favorite vegetable?
Oh, hard question! Garden-fresh tomatoes in summer and zucchini all year round! Although I love Belgian endives and cauliflower, too. And eggplants. Is that too much to love?

Chef you most admire?
Antonin Carême

Food you like the most to eat?
Trick question?

Food you dislike the most?
Liver and offal. Ugh. I’m not particularly crazy about sorrel, either, much to my husband’s chagrin. And don’t ask me to eat overripe bananas or mealy apples.

What is your favorite non-food thing to do?
Read. And write.

Hôtel Diderot in Chinon, France

Who do you most admire in food?
I admire people who break barriers. There are several men on my list, from Antonin Carême, to Graham Kerr to Paul Prudhomme, but let’s concentrate (mostly) on the women. I admire the first women chefs who, against norms and misogyny, worked their way to head great kitchens in France, from women such as La Mère Brazier to Rougui Dia, Anne-Sophie Pic, and Hélène Darroze. I admire women like Anna Thomas, Rose Levy Beranbaum, Mollie Katzen, Madhur Jaffrey, Françoise Bernard, the intrepid and groundbreaking cookbook authors who inspired me, just out of college and just married, to cook and bake fearlessly and adventurously and, in extension, to begin to eat better, too.

I’ve always admired TV chefs like Graham Kerr and Julia Child, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver who brought the raw passion and casual simplicity to millions and inspired us to cook and to love cooking (even if and especially when we messed up) and sharing food with others.

I admire chefs like Virginia Willis, Kathleen Flinn, Zoë François, Sandra Gutierrez, Nancie McDermott who reach out and teach others to live better and eat better by cooking real food, local food, ethnic or regional food, those loud voices who, with grace, passion, generosity, and humor, continue to instruct and share and inspire and push forward to carry on their mission.

Where is your favorite place to eat?
Living in Europe for more than 30 years, I head straight to the nearest – and best – diner whenever I visit the States. I love a great American diner! I’ve eaten in many Michelin-starred restaurants and bouchons in Lyon and have had such sublime and truly memorable meals, but my favorite place to eat is at home when my husband (or now my son) cooks.

What is your favorite restaurant?
I’ve had some amazing and incredible meals in France, Italy, and the States. It’s hard to commit to a favorite, although I could draw up a list.

Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
Tattoos? No, none. They are against my religion. But I’d gladly wear food-inspired jewelry!

Leek and Potato Soup Recipe

My French husband is constantly busting those myths about French cuisine that I, as an American, have ingrained into my mind, that French home cooking is fussy, complicated and complex, and expensive. This Leek and Potato Soup proves the point: while utterly elegant and flavorful, it is simple and quick to make and absolutely thrifty. Leek and Potato Soup for Two is at once warming, comforting, and sophisticated.

3 medium leeks, whites only + 1 extra small leek for topping
1 small red onion
2 cloves garlic
2 medium potatoes (about 10 ounces / 300 g)
Olive oil and butter or margarine
50 g smoked lardons or bacon in small cubes
1 small cube vegetable bouillon (or 1/2 large cube) or enough homemade to cover vegetables (soup for 2 bowls)
Olive oil or equal parts olive oil & margarine
Salt and pepper

Prepare the vegetables by chopping the white parts of 3 leeks, the onion and 1 clove garlic.

Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes. Simply crush the second clove of garlic, leaving in one piece.

Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil or half oil, half butter into a soup pot.

Heat and add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for a minute or two; add the chopped leeks and bacon and a couple grindings of pepper, stir and cook “until it smells good” as the French cook told me… just a couple of minutes until the onion is transparent.

Add the potatoes and just cover with water, adding the bouillon cube, or bouillon.

Bring to the boil, lower the heat and allow to simmer gently for 15 – 20 minutes just until the potatoes are tender.

Taste, add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the soup from the heat, cover and allow to sit until dinner time (we make this about half an hour or so before dinner).

When ready to serve, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a clean skillet or pot; add a tablespoon or two each of cubes of bacon or lardons and very thinly sliced white leek; cook, stirring, until crisp.

Reheat the soup and serve topped with the crisp lardons or crumbled bacon and leek strips.

– The End. Go Eat. –

October 2, 2017
i8tonite: From Zookeeper to Culinary Guardian: The Dream Jobs of Chef JT Walker

Chef JT Walker remembers meeting his wife at the Santa Ana Zoo, where they both were employed as zookeepers.

“We started on the exact same day,” he recalled. “There are very few zookeeper jobs in the United States, so to move up in the field, one of us would have to leave our (hometown). We were married and I was already at a point where I wanted to make a change. I turned to her one day, saying, “Hey, why don’t I go back to school and become a chef.” She already didn’t cook because I did all the cooking. “That sounds like a great idea!” she said. “It would be cool to tell everyone my husband’s a chef, instead of a zookeeper.” She already held that title and we didn’t need two zookeepers in the family.”

“Look, I’m very blessed that I was able to have my two dream jobs,” the Orange County native continues, “When I was at Oregon State University studying, I was awarded an internship at the Cincinnati Zoo. After I finished it, I was offered a job working there and wound up staying. Knowing how difficult it is to find these (zookeeper) positions, I jumped and took it.”

Now a veteran of restaurants, the 36-year-old Walker is excited about his continuing culinary adventures and re-opening Pacific Hideaway in his hometown of Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City. Located inside Kimpton’s Shorebreak Hotel, the executive chef is overseeing all the culinary attributes of the beachside eatery.

“This is going to be one hundred percent my menu”, Walker states. “We are calling it a modern American coastal tavern focusing on craft beers and cocktails. For me, growing up in So Cal, it was a unique experience. We could find inexpensive Latin and Asian cuisine. We are trying to bring that back. We will feature a crossover including possible vegetarian bim-bim bap, various kimchees, and Filipino lumpia to snack on.”

Calling himself a mutt, Walker’s background is a quarter Filipino, an eighth Polish, and the rest everything else; he says growing up, his family always made dinner together. “Nothing ever came out of a box.” As a child, he said to his father, an entrepreneur who had started a printing business at the age of seventeen, that he would like to cook dinner. Chuckling, the kitchen-helmer remembered his dad saying, “You want to make dinner. Awesome. You make dinner every night now.” It wasn’t meant to be mean – it was to take something of their plate, basically. Growing up my father cooks, my mom cooks. And, then I cooked. I’m hoping to bring that casual vibe I had growing up.”

With the Shorebreak Hotel located over a stretch of white sand in Huntington Beach, the Pacific Hideaway is promising to be more of local hangout. Said Chef Walker about the new restaurant, “We want to part of the destination, not be the destination. We want the locals to consider (us) their hang out spot. If they to plan a celebration, such as a baby shower, we want them to get a private dining room and have us write out a menu.”

Chef Questionnaire (with a nod to Proust):

How long have you been cooking?
In fifth grade, I told my parents I wanted to be a either zookeeper or a chef. They are self-employed and had me making dinner right away to take that off their daily list of things to do. I came a little late to cooking, as I was a zookeeper for over five years. I have been cooking professionally for over 12 years now.

What is your favorite food to cook?
That’s like asking your favorite child (or dogs for my wife and I—we have two Basset Hounds and an English Bulldog). I love working over a grill or on my smoker at home. Asada for tacos, a dry aged ribeye steak over a wood fire, or slow smoking a pork shoulder for pulled pork sandwiches.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
It is bare right now with me working on PACIFIC HIDEAWAY. My sweet pickle relish, Kilt Lifter Irish Ale, strawberry jam from my mother, assorted pickles I made last year, Filipino Banana Ketchup, eggs, and bacon I cured and smoked.

What do you cook at home?
According to my wife, not enough. I try and make whatever she is in the mood for. She puts up with my long hours and night shifts, so I try and bring hospitality home for her.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer?
I love regulars. Those that choose to visit us on a semi regular basis. I also love those willing to try new things, step outside of their comfort zone.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer?
The guest that doesn’t let us take care of them. We are here to guide the guest to the best experience. Ask our team questions. Let us do what we do best.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?
Deli containers from Smart and Final

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Red Ales or an old fashioned

Your favorite cookbook author?
I like the Thug Kitchen crew, fun and tongue in cheek writings and recipes

Your favorite kitchen tool?
My tongs and spoons

Your favorite ingredient?
Barrel-aged fish sauce

Your least favorite ingredient?
Lentils

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen?
Cleaning out clogged drains

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
Growing up in SoCal, pretty much anything that touches the Pacific Ocean. Specifically, Latin American and South East Asian.

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
Pork all the way

Favorite vegetable?
Zucchini or corn

Chef you most admire?
All the chefs who helped guide me to where I am today

Food you like the most to eat?
Food that has soul

Food you dislike the most?
Food without thought or care

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
Just one, a panther, from my zookeeper days

Misoyaki Marinated New York Steak

Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients for the Misoyaki Marinade:

1 cup white miso paste
1 cup red ale (JT prefers San Diego’s Karl Strauss Red Trolley)
2 cups sugar
3-4 New York steaks
Freshly ground black pepper
4-6 green onions, with only the roots trimmed off

Directions:

To make the marinade: mix the miso, ale and sugar thoroughly.

Reserve ½ cup.

Add the NY steaks to rest of misoyaki mixture and marinate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

These steaks taste best when cooked on a grill.

Remove the steaks from the marinade and season with freshly ground black pepper. Place on pre-heated grill.

While the steaks are grilling, bring reserved marinade to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Grill the steaks to desired doneness.

Once the steaks are cooked, grill the green onions until cooked through.

Serve the steaks with the misoyaki sauce and grilled green onions. These steaks pair well with steamed rice and sautéed edamame.

Bonus tip: Drink a hoppy IPA or spicy Malbec to help balance the sweetness of the misoyaki sauce.

– The End. Go Eat. –

May 11, 2017
i8tonite with Traverse City’s amical Chef Dave Denison & Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Traverse City, Michigan is a special place. Globally known as an incredibly beautiful location, there’s so much more to Traverse City than Sleeping Bear Dunes, named the most beautiful place in America. It seems that everyone here loves food, as you can tell from the array of incredible restaurants, second homes of well-known chefs, and a farm to table movement that has been going on for over a hundred years.

Two of the things I love most about TC are the friendliness and sense community. Whenever I head north from our cottage an hour south, I ask my friend Mike Norton, of Traverse City Tourism, for a recommendation. He’s got the goods, and knows the best in town (including his contributions for my 50 best Midwest Coffee Roasters, but I digress). Mike recommended amical restaurant to me a while back, and I couldn’t wait to share this favorite restaurant with our readers.

Owner and Chef Dave Denison is one of those people you immediately love. He’s funny, creative, and extremely interesting. You’d pick him, if you were going to be stuck on a desert island (hopefully, his chef knife would come with him, because I would be carrying sunscreen). He started by cooking at a young age, and has always worked in restaurants. When he moved out west to California, he thought about getting out of this line of work. Luckily for us, his plan backfired, as he got a job at a growing chain restaurant, and moved up through the ranks and opened up restaurants all over the country for them.

Denison grew up in Southeast Michigan, as well as in Alamaba and Georgia. When he and his family decided to leave California and find a place to start a new restaurant, Traverse City fit the bill. He’s one of Traverse City’s top chefs, with his restaurant amical, which opened in 1994. amical started as a quick service gourmet cafeteria, and has evolved into a European-style bistro.

Denison remarked that they were fortunate in that through all these changes, their customers supported them and kept coming back. He noted that “how amical started, to where we are now, is very, very different. We’ve always treated our guests and visitors with respect and knowing that they are the reason we are here.”

I was intrigued by his description of the local food scene. Denison said that “TC has obviously enjoyed national and international recognition over the last 10 years, and it’s well-deserved. It might look like it’s an overnight sensation, but people have worked a long time at their craft here, and many established chefs have been here for a while – in fact, moved to the area with the intention of practicing their craft, using local ingredients. Generations of families have been raising these local ingredients for 100+ years! The farm to table movement was always here, but we were able to utilize it well in our restaurants, and then people ‘discovered’ it. However, it’s always been going on in this area – now just on a bigger scale. This is an agricultural community that has lived for centuries with such natural beauty. We’re surrounded by farmers and people that create a bounty from the land, and we’re happy to be able to be a part of that legacy, and know that this will continue for quite some time.”

amical’s food is local, fresh, creative, and delicious. The staff are incredible – supportive, supported, and intent on creating an excellent dining experience in the community.

Cookbook School!

There’s one more thing you’ll love about amical – the annual Cookbook school, held during the winter months. Denison shared, “for those new to the series, this is what we do: once a month, our kitchen staff will create a week-long dinner menu that consists of recipes from a cookbook. You will find a nice blend of cookbooks from the past, previously featured chefs with new publications, and first time cookbooks. Over the past 19 years, the kitchen team has developed menus from over 100 different cookbooks…while preparing almost one thousand recipes. We credit our loyal patrons for their support and our staff for their passionate drive in making this series an incredible success.”

A community treasure, indeed.

The winner of the big game gets milk and cookies! Go (your team here)!

Chef Questionnaire (with a nod to Proust):

How long have you been cooking?
“Professionally” since I was 15. My mom was, admittedly, a lousy cook, but for some reason I had an interest at an earlier age. She says it was due to my survival instincts.

Amish chicken with ancho chile cream and tomatillo salsa

What is your favorite food to cook?
I like to prepare hearty soups, especially during the winter months. Can you tell I’m from the Midwest?

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Tortillas (corn & flour)… and cheese – usually a St. Andre or a local chevre or Raclette. P’tit Basque, too.

What do you cook at home?
For a quick bite, it would be tacos. Or a stir fry.

Cardamom-Nutmeg Custard

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer?
The fact that they continue to return!

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer?
Paranoia. A few people think “we’re out to get them” or treat them differently because they were late, not from around here, etc… and for the record, we are not, unless you are late or from another town. JK on that.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?
Pyrex, then it’s on to ziplocks.

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Cocktail. Right now its tequila, ginger beer, and lime.

Your favorite cookbook author?
I plagiarize cookbook authors on a frequent basis. Everyone from Mario to Jamie Oliver are represented somewhere on our menus. Right now we are using Pickles, Pigs and Whisky recipes from John Currence. But Yotam Ottolenghi is quickly becoming a new favorite.

Your favorite kitchen tool?
A 10” French knife but I like having a good quality mandolin around. A garlic slicer is a neat little gadget to have around, too.

Garlic Shrimp, Potato Shells, Lamb Meatballs, and Mussels in Coconut-Chile Sauce

Your favorite ingredient?
Onions, onions of all kinds. Caramelized onions, grilled onions, roasted onions, onion soubise, fried onions, don’t forget the chives, red onion, Vidalia onion, green onions…

Your least favorite ingredient?
Eggplant. My mom would pan-fry it and pour maple syrup on it. Yikes! Did I mention she was not a very good cook? But I love you, mom!

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen?
Re-make a dish because we made a mistake.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
Asian preparations for their versatility, quickness, and healthy attributes. Mexican is a close second.

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
C’mon. Pork.

Heritage appetizers

Favorite vegetable?
Local asparagus. It’s only around up here for a few weeks in the Spring.

Chef you most admire?
One you would recognize would be Eric Ripert. Locally, it would be Harlan “Pete” Peterson of Tapawingo fame in Ellsworth, Michigan. He is so talented but incredibly humble. He just opened Alliance here in town. Already a favorite of many!

Food you like the most to eat?
Fresh seafood and shellfish. Walleye is a favorite. But put a fried egg on something and I’ll order it.

Rice Centennial Farm Ribeye ready for the Carnivore menu.

Food you dislike the most?
I never really acquired a taste for calf’s liver. I’ll get my iron somewhere else, thank you. (<<Look left)

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
None so far, but my wife has one. Does that count?

Recipe: amical’s Chicken Pot Pie

Servings: 6
Size: 1.5 Cup(s)
Prep. Time: 0:35

Ingredients:
2 c chicken breast, cooked and diced
1/2 c carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 c celery, diced
half a medium onion, peeled and diced
1/2 c frozen peas
1 pound potatoes, peeled, cooked, diced
1 c mushrooms, sliced
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 c whole milk
1 T chervil
1/2 T dried basil
1/4 T salt
1/4 T pepper
2 c chicken stock
4 oz butter
1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 T grated parmesan
2 pieces puff pastry dough
1 egg, beaten

Directions
1. Saute vegetables in butter in a small stock pot.
2. When onions are translucent, add flour and mix. Simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add milk, cream, potatoes, stock, spices, and parmesan. Heat until sauce has thickened. Check for seasoning and proper thickness. Add more roux if needed.
4. Place filling in individual oven-proof dishes. Cut out a puff pastry dough lid to fit the top of the dish. Brush with eggwash and bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until pastry is golden brown, and the filling bubbles.

– The End. Go Eat. –

September 21, 2016
i8tonite with Phoenix’s Crudo Chef Cullen Campbell & Recipe for Semolina Gnocci with Trotter Ragu & Cacio e Pepe

“After college, I thought I was going to go to California, but I got delayed,” says noted Chef Cullen Campbell, chef owner of the nationally known Phoenix-based Crudo, which he opened in 2012 with mixologist Micah Olson. Last year, the duo, along with Campbell’s wife Maureen McGrath, unlocked Okra, a Southern-themed restaurant with touches of Italy, harkening back to growing up in Arkansas. Although born in the 48th state, Campbell spent time on the Arkansas family farm and attended university in Memphis, where he picked up some of the deep Southern touches that craft the excellent flavors of his sophomore effort. Clearly, he wanted to bring some of that country to Arizona.

Like the Sonoran Desert, the interiors of both places are wide and vast. There aren’t any nooks or cubby holes for clandestine dinners to hide in. The restaurants are boisterous, raucous affairs, letting the diner know they are in for a delicious meal. Crudo is the higher end of the two, with a collage of shutters as artwork at the entrance, but it’s the casual wood-tones of Okra which come across warmly. Both restaurants, though, are a showcase of Campbell’s kitchen talent. Arizona Republic’s restaurant critic Howard Sefetel said in his 2012 review of Crudo, “What makes Campbell’s fare stand out? Certainly, the ingredients are primo. But what Campbell does with them is often highly original and always skillfully executed.”

Since then, the kitchen star has been on the rise, putting Valley of the Sun’s dining and drinking culture on the national culinary map, with noted stories in Sunset Magazine, USA Today, and Los Angeles Times.

What’s next on the horizon for the Arizona cooking wunderkind? “I have a bunch of different concepts I want to try out. Something small and higher end with no more than a dozen tables. Then I have a hot dog concept I want to do with Micah. Cocktails. Beer and wine list all paired for the dogs.”

Whatever Campbell does, we know it will be delicious.

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

How long have you been cooking?
I have been cooking for 20 years.

What is your favorite food to cook?
My least favorite food is Shellfish.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
I have wine, water, & leftovers.

Squid Ink Risotto

What do you cook at home?
Not much but sometimes, I r&d at my house. I just made some pici, which is like a thick hand rolled spaghetti. I love hand rolling pasta!

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer?
The person wanting to try everything.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer?
The person that is scared to try new things.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?
Rubbermaid.

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Wine all the way, especially really great white wine.

Burrata

Your favorite cookbook author?
David Joachim. Not only has he written his own books, he has also collaborated on some of my favorite books.

Your favorite kitchen tool?
Spoons.

Your favorite ingredient?
Olive Oil.

Your least favorite ingredient?
Anything processed.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen?
Clean. I make a mess haha!

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
I go through spurts. Of course Italian & southern. But I have started playing around with Polynesian.

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
Pork.

Favorite vegetable?
Rapini.

Chef you most admire?
I have two: Jean Georges Vongerichten & Marc Vetri. One is very refined & the other is more rustic, but they both work with the best ingredients & don’t overcomplicate dishes.

Food you like the most to eat?
Cheeseburger & fries!

Food you dislike the most?
I eat everything!

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food?
I only have two at the moment. One of them is an alcohol in Japanese. But I want to get a fork & spoon on me. Also, one that celebrates my restaurants – Crudo & Okra.

Recipe: Semolina Gnocci with Trotter Ragu & Cacio e Pepe

Semolina Gnocchi

Semolina Gnocchi
3 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
11/2tsp salt
4 egg yolks
1 cup parmesan
1 cup semolina

Put milk, butter, & salt into a medium pot (bring to a boil).
Add semolina & whisk vigorously for 4 minutes.
Add 1 egg yolk at a time while stirring.
Then add the parmesan and whisk until the cheese melts, about 3 minutes.
Spread mixture on a sheet tray & let cool for 45 minutes.
When cooled, cut out circles with a ring mold.
Sear the gnocchi in a pan on medium heat until golden brown.

Cacio e Pepe
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup grated pecorino remano
1tbs roux
2tbs fresh ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Heat heavy cream & both cheeses together until melted.
Add roux to thicken & then add the pepper.

Trotter Ragu
5lbs pig trotters
1 yellow onion chopped
1 head of garlic chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
3oz thyme picked & chopped
6 cups da napoli crushed tomatoes
6 cups meat stock
2tbs salt
1tbs fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a roasting pan, brown the trotters in the olive oil.
Add onion, garlic, and thyme & stir until fragrant.
Season with the salt & pepper.
Add crushed tomatoes and meat stock & cover the pan tightly with foil or lid.
Lower the oven to 300 degrees & cook for 3.5 hours.
After pulled from the oven, let the trotters cool down for about an hour.
After cooled, shred the trotters off the bones & mix back into the sauce.

To Plate
Put the ragu in the bottom of the bowl, arrange gnocchi, & top with a generous amount of cacio e pepe

– The End. Go Eat. –

August 10, 2016
i8tonite with Food Expert Simran Sethi & Recipe for Sweet Potatoes With Mustard Seeds

The best way to describe food writer Simran Sethi is to say she is more telegenically inclined and far more accessible as a writer than Michael Pollan, Marion Nestle, and Michael Ruhlman. Of course, it’s a subjective opinion; Pollan is probably the most famous, but Simran Sethi’s book Bread, Wine, Chocolate: A Slow Loss of Foods We Love might push her over the top. Part memoir, travelogue, and science, published last year – and due for a paperback edition in October, she has become the food expert who teaches us how to be food experts along with her.

Complete with flavor wheels which detail profiles of beer, chocolate, wine, and bread, her book is a discussion about how we only eat about 30 types of foods, which are harvested around the world. This is leading to “mono-crops” and loss of other edibles that we should be eating. Did you know the banana that we eat from our local grocery store, the Cavendish, is only one variety? According to Ms. Sethi and the World Banana Forum, there are more than 1000 varieties of the fruit. And of that number, we consume nearly 48 millions tons.

Simran Sethi interviewing wheat farmer Gyanni Singh outside of Amritsar, India.

Sethi’s is no stranger to journalism or the world of food. Her broadcast career began as senior correspondent for MTV News India in Bombay. At one time, she was the environmental correspondent for NBC News with contributions to The Today Show, CNBC, and MSNBC. She has written and hosted shows for The Sundance Channel, PBS, and Treehugger.com on sustainable environments and ethical markets. Her research knowledge is vast; she is an expert at telling a compelling story.

The Golden Temple during Karah Prasad preparation, Amritsar, India.

Farmer grappling with dropping water tables in Punjab, India.

Halwais preparing Karah Prasad at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India.

Donated wheat for Karah Prasad in the Golden Temple kitchen in Amritsar, India.

However, she decided to write a book on food, one of her favorite topics. She says, “We celebrate through food. We mourn through food. There is nothing that affects us more than our food. In writing this book, it was incredibly humbling to travel to some of these places and see its origins. I wanted to go deeper and teach the world through the lens of food.”

Wild coffee flowers held by farmer Tebeje Neguse.

Coffee seedling held by Simran Sethi in the Kafa Biosphere Reserve.

Coffee blossoms from the afromontane rainforest in Kafa, Ethiopia.

Farmer Vicente Norero on his cacao plantation in Balao, Ecuador.

Fermenting and drying cacao, Esmeraldas, Ecuador.

Close-up of harvested cacao, Esmeraldas, Ecuador.

Food People Questionnaire (with a nod to Proust):

How long have you been cooking?
Since age 14.

What is your favorite food to cook?
My favorite foods are the ones cooked for me.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Whole milk for coffee, seasonal fruit, local eggs.

What do you cook at home?
I assemble. Pasta and greens, bread and cheese, egg on anything.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?
Pyrex.

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Cider.

Your favorite cookbook author?
Zora O’Neill and Tamara Reynolds wrote a cookbook that played off their Queens, NY supper club called Forking Fantastic!: Put the Party Back in Dinner Party. I have never wanted to cook as much as when I am reading (and re-reading) that book.

Your favorite kitchen tool?
This gigantic pan I got when I appeared on the Martha Stewart Show. It was the audience gift but I begged.

Your favorite ingredient?
Salt

Your least favorite ingredient?
Turmeric

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen?
Cook

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
Italian.

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
Well-raised pork.

Favorite vegetable?
Mushrooms

Chef you most admire?
Most? Tough. Floyd Cardoz, Alice Waters, Dan Barber, Heather Carlucci.

Food you like the most to eat?
Avocado on home-baked bread with a little Penzey’s Turkish seasoning sprinkled on top.

Food you dislike the most?
Fast food.

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

Recipe: Sweet Potatoes With Mustard Seeds (Sookhi Aloo)

Sweet Potatoes With Mustard Seeds (Sookhi Aloo)

3 medium sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 small red chili, thinly sliced (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake sweet potatoes until they are just slightly undercooked, 30 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel and cut into ½-inch pieces. Set aside.

2. Add oil and mustard seeds to a medium skillet over high heat. Fry seeds, periodically shaking pan, until seeds start to pop. Reduce heat to medium.

3. Mix in potatoes, turmeric, cayenne pepper and salt to taste. Cook, stirring infrequently, until a crust forms, 10 minutes more.

4. To serve, garnish with cilantro and chilies, if using.

PHOTO: STACEY VAN BERKEL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Simran Sethi profile photos: Cem Ersavci for Dumbo Feather

India, Ethiopia, & Ecuador photos: Simran Sethi

– The End. Go Eat. –

Disclosure: Sethi is a PR Client of co-editor Brian Garrido.

August 5, 2016
i8tonite with Phoenix Chef Jennifer Russo of The Market Restaurant + Bar & Recipe for Rack of Lamb with Pinot Noir Sauce

A little more than two years ago, Chef Jennifer Russo opened The Market Restaurant + Bar in Phoenix’s burgeoning Arcadia neighborhood. The restaurant with a neighborhood vibe is reflective of Russo’s use of Arizona-grown produce, dairy, and meats in both her catering and brick and mortar. More importantly, Russo’s growth as a decade-long successful caterer to a full-fledged restauranteur is an indicator of the quality of chefs and restaurants being developed out of the forty-eighth state. The Valley of the Sun, known for safe, corporate restaurants, is literally hungry for independent chefs.

Born in New Jersey but raised in Arizona, Russo has long been cooking. She started learning some of the family secrets with her father’s grandmother, who emigrated from Italy. As a teen, Russo’s passion for cookery led to a variety of food schools in her Scottsdale-area home but eventually – at the age of twenty-one – became a San Francisco transplant at one of the city’s noted gastronomic institutions. Russo says, “I waited to go to school so I could learn the cocktail classes. I wanted to be of legal age.”
After graduating, realizing the expense of living in the City by the Bay, she returned to The Grand Canyon state and worked with two venerated Sonoran desert chefs continuing her epicurean education. It began with Vincent Guerithault of Vincent’s on Camelback, which led her to a sous chef position with Mark Tarbell at Tarbell’s.

After working the line for years, Russo’s knees needed medical recuperation which led to the founding of her catering company. As her enterprise grew, so did the demand for her wares; clients would constantly ask when she was opening a restaurant.

Now, with a young son and several decades of operating her businesses, Russo has become as renowned as the gentlemen she worked with in Phoenix.

Below, Russo shares recipes for Rack of Lamb with Cabernet Sauce, Braised Baby Peas with Pearl Onions and Herbs, and Hot, Buttered Cauliflower Puree

Chef Questionnaire with a nod to Proust:

How long have you been cooking?
For as long as I can remember. But as soon as I could get a job, I started prep cooking @ Lewis Steven’s Catering Company at the age of 16.

What is your favorite food to cook?
I love working with proteins and seasonal veg.

What do you always have in your fridge at home?
Beverages…Let me be honest, wine and water.

What do you cook at home?
I don’t get a chance to cook at home since opening The MARKET restaurant+bar. It seems silly to dirty my kitchen at home, especially when I can do that at work. But if I am cooking at home we go pretty big. As long as someone brings the dessert. You don’t want me making dessert.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer?
The excitement they have for the food, wine, and cocktail menus. It makes it all worth it when they love it!

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer?
When they share their negative thoughts on social media. I’m here a lot. Just tell me to my face and I will do everything in my power to fix it.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex?
I seem to have a lot of items in delis.

Beer, wine, or cocktail?
Wine

Your favorite cookbook author?
I love cookbooks from restaurants, so anything Thomas Keller is high on the list. I like how visual they are. But if I had to choose one go to, it would be Julia Child’s Mastering the art of French cooking.

Your favorite kitchen tool?
Knives

Your favorite ingredient?
That’s not possible. Flaky salt.

Your least favorite ingredient?
Peanuts * I’m allergic!

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen?
Peeling things

Favorite types of cuisine to cook?
Mediterranean. So everything…

Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu?
Beef

Favorite vegetable?
Mushrooms, if I had to choose one

Chef you most admire?
Julia Child past, Thomas Keller present

Recipe: Rack of Lamb with Pinot Noir Sauce

INGREDIENTS
Three 8-bone racks of lamb (1 1/2 pounds each), trimmed of all fat, bones frenched
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 T minced garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Zest of one lemon
1 cup Pinot Noir
1 garlic clove
1 thyme sprig
1 cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 425°. Season the lamb racks all over with coarse salt, pepper, minced garlic, & lemon zest. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet; both skillets should be ovenproof. Add 2 of the lamb racks to the large skillet and 1 rack to the medium skillet, meaty side down. Cook the racks over moderately high heat until well browned, about 4 minutes. Turn the racks and brown the other side, about 3 minutes longer.

Transfer the skillets to the oven and roast the lamb for 15 to 20 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat registers 120°or rare and 125° for medium rare. Transfer the racks to a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, set the medium skillet over high heat. Add 1/2 cup of the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Pour the wine into the large skillet and add the garlic and thyme. Set the large skillet over high heat, add the remaining 1/2 cup of wine and boil until reduced by one-third, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 8 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and discard the garlic and thyme sprig. Whisk in the butter, 1 piece at a time. Season with salt and pepper and strain the sauce into a warmed gravy boat.

To serve, cut the lamb into chops and arrange 3 chops on each dinner plate. Pass the Pinot Noir sauce at the table along with a little coarse salt for sprinkling on the lamb.

Recipe: Hot, Buttered Cauliflower Puree

INGREDIENTS
Two 2-pound heads of cauliflower, cored and separated into 2-inch florets
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup mashed potato
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
Salt
Pepper
Chives, chopped

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 325°. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the cauliflower florets until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain well. Spread the cauliflower on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes, to dry it out.

In a small saucepan, combine the heavy cream with the butter and bring to a simmer over moderate heat just until the butter is melted.

Working in batches, puree the cauliflower and mashed potatoes in a blender with the warm cream mixture; transfer the puree to a medium bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and chives.

Recipe: Braised Baby Peas with Pearl Onions and Herbs

INGREDIENTS
12 pearl onions
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound baby peas, blanched
3 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon finely chopped mint
1 tablespoon snipped chives
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the pearl onions and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Peel the onions, leaving the root end intact.

In a medium, deep skillet, melt the butter. Add the pearl onions and cook over moderately high heat until browned, about 3 minutes. Add the peas and simmer over moderate heat until the peas are tender and bright green, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the mint and chives, season with salt and pepper and serve. When plate is complete, garnish with roasted cauliflower florets and fresh mint.

The End. Go Eat.

Photos: Joanie Simon

May 4, 2016