i8tonite

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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 Chef Chris Hill of Bachelor Kitchen
Editor’s Note: Still in the City of Angels where I’ve had extraordinary dining experiences. I’m wrapping it up tomorrow and headed home. Los Angeles was always a good city for me and I ate very well with friends. That’s what I will remember the most.

Atlanta born chef Chris Hill created his name in the Tidewater area (Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News) of Virginia, which is steeped in military bases and quick casual service restaurants. He created 3 Way Cafe, a popular gourmet sandwich bistro which became a household name with its popular farm-to-table eats and regular television appearances by Hill for his brand “Bachelor Kitchen”. Chef Hill’s food is steeped in time honored Southern traditions such as hand-carved “Thanksgiving-style” turkey and and roasted pork loins with a fig glaze. Recently, Hill was honored to give a Tedx Talk where he re-defines the meaning of his success.

How long have you been cooking? For as long as I can remember. I am known what I’m doing for about 8 years.

What is your favorite food to cook? I love seafood. Delicate, adaptable, delicious.

What do you always have in your fridge at home? Eggs and Bacon for weekend breakfast – that’s it (and some cold beer).

What do you cook at home? I’m almost always at the restaurant – but, I use my home kitchen for cooking out and weekend breakfasts.

What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a customer? Closed-mindedness. Come on – try it, give it a chance, it’s not going to hurt you… I bet you’ll actually like it, damnit.

What marked characteristic do you love in a customer? The complete opposite – Chef, I trust you. Make me whatever’s on your heart.

Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Pyrex? Pyrex, seems a little more durable….. I’d take Cambro if that were an option!

Beer, wine or cocktail? Yes, please …. Ha, depends, but typically a good red with dinner and a whiskey cocktail to end the night.

Your favorite cookbook author? Michael Ruhlman. Love his stuff, great guy too.

Your favorite kitchen tool? A rubber spatula – comes in handy quite often.

Your favorite ingredient? Limes, the cool cousin to overrated lemons.

Your least favorite ingredient? Anything processed. Anything natural (that I can think of) is fair game.

Least favorite thing to do in a kitchen? Prep work over a short table.

Favorite types of cuisine to cook? I’m a Southern boy, so some variation of our regional cuisine – typically, with a flair.

Beef, chicken, pork or tofu? I’m not picky….. A medium rare steak sounds pretty good right now though.

Favorite vegetable? Beets. Love them, even out of the can.

Chef you most admire? Thomas Keller, been a huge inspiration for quite a while – his approach his so humble, yet inspiring.

Food you like the most to eat? Seafood, shellfish, or a nice flaky, rich white fish.

Food you dislike the most? Processed anything, specifically, the frozen vegetarian products – I find them insulting, and I was a vegetarian for about a year myself.

How many tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? I’ve got zero, ha, I think I got into the game too late……

RECIPE: Orange Zest Tuna with Herb Citrus Orzo, Serves Dinner for 4-6

Ingredients
- 1 pound orzo pasta
- 2 pounds sushi grade tuna
- 4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 zucchini, sliced into quarter moons
- ½ bunch chives thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp. fresh tarragon, chopped
- 3 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 orange, juiced and zested
- 1 lime, juiced and zested
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp. each of salt and pepper or to taste
- 1½ cups parmesan cheese, grated
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
Preparation for Orzo Pasta
- Combine orange and lime zest, chives, tarragon, thyme, garlic, salt and
- pepper
- Muddle or chop components to fully incorporate and rub with fish – set
- aside, and separate into 2 equal piles
- Meanwhile, bring 1 gallon of salted water up to a rolling boil and add
- orzo pasta – cook for 6-8 minutes or until almost al dente and drain
- **You want to time adding pasta with the next step
- Slice zucchini in half lengthwise, and then each half in lengthwise again
- (you should have 4 “sticks”)
- Slice into ¼ inch thick pieces and sauté over medium heat in 2 tbsp. of
- olive oil
- Cook zucchini for 5-6 minutes and add first pile of herb mixture and cook
- for 1-2 minutes
- Add chicken stock, orange juice and reduce liquid in half
- After draining orzo, add to pan and incorporate, finishing cooking process
- Remove from heat and add Greek Yogurt and parmesan cheese
Preparation for Tuna
- Rub fish with second pile of herb mixture, coating thoroughly and evenly
- Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in medium saucepan on medium-high heat
- Add already crusted fish to pan and cook on each side for 2 minutes for
- medium-rare
- Serve over pasta.
– The End. Go Eat. –
November 9, 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