Random Thoughts

$1 beef tacos and $2 Cuervo shots at the Riverwood in Lakewood every Wednesday, what a deal!

Finally every tomato I pick up is perfect. I’m eating the little cherry ones like grapes they are so tasty.

The classic reuben might be the most perfect sandwich every created.

Frank Bruni is now ‘former’ NY Times restaurant critique.

The Bristol in Chicago looks like a very interesting place.

Thin mint Blizzard is available at Dairy Queen, and it sure is good.

Linden Tavern is a 25 year old restaurant that we just discovered, and I’m glad we did. Pot roast, perogie, and perch…you can’t go wrong.

Salmon Dave’s Happy Hour is a good one. King Crab Potstickers blew us away. Chilled shrimp cocktail was also very good.

Nature’s Bin in Lakewood has seems to have an increased selection of local produce that is labeled with a farms name and location. I had some small Italian plums and local grapes that were surprisingly very good.

I’m contemplating ending my subscription to Art Culinaire. It seems so distant from the cooking I do on a daily basis. Then again, it’s nice to dream.


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Top Chef Overload

I was all wrapped up in Top Chef yesterday. Not only did I commit to, and go out of my way to view the three hours of prime time, but my day was filled with watching old Top Chef Episodes throughout the day. This was a commitment there is no discussion. Watching Top Chef for longer than your average extra inning baseball game is a commitment in my book. Was I glad to have made that commitment, well yes I am?

By 7:30 or so I was online reading up on the bios of the Vegas contestants. I planned on making some predictions, and I did. Thankfully I wrote them down, and they will show up eventually. At 8 pm on the dot I got the call from the living room, “mike!!!! Are you watching Top Chef?” as if there was a question about it at this point. I quickly shuffled my papers, made my predictions and settled down to a mini Top Chef marathon complete with cheap Chinese delivery food and plenty of bourbon.

First up, the second to last episode of the Masters series. I am very happy with how the Masters episodes turned out. There was a huge focus on the chef’s food, and their reaction to things became a big part of the show. Skip ahead an hour and the final is a perfect example of this. These accomplished chefs are asked to present a culinary biography. They embraced the task with such enthusiasm. It was great to see that they really had something to convey, and where able to do it the best way they knew how…through cooking. The final twist, and a positive one was the arrival of their second hand men, their partners, the Calvary sent in to up the ante. The most difficult thing about the Masters was that in my opinion the final three where of such tight competition the discussions must have quivered on certain subjective observations, which in some ways was out of the chefs hands.

In a lot of ways Michael reminded me of Stephan. Having seemingly topped every challenge he entered, perhaps a little more effort at the end was all he needed. I saw a lot of Harold in Rick meaning a cool confidence running through his veins. Lastly, Hubert, who I will remember on Top Chef Season one sent off the first contestant for using his finger to taste a sauce. Somewhere out there a chef who’s name none of us remember was screaming into the television every time Hubert so much as breathed in an unsanitary way.

Finally my predictions. I really thought Zavala would have lasted a little longer. She seemed like a middle of the pack kind of chef, but she took the bait. You know damn well there is some Top Chef Production assistant who snuck that seitan onto the set and is laughing is ass off today.

First to go:
Laurine
Ron ‘two tongues’ Duprat
Robin’golden chip’ Levanthal
Mattin the frog


Last three:
Jennifer ‘the golden child’ Carroll
Michael ‘my brother sucks’ Voltaggio
Eli ‘I’m cooler than Richard’ Kirshtein

And my pre-season pick for winner of Top Chef Vegas is Jennifer Carroll! Good luck to the chefs, and all of us watching.

By the way, did you every wonder after a commercial brake that maybe you hit the wrong button and went to the National Geographic show Taboo about tatoos and body piercing?

Seitan, are you kidding me!

Seitan is a food made from the gluten of wheat. It is made by washing wheat flour dough with water until all the starch dissolves, leaving insoluble gluten as an elastic mass which is then cooked before being eaten.

As prepared in macrobiotic practice, seitan consists of powdered wheat gluten, which is extracted from whole wheat flour by washing the flour and rinsing away the starch. The gluten powder (also called vital wheat gluten or gluten flour) is then mixed with just enough water to form a stiff paste, which is then kneaded in order to produce a firm, stringy texture. The dough is then cut into pieces and cooked via steaming, boiling, frying, or other methods. While seitan is itself rather flavorless, it holds a marinade very well.

Bet you didn’t know that! I’ve tried seitan. It’s not very good. I tried it in the shape and under the guise of bacon. It didn’t taste or feel like bacon. I’ve been to some nice restaurants in my time, and never have I been offered seitan. The stuff is funk. Tofu looks like a prime cut of dry aged rib eye compared to seitan. If my bike had a flat tire I would use a piece of seitan to patch it up with…if you know what I mean. Does seitan have a niche to fill, sure it does, and that niche is far, very far from mainstream.

Who's Welcome Back Poll Results

Wow, the most recent poll is an absolute blow out, a straight forward single winner drag race. It’s like Forest raced his Beamer against my Explorer…not a chance. Anthony Bourdain is the single most adorned foodie TV personality to visit Cleveland recently. Give Guy a chance since his Cleveland show hasn’t aired quite yet, but the buzz that he was in town reached volcanic proportions. Once, in an era long long ago, a single pretty lady named Rachel Ray ruled the airwaves. She came to Cleveland, taped at the restaurant I was working in, and I managed to get my face on FoodTV. Okay, a split second of my back, but still, I know it was me. Unfortunately for her, time has wasted on that gimmick and we have moved on.

My vote went with Mr. Bourdain like most of you. I can assure you though; this decision is not based on his previous work about Cleveland. While upon my first viewing of the No Reservations Cleveland edit, I was neither impressed, nor deplored, I’ve become more and more critical of that episode to the point it’s difficult to watch again. The ‘Cleveland is a dump where Ruhlman lives so I’m gonna make fun of it on the down low and hang out with Peekar and his slow friend’ storyline is thin, and only makes for an occasional awkward giggle.

No Reservation is a show that is only so much concerned with food. There are plenty of social, political and environmental insights. From getting rolled over by an ATV on a sand dune, to freezing in Norway, Anthony comes across as someone who after a few beers would have a great story to tell. Could he riddle a better story about Cleveland, I think so, but does anyone outside of North East Ohio care? I don’t think so. Bon Voyage Tony, when you want to sit in a dark bar, watch loosing sports teams, sip booze at record pace, and watch the world whirl around you, then we are here for you.

At Least Something is Selling

While restaurants in Ohio continue to suffer devistating losses liquor sales are through the roof. For the complete story check here, or for the highlights.........


The total gallons sold this fiscal year was 10.6 million gallons, 3 percent more than last year, which also was a record high year.

The top ten selling bottles:

• Kamchatka vodka, 209,661 gallons
• Jack Daniel Black, 181,143 gallons
• Bacardi Superior Light, 164,552 gallons
• Jagermeister, 142,919 gallons
• Captain Morgan Spice Rum, 142,604 gallons
• Smirnoff No. 21, 140,128 gallons
• Crown Royal, 137,822 gallons
• Absolute vodka, 135,660 gallons
• Black Velvet, 129,509 gallons
• Korski vodka, 123,030 gallons

New Season Starts Tonight

Search and Explore

With the close of the last poll there are no surprises. We admit to searching the internet up and down to cure our itch for foodie adventures. There is an endless amount of information. With blogs that get updated multiple times daily it doesn't take a long list of favorites before you have a daily reading list that just might take a bite out of your daily routine. Technology is in our favor though sifting through and sorting through what you actually want, and finding what you’re looking for is quite efficient.

There is something wholesome about the printed word. There just seems to be more importance, more truth once something is committed to paper, even a periodical, let alone a hard bound book. I would prefer to flip through the pages of Food & Wine instead of point and clicking. Classic editions like The French Laundry cookbook are so special, it's impossible to deny their overall importance in our foodie explorations. But with the endless stream of information we can find online it's only fair that we go there 9 times out of 10 for a quick fix.

I've added 5 new sites to my 'Links' section to the left. Hopefully you find something new with them.

The State of Cleveland's Restaurant Scene

The Plain Dealer Business section gave us a nice article about the state of the restaurant scene in the area. The piece can be found here.

In short: Over 200 restaurants have closed in the area this past year which is above the national average, which in turn is the worst so far this decade. Customers admit to going out less and spending less when they do. Panini's bucks the trend opening 2 new outlets this year pushing under $10 sandwiches. Doug Katz praises local restaurants for their ability to quickly adjust to the situation.

The article is well written from a neutral point of view presenting facts, and letting the opinions of those interviewed move the story along.

What's lost in this piece, or to continue the discussion would be to consider the little guys, the workers who are affected. Considering just the kitchen, if every restaurant that closed this past year averaged 12 employees then about 2,500 people are unemployed. Specificly in my situation the market is now flooded with people looking for the same job I am. The optomist might say, "but restaurants have opened," but inreality they are not opening at nearly an equal pace, and what can be added to the number of restaurants that closed are the numbers from restaurants that closed for lunch, or cut back staff. It looks fairly dismal if you look at it too long, so look away and go cook something!

The Amazing Chick Pea

While chickpeas might not be the sexiest food stuff around they have a lot going for them along with a long history. Chickpeas are high in protein and one of the earliest cultivated vegetables. 7,500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East. For those of us you look for protien from alternative sources the chickpea is perfect consting of nearly %25 protien and almost no fat.

Over 8 million tons of chickpeas are harvested anually with three quarters of the yield taken from various Asian nations. Most chickpeas are processed. They are either dried, canned, or ground into a flour. I've used fresh raw chickpeas a few times. Pinching each pea from it's single lonely pod is a finger numbing job in and of it self. Fortunatly the resulting pea is unique from it's processed cousins. Fresh chickpeas cook and eat much like other green peas, have a light fresh flavor and lack any hint of starch.

Hummus, or hummous--chickpeas mashed to a paste with lemon juice, olive oil, and sesame paste--is widely eaten in the Middle East as a sauce and dip for bread. Mashed cooked chickpeas are formed into small flat cakes and fried for falafel, a popular Israeli snack. In southern Europe, chickpeas are a common ingredient in soups, salads, and stews. A kind of meal or flour is also made from chickpeas. Canned chickpeas can be fried to a light crisp consistancy.

I've stumbled upon some nice flavor pairing with chickpeas recently and wanted to share. By no means are they unique, but sometimes we need to be reminded of what's good.

Curried Chickpeas with Spinach and Tomato.

2 onions, sliced

1 clove garlic, diced

1 tblsp oil

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp corriander

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 cloves

3 green cardamon pods

1 cup water or chicken stock

1 8 oz can chicpeas, drained

1 cup fresh tomato, rough chopped but small

4 oz spinach

Carmalize onion in oil until very dark, this should take about 20 min. on low-med. heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add all the spices and stir into mixture, once fragrant add water and chickpeas. Cook this mixture for half an hour, season with salt and pepper. Search out and remove cloves and cardamon. Add the tomato and spinach right before serving. The spinach should hold some texture, and the raw tomato/acid flavor is what we want.

This curry has no heat, but is inviting some cayenne to the party. I turned an old batch into new with the addition of sweet corn. While nice on it's own, this makes a great summer side dish to grilled meat, specifily lamb.

Random Thoughts

I’ve been contemplating becoming a vegetarian. Not for any political-social reason, just to help ensure I make more healthy dietary choices? Most likely I’m lying to myself here.

What is healthy to drink these days? Water I guess, but even Gatorade is being diluted due to our over indulgence. I think of that situation like this: For every full strength Gatorade I buy I get a G2 free if I fill it up with water once I’ve drunk half of it. Brilliant!

I haven’t had a coffee drink on over a month, it’s just too hot! I don’t feel tired, lazy, or lagging. Caffeine, it’s all in your head.

Jobs are like pebbles on the beach. You just walk over most of them. A few catch your eye, and if you’re really lucky one looks good enough to put in your pocket to take home…..upon which you forget about it for 6 months till you step on it in your bare feet in the middle of the night and curse it out. Once morning it is gone.

Cabbage, bacon, and sweet corn are a nice combo! Good job sis. If you’re reading this try some vinegar!

Working on a farm would be nice. I mean it would be a nice little break from the norm. If all I had was working on a farm I don’t think I’d be so excited about it. Do you think it works the other way?

I watched ‘Life Aquatic’ the other night, it’s very similar in style to the Royal Tenenbaums…What do you think a movie like that centered in a kitchen would look like. I’m laughing already.

Would it be funny if a vegetarian got trampled by stampeding cows or chased by a wild boar or attacked by a goose?

Market Safety Poll Has Closed

It’s a real breath of fresh air how this poll has turned out. It seems that a little common sense goes a long way with these pollsters. While the government might have strict guidelines to enforce, the average market going customer has the most powerful input in that they will choose to purchase perishables at the market or they will not. While a few people are skeptical of the market, this seems the saver option in my opinion compared to those with blind faith in farmer’s implementation of food safety.

I do not have a long history of buying meat, dairy, or prepared food at the farmers market. I have bought eggs, ground chicken, and ground beef far and few between. The meat I bought was taken from a cooler and handed to me in a rock hard frozen state. Eggs on the other hand come right off the table, but I’ve had no problems with them. The table top farmers eggs are of higher quality than the ice cold ones at the grocery store any day. Surely if I was handed a warm mushy pack of ground beef I would think twice, but that isn’t what’s happening at the farmers market I frequent so I’m not worried. As long as I can see a cooler, and continue to be presented with frozen meat I’ll continue to purchase these types of products from the market, and I suggest it’s in everyone’s best interest to use common sense over government enforcement in how our local farmers market is run.

A Good Idea

Using Veggie Trader is free and easy. It works like classified advertising. You post a listing describing the excess produce you have and what you'd like in return, and then you wait for a response...

Or, if you're looking for local produce, you simply enter your zipcode and see what your neighbors have available.

Sounds great right!!!

I stumbled upon this very cool website in the early spring when not much produce would be available in my area. Unfortunatly it hasn't caught on as there is not a sinlge listing within 60 miles of Lakewood, Ohio. Maybe there is some activity in your area, or you might want to use the Veggie Trader in the Lakewood area.

Beer Cheese Soup

I'm not a big soup eater. Kari almost always chooses soup, especially a French Onion, or Beer Cheese. I usually taste it after watching here add an unthinkable amount of salt, and I'm almost never impressed. The beer cheese soup is usually overly thick and bland. For this reason I've never taken on the task of making a quality beer cheese soup figuring such a thing was left for those who consider 'making' soup nothing more than pouring it out of a bag. Here is my recipie, and like always, starting with quality ingredients is key.

Porter and Chedder Soup

1 onion
1 tblsp flour

2 quarts each chicken stock, heavy cream, Great Lakes Edmond Fitgerald Porter

1 1/2 pound Cabot extra sharp chedder
1 tblsp Frank's hot sauce

Dice the onion and carmalize in butter. Make a quick roux with the flour right before adding all the liquids. Bring the liquid to a boil, then simmer for half an hour. Add the cheese, hot sauce, and salt to taste. Ideally using an immersion blender the cheese needs only to be large diced. If you want to shread it then a wisk is fine.

New Poll About Food Safety

The question of food safety at my local farmers market isn't exactly a new one. The vegetables are usually dirty and need a good wash for starters. The idea that all this food is sitting out in the hottest part of the day lays down a second layer of inquiry. Moving from just fresh vegetables more and more we find prepared food, dairy, and meat at the market. Fortunatly fresh picked fruits and vegetables are hardy, so is the human body, and unfortuantly for us in this situation so are bacteria.

Last week the Plain Dealer let us know about a few instances where the Department of Health sent vendors away for inappropriate refrigeration. The article can be found here. Insisting on mechanical refigeration might be a step too far? How concerned are you?

Farmers Market In Full Swing

Yesterday the Lakewood Farmers Market, and I'd assume all of them across the area are currently running at full capacity. I really enjoy the Lakewood market because of it's size and available parking. I don't want to park a mile away only to walk through 12 vendors all with pretty much the exact same vegetables.

Finally the market has just about everything you could want such as, beef, lamb, chicken, eggs, bread, beets, beans, squash, cukes, broccoli, berries, onions, apples, and even fresh corn!

Event Food Poll Final Results

The ‘event’ food poll closed with a flurry of voting near the end that put ball game dogs ahead of gyros by a single vote. The two together compromised slightly over seventy five percent of total votes. When I posted this poll I was thinking about which food is made better by the event part of the equation, and I think those voting understood that by how they voting. Ribs at the cook-off aren’t really all that much better than you can get at a variety of restaurants around town. Meatballs at The Feast are good and all, but a letdown after walking 3 miles to get there and forking out 8 bucks for them. Popcorn at the movies is such a classic combination I would have guessed it to have garnered more votes, but in reality fresh popcorn at home is so much better tasting. Even the stuff out of the microwave, don’t even get started with the idea of fresh butter or parmesan cheese.

The gyro has a relatively short history. The earliest interpretation arrived with a cook from Constantinople who landed in Greece during the 1950’s, with the first gyro shops showing up some 20 years later. The gyro’s origin can be traced back to the Turkish doner kebab, which originated in Bursa in the 19th century. The international gyro can be described as meat, tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce served on a pita. In the United States gyros are almost always served using a processed meat combining beef and lamb. The introduction of the gyro to the US occurred through Chicago in 1968. Since then the iconic spinning cone of gyro meat has spread coast to coast. Recently, pre-cut loafs of gyro meat have started to become popular as no special equipment is needed to cook them. All the while the classic tzatziki sauce of cucumber and yogurt has stayed the same.

In my opinion freshness is what makes a good gyro. The tomato and onion need to be crisp. The meat should have a sear, but not dried out. The tzatziki should be thick, and well seasoned. I’ve become a big fan of the gyro at The Mars Bar in Lakewood. From what I can see they slice warmed meat off the cone then sear it on a flat top to get really nice carmalization, and cut to order tomato and onion. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Unfortunately this kind of care can’t be given to the hundreds of gyros made at any Greek festival, which is why it perplexed me the adoration for the Greek festival gyro.

The idea of putting a sausage between bread and eating it must have came only seconds after the first sausage and loaf of bread where in the same room. Let’s just assume that happened a long long time ago. Fast forward to 1870, on Coney Island where a German immigrant began selling small sausages served on a sliced roll from his small shop, not long after that in 1893 a businessman named Chris von der Ahe, owned the St. Louis Browns, a brewery, and sausage shop introducing the trinity of sport concessions for years to come.

There are only two instances where I, and most people think to themselves, “Wow, lets get a hot dog.” They are while at a cook out, and at a baseball game. While freshness was important for the gyro, a hot dog can take a beating and keep delivering. If you are into the ball game, the dog comes to you. I remember when the vendors carried around small boxes filled with water and hot dogs and put them on the bread just before handing it to you. These days hot dogs come pre-wrapped, but seem to hold up rather well considering. A regional difference in the topping of hot dogs varies enormously. Luckily, in Cleveland we keep it rather simple, start with a hot dog, top it with stadium mustard, and raw onions, that’s it.

The connection between the hot dog and a baseball game has a 115 year history. A hot dog is a weird bland sausage on soft bland bread, unless you are at a ball game, then it’s something special, something you can’t do without. People take pride in their dogs, from their stadiums, just like their teams. Besides, shopping for hot dogs is a crap shoot; you have to match the number of dogs to the number of buns, not to mention you have to buy 8 of them at one time. Now that’s a commitment.


All the little facts and dates came from Wikipedia.

Cleveland Ethnic Eats.....by the Book

I’ve seen the book Cleveland Ethnic Eats on the rack before. I’ve even picked it up, flipped through a few pages only to put it back on the shelf declaring, “I’m from Cleveland, what do I need a ‘guide’ for.” Well, as it turns out in its 8th edition, there is plenty to learn from Cleveland EE, even for a home grown foodie like myself. With over 350 entries, almost 60 of them new since the last edition, I have a whole new perspective on the vast landscape of ethnic eats in my own backyard.

You don’t have to go far into the book to find a great explanation of why this guide is so good. On page XI of the Introduction a section labeled, “How the restaurants and market were chosen” explains things clearly, and includes all the points that make this book a great reference. First, all the restaurants are chosen because they exemplify a discernable ethnic character that is authentic and appreciated by its local following. Just because it’s popular or new in town, you are not going to find it in this guide. Ethnicities are not twisted or manipulated to find space for the newest, hottest burger joint by calling it German either. Sticking to this strict idea keeps the guide focused on why we picked it up in the first place.

In a similar statement, the book lacks acknowledgment of national chains, and ‘fusion cuisine.’ This guide is about Cleveland, by Cleveland, for Cleveland and leaving out the big chains encourages all of us to support our local restaurant scene. Without saying anything bad concerning major chain restaurants the guide stays focused and what we want to know about the local scene. We already have the chain restaurant national catch phrase hammered into our head all day long through commercials. Turn off the TV, and pick up this book!

With the exemption of one specific paragraph in the Introduction the word “I” is almost never used in this guide. It’s much appreciated. The summary of every restaurant is written in a very honest way, but lacks any form of judgment or rating. There are clear descriptions of the food, service, and décor of every restaurant. Examples of menu items are given, some items seem to be suggested as what the restaurant has best to offer, but never is anything negative said. Certainly every restaurant has its ups and downs, and a lot of times these are a matter of perspective. What the guide lacks in comparing and contrasting restaurants is an objective statement about the restaurants atmosphere, pricing, and neighborhood. If you read this into the full description you can get a good feel for the type of place you’re headed into.


The first time I took a good look at Cleveland EE I missed a lot, the second time around this is what I found most interesting….. The Introduction is worth reading. I usually skip over this part as it’s a sappy story about the author’s family or experiences writing the book, but not in this case. Very important issues like described above, as well as a section called “Using this book” will help clear up any confusion about how many money signs means what or why pilo is spelled phyllo. Also, a nice little map puts all the neighborhoods and major streets into perspective. Ideas of ‘near east’ or ‘farther south’ are kind of arbitrary. From a guy living on Lake Road in Lakewood, Lorain road in Cleveland is South, Parma is far, and Akron is almost a day trip…fortunately a map is provided in the guide so we are all on the same page, and not my page as it goes.


So you have a short attention span, don’t want to read a bunch of reviews, or maybe you know exactly what you want? The Index of Cleveland EE is great. Restaurants are segregated by name first, then a list by area, then by ethnicity, then into themes, such as romantic or al fresco, lastly by street, yes street since a lot of ethnic restaurants are grouped together entrenched in a few block radius of specific ethnic area. This Index far exceeds my expectations, and is quite useful in and of itself.

One unique quirk in all the descriptions of the restaurants is a quick synopsis of the storefront and parking situation. Not that this would sway my decision to go to any specific place, but to know there is plenty of parking around the corner, or the storefront is set off the street behind a sign, down a dark alley just helps me get there.

I suggest before you go searching for parking at your local ethnic restaurant you park yourself on the couch and take a long hard look at the ethnic Cleveland you’ve seen, but have yet to really look into via Cleveland Ethnic Eats.


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Cleveland Ethnic Eats is authored by Laura Taxel who has her finger on the pulse of Cleveland’s dining scene. Her book is published by Gray & Company which is one place you might find it available for purchase as well as Amazon.com and many local retail bookstores, at quite a reasonable price I might add.


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New poll of summer events

With summer in full swing we are knee deep in outdoor activities. Like every good foodie I associate some type of food with every event. I mean what's it worth if there isn't any food involved? So I tried to pick some of the areas popular summer events, pair them with the food most connected with it, and I'm asking you; which summer food activity combo do you most enjoy?

You can select more than one answer.

Poll Results, quick hits

Bees, yeah right, some kid is going to get stung and you’ve got a lawsuit on your hands.

Bees give you honey and wax, two things that take quite a bit of refining.

Chickens….well, simply put, chickens shit.

If I could get a few chickens to lay an egg every two days off table scraps, I’d do it. But I’m sure it’s not that easy.

Rooftop gardens are all the rage, but we are in Cleveland, Ohio where there is still plenty of room on the ground!?

Potted gardens are nice. Herbs and lettuce grow well in them. My sister has a nice collection of those upside down things. They are all over Lakewood doubles. We will see how they produce, and if they are back next year?

Home brewing seems like a very straightforward idea, but like baking, recipes and techniques need to be followed with great precision. Some people aren’t so good at precision.

Having a 5 gallon still in your house would be so cool. I understand a lot has to do with what happens after the booze is distilled, but still the idea is very interesting to me.

Not a single vote for goats, lamb, or rabbits. I think a goat on every lawn would lower the use of lawnmowers, thus carbon emissions, and noise pollution. I’d rather have to step over a goat patty than listen to 2 hours of ‘vrooom, vrooom’ every Sunday morning.

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Looking for work

Currently unemployed chef looking for work here.

June Dinner Club

Last night I had the honor of being invited to cook for a group of foodies as this month’s pick for their traveling dinner club. It’s quite a challenge, and equally rewarding just putting an interesting menu together. Executing it to anything near perfection is almost impossible. We did a good job this time around. This is the second year I’ve done this and last year was a great learning experience. This year I did as much prep work, and cooking as possible in the restaurant kitchen. While the host kitchen is mind boggling well equipped, it was nice to need only a few pans, and a few dishes off their shelves. Oh, and a cherry pitter. I said to myself, “If there is anyone who has a cherry pitter in their cupboard I can find it here,” and sure enough the first drawer I opened. That saved me 20 minutes of finger staining work alone.

The menu went like this:

Hor’s derves of;

Foie gras mousse
Ceasar salad satay
Classic shrimp cocktail

Chilled Gazpacho, celery aquavit

Sautéed soft shell crabs with lemon and sea salt

Grilled cherries salad, Lake Erie Creamery chevre, baby greens, smoked salt, pickled kumquats

Scallops sliders, apple-vanilla slaw, espresso-balsamic syrup

Grilled hanger steak, roasted marrow butter, lobster tater tots, spinach-gorgonzola fondue

The satay went over very well praised as such a simple idea that came out quite well, not to mention the exquisite Italian white anchovies. The gazpacho had celery flavored vodka with it. The idea was to sip the vodka then pour the rest into the soup adding a little zip to it. I had a gut feeling we filled the cups too much with vodka, and that’s the only thing I would have changed, less vodka, who would have guessed….LESS vodka?

Simple soft shell dish was all about the crab. There are times where you just have to show some restraint. The cherry salad went over well, but the chevre was the star. Once again finding good product is key and Lake Erie Creamery does a great job. I got some of the best scallops in on Friday; they were firm, dry and cooked up with nice carmalization. I like the apple-vanilla-coffee-balsamic flavor combinations, especially with scallops. The marrow butter was tasty, but I wish I could have melted it a bit more before sending it out. Lobster tater tots went over as a nice starch, but they weren’t perfect. I used a recipe that included pate choux, and the ratio of dough to potato resulted in a very moist, mushy, almost undercooked consistency. They cooked for an hour and a half, but at least they weren’t dried out.

Grilled Hanger steak was great; it really is a nice cut of beef. I went to the West Side Market Friday looking for hangers and didn’t see any. There are about 15 beef vendors, and on my second time around I started asking people if they had hangers. Everyone kind of looked at me weird and offered up Flank instead, but they are completely different in my opinion. Finally I come across a very talkative butcher who goes on to tell me, “these damn chefs come up with fancy cuts and go on TV, now everyone comes looking for things you never heard of.” I just smiled at him, nodded, and walked away shaking my head. Kari on the other hand thought it was great fun.

On that note, thanks Rachel at Three Birds for getting some hanger steaks for me. She must be one of those damn chefs going on TV and stuff. Also thanks to Kari for helping me shop. Thanks to Sharon the server on this night who did an excellent job helping both me and the guests. Lastly, thanks to the hosts for the opportunity to come to their house and cook for them in a way that makes everyone happy.

New Poll Background

I am a regular reader of the New York Times food section. There has been a string of articles with a common theme which describes city dwellers partaking in what are traditionally country activities. While Cleveland is a far cry from the crowded urban landscape of New York City, perhaps even your upstanding suburbanite would shy away from a few of these fringe foodstuffs.

This story is about illegal bee keepers in big cities.

Another story about raising chickens in the city, a sometimes, someplaces illegal activity.

Yet a third piece about rooftop gardening setting a sci-fi scene in which every available rooftop is considered prime farmable soil.

Home brewing of beer is somewhat more common. I've never done it. Moonshine? Never done that either, but sounds interesting.

Why not push the envelope? If 12 chickens take up such an amount of space, why not a goat that takes up the same area?



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Events this week-end

I'm a big fan of Fresh Fork Market, I like what they do. I cheer for the small guys with big dreams. I can appreciate what they have grown from, and when I saw this I just wanted to re-post it from the cleveland.com food and wine forum so it reaches as many people as possible. I hope to be there with an as yet to be determined dish.



21262. Open Invitation, Fresh Fork Pot Luck by FreshForkMrk, 6/23/09 22:21 ET

PLEASE REMEMBER TO RSVP tomailto:toBRITTANY@FRESHFORKMARKET.COM.

Hi all,

Fresh Fork is having our first Pot Luck of the summer. It is to celebrate the successful launch of our CSA...which is quickly approaching 100 subscribers...and to introduce our wonderful customers to our wonderful producers.

The date is Sunday, June 28th from 2 PM to 5 PM at 755 Starkweather Ave, Cleveland OH 44113 in the Tremont community. It will be in the empty lot beside our office. Free parking is available and we will have a large tent (30' by 20') in case of rain!

The event will include tasty local foods (of course) and family games. Producers will showcase their products. Famalies will have the opportunity to learn about the products, register for Fresh Fork events (farm tour), and earn Fresh Fork Ripe Rewards (points to earn savings off future purchases).

There will also be games and announcements. Games will incldue apple bobbing, water balloon toss, and cornhole.

Again, the event is from 2 PM to 5 PM on Sunday, June 28th. Please RSVP to Brittany Gatto atbrittany@freshforkmarket.com. Please bring food to share!


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Summer beverages don’t seem to convey the same emotion that a winter beverage can. Think about how soothing a cup of hot coco is after spending some time in the snow, or coffee on a January morning, or how a shot of whiskey will get you through the fourth quarter of a Browns game in December. Summer beverages are those of desperation “give me something to drink before my mouth seals itself shut and I pass out from dehydration.” On the other hand there is a relaxing feeling associated with a well crafted handmade Ice Tea or Lemonade that is infinitely more than just thirst quenching.

Ice Tea is by far the most popular of the poll. I agree, except for the lemonade I make that I’ll share the recipe for. Sangria reminds me of a suburban hairy buffalo…just through a whole bunch of fruity stuff together and taste, if it’s not good enough add more stuff till you either like it or run out of stuff to add. Beer is neither hydrating nor thirst quenching in my opinion. The addition of salt and lime does seem to freshen up a beer and reduce some of the carbonation. Start with a can of Tecate, rub a lime slice around the rim, dip one side in salt, open the can and insert the lime slice, now that is refreshment.

Water is great, if fact it should be our favorite as it’s free (mostly), the most healthy, and easiest beverage on the list. I drink more water than any other beverage. In the hot kitchen nothing tastes better. I do have a grip about bottled water though; bottles of water should not come any smaller than a liter. I take down a 12-16 oz bottle in two gulps and throw the bottle in the recycling bin. Who drinks 12 oz of water and says, “oh no, that’s it, I can’t drink anymore,” who?


Next time you want to put a twist on you ice tea or lemonade try either of these two ideas. I’ve tested them, and they work great.


Ice Tea

For every two quarts of brewed Ice Tea add: half an orange with the following spices stuck into it;

One cinnamon stick, 3 inches
One star anise
2 cloves
2 green cardamom pods

Since everything is stuck in the orange it’s easy to get out. I like to let mine sit overnight, but if the flavors get too strong for your liking just grab the orange out earlier. Of course there is nothing wrong with leaving it in.

Lemonade

In a pot combine

2 quarts of water
1.5 quarts of sugar
3 lemons, zested, then juiced
3 limes, zested, then juiced
6 stalks of lemongrass, rough chop
4 oz of ginger, sliced thin
4 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 oz mint
1 oz basil

Bring this mixture to a boil and simmer for 15 min. Let sit at room temperature until cooled. This is a base flavor mix that can be kept, covered, and refrigerated for a fair amount of time. If it becomes thick towards the end, microwave it in the container for 30 seconds to get things flowing.

Using this base mixture of any amount I like to use a 1:1:1 ratio of lemon juice, base, and a mixture of tonic water and club soda for bubbles. I know it’s easy in the restaurant to walk over to the soda gun and get whatever I want so unless you like tonic water already stick with the club soda. There is nothing wrong with using purchased lemon juice, just stick with the fresh squeezed thing. If the word concentrate is anywhere on the label, skip it.

Enjoy you summer with a great beverage!


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Episode 2, links, and other musings

Frequent reader Scott had been anticipating the demise of Wylie Dufresne on Top Chef Masters, and all I can say is, “sometimes dreams do come true.” Wylie wowed use with a load of foul language filled grilled cheese amuse. Proceeding to top this effort by not completing the judges dishes with all it’s components. Ok, one dish, but it was the protein. And if to insult a broken man the judges seemed to convey an overwhelming lack of enthusiasm for his molecular knowledge, while bandaging that wound with what has become a common judgment on the Masters of, “but it taste good at least.” Cheers Scott as the mighty have fallen. Poor Wylie as the producers took to him hard handing out a drubbing in one episode most Top Chef contestants would streach out over a few weeks.

Graham Elliot Bowles was in my opinion the big winner of this episode, even if he isn’t moving on. He brought a charisma, energy, and style combined with hands on cooking skill that will win over a ton of viewers. If we don’t see more of this guy on TV, it’s because he doesn’t want to do it.

I came across this blog of antique recipes, with photos of hand written classics. Check it out here at Recipecurio.

The new blog, and then we eat, caught my eye due to a unique mix of home cooking, restaurant styling, and increasingly good photos.

It occurred to me after reading the most recant Food Arts magazine that if every single new restaurant is touting local products then why aren’t the big boy mass distributers posting losses, losing customers and/or crying for help?

Even the local strawberries this year seem to be very uniform in size, flavor and texture adding up to something not nearly as appetizing as years past. Time to pass the torch on to ‘heirloom strawberries’ sounds like a reason to raise the price!

The Black River Café just got two Curly Tail Organic pigs delivered. These where some massive hogs. The loin itself has to be a solid 4 feet long. Great tasting too!

Of all the recent menu changes the pesto gnocchi and the lamb salad are hits, while the daily risotto and rabbit ragout sales have fallen off as of late.

This week-end I’ll be working on duck confit perogies, seared scallops over marinated carrots, rainbow trout on bacon and horseradish fingerlings in a herb coulis, and pork tenderloin with snap peas, sweet potatoes, soy roasted pineapple.

Pesto

Pesto is a sauce originating in Genoa in the Liguria region of northern Italy, and consists of basil, parsley, cheese (usually Parmigianino), pine nuts, and olive oil. There is a French equivalent called pistou, with the major difference being the lack of pine nuts. That being said there are many, countless variations and ratios used the world over in which a combination of cheese, nuts, and major flavor ingredient come together with some oil to form a paste we as chef’s liberally call ‘pesto’.

Basil pesto is the mother of all pesto. There is no denying that a well made basil pesto is very tasty. But it isn’t just that easy. Store bought bottles, jars, and tubes are almost always inferior to what can be made from scratch. A well tested recipe is only the beginning, every leaf of basil is different, garlic can be very pungent, or flat, and while not one of the more traditional ingredients, acid be it lemon juice or red wine vinegar can give a flat pesto the exact punch it needs. Texture is another variable that stretches from a grinding or chopping the ingredients by hand to using a food processor, or the fine puree you’ll get from a blender. At the end of summer, when the basil plants have taken over the garden, remember this!

So there is a never-ending list of pesto recopies, but let me share mine.

Pesto
1# basil picked from stems
Salted water to blanch
Ice water to chill

1 cup Parmigianino cheese
1 cup toasted pine nuts
One small clove of garlic
Juice of one lemon
¾ cup high quality EVOO
Salt and pepper

So, we’ve all seen the brown pesto with an oil slick over top. Not this way. Blanching the basil will keep the pesto green for as long as it’s ever taken me to use it up. It is essential that the pine nuts get roasted to a nice even brown, your nose will tell you when. A pesto with raw nuts will be completely different. On garlic, I hate the flavor of raw garlic, but the bite a small bit in this case brings something sassy to the pesto. The number one mistake in most pesto is too much garlic. Everything can go in a food processor together. I like a fine pesto, but the blender goes too far in my opinion, so I let the food processor go for about 5 minutes. The acid helps emulsify the relatively small amount of oil eliminating that unappetizing glop that usually covers a chilled pesto. Keep this paste in the refrigerator and use it on pasta, meat, bread, or anything else you like.


I’ve taken the liberty as a chef to remove basil and/or pine nuts from the basic pesto ratio and replace it while still calling my end product a pesto. I’ve done it will bell peppers, in which brunoise bell peppers replaced basil. Most recently I’ve been making Ramp pesto. I use the green ramp tops in place of basil with great success. The ramps don’t need to be blanched either. I do leave out the garlic in the ramp pesto as the ramps bring enough pungent flavors to the party. Arugula-walnut pesto is another modern interpretation of the classic pesto that has seen success in a variety of markets.

The process of making pesto is very easy. While the cheese and pine nuts might be pricey to begin with, pesto is a great way to stretch them out. Lastly, with the blanching method, beautiful pesto will last forever.

Top Chef Masters Season Permier

It’s been a few days now, so anyone who wanted to see it has by now, speaking of Top Chef Masters. Different and interesting are the two words that come to mind to describe the premier episode. I wrote about the prospects of this seasons Top Chef two months ago here. So how do I think things played out……?

Triumph –vs- Failures: We will not see many failures this season. This falls in line with the wishy-washy judging that we will see as well. For example, over cooked risotto, at least it’s cheesy. Salty steak and kale dish, “salty, but we loved it.” Or the collapsed chocolate cake and liquid ice cream debacle….just aren’t gonna talk about that one!

Taking restaurant chefs out of the kitchen, Check. Overt product placement, Check. Which backfired since every chef complained the hot plate couldn't supply enough heat to sear a pork chop.

On the good side the chefs where portrayed as very humble, approachable, and emotional. This was more a part of the show than I expected. It worked well in my opinion.

Lastly, will we see something amazing from the chefs? This remains to be seen, but if the likes of Girl Scout judges and dorm room kitchens are the indicators, we will have to settle for untapped potential.

For another opinion of the Top Chef Masters I found this interesting from Christine Fu, of the National Examiner.

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Poll results

While the grass may not in fact be greener on the other side of the fence, it sure does look that way from here.

Why are you gazing over toward the other side and not tending to your work anyway.

If the sun falls on both sides of the fence and no one is there to see it, is the grass still green?



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June Photos

This is our new lamb dish for the summer menu. I marinate the chunks of lamb with lemon oil, juice and zest, dried oregano, and black pepper. I like my greek salad to be naked. All the vegetables are cut to order, seasoned, then I like to beat them up in a bowl a little bit so they all give up a little juice and that becomes a dressing in and of itself. The syrup is a tangy red wine vinagar reduction with honey added to level it out.

Scallop special: Seared scallops, English pea risotto, roasted tomato coulis, ramp pesto. Sometimes the bite of ramp tops hits me over the head too strong, but when tempured with parmasean and pine nuts it's pungent, but enjoyable.


I just love fresh peas, what can I say. I was in the middle of shucking these when I looked up, saw my camera, and said, "what the hell," snapping of a few photos.

Another Scallop Special: Seared scallops, lemon-parmasean risotto, sauteed spring vegetables including fresh artichokes, ramps, and asparagus. Fresh artichokes are alot of work, but I'm very disappointed with them as a selling point at the Black River Cafe. They so obviously aren't the canned ones, or even the really expensive oil marinated ones. It's nice that I get a chance to snack of them, but I'd rather sell them. Even local asparagus has produced a resounding "thud" as a selling point. I've worked places, and eaten places where local asparagus and fresh artichokes where reasons to celebrate.

This is something like our summer salmon dish on the menu. This is Copper River Sockeye Salmon which is really nice. There are shoestring vegetables under there, which have become our default summer vegetable replacing the wintery swiss chard. I use the mandoline to cut carrots, zucchini and squash, julienne red onion and chopped garlic round the mix out. The dish as pictured started out with salt and vinagar chips, but on pay day my name is in the middle of the check, not the lower right corner, thus our summer salmon dish has orzo now. We make our own version of tartar sauce which I whipped up for a special last week and everyone liked it so we stuck with it. Basicly it's equal parts cornichones, capers, parsley, shallots, egg yolks, a little lemon juice, salt, Frank's red hot, and prepared mayo.

Things Ben Makes

Ben made this dessert as a way to use up some very ripe apricots. There is an apricot-chocolate cake filled with chocolate mousse, chocolate-goat cheese sauce, and sliced apricot. This dessert sold very well Saturday night.

We've had a little spare time on our hands lately and in a way to amuse ourself Ben made these dice out of parmasean cheese. We grate the cheese into a powder because it melts into things better, and looks better than strings of cheese as a garnish. This powdery cheese tends to be fairly moldable, but weak. To keep the shape Ben glazed the dice with the blow torch to perfetion.

Two ideas came out of this; instead of ice sculptures, how about cheese sculptures? Or, instead of sugar and chocolate show pieces, how about cheese and....crackers for instance?

Ben used a recipie that called for shredded beets, but sub'ed out apricotes. The cake was plesantly light and spongy. He thought it was dry that is how the mousse came about, but I thought the cake was nice on it's own. We also sell of chocolate lava cake that is rather heavy, so I enjoyed the contrast of this light cake.

I've tried to sell grilled flatbreads at the Black River Cafe a few times now, and it just doesn't go over well. We had 3 out of 6 left after Saturdays service so I made this my dinner. Ben took it out of the over so I decided to post it here. The toppings are fresh artichokes, ramps, smashed English peas, roast garlic, and Lake Erie Creamery Carphilie cheese.

While Ben didn't bake this bread from scratch he has taken on the responsability of looking after our daily bread service. It's quite and agrivation at times, and I'm glad he took over this task. I like this pic, there is alot to see if you click on the pic to enlarge.

Menu Changes

We made some seasonal changes to the dinner menu at the Black River Café. I’ll try to snap off a few photos sooner than later. Remember, we do our best to source everything locally, organic, and/or environmentally responsible.

Seared Scallops over ratatouille

Vegan Pesto Gnocchi with artichokes and roasted red peppers

Pork loin chops, black bean-sweet corn relish, fresh tomato salsa

Country style Greek salad topped with marinated leg of lamb

Wild Salmon, shoestring summer vegetables, salt & vinegar chips, house made tartar

Roasted half chicken, orzo, grilled summer vegetables, herb brown butter




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Back to the Basics

I consider myself somewhat of a creative person. I try my best to be the most creative chef I can be, with restraint and cause as conditions of time and place. My customer base has very little interest in molecular gastronomy, along with the show and lack of sustenance it seems to convey. Middle America, North East Ohio, Cleveland, Oberlin, these people want a meal, not entertainment. I play with flavor pairing, juxtaposing different ethnicities, but increasingly am interested in getting the best product I can and just plain making it taste good by cooking it properly. It’s easy to glaze over mistakes in the name of ‘creativity’. Yet it’s quite difficult to take a dish everyone is familiar with and prepare it perfectly.

This got me thinking. What flavors, or dishes, or preparations do we come across quite often, that tend to be lacking most of the time. Sure there is the perfectly ripe peach at the end of summer that will just blow your mind away, but what else out there consistently lacks to wow us?

Shrimp, I like shrimp, but almost all the shrimp I eat is, well, not that great. Carolina pink shrimp, fresh never frozen are the best shrimp I’ve ever tastes.

Popcorn, we all will shovel handfuls of popcorn in our mouths at a movie, but does it really taste good? Not to me. I remember when a pot with oil was needed for popcorn, topped with real melted butter.

Apples, yeah, I told myself to stay away from produce, but apples seem to be on the shelf all year long, and they suck all year long. Why? Why do we buy them when they are so far from good?

Chicken, this is more of a preparation obstacle. I have had very few experiences where I ate a piece of chicken and said, “Damn, this chicken is good.” And with all the chicken we eat you would think we would learn how to cook it consistently good.

Bread, this one is a real kicker if you dare to contemplate it. Out of convenience we decided that sliced white bread would we our standard preparation. Ok, wheat, multigrain, and rye are also quite common, but from the major manufacturers, they are all pretty much the same. Yet there are bakers, and bakeries, and restaurants turning out amazing bread that is cared for and nurtured, and looked after. Making bread for yourself it not all that difficult, and I guarantee would provide a ‘wow’ above and beyond even the finest sliced buttercrust. Sure, I’ll make my next bologna sandwich on white, but it’s not going to wow me.


I do have answers for a few other lack luster products. If you don’t like what you’ve been buying then try:

Murry Hill Farms Eggs at the Kamm’s farmers market on Sundays
Haltzer’s Milk, unbelievable product, Nature’s Bin in Lakewood has it for sure
Lake Erie Creamery Goat Cheese, full flavored and fresh, available at the west side market.
Meat, bologna for example for that next sandwich will be that much better from Chef’s Choice Meats
For bread try Zoss, who has a storefront in Cleveland Heights, but travels to the North Union Farmers Markets including Lakewood on Wednesdays.



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Out and About

After a long hiatus of not eating out, and looking at a long run in the future, I’ve happened to eat at both the Greenhouse Tavern and Fat Head Brewery within the past 8 days. I’m happy to say that between the two places I spent less than $100, including drinks, which is very impressive and important these days. Generally I liked all the food I ate. I had chicken wings at both places. This isn’t because I’m a chicken wing fanatic, but is why my bill came in so low. Both places did wings differently, and very good. The Greenhouse wing that had no skin, where very crispy, borderline dry, with no sauce, but they where amazingly tender and the meat fell off the bone in a mind blowing fashion. I have to find out how they do that. I’m not a fan of really crisp wings, which these were, but they were very enjoyable. The FHB has two wings on their menu, fried and smoke house. We got the smokehouse with honey chipotle sauce. The wings tasted great, served whole which I liked, and there was a very full meaty smoked flavor. The sauce was pleasantly hot, but overpowered the finesse of the smoking.

Beer, Beer, and more Beer!!! Greenhouse had a nice list of artisanal beers, a limited number on tap though. FHB had some 50 beers on tap. Matt Cole is the brew master there, formerly of Rocky River Brew Co. I was not a fan of RRBC beers. They all tasted the same, and /or overly flavored. This is very much not the case at FHB. We tasted 4 different house made brews and all were very different, flavorful and filling.

The green factor was mostly absent at the Greenhouse. I was hoping the server would pontificate the environmental responsibility of the ceiling tiles or something to draw my attention to the amount of time and money spent on making the restaurant a responsible one. Instead we found half filled labeless wine bottle on our table. After a quick inquiry, a unanimous discussion was made to push what was described as ‘table water’ to the side. I’m not drinking water from a bottle that’s been sitting on the table before I sat down. We were advised of a $5 split plate charge on a pasta dish that we all agreed was rather excessive. Give the explanation that it’s an ‘inconvenience’ to the kitchen did not soften the blow given my personal flexibility with splitting plates or sharing ect…

To charge for bread or not, that is the question. Unfortunately most dinners would agree that a good dinner starts with and overflowing glass of water that is always full, and an endless basket of bread with either butter or oil, whichever the restaurateur want to give me for free. For the environment we stopped pouring water endlessly, but bread? When I see how much goes into making bread, or how much money is spent on bread, it’s very understandable to charge for bread, but what if bread comes with an appetizer and you ask for more (3 people sharing 5 apps). To go against the grind is always hard, and this is something that has creeped up on us recently. In the kitchen I’ll tell you charge them for bread….and extra for the butter….but when I’m at the table I’m thinking, “everywhere else gives me a little piece of bread, what the hell?”

I’d go back to both, without question.

Local poll results

Local may be a word that can best be defined by what it isn’t rather than exactly what it is. For instance, local can be far away, but not too far away, and if you are at the cut off for far away and can see something just over the hill, well then that isn’t too far away either. Geography might only begin to describe what local means, for example Amish, are considered local to this area of North Eastern Ohio no matter the exact location of this specific group of people. Local could very well be defined by growing regions, but even these lines blur, but surely here in Cleveland I would shy away from local citrus fruit for example. All of these are ideas up for conversation, but from the poll results we can all agree on two things that local are not; first, anything grown in the USA, or secondly processed goods that use raw ingredients that are close to the processing plant while neither are close to you.

From what I’ve read in the NY Times the second of these two ideas that we agree are not within the definition of local are exactly the ideas that big business are pushing on use, and I’m both offended and scared by this. Organic labels means very little to me these days. The idea has been watered down to the point it too is better defined by what it isn’t rather than exactly what it is. I’ve discussed organic with farmers and dinners alike and most people convey that “organic” has a feeling of both corruption and elitism. Perhaps I’m interpreting this to the extreme. But it’s a slippery slope till labeling things as local gets the same stigma.

I regress, and wait patiently for my favorite farmers markets to open. Only 2 weeks till Lakewood and Kamms.

Must Read

With regard to the current poll, and my personal opinion of the state of food today I urge you to read this piece from the NY times. This is just the tip of the iceburg on how bad things can get. When prepared food companies give up on sourcing raw products in a honest, safe, humane way, the consumer is horribly in trouble. I guess it really comes down to, "every man for himself" in the world we live in today.

Leg of Lamb

Last week I wanted to play with a meat special or two. We are consistently offering multiple seafood specials, and they are moving out the door at a nice pace. Lamb was the perfect option. It’s more interesting that any old cut of beef off the grill, yet it’s familiar enough to draw people’s attention. I left a note to order 10 legs of lamb, when I really only wanted ten pounds. Luckily they ran small, between 2.5 and 3 pounds each. They were butchered wonderfully. They were not butterflied open and rolled up like I’ve seen in the past. The bone was cut out in a way as little of the meat was cut through as possible. The guys down at Dee Jay’s do an amazing job. The flavor profile was great as well. Very nice looking meat with little sinew or fat. I am very happy with this product and hope to find a place for it on the menu for the summer.

My first instinct was to simply roast the whole leg with some herbs, salt and lemon. It took about 40 minutes at 340 degrees to get a nice crust, but a rare inside which allowed a little leeway in re-heating the portions. I cut 6-7 oz portions to order, laying them on sizzle platters with parchment on top and a few drops of water. The platter sat of the flat top for just a few minutes to warm the meat up. We served this with either fingerling potato ‘steak fries’ or rosemary-roasted garlic whipped potatoes, sautéed Brussels sprouts, and either a cucumber-mint cream or smoked tomato vinaigrette. The end result was great. The meat was very tender, and the slow cooking rewarded us with an even doneness throughout.

After selling out of roasted lamb two days in a row it was time to mix things up! It’s been a long time since I had a nice, simple, chunky, fresh Greek salad the way my old friend Nick used to make us. I figured something so pleasantly simple would be a great base for lamb. So keeping with the Greek theme I cut up two legs into one inch dice, roughly 1oz portions and marinated it in dried oregano, black pepper, lemon zest, sea salt, lemon juice, lemon infused oil, and extra virgin olive oil. I don’t make a dressing per-se for my Greek salad, but I don’t like using straight red wine vinegar either. I make red wine syrup consisting of 1 part honey to 3 parts red wine vinegar and the slightest dusting of corn starch of which gets reduced to a loose syrup. I like to use this with olive oil over the vegetables, but the key is giving the whole thing a good hard stir, this way all the vegetables give up a little liquid to the dressing. The lamb got a hard sear for about 3 minutes in a non-stick skillet and a 2 minute rest off the heat where I squeezed a little fresh lemon juice overtop. This was an amazing meal. I don’t eat full meals very often at work, but I devoured one of these salads, and wanted more.

For this coming week I’ve begun work on a long time vision. I’ve had lamb Reuben knocking around in my head for years now, so finally it will happen. When 10 pieces of lamb where delivered last week instead of 10 pounds I knew this was my chance. I took three whole legs of lamb and started them in pickling brine for corned beef as described in Charcuterie by Ruhlman and Polcyn. (As a quick side note, I’m finding this book a true reference. I find myself referring to its pages more and more often. At first glance I wondered how relative it could be on a daily basis, but it provided a great jumping off point for a number of situations, and I can say that I’ve not been let down by any of the recipes.) The legs should be done in the brine tomorrow, Tuesday. I plan to cook them even slower than the roasted ones, an hour and a half at 325. Then cool it and slice it on the machine. I plan to use pickled red cabbage, a thick chunk of Middlefield Swiss, and a house made Thousand Island over rye of course. We will see what happens?

Oh the pain!

I managed to cut my right point finger on the inside crease of the first knuckle. It's a tiny cut. In fact I don't remember it happening, and you can barely see it. It's almost like a crack more than a cut. Surely there is no blood to speak of. Unfortuanatly though, this is the finger I stick in the salt and pepper cups to season food all night. On top of that, I insisted on sqeezing fresh lemon juice on the sautee'd lamb. Now, a little salt and lemon juice never felt so good. Quick math, we did about 12o covers, lets say only 100 ordered entrees, and the other 20 orders a salad or something I don't cook, well, that's nothing, ok, about 3 things. So for every entree I cook at least one side that needs to be salted, then 80% of the proteins are cooked to order so another 80 items to be salted, plus 10 lemons squeezed. Jeeze, that's 190 plus clicks on the ouch meter. Good things I've got two days for that little stinger to heal.

Got Local?

It wasn’t long ago that a term like “local organic products” drew a small, yet committed crowd of individuals who had similar ideas about farming, food distribution and environmental responsibility. Today it seems that everyone from the President to the free soup kitchen wants to use these kinds of bold statements in a very general sense. Look at how big business snatched up the term ‘organic’ twisted it, and chipped away at its meaning leaving us with little more than undersized produce with a bright sticker on it declaring its organic-isity. Ever wonder how that adhesive on the sticker could possibly be healthy to digest? The same is being done with the idea of “local” and the big boys are gearing up to destroy yet another adjective that once was very meaningful.

Kim Severson examined some of these ideas with a bit more objectivity in this week’s NY Times, it can be found here.

I’ve posted a new Poll that centers on this information, thanks in advance for polling.

Poll Results

Another poll comes to completion, and we are lucky to have a total of 30 votes placed. That is a record so far, thanks to everyone who participated. I’m very impressed by the results. I’m not a big fan of the pot luck. I’m sure if we could get a group of chef friends together all willing to shell out a few bucks and the results would be fantastic. Unfortunately, Aunt Edna, Uncle Bob, and the neighbors three doors down all get involved. I’m not un-appreciative of their enthusiasm, just the quality of their output. But, from the looks of these poll results, if I was to invite my blog readers to pot luck, we would be very pleased.

Where did the votes fall? Most people are looking to ‘wow’ us with their pot luck creation, and we sure can’t complain about that. A good number of individuals are born leaders and jump on the proteins, the bulk of any meal. There is always space on any pot luck for more protein. Man cannot live on macaroni salad alone….no matter how good it is. A few people would not hesitate to stick with what has worked in the past, and there is nothing wrong with this approach. If it ain’t broke, don’t try fix’n it. A very small majority of people, in fact only 2, would try pulling the wool over our eyes playing the old switch it out game with some of their dirty old dishes and store bought food. I don’t condemn this, if you can’t, don’t want to, or buy something really good, then go for it. Lastly, stone soup!

Stone soup is not a real dish, at least not in the way I intended it. Stone soup is something of a personal philosophy that cooperation among differing people will result in a greater good. The story of Stone Soup is a Grimm Brothers tale in which 3 travelers/soldiers are wondering the country side in search of nourishment. While not a single person in the city they come upon is willing to furnish them a meal, each person is willing to donate a small garnish to the pot of soup the travelers started by adding a stone to a pot, and offering the end product to the community as a whole.

I like the idea of stone soup, it’s a romantic tale, it shows people have heart, a true love for each other. It’s got 1967 Haight-Ashbury written all over it. Everybody gives a little and you end up with a lot. No CEO bonus money, no buy-outs, no stimulus…no organic, no GMO, no E. coli….no interest rates, jobless rates, or rat race. A single person with a pot and a stone, yet in this day and age we’re worried he would hit us with the stone and put all our pot luck delicacies in his pot and run off.

Asparagus

At first glance asparagus is not all that special. It's available year round. It's consistently sized and priced. It's a standard on a lot of restaurant menus, and is almost universally liked. We can identify it in the restaurant by its awkward and bulky plastic box. Most people don't understand what white asparagus is, cooks included, but it's a rare find at the local grocery. We identify asparagus as a spring harvest, but eat it year round sourced out of South America.

If this is your general opinion of asparagus please check out this quick read in the NY Times.

My opinion; I tend to make asparagus for myself only when it's a local harvest. I've worked with a lot of asparagus in my time in the restaurant, and every once in a while you get some and say, "Damn, that's tasty," but who knows what the next case will taste like. I'm finding it difficult to instill the superiority of local asparagus in my staff and patrons, I think because it is so widely available year round. Even I have a renewed appreciation for asparagus after reading the Harold Magee piece. I will keep trying.

New poll

The last poll drew alot of attention, 23 submissions! And with very interesting results to show for it. I figure with the graduation, picnic, shower season in full gear, where do you stand when it's your chance for culinary glory? The new poll is currently open.

Last weeks pics

Wild Alaskan Salmon, sweet corn risotto, house cured bacon, pearl onions and ramps.

This is a row of plates waiting for rainbow trout; fresh artichokes, pearl onions, radishes, English peas and golden beets with a smoked tomato vinagrette.

Fresh artichoke and ramp brushetta. First we soaked the bread in browned butter, then topped it with a ramp pesto, sliced artichokes and parmasean cheese before toasting it and topping with a chifonade of ramp tops. I want to run this again but with Lake Erie Creamery Carphilly cheese melted over top.

House cured bacon that is sliced up and ready to go. I was really happy with how this bacon turned out. It's Curly Tail Ranch pork that I cured it for 7 days in equal parts sugar and salt with garlic, thyme, and chili flakes. After rinsing off the cure I cooked the large pieces at 200 degrees for 2 hours. The sweet and salty flavor is really enjoyable without cooking the bacon any longer. I thought the slices of this bacon that I crisped up lost alot in depth of flavor. The process is really simple, It's definatly worth doing again.

My Favs

Cory over at Trials of a Young Cook set me up on this one, his post is here. My opinions are as listed:

Favorite Domestic Beer: Steel Reserve
Favorite Import Beer: Moylan Brewery, imported to Cleveland from Cali
Favorite Red Wine (varietal): Chimney Rock Cab.
Favorite White Wine (varietal): Camus Conondrum
Favorite Liquor: Wild Turkey 101
Favorite Non-Alcoholic Beverage: Water
Favorite Candy: Jelly Beans
Favorite Movie Theater Snack: Popcorn
Favorite Carnival Food: Soft Pretzle
Favorite Chip: Vinager
Favorite Vegetable: Fresh Artichoke hearts
Favorite Fruit: Banana
Favorite Protein: Eggs
Favorite Cheese: Right now, Lake Erie Creamery Tomme, epouisse a close second
Favorite Nut: Toasted sliced almonds
Favorite Dessert: Aged manchego with truffle honey at Momocho
Favorite Cookbook: Culinary Artistry by Dornenburg and Page
Favorite Knife: Pink knife from Target that no one else touches
Favorite Cooking Style (technique): Sauces, everything from reductions to vinaigrettes
Favorite Food Show: Bourdine’s No Reservations, I like the travel parts too
Favorite Mexican Restaurant: Momocho
Favorite Asian Restaurant: Buddikan, Chicago
Favorite Bar: The Lodge, Chicago
Favorite Fast-Food: Rally’s
Favorite Cheap Eats Restaurant: C-town pizza delivery
Favorite Fancy Smancy Restaurant: Bistro Pierrie, Philly
Favorite Local Restaurant (any): Subway, consistency!
Favorite Not So Local Restaurant: Morimoto, Philly

What Would Your Last Meal Be: Foie Gras and sweetbread wrapped in bacon, and smeared with maple syrup then slow roasted and served over brioche with a stone fruit gastrique, sliced almonds, and flambae’d with drambuie, and to drink a bottle of Makers Mark, and for dessert, one ripe mango.


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So, what's been going on?

Wild Alaskan Salmon is available, at 18$ per pound, it’s gonna be a long season.

Alaskan Halibut is beautiful, and half the price.

Fresh artichokes are available, so are English peas and pearl onions.

I like shucking peas, don’t mind trimming artichokes, absolutely hate peeling pearl onions!

I visited Murry Hill Farms in Wakeman, Ohio. It’s a wonderful place. Makes me want to live on a farm.

Fiddleheads are in too, but I don’t mind cleaning them.

Fresh picked Asparagus from Murry Hill Farm is awesome, so are the Blue Eggs!

When is the farmers market going to get started already? Lakewood? Kamms?

Organization is the key to success.

At the restaurant we buy milk in a five gallon bag that we pour into a bucket with a spout that has a label that reads, “Leaky”?

The Black River Café sign is very small, and oddly placed, if you can’t find us, we are across the street from Subway.

After all the fuss, now my dad want’s to try sushi.

If you where the only two people in a restaurant 20 minutes after they closed would you feel uncomfortable?

I need to learn how to make 2-3 unique desserts and stick to them.

My 40 minute commute is sometimes tiresome, sometimes relaxing.

Why isn’t the volume level of music in the dining room ever consistant from night to night?

The volume level needs to be adjusted as to mute the sound of our foul language coming out of the kitchen.

I bought a pink knife with hopes no one would ask to use it, this stategy has worked!

Lamb meatballs with tomato sauce and feta has been the only special that bombed so far.

Why do the Sysco croissants suck so badly? Can you say, “Flake”

Lake Erie Creamery and Mayfield Creamery are two very awesome local companies.


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I'm No Butcher

I found this article in today NY Times very interesting. In short the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association spend $1.5 million and five years searching for both cuts of meat, and ways to market them, cut from cattle that I thought we had pretty well worked over already. The grocery store meat case is something special. Pre-packaged, shrink wrapped, gassed, brined, marinated pieces of meat with little or no apparent connection to the animal from which it was taken. With the sheer quantity of product available at your average grocery store it lulls your senses that might normally connect an animal to that piece of meat. So when you start to think, there are only two hams on every pig, only two rib roasts or 20 rib-eyes on a single cow. Now you look at the meat case with 20 hams, and a huge stack of steaks, this should awaken some sense of responsibility in most people. This is one reason I think it's a good thing the cattle industry is marketing these new cut, and making available more of the type of cuts consumers want. While taking the long road, it is a means to using more and more animal from nose to tail.