Fun Playing With Food

Fun Playing with 24 Cleveland Chefs for a Great Cause

2011-11-14T22:42:00.001-05:00

This marked my second year as a judge for the March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction. Once again, our panel of four, and more importantly, over one hundred guests who donated $150 per person, were treated to an amazing array of donated culinary delights. Twenty four of Cleveland's finest chefs were represented. The panel enjoyed 20 savory creations and four desserts, which were judged in their own separate categories this year. The event raises funds and awareness for the March of Dimes Northeast Ohio Division, and the important work that they do in Northeast Ohio to help premature and at risk babies and their families and to prevent birth defects. This was the event's first year at Windows on the River, located in the building formerly known at The Powerhouse, in the Flats, and possessed of amazing views of Cleveland!

Apologies for some incomplete descriptions. We experienced a little logistical confusion with the new venue, and so some of the dishes were presented a little too quickly, or the description got drowned out by noise, such that I couldn't get good notes on all of them; I've improvised where I could. I invite anyone with corrections or additional info to please post in the Comments. Each dish was judged on three criteria: Creativity-Originality, Presentation-Appearance and Taste-Flavor. Here are the savory contestants:

Jerk Chicken Potsticker, Black Bean Salsa - Rachel Spieth, Georgetown; dish presented by Rose

Our first dish was among the tastiest. Crispy outside, steamingly savory inside, black bean creaminess accompanying.

Sweet Potato Coconut Soup - Matthew Anderson, Umami Asian Kitchen

This comfort food offered rich texture and fall flavors. Gluten free and vegan, to boot!

Tuna Slider - James Bogart, McCormick and Schmick's Seafood Restaurant

This "burger" was topped with a cucumber-wakami salad, Wasabi Mayo and pickled ginger. Most enjoyable.

House-Cured Gravlax, House Preserved Lemon, Lime Creme Fraiche - Chef Kenneth, LaStrada

This delightful bite contrasted pristine fish against gently tart lemon and lime flavors and rich creaminess.

Tomato-Gorgonzola Mac N Cheese - La Dolce Vita

I really liked the way the tomato toned the Gorgonzola down just enough so that it asserted itself without overpowering the dish. Though La Dolce Vita's Chef-Owner Terry Tarantino was in the house, I did not learn who actually prepared this dish (even though he presented it) and I apologize - it was most hearty.

House Smoked Salmon and Cucumber "Spool" with Tobiko Caviar - Ben Davison, MUSE at the Ritz Carlton

This dish presented me with a little bit of a challenge. Intended as a finger food to be enjoyed in one or two bites with a squirt of the cream, I picked it up and first enjoyed the caviar. I then separated the cucumber from the filling and met the challenge: the filling wasn't intended to be fingered on its own and I didn't have a fork. I really liked the filling and I'm sure the cucumber added both texture and flavor contrast, but that hunk was just too big for a cucumber-phobe like me to work around. This dish was my favorite for presentation/appearance.

Well, insert embarrassment here. This is where my photo of the dish that WON the savory category should be. Except, in the tumult of service (dishes were flying onto the Judges' Table faster than we could taste them) - it would seem that I don't have a photo of Noodlecat's entry. Thankfully, Brand Manager Bridget Rehner, who presented the dish to us, has come to the rescue with a camera-phone shot of her own, which she is kind enough to share:

Image courtesy of Bridget Rehner and Noodlecat

Bridget presented the dish, as she explained, because Noodlecat Chef Brian Reilly broke his ankle over the weekend (heal quickly, Chef!); Sous Chef Dick Kanatzar did the actual cooking. House made Japanese Chicken Sausage (Yakitori) on a house made Steam Bun topped with house-made pickles and "maggie mayo" (that's how I wrote it down). The combination was irresistible, even without the cucumber pickles (my plate didn't have the pink pickle shown above, but I've had Noodlecat's other, non-cucumber pickles, including that one, so I understood exactly what so excited the other judges about the texture and flavor combination - they raved about the pickles!).

Braised Short Rib with Squash Gratin - Michael Smith, Marigold Catering

I loved the squash gratin, which paired exquisitely with the tender beef.

Oyster Shooter with Ginger and Horseradish Gelees and Beer Foam - Andrew Gorski, Tremont Tap House

This unusual dish was refreshing, in a briny-sweet kind of way.

Seared Lamb Lollipop over Herbed Risotto, Truffled Wild Mushroom Demi-glace and Microgreens - Marlin Mayorga, Corleone's Ristorante

Tender lamb was perfectly cooked. A delightful plate.

Sushi Trio - Jimmy Soria, Shinto Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar

Honestly, when a Japanese dish leads with "tuna with cream cheese" as a sushi item, I start out a little skeptical. This dish nevertheless rated highest on my score sheet for "Taste" as well as "Creativity". The three rolls started with said Spicy Tuna w/Cream Cheese. Next, I enjoyed Snow Mountain Roll with shrimp tempura, crab, cucumber, avocado and scallions with tobiko and eel sauce, and topped with a spicy crab mix that I couldn't stop eating! Finally, the Hawaiian Roll with shrimp tempura, eel, avocado and cucumber, topped with spicy tuna. No off smells or tastes anywhere on this plate - and the eel was heavenly! Yes, I did remove the cucumber prior to ingesting.

Duck-Pumpkin Pasta with Crispy Sage - Brian Goodman, Greenhouse Tavern

The judging panel determined that this dish was a very close second to Noodlecat's winner. Duck was lovingly confited and then cooked in more duck fat, then tossed with rigatoni and a very original pumpkin-based sauce. The Piggie Plates were a nice presentation touch for this ducky dish.

Duck Confit over Smoked Tomato Corn Spoonbread - Chef Danny, Blue Canyon Kitchen & Tavern

This dish also received high praise from all four judges. I particularly liked the spoon bread, which benefited from the smoked tomato flavor.

Duck with Sweet Potato Two Ways (Flan and Fries) - Michael Lyons, Accessible Gourmet

This dish earned a lot of "Creative-Originality" points for the luscious Sweet Potato Flan, which was dressed just so with some of the amazing ducky jus. So glad to learn that Chef Lyons is setting up shop on the East Side now with his full service catering company!

Crab Cake, Roasted Corn Relish, Remoulade, Chipotle Honey - Jason Reed, Don's Lighthouse

Chef Reed told us that this dish may be found on Don's Lighthouse's regular dinner menu.

Salad of Red Curry Squash, Leeks, Crispy Speck, Micro Arugula, Truffle, Dill, Panko, Smoked Bleu Cheese Fondue - Brian Okin, Fountain Cafe & Lounge

This salad garnered high marks from the judging panel; the combination of ingredients and preparation reflected great thought and skill that may not be readily apparent at first glance. This dish was truly a delicious sum of all of the parts and I look forward to trying more of Chef Okin's creations at Fountain Cafe soon!

Pork Belly with Peanut-Chili Glaze, Asian Slaw - Jeff Jarrett, AMP 150

Another dish at the top of the panel's picks - this deftly executed plate offered melt-in-your-mouth pork belly accented by the nutty glaze (my favorite part of the dish) and contrasted with the crunchy slaw. The event's Honorary Chef came very close to victory with this dish.

Pretzel Crusted Chicken - Rock Finley, Great Lakes Brewing Company

This dish has been a signature at Great Lakes in one form or another for over twenty years.

Lemon Fried Blue Point Oyster with Pickled Cucumber - Reagan Riek, Pier W

My apologies to the soft spoken young chef who presented this dish - I didn't get your name, and that's a shame considering that you spent so much time shucking these oysters for us! A very lovely dish.

Salad of Winter Greens Topped With Crispy Pig Ear, Fried Quail Egg and Oinky-Rice Wine Dressing - Brian Doyle, SOW Food

Chef Brian knows how to make a pig's ear sing, that's for sure. This plate earned high praise from the judges for the fabulous textures and flavors. And we were grateful, by the time we consumed this 24th dish, that Chef Brian had opted for the small quail egg over a standard chicken egg.

And now, on to the sweet side.

Cannoli with Chocolate and Almond - Richard Rhein, Mama Roberto's

Leave the diet, take the cannoli.

"Love Potion Parfait" - Dark Chocolate Mousse, Rum, Strawberry, Cherry, Balsamic, Candied Hazelnuts, Salty Carmel, Caramel-Filled Chocolate Candy - Amanda Montague, Lilly Handmade Chocolates

This dish was the only one of the evening that won a perfect score of 21 from me. Though it wasn't a slam-dunk for the whole panel - Chef Montague's creation swooned us enough to earn first place on the sweet side.

Pumpkin Cake Shot - Becky Rink, About the Cake

This little container packed large pumpkin-bourbon-mousse flavor, balanced out with orange and chocolate and topped with candied pecan.

Cognac Mousse over Pastry with Salted Caramel and Apple, Chocolate Tart - Britt Culey, Coquette Patisserie

This entry was a bit lighter on the stomach than the other desserts, but married delicate flavors and textures very nicely.

Congratulations to the winners! And thank you to all of the many chefs, purveyors and auction donors who contributed to the success of this year's event. If you would like to contribute to our local March of Dimes Chapter - please follow this link!

While all four judges had great fun playing with this food - we remain mindful of the larger purpose. So, please consider supporting your local Chefs and charities by attending a food-centric benefit or two if you can - the monthly Dinner in the Dark series offers a unique opportunity to support charities while enjoying a 6 course wine dinner from some of Cleveland's finest chefs! The next DITD will be at March of Dimes Chefs Auction Winner Noodlecat, on Monday, December 12, 2011 beginning at 6:30pm.

Fun Playing with Noodles, Pork Belly and Clam Casserole at Noodle Chu

2011-11-07T11:03:00.000-05:00

We have completed our final trip to New York for 2011. Both the first and last trips included a dinner stop at Noodle Chu, which does not appear to have a website, but which can be found at 770 US Highway 46, Parsippany, NJ 07054-3401, (973) 299-6518. Parsippany is located right about where a re-fuel becomes necessary, so Noodle Chu's location is especially convenient. Prices are low, quality is generally high, and despite some internet comments I've seen to the contrary, service is always just fine.

Our group shared six dishes each visit, with nary a dud among them.

Singapore Mei Fun

Peking Pork Chop

This would be the only dish repeated on our second visit. Pounded pork chops breaded to be light and crunchy with waterchestnut flour, expertly fried and served sizzling hot. Yum.

Thick noodle with Beef and Black Pepper

Sizzling Plate Scallops with Black Pepper Sauce

Yes, two black pepper sauced dishes at one meal are not too many. Noodle Chu does them very well.

Snow Pea Leaves with Crab Sauce

Despite the shaky photography of the first photo - this was my favorite dish of the meal. Fresh crab meat married to sauteed snow pea leaves by a creamy-eggy sauce.

Pork Belly and Preserved Vegetable Casserole

This was not a dish for the faint of stomach - in addition to looking very Chinese - the dish contained a fair amount of pork fat. Those of us who appreciate soft, melt-in-your-mouth pork fat really enjoyed this dish. The preserved vegetable adds both flavor and textural contrasts to the dish.

Our second visit occurred last week, just two days before a freak October snowstorm would blanket the Tri-State Area. We began with Sizzling Veal Chop in Black Pepper Sauce:

Yi Mein Noodles with Crab Meat

The crab meat in this dish didn't wow me as much as it had on our previous dish. Nevertheless, we happily cleaned this plate.

Udon noodles with seafood

I actually liked this noodle dish a bit more than the yi mein. The seafood was standard food service quality, but no chemical smells or bad tastes were in evidence. The scallops were particularly tasty; the squid was the only weak link for me.

Sauteed Snow Pea Leaf

A simple dish, executed beautifully.

Yup, it's the Peking Style Pork Chop once again

Note that I was unable to photograph the plate before someone who shall remain nameless (my husband) shamelessly grabbed a piece. It is that good.

Casserole of Clams in Satay Sauce

We all liked this slightly spicy treatment for fresh clams. The satay sauce, a cousin to curry, was a nice change from the more ubiquitous black bean sauce.

Our happy table

Dessert

We had fun playing with the well crafted dishes at Noodle Chu. I have my eye on the fresh seafood tank, where the Dungeness Crabs were swimming, for our next visit.

Fun Slurping Noodles Slowly at Noodlecat

2011-10-26T14:27:00.000-04:00

All of the soggy weather we've had lately in Northeast Ohio has left me hankering for a steaming bowl of noodles. One of the first scenes of my favorite food movie, Tampopo (which is a Noodle Western), begins in the rain. And so, it was perfect timing that Slow Food Northern Ohio decided to offer a slurpilicious dinner on October 13 at Jonathon Sawyer's new Noodlecat restaurant in downtown Cleveland, just around the corner from his delicious Greenhouse Tavern.

We began with a platter of house made pickles, served family style.

Items included pickled onions and green tomatoes, hot Hungarian pepper slices, beets, turnips, slices of Asian vegetable (was it wintermelon or bittermelon?), ginger (my favorite item, at the center of the platter), sliced egg (next to the ginger) and cucumber.

Two more appetizers would be served family style:

Broiled Rice Balls with Market Spices and Mushroom Infusion with Sesame Oil Dipping Sauce

This time-honored Japanese technique for using up yesterday's rice delivered crisp texture, simple but tasty flavors, and a big hit of umami from the mushroom creme dollop up top.

Chickpea-Stuffed Gyoza w/Chef's Garden Vegetables and Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce

When Chef Brian Reilly told us that the filling was chickpea, I almost didn't believe him. It was that good.

Bob and I both selected the same entree from the three choices on the menu: Pork Miso Ramen with roasted Ohio pork, miso, scallions and greens.

The noodles, jointly developed by Chef Sawyer and his team and Ohio City Pasta, which handles production, were pretty darn close to noodles I've enjoyed before in Asia and New York. The broth was deliciously porky but balanced by the miso without being overpowered by it. My only disappointment was that the bowl did not come to the table steaming hot as it should have. But it was still delicious, and I can't wait to return to Noodlecat for another ramen (or udon or soba) fix.

We also enjoyed the company of other supporters of Slow Food's mission to encourage local and sustainable eating. Joining us at our table was Ed Butdorf, the self described "Director of poultry relations at Happy Chix Farms." Though we have not sampled his products (including chicken, duck and rabbit), I've heard nothing but great things about them - if you are interested in trying them, contact Ed through the Happy Chix Facebook Page and he'll fix you up - he delivers to several Cleveland-area restaurants regularly and will happily meet you on those journeys!

Fun playing with ramen in Cleveland - Noodlecat satisfies the craving.

Fun Playing With Garden Tomatoes in a Cobbler

2011-10-24T11:00:00.000-04:00

This post is a few weeks late, but we still have some luscious garden tomatoes ripening in the house, and basil in the garden - hopefully some of you do also (or can still get from the farmers' markets) - because this recipe is so good, we made it four times in two weeks!

I stumbled upon Tomato Cobbler on Seriouseats.com, here. The recipe originated with cookbook author Lisa Fain, and can be found in her book The Homesick Texan Cookbook. Ms. Fain rightly wondered if cobbler, traditionally a sweet ending filled with fruit, would work as a savory when made with garden tomatoes and cooked in a cast-iron skillet. After sharing the recipe with Bob, he turned it into even greater deliciousness with a few garden tweaks.

He first followed the recipe exactly. The prescribed ingredients are as follows:

1 pound tomatoes, peeled, cored, and diced or 2 cups canned diced tomatoes, drained
1 jalapeño chile, seeds and stems removed, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped cilantro
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon lime juice
Salt and black pepper, to taste
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
½ cup all-purpose ﬂour
½ cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk

which yielded this:

Here is is served up for dinner with some of our Breychak's Farm Sausage, from the grill:

We devoured it, but felt we could do better. We also skipped the cast iron skillet, concerned about the tomatoes reacting, and used a three quart All Clad Chef's Pan. So in some ways, this post is about the process of playing with food, and how by being unafraid to experiment, you can sometimes improve someone else's recipe.

For the second incarnation, Bob doubled the amount of tomatoes to 2 cups. He also added some garden corn kernels and reduced the liquid in half. This version was more delicious, but a little too wet:

By the time we made it a third time, for my parents in NY, we'd decided to cut the tomato back to 1.5 cups and to substitute garden basil for the impossible-to-grow-in-Northeast Ohio cilantro. Perfection!

We made a triple-size batch of the cobbler for our friends in Jamaica Plain Co-housing, but it was devoured by our 30+ guests before I could snap a photo of it!

So, the next time you have garden tomatoes and basil (and perhaps corn) on your hands - give this amazing dish a try. It works as a side (as seen above) or drizzle with cheese of your choice and melt to make it a one-pot meal (I enjoyed the leftovers from the first one that way, with cheddar).

1.5 pound tomatoes, peeled, cored, and diced
1 jalapeño chile, seeds and stems removed, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped basil
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon lime juice
Kosher Salt and black pepper, to taste
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
½ cup all-purpose ﬂour
½ cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
.5 cup whole milk (we used 2% from Snowville Creamery)

Fresh corn off the cob

To make the cobbler:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Toss together the diced tomatoes (together with their juices - don't let them get away!), diced jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and lime juice. Add Kosher salt and black pepper to taste.

3. Melt the butter in a 2.5-3qt. oven-safe skillet or Chef's Pan, on low heat. Once the butter is melted, remove the pan from the heat.

4. In a bowl, bring together the ﬂour, cornmeal, baking powder, and Kosher salt. Add the milk and stir. Add and stir in corn, if using. Pour the batter over the melted butter in the skillet. Do not stir the batter. Spoon the tomato mixture on top of the batter and again, do not stir. Bake for about 30 minutes, uncovered, and remove from the oven when golden, brown and delicious!

Fun playing with garden tomatoes, corn and basil never tasted this good!

Fun Playing With Freddie's Polish Boy

2011-10-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, one of Cleveland's favorite culinary sons has "made good" with a starring role on daily national television - Michael Symon, who appears on ABC's The Chew. The Chew debuted about a month ago, replacing the long running soap opera All My Children. The DVR has allowed me to see many of Michael's exploits (and you can watch complete episodes via The Chew's website). On Wednesday October 19, 2011, Michael demonstrated a Cleveland classic: the Polish Boy. The Polish Boy consists of grilled sausage or kielbasa on a hotdog bun and topped with coleslaw, french fries and BBQ sauce. Symon said that sometimes pulled pork is added - I've been told that such an addition turns the sandwich into a Polish Girl.

Who would tell me such a thing? The fine folks at Freddie's Rib House, which opened in April 2011 at 5361 Mayfield Road, Lydhurst OH, that's who. You can reach Freddie's at (440) 449-9400 (no website). Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, noon to 1 a.m. Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.

I've eaten there a number of times, but held off posting about them. The people are really nice, but they had some early kinks to work out. Things seem well in hand now. Except for the fries, which I'll get to shortly. Owner Andre Wheeler is the son of the restaurant's late namesake Freddie Wheeler, and he was working the order counter my first two visits. The original incarnations of Freddie's served for years downtown, but the urban location closed shortly after the Lyndhurst spot opened. Take out or eat in at one of four four-tops.

After watching The Chew Crew devour Symon's Polish Boys Wednesday night, I had a hankering to eat one myself yesterday. And I knew where I could satisfy that craving - Freddie's! Here it is - a "deal" for lunch at $4, including a can of pop (regular price is $5 just for the sandwich). A larger size is available for a dollar more.

Usually, I would eat something this messy with a fork - but inspired by Chef Symon, I tucked the foil back into the bottom end of the package, picked it up, and just dove in. Crunchy from the grill, the sausage skin gave way to tender, juicy saltiness that was complimented by the slightly sweet, yet tart (and obviously housemade) cole slaw. The fries, which are cut in-house from whole potatoes, were a bit limp, but full of potato flavor. The BBQ sauce was reasonably well balanced between heat and sweet, but applied perhaps a bit too robustly. My hands and face were a mess after eating this, but oh was my tummy happy!

Here's a Polish Girl I sampled on April 15; it was also messily delicious:

Other items I've enjoyed at Freddie's since April are below:

Fried Perch Lunch, April 13, 2011

My first meal from Freddie's consisted of a generous portion of frozen perch that was hand-breaded to order and perfectly deep-fried, accompanied by the house made french fries. Everything Freddie's serves is prepared to order - either call ahead, or expect to wait at least ten minutes.

This bag, one of several in the restaurant, could be seen from the ordering counter - a sign of the authenticity of the fries. I believe that they store the raw, cut fries in water to prevent oxidation, then fry them to order. As Chef Symon explained on the The Chew, the better technique is to blanch the fries in 300 degree oil (which would also solve the oxidation problem) and THEN fry to order at 360 degrees. The single-fry method explains why the fries don't get very crisp. But they do taste delicious, and contain no artificial ingredients or processing.

Andre told me that I had to try the wings, and so went my third meal:

Meaty wings, fried to exquisite crispness. The Wing Dinner contains a generous portion for $6.25.

Plus house-made cole slaw.

Plus fries, and two slices of bread (which you can sort of see in the upper left corner), together with a cup of Andre's BBQ sauce.

A friend joined me on my next visit, and we started by sharing an order of onion rings:

Though clearly not made from scratch, the rings were fried to hot crispiness and were most enjoyable.

My friend had a fried tilapia sandwich (all of the sandwiches come with fries):

I opted for the Rib Tips:

Both lunches satisfied and offered good value for the price. The rib tips were melt-in-your-mouth tender and not overly sauced.

One of the kinks I was hoping they'd work out, though, concerns the sides - priced at $3 each. When last I ordered any, in May 2011, the portions were very small for the price point. For example, the cole slaw:

That cup didn't hold more than 2 ounces of product. Yes it is house made and delicious, but for $3, I wish they'd move up to the next cup size. Same issue with the mac and cheese side order:

This cup didn't hold more than 3 ounces, I'd guess. It tasted nice, but wasn't anything special and didn't go very far. I do not know whether anything has changed in regard to this issue in the intervening months.

At first, the baked stuffed potato seems pricey ($8-10). But the portion is huge (chicken, steak or shrimp, plus chopped broccoli, onion, cheese, mushrooms and green pepper), especially for lunch. More important - it was one of the best tasting items I've had at Freddie's (hold the mushrooms on mine, please):

You can see bits of seasoning atop the cheese; I have no doubt that this sprinkle added to my enjoyment of the dish.

Freddie's seems to have solved it's early issues with utensilry, nakpins and beverages. So - if you are in the Lyndhurst area and are in the mood for a Polish Boy or Girl, or ribs, or fried chicken or fish (and yes, they offer grilled chicken also) - Freddie's can be a fun choice to play with Southern-inspired comfort food. It certainly slaked my Symon-induced Polish Boy craving!

Fun Playing With Fall Road Trip Food, Westbound and Down

2011-10-18T10:47:00.000-04:00

The third and final leg of our recent road trip was the shortest part. After a third breakfast (and second popover) at Ula Cafe in Jamaica Plain Massachusetts, we turned our wheels westbound, towards Binghamton NY.

I wish I could report on some fabulous road eats between Boston and Binghamton, but for most part, we stuck with beverages and bathrooms. Though we did visit a fast food place for snack and bathroom in what proved to be a detour through the little town of Cobbleskill New York. We didn't realize until after we'd settled on the mundane that we could drive straight through the town to pick up I-88 instead of turning around and getting back on where we'd gotten off. When we did this, we noted a number of interesting looking places to eat in this small town; next time, I'll know.

Once arrived in Bingto town, my aunt and uncle suggested Chinese Buffet. They are big fans of the form, and though we are less so, we were delighted to go where ever they wanted to take us. Our destination: Buffet Star in Vestal NY, a strong stone's throw from the State University at Binghamton campus. Tired from the long drive, I didn't bother to extricate my camera for what I expected to be a typical Asian buffet serving mediocre-to-average food. Buffet Star, however, diffused that notion before we even got in the door, as several Asian customers exited just as we approached, and they all looked happy. Stepping inside, we noticed a substantial number of Asian patrons - always a good sign in an ethnic restaurant.

The essential law of physics that drives buffet restaurants is that most kitchens (even supersized ones) can't turn out the large variety of items offered in the quantity needed. Therefore, any buffet restaurant at any given time will be serving many items that come straight out of food service packs. In my experience at Asian Buffets, this will include sushi and desserts; in the case of Buffet Star, it also included a selection of dim sum items and many of the appetizers. To be fair, we did not sample the "Mongolian BBQ" section, where you pick out raw ingredients and have them cooked to order.

I tried to gravitate to the items that the Asian customers were selecting, and I was mostly rewarded, with some tasty pork (prepared three different ways) and fresh, delicious clams with black bean sauce. So, no photos, but happy tummy. And an actual recommendation for an Asian Buffet (my first) - you can find a very nice meal at Buffet Star, and at about $10 for the all-you-can-eat dinner, what's not to like?

After a fun evening looking at digitized old family photos, and photos my uncle took while stationed on Okinawa in the late 1960s, we headed to bed in the guest room. We awoke refreshed and ready to face the final leg of our trip. My uncle gifted me with a CD that I haven't been able to stop listening to since the trip, and I highly recommend it if you are a fan of the late country music star Jerry Reed and/or the late great Shel Silverstein (who wrote all of the songs), or Reed's compatriots on the disc - Mel Tillis, Waylon Jennings and Bobby Bare. The disk is called Old Dogs, which was originally released as a 2 disk set, but is now apparently only available as two separate disks.

Our last meal of the trip, as it would turn out, was in some ways a mirror of the first - PIZZA! My aunt and uncle took us to a local, mom-and-pop type place: Tonarlo's, 1113 Conklin Road, Conklin NY, 607.775.9299.

Tonarlo's prepares everything from scratch, and it takes awhile. Even though we all ordered pizza or calzone, our server deposited two loaves of fresh, crusty bread for us to nosh while we waited.

Bob decided to be a purist and opted for the personal size pizza topped with sausage.

Uncle Jerry, never the purist, also ordered a personal pizza - the Chicken, Bacon, Cheddar, Ranch.

Lucky me - a slice of each pie wound up on my plate! And look at that crust - why, oh why, it is so hard to find a crust like this near Cleveland?

Each slice satisfied, in a different way. I'd never have expected ranch dressing to work on a pizza, but topping off great ingredients, expertly prepared, each bite sang. Bob's simpler pizza also pleased my palate with great chew, a little crunch, and fresh sausage.

My Aunt Phyllis and I each ordered a calzone. Remember how I'd passed on the calzone in Connecticut? This time - I was not to be denied my ricotta cheese fix! But even better - my Aunt explained that even though it wasn't yet on the menu, she'd invented the "Phyllis" calzone at this establishment - stuffed with mozzarella, ricotta and breaded eggplant slices, and served with a cup of house-made marinara sauce! Can you say, "yum"?

This tasted as good as it looked - creamy, crunchy and eggplanty in every bite! And, thankfully, there were leftovers of both calzone and pizza, which we stashed in our cooler for eating later. And dinner wound up being much later. You see, we should have taken that left toin at Albuquerque . . . .

Fun Playing With Fall Road Trip Food, pt. 2

2011-10-13T10:42:00.000-04:00

Having cooked up a storm of Rosh Hashonah goodness for the family on Long Island and then rested, we resumed our road trip on Friday. Destination: Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. My BFF Jeanne and her family, as well as her extended family at the Jamaica Plain Co-Housing Community, awaited us. I haven't seen my friend since my wedding almost 16 years ago, so this trip was way overdue.

Our route on this fabulous fall day would take us off of Long Island and into Connecticut (and then Massachusetts) via the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry. This direct route would also spare us the travel nightmare of the shoddily maintained and constantly-under-construction East River crossings we would endure if we traveled the mainland - so off to the ferry we went!

Our coach - the PT Barnum. The weather and conditions were so splendid that I had to snap a few photos with the cell phone camera. We simply drove into the car deck, then walked to the elevator and rode to the top open-air deck. We did not partake of the snack bar on the boat - though its fried olfactory treasures did waft throughout the top deck; we decided that this was deliberate, to encourage more concession sales. Nice view, isn't it? And we haven't even left the dock yet.

After about an hour on the water, Connecticut gently beckons.

As land drew closer, an announcement ordered us back to our vehicle, and we prepared to continue the journey. As luck would have it, though, Mother Nature began to call just as we returned to the car. Too late to hit the boat's facilities, we agreed to seek out a bathroom and a snack once we returned to terra firma.

These needs led us to rather urgently seek out a local place, and the luck of the exit draw brought us to Peppino's Pizza, 200 East Main Street, Stratford, CT. Though the menu refers to a website, it does not appear active; phone number is 203-378-5552.

Though we'd enjoyed New York pizza twice on this trip so far, too much is never enough. The condiment table held the usual suspects - garlic powder, oregano, chili flakes and grated cheese. This would be true New York style pizza! And indeed, the friendly folks at Peppino's served up some mighty fine pie.

Bob's slice was "meat lover's" and he most certainly did.

Ricotta-filled calzone or plain cheese slice? I opted for the slice, since I needed to avoid a food coma with several more hours of driving ahead. I was rewarded with a nicely prepared pizza with a properly dirty bottom.

Relieved and satisfied, we again hit the road. Travel was smooth until we hit the Boston Metropolitan Area, which lived up to its traffic-choked, insane-driver reputation. By the time we had followed Google Maps's horrible choice of directions (directly through downtown Boston) to Jamaica Plain Co-Housing, we were ready for dinner! Reunited with Jeanne and thrilled to finally be back in Boston, a small group of us repaired to Bella Luna Milky Way, 284 Amory Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, Phone: 617-524-3740. The restaurant was too dark for any of my photos to come out well, so suffice it to say that we enjoyed a lovely time planning for our cooking class later in the weekend while quaffing freshly brewed Samuel Adams (a pumpkin ale not released outside of the greater Boston area) and eating sandwiches and housemade fries!

The cooking class was a vital component of our visit. Co-housing has been my friend's passion for many years. A fusion of condominium and commune - the essential concept is community and consensus.

A paving stone that's up my alley!

Vegetable Garden

Jeanne had been asking my advice on cooking for large groups. The community strives to prepare and serve a community meal about once a month, and has found it challenging. Our mission was to demonstrate some new (to this group) cooking techniques, as well as a recipe that could be prepared in "mirror" versions both vegetarian and not. Finally, there were issues with the two range-ovens that we'd not figure out until after the big dinner. The place to start, however, was with sharp knives. Without sharp knives, it would always be a struggle to produce dinner for 40. So we planned to begin with weaponry, immediately after breakfast and shopping the next day.

All three of our breakfasts in Jamaica Plain would be consumed at the most friendly Ula Cafe. By far, the most amazing item in the joint is the freshly baked, eggily delicious popover:

Good thing I don't live there - I could eat a lot of these. Seriously.

Bob also enjoyed this pastry:

I felt that the brioche with egg and cheese lacked the profundity of the popover:

But any lingering thoughts of imperfection disappeared in the taste of the two sandwiches we shared for lunch on Sunday on a short break from food prep.

Egg Salad: Fresh Dill, Peas and Romaine, together with robustly cracked pepper and another crunch (maybe scallion?) on peasant white bread. No celery! Delicious.

Sweet Potato Sandwich: Roasted sweet potato, avocado, Monterey Jack, red bell pepper, red oinion, tahini-poppy seed spread on peasant white (hold the sprouts for me, please).

Who'd have thunk to use cold, cooked sweet potato as a sandwich base? And it really worked! This lunch was topped off with house-made ginger lemonade, which also pleased.

After breakfast, we spent the better part of Saturday shopping for our planned Sunday feast. The menu would consist of a braised meat, meat and vegetarian versions of Linda's Cheesy Corn Bake (each pan a double batch; click the link to see a photo from another time I made it for a crowd and a description of the dish), a triple batch of the Tomato Cobbler seen in my last post (and yes, we still had tomatoes, corn and basil from our Cleveland garden to make it wonderful), Faux Stir Fried Tofu and Vegetables with Garlic Sauce, and two desserts: Cory Barrett's Honey Pound Cake and Chocolate Mess (also known as a crock pot dump cake). We made our lists, checked them twice - and headed off to a local farmers' market for our first stop.

The beautiful blueberries and raspberries at the very first vendor's table tipped us off that this was not a producer market. Those items have been out of season in Boston for many weeks (and probably came from California or Mexico) - so we realized that we needed to shop carefully. (A producer market is restricted to items grown or produced by the vendor.) Nonetheless, we scored some lovely broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and red bell peppers (all but the peppers were definitely local; the peppers may have been) for our Asian-inspired "faux" stir fry, ripe red jalapenos for the Cobbler and Cheese bakes, and locally sourced fresh eggs for the Cobbler and desserts.

We left the market knowing that we needed a several heads of garlic, and at least one item that would probably need to come from an Asian grocery. Jeanne hoped that we might find the brown bean sauce in a more mainstream store, since she wasn't sure where a conveniently located Asian grocery might be. Knowing that most supermarket garlic is sourced from China and not very good, and in hopes they might also have the bean sauce, she determined that Whole Foods would be our next stop. I've got nothing for or against Whole Foods, but I am fortunate to have better alternatives to it where I live for these types of items, so I don't shop there much. Still, we felt lucky to find garlic from Mexico rather than China (though it was disappointing to me that a place that touts "Whole Food" would import their garlic), and acceptable soy sauce. The brown bean sauce remained elusive, so we purchased a bottle of black bean chili sauce. Then, we made our way to Costco.

I had never shopped in a Costco before; it was interesting. Definitely fewer choices than at Sam's Club, where I have shopped. But some better quality items - we were chagrined to see that the Costco garlic came from California's Gilroy Farms (too late for us, but goes to show you how sometimes the warehouse club is a better choice than Whole Foods). But due to the Jewish Holidays, first cut brisket was on sale for about $5.50 a pound - and so our cost-conscious friends would be treated to brisket for their braise!

Even after hitting a local supermarket for the last items - the brown bean sauce remained absent. We'd substitute with the Whole Foods black bean-chili sauce if we had to. But I really wanted to make authentic "yi suen" or "strange flavored" (or "fish flavored") sauce, so the dish would look and taste like something folks had actually experienced at a Chinese restaurant.

Returning to JPC, Bob put on a knife clinic - sharpening and honing all of the cutlery in the Community Kitchen, as well as the knives of all comers! He also taught those who were interested how to hone using the steel and told them to get rid of that rolling sharpening thing you see on the table!

Though this project took awhile - I still pined for proper brown bean sauce. We finally headed off to Ming's Supermarket when we were done with the knives. Paydirt! I learned later that this is one of the best Asian groceries outside of Boston's Chinatown, and there was even some parking. Jeanne was so tickled, she decided that we should also acquire some firm tofu, to demonstrate that yes, tofu can be delicious if prepared well. Apparently, the preparation of tofu had been a, um, bone of contention at JPC in the past.

Saturday night, we dined at Bukhara Indian Bistro and I forgot my camera, so the cell phone had to do. This restaurant is apparently part of an eight unit chain, but you'd never know it from the fresh flavors and interesting menu options offered. I love visiting a restaurant that has menu items I've never tasted, even if I'm familiar with the cuisine. And so, we sampled pappadum, two introductory chutneys (the onion one convinced me to stick with "medium" spice, because it was HOT), fried bread called Bhatura, naan, a curried duck special, and my entree, Pav Phaji, described as "Famous Bombay style potatoes, cauliflower, peas, carrots, tomatoes, beans and onions seasoned to your preferred degree of spiciness and served with a toasted roll and barbecued lamb." This may not look like much, but at "medium" spicy, it really hit the spot:

Sadly, I have no photos of the prep or the dinner on Sunday - too busy cooking to shutterbug. But picture if you will a very busy kitchen. First, the view from the dining room.

Then, from the other end:

Among the lessons we taught to a number of residents who wandered in and out of the kitchen all day: brisket the way my mommy makes it and general braising techniques, pressing tofu to get the water out and make it stir-fry (or pan fry) friendly (a multi-hour process), how to fake a stir-fry for a crowd by preparing the sauce separately and combining all of the pre-cooked ingredients in a stockpot to finish it, and scaling recipes up to four times. The latter didn't go as well as we'd hoped, though we think we figured out the finicky ovens when de-briefing after dinner - no one had ever tried using the convection fans in the ovens (and I admit to some ignorance in that department)! When fully loaded with a hotel-size pan on each shelf, the oven temperature dipped more than fifty degrees below where set, though it's twin had handled the brisket pan alone without a problem (but it also went kerfluey once the hotel pan of Tomato Cobbler was added). I'm thinking the convection fans will correct this issue in the future, but didn't think of it until too late; the low oven temperature caused our corn bakes to come out soupy (and late), but still delicious, and after removing the brisket, oven 2 was able to finish the cobbler without completely massacring the pound cake. Thirty-plus people shared the meal and had a great time, and only about a quart of leftovers remained when they were through, soupy texture be darned!

Our work here was done. Here's the empty dining room, photographed the day after:

And last but not least:

Every kitchen does need a scrub brush like this.

Anyway - we awoke Monday and after a quick fun food and coffee-tea break at Ula Cafe, we hit the road again. Next stop - the home of Uncle Jerry and Aunt Phyllis in Binghamton, New York and some local eats nearby! Fun Playing with Fall Road Trip Food continues in the next post!

Fun Playing with Rosh Hashonah & Road Trip, Part 1

2011-10-10T20:10:00.003-04:00

We are now returned from our 1300+ mile odyssey through Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. It was an amazing and wonderful trip, highlighted by some truly fun food and great times with family and friends.

We began by driving out to Long Island and sharing pizza with mom after we arrived. The next day would be for shopping - Bob and I intended to prepare and serve my mother's traditional Rosh Hashonah feast to the family, and though we had brought with us from Cleveland a gorgeous Meyer's brisket flat from Mister Brisket, together with a huge basket of garden tomatoes, there was much to acquire. After returning home from what had become a day-long project, we prepared supper for my parents:

Tomato Cobbler with Garden Tomatoes, Corn and Basil

Fried Flounder

Cobbler and Flounder - Yum!

Matzoh Meal (breading)-Eggwash Leftovers Pancake

The fish was sourced from my favorite local fishmonger - Catfish Annie's of Commack and now also King's Park, according to their website! It was exquisitely fresh and barely wanted any breading.

We worked on the holiday food all day for the next three - Monday through Wednesday. More on that in a moment. First - here's a look at Monday night's dinner for Bob and I, and my parents. The shot of the serving platter next to the dinner fork is intended to give perspective on the size of the platter.

Pasta tossed with Soup Chicken Shreds, Garden Tomatoes, Garlic, EVOO, Garden Basil and Parmesan Cheese

By Tuesday, we were sufficiently exhausted from the food prep that we ordered in a pizza, which made for a perfect dinner. But this trip was all about the holiday food, only some some of which I photographed.

In this phase of the prep, we were working on a delicacy my Grandma Anna used to make for my dad, called French Loaf. It is essentially a meatloaf that contains hard cooked eggs. While it's not my favorite thing (I prefer my HB eggs cold), I consented to make it for my dad. First, the eggs. I generally steam mine. Mom, however, who once prepared hard boiled eggs for the entire Hebrew School of the East Northport Jewish Center (about 750 of them in one session in the temple's commercial kitchen), insisted on boiling them. Who was I to argue with the Jedi Master of Hardcooked Eggs?

After boiling, Mother Yoda runs cold water into the prep pot, then taps the eggs against the sink, then peels.

Mother Heller is one with the hard boiled egg.

This is the finished French Loaf - we used the ubiquitous Manischewitz Tomato Mushroom Sauce to cover the Meyer ground meat we'd also brought to LI from Mister Brisket in Cleveland.

The eggs, and the chicken you are about to see, all came from the local and organic Makinajian Farms, located at 276 Cuba Hill Road, Huntington, NY 11743. Since they do not process on premises, we were not able to get any chicken feet for the pot (even with an advance order), but these two older hens yielded a delicious soup!

Cleaning the soup pot contents lead to an amazing moment. By "cleaning," I mean after the liquid is drained from the pot and strained, picking through the solids to extract the tasty bits - the carrots, for serving in the soup, the liver and poopick (or gizzard), which my dad loves in his soup, and any chicken meat I missed when grabbing out flesh for our pasta dinner earlier in the evening. So, Bob and I are sitting at the dinette table with the pot of stuff, and I'm picking out carrots with my tongs. Suddenly, for no actual reason I could fathom, I left the tongs on the table and began to pull out carrots with my fingers, the better to wipe then clean of parsley or other nasty bits. I realized after a few moments of this that I was cleaning the soup with the exact same motions as my dear Grandma Lillie had done for all of the years of my childhood in this house, an activity which I studiously avoided as a youngster. A strange and strangely wonderful moment, as I could almost feel her smile upon me.

The matzoh balls came out a little too stiff - I think the straight ratio of 1 cup matzoh meal to 6 eggs is just too much matzoh meal when doubling the recipe to 12 eggs and I will make an adjustment next time. They were still delicious!

The most fabulous thing we made was the Gefilte Fish, the raw materials for which were also sourced from Catfish Annie's. I'd never seen a raw gefilte fish order prepared as they did it, though I could understand the sense of it. Sorry there is no photo - but each of the three types of ground fish (whitefish, pike and carp), as well as the ground onion, were in a separate round plastic take-out type container. The flesh was sweet and fresh, probably only a day or two out of the water when we received it. Here's the final product:

We served it with garden horseradish, which Bob prepared before we left for NY. He also, for the first time, added some cooked garden beets to some of the horseradish to produce a milder, sweeter product, which my parents prefer.

Here's the traditional raisin challah, from Park Bake Shop in Kings Park, which apparently does not have a website, but is located at 112 Route 25A, Kings Park, NY 11754, (631) 269-3825. It tasted as good as it looked!

We also plattered a bunch of Bob's amazing tomatoes - I was going to dress them with EVOO, salt, pepper and basil, but they looked so beautiful that I couldn't bring myself to touch them! Next to them went a platter of sliced apples (Macoun and Empire varieties) from Richter's Orchard nearby at 1300 Pulaski Rd., Northport, NY 11768, (631) 261-1980.

The table, set with two challahs, the fish and horseradishes, tomatoes and toppings, honey and wine.

Family gathers, the brucha are recited, and dad cuts and serves the challah. My brother, his wife, her mom Ann, and their two boys are with us; my sister is unfortunately far away in Florida.

I'm afraid that the only other dinner photos I got were of the French Loaf.

We also served the marvelous chicken soup with matzoh balls and noodles, a potato kugel, and the Meyer's Brisket. You can see what these delicacies looked like by looking at my previous blog posts here and here.

Desserts came from Park Bake Shop, the same bakery which provided the challah. I didn't get any photos of them, or the chocolatey babka that Ann brought. After a full day of shopping and almost three full days of cooking, it was time to rest.

But I wouldn't have it any other way. Thursday night, we enjoyed a second Rosh Hashonah dinner at the club my parents used to belong to, The Hamlet. There is simply no comparison between this mostly food-service food and the homecooked goodness we'd enjoyed the night before. It was, however, very nice to sit and be waited on!

Chopped Liver, Caramelized Onions & Salad

Matzoh Ball Soup - the smell and taste of bullion cubes was unmistakable

Potato Pancakes - the freezer-burned taste and tepid temperature gave them away as frozen

This cornish game hen wasn't bad, but the rice and asparagus stuffing in my entree likewise tasted (and had textures) of the freezer.

I could not bring myself to taste Bob's brisket - not after the melt-in-your-mouth goodness we'd enjoyed the night before (and there were leftovers in the parents' fridge!).

The three plates of fruit and veggie sides likewise smacked of food service preps - assorted carrots, green beens, and cooked apples. The desserts also don't merit much attention. But the company, which again included my brother's family, made it all worth while. And even my two teenaged nephews, who care more about sports than food, seemed to be able to tell the difference between the two meals - there may be hope after all! I am so glad that we were able to re-create the culinary magic of my mother's holiday meals, even if just for one night, and share it with both the previous generation and the next.

In the next post - the second leg of our trip, Long Island to Jamaica Plain, MA!

Fun Playing With Boxty in Pittsburgh

2011-09-15T17:12:00.000-04:00

A favorite venue in Pittsburgh PA is Piper's Pub. Bob and I recently returned to visit near Pittsburgh (it was the 20th anniversary of our first meeting, which, like our most recent visit, took place at a Mensa Regional Gathering). Piper's, located across the street from Fathead's, in the popular South Side bar and restaurant district, came onto our radar because Drew Topping, the Executive Chef and owner, is the son of our friend Sandra. Sandra would often attend the Pittsburgh RG and organize a dinner trip to Piper's - but it had been a few years since Bob and I had partaken.

This year, after sleeping in and missing both breakfast and lunch served at the event, we decided to take advantage of Piper's Sunday Brunch (served 11am to 3pm, which for us was most fortunate).

We rolled in around 2:30pm. Though Piper's has a fabulous beer and scotch selection, we stuck to iced tea. Piper's also offered its full regular menu at that time (which is a rather eclectic mix of Scottish, Irish and English, together with some American favorites) - but we both gravitated to the brunch-only offering of boxty. According to Wikipedia, "Boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake. . . . There are many different recipes but all contain finely grated, raw potatoes and all are served fried."

Over the years, I've sampled boxty a number of times, and to my palate, they mostly resemble potato latkes, served in Eastern European and Jewish-American cuisines. I've noticed as much variation in different interpretations of boxty as I have with latkes - many restaurants grate the potatoes with a standard grater hole, and the result is more hash brown than pancake in texture. Piper's version was much closer to my own dear latkes, with the potatoes grated with a very fine or small grating hole, which enables them to get a truly "pancake" type consistency (with a little flour and baking powder added as well, I'm sure).

And so, our boxty:

Irish Boxty

The crispy, yet creamy potato pancake was folded over bangers (sausage), ham, scrambled eggs and provolone cheese. The sausage was of exceptionally good quality, and the sum of the parts equaled a great whole - I had to steal a second bite from Bob! As you can see, the portions at Piper's are generous and the cost about $10 a plate for all of the brunch items, and most of the regular menu items (except the "entree" section of the menu, which averages closer to $15).

Creamed Corned Beef Boxty

My boxty was folded over corned beef and covered with a rich cream sauce. Truthfully, I've had better corned beef; this version was average. But I've never enjoyed a boxty more than I enjoyed this one. Not only was the pancake exquisitely fresh and perfectly made, but the cream sauce made up for any profundity lacking in the corned beef without overpowering the plate.

Both plates were served piping hot (you should pardon the expression), and both included some wilted greens and food service grape tomatoes. They'd have done better to have just left the greens off, but no harm done.

Piper's remains our favorite "go to" for fun food and drink when visiting the Pittsburgh area.

Fun Playing with Garden Bounty and Breychak Pork

2011-08-31T20:33:00.000-04:00

It is nice to be back to blogging. Suffice it to say that this has been the summer of my discontent - and hopefully the bad things are past and fun things are to come. And so, here is tonight's dinner of garden bounty and Breychak Farms pork:

Bob cooked this low and slow on the Weber for about 2 hours, then finished it in a slow oven after the coals died.

Black Crim Tomatoes are our favorites, and this year's crop has not disappointed.

Garden Corn and Green Beans sauteed in butter, with salt and pepper

Simple and delicious.

Dinner is Served.

I hope that you are having fun playing with the bounty of the garden season in Northeast Ohio, or wherever your bounty may lie!

Fun Playing with Cheesesteak Wit Whiz in Twinsburg OH

2011-07-25T16:28:00.000-04:00

My blogger friend Tom (Exploring Food My Way) recently referenced a post he made last year, describing a relative newcomer to the Northeast Ohio food scene - The Original Steak & Hoagies in Twinsburg, which promises to deliver the true Philadelphia Cheesesteak experience. I saw Tom's more recent post, and wondered, "how did this place slip through my radar?" And so, after a trip to the Geuaga Farmers' Market on a recent Saturday, we headed for Twinsburg to see if a true taste of Philly had landed in our proverbial back yard. Please refer to Tom's excellent post for some background on the genre, and the family that owns and runs Original Steak & Hoagies.

Orders are placed at the friendly counter - I ordered a small Cheesesteak Wit Whiz; Bob opted for Wit Provolone. As we sat and waited for our food, I was impressed by how exquisitely clean the place was - both the dining room, and the large portion of the food prep areas we could see from our seats in front of the restaurant.

We had also decided to share an order of fries, which was more than plenty for the two of us. The fries came up first:

The staff told us that they had just switched to this product, and asked how we liked it. The fries were perfectly cooked to crispy goodness and dressed with just the right amount of salt. Most important, they weren't greasy. Though not house-made "from scratch," we loved them.

Bob's Wit Provolone

Mine Wit Whiz

For those of you not conversant in Philly Cheesesteak speak - the "wit" refers to "with grilled onions."

This "sandwich consumption in progress" shot says it better than I can. The combination of an authentic roll sourced from Amoroso Bakery in Philadelphia, which handled the extreme juiciness of the sandwich with perfect aplomb, the creamy meld at the left of the sandwich in this photo of whiz, caramelized onions and tasty rib eye which had been chopped and fried to order on the grill, led to happy sighs. Our last trip to Philly was July 1990, but one bite of this sandwich took me right back.

We were having so much fun playing with our food that proprietor Bill Fromholzer stopped by our table to chat. I mentioned how the sandwich took me back to my last Philadelphia cheesesteak experience, and commented that next time, I'd have to try the Mom Mom's Meatball with Gravy sandwich. But before you could say "on top of spaghetti," Bill brought us each a meatball and a taste of gravy - made from scratch from his grandma's recipe ("gravy" is of course the Philadelphian term for tomato sauce) and piping hot; no microwave needed here.

The meatball tasted like a combination of different meats (probably pork, beef and veal), egg, seasonings, and just enough breadcrumb to hold it together - a great set of ingredients prepared with grandma-like finesse. And the sauce also sang with fresh-made flavor.

Since we were grilling sausage for dinner that night, we decided to grab a side of the house-made coleslaw to go with it.

This cole slaw had the flavors and texture of cole slaw as I enjoyed it growing up on the East Coast - chopped vegetables (not food service pack, and not shredded, but obviously chopped in house) with just the right amount of mayo, vinegar and simple seasonings (including a pinch of sugar, which always seems missing from Midwest coleslaws). Darn tasty.

According to the Steaks & Hoagies website, you can enjoy their products at Canal Park in downtown Akron (home of the Cleveland Indians AA affiliate Akron Aeros), in addition to the Twinsburg location on 10735 Ravenna Road. And free local delivery is available; call to learn if you are in their range. If you are fond of cheesesteak, Philadelphia, meatballs and gravy, or coleslaw - you will have fun playing with food at The Original Steak & Hoagies.

Fun Playing With Birthday Dinner in the Dark

2011-07-18T10:42:00.000-04:00

As readers of this blog know, I am a huge fan and supporter of Cleveland's Dinner in the Dark, and its three founding Chefs - Brian Okin, Jeff Jarrett and Ellis Cooley. I was a little surprised and a lot delighted when they announced that July's edition would be on July 11. Took all of the usual planning out of my birthday this year, which was kind of nice. And to make it even better, Brian asked me if there were any particular chefs I might like for them to invite. First - I asked him to cook, since he seldom has at DITD. Next - I gave him a short list. Of course, I was in the dark as to who actually said "yes."

The dinner was held at the newly opened Market Garden Brewery, next to the West Side Market in Ohio City. We arrived a little early and walked through the spacious outdoor beer garden, into the restaurant, and began with a stop at one of the two comfy bars for a "beer cocktail" that totally pleased the Birthday Girl: The Sweet & Stout. House-brewed St. Emeric's Stout is mixed with Pernod, Godiva Dark, Cynar and Aztec Chocolate Bitters. An unexpected combination that worked brilliantly as a pre-dinner drink.

Working our way into the back room, which looks like it can accommodate private parties up to at least 60 people, we took our seats and noticed the lovely centerpiece.

Buckeye Zakuska Featuring KJ Greens' Produce

Our host in all things cocktail, Joe DeLuca, announced that we would be enjoying the traditional accompaniment to zakuska (cold pickled vegetables) - ice cold vodka, provided by Buckeye Vodka out of Dayton Ohio. Let it be known throughout the land that yours truly not only tasted and enjoyed the KJ Greens radish, but actually had a second! And since our host venue produces craft beer, our meal was accompanied by the juice of the barley rather than wine this month.

David Chin of The Market Cafe & Wine Bar provided our amuse (as well as the intermezzo later in the meal):

The sweet smelling and tasting shrimp were accompanied by nori, fried noodles, KJ microgreens and a chili-soy dressing.

Our first course came from DITD co-founder Brian Okin, who enthusiastically embraced the "open mic night, jam session for chefs" concept with his dish:

Veal Calf Fries

Brian was "unavoidably delayed" coming up from the kitchen to describe his dish, so everyone dug in, still in the dark about what we were eating. The star of the plate was the perfectly fried orb at 12 o'clock in this photo. The contents were pink and so tender that it melted in the mouth - delicious! Sort of like a sweetbread, but not quite. What could it be? I guessed calf brains, which I knew couldn't be right because bovine brains are definitely a no-no these days. Turns out that I wasn't that far wrong (depending on how you look at it) - "calf fries" are calf testicles that have been, well, fried. This version was served with two delicious relishes: corn, ramps, speck and radishes, and a warm roasted tomato marmalade. The final touch was a from-scratch carrot oil. All I can say after eating this is that we've gotta find this guy a restaurant to cook in!

Chef Rocco Whalen of Tremont's Fahrenheit offered a sort of "surf and turf" for the next course:

East Coast Tuna, Topped With Asian Dressing Over Salad and Sweet N Spicy Shortrib Slider

Simply beautiful and finger-licking good. Thank you Chef Rocco!

Ohio Beet Salad

Our next course came from Chef Mike Nowak, Executive Chef of sister restaurants Bar Cento and Market Garden Brewery. The salad included gorgeous Gold & Red Beets, Orange, Ohio Honey, and Chervil and was accompanied by creamy Lucky Penny Goat Cheese, Verbana and Black Truffle.

The intermezzo presented in an unusual fashion. First, an ice-filled glass:

Then - the opportunity to play with our food - thank you Chef David Chin!

Fresh Blackberry Puree

Mixed Melon Puree

The idea was to combine the flavors and textures to make your own snow cone. Most refreshing!

I was already feeling rather full by the time the next course, chock full of seafood, made its way to the table:

Cioppino (fish stew)

Scallop, shrimp, mussels, squid (including tentacles!), and lobster, topped with grilled bread and bathed in a velvety tomato-based sauce prepared by Bar Cento and Market Garden Chef De Cuisine Adam Lambert.

The final savory course was presented by another of the chefs I'd suggested to Brian - this will be the ONLY DITD where they'll be allowed to do a course, because they (usually) provide a complimentary meal to all of the volunteers involved in putting on each month's event every month! And what a doozy Chefs Walter Hyde and Scott Slagle (of Fat Casual BBQ) came up with!

Picnic on a Plate

"Chicken & Grits" - whole bone-in breast split and stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese, coated with grits and smoked - and a dry-rubbed smoked rib, rest atop a green salad, julienne of sweet potato, whole strawberries, candied pecans, and the meats were topped with BBQ sauce made from Ohio Honey, fresh strawberry and local maple syrup. The Gorgonzola and the grits picked up such a unique and smoky flavor. This dish succeeded in evoking the picnic of my dreams; thank you Walter and Scott!

Dessert came from the able hands of Megan Jenny of The Cleveland Cupcake Company, though most of this went into a box for Tuesday's breakfast because I was too darn full to eat it. Each bite was wonderful, and if you are anywhere near Cleveland Heights, you need to give her sweets a try.

I feel truly honored that DITD was held on my birthday and it was a most fitting way to celebrate. Next month's edition will be held on a Saturday rather than a Monday, but will otherwise remain true to the formula ($65 plus tax and tip gets you 6 courses+ of food, wine pairings, and a fabulous time) at a unique location - the Culinary Vegetable Institute. I hope you can join us on August 27 at 6:30pm for another amazing dinner, which will benefit as always a local charity. July's event benefited Cleveland's Saint Martin de Porres High School; August's dinner will benefit Veggie U, which brings the joys of local, sustainable and whole food into elementary school classes!

Fun Playing With Birthday Sushi at Pacific East Solon

2011-07-14T20:26:00.000-04:00

Bob and I shared two fabulous meals for my birthday on Monday. First - lunch at Pacific East Solon. We started with two items from the sushi bar "specials" board, then completed the meal by sharing three rolls and two inari.

Toro Nigiri

The fatty tuna offered rich texture and great flavor.

Torched Waygu Beef

Asparagus Roll

Victoria Roll

Lobster salad, tuna, escalor tuna, avocado, masago, mini rice puff wrapped w/ soy bean paper (they held the cucumber at my request).

Iso Maki

Tuna, salmon, yellowtail, avocado, mayonnaise, bonito flake, seaweed flake wrapped w. special seaweed (they again held the cucumber at my request).

Inari

Bob had never before enjoyed this delicacy; I had forgotten how much I love this simple dish. Fried tofu skin is stuffed with slightly sweetened sushi rice and sesame seeds.

I don't know why we don't visit Pacific East more often; their raw fish is pristine and their service exquisite. Happy Birthday to me.

Fun Playing with Zha Jiang Mien (Noodles with Meat Sauce)

2011-06-27T10:01:00.000-04:00

Zha Jiang Mein is a staple dish of Beijing, and is the Chinese version of pasta with meat sauce. I had a hankering for it last week, and thanks to Ohio City Pasta, we had everything we needed on hand:

Ohio City Pasta Wheat Somen

Sauce Ingredients

The sauce is one part each of the above components. From left to right - Chinese Chili Paste with Garlic, Brown Bean Sauce (note that the label says simply "Bean Sauce" - this version has chunks of whole broad bean in it, whereas the inferior "Ground Bean Sauce" does not), and Wei Chuan Hoisin Sauce (my preferred brand because it has no artificial preservatives; most Hoisin Sauces have sodium benzoate added). You can probably find versions of each of these at your local supermarket; these varieties are more readily sourced at an Asian grocery store.

For half a pound each of meat and noodles, I used 2TB of each sauce component.

Smashed and Chopped Garlic

While the scallion is the only vegetable you'll see in most recipes for this dish (though thin strips of raw carrot are sometimes recommended as garnish), I wanted this to be a one-pot meal - so red pepper and carrot were added to the mix.

Chopped Scallion for Garnish

The role of ground pork was played by a large half pound of Italian Sausage from our Breychak Farm hog, casing removed

Half a cup of homemade Duck Stock (from the freezer) is combined with sugar and cornstarch

The sausage is browned at very high heat, then the garlic and vegetables are added (be very careful to not scorch the garlic). High heat plus pork fat = beautiful color in the vegetables.

After a few minutes, I deglazed the pan with a bit of sherry, then lowered the heat and stirred in the sauce mix:

Once the pan got bubbly, I stirred and added the stock/sugar/cornstarch mixture:

As the sauce bubbles and thickens - noodles cook in boiling water for 2 minutes and are turned into bowls. The sauce, which traditionally is quite oily (though I didn't add the 1/2 cup of cooking oil the traditional recipe calls for to the browning meat because our Berkshire hog sausage yielded plenty of nice pork fat, thank you), is spooned over the pasta:

The chili paste gives this dish a nice bit of zing, and the veggies added some crunch. Comfort food in a bowl! It was so good that we ate Zha Jiang Mein again the next night, made with leftover grilled chicken meat and Ohio City Pasta Whole Wheat Spaghetti, which wasn't quite as toothy as the somen, but still produced a tasty dinner. Fun playing with noodles and meat sauce can make a great weeknight dinner!

Fun Playing Pop Up Easy Japaneasy with Chef Lee Anne Wong

2011-06-25T15:15:00.003-04:00

Perhaps the greatest film in the "food and sex" genre ever made is Juzo Itami's Tampopo - a self-described "noodle western". In Tampopo ("Dandelion"), the hapless widow Tampopo recruits Goro (think Burt Reynolds in "Smokey and the Bandit") to go with her in search of the perfect bowl of ramen. Merry food-related madness ensues that must be viewed to be fully appreciated.

When dating my husband in the early 1990s, I laid down two pre-conditions to moving to Cleveland from the East Coast - a quality brewpub and a Chinatown. While Cleveland had (and has) both of those things, one of the two gaping culinary omissions that remained here (the second being a good locally made knish) has always been the lack of a real ramen shop. Yes, several of our Asiatown restaurants offer noodle soup, and some of it is pretty good. But, until now, there has been no place to go, say after a viewing of Tampopo on DVD (and when will they release a print of it containing all of those wonderful, deleted scenes?) to quench the thirst for truly great ramen.

James Beard Nominated and Food & Wine Best New Chef winner Jonathon Sawyer is coming to our rescue very shortly with the opening of Noodlecat, 234 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, 216-589-0007. Noodlecat will be Cleveland's first full time ramen house,* and is scheduled to open around July 15, 2011. Though the noodles will not be made in-house, they will be produced to Chef Sawyer's formula by the best pasta purveyor in Cleveland - Ohio City Pasta.

Chef Sawyer is also a principal in the recently formed Brick & Mortar Pop-Ups venture, which is celebrating Noodlecat prior to its opening with two short pop up dining series. The first one began last night and concludes tonight; we were fortunate to snag a late reservation.

Though last night's pop up was very well attended, as of this writing, there are still a few seats available for tonight's second go round; if you enjoy Asian food, do not miss this opportunity to play with Easy Japaneasy as conceived and executed by Top Chef alumnus Lee Anne Wong!

We chose the four course tasting menu ($44) with Beverage Pairings ($20); all items are also available a la carte (except alcohol, available only as a pairing for this special event). As we waited for our first course, we played with the condiments on the Noodlecat tables:

The house concocted chili sauce is in the squeeze bottle, a house concocted spice mix is in the shaker, and behind these two is a bottle of charcoal-filtered soy sauce.

Togamashi - Spice Blend

Soy Sauce

This is no ordinary Sriracha, though it begins with that Southeast Asian condiment. Chef Sawyer also blends ketchup, chili paste, red wine vinegar and other secret ingredients to get this just so. Not too hot, but exploding with flavor, the Sriracha complemented several of Chef Wong's dishes, so I'm glad we decided to play with it! A sprinkle of Togamashi is on the right side of the spoon.

We enjoyed two different styles from Japan's Hitachino Brewery, which was a victim of the March 2011 earthquake; Noodlecat scored a cache of beer from the last batches brewed before the disaster. Both beer styles offered real malt and hop flavors rarely seen in Asian imports; what a shame to lose them. Here's the XH; the more malty of the two:

Get them while you can at Noodlecat.

Course #1: Fingers (well, actually finger foods - but Chef Wong likes to play with her menu has much as her food).

Oyster Roast - Togarashi Garlic Bone Marrow Butter

Yes, you read that correctly - Bone Marrow Butter. Even if you think you hate oysters - these will win you over. Each slurp melted in the mouth, leaving perfect contentment behind. Really.

Tonkatsu Sliders - Mustard-Katsu Sauce, Cabbage Salad

These patties did not want to slide at all - crispy yet amazingly tender and bursting with real pork flavor, Chef Wong explained that the meat had been tenderized but not minced, which explained the velvety texture. The bun, eerily similar to the burger buns at B Spot, perfectly complimented the meat and held together through the last bite despite the wet condiments. A unique and delicious take on the ubiquitous slider.

Course #2: Sticks (to be eaten with chopsticks, of course).

Shrimp and Fresh Waterchestnut Gyoza- Scallion Ponzu

I am a sucker for dumplings, so we had to try the gyoza. Freshly made dumpling dough was expertly stuffed and perfectly cooked. Though there are some acceptable replacements for fresh waterchestnuts (such as jicama), canned waterchestnuts are not among them and this dish showcased why only the real thing (or a real substitute) should ever be used (one bite of the real thing and you will know why canned waterchestnuts are not food).

Hatcho Miso Marinated Beef - Asparagus Tempura, Parmesan Dashi Fondue

This East-West fusion was dressed to impress. Tender, tasty beef was almost the underling to the exquisitely crispy, tempuraed asparagus and the tender bits of blanched asparagus that dotted the plate. Easily manipulated with chopsticks - the asparagus bits ensured that none of the creamy fondue got away uneaten! The beef took on a whole new dimension when a modest dab of the Sriracha was applied. Swirled in the fondue - it was a whole new taste sensation that danced on the tongue.

Course #3 - Slurp.

Zosui - Local Eggs, Chicken and Scallops, Mitsuba

This version of zosui (rice soup) was made extra creamy by the eggs. The fresh lotus root chips provided textural contrast, and the thinly sliced nori and scallop flavor lent to the intense umani-ness of the dish. Mitsuba is also known as Japanese Wild Parsley, and it added another new (to me) flavor dimension to the party. A happy party.

Udon Stir Fry - Mama Style Cabbage, Ginger, Bacon

Any dish whose description contains noodles and bacon will probably make it to my place. This one added freshly pickled ginger and fresh corn (where did that come from this time of year?) to the toothy udon and thinly sliced slabs of fresh bacon. A pleasant glow of chili heat also emanated from the bowl, making the end product lip-smacking good.

Dessert:

Soft Serve with Caramel - Black Sesame Brittle, Matcha Rice Krispies, Marinated Mango

A perfect ending to an amazing dinner. It didn't even matter that the ice cream was melting - the toppings offered so many contrasts in texture and taste that we couldn't stop eating, and the rice krispies happily sopped up the cream but remained wonderfully crunchy to the end. I want some right now!

I can't get any more Matcha Rice Krispies, but you can - if you email Brick and Mortar Popups: contact@brickandmortarpopups.com - there may still be some seats available for tonight's second Pop Up! Chef Wong sure knows how to play with Japaneasy Food!

The second Brick & Morter Pop-Up will feature Cleveland's "Great Food Truck Race" alumnus Chris Hodgson, food truck chef extraordinaire and owner of Dim & Den Sum and Hodge Podge food trucks. It will be held July 11 and 13 at Noodlecat, and tickets for the prix fixe affair may be purchased on Eventbrite.

*There is another, albeit late night only, recently opened option for ramen in Cleveland - Chef Dante Bocuzzi offers his Zuzutto (Slurp) menu at Restaurant Dante in Tremont - but it is only available Monday-Thursday 9-11pm and Fri-Sat 10:30pm-1am. I've heard it's delicious, though I have not gotten there myself yet.

Fun Playing with Asian Food at the Cleveland Asian Festival 2011

2011-06-13T13:30:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, May 21, Bob and I partook of the second Cleveland Asian Festival. Spanning a full two days in its second year, the festival offered many attractions other than the food, including a Lolly the Trolley tour of Asiatown, kids' activities, crafts, non-food vendors, and cultural performances. I came mostly for the food, centered around this outdoor food court set up in the Asia Plaza parking lot:

We arrived just before noon, and photographed most of the food vendors before partaking. The choices weren't easy to make, and we left around 5pm completely sated.

This freshly BBQ'd chicken skewer was one of last bites we actually ate, but one of the most succulent.

It was a delight having not one, but two Filipino food booths at the festival. We didn't sample any food from Ono Turo-Turo, but our friend Stuart did and he said it was fabulous.

We enjoyed our plate from the Laotion table. The spring roll was hot and crisp and the papaya salad spicy and redolent of fish sauce.

Is there anything so sublime as freshly grilled pig (with lots of skin, at our request)! The side sauce added a uniquely Filipino perspective to the simply grilled meat. These guys said they might consider opening a Cleveland-area restaurant; we hope that they do and we'll be first in line to try it!

Map of Thailand had these "demo" plates at the ready:

The following goodies were served up by Pearl of the Orient:

We were most impressed with Otani's portable sushi station, designed to keep the sushi safe despite temps in the 80s.

The following is from Koko Bakery - Cleveland's leading Asian bakery and my preferred source of bubble tea. Happily, they were offering Taro Bubble Tea, which is my favorite! No photo of it; we were too thirsty.

We took an assortment of potstickers home from Koko's stand, and enjoyed them for dinner:

Next to Li Wah's table, its sister restaurant East 30th Street Cafe offered an eclectic selection ranging from spring rolls to pizza! The restaurant serves dim sum at all hours, sushi, pizza, and other Asian and fusion items.

Li Wah's offerings

Udupi, located in Parma Heights Ohio, has been on our "to try" list for some time, but we've just never gotten there. Our loss - until today!

In addition to the steam table items, Udupi offered made-to-order Dosa, or stuffed crepes - this was one of the highlights of our culinary tour this afternoon. First, batter is poured on the grill:

The batter is then shaped and flattened:

As the crepe crisps, a potato-and-pea based filling is deposited in the center:

The finished Dosa is served with two dipping sauces - one spicy with chili, the white one creamy with yogurt and garlic.

We seem to have been won over by Indian flavors on this particular day - Jaipur Junction, of North Royalton Ohio, has also been on the "must try" list, and we were glad that we finally did:

Basmati Rice

Butter Chicken

Samosa

Potato Cakes - Tava Tikki

Chick Pea Curry

Cold Chick Pea Salad

The smells of the foregoing tormented us - which to choose?

Chick Pea Curry over Tava Tikki, topped with two Chutneys - the made-from-scratch potato cake held up beautifully under the wet toppings and still crunched; a perfect contrast with the creamy chick peas and savory toppings.

Har Gow and Shao Mai Dumplings

This next item was a free sample shared by one of my favorite Asiatown haunts, Korean restaurant Ha Ahn.

Bibimbob from Ha Ahn

I snapped this dessert item (rice flour balls stuffed with bean paste and rolled in sesame) on the table to the right of Ha Ahn, which I am told was Asia Foods (re-located last year to Asian Town Center at 3820 Superior Avenue). They looked scrumptious!

These next photos aren't of food, but of the Home Depot booth, which provided the cutest mini-aprons to the little ones, and treated them to a lesson in crafting!

And here is a look at the children's fun zone - I believe that a wristband purchased for a nominal fee provided all-you-can-play access for the minis:

These sculptures celebrating the Year of the Rabbit lined East 30th Street:

My favorite sculpture:

Chris Nguyen of Superior Pho Narrates Our Trolley Tour of Asiatown

Mame Daiko Performs Japanese Drumming

The third edition of the Festival will take place May 19 & 20, 2012, for the Year of the Dragon. As a Dragon myself (the most auspicious sign of the Asian Zodiac), I hope to be able to attend again next year. We enjoyed a day full of great food and fun, playing with too many choices from the Cleveland-area Asian food community, and immersing ourselves for a few hours in Asian culture. The Cleveland Asian Festival is highly recommended for fun playing with food and a nice splash of culture.

Fun Playing With Pasta in Solon

2011-06-10T12:32:00.000-04:00

Something new has been added to Solon's main drag, with the opening of Dino's of Solon in the old Anthony's/Blue Fig/Lu-Lu's spot at 6372 Som Center Rd, Solon, OH 44139. Dino's is the latest installment of a small, locally owned group of restaurants/caterers based in Willoughby. Dino's relies on a fairly standard Italian-American-Red Sauce type menu. If this is what you crave, you will also find plenty of old-fashioned touches and quality ingredients prepared well and served with a smile. The website for the Solon restaurant isn't fully operational yet, but may be found here.

Bob and I wandered in Thursday evening, which turned out to be only their second day in operation. The space is bright and airy, and the smaller front dining room is ideal for those with mobility issues. The tables were mostly occupied when we arrived a bit before 7pm; a line for tables formed shortly after we were seated. There were a few small service hiccups, but nothing I wouldn't expect from a restaurant in its second service.

We were started with a basket of warm rolls. Though the menu says they are made in house, they struck us as the pre-fab brown and serve variety - but still nice.

We both opted for pasta; each entree would be preceded by salad.

House-made Vinaigrette

We loved this dressing - redolent with fresh herbiness and perfect balance among the components.

Two elements raised this salad above what I'd normally expect in a place like Dino's - first, it wasn't chilled to Mister Freeze temperature and second, the lettuce was actual head lettuce that had been washed and torn to make salad, not poured out of a food service bag. You can see it and taste it, and my question to the FOH person who stopped by to check on us confirmed it (she said her mother, one of the owners, is on a mission to eliminate bagged salad from the face of the earth, to which I say, bravo!).

The menu describes two types of house-made pasta - spaghetti (which I do not believe is the default for side orders; spaghetti is also listed twice as an entree, with the house-made at a slightly higher price-point than the dried) and cavatelli. I asked our server - which do I want? She recommended the cavatelli.

Lasagna

This was Bob's entree. The menu does not tell you that the pasta sheets in the lasagna are fresh pasta and not dried - but fresh pasta it is! This is a straight-ahead version of the classic, topped with just the right amount of house-made sauce. The only criticism we had of this dish (and mine as well) was a bit of blandness to it - it wanted some salt and pepper, or other seasoning, to wake it up a bit. Dino's does offer an optional garlic-marinara sauce; we need to try that next time. The default tomato sauce is a family recipe that is made in-house.

Cavatelli with One Meatball

My dinner likewise lacked seasoning, but the freshness of the components jumped right off of the plate. The house-made pasta was cooked to the perfect level of doneness, and the flavors of pork, veal and beef shone clearly through the meatball, without fillers to block their way. As you can see, Dino's does not over-sauce their pasta dishes as so many other places do. Overall, Bob and I enjoyed playing with Dino's food and we will return to play some more (I need to try the pizza). Dino's is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, at very modest prices. The space is very casual and friendly, with a full bar and outside dining also available. Welcome to Solon, Dino's!

Fun Playing With Smoked Prime Rib at Fat Casual BBQ

2011-05-16T10:04:00.001-04:00

We've been hoping to return to Fat Casual BBQ almost since we last walked out their door on Halloween, 2010, but we just haven't been able to manage it. Until Friday night, when one of the Usual Instigators suggested an 8pm meet up to sample the latest creation of Chefs Walter Hyde and Scott Slagle and their amazing crew: smoked prime rib. Let me say that again: smoked prime rib.

I don't think I've had prime rib since my brother got married, about 18 years ago. Honestly, it's never been one of my favorite things, because it's rarely done well (almost had a joke there, folks). Until now.

Our group of six assembled at one of Fat Casual's simple tables, and we each ordered the same: smoked prime rib. And some sides - whatever Chef wanted to serve us. The made-from-scratch sides came out first, family-style:

Red Skin Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Cole Slaw

A Less Blurry Look, From Our First Visit In October

Mac N Cheese

A Less Blurry Look, From Our First Visit In October

Warm Sweet Potato Salad

Silly, Isn't It - But I was Steadier on Halloween, So Here's A Clearer Look

Though they do seem to have added some bacon since then, haven't they?

Deep Fried Potato Salad - From May 13, But You Don't Want to See the Container Shot

Each of these sides, made in-house from real ingredients (locally sourced whenever possible), delivered hearty flavors and textures. And the Deep Fried Potato Salad really surprised - served cold, you'd expect it to be limp, but somehow, there was still a crispy edge to the taters.

But Fat Casual is all about the meat, baby, and tonight would be no exception.

This, my friends, was a simply perfect hunk 'o cow - prepared like none I had tasted before. Rubbed with a secret, but subtle seasoning, and smoked low and slow for hours - this plate (and the five duplicates enjoyed by my companions) reduced our normally gregarious group to muted moans of melt-in-your-mouth pleasure. I urge you to make your way to Fat Casual (Friday night only, if you are looking for Smoked Prime Rib) and get you some of this!

BTW - those who ate them raved about the locally-sourced pickles. I did sample the radish sandwiched between them, and the brine was indeed lovely, but unfortunately for me, the radish tasted like, well, radish. What I lacked in pickle love, however, I made up for with house-made horseradish sauce love:

OMG - the perfect accompaniment to a perfectly prepared hunk 'o cow.

The horseradish sauce matched the beef so well, in fact, that I had trouble thinking of a good use for the jus, which was far too good to waste, but not really needed to enjoy the juicy, tender beef. Mashed potatoes to the rescue! I recommend the combination.

As we enjoyed our beef, Chef Walter appeared with tastes of Fat Casual's Beef Sausage, which used to be made in house, but is now cranked out by a local purveyor, to Fat Casual's recipe. This taste was served with warm BBQ cabbage, which accented the mild sausage just so.

Chef Walter freely admits that he's more into the freestyle of cooking than the formulas involved in baking. That does not stop Fat Casual from turning out very satisfying desserts - we sampled the Piggy Pudding:

Creamy and redolent of blueberry - how could we not love a dessert called Piggy Pudding?

As it's name suggests, there is nothing fancy about Fat Casual (unless you count the finesse involved in their meat preparation, which is low, slow, flavorful and perfectly textured, and their house-made sauces, which we didn't even get to on this prime-rib dominated evening, but which I thoroughly enjoyed on my last visit). Dress comfortably, preferably in a top that is somewhat expendable, since this type of food can be a little messy! Bring your friends, and anything you might wish to drink that isn't on the menu, and prepare to be wowed by the simple pleasures of beautifully seasoned and smoked meats and house-made sides and sauces at incredibly wallet-friendly prices. If you don't have five others to share with, as we did, the Smoked Prime Rib plate pictured above is available only on Fridays and comes with a side of redskin garlic mashed potatoes, au jus and horseradish sauce for an unbelievable $12.99. Also available (with advance order only) is smoked fried chicken - which I simply must try!

Fat Casual is open Wed -Sun at11:00 am, and closes at 8:00 pm Wed and Thurs, 6 pm Sun and 10 pm Fri-Sat, unless they run out of food earlier! Fat Casual is located at 223 E Highland Rd, Macedonia, OH 44056, call 1-330-748-4690 for more info; the website is here.

Fun Celebrating 5 Tasty Years with Food Trucks and Momocho!

2011-05-10T00:18:00.000-04:00

This was the scene last evening in the parking lot of Ohio City's Momocho. Chef-Owner Eric Williams decided to celebrate his restaurant's five-year anniversary by giving his staff the night off, and throwing a big, old fashioned, play-with-your-food party in his restaurant parking lot with these behemoth guest chefs. The restaurant and patio were open, and staff from Chef Eric's other restaurant, The Happy Dog, tended bar, dispensing cold Tecate beer, zippy Margaritas, and wine, at celebratory prices.

Chef-Owner Rocco Whelan (Fahrenheit) Surveys the Scene From His Food Truck

Reading Facebook posts about the event earlier today inspired me to corral my husband and just go after I got home from work! And we were both glad that we did. The scene buzzed with positive energy, with total strangers enjoying one another's company as they played with their food.

Since we've both enjoyed Dim and Den Sum before, and I've sampled some of Umami Moto's food, we decided to start with the two trucks neither of us had yet tried. First up - Rocco Whelan's Fahrenheit - the name of both his brick-and-mortar Tremont restaurant and his food truck.

Fahrenheit's Menu

Leoncini Country Ham Fontina Sandwich and Pear Arugula Salad

I'm not always a big fan of ham - but this sandwich rocked! The gooey fontina cheese played nicely off of the salty ham, which had just the right amount of chew and a beautiful porkiness. With the buttery toast around the fillings, the sandwich melted in the mouth. The salad provided both crunch and astringency; a perfect counterpoint to the sandwich (and who doesn't love the combination of pear and fontina cheese?).

Crispy Potato Wedges Basil Parm EVOO

We loved this offering also - creamy, with a little bit of crispy texture, big potato flavor and just enough sharpness from the Basil.

Fruit Satay - Truffle Honey, Cashews, Captain Crunch

This inspired bit of fun playing with food combined warm fruit with both sweet and savory flavors, and a variety of textures. Yum.

Jibaro Menu

We shared a burrito.

Tangy Carrot Pickle and Jalapeno Slices

Caribbean Burrito - Barbacoa Braised Pork, Jibaro Yellow Rice, Jerk Spice, Kale, Black Beans, Mango Salsa

This burrito = simply delicious. It hit all of the right notes - savory, spicy without being too hot, intensely flavorful, cooling sweetness from the mango, and textural contrasts - heck, it even had green leafy vegetables in it that tasted good! This was our first taste of Jibaro, but it will not be our last.

Umami Moto Menu (or what was left of it by the time I photographed it)

The item at the bottom that is blocked is "Vietnamese Meatballs." Speaking of which:

We really enjoyed these flavorful, meaty bites together with the dipping sauce, which as advertised offered a tantalizing combination of sweet and hot.

Fish Taco - Marinated Tilapia, Romaine Lettuce, Cilantro, Mint, Red Onion, Cucumber and Lime Aioli on Handmade Corn Tortilla

I would normally not buy tilapia in a street food setting (I'm not a huge tilapia fan in any setting), but as you saw above, the choices were limited. As Bob had never tried Umami Moto's food, I really wanted us to get two dishes, but we felt that the Pad Thai would have been too much food. I loved everything about this taco (especially the handmade corn tortilla and the Lime Aioli), except for the fish, which tasted like, well, frozen tilapia to me. Ironically, Dim and Den Sum ran out of food moments after Bob placed his order there, so we probably could and should have tried the Umami Moto Pad Thai instead, but that is sometimes how the tomato bounces. (The Pad Thai looked and smelled delicious as two of our impromptu table-mates enjoyed some; our loss).

Speaking of Dim and Den Sum:

Bob tried to get a Beef Sandwich and a Veggie Taco, but moments after he ordered - the white board was wiped mostly clean (BLT sandwiches were the only savory left) and his money was returned to him. Missed it by that much.

He was offered the following consolation prize:

Chocolate Cupcake with Minty Frosting

We tend to fill up on savories and not have room for dessert - but as it all worked out, this last sweet, chocolaty, creamy bite ended our meal perfectly.

Cleveland has spent a lot of time and effort fussing over food trucks lately; it was wonderful for Eric Williams to open up his place and his parking lot to showcase four of Cleveland's best. The perfect weather and expertly mixed margaritas added to the fun, and the food was almost all sold out by 8pm. But more than food and fun, we enjoyed a fabulous sense of community tonight in Momocho's parking lot - and that made the evening all the more tasty.

Speaking of tasty - be sure to get your tickets for a very special Dinner in the Dark to be held at AMP 150 on Monday, May 23, 2011 at 6:30 PM. This event is a benefit for the Matthew Finkel Scholarship Fund, and will offer food from fifteen of Cleveland's premier chefs and beverages from premier micro-breweries as well as wine. The benefit will also offer some amazing prizes for raffle, including the opporutinity to join the audience for filming of Iron Chef America this summer! Please visit DITD's Eventbrite page for all of the details, and to purchase your tickets.

Final Fun Playing With Passover Food 2011

2011-04-27T23:13:00.000-04:00

And so, another Passover is in the books. Here are a few final notes and photos.

For our second Seder, we did a blind taste taste, pitting Mister Brisket's Meyer Natural Angus sustainably raised, USDA Prime Brisket (finished on corn) against Farmer Aaron Miller's 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Brisket. The results were very interesting (and of course, Bob and I knew which was which).

The Meyer brisket, which I acquired for the Cleveland Plain Dealer photo shoot for the Taste section (with more content on-line; click here and here to read all about it!) prior to the actual Passover holiday, was a whole brisket. We cut off the point (it's in the freezer waiting for the chili pot) and went to work on the flat.

Meyer Brisket Seasoned with Hot and Sweet Paprika, Salt, Black Pepper and Garlic Granules

Manischewitz Tomato Mushroom Sauce Is Added

Cooked Halfway or so, then Sliced

Miller's Brisket (the biggest flat I've ever seen!)

Seasoned

And the moment of truth - can you tell which is which?

(Photo (c) Edsel Little, used with permission)

Our table of 10 diners was split almost down the middle as to which brisket was preferred. I liked the taste and texture of the Meyer beef (the first of the two plates shown here) just a little better than the Miller beef (immediately above). Bob felt the opposite. Both were delicious.

Carrot Tzimmes
(Photo (c) Edsel Little, used with permission)

I don't make this dish often, but the chilly weather (and the score of Miller Farm shortrib at the West Side Market) convinced me. It's not much to look at, but it tastes so good - flanken is browned, then cooked for many hours low and slow with carrots, sweet potato, diced prune and a bit of salt and sweet paprika.

I also made Maztoh Pancakes this year - Bob doesn't care for them, but I just had a craving:

Separating the eggs really made a difference in the taste and texture. The pancakes consist of egg, matzoh meal, milk (Snowville Creamery rocks), and a pinch of salt.

Matzoh Pancakes Topped with Herbthyme Bing Cherry Jam

As much as I enjoy the Passover holiday and the wonderful culinary traditions - I confess that I really, really enjoyed my pizza at Flour tonight. I hope that you all enjoyed the Spring holidays of your choice and I'll have a post about Flour shortly!

More Fun Playing With Gefilte Fish

2011-04-23T11:48:00.000-04:00

As Passover continues, I hope you enjoy these reposts from 2008 on how I make some of my favorite things! Next up - Gefilte Fish! Once again, in 2011, Mister Brisket outdid himself with splendid raw fish mixture that we are now finishing. It seems to get better every year!

Fun Making Gefilte Fish

I make no secret of the fact that, as a child, I foolishly missed out on sharing the joys of Jewish holiday cooking with my grandparents, older sister and mother. At that time in my life, it just didn't interest me. It was not until about 1990, after I had finished school and moved out to New Jersey, that my mother's Multiple Sclerosis worsened to the point where she could no longer cook her traditional holiday meals. I had just begun to explore the joys of cooking, having taken my first Chinese cooking classes through the Montclair Adult School, and I was determined to keep my mother's traditions alive by learning how to cook her dishes.

Every year, I consider changing my Passover menu. And other than tinkering a little with the spices, I always wind up keeping my preparations true to the tastes and smells I grew up with. For mom.

Since I moved to Cleveland, Gefilte Fish has been a challenge. Is it well neigh impossible to purchase any quality fish at retail here. However, when I first moved here over 12 years ago, there was a supermarket called Gale's located in Beachwood that catered to the Jewish community, and which could be counted on for all of the raw ingredients I would need to recreate mom's dishes. Gale's left us a number of years ago (and became a Wild Oats - feh!). There is a fish store in the Orthodox part of town that became my source for a few years - but they weren't interested in serving my needs. Yes, they'd get and grind my fish - but no onion ground in and no carp. My mother's recipe calls for 1 part whitefish, 1 part pike, and 1/2 part carp (for fat and texture more than taste). But their rules were not negotiable.

So, I tried another recently (at the time) opened local fish store that the newspapers raved about, in Cedar Center (long gone now). I will never forget the time I ordered 5# of fish according to the formula - and they handed me a bag with over 20 pounds - the kid who took the order had written "20" instead of "2" for one of the fishes - it was a disaster!

Finally, about 5 years ago, I learned that Cleveland's storied Mister Brisket (AKA Sanford Herskovitz) had begun to offer ground fish for the Jewish holidays. The first time I ordered from him, he said "no carp" - I guess there is an aversion to carp in Cleveland! But after I explained that "this is how my mommy makes it" - he relented. As you will see below, the fish he special orders, fillets, and grinds is pristine. And - Mister Brisket delivers - such a deal!

And so, yesterday, I made my 2008 Passover Gefilte Fish. I began with five pounds of fish fillets, which were ground with an onion by Mister Brisket, and one whole fish (sans fillets). I neglected to photograph the fish before I put it in the pot, so that is where we begin:

The first step in making this dish is to create a fish stock. The fish parts are placed in a large pot with sliced onion and good water, and brought to a gentle boil. After skimming, salt, pepper and sugar are added. How much? I don't know - I never measure.

Plumps When You Cook 'Em!

While the stock is simmering (for about 30 minutes), I make the fish ball mixture.

2# Whitefish, 2# Pike, 1# Carp Fillets, Ground with Onion

Blue Eggs from Breychak's Blue Egg Farm

Kosher-for-Passover Matzo Meal, Sugar, Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt

I only use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt (which is so prevalent in professional kitchens, it even got a cameo in the film "Ratatouille"). The other major player, Morton's, contains a chemical anti-caking agent (and I think it tastes nasty).

White Peppercorn from Heather's Heat & Flavor

Organic Carrots

That's all there is to it, folks!

First, de-shell the eggs. For five pounds of fish, mom used 6 eggs; I used 7 because many of the Blue Eggs are a little smaller than USDA "large":

Beat until frothy; I use a handmixer:

Add the ground fish, and remember to treat it as you would ground meat for meatballs - you want to work it as little as possible.

Here is where I made a small mistake - it is easier to incorporate the seasonings into the mix with less handling if you whirl them into the eggs. But I forgot - so I added the seasonings here and gently mixed them in. How much? I start with a tablespoon of sugar, and I eyeball the salt and pepper.

I am always conservative with the seasonings and matzoh meal at first, because every batch of fish is different, and there is only one way to know if it is right - taste it (and too much matzoh meal will turn the fluffy balls into lead ballons)! The matzoh meal is next - and again, I add a bit at a time and work it in, until the mixture "feels" right.

Once the mixture feels right, it is time to taste. Unfortunately, it is no longer safe to taste this kind of fish raw, as my mother and grandmother did (even though I know that these farm eggs are safe!) - and really, tasting it raw wouldn't give you the best feel for it anyway. So, I boil water in a small saucepan, pinch out a small ball of the mixture (which lets me test the matzoh meal-iness) and cook it for a few minutes. After tasting the cooked fish, I adjust the seasoning to taste - this time, I got it perfect on the second try!

No photos of the next step, because it takes two hands and makes a mess of them! I put some Kosher for Passover cooking oil in a dish, and dip into it periodically to keep the mixture from sticking to my hands. (Its not even Seder night and I'm dipping already!) I form the fish into ovals, which is how mom made them, and gently deposit each oval into the fish stock, which is now at a strong simmer. Once all of the fish balls are in the pot, I put on the lid and cook 1.5 hours.

During the first cooking time, I prep the carrots. After 1.5 hours, I add the carrots to the pot and re-lid. The fish balls are floating happily! I cook it another 1.5 hours (which is longer than mom cooked it, but I saw an elderly grandma make fish with Joan Nathan on PBS a few years ago, and she swore by a 3 hour cooktime). When cooking time is over, I use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the fish and carrots, taking care to examine for shrapnel from the skeleton. My mother said, as a girl, nibbling fish bits off of the bones was her favorite part of making this dish - me - even though I'm always tempted to save the stock and meaty bits for another use - they always wind up in the compost. The house just smells too much like fish after the cooking is done for me to find it appealing.

Cooking for the Jewish holidays brings me great joy; my only sadness is that I cannot share this food with mom, who still lives in NY 450 miles away. But, as this post demonstrates, making your own Gefilte Fish is not so hard as you might think (provided you have a good fishmonger, or a moonlighting butcher!), and you will never eat jarred fish again after you have tasted this!

More Fun Playing With Passover Food Memories

2011-04-20T12:45:00.000-04:00

As my feet continue to recover from four days of non-stop action on my ceramic-tile floored kitchen, I offer another Passover re-run from 2008; one which I need to review, since I wasn't happy with my Matzoh Balls this year.

Please enjoy!

Fun Playing with Matzo Balls

Growing up, the Master of the Matzo Balls was my sister, Chaya. To this day, she makes the lightest, most ethereal Matzo Balls, always perfectly round (and they stay that way). I've gotten pretty good at making them too, but I owe it all to Chaya!

The base recipe our family always uses is from the quintessential Jewish Cookbook from 1956, Love and Knishes by Sara Kasdan, which I am pleased to see is back in print. It is a very simple recipe. I will never understand the concept of "matzo ball mix." What's the point?

There is also a bit of debate as to the preferred texture - sinkers or floaters? Dense or fluffy? My research indicates that the way your mother made them probably influences your taste in this regard more than anything (as explained brilliantly by Ms. Kasdan at pps. 113-115 of the 1957 printing). We prefer the fluffy, floating kind in my family.

I begin by setting up the mise:

For every 6 eggs, Chaya uses 1 cup of matzo meal. The recipe also calls for 2 TB schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), but since no one in my family ever used it, I do not. Here, I did a double batch, 12 eggs, 2 cups matzo meal. Since these were the fabulous Blue Eggs, which vary in size, I added a 13th egg. A little salt (2 tsp for 12 eggs, according the recipe, reduced a bit to account for the strength of Kosher Salt) and fresh ground white pepper (1/4 tsp), and that's all there is to it, though you can gussy it up with seasonings like nutmeg or parsley, or whatever else you want. But I am a purist with my Passover cooking. And I always wind up glad I didn't mess with the recipe!

First step - separate the eggs. Not so easy when they've only been out of the chickens for about a week! But worth it - look at the yellow of those beautiful yolks!

Next - beat the yolks until light, then add the salt and pepper. In the Kitchen Aid, beat the egg whites until stiff. Then, add the yolk mixture on top, and gently fold in.

Next - add the matzo meal a little at a time and gently fold in.

Once the ingredients are folded together, cover with a dishtowel and refrigerate for at least an hour. This allows the matzo meal to absorb the liquid, which is essential.

Prior to removing from the fridge, I put my biggest pot (the 20 quarter) on the stove, with water up to about the 15 quart hash mark. I want the matzo balls to have plenty of room to expand, which they will. Since my stove only gets about 9,000 BTU's on a good day, I give the pot a little help to get it to the boil:

This commercial bucket warmer does wonders.

After about 3 hours in the fridge, the batter looked like this:

When forming the balls (and forgive the lack of photos - that operation requires two hands and makes a mess of them!), it is necessary to lubricate the hands to keep the batter from sticking too much. Until this year, I always used a little bowl of water. This time, I tried coating my hands with oil instead - and I think that is why, for the first time, my Matzo Balls held their shape so well. So - everybody in the pool!

I cook them for about an hour, then scoop them out to cool.

And here it is - served in the chicken soup I blogged about here:

Passover is in many ways the ultimate "play with your food" holiday - even though the ingredients are simple and limited - the final products are simply wonderful.

More Fun Playing With Passover Food

2011-04-13T13:31:00.001-04:00

As I posted earlier today, Fun Playing With Food is featured in today's Taste section of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, with additional content online! Please click here and here to read all about it - and enjoy the re-post below, from April 21, 2008, detailing how I make my potato kugel and sweet farfel puddings.

Fun Playing with Passover Puddings

My mother always made two puddings, or kugels, for Passover. One is sweet. The recipe comes from a cookbook called "Elegant Essen, " which was put out by the East Northport Jewish Center in 1973 as so many churches, synagogues, and civic groups put out cookbooks - by collecting recipes from their members. This recipe is entitled "Pudding - Sweet and Delicious" and is attributed to Eunice Zarett.

The dish consists of 1# Matzo Farfel, which you can see in the pot behind the farfel package, margarine (which is the only box of the stuff I buy all year - and this year, Kosher for Passover stick margarine was nowhere to be found, for reasons explained here), 7 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 can apricots in juice or sugar (no corn syrup!), salt, cinnamon (Vietnamese and intense, from Heather's Heat & Flavor), hot water and about 1 cup of cold water.

Start by pouring hot tap water over the farfel. The recipe says to drain it, and mom always drained it pretty promptly. One year, when I was making this, I forgot to drain the farfel. When I finally remembered and looked into the pot - it had absorbed all of the water! I made the pudding anyway, and learned that allowing the farfel to become saturated increases the "puddingness" of the kugel - so I now deliberately leave it for a while before draining (if there is anything left to drain).

Seven Blue Eggs Ready For Beating

Not Margarine Melting

Since there was no KP margarine available anyway, I decided to try a product from the Mustard Seed Market that had no hydrogenated oil, trans fats, or artificial ingredients. It had soybean oil and corn for flavor, so it was not even close to Pasaidich, but I decided to try it anyway. And it was good.

I beat together the eggs, margarine, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the juice from the can of apricots.

The diced apricots went into the drained farfel, and the egg mixture was then added. The recipe calls for 1.5 cups cold water to also be added here, but since there was still some water left in the farfel after draining, I only used 1 cup.

This was poured into a prepared dish, topped with sprinkled cinnamon and baked.

Sorry - no photos of the hot pudding when served - it just didn't happen! But here is what it looks like - it is delicious to eat hot or cold!

The second pudding is the traditional Potato Kugel. If you look on the internet or Jewish cooking books and magazines, you'll find numerous variations on this dish. But I cannot bring myself to mess with it, it is so perfect as mom made it! Well . . . almost. We do add some hot chile (which my mother, who doesn't like any hot spice, would not approve of!), and we use a better prep method (mom used a blender and we use a food processor) - but this is still mom's kugel.

For 5# of potato (a "double" kugel) - 4 eggs, potato starch, kosher salt, ground pepper and about 4 garden Tabasco peppers from the freezer take a whirl in the Cuisinart.

The potatoes, and some onions, are peeled and grated using the cheese grating wheel of the food processor (or the smallest holes on a box grater, if you don't mind a little knuckle in your kugel):

The grated veggies are combined with the egg mixture, and matzo meal is added a TB or so at a time, until the mixture feels right. It is then poured into a prepared casserole and baked. Again, we didn't get a picture "right out of the oven," but this should give you the idea:

No wonder my mom always called Passover Kugel Week! What a glorious way to play with your food, and then have leftovers!

Fun Playing With Food for the Cleveland Plain Dealer

2011-04-13T10:52:00.000-04:00

I'll have an update on this a little later today, but I'm thrilled to announce that Fun Playing With Food is featured in today's Taste section (with more content on-line) of the Cleveland Plain Dealer! Please click here and here to read all about it!

Fun Playing with Chili For A Good Cause

2011-04-01T12:52:00.000-04:00

This is no April Fools Day joke! Tomorrow, some of Cleveland's finest chili makers will descend upon Quicken Loans Arena to compete in the 2011 Chili Cookoff for Autism! The event directly benefits the Autism Society of Greater Cleveland and runs from noon to 3pm. The suggested donation to attend is only $15 for adults and $5 for children. There will be a lot more fun happening at this event than just chili, including raffles of some pretty cool items, including Two Continental Airlines tickets good for travel anywhere in the Continental United States and South America, Mexico and a few islands, a Disney Air and Hopper Pass Package, a dinner party at Peppermill Pub and Grille for 20, a Jake DelHomme autographed football, a Ramon Sessions jersey, and an Intimate Dinner for Two valued at $200.00 prepared and served by Chef Eric Wells of Skylarae Catering . So - come on out!

I have been involved in this event since its inception, and am pleased to have helped raise both money and awareness for a wonderful cause. For the second consecutive year, I will be on the judging panel and I am looking forward to tasting some fabulous chili. Chefs participating this year include:

Eric Wells- Skylarae Catering

John Wright – Peppermill Bar and Grille

Doug Fulton- 5 Star Catering

Chef Gary- Rocky River Brewing Compnay

Pete Dressen- Walden

Bill Polewchak and his 20 Mule Team Barracho Team

Shana Trepal- Treehuggers Café

Tommy Kneeland- Redstone Café

Ken Kostal- Big Boppers

Jeff Fisher- Touch Suppper Club

Zinc Brassierie

My sources also tell me that Cleveland television legend Fred Griffith will be dishing out chili with the 20 Mule Team Barracho Team, and Cleveland radio personality Joe Croneauer will also be in the house - come on down, enjoy some amazing chili and say hello.

Since the event starts at noon, you can stop by and get filled up with luscious, home-made chili on your way to the Indians game, or as a first course to the opening game of the Cleveland Gladiators Arena football team, which begins at 4pm right there at the Q. Or perhaps you might stop by after your morning trip to the farmers' market or the West Side Market, and then continue with your day after. However you fit it in, I guarantee that you'll have fun playing with chili at the 2011 Chili Cookoff for Autism.

Fun Playing with Chef Ellis Cooley at the Culinary Vegetable Institute

2011-03-15T10:04:00.001-04:00

As you've read over my last few posts, Bob and I were invited to share in the goodness of a monthly Earth-to-Table Dinner at the Culinary Vegetable Institute on Saturday night. Adding to the fun, we'd be sharing our table with some friends, including the lucky winners of the ticket contest on this blog. Even more fun - our friend Dave, who blogs as Live to Cook at Home, would be in the kitchen as sous-chef for a day. We couldn't wait!

The Terrible Trio Plot and Plan

Left to right - tonight's featured chef, Ellis Cooley, and his co-horts in all things culinary (including Dinner in the Dark) - Brian Okin and Jeff Jarrett. The gentleman with his back to you is CVI Chef Michael Lyons.

Dave W joins the confab at the left.

When our host, Farmer Lee Jones, rings the dinner bell, he does not fool around:

And so - on to the fabulous food, featuring of course the amazing produce of the Chef's Garden.

Velvet Mushroom Soup - Chives, Truffle Oil, Dehydrated Mushrooms

Regular readers of this blog know that I have a slight issue with mushrooms - mostly with their texture. I am actually growing more and more enamored with their flavor - this amazing soup may have brought me fully over to the mushroom side (so long as I don't have to chew on them). This item periodically appears on the menu at AMP 150 - all I can say is that if it is on the menu when you eat there - ORDER IT!

Assorted Baby Beet Salad - Lake Erie Creamery Goat Cheese Fondue, Candied Spiced Nuts, Baby Herbs

A lovely cold counterpoint to the warm soup. Perfectly balanced textures and flavors, with the beets singing through.

Charcuterie Platter - Port Relleitte, Liver Pate, Red Cabbage Kimchi

Again, these are items you might see at AMP 150; Chef Ellis is fond of pairing spreads and jams on toast to delicious effect.

I enjoyed the rillettes.

But I inhaled the pate. Two of them. And I'd do it again.

Dinner Rolls

Served with a lovely sweet butter.

Slow Roasted Duck - Braised Caramelized Endive, Citrus

The duck, from Hickory Acres Meats in Oberlin, was perfectly cooked and succulent.

Whole Roasted Carrots - Parsnip Puree, Picholine Olives

When I first read the menu, I didn't see how green olives could possibly pair well with sweet carrots. But damn if Chef Ellis didn't make it sing!

Baby Fennel and Figs -Fines Herbs and Fronds

This dish had me channeling an old Fig Newtons TV commercial from my youth. Tender, tasty (but not flaky) fennel cooked with gooey gooey rich and chewy figs - darn tootin!

It took all of my self control to stop after a taste of each dish - but another round was in the offing and it proved a wise strategy.

Brown Butter Kale - Homemade Smoked Kielbasa

I've tried kale a few times, but never been a huge fan - until now. Ellis and his crew cooked the kale to it's taste and textural sweet spot, and the sausage was truly worthy of a midwestern meal.

Braised Lamb in - Stew of Dried Beans, Mint, Natural Juices

This, my friends, was a beautiful thing. But wait, there's more!

Roasted Cauliflowers - Pine nuts, Lake Erie Creamery Goat Cheese, Beet Vinaigrette

Note the plural on "cauliflower" - there were at least two varieties in this dish. Simply fabulous and it didn't matter a bit that we'd already "had" beets and goat cheese - it all worked to delicious perfection.

Anson Mills Organic Farro Piccolo - Celery Root & Leaves, Pickles

Regular readers of this blog also know that celery is not a favorite of mine, particularly raw celery. Despite the celery (which I took a bunch of, because I wanted to try it anyway), the farro was so lovely - not a side you see every day, and eating this dish, I wondered, why not? It reminded me a little of barley; slightly chewy, creamy and wonderfully savory.

Dessert was next.

We were first presented with this plate, with a large hole in the middle, between a Fennel Nut Bread and Meringue cookies (Paplova) infused with Sichuan Peppercorn.

Floating Island

Chef Ellis explained this unusual dessert, which Wikipedia says at its base is "a French dessert consisting of meringue floating on crème anglaise (a vanilla custard)." Chef Ellis kicked his version up with blood orange and shiso. It filled the middle of the dessert plate nicely.

But alas, I was past "uncle" and could barely eat half. A shame, because it was so light and tasty.

A ticket to dinner at CVI will set you back $75, plus beverages and gratuity. But the experience is truly amazing. If you enjoy farm to table dining, this is the dinner ticket for you. April's dinner will spotlight Chef Jeremy Martindale from the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, and May will feature Ellis's partner in Dinner in the Dark, Palate's Jeff Jarrett. CVI's endeavors also raise funds for Veggie U, a most worthwhile cause for anyone who cares about food and how our next generation is learning about it. If you love vegetables, you will have fun playing with the food at the Culinary Vegetable Institute!

Our CVI Winner Has Confirmed

2011-03-09T18:08:00.000-05:00

Congratulations Mandi! Sorry to everyone who did not win - hope to see you Saturday at the Culinary Vegetable Insitute anyway! Please call 419-499-7500 to reserve your seat.

And the Winner is:

2011-03-08T12:04:00.000-05:00

Thank you to my 14 readers who commented on this blog post - you all had some great ideas for vegetables to be grown by CVI and by AMP 150's gardens this year!

The winner as selected by Random.org was commenter # 4: Mandi.

However, Mandi did not follow the rules and leave or email me with a way to contact you. Mandi, I need you to please email me at funplayingwithfood at yahoo dot com before 10am tomorrow, Wednesday March 9, with your name, email address and phone number. If I haven't heard from you by 10am tomorrow, I'll have to pick another winner.

Fun Playing With Asian New Year Food 2011 at Siam Cafe

2011-03-06T13:12:00.000-05:00

Just before we left for Florida, we shared a delightful Chinese New Year Dinner and Lion Dance with friends at Cleveland Asiatown's Li Wah Restaurant. Upon returning from our Florida trip, we got to enjoy another take on playing with Asian New Year food with the Northern Ohio Chapter of Slow Food at Cleveland Asiatown's own Siam Cafe.

We've been to at least three of these dinners at Siam Cafe, perhaps four. Chef-owner Michael Hong reaches into his culinary bag of tricks for auspicious dishes every time and I'll happily eat his braised ham hock once a year every year if I can get it! This year, he and his friendly staff coped with our 40-some-odd banquet diners, two large parties celebrating birthdays (one American and one Asian) and a fully packed house on a Sunday evening. And they put out the most amazing, fresh, delicious spread I've ever tasted at Siam Cafe.

Stuffed Crab Claws

Crab Claw stuffed with Shrimp Puree and Crispy Vermicelli. I really enjoyed this incarnation of a dish Chef Hong has served to us before.

Shanghai Xiao Long Bao

Traditional Soup Dumpling in Dipping Sauce. Chef Hong favors a more sturdy wrapper and less soup in the dumpling than some Chinese chefs - and the result is toothy and delicious. The presentation was also interesting - each diner got a bowl of dipping sauce and the servers placed a first dumpling in each bowl. The quantities were sufficient for each diner to enjoy a second dumpling, but we were on our own for landing them intact in the sauce bowl.

Scallion Pancake with Char-Sui Pork

Char-Sui Barbecued Pork Wrapped with Pancake. Served with Sweet Hoisin Sauce. Another dish we've enjoyed before - done to non-greasy, chewy perfection.

Wonton Dumplings in Thai Tom Yum Soup

Spicy Thai Soup with Two types of Mushrooms and Wonton Dumplings. Here is where the menu diverged from "Chinese" to "Asian." A light, spicy broth cuddled freshly made pork and shrimp wontons, mushrooms, and scallions.

Lobster with Golden Garlic - Maine Lobsters Stir Fried with Minced Roasted Garlic, Green & Red Peppers

This might have been the best lobster I've ever eaten. First, it was served blazing hot from the wok, coated with chunky garlic and peppers that clung tenaciously to the shells instead of falling to the plate. Second, the kitchen had expertly cracked the crustaceans such that the meat was easily extracted. Finally, and most important, the high quality lobster meat had been cooked to the exact right point such that it melted in the mouth.

Baby Abalone & Shitake Mushroom over Mustard Greens

A staple dish at Chinese New Year due to the round, coin like shapes of the abalone and mushrooms, together with the greens which are colored as money - this is always my least favorite because I favor neither mushrooms nor abalone. I did eat some of the greens, which are often tough and bitter. These were tender and sweet, and benefited from the mushroomy sauce.

Whole Crispy Roasted Duck

Roast duck is all about the skin - and this baby delivered! Tender meat, crisp skin and a very traditional preparation equaled a lovely dish.

Michael’s Fabled New Years Only Fried Custard with Shrimp, Snow Peas & Carrots

This unique dish was the only platter other than the lobster that our table consumed to the last morsel. The custard, which probably had some tapioca or wheat starch in the filling, was wrapped in delicate pastry and fried. It gently walked the line between sweet and savory, and provided a textural foil to the crunchy vegetables and nuts, while the shrimp offered brininess.

Pla Red Pik - Fillets of Victorian Perch with Spicy Thai Tamarind Sauce

Instead of the traditional whole steamed fish, Chef Hong fried the perch and paired it with a gently spicy sauce. The combination worked well and we all enjoyed it.

Braised Ham Hock

Another Michael Hong Chinese New Year signature dish: the most delicious and tender Ham Hock, which had been slow cooked for hours (I seem to recall one year he said it cooks low and slow overnight) and served with Baby Bok Choy that still had some body to it and actually lent flavor to the dish rather than just being a garnish.

As with the duck, the skin of the pig had been artfully prepared (though not quite as crispy). If you ever have the opportunity to enjoy this dish at Siam Cafe - make sure you avail yourself!

Very Beautiful & Delicious Fried Rice

And what makes this rice so beautiful and delicious? Pork fat! Yuppers - as is traditional, this festive rice bore the unmistakable flavor and texture that comes only from frying in lard.

Traditional Noodle with Chicken - Thin Egg Noodle Stir Fried in Soy Sauce with Chicken

My only complaint about this traditional noodle dish was that the noodles had been cut fairly short- bad luck for the New Year! Bad luck or not - I couldn't stop eating it.

This was the bounty remaining on the table when the last of us cried "Uncle!" We did box it all up and distribute it around the table.

But wait - there was still one more dish to come:

Flaky Pastry Crust Baked with Egg Custard

While Koko Bakery makes my favorite Dan Tac in the world - these jewels were mighty fine renditions of the form. We took them home; too stuffed to even consider a bite.

It was a bite worth waiting for - fresh, eggy, creamy, flaky and chewy all at the same time.

If you've skipped going to this dinner because you've seen some of the dishes before, or perhaps there were some off notes in some of the shrimp one year - you are doing yourself a disservice! We had more fun playing with the food at this year's Slow Food Asian New Year Dinner than at any previous visit I've made to Siam Cafe - make sure that you join us next year. And in the mean time, I saw some huge, feisty dungeness crabs in Siam Cafe's seafood tank - I think there is one there with my name on it.

Also, please visit my last blog post and leave your comment there before 10am on Tuesday March 8, 2011 to be entered into the drawing for two tickets to The Culinary Vegetable Institute's Earth to Table Dinner featuring Chef Ellis Cooley of AMP 150 next Saturday, March 12

A Contest to Win Some Fun Playing from Earth to Table

2011-03-04T22:58:00.000-05:00

My husband Bob is an avid vegetable gardener - his last wish is for his remains to be scattered on a garden or farm. I have grown to greatly appreciate the wonders of produce from a real garden since I've been married to him. We have always wanted to go to a dinner at Chef Farmer Jones's Culinary Vegetable Institute - but it has never worked out. We have enjoyed so many wonderful meals including produce from The Chef's Garden; surely, a Chef allowed to go wild among the selections there could create an amazing meal.

The Culinary Vegetable Institute describes itself as follows:

"The Culinary Vegetable Institute provides the world’s most innovative chefs with a place to share knowledge, experiment and discover techniques for growing and preparing the most flavorful varieties of vegetables in the world. The collaboration between the garden farmer and the chef and between the old and the new is the foundation of the Culinary Vegetable Institute (CVI). The CVI Kitchen Garden™ team searches for the best techniques to produce the most flavorful vegetable varieties in an organic fashion. The CVI is a learning center for the most progressive chefs to pass their vegetable knowledge and techniques to the rising stars of tomorrow."

CVI is also affiliated with Veggie U, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization committed to fostering the synergy between educational, nutritional, and agricultural goals to combat the rising epidemic of childhood obesity. Think "arts in education" but focused on real sustainable food - they bring hands-on food love to the classroom. And compost. Talk about playing with your food!

I was delighted when CVI invited me to attend their upcoming Earth to Table Dinner featuring Chef Ellis Cooley of AMP 150 (warning - web site is musical). Chef Ellis is an amazing individual who gave up the warmth and seafood of Florida to become an urban gardener at the most unlikely of venues, the Airport Marriott. AMP 150 stands for "America's Modern Palate", and we have enjoyed Chef Ellis's food both at his restaurant, and at Dinner in the Dark. Ellis is one-third of Dinner in the Dark (together with Cleveland-area chefs Jeff Jarrett and Brian Okin) which brings together Cleveland’s top chefs every month to host a six-course dinner for guests who are “in the dark” about the evening’s menu and the identitiy of the chefs until they arrive; the chefs receive the opportunity to create dishes at their whim and raise money for good causes. To date, the dinner series has raised more than $25,000 from ticket sales for local charities.

And here is the best part - CVI has graciously extended the opportunity for me to give away two tickets to next Saturday's dinner to a lucky reader of this blog! Hungry yet? Here is Chef Ellis's menu:

Small Bites

Assorted Baby Beet Salad
Lake Erie Creamery Goat Cheese Fondue, Candied Spiced Nuts, Baby Herbs

Velvet Mushroom Soup
Chives, Truffle Oil, Dehydrated Mushrooms

Charcuterie Platter
Port Relleitte, Liver Pate, Red Cabbage Kimchi

Large Bites

Braised Lamb in
Stew of Dried Beans, Mint, Natural Juices

Slow Roasted Duck
Braised Caramelized Endive, Citrus

Gardens

Whole Roasted Carrots
Parsnip Puree, Picholine Olives

Brown Butter Kale
Homemade Smoked Kielbasa

Roasted Cauliflowers
Pine nuts, Lake Erie Creamery Goat Cheese, Beet Vinaigrette

Baby Fennel and Figs
Fines Herbs and Fronds

Anson Mills Organic Farro Piccolo
Celery Root & Leaves, Pickles

Desserts

Floating Island
Citrus salad, Anglaise, Shiso

Petit Fours and Paplova

The dinner costs $75 and begins at 6:30pm. One lucky reader of this blog will win two tickets to enjoy Chef Cooley's creations, on CVI. Please note that tax, gratuity and beverages are not included in the free tickets. CVI is located at 12304 State Route 13, Milan OH 44846. If you would like to attend this dinner (and if you don't win the tickets) - please call 419-499-7500 to make your reservation for next Saturday's dinner. If you can't attend March's dinner - May's Earth to Table Dinner will be crafted by Ellis's partner in Dark Dining - Chef Jeff Jarrett.

To enter the contest, please post a comment below telling us what vegetable you would like Chef Ellis or CVI to grow in the garden this year, and why. Please ensure that I can reach you by posting some contact info, or by emailing at minimum your email address to me at playswithfood at yahoo dot com. The winner will be selected by random number generator on Tuesday March 8, and your comment must be posted by 10am that day. Good luck and thank you in advance for your interest and comments! We look forward to having fun playing with Ellis Cooley's food, from earth to table and hope to see you there!