Fun Playing With Food Fit For a Queen, For the Last Time

Last weekend was the 25th, and final, Queen's Croquet. A party that began at my friend's house as a games night, which then got out of hand, the Croquet morphed from that backyard through three hotels over those 25 years. I was fortunate to be in charge of the food for the last 10 annual parties. From a mini kitchen, to no kitchen, to a battered commercial kitchen, my team and I cranked out all kinds of fabulous food to feed crowds from 75-125 people, including no fewer than 4 weddings. I shall miss The Queen's Croquet very much. Our theme for this last event was "At the Movies."

Friday lunch had been sandwiches the last few years. But we were recently gifted with a substantial cache of canned cheese products, and money being tight, Her Majesty requested that I utilize the cheese as much as possible. 

Thus,  lunch for the early arrivers was The Cheesiest.

First up, Beefy-Cheesy Casserole - GFS meatballs, potatoes, cheddar cheese sauce, mild salsa:

And, next:

Cheesy Chicken with Fresh Spinach. Cooked chicken, cheddar cheese sauce, fresh spinach, Corn Flake topping, salt & pepper

The catering commenced in earnest with Friday Dinner: Cloudy, With A Chance of Meatballs.

Three Cheese Spaghetti Pie

GFS Beef Meatballs

I usually make them myself, but couldn't make them for the price GFS was selling them for, so frozen it was.

From Scratch Marinara Sauce

Farfalle with EVOO

EScape from the Maelstrom Pesto: garlic scapes, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, EVOO, Salt & Pepper.

Virginia's property has an overabundance of garlic plants, which yield a lot of scapes this time of year. The Farfalle was described as a place to resto your pesto.

Cheeseburger Soup

The first full meal appearance of the cheese sauce haul was in this delicious soup! Cheeseburgers were, after all, the first food that rained down in the movie.

Silky Spinach Soup

What a tasty way to eat your vegetables!

Salad Bar

Banana Pudding

Dave Reckner, who so kindly donated the cheese sauces, also donated some pudding. Not Jello, but it did just fine!

Cherry Slab Pie

Caren Bachman made not one, but two slab pies. Given our theme, Cherry was necessary (and delicious)!

Blackberry Slab Pie

Not finished yet, Caren donated another sweet treat for the dessert table:

Bund Kuchen with Raisins

I regret that I failed to take any photos of Ernie and Nita Jones dishing up omelets to order for breakfast Saturday morning. Ernie, the Queen's Omeletier, served up AM deliciousness at 8 of the last Croquets, and though he does them for some other events, the Croquet omelets will always have a special place in my heart. Perhaps because they always followed Ernie's fabulous Karaoke by so few hours?

One tradition that began at Mary Lee's house over the long Memorial Day weekends, which continued to the end, was the Grill Out. People would bring their own meat and Mikey would grill day and night! Once we moved to the first hotel in 2001, it became necessary to re-organize a bit.

The Queen's Grillfriend, John Massura, would schlep a Weber all the way from Chicago to join Her Majesty's Weber in some outdoor part of the hotel property (in Dayton or Cincinnati, depending on the year), where Saturday lunch would be prepared. Some years, John even prepared Grilled Chocolate - just because he could!

Saturday Lunch:

Bratwursts, Half Pound Burgers

Hot Mettwurst, Smoked Sausage (Mild Mettwurst)

Plain Grilled Chicken, Honey Teriyaki Chicken

John's Maple Baked Beans 

Though I usually made the beans from dry beans, John wanted to make this recipe (which he got from Caren) for the last Croquet. I could not refuse him, and they were marvelous.

Cole Slaw a la Chef Eric Wells

Chef Eric, now the Executive Chef at Cleveland's Ligali Bistro, taught me this simple and tasty cole slaw dressing that has ruined me for commercial cole slaw products.

No such luck with the potato salad - I just don't have the time to futz with the potatoes, so GFS it is!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Amazingly similar in content to the Cheeseburger Soup from Friday's dinner, this dish was even more popular than it's predecessor. It was so good, I might make it again for another event, even if I wasn't gifted with cheese sauce.

Dessert

And so we came to my final Croquet meal. Nita would be making pancakes (and I think Ernie took care of the sausage) for breakfast Sunday morning; again, I am kicking myself for not taking any breakfast pictures. But this dinner would be my last cooking project for the Croquet, other than heating and serving leftovers on Sunday for lunch.

Keeping with the overall theme for the weekend, dinner was dedicated to: Chicken Run.

These Chicken Pies (but of course!) were, I do believe, the best entree item Bob and I have ever made for a catered event. The filling was made in advance and frozen in pans, then Bob put together a simple crust that we baked down after the pans were hot.

Braised Chicken Parts

Parts is parts. But this simple dish was killer!

Baked Chicken Eggs with Spinach, Mushrooms & Bacon

The top pan was without bacon, for a vegetarian option. I found the recipe (at Smitten Kitchen), but Virginia made it hers. A very successful dish.

Scott started bringing his chili to the Croquet around the time we started holding it in hotels and donated a big pot of it every year thereafter. This year, it gave relief to those who'd had enough chicken!

Corny Chicken Feed Salad - made by Virginia from Theresa Gregory’s recipe!

More Cheese, Gromit! 5 different kinds of cheesecake, made and donated by Caren Bachman. Plus, there was one more plain one left for lunch on Sunday!

I realized as I prepared this post that I never took a photo of my very last Croquet dish - a pasta salad I created Sunday morning from a pan of leftover Farfalle, EVOO, Balsamic Vinegar, chopped ham and mushrooms originally prepped for omelets, and some broccoli florets intended for the snack table. It accompanied the leftovers we served for our last meal together. Oh well. For more information about The Queen's Croquet, and some non-food photos of the fun, visit here.

I have made many friends over these last thirteen years as I've been learning the art and science of catering. But the two I hold most dear are Virginia and Phil. They first got to know one another at the Queen's Croquet, and were married at a Croquet. I was honored to cater their wedding dinner! And so, this post ends with a couple of non-food photos; I could not have done all the above without their love, support, and most important, HELP!

Here, Virginia is a two-fisted soup stirrer.

And below, Phil busts suds Sunday after our final Leftovers Lunch.

The end.

Fun Playing With Passover Food With Family

And so we come to the reason for the trip east in the first place - preparing Seder delectibles to share with my family! My nephew came home from school and the game was on.

First order of business for Saturday: a 20 quart pot of chicken soup. 

While the soup bubbled, and before starting on the Gefilte Fish, we paused for an amazing lunch treat. My parents have new neighbors in the house behind theirs. The neighbors have chickens, which are allowed to free range all over their properties. This morning, the doorbell rang and we were presented with a half-dozen just-collected eggs by the two adorable children of the neighbors, with a delightful hand drawn card that made Mom's day. Those eggs did not last long:

Soft Boiled Fresh Egg

On Sunday, we turned our attention to the brisket, matzoh balls, and hard boiled eggs. Cleveland's own Mister Brisket provided the beef:

Here, the meat has cooked a bit over half way, and we sliced it then chilled it, to finish cooking before the first Seder. This is the first cut or flat. I also brought some of the deckle, or point, just to be sure we'd have enough (we had plenty, so I brought that back home with me).

Here's a look at the finished matzoh ball in soup; I took this after I got back to Cleveland:

And finally, the eggs. Yoda, um, Mom took charge of those; even she marveled at how hard it is to peel farm fresh eggs even if you cook them perfectly (Mom's Passover claim to fame was hard cooking and peeling over 500 eggs at a time for the Hebrew School Model Seders when I was kid):

And so, it was time for the first Seder in my parents' house in . . . I don't know how many years.

Mom, Justin, Andrea, Jeff, Stan, Daniel, Bob

The only family member missing is my sister Chaya. She couldn't make it up from Florida. But it was great to see my two nephews!

Seder Plate

Charosis

Dad made the salad

Baked Cauliflower with Scape Pesto (no cheese)

Unfortunately, here is where I got too busy serving to take pictures.

Potato Kugel

This leftovers photo came after I got home; I never did take a picture of the Farfel Pudding, which is one of my Passover staples. Because I couldn't get apricots at the two stores I looked in (who knew apricots in natural juice were so rare?) I used a can of mango instead - and liked it a lot better; mango and coconut oil (in place of margarine) will now be de rigueur in my Farfel Pudding.

We enjoyed two holiday breakfasts with my parents before we left. First, Dad made Matzoh Brei; note the coconut oil taking the place of the traditional onion Nyafat that is no longer made.

Perhaps Bain Capital, who's Sankaty Advisors Unit just bought Manischewitz (which had bought up Rokeach, maker of Nyafat, several years ago), will bring Nyafat back. Who needs Nyafat? I sweated some onions in the coconut oil to simulate the Nyafat, and it wasn't a bad knock off.

At Dad's request, I scooped the onion pieces before out of the pan before he put the raw food into the fat, and then served them on the side. Delicious!

For our last meal Wednesday morning, Dad asked me to make Matzoh Pancakes. We served these with berry jam and strawberries, neither of which wound up in the photos.

Matzoh Meal Pancakes

And then we left.

Fun Playing With Food and Family - I could not ask for anything more. Wishing you the best of this spring and holiday season!

Fun Playing With Fish in New York

We began playing with New York food in earnest on April 11. The first order of business was shopping - Makinajian Farms for soup chickens and eggs, then Stop and Shop for groceries. But the fish and seafood were among the highlights of our trip.

Our last stop Friday was Northport Fish & Lobster, set in an old shack on Route 25A in Northport. I'd never been there, but my parents had heard good things and wanted to try them. Northport Fish is a locally owned full service fishmonger. No fewer than four locally sourced fishes were available that day, plus many seafood options. We picked up our Gefilte Fish bag, and couldn't resist buying some lunch items also. Mom had ordered 5# of ground fish (whitefish, pike and carp) with onion, plus the heads and skeletons. For our Gefilte Fish recipe, please look here.

It all looked so good! Mom had requested that we get her one of their advertised $5 Lobster Rolls, but what else would make for a quick and easy lunch?

Fresh Montauk Flounder, Fried to Order

This fish was so pristine it took my breath away. Delicious and perfectly cooked!

Lobster Roll

Ok, I saw the kvetching on Yelp about this. There is real lobster in the mix. There is also a lot of mayo. There may be some filler fish. But for $5, it was plentiful and tasty so what's not to like? I'd probably pick something else, but I wouldn't complain, either.

Clam-Stuffed Garlic Bread

I don't think I've ever nibbled such soft and tender clam meat as the morsels generously stuffed into this garlicky bread (same roll as the lobster was stuffed into). These are sold needing to be baked down for about 15 minutes at 350. The clams were so tender and fresh that they maintained deliciousness two days later after being re-heated as leftovers. It was a little too oily when hot, but oh-so-tasty!

Fish Mix - A Tad Under-ground

I took this photo to document how gefilte fish mixture should not look. It needed to either be passed through the grinder again or ground with a finer die (the onions were still in a dice, also). Fortunately, I'd brought my food processor, so it took only a few minutes to correct the texture.

Gefilte Fish

And here's the final product, served up at our Seders Monday and Tuesday nights with garden horseradish. Absolutely delicious!

But there was more fish to savor! Our favorite local purveyor of smoked fish, Bagel Boss would close for Passover early on Monday, so Dad made a fish and bialy run on Sunday to hold us until it was time to burn the Chometz (or otherwise get rid of the bread). There is nothing like Jewish Soul Food!

Bialy with Bagel Boss Cream Cheese,
Belly Lox
Baked Salmon (Kippered Salmon)

Baked (or Kippered) Salmon

Loaded with the proper sustenance, we went to work on playing with food for the Seders!

Fun Playing with Soup Dumplings at a New Place in NJ

We recently drove out out to New York to cook for and celebrate Passover with my family. As per usual, we headed for Gourmet Chopsticks in Fairfield NJ, intending to meet a group of friends for dinner, coming from Jersey, Westchester and Manhattan. I checked the restaurant website a few days before I left and all was well, so imagine my surprise when I pulled into the parking lot after six hours of driving to find the "Gourmet Chopsticks" sign removed from it's holder, and only one car in the parking lot next to a dark restaurant. Uh-oh.

Thanks to technology, I not only reached everyone from the desolate parking lot, but got suggestions and decided on an authentic Chinese restaurant alternative only seven miles away. And so, our now reduced party of 8 (we lost one group to illness and another to traffic on the Tappen Zee Bridge) converged on Cheng Du 23, located next to Willowbrook Mall in the West Belt Plaza, Wayne, New Jersey. 

Cheng Du's menu says it's a Sichuan Cuisine restaurant, but the take-out menu also, incongruously, mentions Dim Sum. The only Dim Sum on the menu that I recall was the Xiao Long Bao, but perhaps they offer a separate menu on weekend mornings. We happily cleaned no fewer than 10 plates (including a double order of Xiao Long Bao), and I do believe we could have eaten more. 

Pork Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings or Juicy Buns)

These were two of the best Xiao Long Bao I've had. Lots of hot juicy soup, tender pork, delicate wrapper that didn't break - almost perfect! Worth the price of admission all by itself.

Minced chicken with garlic sauce wrapped in fresh lettuce

The corn was unusual in this dish and added a sweet note against the chilis. None of the spicy dishes seemed especially so, though; I think being newcomers here, the staff wanted to make sure we'd be happy with a more Americanized spice level. The chicken was perfectly cooked and had almost a creamy texture that was very satisfying.

Da Lu Mian
 (Noodles Topped with Chicken, Pork, Shrimp, & Vegetables with Brown Sauce on Top)

This noodle dish is listed on the menu under "Big Bowl Noodle Soup" rather than the "Noodle" section, probably because it is made with ramen-style noodles, though it has no soup. We liked it, though I missed the hand-cut Shanghai-style noodles from Gourmet Chopsticks.

Chinese Eggplant with Salted Egg Yolks & Chopped Peppers

This was probably the most "authentic" dish we had. Though the menu described the eggplant as "boiled," boiled in oil would be more accurate - hence the beautiful color and velvety texture of the eggplant. The eggplant contrasted beautifully against the slightly grainy, salty egg yolks and crunchy bits of pepper.

Heavenly Chicken: Sauteed w/Ginger & Garlic in Chong Qing brown sauce

The name pretty much describes this dish - velvety soft chicken with a savory coating and mild brown sauce, nestled over crispy snowpeas; I guess it was kind of heavenly.

Sliced lamb sauteed with cumin powder and chopped dry chili

Though the lamb was melt-in-the-mouth tender and the seasonings tasty, I wanted a stronger chili/sichuan peppercorn hit from this version of Cumin Lamb. 

Shredded Pork sauteed with Dried Tofu & Chinese Celery

This was another dish that would have benefited from more spice, but again, the components were prepared well and the sauce tasty. 

Sauteed Sichuan Style Sausage (a spicy Lap Cheong) with Garlic Leek

Described on the menu as "sausage," I wasn't expecting dried sausage. But it was obvious at first glance that the meat was Lap Cheong, with a spicy twist cooked in! The freshness of the ingredients put this dish over the top for me, and it was one of the few served to us that was sufficiently spiced. 

Sauteed Snow Pea Leaf with Garlic

The last dish was one of the best - while it may seem hard to get excited about the ubiquitous sauteed snowpea leaf, this version was perfect in every way.

I expect if we frequented Cheng Du 23 more frequently, the spice and ma la levels would ramp up; we did not have Mandarin-speaking Jo-Ann with us due to illness. The dishes were well executed, just a bit under-spiced for our taste. I would definitely return; there is a pork belly dish on the menu calling my name. Fun Playing With Authentic Chinese Food in New Jersey; thank goodness for choices! FYI, the proprietor at Cheng Du 23 said the new place coming into Gourmet Chopsticks will be a sushi restaurant. We'll stick with soup dumplings.

Fun Playing Next Door with Dante's Pizza & Pasta

Dante Boccuzzi serves up some of the best food in Cleveland. His latest venture, attached to two of his other four restaurants in Tremont, Ohio (Restaurant Dante and Ginko), is Dante Next Door. Serving only brunch and lunch six days a week, Next Door also offers Restaurant Dante an additional room during dinner service. The brunch menu, served Saturday-Monday, is a bit different from the lunch menu served Wednesday-Friday, which means I need to visit again soon during the latter part of the week!

After an early trip to the North Union Farmers' Market at Shaker Square on Saturday morning, we could not resist the opportunity to check out the offerings at Next Door, which had been open less than a week, but delivered solid goods. Passover would end early in a big, big way, but hey, they say go big or go home!

Next Door puts a lot of effort into its drink menu, with numerous coffee, tea and fresh squeezed juice options. As I recall, the iced tea section offers no fewer than 6 fruited selections, in addition to plain tea. Our server explained that each of the fruited teas is supplemented with a freshly made fruit puree rather than the usual commercial syrup. She recommended the mango, which was a tad too sweet at full strength to accompany the savory food, but was otherwise delicious:

She topped this off with plain tea after I drank about half, and it was then perfect to accompany the food. Bob approved of the house coffee.

Assuming that there was pork in the meatballs on "Frankie’s spaghetti and meatball pizza" (and if there wasn't, we covered that in the other two items ordered), this dish managed to break all of the holiday rules all by itself. The "spaghetti pizza" has been around the East Coast for a while, and has never really impressed me, but this pie did justice to the concept, in addition to being a first-rate pizza. First, the crust had the perfect combination of crunch and chew, and though only a ten inch pie, each of the 8 slices was easily fold-able. Next, the toppings were all made in house, including the spaghetti, and that made all the difference. The meatballs burst with flavor and juiciness, and the sauce and cheese balanced nicely. We added runny local farm eggs to the pie to make it a more brunchy experience, and it was the perfect touch (add $3 to the $12 pizza price for eggs). 

Our second dish, which also satisfied, was the Pasta Carbonara Fritatta with spaghetti, pancetta, eggs, and Parmesan cheese.

It was such a toss up - luxurious cream sauce or fresh tomato sauce? Pancetta or meatball? Runny egg or fluffy omelet? We loved them both and were glad we could share, though both plates wanted a hit of fresh black pepper that they didn't get; this kind of food begs for either a pepper mill on each table or an offer from the server when it comes to the table. But delicious nonetheless.

Finally, we tried the Pork Sausage Patties, which I assume are also made in house, though the menu doesn't say and we didn't ask. Though I liked the more assertive flavors in Jack Flap's sausage patties a little better, these were also a palate pleaser, made from very good quality pork and cooked to just the right texture. The sausage made a perfect plate-cleaner for some of the runny eggs and creamy sauce, though the portions were so ample that we had plenty of both to take home (together with sausage).

The lunch menu offers a few more salads and some different entrees. Both menus also contain house made pastries and desserts, and any pizza can be made gluten free. Plans for Next Door's future include a new music club downstairs, to be called Coda, that will offer pizza from the magnificent pizza ovens into the night. For now, though, if you want to play with the best new pizza in C Town, or perhaps Foie Gras over a Belgian Waffle or Mortadella Meatballs, you'll have to come Next Door to lunch or brunch. 

Fun Playing with Jack Flaps

Eric Williams is one of my favorite Cleveland Chef/Restaurateurs. Proprietor of Momocho in Ohio, Eric keeps reinventing himself in different directions, with delicious results, and always Cleveland-centric. After Momocho came The Happy Dog, which went into in a classic bar space on Detroit Avenue in the Gordon Square District before the location was hip (and we join Cleveland in mourning the recent, untimely passing of co-owner Sean Kilbane), then El Carnicero in Lakewood, and plans to revive the historic Euclid Tavern with the Happy Dog brand (which I haven't heard any updates on since Mr. Kilbane's passing). 

The latest Williams venture to take flight is Jack Flaps, a small breakfast-through-the-lunch-hour spot located near the Momocho home base in Ohio City. We visited this morning after a pilgrimage to the West Side Market, and had great fun playing with our food. Jack Flaps is a keeper; I just wish it was open more hours and had dedicated parking. I'd eat breakfast for dinner, if I could eat it here! When we arrived shortly before noon today, the restaurant was mostly full and there was one 4 top ahead of us. We watched that queue wax and wane for over an hour once we were seated; no question that they were slammed today, which is why they get a Fun Playing With Food pass for a couple of small flaws; overall, the meal was excellent. 

Ironically, the Jack Flaps (or flapjacks) weren't the best part of our meal. Not because there was anything wrong with them, but because Eric and his partner Randy Carter really know their way around pork. We'll get to that in a moment. First, the Jack Flaps:

Original Buttermilk Jackflaps

Bob decided to be a purist today. Fluffy pancakes, cinnamon-y butter, maple syrup. The combination was tasty, but the butter and syrup would have melted better if the dishes had been warmer. Small flaw #1, our food was a little cold - not so cold that we had to send it back, but we wished someone had asked, because it really was a little too cold for everything, to well, melt together, and the pork would have sung even higher notes with just a few more degrees of temperature. As noted, though, they were in weed city, so we decided to just enjoy the food as it came (and the butter did eventually melt into the pancakes). 

Cracker-Jack Flaps

These pancakes were served with a Salted Caramel Sauce, and had Corn Nuts cooked into the batter. Cinnamon House Butter and Syrup were along side. Small flaw #2, the "prize" promised by the menu (to complete the "Cracker Jack" experience) never materialized. Again, the out-the-door line at the entrance made it impossible for me to want to question or complain. And I really didn't get that big "salted caramel" hit of flavor I was expecting. But it still tasted delicious, and not too sweet, which would have been an easy line to cross. The cooked corn nuts gave it a uniquely crunchy-chewy texture that did not threaten my dental work, but popped with corny flavor in the wheat-based dough (note that all of the Jack Flaps and Waffles can be made with gluten-free buckwheat batter at the diner's request). As for the pancakes themselves, how many times have you ordered pancakes in a restaurant and been served an obvious commercial mix that fell flat on your palate? That will not be your experience at Jack Flaps, where everything tastes of love and care in the preparation.

Vietnamese-Style Sausage Patties

These little flavor bombs explode in your mouth a bit better with a little dab of the house hot sauce, but even plain, they are fabulously porky and well seasoned. Nary a morsel remained.

Mexican Coke-Braised Slab Bacon

Probably the best bites of the day (and so plentiful that we had two full slices to take home) - this is not your mama's Oscar Meyer! Beautiful pork belly, prepared low and slow, melted in our mouths. A touch of the maple syrup (and even a touch of the hot sauce, not usually something I'd put on bacon) transported us to porky nirvana in one bite. At $3 for four huge slices, this may be the most economical ticket to that nirvana in C-Town.

The staff is still working out some of the "slammed" kinks, so be patient if you go at a busy time, and you will be rewarded. We shared our table (a six top) with three young ladies who enjoyed Jackflaps, as well as a waffle dish (looked like the "Fat Elvis" and looked delicious), the vegan Root Vegetable Hash, and Grits with Cinnamon House Butter. I also spied an amazing tower of French-Toasted goodness (I think it was the PB&J) at the next table that made me want to return ASAP to try it.

We loved our breakfast at Jack Flaps and look forward to returning there for more sweet and savory fun playing with breakfast in Ohio City.