The Making of a Foodie

Feelin' the Love

Meet Chef Tim Love. He is 37 years old, straight, and a Scorpio from Ft. Worth, TX . . .at least that's what his publicist wrote on his MySpace page. He also wears his trademark cowboy hat in place of a traditional toque. You gotta love a man who leaves his hat on . . .seriously.

His interests are listed as cooking, his wife and kids, Western culture and the Fort Worth Stockyards where he has two restaurants and one bar: The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro his flagship, The White Elephant Saloon his live music and bar venue and The Love Shack his funky cool burger joint that is connected to The White Elephant Saloon next door. He is also a self-taught Chef.

He opened another Lonesome Dove restaurant in The Flatiron District of New York City in 2006, but closed it in 2007 due to underwhelming performance. New Yorkers wouldn't understand a Texas boy's cookin' anyway, besides they see too much faux Western to know the real deal if it hit them on the head. Trust me, Chef Tim Love is the real deal.

"The Fort Worth chef-entrepreneur confirmed recently that he has also sold his west Fort Worth steakhouse, Duce, to Chicago-area chef Efrain Benitez, who most recently was the chef at Tuscany in Chicago's Oak Brook area."

This concept, Duce, was a martini bar with suede couches and funky, modern food. Frankly, coming from a good old Texas boy, the food coming out of the kitchen here from Chef Love was really impressive, even sexy . . .but didn't seem to touch the heart and soul of who he is.

Love also said he is developing a fresh food-to-go concept with Z Market at the company's Dallas/Fort Worth Airport locations. I have read about many nationally know Chefs are doing airport deals right now. Very hot, especially after 9/11. (Received a press release a week after this post confirming that Chef Love's Z Market had it's Grand Opening on May 19, 2008 at Terminal B, Gate 30 at DFW Airport.)

"Chef Tim Love also won his challenge on Iron Chef, the Food Network show that pits visiting chefs against the show's panel of resident chefs. Chef Love competed against Masaharu Morimoto with the mystery ingredient chiles."

"Chef Love opened his menu with a chile-infused margarita, followed by a surf-and-turf course, and a chocolate-chile cheesecake accompanied by a trio of teas that wowed judge Jeffrey Steingarten."

"Morimoto confessed up front that he wasn't familiar with chiles, but still managed to lose by only one point."

"Savvy viewers might wonder why Love didn't compete against chef Bobby Flay, whose strength in Southwestern cuisine makes him the more obvious foe but who is rumored to have rejected Love's request for a match-up. (A Food Network spokesman says he can't confirm that rumor.)"

"Love and his two assistant chefs wore cowboy hats and repeatedly interrupted the hour-long cooking contest with shots of Tuaca, the vanilla-flavored liqueur served at Duce." Any man that can do shots of Tuaca and still maintain his masculinity . . .is my kind of man.

Honestly, I am in love with Chef Love. . .here's why . . .he's cute, he's from Texas and he is a forager and believer in using local ingredients as his press release describes below:

"In 2003 Love celebrated the late James Beard’s 100th birthday with his first annual trail drive. Traveling with horses and camera crew from Fort Worth to New York City, and then riding up on horseback to farmers’ markets along the trail to select local ingredients, Love’s Trail Drive culminated with a gala dinner at the James Beard House that featured all the products he picked up on the trip north. More than 30 million people followed Love’s trail drive as it was featured in various print publications and NBC’s “The Today Show.”

"In 2004 Love embarked on his second annual trail drive. This time, the trail moved to the West in honor of Love’s participation in the American Express Celebrity Chef Tour, an annual charity event featuring celebrated chefs. This unique philanthropic dining adventure was captured by the Food Network in a documentary, “Cowboys on the Trail,” and was nominated for a James Beard Award."

For me, I'm impressed with the guts it took to pull off something like this in preparation for the James Beard dinner. If you are going to cook for some of the finest foodies in the country, of course you would want the food to be spectacular . . .but food you foraged on your way to the dinner is something else, all together. Watching these videos, I also decided to become a James Beard member . . .with access to discount tickets to events, email updates, etc.

The image in both of these videos that sets my heart all a flutter for Chef Love, is seeing him in the woods on this trail drive with his cowboy hat on and his pant legs rolled up as he is stopping to forage something from a creek bed that he planned to use in his dinner. My bodily reaction to watching this strapping young man physically pull something from the ground with his bare hands that he plans to feed me with touches me in some really profoundly prehistoric and primal way. You would really have to trust that this man knows what he is doing to allow him to do something like this for you. I trust Chef Love, trust me, I do.

As I watched this video . . .over and over and over again, I realized that I needed to figure out a Spring foraging experience that I could do as a newbie to the scene. Something not too dangerous or poisonous, but something where I would feel confident that if I did manage to find it, I would know for sure what it was, and I would feel confident eating it.

My opportunity came in the form of a hunter friend who casually mentioned that he loved coming to our neighborhood during the very short morel mushroom season and foraging for morels. Apparently, my backyard is a hot spot for foragers. Who knew? Then I had a conversation with Chef Marshall Roth and he said this time of year always reminded him of foraging for ramps in Europe with a Chef he worked for over there when he was a young lad. He said they were like a cross between a leek and garlic. Then, Chef Ted Habiger was the icing on my foraging cake . . .when he served me a wild nettle soup as part of a tasting menu at Room 39. He said a farmer friend had brought to him and asked him if he could do anything with it. He knew just what to do with the poisonous stinging nettle leaves. The result was an interesting soup that tasted like a cross between asparagus and spinach with a very mild, "green" taste.

So morels and ramps were my goal, as I set out last weekend on my first foraging experience with my family in our neighborhood. Before I walked in the footsteps of Chef Tim Love and others, I did my research . . .reading websites, watching You Tube videos and dressing appropriately (Basically, like a trash collector in the park, complete with a long stick . . .although I wore my brown Juicy sweatpants, as shown in this picture . . .because God knows where else I would wear them except foraging. Right?)

I learned how important proper dressing was when I pulled three ticks off my son's privates later that night at bath-time after he spent the day following me into the woods in shorts.

The ramps were the easiest to find as they grew like crazy in every field in our neighborhood. But morels, proved to be a challenge and after hacking my way through every thicket of forest in my neighborhood and peeking under every downed Elm tree I could find, I finally gave up after a 3 hour search. I came home with an exhausted child and a nice handful ramps.

Of course, I emailed this hunter friend to see if he had any tips on exactly where he had his luck, and in return he sent me a picture of him holding a 4 lbs. morel that he had just found on his own hunting trip that day. Thanks a lot, friend.

I set to work cleaning and trimming my precious ramps to hold them in my vegetable drawer. I was surprised by the strong onion/garlic scent they gave off during cleaning. Reminding me more of garlic, than of leek. I washed my hands for days trying to eliminate the smell from them. My son, smelled my hands and just said: "You smell like food, Momma."  Indeed. I have used the ramps in several things this week.  A weekend breakfast of scrambled eggs, a white wine and garlic cream sauce and I even threw some into a mid-week stir fry.

So, I applaud you, Chef Tim Love . . .for blazing your own trail onto our American culinary scene and for your ability to capture our hearts and our imagination with your passion for really wonderful and exciting food using local ingredients. Just keep doing it your way, buddy, and make us catch up to you.

And if you ever stop in Kansas and need someone to carry your foraging basket, feel free to give me a call. I know this really great neighborhood in Kansas City that is supposed to have the best stash of morel mushrooms and this Foodie would definitely make the time in her busy schedule for you.

Chowder Song

Please double click on my son, Dominic, to hear him sing this lovely song he learned at school. It tickles my Foodie funny bone every time. Enjoy! (This video is in Quicktime, so if his photo does not show up for you, you can download Quicktime to see it on your machine.)

Thank You, Debbie Gold

Dear Debbie,

You don't know me, but I am a fan of yours.

I wish I would have written this letter to you years ago, to tell you how much I loved your restaurant 40 Sardines and the food that you so lovingly prepared there for so many of us year after year. I wish I would have told you "Thank You" for all that you have brought to the KC food scene, and for being one of the first women in this city to rise to this level of accomplishment long before now. But instead, I find myself reaching out to you during a most difficult time.

I heard from a friend that you have decided to close your restaurant 40 Sardines after 7 years of service to the KC community. The same one you and Michael Smith opened together in 2002, after you both won the James Beard Award for Best Midwestern Chefs in 1999 while working at The American. It was our very first James Beard award in Kansas City. You were the first to reach that pinnacle.

40 Sardines was your first place together, after your rein at The American, and oh how we all could not wait for you to get your doors open and try your food.

When I heard your voice on your answering machine saying you were "closed for remodeling" my heart instantly sank. As a Marketing Director for a restaurant chain not that long ago, I remember when I was asked by the President of the company to go to the local sign company and have "Closed for Remodeling" signs made for a restaurant that we intended to close permanently. It is was is said in the restaurant business, when there is nothing else to say. Everyone knows what those words mean.

Restaurants are like Chef's children. As hard as they are to give birth to, they are even harder on your soul when you have to mourn their death and move on. In these circumstances you worry not only about yourself, but the people who work for you night in and night out . . .in the weeds or out . . .you worry about what they will do when you close. It is what makes you a leader and human. We mourn the loss of this restaurant with you.

The epicurean messages boards in KC are filled with posts of love and support from all of the hundreds of Chefs that you mentored in that restaurant over the years. The most interesting one I read talked about the fact that you are not only a great pastry chef, but also an inspired Executive Chef who because you *get* both savory and sweet allowing you to get way up and see the entire meal unfold and what flavors to place where to make for the most harmonious experience. That is a huge skill set that seems to come second nature to you. You make it all look so easy, night after night. But you not only nurtured the careers and inspired the professional Chefs who worked for you, through your famous cooking classes at your restaurant you educated many foodies and Chef wanna -be's on your craft and you made all of us better cooks. Period.

You care about the community you live and work in and gave freely of your time and have supported to many, many charity events every year with your restaurant, your food and your presence. I was starstruck at the opportunity to chat with you in person at last year's Forks & Corks event about your dish. You seemed warm and lovely and full of intense energy as the line of people to sample your food at that event grew, you spoke to all of them.

You are one half of the culinary powerhouse that put Kansas City on the map as having a vibrant and noteworthy food and restaurant scene. Behind you has come many wonderful Chefs, some of them also James Beard award winners or nominees.

You have never walked in anyone's shadow. In our minds, you stand separate in your culinary contributions to the city and to this restaurant, as evidenced by your separate kitchen spaces at 40 Sardines. You had your side and Michael had his - separate but equal. You are  part of the reason that the rest of the culinary world woke up to recognize Kansas City as not only the friendly Cowtown and BBQ capital it is, but also as a place to get exciting, delicious and creative cuisine from top Chef talent.

As sad as we are are to see this restaurant close, I can only assume that it must have been difficult to be the ONE to continue to stay and run the labor of love that you and Michael jointly opened . . .it must have taken balls of steel and guts galore to walk into that place every day and face your staff and adoring clientele and act like everything was all going to be alright. I think if it were me, I might also feel relieved to have that place and those memories behind me. With freedom and a new start, one of my own choosing, in front of me.

If you stay in Kansas City we will rejoice at watching the next chapter of your life unfold, if you must leave we understand and are a better food town for having known you and kept you with us for as long as we have. You have made a difference.

We value you, not only as one of our great Chefs, but also as a human being.

You have all of our best wishes, good luck. Your future awaits.

Sincerely,

Jenny Vergara

Separated at Birth?

 

Where do the Chefs in KC eat and drink?

Over the years, I had heard stories about The Spotted Pig restaurant in New York City. I had heard that this was a place where the kitchen stayed open until 2 am serving the best greasy burgers and home cooked dishes like rabbit pot roast, calf liver, pork rilletes, and other snout to tail classics.

Their official press says they serve seasonal British & Italian food using local ingredients when possible. Bloggers in NYC happily report when they have seen Chef and Co-owner of The Spotted Pig, April Bloomfield, at Union Square shopping for fresh and local produce.

Because of her late hours and the soothing, yet challenging, protein parts she works with night after night, Chef April's Spotted Pig has become a frequent hang-out for Chefs from other restaurants. When they are done with their shift and ready for a drink and a home cooked meal, they go see April. It is their hang out, it is where they feel comfortable and understood, it is where they like to catch up with other and it is where they like to EAT.

The Spotted Pig has an even more famous claim to fame in its private third floor dining room, where for a hefty fee you can bring a small party and have Chef April prepare for you, a special entree, of say, pig jowls and sauteed bitter greens and garlic.

Anthony Bourdain took us inside this experience on his show No Reservations when he did New York City last season.

How cool it would be to be THE restaurant where other Chefs wanted to come and hang out for a drink and a meal? Imagine the huge statement it would make about you and your skills as a Chef to have your place be "THE PLACE THE CHEFS GO." I think when I win the lottery this would be my goal, to have the place the Chefs want to hang out when they are off duty.

Next logical question for me was: So, where do the Chefs in Kansas City eat? Because wherever that place is . . .is the place I want to be . . to eat, drink and converse with culinary-minded people.

I decided the best way to suss out this secret hidden den of culinary royalty in KC would be to ask the Chefs themselves where they like go.

I started with my friend and current foodie crush, Chef Josh Eans, from The Drop located on Martini Corner. Josh is also the culinary force behind their second location Blanc Burgers and Bottles which opens March 20 at 5 pm. Blanc Burgers and Bottles located at 419 Westport Rd. – between Starbuck’s and Blayney’s, features gourmet burgers and fries served in a seriously glamorous all white restaurant. They will also feature over 150 bottled beers. I can't wait to taste the burger love when these guys open their doors.

As Josh comes out from the kitchen to sit next to me at the bar, he says goodbye to a gentleman who had been sitting across from me enjoying a late night dinner. Once, he is gone, Josh says to me . . .Did you meet Chef Rob Dalzell's Dad? What? No! Oh Crap! Maybe next time.

So, I asked Josh where the Chef's go to eat in KC he said that when they were first planning the opening of The Drop they hoped with their limited but creative bar menu and late night hours that THEIR place would be THE place the Chefs in KC would gravitate toward, but in his mind it hasn't really materialized.

Josh said: "I think everyone who cooks for a living would love to be THAT place. It would be an honor."

No sooner does he say that when Ernesto, the co-owner and bartender that night at The Drop, comes over and tells him there is a table in the other room that he should visit. Josh smiles, and politely excuses himself and heads into the other room for the meet and greet. When he returns he says he just met Chef de Cuisine of Justus Drugstore, Jeff Scott, who is in visiting The Drop because Jonathan and Camille have closed the restaurant for the week for everyone to recharge their culinary juices. And he chose to visit The Drop? Interesting.

A week later, I am emailing with Executive Chef and James Beard Award winner Celina Tio from The American about her Share our Strength fundraiser called A Tasteful Pursuit. This event held at The American on March 30, raises money nationally to feed hungry children in our country. The event will have a denim preferred theme and you can walk around and sample food from several well known Chefs in Kansas City and other restaurants across the country, with all of the money going to charity.

During our discussions, she invites me to join her and her family for breakfast to discuss this event - at Room 39 on 39th Street. Hmmmm, Executive Chef at The American has breakfast at Chef Ted Habiger's restaurant Room 39.  Of course, once I meet Celina for breakfast, I realize that Ted and his wife are good friends with Celina and her husband, along with Colby and Megan Garrelts, Chefs and Co-owners of Bluestem. They all have cooking for a living in common, and they all have kids about the same age. It is a small community and apparently a tight one.

It is through my breakfast meeting with Celina that I meet Chef Ted, and invite him to participate in a TV commercial I am filming to promote Forks & Corks, a food and wine tasting event benefiting Harvesters our local Kansas City food bank.

This event features Chefs from over 40 different restaurants in Kansas City preparing small plates for you to sample along with many new wines specially selected for this event. This year Forks & Corks will be held at the Grand Ballroom in the Kansas City Convention Center on April 24, 2008, tickets are on sale now. :)

Ted enthusiastically agrees to help saying to me on the phone: "Anything for Harvesters." When I tell him he will be in good company that we also have Chef Michael Smith also willing to be in the commercial, Ted responds, "Great, he is in the restaurant right now having lunch." REALLY? That's two for Room 39.

Once Ted shows up on the set to film the commercial it is clear he is a rock star, nailing every line and came prepared with stuff to cook on set. He is relaxed and smiling and loves being in front of the camera, and I love him for it.  Yes, new secret crush is now forming for Chef Ted, be quiet, I know, I know . . .shhhhh, I am trying not to be too obvious about it.

So, I tell Ted about my desire to know where the Chefs in KC go to eat when they get off their shift and close their restaurants at night. I ask him if his place is THE place . . .after all two Chefs have now been documented eating at his place.

He gives me a shy smile and tells me, that Kansas City is a small town but a supportive town and that all Chefs in KC eat at each others places . . .it is what you do as Chefs and how you learn what others are doing.  He knows his place isn't the only one in town, he just wants to make good food everyone will enjoy, not just Chefs.

When I ask him about The Spotted Pig in New York and late nights in the restaurant business, he tells me that when he was younger and as a new Chef working in a bigger city that had more of a late night scene, he always went somewhere for a drink or a bite after work to relax and socialize.

But now, as a husband and father working in the Midwest as a Chef, home is usually where he wants to be at the end of a busy night. Celina Tio and Josh Eans also mentioned the desire to go home to their children and spouses after a long day sounds more appealing to them than going out.

I suppose it happens to all of us eventually, the need for late night entertainment diminishes as family time becomes more the focus . . . no matter what you do for a living. I also think that we should be excited about this development, because what it means is many talented Chefs may start their cooking careers abroad or on either coast, but many seem to eventually, when they get married and start a family, come back to the Midwest for the quality of living it affords.

Most of the best restaurants in Kansas City also have a husband and wife working together either in a front of the house/ back of the house capacity or perhaps even side by side in the kitchen. It can be a tough job to have and keep a happy home. Better that you both be involved in the journey than to try to go it alone.

Although, I didn't find any ONE place where the Chefs in KC go to eat, I think it is safe to say if you go to any place that prides itself on fresh, local and creative cuisine and you will find the Chefs eating there . . .and perhaps a Foodie in the making as well.

UPDATE: I can honestly report that the places where the Chefs go in Kansas City to eat and drink after a hard nights work . . .if they are not going home to their families, is ANYWHERE THAT IS FREAKIN' OPEN. There is no mystery to this puzzle at all after my experience last night. Man, this is one of the things that is not always a plus about living in KC, the sidewalks do literally roll themselves up after 10 pm in this town, and on a Sunday night? Well, FORGETABOUTIT! I was lucky enough to have been invited by some Chef friends to roll with them last night . . .we went to the Cashew until they closed down, then to Harry's in Westport until they closed down. We talked about eating a burger at Town Topic, then we talked about Fric and Frac's . . .but ultimately went  to the Falafel Truck in Westport to eat and then home and in bed by 5:00 am. Forget about partying like a rock star, party like a Chef and you will understand why no one wants to be on the schedule to open the restaurant in the morning.

Happy Super Fat Tuesday!

So when I realized it was SUPER, FAT TUESDAY, which would mean for this FOODIE:

What a choice! What's a Foodie to decide?

How does one reconcile the importance of selecting the next leader of the free world, or spending all of your time and energy gorging on all of the richest most terrific foods in preparation for giving them all up for Lent. It's an exercise in control and intelligence versus one of pure carnal pleasure.

You may recognize the two familiar faces, but who/what is the luscious jelly donut lurking as the third choice. Nothing more than a Fat Tuesday delicacy. May I introduce to you the Paczki! What? You have never heard of the Paczki, pronounced "Poonch-key" or "Punch-key"? Well, neither had I until I saw this display at my local Hen House. According to the sign, Paczki's are a traditional item to eat on Fat Tuesday - rich pastry made as a way to use all the butter and eggs in the house before  you needed to give them all up for Lent.

How do they taste? They taste like a really rich cakey, jelly donut. They are delicious. Hen House had them in various flavors such as cream cheese, red raspberry (what I picked up), Lemon, Prune, Strawberry and Cream.

I was introduced years ago to King Cakes with the plastic baby doll you embed in the cake and the person who gets the baby in their piece will be blessed in the coming year or will be having a baby.

King Cakes, I had heard of . . . Paczki's, not so much. I wonder who sits around a conference room table and says: "Man, this is the year we blow Paczki's up. Let's get out there and make them a household word." They have been around forever as a tradition, and yet many people have never even heard of them. Why are they appearing on my KC grocery store shelf now?

Having grown up in a small town in Oklahoma, there are many traditions tied to other religions that I missed out on understanding because they didn't exist in my world growing up.

I won't tell you the idiot I made of myself at my corporate job the first time I saw someone with the black smudge of having attended an Ash Wednesday ceremony. Those experiences have taught me just to be humble and realize there is a huge big wide world out there to learn about and explore. Which is very exciting to me as it means my Foodie horizons are limitless and ever expanding on what it can teach me about the world I live in.

But it did remind me of that hilarious stand-up routine made famous first by President Kennedy in the 60's and then again by the English comedian Eddie Izzard in his famous routine called: "Ich bin ein Berliner," which I have summarized for you below.

From Eddie Izzard's Show, Dressed to Kill:

"Back in the 60's, President Kennedy became the President of the United States of America. And he went to Berlin. Stood on the Berlin wall and he said,

“People of Berlin, I have come to say to you that every free citizen of the world is a citizen of Berlin. And I wish to say to you, ‘Ich bin ein Berliner.’ ”

And the crowd went f**king wild.

Trouble is, “Ich bin ein Berliner” means “I am a donut,” and no, this is what he said, he said “I am a donut!”

And I say, 70% is how you look, 20% is how you sound, only 10% is what you say.

He said “I am a donut” and they went *wild*!

Because “Ich bin Berliner” is “I am a Berliner.” But “Ich bin *ein* Berliner,” is the name of a donut they have there. And it’s like going to Frankfurt and saying – “I am a Frankfurter!” In Hamburg he could say – “I am a Hamburger, too!”

But the people in Berlin must’ve gone:
“What did – what did he say?”
“He said he was a donut!”
“I thought he said he was a donut too!”
“So what does that mean?”
“It’s a slang! It’s American! He’s a donut!
He’s a f**king donut."

So, if Eddie is right and it is 70% is how you look, 20% is how you sound, only 10% is what you say, then I wonder who will win the Super Fat Tuesday vote based on that universal criteria?

I know who I am voting for, how about you?

Crushin' on these KC Chefs

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I have a confession to make. I just love Foodie boys . . .Chefs, in particular, really do it for me. Female Chefs (and home cooks) are kindred sister spirits and I enjoy their company and council as well, but it's men who don the apron everyday that are intoxicating to me. I am such a food groupie dork, sometimes. Forget rock stars, Foodie boys are my thing. Give me an Anthony Bourdain, Alton Brown, Jamie Oliver or Tyler Florence any day of the week. I want to travel with Tony, learn from Alton, grow my own food with Jamie . . .and as for Tyler . . .well let's keep this posting clean, shall we? Meow!

 

I think the attraction for me is the opportunity to converse with men who like to talk about and do the same things that I like to talk about and do . . .wait, sounds like the beginning of a beautiful relationship, doesn't it?

Things such as:
Discussing the time you tasted a foie gras and wine pairing so good it made you weep.
"Loving the fish" with your favorite knife, while portioning it perfectly without a scale.
Knowing how good bread, fresh from the oven, smeared butter tastes in the morning with your 3rd cup of black coffee.
The feeling of putting on your clean apron now that your morning prep work is complete.
Passionate stories of war wounds suffered on the line, showing the scars that back them up.
Intimately sharing the tips, tricks and favorite tools of the trade with total strangers.
It's the intensity, the passion, the precision . . .it is the art and science of FOOD.

I feel a certain love and respect for: a person in uniform, the leader of the pack, the picture of strength and endurance under pressure, a person who believes that style, grace and panache can be represented on a plate, the pleasure and power of knowing you are nourishing your guests while stimulating their eyes, nose, mouth, body and heart and soul all at the same time and finally the passion and desire to wake up every morning and want to do it all over again.

We are so lucky to have so many talented Chefs who call KC home, and at one time or another I'm sure I have had a crush on all of them . . .but right now these are the ones that have peaked my interest and continue to tickle my fancy as I watch and wait to see what amazing trick they have up their sleeve next. I will use a Wizard of Oz  - "If-I-only-had-a" scale to define my areas of interest with each of them.

Chef Jonthan Justus (Justus Drugstore in Smithville, MO) - Courage. Jonthan had the courage to move back to Smithville, after cooking in both San Francisco and France and rehab his folks old drugstore downtown, and pray that people would be willing to drive up and eat at his place if he made the restaurant, the experience and the food THAT memorable. He has succeeded with flying colors, the press (including myself) have awarded him the Best New Restaurant of 2007 and believes that he has something unique and personal going on up there in Smithville. His food is innovative, but accessible. Fancy but inexpensive. Fresh and foraged. May we also give him a huge round of applause for creating opportunities to enjoy 1/2 glasses of wine with each course. But aside from the inspired "country mouse meets city mouse" food he creates . . . the fact that he does table visits and really takes the time to sit down and educate you on what you are eating and where it came from is the most impressive thing about him. Now that takes courage!

Chef Josh Eans (The Drop in the Martini Corner) - Inspiration. Who hasn't been to The Drop and tasted Josh's lively and creative take on Bruschetta? Josh has taken simple bar food and elevated it into a category all of its' own with this one dish. He has inspired knock-off Bruschetta's in every restaurant in this town. (I even heard a rumor that the Chef in the corporate cafeteria at Hallmark, was snooping around to come up with a version of Josh's Bruschetta that would keep the Hallmark employees eating on campus instead of walking the few blocks up to The Drop for lunch everyday.) Chef Josh was also recently named Chef of the Year by the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association. He is not a one trick pony, with a menu that he continually updates and tweaks with new flavors and ingredients as they come in season. His mushroom soup was so good I craved it for weeks. He introduced me to peppadew peppers. With his talented and lovely wife, Abby-Jo, back in the kitchen with him whipping up craveable pastries for The Drop . . . they are keeping it all in the family. I find that inspiring!

Chef Marshall Roth (Vinino & McFadden's formerly with Hotel Phillip's Chophouse and 12 Baltimore) - Heart. This talented Chef was thinking with his heart when he moved to Kansas City to be closer to his father. After signing on at the Hotel Phillips he quickly set to work revamping the entire menu and kitchen operations which earned him rave reviews all over town. His Duck Fat Burger is a legendary symbol of all that is rich and good and tasty in this world. He made us all better people for feeding us Duck Fat Burgers, and we voted him the best burger in town. Our cardiologists love him too, no doubt. In a short period of time he put Hotel Phillips on the map for it's great restaurants, something unheard of in downtown KC at the time. After moving into one of the rooms at the hotel, he realized he was on call 24/7 taking time away from his family, which was the reason he landed in KC in the first place. So, he made the heart-wrenching decision to leave Hotel Phillips and go work his re-invention magic as a consultant with ECI who own Vivino and McFadden's - two of the biggest, most visible restaurants in the new KCP&L district. These two restaurants who used to share a kitchen, and a great address right across from the Sprint Center also shared the most completely average dining experience in KC. He has his work cut out for him, they need a new Sheriff with a culinary vision over there and Marshall is the man with the heart for that kind of work! KC Magazine also named him one of the Sexiest Singles in this city. Agreed.

Chef Rob Dalzell (1924 Main, Souperman, Pizza Bella, ChefBurger) - Brains. Talk about having an impressive master plan from the get-go. Rob Dalzell comes back to Kansas City, pairs up with his powerhouse father and slowly begins buying up interesting little places all over the Crossroads. Faster than you can say, "Boy Wonder", he has done what many of the big name celebrity chefs are doing - creating a strong main brand with 1924 Main, and then using the strength of his stellar reputation in that venture and spreading it to open new concepts, not the same concept, but different ones, thus diversifying and bringing his food and his message to the masses. Not everyone would have the desire or means to shell out the cash it takes to eat at 1924 Main every night, but they can sure eat at Souperman. It allows him the ability to spread his food cost across concepts, to share human capital giving him the ability to give good employees a career path, thus keeping them longer . . .a rare opportunity in the fickle restaurant business. He is doing it at the right time, in the right places, with the right monetary support . . .and with the right skills and culinary talent to back it up. It wouldn't mean anything if his food wasn't really, really great. Smart and successful - a deadly combo!

Decorating Deliciously

I live out in the hinterlands of KC . . .in Lenexa.  Having lived on the Plaza for over 10 years, I never thought I would live "west of town" in a city that has the platonic tagline "I like Lenexa," because obviously the people that live here cannot commit to feeling the big person emotion of love. The most people in this town can do is "like Lenexa." So, no one who lives here, loves it here. I can relate. Poor Lenexa, it deserves to find someone who will give it the love it needs.

But, we do have a few gems in our city crown. We host the Lenexa BBQ Contest (surely you have attended one of those at least once) and the Spinach Festival at Legler Park every year. Apparently, Lenexa used to be all farmland (duh, it still is!) with everyone growing mostly spinach. Every year they would gather after the Spinach harvest and celebrate the leafy green, that put greenbacks in their pocket with a feast and festival. The tradition still continues and this Foodie made a point to go and see what delicious food could be had at the Spinach festival. For $7.00 I received a plate that was supposed to be a celebration of the beauty and versatility of spinach. Here's the photo of my plate, you be the judge. The little green balls of fried spinach, they were the goodness . . .everything else was completely, shockingly forgettable. Spinach pizza and cheese dip with spinach? Why not peanut butter, jelly and spinach sandwiches? IT IS CALLED THE SPINACH FESTIVAL - THE SPINACH DISHES SHOULD ROCK! But don't let the food prevent you from attending, the arts and craft vendors are amazing with wonderful little things to be acquired at every turn. My son, he loved the paddle boats. Not the paddling part, of course . . .but the riding and complaining part when his Daddy and Momma could not get the steam up to travel at warp speed across the pond. Faster! Faster! he screams, as we pop open a Red Bull just to have enough energy to get out a foot or two off shore and back in one piece.

However, we have a lovely home, and if it was located on a desert island it would be paradise.  But the reason we bought the house was our wonderful living room with huge vaulted ceilings and a great stone fireplace. We have skylights and a mantel over the fireplace that we decorate for every season. So, when 2008 dawned and I needed a New Year mantel decor theme, I turned to my Brazilian mother-in-law . . .who suggested an all white, silver and gold mantel as that is how they ring in the New Year on the beaches in Brazil . . .all in white and metallics. Worth a try for the appealing visuals the words "beaches in Brazil" seemed to conjure in my mind.

Crap, I thought, I've got nothing that is white. So, I started digging in the basement, then in my closets and eventually in my china hutch and kitchen cupboards. Guess what? I own a ton of white plateware and serving pieces. So, I took my old pasta pot and grabbed some of my Grandma Betty's crystal and silver mixed it with some lovely plateware and linen my friend Buffy gave me years ago and went to work. (I bought almost all of the bigger pieces from a lovely art store in Weston almost 10 years ago, I wonder if it is still there?)

Ta-da! I channeled my inner Nell Hill and check it out, this is the coolest FOODIE mantel decor that I have ever done! It makes me happy every time I look at it, and it sets the tone for 2008 for me! This is the year of the Foodie. I can feel it.

All of my friends and family who have seen the mantel have said .  . .interesting, unusual, but soooooo you. Of course, I am the same person who goes to the zoo this fall with my son and sees THIS and then puts THIS on my front door.

For those about to Cook, I salute you!

If I I think back, my love of cooking started when I applied for my very first job at a local pizza place at 16 years old. My Dad told me now that I was 16 and had my own car, I needed to earn my own money. "Cool," I thought, "I'll go get a job." I even made my own resume to take to interviews. Awwww!

I remember the pizza parlor manager interviewing me. I've always done well in interviews, I am good verbally. He liked my GPA and probably a few other things (Eew!), and then I remember him asking me a question that probably changed the rest of my natural eating life . . .he asked me if I was interested in being a waitress or a cook. Without even stopping to consider the options, or the tips I would be missing out on . . .I said: "Oh, I think being a cook would be more fun." I meant that with all of my heart. It was an honest answer.

My answer blew him up, seriously, it was all over his face. He immediately had to rethink who he was dealing with. He even asked me again if that's really what I wanted to do, explaining the tips I'd be missing, the extreme heat from the pizza ovens, the use of large knives, the toiling in the back prepping fresh pizza toppings like onions and bell peppers, the dish washing involved and finally the rolling of large trash bins full of unused pizza dough out to the dumpsters and needing the physical strength to pick those trash bins full of dough and hoist them into the dumpster all by my big girl self. All I could think listening to him drone on was: "Bring it on! You clearly have no idea who you are dealing with. Booyah!"

I was not a guy's girl by the way, I am very much my own girl, but I liked all the standard issue girly things that come with girly girl birth kit: love of pretty things, fashion, make-up, accessories and hair . . .etc. I did not look like a pizza cook, you could see it on his face, I looked like a waitress. He didn't think I could take the heat in the kitchen without crying. He was wrong. I was a contender, a power-house, a force to be reckoned with. I was ready for the challenge.

It didn't even dawn on me the absolutely terrific social position I had just put myself in . . .I would be the only female cook that pizza place ever had. Which means I was trained by, worked side by side on the line with, squeezed past walk-in by, talked with,  joked with, smoked with and drank with an all male crew of cooks. I had never felt more popular and powerful in all of my life. I peaked at 16 years old inside of a pizza parlor in Claremore, OK.

Oh, don't think I had it easy, those boys tortured me plenty . . .never to the point of me wanting to quit (Get Real!) Hot Blonde Rule #1: You never quit. Never. Rule #2: There is no crying at work, ever . . .never ever. However, when I would go into a deep freeze silence, washing dishes in the back, plotting my revenge against them, they would always send their cutest soldier back to try to break the ice, put an arm around me and make nice because they knew pay-backs would be hell.

Eventually, either with my smarts, my skills, my work ethic, my attitude or my looks I won all of those boys over. I rocked . . . and they all knew it. Besides, I got to wear a much cooler looking trucker cap on my head as part of my cooks uniform versus the poor waitresses that had to wear those horrible brown polyester bonnets.

So, know that my love of cooks . . .both at home and by profession comes from a deep understanding and experience with them. I was raised by them, taught by them, loved them. I am one of them.

Of course, it also may have something to do with my secret desire to run back and relive those days, like the lead character in American Beauty. I want my mid-life crisis to include, a 1978 gold Pontiac Firebird and a stint in a pizza parlor as a cook . . .at my age and with my cooking experience and confidence I now possess as a fully grown Foodie . . .those boys would never stand a chance.

Leftover Summer in January

For the first time in weeks, Kansas City awoke this weekend to find the sun shining brightly. The remaining snow was all melting away. People were out and about in the world en mass without the burden of their heavy winter coats, and I found myself yearning for Summer. Really, really missing it.

I always loved the idea of a lifestyle where one jetted away on a sunny holiday at the first hint of winter, "cruise season" I think they call it. I was looking at my very sad vegetable drawer at the time I was dreaming of this tropical escape. I was thinking sun and sand. I was thinking Mexico. Not my favorite place in the world, but certainly better than nothin'. My fantasy was fueled by the challenge I had given myself when I began cleaning out my fridge Saturday morning, take what is in there and make some magic for lunch.

I do have to say, I am pretty good at working miracles with leftovers. They can shape shift in my capable hands into any number of different dishes before my family even suspects they have been eating the same thing for 3 days in a row. I am that talented. Seriously, it's a skill.

So, looking at my veggie drawer I had: three ears of boiled corn on the cob left over from my son's dinner a few nights ago, half of a red bell pepper that was on it's last leg, half a batch of fresh parsley and a small ziploc full of chopped sweet onion from a casserole earlier in the week and ripening in a bowl on my counter top I had two over ripe tomatoes and two avocados that hubby keeps bringing home to eat and then never does.

You can see why my thoughts went south of the border . . .I simply diced up all the ingredients and cut the corn off the cob and added it to the mix along with about 3 Tablespoons of fresh salsa, hot sauce and healthy doses of both olive oil and red wine vinegar. Along with salt and pepper, I added a dash of cumin and some fresh oregano (that like a miracle still remained alive in my herb garden after the blizzards we have had.) Tossed until combined and let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes for all the flavors to gel.

For lunch, I got out the whole wheat tortilla and made veggie burritos with my Corney Mexican Salad and fresh lettuce, tomato salsa and a touch of cheddar cheese. I love multi-grain tortilla chips and I just ate the salad for lunch with some chips like a dip.

I know most of these ingredients are not in season right now, but if eating something this tasty in January in the dead of winter is wrong . . .I don't want to be right. I'll be better about eating in season come Spring, but for right now this tasted like a little bit of leftover Summer in my kitchen.