The Making of a Foodie

Things Making Me Hungry - January 2019 Edition

Listen, I know it is no longer January. In fact, Valentine's Day is looming, but I want you to know that I started this post on New Year's Day. So, I still think this should count as a January post, no?  

It has been a minute since I have posted anything to my trusty blog, (I should tell you that I have gone from blonde to red to blonde since we last spoke, I need to update my photo), and I thought that here at the beginning of another new year in food, I would share with you the running list of things in my head that are making me hungry or excited about food, right now.

These are quick bites . . . an amuse bouche, if you will . . . to the things I am reading, watching, experiencing, eating, cooking or even overall developments in food that I think are worth mentioning. 

But first, I want to start my 12th year of this blog, with a bit of a #humblebrag to tell you how proud I am of the changing and growing food scene we are all creating here in Kansas City. I am also proud of the work I have done to date promoting, participating and hopefully advancing the food scene over the last 12 years. As a quick update, here are places you can now find me, and my work.

• As the Contributing Editor for Feast Magazine in Kansas City, I have taken my blog content once saved for these pages and placed it on their blog and in their magazine each and every month. I love writing for an all food magazine.
• I am also thrilled to serve as the Events Manager for Johnson County Community College's Friends with Taste program. This is a donor program that helps raise money for hospitality and culinary students for culinary trips, competitions and equipment. The fundraising foodie events I plan for this group is what helps raise money for the future chefs coming out of this program. P.S. We would love to have you as a member of Friends with Taste, if you aren't already, please consider it.
• You can also find me occasionally on KCUR's Friday Food Show on Central Standard giving recommendations on restaurants to try in Kansas City.
• Finally, I am honored to be hosting my underground supperclub, The Test Kitchen, in both Kansas City and Tulsa. This year I will be celebrating my 12th year hosting Test Kitchen in Kansas City, and my 10th year hosting Test Kitchen in Tulsa. I had no idea if I would be able to make a living doing this, but by hustling and wearing many hats, all related to chefs, food, restaurants and cooking, I am thrilled to say, I am indeed doing what I love for a living.
• I have also joined the local Kansas City chapter for Les Dames d'Escoffier, and am serving on their board as the Communications Chairperson. I will be working this year with these ladies to host the third year of our annual event Les Dames' SupperClub which will be hosted on Friday, Oct. 11 this year. There will be more to come on that . . .

I had actually planned for this to be my first podcast of 2019, but I am finding myself stuck as to what to call the podcast, as I would likely want to rebrand all of my current content with this new name. Although The Making of a Foodie has served me well, it is time for something that is more representative of what I can now offer in terms of my experience and expertise. I need something a bit more forward looking . . .although, you should know that I did purchase the URL, "Finally, A Foodie" when I bought "Making of a Foodie" in 2007, for good luck, and, you know, just in case my dream came true. (Psst, it did. ;-)

So, for my thoughts on food that don't seem to have a home anywhere else, I will turn to my trusty blog to put them for safe keeping. Who knows maybe this will become a monthly thing for me in 2019!

Okay, so please, dig in! Here's what's making me hungry for MORE this month in food.

The Instagram Account @overheardatgramanddun

Although the last post for this hilarious Instagram account looks to have been done in September of 2018, I just ran across this Instagram page this month. The genius behind this feed needs to get back to work to continue to bring us more installments (real or imaginary) of "all things overheard at Gram & Dun in Kansas City." Favorite quotes include:  "Up until three days ago, I had no idea that fish tacos were actually a real food item," and "Can I get a mimosa? But instead of OJ use grapefruit, and instead of champagne, make it vodka," and, "We can't sit on the patio, we're with two gingers!"

There are some more colorful ones like, "I shouldn't have three glasses of wine, but my husband will be happy later," and "This is the best place to bring your side piece and your wife," and "I'd just really appreciate it if you don't touch my mom's ass at all. Ever."

Emily Farris, please tell me you were behind this bit of genius marketing. Want to get in on all of the fun? DM your overheard comments at Gram & Dun to the account for submissions to be included on the page. 

 

Open Belly Podcast

This brand new Kansas City-based food podcast launched on your favorite podcast platform on Feb. 5, 2019, so subscribe now and listen to get a feel for what Open Belly is all about. Although, I suspect the creative direction for this podcast started out simply as a look at the groovy international food scene in Kansas City, it is clear listening to it that this show but has quickly morphed into so much more. It delves into the personal stories of the trials and tribulations of coming to America, owning your own restaurant, and trying to teach people about your culture and your food in the middle of the Midwest. It is about knowing yourself, and believing in yourself.

Created and hosted by Danielle Lehman who is also the Founder and CEO of Boxer & Mutt, a digital design agency based in Kansas City. She gets photography help from Alyssa Broadus and Chris Dolt and branding and design help from Frank Norton. Together this team has created a unique new podcast with a local lens that I am ready to gobble up.

 

Chef Marcus Samuelson's PBS TV Series "No Passport Required"

If you haven't see Season 1 of this new show from Eater and PBS called No Passport Required starring chef Marcus Samuelsson, I cannot recommend it strongly enough. (They just announced that it has been picked up for a second season that they are filming now!) This is the food show this country needs right now. Instead of taking us to different countries and showing us the people and foods from far away places, a la Bourdain, Marcus takes us into our own backyard, to visit pockets of immigrant communities located in cities across the USA, and shows the people in these communities cooking in their own homes and restaurants. It shows how the first generations still cook the traditional dishes from the places they came from, and how they remember their home countries. It shows the food sources, markets, farms and gardens they use to get or grow the ingredients they need to make their dishes. They also show how second and third generations are taking traditional dishes and have evolved them over time to become more Americanized or a blend of both countries. Marcus leads us through all of these interactions in different cities and with different cultures with all of the heart, soul, love and deep understanding that only he, as an immigrant, two-times over, can have. Love. This. ❤️ A must-watch! Set your DVR to KCPT – Kansas City PBS.

 

Chef Dominique Crenn Wins Third Michelin Star, a First for a Woman in America

Let me be clear, Dominique Crenn is not just great female chef, she is a great chef. Period. End of story. After a year of women standing up for themselves in kitchens all over the country, with ongoing effects of the #metoo movement still reverberating across the restaurant industry, (for a local take on how this issue is getting addressed this please read this recent article from Caitlin Corcoran, owner of Kansas City's ÇaVa) comes news that in 2018 chef Dominique Crenn broke through the glass ceiling, becoming the first woman in the United States to receive three stars from the Michelin Guide, its highest rating, for her restaurant Atelier Crenn. This French-born chef has been executing her unique style of modernist cuisine for years, and she has become outspoken about awards that judge women and men's culinary skills separately. This quote from the New York Times gets to the heart of it for her. "When you give someone an award and you tell them that they are the best female chef in the world, you alienate them from their peers," she says. "It's unbelievable. Since when do we have to do a category for women?" That being said, as stodgy and perhaps out-of-touch as a Michelin may be, they continue to judge restaurants on a level of food and service that is becoming more and more extinct in today's preference for more casual eateries. Receiving stars from Michelin is still considered a mark of achievement in this industry and will bring customers to the door of any restaurants receiving them. One small step for Dominique, one giant step for chefs everywhere. 

 

Bon Appetit is my new favorite national food magazine 

Obviously, Feast magazine, is my favorite local food magazine. Duh. But I have subscribed to almost all of the national food magazine for over the last 10 years. I mean all of them. Food and Wine, CHOW, Saveur, Cherry Bomb, Lucky Peach, Gastronomica, Cook's Illustrated,  Eating Well, Bon Appetit and Fine Cooking. Finally, last year, I realized that with as much knowledge as I now have about food, restaurants and cooking the only magazine I am truly enjoying right now is Bon Appetit. That has not always been the case, I used to much prefer Food & Wine to Bon Appetit, but something changed in the content and tone, and I noticed and liked the changes. I also think from a business and branding perspective they are doing the best job of pulling together all of the content in a cohesive and meaningful way. The magazine feels fresh and is fun to read, as does the website, but it also has an opinion (sometimes a popular one, and sometimes not so popular, like eschewing the use of black pepper in seasoning our dishes -- WE WERE NOT READY TO HEAR THAT!) Personally, I Iike its cheeky tone, which has everything to do with Editor-in-Chief, Adam Rapoport. Right now, I am consuming their magazine, website, podcast, e-newsletter and I love them all, because they all offer slightly different content, that does not appear to overlap. I also like the way they have woven their "Healthyish" and "Basically" content into all of the other gourmet food stuff. It feels on point, and how many of us choose to cook and eat today. Their e-newsletters and what is in them are directly tied to their podcast content and gives you links to go back after you have listened to look up their recipes online. What a gorgeous use of a newsletter! I no longer have to pull over in my car to make a note to look up a recipe I just heard them talk about on the podcast, they EMAIL it to me. Genius! I have also grown to love the Bon Appetit cast of characters on the podcast, yes, even the bossy, controlling and sometimes exhausting Adam, who hosts the show. When I am looking for a "healthyish" recipe, I can find it. Something to impress dinner guests? There is a recipe for it. What to bring to my neighborhood potluck? They got me. But, they also have their hand on the pulse of what is new and now, with restaurant guides to the major cities that helps me keep my eyes open about what is happening in food scenes across the country and beyond. I am crushing on Bon Appetit hard, right now. 

 

Thelma's Kitchen in Kansas City - A Pay As You Can Cafe on Troost

Looking for a delicious way to karmically kick-off your new year? Consider having lunch at Thelma’s Kitchen and help pay a meal forward or volunteer your time in the kitchen or in the dining room. Thelma’s Kitchen is the non-profit, donate-what-you-can cafe located on the corner of 31^stand Troost in a warm and inviting space that is on a future-facing mission to feed the people of Kansas City, while breaking down the racial and economic dividing line that has defined Troost in the past. Thelma’s Kitchen is a non-profit, funded by Reconciliation Services in partnership with the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City and Village Presbyterian Church and run by volunteers. Open since August of last year, Thelma’s has been serving more than 100 plates a day, with the help of Pamela Infranca, the chef of Thelma’s Kitchen and Food Programs Manager at Reconciliation Services, in addition to many local chefs and community volunteers who donate a few hours each week or every other week. There are no set prices for lunch. You can order a small portion for a suggested donation of $7 or a large for $10, but most choose to pay more than the suggested price to pay-it-forward to the next person. Guests just need to say the amount they would like to pay. Cash and credit cards are both accepted. The minimum donation is $2, and for those who can’t afford that, anyone can volunteer 30 minutes of work in the restaurant in exchange for a free lunch. As for the food itself, it is simple, comforting and plentiful, with your choice of soup, salad, entrée (either a sandwich or a hot lunch) and dessert. Guests order their food cafeteria-style and pay at the end. Drinks, which also come with the meal, include tea and fruit flavored water. Donate, dine and discover this new cafe in Kansas City. 

 

Bluestem's New 4-Course Pastry Bar Tasting

The remodeling of Colby and Megan Garrelts' original fine dining restaurant Bluestem a few years ago, brought the addition of a glowing, white-tiled pastry counter to their lively bar area.

Now, they are ready to put those seats to good use with the addition of a brand new dessert experience that you can book at their pastry chef counter. Pastry Chef Lyndsi DeMicco is now accepting reservations for a 4-course pastry tasting at her communal counter where you will enjoy a delicious selection of petit fours.

She was recently featured as one of Kansas City's rising stars in Feast magazine, and she enjoys working with seasonal ingredients and juxtaposing sweet and savory flavors. The price for this unique experience is $40 per person with optional wine pairing. Reservations can be made for parties of 1-4. So, go on and book up their pastry bar and let Lyndsi hook you up, just save a seat for me! Click the link above to make your reservations today. 

 

Talking Food at 1900 - 3-Part Lecture and Dining Experience 

TALKING FOOD at 1900 (which refers to the Karbank building where Restaurant 1900 lives) is a new 3-part series held at 1900 aimed to engage, challenge, and educate on a variety of topics in the food world. The first event in the series was held the last weekend in January and was about "aquaculture" or the rearing of aquatic animals or the cultivation of aquatic plants for food. Christopher Haatuft, Executive Chef of Lysverket in Bergen, Norway, and Magdalena Wallhoff, a veteran of the aquaculture industry, were joined on stage by travel/food photographer and writer, Bonjwing Lee, who moderated the event.

They held the lecture on Saturday night, and then on Sunday night they hosted a dinner where Christopher was welcomed into the kitchen at The Restaurant at 1900, where along with Executive Chef Linda Duerr and her team as they prepared a 5-course meal designed to highlight the aquaculture industry and bring attention to its culinary possibilities. The lecture was FREE and open to the public, although you had to reserve a spot, and tickets for the dinner, which were $150 per person and included wine pairings. For notification of the last two events in the TALKING FOOD at 1900 series, follow the Facebook page for Restaurant at 1900.

I like this model of hosting a 2-night event with the education part being FREE and open the public and the dinner a special added experience for additional dollars. I love the idea of bringing in chefs from around the world to discuss topics that impact the decisions we make around our food every day. More of THIS, Kansas City!

Café Sebastienne Dinner Series: Fermentation

Ask and ye shall receive! Café Sebastienne has rolled out their own educational food series with matching dinner, and the next one will be on Saturday, March 2, from 7-9 pm. Come listen to food writer, activist, and author Sandor Katz along with artist and food fermentation experimentalist S.E. Nash who will be joined by Café Sebastienne Executive Chef Rick Mullins, one of the original founders of the Soil Collective in Kansas City, as they host an event that explores the art of fermentation. The evening will begin at 6:00 pm with a FREE panel discussion and Q&A that is open to the public in the atrium of Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Complimentary kombucha sampling will be available. Doors will open at 5:30 pm. Then after the discussion a multi-course dinner will immediately follow, held in the Café Sebastienne Courtyard at 7:00 pm with natural wines, beers, and ciders available for purchase. Tickets must be purchased in advance for the dinner and they are $65 per person. *price includes dinner and gratuity; online fees apply (approximately $5.50 per ticket). Having hosted both Executive Chef Rick Mullins and Cafe Sebastienne's General Manager, Mickey Priolo, several times at Test Kitchen when they were hosting their own dinners around food waste and fermentation under Soil Collective, I can tell you that the knowledge and experimentation that they have done on this topic runs deep. Fermentation takes time, and the right conditions but what comes out of it can be so beautiful . . .like sourdough bread, kombucha, kimchi and so much, much more. Come, let's learn more together!

 

Things I have been reading lately: 

There's a Poke Problem from TASTE

McSweeney's satire piece on Four White Guys Bringing Authentic Brazilian Street Cuisine To Your Neighborhood . . .especially funny to me as a white woman who was married to a Brazilian and owned a Brazilian store at one point. If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? 

Just a few words from Tony . . .I still can't believe he is really gone.

Here's an article that recently ran in AFAR about Kansas City, that I think is also a must read. Real talk about the real stuff Kansas City is dealing with right now from an outsiders point of view. Informed. Educated. Funny. A great read. I am thrilled to see pastry chef An Beard Zebley's adorable YUM, a boutique bakery get a shout out! Sweet Potato Donut! Yassssss, yes, yes!

Happy New Cheer, Everybody! 

xoxo

Jenny Vergara 

AKA: Foodie

 

 

The corporate café is private, but Chef Kyle Williams’ food is top-notch

Talk to Kansas City native Kyle Williams for only a few minutes, and you’ll immediately pick up what he’s putting down. With the heart of a chef, the focus of a personal trainer and the mind of a nutritionist, his positive outlook on life and food will have you ready to climb a mountain. After that, committing to healthy eating seems like a snap.

For more than a year now, Williams has been working as the executive chef for Good Food Good Futures, which runs the corporate dining room for Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Williams was brought in to re-work the existing corporate kitchen from a place where processed, pre-cooked frozen food was the norm into a kitchen where healthy food is prepared fresh daily using local ingredients. It has been a big challenge for Williams, but one for which he was trained and ready.

After graduating from Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island with a degree in culinary nutrition, Williams worked for some of New York City’s top chefs: Todd English, David Burke, Daniel Boulud.

Those heady experiences made coming home to Kansas City a little bittersweet for Williams, who admits he is “beyond driven.”

His story is a familiar one. In New York City, the money was good, but the hours were crazy and the cost of living all too high. After his wife Hannah gave birth to their second child, the couple knew it was time to make their way home.

“For my wife and I, it is family first,” says Williams. “That made our decision to come home a very easy one.”

Last fall, Williams returned to New York to compete on the Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay.” Two chefs cooking with a secret ingredient are pitted against each other, and then a panel of celebrity chefs decide which one advances to compete against Bobby Flay. Williams lost his competition to Chef Jeremiah Bullfrog, but he still brought back his dish – secret ingredient: ricotta -- to make for Blue Cross and Blue Shield employees as a café special.

To Williams, being on TV was just another way to show BCBS employees that a real chef is in their corporate kitchen. Yes, it’s closed to the public, but the food being served could still go head-to-head with top “real” restaurant

Today the cafe at Blue Cross and Blue Shield runs much differently than before Williams’ arrival. Employees must now come downstairs to the kitchen and order their food directly from Williams and his team, instead of at kiosks on each floor. RIGHT?

“I want them to know that there is a chef in their kitchen cooking for them, and I am here to answer any questions about what is in each dish,” say Williams. “If they have a request, the answer is always ‘yes.’ If we can we will, because that is the core of what hospitality is all about.”

Blue Cross and Blue Shield has between 600 to 800 employees in its downtown Kansas City office across the street from Union Station. The company has committed to helping employees make better food choices, by subsidizing 75 percent of the food cost for menu items designated as healthy. Typically, these are dishes that are under 550 calories, made with whole grains, lean meats and healthy starches like lentils and quinoa or brown rice. That means employees pay less for the healthier items on the menu, with most healthy entrees several dollars cheaper than those that do not meet the criteria.

Bucking current trends, menus are not designed for, say, those practicing the paleo diet or the Atkins. Says Williams, “We don’t offer specific meals to cater to specialty diets in the dining room. We just want to teach people to eat real food that powers their brain and their body to get them through their day without crashing at their desk after lunch, or craving a candy bar in the afternoon to get that boost of energy. Eating the right food at lunch can eliminate that 3pm crash.”

He adds, “There is some really terrible tasting healthy food out there, so my goal is to find a way to make healthy food, taste good, so my customers will want to order it in my dining room, and will enjoy the health and monetary benefits of doing so,” he says.

There have been some hits and misses on the menu, but Williams looks at them as mere bumps in the road to better eating. Not everything can be a hit.

“I cannot get them to embrace the texture and taste of buckwheat gluten-free pancakes for breakfast,” he says. “They just want those processed flour, light-colored, fluffy pancakes that they grew up eating. And who wouldn’t want those pancakes? They are delicious, but that is what I am up against.”

His South American take on steak and potatoes encountered no such problems.

“I use a grass-fed sirloin steak and make a delicious chimichurri from garlic, fresh herbs, chili peppers and EVOO and use it as a sauce to go on top of the steak, which I serve with oven-roasted rosemary potatoes, and the crowd goes wild,” Williams says, laughing.

It is not one of the subsidized healthy items, but he still keeps the calorie count in check through portion control.

“We have to offer a selection of healthy and not-so-healthy dishes or people will get bored,” says Williams. “But my goal is to make even the dishes that are not subsidized taste better by using local ingredients and by making everything we offer from scratch. Portion sizes are also key. That is another sneaky tool I use.”

“Just like chefs that own their own restaurants, I consider the employees at Blue Cross and Blue Shield my customers, but I do differ from restaurant chefs in that they get to deliver their food vision to the customer on their terms,” says Williams. “I look at it this way, this is the employees’ café, and I treat it as such. I want them to tell me what they want, and then it is my job is to figure out the healthiest way to give that to them.”

For all his passion for the job, Williams may return to a commercial kitchen sooner than not. He hopes to open his own restaurant in Kansas City in a few years.

“I want to contribute to the incredible food scene that Kansas City already has,” he says. “I am looking forward to having my own restaurant to support and be a part of our food community.”

 

Johnson County Community College hosts A Taste of Fashion: Dining and Dressing through Four Decades on Feb. 13

If you love American fashion, history and food, then you’ll want to check out Kansas City’s Johnson County Community College (JCCC) special 5-course pre-Valentine’s Day dinner. It may be just the thing to get your heart pounding.

On Friday, February 13^th from 6-10 pm, faculty from JCCC’s Fashion Merchandising & Design Program and the Hospitality and Culinary Academy are partnering to create the first dinner of its kind at the college that will take guests through the fashion and food trends of the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

JCCC Fashion Merchandising & Design Instructor, Britt Benjamin, will be raiding the on-campus designer closet to put on display the most important clothes trends of each decade, while JCCC Culinary Instructor, Chef Felix Sturmer will create his own culinary twist on the restaurant dishes that were the most popular in each decade during this 5-course dinner with wine pairings. 

“Guests will enjoy an exciting menu that will mirror what was happening in America, covering fashion and food trends from the fifties through the eighties,” said Sturmer.

The menu will feature wine pairings with each course and will start with Lobster Thermidor, representing the French influences of the 1950’s. That will be followed by a second course representing the artistic “Mod” period brought on by the British invasion of the 1960’s. The third course, a seasonal salad, will represent the influences in the 1970’s and of Chef Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkley, and the rise of California cuisine. The decadent power lunches of the 1980’s will feature a decadent duck dish followed by Charlotte a la Russe for dessert.

Talking you through each decade in detail will be JCCC English Instructor, accomplished author and food historian, Andrea Broomfield, who will tie together the fashion and restaurant meals that were on everyone’s hips and lips during each of the four decades.

Tickets for the dinner are $100 per person, and can be purchased here: purchased here: http://www.jccc.edu/foundation/giving/friends-with-taste/events.html

“In addition, guests who attend this dinner will also receive a complimentary ticket for JCCC Student Designer Fashion Show called “Eclectic Statements,” to be held on Friday, March 6^th at 7:00 pm in the Carlsen Center,” adds Benjamin. Tickets for the fashion show will be given out to each guest at the dinner.

Fashion never tasted so good!

Three New Faces in Different Places: Chefs on the Move

It is a fundamental fact of life that change is inevitable. In the case of the restaurant industry, particularly Chefs, this seems especially true. But when good culinary talent moves, it just means new opportunities and good food is sure to follow. Every time a chef makes a move, two chefs get a new job. 

Here are some of the chefs in Kansas City that have recently made moves:

Eric Carter, formerly executive chef at Providence New American Kitchen in the Hilton Hotel President, has made the move to Martini Corner to head up the kitchen at Barrel 31 as their new executive chef. Eric has over ten years of experience in kitchens all over Kansas City, but his passion has always been comforting Midwestern American cuisine.

When asked about the match between Carter’s cuisine and the menu at whiskey-centric bar and kitchen at Barrel 31 Carter responded, “I thought it was a perfect fit for both of us.”

Carter looks forward to putting out his first menu in the Spring, and in the meantime will focus on sourcing high-quality ingredients, creating consistent dishes and building on the overall dining experience at Barrel 31.

Hope Dillon has taken over the kitchen and an ownership stake in 8-year old The Drop Bar located across the street from Barrel 31 on Martini Corner. When we last caught up with Dillon, she was the executive chef at the tasteful cafe Vivilore in Independence, MO. Dillon had decided she wanted to open something in the Union Hill area and in looking for possible locations, she reached out to Chris Ridler, who owns The Drop, Sol Cantina across the street and Zócalo Mexican Cuisine on the Plaza. He talked to Dillon about taking over The Drop as her new baby instead, and she jumped in with both feet.

Having been in the kitchen for a couple of month, Dillon has already streamlined the existing menu, and added more creative and fun bruschetta’s back on the menu, which continues to be the signature dish most associated with The Drop. It was a dish developed by the original chef, Josh Eans, who now owns Happy Gillis, as a way to serve excellent food with no working stove in the tiny bar kitchen. Some of Dillon’s new bruschetta offerings are Thai Chicken & Peanut Sauce, Pimento Deviled Cheese and Lemon Pea, Parsley & Roasted Garlic.

Dillon’s favorite item on the new Winter menu is her Soup of the Day that she comes up with on the fly, and she also recommends her chorizo stuffed mushrooms and the pastrami Rueben.

“I would love to add a steak to the night offerings, and that is in the works, after Restaurant Week is over,” said Dillon.

Joe West returns to Kansas City as the new executive chef at 801 Fish in Leawood. A top KC culinary talent, West has returned home after he made the move to Cincinnati, OH in 2014 where he headed up the kitchen as the executive chef of Cincinnatian Hotel & Palace Restaurant, a AAA 4 Diamond restaurant in the heart of downtown. 

West who was raised in Prairie Village, has cooked in top kitchens like Alex Restaurant at the Wynn Las Vegas and he left his position as Chef de Cuisine of Bluestem in Kansas City to take the job in Cincinnati. West was also named as one of Eater.com 50 Young Guns in 2014, which annually names people under 30 who work in the restaurant business, and who are considered “ones-to-watch.”

West, says he definitely has his eye on the future at 801 Fish, as the concept is set to expand in 2015.  Additionally, he has been posting some truly gorgeous seafood dishes on his Facebook page since he started. A recent dish was a perfectly composed plate featuring New Zealand John Dory, vegetables blanched or pickled, compressed Granny Smith Apple, an emulsion of scallop and Sauce Normandy. A scallop crudo dish almost looked too pretty to eat. 

With a chef like West heading up the kitchen at 801 Fish, a reservation at the Chef’s Bar is definitely in order for you to taste his talent for yourself.

For North Kansas City High School’s ProStart Culinary Program, a Big Donation

Cooking is cool. Just ask the students at North Kansas City High’s ProStart program. The culinary skills program is a far cry from the tedium of Home Economics: Students enroll to get training for jobs in the food industry, to indulge their passion for cooking and, sometimes, simply because they like to eat.

An elective two-year program, ProStart teaches real-world culinary skills at industry-standard levels, propelling students into kitchen jobs straight out of high school. They can also earn college credit: Once they complete the classes, take the appropriate tests and get certification, they may choose to apply the credits they’ve earned at Johnson County Community College or The Art Institutes.

Second-year ProStart student Kai Huffhines is thinking about pursing a culinary career. He took the class, he said, as a “gateway into the food industry.”

For first-year student Lexi Taylor, fun is paramount: “It is something to do, to let off some steam between some of my more difficult classes. For some it is sports; for me it is cooking.”

But working out of old and outdated Home Economics classrooms, with electric stoves and only so many knives to go around, held back the growth of both the program and the students. That’s when North Kansas City ProStart instructor Barbara Skoglund reached out to Buddy Lahl, a member of the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association’s Education Committee. When Lahl asked what his group could do to support the program, Skoglund presented him with a wish list – everything from small appliances to knives to sheet pans to food products. Lahl promised to reach out to the industry for help.

On Tuesday, Lahl, along with representatives from U.S. Foods, Farmland, C&C Produce and Sysco proudly presented Dr. Todd White, superintendent of North Kansas City Schools, and ProStart students and teachers with thousands of dollars in kitchen utensils, appliances, food safety equipment and food products. Everything on the wish list was there: In all, nearly 400 pounds of food and more than 100 pieces of equipment were donated.

Superintendent White thanked Lahl and the industry donors for their contributions. “We want the ProStart program to match the passion a student has for cooking and we want to give them an advantage by executing this program to meet industry standards,” White said. “With this generous donation, that will continue to be possible.”

Over ProStart’s ten years of existence, Skoglund estimates, 15 North Kansas City students have completed the entire two-year program, passing all of the rigorous tests and logging over 400 hours with a chef, even while trying to finish high school.

“It is a considerable amount of work that the ProStart student must take on to complete the program, in addition to graduating high school,” Skoglund said. “But even if a student doesn’t choose to complete the program or go on to become a chef, odds are at some point they will work in the food industry. It is our job to help prepare them for that. “

Superintendent White echoed that thought.

“These kids are our future, and we should all want them to succeed if we want to eat well,” he said.

 

Aunt Dot's Icebox Sugar Cookies

Aunt Dot's Icebox Sugar Cookies

Cookies:
3 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ cup shortening (butter flavored)
1 egg
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp. lemon extract

Icing:
1 ½ cups of powdered sugar
2 Tbs. Butter
1 Tbs. milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbs. Marshmallow Cream
A few drops of favorite food coloring

Mix all cookie ingredients until blended and roll dough into log and wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

For the icing, take all ingredients and mix until icing consistency forms, if too thick to spread add a little milk to thin it.

Roll cookies out to 1/8 to ¼ inches thick, (too thin and they will burn).

Using your favorite cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Bake them in a 425 degree oven for 5 minutes, no longer.

Once cooled, cover them with icing, place in the refrigerator to chill and harden frosting, then serve.

NOTE: My great Aunt’s used to make these for us when we were kids for Valentine’s Day and Christmas. They were cut with heart-shaped cutters for Valentine’s Day and Christmas Trees and Stars for Christmas. If these were made any other time of year other than a holiday, then the playing card suites were used (spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts).

The only color of icing I ever remember on mine growing up was pale green and light pink. These are the only colors I use when I make them today.

Chai Spice Cake with Boulevard's Nut Cracker Ale

It was two weeks before Thanksgiving, when the good folks at SPACES Magazine asked me if I would be interested in creating a "holiday" dish utilizing Boulevard's Nut Cracker Ale. I took on the challenge immediately, then realized that I had never tasted Nut Cracker Ale. I was going to get to do some experimental beer drinking and call it research. They didn't have to ask me twice. Done!

As soon as I tasted the toasted nuttiness and hint of peppery spice in Boulevard's Nut Cracker Ale, I immediately thought of a spice cake. I had been playing around with making my own Chai Tea at home by toasting and grinding my own spices, so I thought it would be fun to make a cake using Chai Spices instead of the more traditional holiday favorite Gingerbread cake. The cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper are key to differentiating the spice blend in this cake from gingerbread. The color of the cake comes from the molasses (I used mild molasses in mine) and the Nut Cracker Ale.

Finally, I included a recipe for vanilla whipped cream, but honestly this cake turned out so moist and flavorful, I've been enjoying it all week without the whipped cream with my morning cup of coffee. This jet-set version of spice cake would be a wonderful thing to have on hand during the holidays when you have family and friends over. Considering making mini versions or muffins to give away as homemade holiday treats or gifts to friends.

Here's the SPACES Magazine blog post with my final recipe and a few of my suggestions for surviving the holidays if you aren't a foodie. I have also posted the recipe for my Chai Spice Cake below.

P.S. In the interview for the SPACES Magazine blog post, I mention my go-to holiday appetizer is a traditional Brazilian recipe, Tastie's Daddy is Brazilian, called Pão de Queijo. HERE is the link to the recipe. It is a fantastically easy recipe, and gluten free. A bonus recipe for you to try over the holidays!

Happy Holidays!

Chai Spice Cake & Vanilla Whipped Cream Made with Nutcracker Ale Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup turbinado sugar

3 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon of cardamom

1/4 teaspoon of finely ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon finely ground anise or fennel seeds

1 cup molasses

1 cup Nutcracker Ale from Boulevard

Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting, serve with freshly whipped cream

Whipped cream Ingredients:

1 pint of heavy whipping cream

2-1/2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9-inch cake pan and line with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, black pepper and fennel or anise.

In a third bowl, combine the molasses and beer and stir to dissolve. Add the dry ingredients and beer mixture alternately to the egg mixture, beating after the addition of each.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake until puffed and set, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack.

To make the whipped cream, pre-chill a stand mixer bowl. Pour cream, sugar and vanilla into the chilled bowl and begin whipping until soft peaks form.

Sprinkle cake with confectioner’s sugar, add a dollop of vanilla whipped cream and serve.

Drunken Shepherd's Pie

Drunken Shepherd's Pie

 

Pie Filling:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

8 Brussels Sprouts, sliced

1 lbs. of lean ground beef, browned

1 can of chopped tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup of fresh or frozen peas, thawed

1 can or bottle of your favorite beer

4 shakes of Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup of tomato sauce

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese, shredded

 

Pie Topping:

4 cups of mashed potatoes, made from scratch or instant

1/2 cup of greek yogurt, plain (or sour cream if you prefer)

1 Tablespoon butter

1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Salt and pepper to taste

1 egg, beaten

pinch of paprika

 

Instructions:

In are large pot, add butter and olive oil until melted and sizzling. Then add the onions, red bell pepper, garlic and Brussels Sprouts. Saute until the vegetables are sweating, but not fully cooked.

Add the ground beef into the pot with the vegetables and stir, cooking until the beef is fully cooked and brown.

Into the pot with the vegetables and meat, add the can of chopped tomatoes, frozen peas, Worcestershire sauce, can or bottle of beer, tomato sauce and all remaining spices and seasonings.

Simmer on high until the liquid in the pot is reduced more than half. You want to cook it long enough to burn off all the alcohol and increase the flavor. The mixture should still have some moisture, it should not be bone dry.

Take a oiled pie plate, or if you want to make individual mini pies, oil a ceramic ramekin and then fill almost to the top with the beef and vegetable mixture. Top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and set it on a cookie sheet that has been covered with tin foil. Set the oven to broil, or 500 degrees.

Prepare your mashed potatoes, making sure they stay hot to warm. Do not let them get cold. Working quickly, mix in the greek yogurt, butter, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper and blend completely. Take a gallon plastic bag and put all of your seasoned mashed potatoes in the bag pushing them toward the corner which you are going to use like a pastry bag to pipe on the mashed potatoes on the top of the Shepherd's Pie.

Snip off the corner of the gallon bag full of mashed potatoes, and pipe them over the top of your beef and vegetable mixture in your pie plate or ceramic mini ramekins. I usually just work in a circular motion working inward toward the middle, but feel free to do stripes or even your initals as seen above. ;-)

Take the egg and beat it until perfectly blended in a bowl. Using a brush, lightly brush on the beaten egg over piped on potatoes and then sprinkle with paprika for color.

Place the cookie sheet with your Shepherd's Pie or (pies) into the oven on the middle rack at 500 or broil for 10 minutes. Keep your eyes on them to make sure the tops turn golden brown but don't burn. Everything in the pie is cooked and warm at this point, so you just want to brown the tops of the potatoes.

Foodie Notes:

This is one of those wonderfully versatile "old shoes" type dishes, meaning you can literally clean out your fridge and put it in this pot and it will be absolutely delicious once it is cooked down with a can of beer and some ground beef.  Feel free to substitute red wine for beer in this dish if you prefer.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No-Knead Pumpkin Rolls with Brown Sugar Glaze

No-Knead Pumpkin Rolls with Brown Sugar Glaze - (Recipe found at Kitchn.com)

makes 16 to 18 rolls

For the dough:
1/4 cup water
1 scant tablespoon yeast (1 package)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups pecans - toasted, chopped, and divided in half (optional)

For the glaze:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
pinch salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it sit a few minutes until the yeast is dissolved.

Meanwhile, warm the milk and butter in a small saucepan on the stove top until the butter is melted. Combine this with the sugar in a large heat-proof mixing bowl and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Let the milk mixture cool until it is just warm to the touch - NOT HOT. Then stir in the yeast and the pumpkin. Add the salt and five cups of the flour all at once, stirring until all the flour has been absorbed. Squish it between your hands if you're having trouble incorporating the last of the flour. The dough will be sticky, but should come together in a shaggy ball. If it's still more the consistency of cookie batter, work in an additional 1/2 cup of flour.

Cover the dough and let it rise for 1-3 hours. During this time, it should double in bulk. At this point, you can punch the dough down and refrigerate it overnight or continue shaping the rolls.

To shape the rolls (either immediately or with the refrigerated dough), sprinkle your work surface with a little flour and dump the dough on top. Pat it down into a rough rectangle and then use a floured rolling pin to roll it into a rectangular shape about a half an inch thick, longer than it is wide. If the dough gets sticky, sprinkle a little more flour on the dough's surface and on your hands.

Melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the brown sugar and the spices. Spread this over the rectangle of dough, leaving an inch of bare dough at the top. Sprinkle one cup of the toasted pecans over the dough, if using. Starting at the edge closest to you, roll the dough into a cylinder and pinch it closed at the top.

Rub a tablespoon of soft butter into the bottom of two 9x13 baking dishes, two 9-inch cake pans, or a combination. Using a bench cutter or a sharp knife, cut the cylinder into individual rolls 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick. Place them into your baking dishes so they have a little wiggle room on all sides to rise. Cover them with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise until they fill the pan and look puffy, 30 minutes for already-warm dough and 1 hour for dough that's been refrigerated.

About 20 minutes before baking, begin heating the oven to 375°. When the rolls are ready, bake them for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden and starting to look toasted around the edges. Rotate the pans halfway through cooking.

While they are baking, prepare the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and butter. When the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and salt. Stir until the brown sugar has melted. Remove from heat and strain into a mixing bowl to remove any sugar clumps. Stir in the powdered sugar. This should form a thick but pourable glaze.

Let the baked rolls cool for about five minutes and then pour the glaze on top. Sprinkle the remaining cup of pecans over the top, if more nuttiness is desired. Eat them immediately. Leftovers will keep for several days and are best reheated for a minute in the microwave.

FOODIE NOTES: Do not let this recipe intimidate you. This was a fantastically easy and delicious use for roasted pumpkin or pumpkin squish in a can that you know you are going to have on your hands between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I made my dough ahead of time and it sat in the fridge for almost 5 days before I made them, and they turned out just fine. A gorgeous orange color is imparted in the dough by the pumpkin and be sure to slather on the filling good and thick for the best tasting rolls. The icing justs melts into the rolls and should be applied straight out of the oven.

Finally, my rolls did not rise too terribly much outside of the oven, but once they were placed in the oven they rose and puffed up just beautifully.

Leave the Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte's to the amateurs, and make these instead for your seasonal pumpkin fix . . .the crowd will go WILD for them!

 

Local Pig Sausages now available in all Hen House locations

I caught up with Chef Alex Pope, co-owner of The Local Pig and Pigwich and Preservation Market on the "sky deck" at the new Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters location. It was a gorgeous afternoon and we could hear Ziggy Marley tuning up on stage at the CrossroadsKC at Grinders while we sat and enjoyed a drink on the upper deck.

I asked Alex what he was up to, and that's when he mentioned that he had a new production facility over in the West Bottoms where he was making his famous Local Pig sausages for wholesale consumption. He told me that Hen House Market was now carrying a nice selection of his sausages in all of their locations. WHAT?!? That's fantastic! I told him, so happy for him and proud at all he has accomplished. Amazing.

I'm not sure if I realized fully what it takes to run a USDA inspected meat processing and production facility, until Alex explained it to me. It is much more complicated than say owning a restaurant, and bound and tied up with, not just local and state, but federal, red tape. It takes a lot of time, money, patience. Alex seemed glad to be on the other side of the looking glass on that one. Now, he is just focusing on breaking down the pigs and making his delicious sausages. 

He also said his production facility in the West Bottoms has a space marked off for a dry curing room to make his own charcuterie on a large scale. Local Pig charcuterie is something I will look forward to from Chef Alex and his talented team of butchers.

I decided to stop by my local Hen House to check out the selection. I found them right there in the butcher's case along with a curiously worded sign. The Local Pig sausages were $2.00 each, and the Hen House at 87th and Pflumm in Lenexa had the following: Tallgrass Beer Brats, Jerk Pork, Chorizo Verde with Almonds, Spanish Paprika and Rosemary, Chardonnay and Tarragon, Bourbon Apple, Bratwurst, Porcini Mushroom and Parmesan. I bought one of each of them just to see what they all tasted like.

So, if the Local Pig in the East Bottoms is a little too far for you to drive to on a weekly basis, you can now hit up your local Hen House market and pick up Local Pig sausages for your next backyard barbecue.