Tastes of the Week

May 7 thru May 14, 2012 One of the best French-style onion soups I've ever had was shared with 70 others at the Zen Mountain Monastery when I arrived on Friday night. The place, altogether mysterious and tranquil, is a real life Buddhist monastery, complete with strict meditation sessions and communal meals in a welcoming dining room. The chef, who is also a senior monk with many responsibilities, cooks three meals a day for the residents and many guests who come for retreats. The food is delicious. Sankai, the chef, comes from Belgium and describes his soup as more Flemish than French. I am waiting for him to share the recipe (it's in his head at the moment and he has never written it down). Sankai is deserving of a story of his life -- which I hope to write at some point -- as it's a compelling path of a young man's journey from a Benedictine upbringing near Antwerp to life as a Zen monk in Woodstock, New York. Sankai loves to cook and it shows in all the food he prepares. He is a firm believer that the emotions of the cook are transmitted during the preparation of a meal and so if he feels angry or agitated he simply "steps out" of the kitchen until that mood passes.  Something for all of us to think about in our own lives. Highlights of the weekend meals included a glorious quinoa salad with slivers of sorrel, mint, peas, scallions and radishes; fresh beet salad with feta cheese, fennel and blood orange, and a tantalizing chickpea tajine with roasted butternut squash, carrots and onions, flavored with cumin, caraway and coriander seeds, cayenne and paprika. And while some of the dishes have a lovely complexity, others are stunningly simple such as his vinaigrette made with red grapes, good olive oil and red wine vinegar. Three ingredients: It made me smile.  When asked which three cookbooks are most often at his elbow, he replied, "Twelve Months of Monastery Soups," the "Vegetarian Times Cookbook" (most useful, he said, for its organization), and "The Joy of Cooking" where he cuts all the sugar in half. Other adaptations include a recipe for cornbread from "Joy" where instead of flour he substitutes a comparable amount of cooked quinoa. One of my housekeeping chores during my weekend stay was sweeping the large homey kitchen. A meditation in itself.

Last week after the lengthy James Beard Awards at Lincoln Center was a food fest for 1000. While I'm not sure of the actual number of guests, it felt like there was enough food to feed us all. Chefs from all over the country came to cook their hearts out for the award winners, nominees, and the food community at large. Much of the food was really outstanding, served in divine, diminutive portions, inspired by a James Beard recipe of the chef's choice. My favorites:  Jonathan Waxman's Shaved Asparagus & Kale Salad with Caesar dressing and croutons; Nora Pouillon's Mini Cheeseburgers with Dill-Mustard Mayo and Micro Lettuces on a Whole-Grain Pumpkin Seed Bun (inspired by Beard's book "How to Eat Better for Less Money"); Alan Wong's Skewered Lamb Sausage with five-Spice Greek Yogurt, Pickled Red Onions and Jalapeno (inspired by Beard's lamb kebabs in "American Cookery"):  Keith Luce's Farm Egg Custard and Long Island Duckling with Nettle Puree and Spring Alliums (inspired by "Beard on Food"), and Angela Pinkerton's Port-Infused Prunes with Citrus Creme and Candied Violets (inspired by Menus for Entertaining.)  I must say I left feeling pretty inspired...and full.

Last week also marked the birthday celebration for food writer Erica Marcus at abckitchen with Brian Lehrer from WNYC and Steve North from the CBS Morning Show. What didn't we eat?  The caramel ice cream, popcorn, chocolate sauced sundae was a knockout.

Had a wonderful meal at the home of Debbie and Larry Freundlich. Debbie is a fabulous home cook and we loved the super-fresh asparagus soup deepened with garden peas; duck breasts with prunes and wonderful roasted potatoes, sorbet and chocolate oatmeal cookies topped with a few addictive grains of sea salt.

And my husband and I had the true pleasure of sharing a meal with Miles and Lillian Cahn, the creators of Coach (yes, the handbag company) and Coach Farms (the goat cheese company). They are legends in each industry. We had lunch at St. Ambroeus on Madison Avenue. Fabulous bread and superb coffee. Lunch was pretty good, too. Lovely beet-filled ravioli, homemade pasta bolognese. (Very, very expensive.  So glad we did some "sharing").

Enjoy your own tastes of the week.  Be mindful and you'll double the pleasure.  More about "The Sacred Art of Eating" by Roshi Dr. Jan Chozen Bays, another time.

Why the Beard Awards Matter

A very good friend -- a force in the food world -- was watching television in the early evening hours of Monday, May 7th when she saw Beyoncé, on the red carpet in front of a bevy of paparazzi, being interviewed. "Wow," exclaimed my friend. The James Beard Awards have come a long way. Beyoncé?" We both laughed as she found out that the carpet beneath Beyoncé's feet actually paved the way to the high-society Costume Ball at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that same night. But at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall across town, there was a similar buzz as chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers and TV food stars had their own tomato red carpet to walk upon. At the end of that carpet? Hope, anticipation, excitement and desire to go home with a ribbon and medallion to mark one's importance in the food world hierarchy.

The beloved gastronome James Beard might have actually enjoyed the evening, smack in the center of New York's cultural hub, offering hospitality, as any great restaurant might, to the nominees and their fans who trekked great distances to be part of culinary history. This year marked the awards' 25th anniversary. Often called the Oscars of the food world, they were created to honor the memory of iconic cooking teacher and author James Beard, whose broad inquisitive face appears on the ribboned award. I know. I have four of them. It is a thrill to win. It is also impressive to be nominated as the food world expands at a pace commensurate with the rising tide of obesity (might be interesting to look at that).

If the first food revolution presaged the awards by a decade, the second coming is surely here. Whereas, once the culinary tide went from France to New York, then shifted from East to West, it now glides from Farm to Table. This younger generation, very much in evidence that night, are blogging their hearts out and are, perhaps, even more passionate than we were in the mid-70's. (That's the 1970's.) But to my way of thinking, it's not the glitter and fanfare that makes the James Beard Awards important, it is one of few institutions that helps bind, like forcemeat, the past to the present and provides a historical anchor to the future -- one that is often spinning out of control as younger chefs vie for fame and fortune, and in some cases, hone their rhetoric to be sharper than their knives. The older generation of chefs and restaurateurs, on the other hand, have chosen restraint and judgement as their path and watch in amazement (and perhaps amusement, as Beard would have done) at what some of the newly-initiated cooks are calling "cuisine." And that's where context and craft come into focus.

Last year I wrote about the awards and highlighted the ascension of women in the ranks. The piece was called "Women with Beards" (with an alluring jacket cover from the Italian singer Mina), for that's what stood out to me then. But as women have seamlessly woven themselves into the fabric of the industry at many levels (although there is still work to be done), the greater attraction for me now is the food COMMUNITY. It felt like that the other night. A great happening, based on fellowship and nourishment -- a large sangha of men and women devoted to an industry that has had its own coming of age -- complete with glamour and glitz.

Do yourself a favor and google the award winners -- from cookbook authors to satirical journalists, from TV stars to rising stars, from lifetime achievers to who's who-ers, from beloved old restaurants to best new restaurants. And there's a nice photo of Daniel Boulud and "friend." That friend is me. More fan than buddy, I will cherish the photo, always, as he represents all that is good in our industry.

Kudos to all the winners, to all the nominees, and to the James Beard Foundation for continuing to raise the bar higher and higher while keeping us all rooted in our culinary history.

Women with Beards

There is much chatter about women in the restaurant industry or, rather, the lack of them.  Since my early days as one of the few women chefs in New York (late 1970's/early 1980's), this has been a subject that rears its head every few years.  Has the glass ceiling been shattered?  Have women earned a competitive place alongside their male peers in upscale restaurants?  Is it possible to differentiate food created by women from that of  men?   It depends who you ask, but swirling speculation and empirical evidence aside, Monday night's James Beard Awards showcased women in the brightest of lights.   A terrific article by Sumathi Reddy in the Wall Street Journal, posted moments after the awards, summed up the "women wins":  Gabrielle Hamilton, the chef of Prune (in New York's east village); Saipin Chutima of Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas (best chef Southwest), Andrea Reusing of Lantern in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (best chef Southeast), Angela Pinkerton of Eleven Madison Park in New York City (outstanding pastry chef), and in the wine category, Belinda Chang of Danny Meyer's Modern (outstanding wine service).

With a note of sarcasm in her acceptance speech, Ms. Hamilton said "Wow, I didn't know you could win a Beard Award for opening a can of sardines and serving it with Triscuits."  Hmmmm.  Would a guy say that? Prune has a one-star rating from the New York Times as opposed to the numerous two and three-star offerings from the other nominees, including the very awesome April Bloomfield -- whose simple brilliance is in evidence at the Breslin, the John Dory, and the Spotted Pig daily.  But a perusal of all the restaurant and chef categories at the Awards shows some statistical shortcomings.  Out of five choices in each category, there was only one woman, Barbara Lynch of Menton in Boston, who was a nominee for Best New Restaurant.  One woman, Suzanne Goin of Lucques in Los Angeles, for Outstanding Chef Award, one woman as Rising Star Chef -- Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar, and, out of 50 nominees for regional best chefs, there were only six women* represented.  And true to the industry's norm, there were three women out of five nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef Award.

Many more women (including me) were represented at the media and book awards and there were lots of women "guest chefs" cooking for the receptions.  And there were wonderful women chefs on stage, including Traci des Jardins and Susan Feniger, and major kudos to Emily Luchetti who organized the entire outstanding event. As past president and a member (for three decades!) of the first professional organization of women in food, wine and hospitality, Les Dames d'Escoffier, I can faithfully say that we've come a long way yet still have a long way to go.   But first we must continue to celebrate the industry's extraordinary women -- for our contributions are womanfold.

*Krista Kern Desjarlais of Bresca in Portland, Maine; Maricel Presilla for Cucharamama in Hoboken, New Jersey; April Bloomfield, The Spotted Pig in New York City; were nominated, three of the six won in their categories.

And The Winner Is...

There are many reasons to enjoy the James Beard Awards.  The big one, held last night at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, is a tribute to the hospitality industry, to its star chefs and sommeliers, to the country's best new restaurants and most beloved older ones; to lifetime achievement awards, and to those who are feeding our planet in deeply nourishing ways -- from Farmer Lee, to the guiding lights behind FareStart, a Seattle-based nonprofit that provides culinary job training and placement for homeless and disadvantaged individuals, who deservedly won this year's Humanitarian Award.  It is also a nod to the ingenuity of the many chefs who fed the thousands of us last night, cocktail-party style, with an impressive assemblage of sophisticated and delicious small bites reflecting the "melting pot" that now defines us.  I drank the best tequila I ever had, tried a kickass rose wine from Bedell Cellars, and sipped a supple grenacha from Spain between breaks.

It's a long night, after all, "the Oscars" of the food world.   There was a sense of jubilation all evening, but for me, one of the most anticipated categories was best new restaurant.   And the winner?...ABC Kitchen!  I was thrilled as it was my favorite new restaurant this year.  I have been dozens of times, experiencing something delicious and also intangible each time. As a farm-to table restaurant with the majority of its ingredients coming from nearby farms,  it is the mission that drives the food -- green in every way imaginable -- done in contradictory elegance and sophistication. While Jean-Georges, whose restaurant it is, has always been my hero, ABC's chef, Dan Kluger, is an up-and-coming star.  He is the very best of the new generation of chefs -- tattoo-less in fact -- centered, smart, and affable, who possesses an amazing palate.  Dan runs counter to the 'bad-boy' persona of so many young chefs today because he possesses real confidence and skill.  He's a breath of fresh air.

But the real creative spirits behind the restaurant are, in fact, Paulette Cole and Amy Chender, who intuited the food world's next step and conjured up a magical dining room to showcase the artistry of the planet -- from its natural resources to its edible gifts.  Paulette is the stunning visionary behind abc home and Amy is its beautiful COO.  They are mindful of the earth and continue to foster the majesty of Dan's food.  Their mission statement, running the entire length of the back of the menu, should be required reading.   I am so pleased for them.  And for Dan.  But hey, reservations may be hard to come by.

Edible Manhattan & Edible Brooklyn

It is always fabulous to win anything.  But sometimes being nominated is just as good.  Last night at the James Beard Awards, the real thrill came from being in the company of David Tanis' cookbook Heart of the Artichoke and Amanda Hesser's New York Times Cookbook.  I am a huge fan of David's (the chef at Chez Panisse who lives part of the year in Paris) and we met each other for the first time last night.  Another thrill.  But it was the New York Times cookbook that won. Another winner last night was Edible Magazine -- a community of many magazines now featured all over America.  They are beautifully designed, locally inspired, and extremely successful.   The May/June 2011 issue features a 6-page story about...me.  I saw my first issue just a few hours before the Beard awards and am now especially honored to be in this new "award-winning" mag.  Known as the Eat, Drink, Local issue called "Looking Back, Looking Forward," it features many locavore pioneers -- Peter Hoffman from Savoy restaurant, Rick Bishop ("Chef Charmer"), whose farmer's market produce is the most highly prized, and the tastemaker story about me, warmingly subtitled: "her shining palate sparked some of the city's brightest culinary trends."  Since it is the "local" issue, the story focused on my time as chef at Gracie Mansion, as the chef-consultant to the Rainbow Room and Windows on the World, and about the creation of the three-star Hudson River Club and the ensuing concept of "Hudson Valley cuisine."

I want to take a moment to personally thank Nancy Matsumoto, the writer of the story, who so rigorously wove together a 35-year career with such care, thought, and insight, and did so in her signature graceful style.  Thanks, too, to Gabrielle Langholtz, the magazine's formidable editor, whose idea it was to do it! The Edible community of magazines gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the local food culture that you won't find anywhere else.  In New York alone, there is Edible Manhattan, Edible Brooklyn and Edible Eastend.  Talk about niche food passions!   I, for one, am running to the farmer's market up the street from my house -- at Grand Army Plaza -- on this spectacular morning, to celebrate the bounty of New York and the joy of all things edible. Will you be there?