Chef Talk

It’s 6 months into the pandemic and we’re all Covid-weary. It’s been quite the summer, with waiting in line for drive-through food pick-ups, masked visits to the farmer’s market, and lots of cooking at home.

We’re eager to gather again with friends to share food, drinks and conversation.

One of the joys of being a Maison chef has been the ability to get back to work with clients to create events that have given family and friends the opportunity to comfortably gather together.

The challenges of offering up food safely has inspired us to get creative.  We’ve closed down the buffet tables that allow communal food contact.  In its place we’ve done cocktail parties with small mason jars filled with vegetable crudites and a delicious dip, avocado salsa and chips or a demitasse cup filled with carrot velouté.  We’ve prepared an elegant and intimate wedding with individual picnic baskets for each guest and small outdoor dinner parties to celebrate special moments (sometimes to take the place of long ago planned trips that had to be canceled).

It’s a happy time to see entertaining slowly coming back to life!  As we move forward through these challenging times, let’s continue to gather together (safely) and share the love with food and friendship. For more information about Maison, click here.

Don’t tell anyone, but I live on the greatest block in the greatest neighborhood in the city.  Several years ago, we cut a gate between our backyard and that of our next-door neighbor.  The neighbor next to them have done the same, creating 3 continuous backyards.  During the waning (and warming!) days of Phase 2 quarantine, we began grilling and socializing together – keeping our 6’ of distance, of course! We’d put 3 tables in the middle yard – one for each family.  The boys would shoot hoops in our yard, or play with the dogs in the far yard, while we adults sat at our socially distant tables, drinking cocktails and enjoying separate bowls of guacamole & chips.

The Zoom classes I taught during quarantine were a special boon to us all – lots of beautiful food created during the class resulted in the perfect opportunity to gather and share.

This pork dish I created for my last Zoom Class, themed “Driveway Dinner” was a particular hit. And the Beer Shandies with fresh lemonade we made were so good, I’m sharing that recipe with you, too! 

Now is the perfect time to try this out with some friends and family soon!

Baby, it’s cold outside! When the cold, grey and dreary days make me long for sunshine and warmth — and a day trip to Florida is out of the question — I put the sunshine in my food.  The flavors of south India are just what my family needs to warm us up, and this quick and easy curry will do just that.

Even though this dish is full of exotic flavors, you’ll easily find everything you need to make it, on the shelves of any large grocery store.  And even better, you’ll be tucking into it in under 40 minutes. Prepare to heat up the night!

 It’s January. It’s cold. It’s damp. It’s the time of year I start googling beach vacations and destinations in the sun. One thing that does bring warmth when I can’t get away on vacation is savoring a hearty winter stew. Stews can give us warmth on the coldest of days and are generally simple to make, a one-pot dish that can utilize leftover produce hanging around the fridge and can be left simmering on its own for hours.

A favorite in our house is “snow day stew”, a cross between a ragu and stew that I make on snow days off from school. I love coming into the house after hours of sledding and snow-fort building to the aroma of slow-simmered lamb, herbs and tomatoes. I use lamb which is packed with healthy vitamins and minerals, that is ground so it doesn’t have to “stew” for long. Ladled over buttery noodles, it may not warm me up like a sun-drenched sandy beach, but this warm ragu stew will get me through.

At this hectic holiday time of the year, we all tend to keep our heads down, focused on the task at hand and the next task on our list. Is the turkey thawed, the gravy silky, the mashed potatoes lump free, the linens pressed, and the table set? But, if you’ve taken a class with me before, or you know me well, you know my thought is, it’s not what’s on your table, it’s who’s around it that should keep our focus.

But what about those not around your table? How do we keep them present this holiday?

Perhaps the hole in your heart is fresh, maybe still aching, or now a brief tug, but the absence is present, the chair once filled, empty. We can choose to be sad or we can choose to celebrate, in some way, somehow, what they would have shared at the table.

For the nine that gather around our table this Thanksgiving, more than half that number that don’t.

Bud, Dan’s dad, creator of “Bud’s secret spice” seasons our bird. We still have a jar with his special label and handwriting. He preached the importance of great stock as the foundation to any great gravy; ours is silky smooth for this reason. The apple trees on the Northern Michigan property where he chose to retire, still bear fruits and fills our apple pies.

It’s Eileen’s (Dan’s mom) stuffing that fills the big bird’s cavity. We always laugh that ours doesn’t taste quite the same. We’re convinced her secret ingredient was the ash that fell from her cigarette while she chain smoked her prep! The kid’s split up her dishes so we would all have a few. Our table-setting is mismatched to include some of hers and some of Grandma Wilma’s.

Yep. Grandma Wilma, not the least bit warm and fuzzy, but she brought the shrimp each year, and we shared a slice of mincemeat pie since we were the only two that liked it. We keep the coffee hot since she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Aunt Helen didn’t make it often but when she did, we would always play cards after dinner. She taught us a game called hand and foot and we usually played while eating dessert. I laminated the rules she wrote out to make sure her instructions never faded away.  Aunt Helen was the most giving person I have ever known. When I shop for our meal, I shop for someone else’s too.

Barton, my mom’s husband, Warren’s brother, was an artist in New York. His art fills our walls. It’s edgy, thought provoking, and opinionated. It makes for great conversation.

Warren’s mom Marie, was a woman of modest means with a rich heart. She was a linen maker in her younger years. We try and keep the cranberry sauce from spilling and the gravy from dribbling on her work, but the stains just end up being covered with filled dishes instead. We fill our plates with her serving spoons and our pie with her servers.

And he hasn’t been seated at my table in over 35 years, but I mentally set a chair for him. My dad used to tilt his head back and laugh deep from his belly. Every time I set the table, I set it for people who gather around it to do the very same. My dad was a lover of bread. Rolls are never missing from the table.

Set the table for those who can come, toast those who can’t make it, honor those missing from yours by folding them into the day.

Happy Thanksgiving to all~

Here’s a little something to toast those, no matter how they are present.