Come To My Farm by Elliott Papineau January 17, 2018 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment It started as a tweet to the masses from Chef John Shields about sourcing black walnuts and Elliott Papineau answered. His parents owned a 20 acre property in Bourbonnias and had an abundance of the trees on what is known as “The Farm”. Alan and Rebecca Papineau, both retired, bought The Farm in 2012 as a hobby to grow produce for themselves. Each year, the plots would become larger due to Alan’s relentless desire for more tillable land and Rebecca’s intellectual curiosity driven by her lifelong dedication to botany. Elliott saw this passion and coupled it with his love for cooking to form the idea of a chef and farm partnership. Chefs John and Karen came to The Farm on a whim, not knowing what to expect from these strangers. What followed was a true collaboration with the Papineau’s, keepers of The Farm’s natural pantry. The collaboration has blossomed into a full-on partnership. John and Karen inform the operations at The Farm, and The Farm shapes the menus at Smyth + The Loyalist. With over 200 different herbs, vegetables, fruits, and native plants, The Farm is as much a source of inspiration as it is a supplier to the restaurants. Back at Smyth + The Loyalist, the Shields take the product, along with their inspiration, weaving both into the menus to create two unique experiences in two distinct spaces. Smyth, with its two stars in the 2018 Michelin guide and winner of Best New Restaurant at the 2018 Jean Banchet awards, is a showcase of technique and ingredients balanced with straight forward presentation and zero pretense. Walking in to the restaurant, the Shields welcome you to their home and the space evokes a comforting feeling. On any given night you may start with an oyster presented on apple and radish ice, followed by squab liver mouse tart with dried corn. Aged beef rib-eye with accentuating components such as a brioche doughnut highlight the multi-course affair. Moving into the sweeter section of the menu, a chocolate bar with raspberry preserves and shiitake mushroom powder remind you that this is comfort with a conscious. Downstairs at The Loyalist, the comfort level extends as you tuck into a booth or step up to the bar. A cocktail or beer followed by a few bites, and maybe a “Dirty Burg” (The Loyalist’s take on a classic cheeseburger), are what the regulars of this subterranean hideaway have recently had to share with restaurant adventurers after multiple national accolades. The creativity on the menu is not lost here, but is hidden in each dish’s depth. Beets and endive with smoked trout followed by leek mimosa or a variety of oysters could easily get you started. Other dishes will move through the seasons such as a bone-in shortrib and house-made cavatelli. A classic sundae would be a fitting end to a meal at The Loyalist, but the flavors here always let you know this is not a standard inn. With two busy restaurants and two young children, John and Karen are delighted to share an afternoon at Marcel’s. Join us on March 4th for a special event presented by Le Creuset & Marcel’s Culinary Experience, as John and Karen showcase their refined yet approachable way with food and hospitality in a way that makes you feel at home. Register online or call (630) 790-8500 to reserve your seat for this one of a kind cooking demonstration!
My New Relationship With Yeast by Kelly Sears January 4, 2018 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment After the cork pops, the ball drops, and all the decorations are put away, it’s time for the resolutions; the promises. The time when we vow to turn the shoulda, coulda, woulda’s from the past year into motion in the new one. The New Year to me is a clean sheet of white paper and a box of ten new pencils. I love pencils, they allow forgiveness; a quick erase and the to-do list of twenty can become fifteen with just a flip upside down and a couple of sturdy set of swipes from left to right. Pencils allow for breathing room, edits, scratch outs and drafts. Pen is permanent and seems super strict. For those of you under 25, a pencil is made of wood, has a strip of graphite running down the middle, starts sharp, after a series of bright ideas and big plans, whittles down to dull, can be sharpened again and you hold it in your hand and write on paper. Genius! With the clean sheet of paper and the sharp new pencil, I write a list of things I would like to learn in the new year. My list rarely includes quitting a bad habit, losing pounds, or starting some new system. These seem like processes to me; adjustments that require life changes to be successful, and a completely different blog post! Some years the list includes things I fear, some years it includes things I haven’t made time for, in other years, on the list is something I think I should know, and yet others, that list includes something that seems really cool to know. In 2017 among other things, my list included learning to knit (epic fail), trying bungee Pilates (the comedic value alone was worth the effort), make a really good pie (satisfying), and baking a better loaf of bread (yes!!). I’m not sure how I could have a friendship that has withstood forty years and a marriage of nearly thirty, and I couldn’t figure out how to have a relationship with yeast. Sometimes, getting better at something starts with one move, deciding to do so. Whatever material you built the wall from to mentally stop you from doing it, is usually not made of kryptonite and usually crumbles once you make the decision to take action. Even doing nothing is doing something. Back to bread, I enrolled myself in a four day boot camp in Ann Arbor at Zingerman’s Bakehouse. For four days I surrounded myself with all things yeast and dough, shut my mouth and opened my ears. Life Changing! I embraced this new skill with gusto. Soon I was baking six or seven loaves of bread a week and had multiple varieties of sourdough starter feasting. I purchased proofing baskets, lames, linen couches, and cast iron loaf pans. My countertops continually had something rising at different stages and I asked my husband if he could build me a proofing box. It was at this point, I got the look. The look you get after nearly thirty years of marriage, the one that requires no words. This look, in my world, usually translates to “perhaps we are taking this bread thing a bit too far;” grab some reins, apply the brakes. He’s usually right. My new found skills tend to teeter on obsession. In my quest to master, I forget time and space, I forget the real reason I began the journey to begin with. Learning a skill is all about empowerment; education + knowledge = power. Once you learn how to do something you didn’t know how to do before, you no longer have to rely on others to do something for you. Intrepidation is stifling. Remove hesitation and the results are unharnessed creativity and freedom. As with most things one fears, once you face it, it’s never that scary, and the lessons learned transcend just bread making and baking. On the journey to soft rolls, French loaves, cinnamon swirl breakfast bread, multigrain sandwich loaf, sourdough boules, crusty peasant bread, and warm brioche, this is what happened….. Patience– like good conversation, friendship, wine, and marriage, a really good loaf of bread takes time Renewed commitment – sourdough starter, when ignored for too long dies, if you feed it a little everyday it flourishes. It only takes a little energy every day to keep the fire burning, without it, the light will go out. Trust your instincts – even if the instructions say one thing, listen, smell, taste, adjust; follow your gut Create a good environment – goodness thrives in a happy place Recycle – stale bread = croutons, toast, and bread crumbs, heals are the best part of the loaf and make the best mop to sop of the bottom of the bowl, mistakes still taste good even if they don’t look good, save some of the dough to create the next loaf, old dough makes new dough taste better Close your mouth and open your ears – it’s amazing what you can hear when you turn your voice off and your ears on! Share – most recipes yield two loaves for a reason; eat one, share one. They taste better that way. Whatever your paper and pencil have in store for you this New Year, embrace the results. Even with epic fails, you never stop learning. Keep tweaking; adjusting, trying new things, you just might learn something completely different along the way. Warm Dinner Rolls 2018-01-04 14:35:38 Print Ingredients 12.5 ounces water (room temperature) .375 ounces instant yeast 21 ounces bread flour 2 teaspoons salt 1 ounce sugar .5 ounce non-fat milk solids 2 ounces butter, softened Egg wash: one egg, one tablespoon milk Sea salt for sprinkling on top Instructions In a large bowl combine the water, yeast and half the bread flour. Stir together until the mixture is shaggy. Add the rest of the ingredients. Using a bench scraper, spin the bowl as you scoop around the outside of the bowl, tossing the dough towards the middle of the bowl with each turn. Once the dough comes together in a rough ball, spill the dough out onto the counter (no flour!). Work the dough together into a tighter ball and then knead until the dough is soft and smooth. Press the inside of your wrist against the dough, if it doesn’t stick, the dough is ready to rest. (this process should take about five minutes or a little less if you put a little muscle into it) Place dough in an lightly oiled ball, cover and proof until double in size- about an hour in the right conditions – around 80-85 degrees. Scale the dough into 1 oz. size; Make up rolls into desired shapes. Place rolls 2 inches apart on paper-lined baking sheets. Proof until double in size (about 30-45 minutes). Egg wash; dust with salt, bake at 400 degrees until brown – about 20 minutes. Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
‘Twas The Season by Kelly Montgomery December 13, 2017 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment It ‘s been said that there are 3 seasons in the retail year: Before Christmas. Christmas. And after Christmas. Yes. Absolutely. Here’s how it goes at Marcels: It begins in the spring, giving new meaning to ‘keep Christmas in your heart all year.” Dana and Jill will scour catalogs, scout a few shows and start ordering holiday merchandise. Snow men in June? It’s hard to put yourself in the mindset, but there they are. Fast forward a few months. It’s late summer and the orders start trickling in through the back door. And then it snowballs. It’s a fun little perk of our job. We get a chance to preview the merchandise customers won’t see for months. Ha! Next thing you know, someone is saying, me included, “Hey Rita, did you see those mice ornaments? They have new outfits this year!” or “Guys! Come check out the Juliska stuff that just came in!” Before you know it, it’s mid-November. You’ll find our retail staff (and a few random awesome people who show up year after year) bringing up boxes and boxes of holiday merchandise and decorating the store. The whole thing. In approximately 5 hours. It must get done, (since the very next night is Ladies Night Out!) And so the season begins—for you, our customer, bringing familiar faces and new ones as well, in varying degrees excited, stressed, dazed, hangry, focused, exhausted, over caffeinated, under caffeinated (or even a little tipsy!) Yes, we know. And it’s OK! Shockingly early in December customers will begin to triumphantly shout, “I’m done! I had this one gift to get and now I’m finally done!” This, of course, sets off a growing panic here, and across the retail industry, that we haven’t even started!! Nor had we noticed since we all genuinely like working together. It’s fun to see the whole team in action at the same time. Organized chaos! Somehow or other it all gets done so we can focus on getting ready for our own Christmas now. And soon enough, next Christmas for you all. This might sound like the Nightmare Before Christmas more than anything else, but it’s actually quite the opposite. Something I didn’t really grasp until this year, when I couldn’t participate much due to a thumb injury and rehab. But more than the preparation and start to the holiday bustle, it’s the mulled cider. The private office parties and events. The samples. The smells from the kitchen. Everything. Like one constant Christmas Eve for however many days that I realize I miss. And, I’m missing out on. Cook. Create. Celebrate never meant more than during the holidays. It has been said that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Yes. Absolutely. Happy Holidays everybody.
Something for Everyone at the Holiday Table: What to Serve Guests with Food Allergies and Diet Restrictions by Lynn Dugan December 7, 2017 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Your family will be together in a few short weeks and you are already stressing about the holiday meal you are hosting. Aunt Susie is newly gluten free. You also think your brother’s girlfriend is a vegan. What should you do to accommodate these dietary restrictions? Most importantly, how can you be a good host while managing the menu and keeping your sanity? I can help! As a Registered Dietitian, I know about meal restrictions and accommodations. I also love to entertain and know the challenges in meal planning and food preparation when dealing with different diet demands. And, my oldest son has a life threatening nut allergy. Every holiday, I work with the host to understand the menu and determine what I need to make to supplement the meal for his benefit. So, here is your game plan in three simple steps: Understand your guest’s dietary restrictions. 2. Work out the base menu. 3. Communicate the menu and recruit help with preparation. Don’t begin meal planning until you understand the dietary restrictions. After making it clear to your guests that you look forward to being together, ask the questions necessary to best understand the restrictions. Vegan is a diet free of animal products (including meats, fish, dairy, butter, eggs) but does your vegan guest avoid honey, too? How sensitive is the gluten restriction? I have gluten-free friends who eat bread on occasion but none of my celiac friends can tolerate even cross contamination from cutting boards, knives, toasters, measuring cups, frying oil and baking sheets. The conversations you have with step one are a good place to begin as it shows your concern for your guests, that their well-being is your priority. You can also gauge how open they will be to making and bringing a dish to supplement your meal. That takes us to step #2. Plan the menu. Your guiding principle for menu planning is to have something for everyone at the Holiday table but not everything has to be for everyone. Consider what I call the ‘red light’ foods for each dietary restriction and pick a menu item that suits everyone. Red lights for gluten free are always anything made with wheat flour: regular bread, stuffing, crackers, pasta, and rolls. You’ll be able to offer a gluten-free side dish when using rice, wild rice, potatoes, corn or quinoa to replace wheat. As already mentioned, the red light for vegans are any animal products – meats and poultry, fish, dairy products, honey. Make sure you offer a menu item that contains a significant protein source like adding beans or legumes to a wild rice casserole, or offering a quinoa-based dish or any dish featuring legumes or lentils. A bowl of mixed nuts on the table can also offer an additional source of protein for the vegan diet. Side dishes that can work for everyone are typically potatoes, vegetables, salads, fruits and nuts when prepared without the red-light ingredients and prepared with dairy substitutes like soymilk and vegetable oil spreads. Share the menu with your guests and recruit help. Most people like to bring something. And they are best able to adapt to their own dietary restrictions. While sharing the menu, it is important to communicate any diet restrictions that they might not be familiar with (like telling the gluten-free aunt you have a vegan guest coming). Let your guest know you’ll need them to keep track of any ‘red light’ ingredients in their dishes so you can communicate those during the holiday meal. If your party is small, you can easily point out acceptable dishes. If your party is large, it may be helpful to mark foods as GF or Vegan using a tented name card/place card. Remember, your goal is to have something for everyone but not everything has to be for everyone! By following these three steps and making some easy adaptations to the traditional Holiday dinner, your guests will feel welcomed, special and included. I have highlighted my Warm Sweet Potato Lentil and Apple Salad Bowl. It is vegan and gluten-free. Each step of the recipe can be made in advance and assembled warm just before mealtime. Happy Holidays! Warm Sweet Potato, Lentil and Apple Salad Bowl 2017-12-07 13:25:36 Serves 4 Print Ingredients 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil 2 pounds sweet potatoes peel and dice 1 small red onion, large dice 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried) Salt and pepper 8 ounces mushrooms (button or cremini), sliced 2 cloves minced garlic 2 stalks celery, sliced 4 small tart apples (Jonathon or Cortland), dice 1 cup cooked lentils 1 cup balsamic vinegar Instructions Preheat oven 425 degrees. Make balsamic glaze: place balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and gently simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the glaze is reduced by half, is thick and coats the back of a spoon (consistency of chocolate syrup). Set aside. Place potatoes and onions on baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Roast high in oven for 20 minutes, until tender. Meanwhile, sauté mushrooms, garlic and celery in 1/2 tablespoon oil until mushrooms and celery are softened. Salt and pepper, to taste. Add apples and cook until just warm. Pour contents of sauté pan into a large bowl. Add roasted potatoes and lentils; stir to combine. Garnish with balsamic glaze. Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Turkey Sanity by Robin Nathan November 16, 2017 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It’s all about family, friends, food, and gratitude – a combination that’s hard to beat. With one possible exception… roasting the turkey. How can one successfully roast this holiday classic without being accused of turkey-cide? For years I have experimented with different methods. One year, I butterflied the turkey (sometimes known as “spatchcocking” ), a simple process of cutting out the turkey’s backbone and flattening the bird in an effort to reduce cooking time. Bad move. It wasn’t until after I had removed the backbone and flattened the turkey that I realized I didn’t have a pan big enough to accommodate the sprawling bird other than a sheet pan. Please believe me when I tell you that you cannot successfully roast a 13 pound turkey on a sheet pan without starting an oven fire and setting off every smoke alarm in your home. Other attempts, perhaps less dramatic, include flipping the bird from back up, to breast up, half way through the process to insure a juicy breast – messy and not particularly effective; and brining – a step that is easily avoided by shelling out a few extra bucks for a kosher turkey (which is brined as part of the koshering process). Chef Robin’s Herb Roasted Turkey (12-14 Pounds) 2017-11-16 14:43:43 Print For the Butter 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 large handful mixed herbs, minced (thyme, sage, rosemary, parsley) sea salt to taste 1 12-14 Pound Turkey, giblets removed sea salt 2 yellow onion, quartered 4 stalks celery, halved 4 carrots, halved 1 cup water or chicken broth Instructions Make the butter by combining all ingredients in a small bowl. Following the directions in the above article, place the butter beneath the skin of the turkey’s breast. Rub any remaining butter on the turkey and sprinkle with additional salt and pepper. Place the half the vegetables inside the turkey’s cavity. Place additional vegetables on the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour the broth over the vegetables in the bottom of the pan. Place the prepared turkey on top of the vegetables. Place the turkey in a preheated 400 oven and roast, undisturbed until the breast registers 160. Pour in up to another cup of broth if the vegetables on the bottom threaten to burn. Remove from the oven, tent with foil and let rest 20 minutes. Take the temperature of the thigh. If below 175, cut the breast from the carcass and set it aside, and return the dark portion to the oven until it reaches 175. Carve both and serve with gravy made from drippings, if desired. It will take approximately 1 ½-2 hours to reach 160 if the turkey is unstuffed and you do not open the oven door to baste. Now relax and enjoy the holiday!! Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/ What makes roasting a whole turkey so darned frustrating in the first place? The biggest obstacle to overcome is that the dark meat is considered “done” at 175-180° and the breast is done at 160°. The other complicating factor is that the turkey must rest, depending on its size, for 30-45 minutes, which will allow juices to redistribute and keep you from frying your hands while you try to carve it. Another complicating factor is stuffing. I highly recommend NOT stuffing the turkey. First, it’s a health hazard, as stuffing must cook to a different internal temperature (165°) than either the breast or the dark meat, and just as importantly, significantly increases the roasting time. What else significantly increases cooking time?? Basting. Please stop basting that turkey. Basting does not add flavor or moisture to a turkey – nothing is getting through that skin, believe me, and all you are doing is reducing your oven’s temperature by 50 degrees every time you open that darn door. So what’s the answer/answers?? Here’s what I recommend. First, consider purchasing turkey parts. If you are cooking for a large group, especially a group that has preferences of dark meat or white meat, and it’s not important for you to show off a whole bird, buy one or two breasts and enough drumsticks and thighs to satisfy your group. This will allow you to start the dark meat first, giving a head start to 175, and pop the breast in about 30 minutes later. Second, make a flavorful compound butter to put BETWEEN the turkey’s flesh and skin. Mix room temperature unsalted butter with your favorite fresh or dried herbs, a drizzle of maple syrup or a squirt of sriracha if that’s your thing. Slide your hands carefully between the turkey’s flesh and breast skin, breaking the tiny tendons that hold it in place. Scoop up some of the butter on a spoon, lift the skin and slide in the spoon, using your fingers on top to slide the butter off. Smoosh it around to flatten it and keep going until you’ve created a large pancake of butter on both sides of the breast. Rub any remaining on the skin. This will flavor and moisten the breast. Third, if you must roast a whole turkey, do not stuff it or baste it. Use a probe thermometer (which snakes through the oven door and beeps at the temperature you’ve set) inserted into the thickest part of the breast. BREAST, not thigh. Roast to an internal temperature of 160. Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest 30 minutes, keeping an eye on the internal temperature of the thigh. After the turkey has rested 15 minutes, if the thigh meat is below 160, cut the breasts from the turkey and return the dark meat to the oven until it’s reached 175, which won’t take but 15-20 minutes longer. You can pump up the oven temperature if you like – it’s impossible to dry out dark meat.