Food Lush

Interview with Top Chef's Spike Mendelsohn

By Jennie

I was fortunate for the recent opportunity to interview Spike Mendelsohn--of Top Chef, Top Chef All-Stars, Life After Top Chef, and The Next Iron Chef fame and head chef at D.C.'s Good Stuff Eatery, We the Pizza, and (the soon-to-be opened) Bearnaise (a steak and frites restaurant). He was a serious delight to talk to, and if I wasn't already a big fan, I would have become one.

I thought I’d start by asking what you had for Thanksgiving last week (editor's note: I spoke to him the Tuesday after Thanksgiving)—did you have a traditional meal or was there anything out of the ordinary on your menu?

I was in Florida this year, with a big group. We had a more traditional meal but with two kinds of turkeys, fried and roasted. You gotta have both! 

One thing I’ve noticed about you, as I’ve followed your career, is how you manage to stay calm in high-stress situations. Do you have any tricks for not letting the pressure get to you?

Not caring what people think of you! That's not to say I don't care about my job, but I just don't take things too seriously. I try to have fun with what I do because at the end of the day, I love cooking, and the other stuff won't make or break me.

What do you think people would be surprised to know about being a “celebrity chef”?

How many people it takes to make it work. I've got a great group of people who are there for me, and they're just as important to my success as I am.  

So, I have to share, I actually work for the publisher of the cookbook Made With Love, that you contributed “Uncle D’s Chili” recipe to this fall. We were thrilled to have your recipe. What’s another go-to comfort dish of yours?

I'm Greek, so roast chicken and potatoes. I make the potatoes following the SPOOL rule (salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil, lemon) and then maybe a Greek salad on the side.

What’s your favorite burger on the Good Stuff Eatery menu?

That would have to be the Obama brurger – it has salty bacon, tangy red onion marmalade. It just has a really delicious smoky flavor.

(Photo from goodstuffeatery.com)

Your family is a lot of fun to watch on Life After Top Chef—is it harder to run a restaurant together or film a tv show together?

You know, I think I'd say running a restaurant because my family has been running restaurants forever, so I have to prove myself a little more there, as the youngest in the family. They're so good at what they do on the restaurant side of things, and I probably have more experience with the filming and TV side of things. 

Do you still tune in to Top Chef these days?

A little bit. I really love the show and all it gave me, but it's hard to watch anything every week because of my schedule.

I know you’ve teamed up with Captain Morgan for holiday-inspired recipes. Can you tell us a little bit about that and what recipe we should try first?

I was really excited about teaming up with Captain Morgan because I'm always looking for something new to challenge me and for new adventures. I'm obviously used to working with food, so basing a recipe around alcohol was new for me. I made it fun, though. I invited a bunch of friends over and drew some inspiration from the group. I think the Black Apple Harvest (recipe below) because it's perfect for the holiday season. It has apple sauce, which sounds like it wouldn't be good, but after muddling and straining it, it gave the drink such a bold, full-body flavor. 

You mentioned your friends as a source of inspiration, where else do you get inspiration?

It might sound cliche but just by looking outside. What's the weather, the season, etc., and then I try to cook seasonally. I made a punch for Captain Morgan called "Morgan’s Mistress” and it would be the perfect drink for summer, having friends over, being outside. If you're keeping the season and the occasion in mind, then you can be really adventurous and try all sorts of combinations.

What are your holiday plans?

I've started a tradition of having a Christmas brunch at my house, decorated in a retro style, with a big spread. My family spent a long time iall in different cities but now that we're all together in DC, it'll be nice to get together and enjoy some time together.

What new things can we expect from you in 2013?

I'm always working on a few things. In February Bearnaise will open and there might be a few more shows in the works, too.

***

BLACK APPLE HARVEST

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 dash allspice
• 1 dash nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon crushed ginger
• Juice from one lemon (save the rind)
• .25 ounces apricot liquor
• 1.25 ounces Captain Morgan® Black Spiced Rum

Directions:

In a shaker, add ice and shake it like your momma taught you. Fill a rocks glass with ice, take a lemon rind and rim the glass. Next, take a thin slice of ginger and rim the glass and then put both garnishes in the glass. Pour cocktail through holes of the shaker. Cocktail should still have some apple sauce texture, but shouldn’t be thick. Lastly, drizzle with honey.

Note: If you don’t have apricot liquor on-hand or don’t want to make a run to the store, feel free to try without it.

Bison Burgers

By Erica H.

There may come a time, in the course of your Whole30/paleo/primal/caveperson experiment/lifestyle, when you find that you have personally decimated the local population of chickens and cows. The few remaining turkeys may also be casting a wary eye in your direction. Don't worry! It's a great time for alternative-meat exploration and discovery. I, for example, recently discovered that I do not like lamb. But bison meat? That's fine and dandy in my book.

Bison burgers (or buffalo burgers if that floats your boat, although technically the enormous walking sofas of North America are bison and their shaggy water-cousins in Asia are buffalo) are an easy way to venture sliiiightly off the beaten path and still enjoy a very beefy burger.

I used Elise's recipe at Simply Recipes with only a slight tweak--as I did not have fresh sage, I just cooked some dried sage in with the onions. I also let the onions get a bit of color on them before I mixed them in with the meat. The onion and sage gave the burgers a great flavor, and they weren't at all dry despite the leanness of the meat.



Combined with a green salad and some sweet potato fries, this made for a nice, easy Friday night dinner. Of course, my own Whole30 burger was tragically devoid of barbecue sauce, cheese, and bun. But don't worry about me--I managed alright.

Restaurant Review: Slater's 50/50

By Jennie

I'm sure I've talked about this before, but when my husband and I travel, we tend to choose Food or Travel network-featured restaurants to dine at. Not always--we were just at an IHOP this past weekend when we traveled to California because all of our usually-awesome food apps failed us--but whenever we can, we stop in a local place that comes well-endorsed by food/travel shows we like.

I love when that choice offers up an incredible meal.

For instance, Mike really wanted to stop in Slater's 50/50 while in Anaheim this past week and I'm so glad I said "sure!" because it was fantastic.

While the menu had delicious items (the onion rings were really good, for example) and also really interesting items (a burger with peanut butter and jelly on it, I kid you not), the big draw (for me) is designing your own burger. You choose your patty, your bun, your cheese, your sauces, and your toppings, and then your own, customized burger arrives in front of you.

I got a veggie patty topped with a bunch of deliciousness (avocado mash, chipotle mayo, fried egg, grilled onions, jalapenos) and this burger was outstanding. It also required a fork to eat it but it was vacation after all.

The beers on tap were cold and delicious, as well. (I had two!)

Seriously, if you're in the area, stop in. I'll just be over here adding the best burger on the planet to the list of reasons to get back to Southern California as soon as possible.

Houston: The Hobbit Cafe

By Jessica

 

One of my favorite quirky little places to eat in Houston is The Hobbit Cafe. I mean, I don't know how many of you have a Lord of the Rings themed restaurant with a menu that refers to "Elevenses" and "Second Breakfast" close-by, but we do and it's pretty cool. It's hard to imagine that some place with that sort of name and theme wouldn't be just completely over the top and obnoxious but somehow, it isn't. The sandwiches, however, are with even their slim size still being OVERSTUFFED and packed full. Hobbitses don't like to go hungry, after all.

The restaurant, which originated in 1972 as a vegetarian place, has expanded their menu to include chicken, fish, beef and buffalo all while keeping a very large selection of vegetarian dishes and smoothies. They also tend to have a pretty good beer or wine selection and the huge oak tree out front makes for a nice shady area on the deck to kick back and enjoy your meal.

Weekends bring brunch and gingerbread pancakes so really, there isn't a bad time to visit. 

(Photo from: BeerTripper)

Grilled lamb mini burgers

by Katie

I love grilling- cooking and eating outside are among my favorite rites of summer. But I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have the largest repertoire of grill-friendly recipes. We do a lot of grilled vegetables and turkey burgers, and embarrassingly little beyond that.

This summer, I’ve vowed to expand our horizons. So when I spotted some ground lamb at our local butcher shop last week, I decided to experiment and make lamb burgers, inspired by the flavors of kefta. 

The result was AWESOME. Ground lamb is pretty lean, so I added a couple of tablespoons of some ricotta I had in the fridge to keep it moist- feta or greek yogurt would work for this purpose, too. Also, grating the onion is a trick I picked up from a cooking magazine somewhere- it adds a lot of flavor and moisture, without leaving big chunks of onion in your final product.  

I formed the mixture made small, oblong, flat patties, which we grilled and then served in small pitas with hummus, cucumbers, and feta. SO TASTY.

They are admittedly not the most attractive in this photo, but I wanted to show the size/shape.

The flavor of ground lamb really is different from beef or turkey, and provided a great change of pace. I actually made this twice last week- the second time for company- and it was a great, casual, customizable meal. Feel free to play around with the toppings, keeping in mind that lamb pairs especially well with Mediterranean and middle eastern flavors- a sauce with yogurt and dill or mint would be great, as would a tomato/cucumber relish.

Grilled lamb mini-burgers
(makes 6-8 patties, which was enough to serve 2 as a main course; recipe can easily be doubled)
 

1/2- 2/3 lb ground lamb
2 Tbsp ricotta or greek yogurt
2 Tbsp minced cilantro
½ of a white or yellow onion, coarsely grated on a box grater
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt
some freshly ground pepper

Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly. Pat into 6-8 oblong patties. Grill over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes per side. Serve with pita and your favorite toppings.

 (Photos from: me)

Writer Helping Writer(s): Vegetarian Meals

By Jessica

Our dear Kristie is coming up on a particularly grueling part of her day job wherein she will be spending many long hours at work for MANY MONTHS and when I say many, I mean that she'll be eating her meals at work. The majority of her meals. That sort of schedule can make meal planning difficult (what am I talking about? *I* have difficulty meal planning on my best day) and eating vegetarian (or vegan) can add an extra layer of complication.

I offered to take on the task of suggesting some quick and easy veg friendly meals that she could tote along to work. Note: I eat vegetarian, not vegan but usually it's not hard for her to tweak my stuff to her liking. 

I tried to come up with things that would use similar ingredients in multiple ways to make shopping more streamlined without the meals being identical to prevent boredom. I also went mainly for real foods that she could cook on a day off and take as leftovers during her working week so that the kids would have real foods as well, not just salads (but there are a couple of salads in there too) or pre-packaged convenience foods which would obviously be the simplest option.

Main ingredients: Chickpeas, Zucchini

Chickpea salad (essentially as a replacement for tuna or egg salad) which could be eaten in a wrap, on a sandwich or stuffed into a tomato. I used mayo in mine and I also pulsed mine in the food processor briefly to make it more like tuna salad and easier to eat in a sandwich or stuffed into a tomato. You could obviously stick with the original recipe or use veganaise, either way. I really didn't use the recipe for anything more than the idea, honestly, I made it exactly as I would my own tuna salad and well,  I am ADDICTED TO THIS.

Stuffed Zucchini 

Marinated Garbanzo Beans I LOVE these. Seriously, I make them all the time. My suggestion to make them into a meal is to take zucchini and run it through a mandoline so it comes out like spaghetti pasta ribbons. Slap the ribbons into a mason jar, top with the marinated ceci and eat as a cold pasta dish. YUM.

Braised Coconut Spinach & Chickpeas with Lemon

Main Ingredients: Quinoa and Black Beans

Veggie burgers I've already posted about these but I love them.

Quinoa salad with black beans

Barbados Black Bean Cakes with Mango Salsa

Quinoa wrap

Personally I also just like to spice up some black beans with traditional taco seasonings, mustard seeds, nutritional yeast and some turmeric and cook them down with a bit of veg stock. I then slap that mixture into a soft tortilla (your choice) and top it with some cabbage, shredded carrots and avocado tomatillo dressing.

You could use the leftover cabbage and carrots to make a coleslaw, make some baked beans, a cheese sauce and throw the whole thing over tortilla chips with the dressing or salsa of your for nachos.

Main Ingredients: Lentils, Kale (or Spinach) and Tomatoes

Red Lentil and Spinach Soup 

Crispy Squash Salad with Lentils and Goat Cheese (I know, you could maybe sub the cheese)

Lentil Meatballs in Lemon Pesto

Skillet Gnocchi with Chard and White Beans (I subbed kale for the chard when I made this)

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup (I'd sub veg stock for the chicken stock listed in the recipe)

Here's an idea I have for something that could be "cooked" in tandem at home and at work. Roast up some veg at home (whatever veg you prefer, I love the frozen Normandy mix from Costco and always have it in my chest freezer in the garage) keep a container of couscous at your desk and some veg stock in the work fridge. When you are hungry just heat up the correct amount of broth in the microwave and pour it over your measured amount of couscous, slap a cover on it and let it sit while you reheat your roasted veg. Once everything is ready, mix together and bam! Dinner!

I have a ton more ideas, but hopefully this helps! 

{Photo credit: me}

Tasty Veggie Burgers Made At Home

By Jessica

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned coveting the Cuisinart Griddler and luckily for me, I had a birthday shortly thereafter and received it from my family. Last night I broke it in for the first time and put a call out on twitter for a good homemade veggie burger recipe. Caitlin responded with this recipe (which was then backed up with Kate's approval as well) and it looked perfect!

Owing to laziness on my part, I didn't run to the store and grab the quinoa that I needed and just used a quinoa/brown rice blend that I already had. I'll have to make it again with full quinoa to see if it made any large difference but since this was the first time making them, I didn't have any other reference.

In the comment section there was a concern raised about cooking them on a George Foreman grill instead of in a skillet with oil, but I just oiled my grill plates and it was fine. Of course, I cooked with the whole thing open and wasn't applying the grill to both sides at the same time, so maybe that would've made a difference.

I also reheated one, today, in the oven and it came out just as tasty.

I don't think I'll buy another frozen veggie patty!

(I made mine with Havarti cheese, butter lettuce and served them on a split onion bun toasted with butter in a cast iron skillet)

{Photo: me with the real camera for a change}

Dill Pickle Meatloaf: A Tale of Disaster and Redemption

by Caitlin

So, there was an earthquake here yesterday. You may have heard. 

And now there's a hurricane headed our way. Maybe you've heard this too. 

Both of these reminded me of a little adventure we had here back in February of 2010. Two blizzards in one week. Maybe you've also heard about that.

(If you think I can't pull a post or two about food out of a bunch of natural disasters you've got another thing coming.)

First of all, I was reminded of that snowy week recently when a friend of mine, whom I shall call Sheryl, mentioned the storms, which many had referred to as Snowpocalypse. I forget how it came up, but when it did Sheryl said "Snowcropolis." There was a pause. And then: 

Zach: 'Is that like a Greek snowstorm?'

Me: 'Oooh! Is that when there's piles of greek yogurt and feta three feet deep?!'

(I wish a merry Snowcroplis on all of your houses. And plenty of pita to go with it.)

Second of all, Zach and I were super lucky during that February week. We didn't lose power, and we had plenty of warning so our fridge was well stocked. Because DC was essentially shut down for an entire week (and two weekends), this meant that for nine days we were trapped inside our nice cozy house with a roaring fire and nothing to do but eat, cook, eat, watch movies, eat, and do some cleaning. My linen closet will never be that organized again.

NINE DAYS.

Sure we had went a little stir-crazy, but it was really like having the gift of time and we mostly enjoyed relaxing and getting caught up on some things around the house. I could use another one of those weeks, if we're being honest. (Of course, again, we had power & heat, are not elderly, ill, or infirm. Or trapped at home with toddlers. Or teenagers.)

I tried a lot of recipes that week, and was also sure to make one of my all-time favorites: This Dill Pickle Meatloaf. It's a recipe I once stumbled across when looking for a regular ole meatloaf recipe, and it was so good that no other kind of meatloaf has been made in this house since. 

Photo credit http://dkscooks.wordpress.com

Listen, I know it doesn't sound that great. I know it doesn't LOOK that great. But behind my pumpkin lasagna, it's the recipe I give out most and I've never heard any complaints or even a "Meh."

And so, allow me to paint you a bit of a picture. 

It's been snowing for days. Zach and I have been trapped in the house for close to a week. While we're still enjoying it and making the most of it, these are desperate times. We may or may not be showered. We have found the end of the internet and watched all the movies on Demand that are worth paying $4.99 or less for. We've cleaned and organized everything that can be cleaned and organized. We don't even know what day it is any more. (No, literally. We lost track of the days.)

And the food. Oh the food. I made hermits. Zach made tacos. He made pizza. One night he even got the itch and made a cake at 9pm. (Most of which we brought over to the neighbors because COME ON.) He taught me how to make real bread, with yeast and everything. And, as I mentioned, I made the meatloaf. 

Later that week Zach decided to make two kinds of paninis with leftover meatloaf, and some leftover chicken. 

I'm going to stop here for a moment and let you in on a secret: The plural of panini is not really paninis. It's panenis. But somewhere along the way Paninis paid a marketing guy to tell them that Panenis wasn't going to fly, and here we are. True story. (Or not.)

So! It was snowing and we were trapped and bored and we wanted hot, delicious sandwiches. So Zach made a buffalo chicken panini with sliced chicken breast, buffalo sauce, and blue cheese on that homemade bread. FANTASTIC. He also took some of the leftover dill pickle meatloaf, made some more of the sauce that goes on top before you bake it (which is ketchup, pickles, and some other stuff), added it to the meatloaf, put it on the bread with some cheese, and griddled. 

That panini was heavenly. We sat on the couch, in front of the tv (I mean, civilization is totally overrated at that point, why bother with the table), and just MARVELED. 

We could NOT get over how good that sandwich was. It was hot, melty, sour, sweet, beefy, creamy, crispy. And such a strange combination! Beef, hot pickles! Melty cheese, ketchupy sauce! Why has no one thought of this! It's so ODD but so DELICIOUS! We can make a million dollars off of this strange sandwich!

Except.

Well.

Someone did invent this sandwich.

It is called the cheeseburger. 

And that's what happens when you're trapped inside your own house for 9 days. We were basically delirious. The end. 

(But seriously, go make that meatloaf.)

Have you ever "invented" something? What's the craziest meatloaf you've ever heard of?

Homemade Hamburger Relish

by Jen L.

Jarred relish has always kind of grossed me out, probably because a lot of it is sweet. I like sweet pickles just fine, but when I think of something I want to spread on my hamburger or hot dog, I want something savory and maybe even a little tart. 

My husband and I like to make burgers or dawgs, as we call them here in the deep south, about once a week during the summer for an easy dinner or weekend lunch, and we are constantly experimenting with ways to give these "regular" foods a little pizazz. This week, my husband suddenly began to throw things into the food processor and what emerged was a delicious, tangy, savory, colorful relish that we ate atop hamburgers.

As delicious as it was on the hamburgers, my husband said, and I agree, "I'll bet that would be bleedin' AWESOME on a hot dog."  So there ya have it.

HOMEMADE HAMBURGER RELISH

• 1/2 cup hamburger dill chip pickles
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• dash rice wine vinegar

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until roughly chopped into small pieces.  Spread upon your burger or hot dog. Enjoy!

Burgers and Wine, So Fine

By Nora

One of my most favorite meals is a hamburger paired with a big ol' glass of red wine. The type of wine doesn't matter, nor does the burger, really. There's just something about the trashy/classy combo that gets me going. I've been known to order a hamburger and fries from Five Guys and bring it home to eat just so I could enjoy it with a full glass of Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir. And did you know there are restaurants out there that are geared toward this very concept? I found one called Zinburger, that is available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas, and Kansas. In other words, all of the states that are FURTHEST AWAY FROM ME. Sigh.

Anyway, now that my husband has purchased a gas grill and actually enjoys cooking, I can get a burger off the grill pretty much any time I want. He's even been experimenting with some recipes from this cookbook, which I cannot recommend highly enough, especially to gas grill novices like us. He came across a recipe a few weeks ago that he insisted on trying, so I made sure to pick up all of the ingredients so he could go to town with it. The recipe? Cabernet Burgers with Rosemary Foccacia. Uh, wine burgers? Yes, please.

Basically you make a glaze with 2 cups of cabernet sauvignon and 1 tbsp brown sugar (cook for 25 minutes until reduced), which you mix in with the ground beef and some salt and pepper. The result is a dark red, flavorful, incredibly moist burger that I could not stop raving about. And I INSIST on having it with the foccacia bread as well, although I leave the condiment and topping selection to your discretion.

And, if you're wondering, I still had a glass of wine along with that burger. 

{If you're wondering why I included this photo, then you probably haven't seen Sideways and I won't ruin it for you. But that's not Pepsi in his cup.}