Chaotic Bakers & Chefs!

I’m thinking maybe Chefs & Bakers are only organized in the kitchen. I set up 2 different interviews, one w/ a Baker, and one with a chef, who both failed to be available when they said they would. And both of them are friends of mine.

My first attempt was with Baker Chris Janicek of Cake Box. I first sent him a message on facebook, asking if he could make Panda cupcakes for a friend’s going away party at SkateDaze a week away. I also said I’d like to interview him for my culinary class assignment. He didn’t get back to me so I started making other plans to just make some cookies for the party. He left a message the night before the party at 10:40 pm asking if I still wanted panda cupcakes. I called him back 15 minutes later and got no answer. I finally reached him the next day & said he could do it and he would come & bring them to the skate party. He did come to the party w/ the cutest cupcakes ever. And they were very delicious.

The plan was to take a few minutes and interview him there because there was no telling if I was going to be able to get in touch w/ him again. However, 30 seconds after I put my skates on & 30 ft later, I fell flat on my tailbone. I didn’t even make it to the rink. I was in so much pain I just sat there & smiled thru it and the interview was the last thing on my mind. Plus he was busy visiting w/ everyone. I told him my assignment was due a week earlier than it actually was so that I would be sure of getting an interview with him in time. He said Sunday would be good for me to call him & either come over or interview him over the phone. I called. I left a message. I still have not been called back.

So then I moved on to my other friend, who is the evening Chef at The Market Basket. I run into him all the time in Benson. I asked him if I could interview him & he said “of course”. Friday night we were planning to go see a band in Benson, so I thought about bringing my  questions in case I ran into him. Well I did but I forgot my questions & he was in a hurry anyway, so he said Sunday was good. So on Sunday I sent him an e-mail, a message on facebook and I gave him my number. I said I could send him the questions, talk to him on the phone, or stop by, because again, we were going to be in Benson that night.

I didn’t hear back from him all day, so I brought my questions with me and went to Benson early. We stopped by his place and knocked, but no answer. We tried the local hangout, Jake’s, and the bartender said he hadn’t been in. He said that he Justin, who is also an amazing artist, usually turns his apartment into a gallery on Sundays & has showings. But even though the lights were on, there still was no answer. Maybe he was making a deal with a client. He can make a lot of money from his art so I would understand that taking precedence.

So I will just tell you what I know about them. Chris Janicek of Cake Box, makes the most amazing and delicious cakes. He will try to make any kind of theme that someone may come up with. I had called Cupcake Island and Sweet Magnolia’s and neither one was willing to make panda cupcakes for me. Chris had never made them either but said that he just googled them & got some ideas. That is what I would do and I did. And I would actually expect someone else to do that. He did an amazing job. I asked if he could make a cake in the shape of a tutu for my upcoming birthday, because I love wearing tutu’s. He said, “Why not?” I just hope I can get a hold of him.

Justin is amazing. He is an incredible artist, an experienced Chef and even a local musician. His band played mine & Fletch’s engagement party 16 years ago. He started out working at Jam’s and learning from the head Chef there. He then moved to Seattle to work under Chef Kathleen Longrin at Coastal Kitchen where he learned a lot about different seafood dishes. Next Justin went to New York where he was involved with the opening of Fressen. Here he learned more about the fast paced upscale dining of a French Bistro. He then struck out on his own for awhile and became a private chef to many of New York’s elites and their special diets, including a raw food only diet.

Justin then came back to Omaha and became the sous chef at Blue Sushi, where he learned about Asian Infusion. After 2 years, he got an amazing offer to be a chef traveling all over the South Pacific on a private yacht. He used fresh ingredients from local islands to create the meals.

Justin is now back in Omaha and is the amazing evening Chef at The Market Basket and has his own art gallery in the heart of Benson.

Stephen Starr

My inspiration isn’t exactly a Chef or a Baker. It is restauranteur, Stephen Starr, and his unique restaurants in and around the Philadelphia area. Stephen Starr is the owner of STARR Restaurants, a multi-concept restaurant company. He owns 21 restaurants, 16 in Philadelphia, 2 in New York, 2 in Atlantic City and 1 in Ft. Lauderdale.


My first experience with a Stephen Starr restaurant was in September of 2006. My husband’s job sent him to Philadelphia for a week and I went with him. A friend mentioned a restaurant I should go to so I looked it up online. I found the website for Starr Restaurants at: http://www.starr-restaurant.com/ and I couldn’t pull myself away from it. Each restaurant was a complete and unique environment based on it’s concept that I couldn’t wait to experience. I wanted to go to as many of them as I possibly could in one week.

I planned and packed outfits for certain restaurants. Stephen Starr says “dining out is like attending a theater production, where the players, props, backdrops, lighting and rapport are integral components of an overall dramatic effect.” And I appreciate that because I always take into consideration what kind of place I am going to when deciding what to wear. The cuisine is always edgy, artsy and delicious. The whole experience is “entertainment for all the senses.” He has such a passion for what he does and pays attention to the detail in the smallest of things. Dining at one of his restaurants is more than just going out to eat, it’s an experience that creates memories, and I will never forget that trip.

We made it to 4 Stephen Starr restaurants that week and each one was my favorite in it’s own way. All of the people who were working at each restaurant were very knowledgeable, happy & very helpful.

We went to Pod, which has Japanese-Asian cuisine. Famous designer, David Rockwell, was inspired by films “Sleeper” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” when he created Pod’s starship-like interior. Being there just made you feel cool.

There are pod areas to sit in where the lighting slowly rotates through a range of colors, pod-like batrooms and everywhere you look is something amazing. There's also a sushi bar that sends the sushi out on a conveyor belt and the food is to die for.

We went to El Vez, which is a contemporary Mexican restaurant with the best Mahi-Mahi tacos ever. The décor is so fun with a gold rotating bike in the center of a round bar, a black and white photo booth, a wall of Dia de la Muerta shrines and lots of velvet. We went one more time just for drinks and had a great time with the staff and other customers and the photo booth.

We went to The Continental Mid-Town which is a kitschy, vintage place with 3 levels, including a rooftop lounge. The 2nd floor has birdcage seats hanging from the ceiling & the rest was decorated with martini-like pop culture décor. The bathrooms are very interesting as well with two-way mirrors that if you have to wait in line, you can see if they wash their hands. I had one of the best Cosmo’s ever called a Mexico City Cosmo made with cuervo gold tequila, grand marnier, cranberry & lime.

Then we also had drinks at The Continental downtown, which serves tapas, vintage cocktails & martini’s. It used to be a vintage diner and it still has that vintage feel.
There are giant martini-olive lamps
hanging over the booths and they play great music.

We always say we want to go back to Philadelphia for a Stephen Starr restaurant tour. It is my goal to eventually go to all of his restaurants.

So that is what inspires me; unique concepts and amazing décor combined with hip, artsy, delicious menus which create memorable experiences. I’m still not sure what area I would like to go into, all I know is that I like being around that type of atmosphere.

Winner Winner Catfish Dinner

I’ve always said, “It’s hard to be a gourmet cook if you live in Glenwood, Iowa. The stores have very basic produce, they never have fresh herbs and they only have one type of fish at a time, if they have any at all. They’ve never had an eggplant in the 13 years I‘ve lived here & when I asked, they didn’t even know what eggplant was.
Yesterday I decided to make my home cooked meal & thought I'd try something out of the ‘On Cooking’ book from class. I picked a very simple recipe w/ very simple ingredients, Steamed Salmon w/ Lemon and Olive Oil. It also seemed pretty healthy, which is how I normally eat. I checked my freezer for Salmon, which I always have, but was out today. So I crossed my fingers that Salmon would be the fish of choice today at the store. It usually is. Not today. Only Catfish. Are you kidding me? I never use catfish. Any seafood but catfish.

So I called Fletch(my husband) & had him find me a Catfish recipe out of the book & tell me the ingredients. The store didn’t have Leeks for my Salmon recipe anyway.
I decided on the ‘Oven-Fried Pecan Catfish’ on pg. 607. I don’t usually do fried foods, but this was an oven dish, so really it was baked. Plus, besides the Catfish, I had all the ingredients at home; dijon mustard, milk and pecans. For sides, I decided to make Brussels Sprouts in Pecan Butter, on pg.736, and Maple-Glazed Carrots, on pg.754.

I got all my Mise en Place set up for each recipe. Except for the Brussels Sprouts, I had to cut the recipes way down because I wasn’t about to make 4lbs of Carrots or 12 Catfish Filets for 2 people.

I peeled & cut a 1/2 lb. of carrots into rondelles. I chopped some fresh parsley and got the butter, maple syrup and s & p ready.

I trimmed & marked X’s in the bottoms of 1lb of Brussels Sprouts and got my chopped pecans, butter and s & p ready.

I started boiling water for the Carrots & Sprouts while I got things ready for the Catfish. I ground the pecans, laid those out on parchment paper, and mixed the milk & dijon. I dredged the catfish thru the dijon mix, scraping off the excess. Then I rolled them in the ground pecans & put them on a lightly oiled baking sheet and into a 450 degree oven for 12 minutes.

While the catfish was in the oven I boiled the Sprouts for 10 min. & parboiled the carrots for 3 min. I strained the carrots & put them in an ice bath for a minute. Then I sautéed the carrots until slightly tender, threw in some s & p, added the maple syrup and left on low.

I strained the Sprouts. It said to heat the butter in a sauté pan until 'noisette'. By definition that is “a small, usually round, portion of meat cut from the rib”. What? I ignored it & just heated butter as usual. I added the pecans to the butter for a minute or 2, then I tossed in the Sprouts. I let it set on low while I garnished the carrots w/ fresh parsley.

I checked the Catfish & it flaked easily, so I pulled them out. I served dinner w/ a Pinot Grigio.

The Carrots and Brussels Sprouts were awesome. I’ve tried glazing carrots before using brown sugar and it never worked that well. I’ve also never had much luck w/ Brussels Sprouts but I think making the X’s in them helped make them more tender. I think I'd try less butter next time because I try to healthy & there was more than enough butter & pecans. The Catfish was good, but I think next time I would try spreading the Dijon mixture on w/ a brush. It said to scrape off the excess but I still think there was too much. I think the pecans soaked up the excess & when I baked it, it never got that good crunchy coat. And I would make 1 filet & split it. They were huge filets & we don’t eat that much. We will have leftovers for lunch today though.

I also kept up on the clean-up. Fletch said the kitchen stayed remarkably clean. Not usually a trait of mine. But with all the Mise en Place, things went much smoother.

It was also probably a good thing the store had no Salmon, or any other fish I’m used to making. It forced me to try something different, even though I still prefer Salmon over Catfish any day. I also learned that it’s Brussels (w/ an ‘s’) Sprouts, not Brussel Sprouts.

And Fletch, who specializes in concert photography, says he doesn't like photographing food. He just may come to like it after this awesome photo of Brussels Sprouts.

Sushi Japan w/ friends

We went to dinner at Sushi Japan on 144th & Center with our friends George & Rob after Cirque du Soleil. We had 7:30 reservations but we arrived early & they got us in. We opted for the sushi side as opposed to the sushi bar or the yakiniku side. Our waiter explained the specials to us & told us that the Mai Tai's were really good. He was also very helpful in answering all of our questions.

Our friend George really wanted to get the sushi boat, which is a wooden boat that, if you order enough, they will serve your sushi in. The waiter said if we ordered 10 rolls, that would be enough for a boat.

George was like a Sushi Ninja & took over ordering most of the rolls. We picked a few.







The rolls in our boat were:
Spicy Tuna,
California(Crab, avocado, cucumber),
Border(Yellowtail, cilantro, jalapeno, avocado, with wasabi tobiko),
Rainbow(California topped with tuna, salmon, striped bass, sweet sauce),
Beyond Rangoon(Crab, salmon, cream cheese, scallions, tempura fried topped with sweet and sour sauce), The Anton(Salmon, cream cheese, avocado, cucumber),
Caterpillar(Freshwater eel and cucumber, topped with slices of avocado, sweet sauce),
Tijuana(Tuna, avocado, cilantro, onions, with jalapeno masago),
Atlantic Crunch(Salmon, crab, avocado, masago, and lettuce with tempura crunches, yuzu tobiko)
Negi Saba(Mackerel with scallions).
We also ordered Negril Tamago(Egg Custard)
This came w/ soup & salad.
And I ordered one of those Mai Tai's & he was right. They were so good I felt like I was on vacation, but vacation in Jamaica.

The salad's came right away. They had a Carrot Ginger dressing which was tasty. Next we got our Miso soup, which Fletch & George loved but Rob & I thought it tasted a little fishy.

Then came the boat. It was pretty fun! He told us what each roll was, not that I could remember all 10, but we figured it out as we ate.

I didn't care for the Negi Saba w/ the Mackerel. It was chewy & not for me. I also didn't care for Negril Tamago, the egg custard (to the left of the boat). It was such a weird texture & the flavor was just as weird.

Other than that, I really enjoyed all the rolls we selected. All the sushi was really fresh. The Rainbow Roll was the best I've had.
And for dessert we shared some Green Tea ice cream, which was very good & tasted refreshing.

We had some groupons, which if you haven't heard of, you really should check out at groupon.com.
We had 2 $30 off groupons. Our bill would have been $103.35 but ended up only being $43.35. What a deal!
The service was excellent & so was the sushi.
The 4 of us have plans to go back tomorrow night before Adult Retro Night at Skate Daze. We'll be using more groupons.
I'm hungry just thinking of about it.