Umami

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Most people either love Asian food or they hate it. Of the people that do love Asian food, most people have a definite preference for a particular country. I, myself, am more of a Japanese and to a lesser extent Thai kind of diner. I'm certainly not opposed to going with Chinese, Vietnamese, or a Korean place, it's just that there seems to be a fanaticism the Japanese have about craftsmanship that appeals to me on some strange level.

On Memorial day (night actually), we went to Umami Asian Kitchen in Chagrin Falls. I'd never actually been there so to be quite honest I didn't really have much of an expectation one way or the other. So often you hear (or read) about the original chef leaving and whether or not the quality of the food is going to survive. Is it worth trekking out to Chagrin Falls for a bum dinner? It was the end of a holiday weekend and we had the time to spare; if nothing else we were going to walk away with 1,000 Open Table points for our effort. (My guess is that the points were being offered because of the holiday.)

The first thing you notice is that the small (about the size of Tartine, maybe smaller) tastefully decorated space makes good use of the booth allotment. There are even two bar-type benches in the very front that look through the glass onto the front door a la Greenhouse Tavern; the perfect spot for a couple (who don't have the overwhelming desire to gaze into each others eyes across from across the table), to people watch.

I'm going break the dinner down rather quickly so as not to make you nod off in boredom. Mickey was our server and to be perfectly candid - he was great. Mind you, because the place is so small I think there are only two servers, so you have pretty good odds of getting him. Our crew actually decided to go full on tapas, okay, everyone except me. I ordered the curried chicken which had that refined restraint that I love so much about Japanese food. This was not a mouth full of fire, but a developed flavor that really seemed massage a hint of heat after you had swallowed a few seconds earlier.

With Regina leading up the charge, an armada of small plates started to make landfall on our table. I don't really want to talk about every single dish, so I'll focus on the must haves. If you order anything from this menu, it has to be the Goat Cheese Dumplings. These "dumplings" (10 to be exact) are small (think gnocchi sized), delicate (think gnudi), little pillows of delicious goat cheesed-ness, topped with greens and ginger butter. The only reason we even ordered these is because this people implored us to, as they were walking out the door (and now I am imploring you to do the same). I would also recommend an order of the Roasted Shiitakes, as well as the Togarashi Crusted Fresh Bacon. All three appetizers are packed with flavor, but not of Cheesecake Factory proportions, (and that's a good thing).

We had initially ordered the sushi rolls to come out before the other hot appetizer/entrees, but they ended up coming out last. After the amazing show that was put on by the small plates, there was no way these sushi rolls had a chance. What I did like was that they were of such a size that you could actually stick the whole thing in your mouth without looking like a pig. One other thing I liked was that the soy did not come out in a larger bowl so people could dunk the poor roll up to its eyeballs. Instead the soy came out in a rectangular dish so that you simply swiped the roll through the soy. In a sense, I think it was letting the patrons know that these were not meant to be dripping with soy - nice touch.

If haven't already been able to tell, I thought it was a fantastic dinner. Any more I am more interested in well crafted and thoughtful offerings than I am anything else. While the place doesn't have to have ambiance, Umami does (in spades). It's refreshing to see someone doing this kind of quality at a reasonable price. If you're looking for a quiet evening with a well thought out menu and you appreciate Nippon-ese cuisine than you, but not the kiddos, need to make this stop in Chagrin Falls.

Don't forget to ask for Mickey as your server. If want a window seat or one of the two tables for two outside make sure you request them when you make your resie here.



Umami Asian Kitchen
42 North Main Street
Chagrin Falls, OH 44022
(440) 247-8600
www.umamichagrinfalls.com

Got Wood?

A few weeks back there was a discussion on the Cleveland Food Forum about barbecue and the subject of where to get wood (for smoking) came up. You can go to pretty much any grocery store around the city and pick up the expensive little boxes of chips. If you've actually barbecued with these highly overpriced bits of wood you know that because of the exposed surface area to the coals they don't last very long. (If you soak them in water, you might get an extra 10 minutes out of them.) So the question on the forum was where to get larger pieces of wood?

Dave from Live to Cook at Home mentioned a place south of Detroit Road that he claimed had "a mountain of wood". If there was, in fact, a place that sold woods native to Ohio like oak, maple, hickory, apple, and cherry in large pieces that would fantastic from a cost standpoint.

The Mountain of Wood

I went out on a Wednesday just to see if I could find it. Driving down 83, I was on the lookout for a mountain of wood. Coming from the south I passed a number of nurseries and then on my right was the towering pile of wood.

Center Road Wood

They're only open on Fridays and Saturdays; since I was there on a Wednesday I don't have any price information, but I do know exactly where it is now. By the looks of things the wood is going to require a little time to season since it's just sitting out in the weather. If anyone has any price information please leave a comment and let us all know. Right now I'm pretty stocked up, but I definitely want to stop by so I can start drying it out while I burn through what I have.


View Center Road Firewood in a larger map.

Update
riverwinerat on Cleveland Food Forum had this to offer in terms of pricing. "approx $10 for a large handful of planks (sorry, I didn't catch the weight - about 2 ft. long and about 6-9 in the bunch). Also, prices varied when I was there. I think they had "Buy one, half off the second" of cherry pieces. I bought a small bag of apple logs, say 3 in long, about 7 in the bag, for $4."

Tucky's (rhymes with "Yucky's")

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I was driving down Mayfield Road and decided to grab a quick bite while I was out. Always up for an afternoon dog, I decided to give Tucky's a try.

As I walked up to the front door I noticed a sign thanking Clevelanders for voting them "Best Cheap Eats". This is a good sign, no? I mean, if the good people of Cleveland voted them the best, they've got to be right, right?

I walk into the store and I'm absolutely waylayed by a massive wall of frying oil smell. I'm being completely serious, the place was filled with the heavy odor of deep fryers. I knew if I didn't get in and out quickly I was going to need a shower when I got home.

I hurried up and ordered a Chicago that consisted of a skinless Old Vienna hotdog on poppy seed bun, with sports peppers, emerald relish, diced onions, tomato wedge, pickle spear, yellow mustard and celery salt. What can I say? The hot dog would have been fine sans toppings. The tomato, pickle and peppers are not easy to eat when laid on top of a hot dog. Come on man, if it's worth eating, dice it up so I don't get a solid mouthful of tomato, pickle, or pepper. I hardly thought there was $3.50 worth of effort put into this thing.

Ringing endorsement? Hardly. I don't know what the Cleveland Magazine readers like, but this visit was hardly Silver Spoon worthy. I don't normally pan places outright, but Tucky's isn't even in the same country as Seti's Polish Boy or Happy Dog. As for the CM readers - What were you thinking?

Tucky's
6232 Mayfield Road
Mayfield, 44124
440-460-3871
http://www.tuckyshotdogs.com

Macarons in Ann Arbor? Who Knew?

I’ll admit it. I wasn’t always the biggest fan of French food. Looking back, I think it stems in part from a bad experience my husband and I had at Charles De Gaulle airport in 2001 on a layover to Rome. We encountered some less than friendly Parisians, and we wrote off just about all things French (the exception La Chatelaine in Columbus; always was a favorite, always will be).Well, I now admit, that closing our minds to French food was a mistake. Somewhere within the last several years, we’ve discovered that the French aren’t so bad and they really know what they are doing when it comes to food. I’m not sure of the exact moment of our “epiphany,” but it’s fair to say that we can thank Chez Francois, The Perryville Inn, Eric Ripert and Jean-Georges for their contributions along the way. Now, believe it not, we actually talk about traveling to France.

So, imagine our delight when on a cold, blustery day in March while visiting Ann Arbor for the weekend, we happened upon a French woman selling pastries at the local farmer’s market. Despite the frigid temps, she had a steady stream of people snatching up all types of baked goods – almond cream tarts, eclairs, macarons, etc. We struck up a conversation with Cecelia and her husband, who happens to hail from Ohio. We discussed her background as a pastry chef, the farmers markets she frequented and most intriguingly, the pastry classes she taught through a local cooking school and at her home. We made a mental note of her website – www.ceceliaspastries.com. We bought a fruit tart and her last two coffee macarons.We made our way back to Cleveland and ate said macarons. We promptly fell in love at first bite and found ourselves quickly looking up her next scheduled classes. Unfortunately, a trip back to Ann Arbor would have to wait…until now.

My birthday present from my husband was a surprise – Macaron making class with Cecelia. I was nervous. Research I had done on macaroons revealed that they are hard to make and often end up in failure. Such simple ingredients…sugar, egg whites, almond flour are very formidable in the world of macarons. Those who know me will attest…I am not a fan of failure. I’m a perfectionist, hard on myself, etc. Upon learning of my gift, I told Cal that he needed to attend for me because he’s much more precise and better under pressure. However, in the end, I decided to suck it up and see for myself…with some guidance, could I be successful at making Macarons? It would appear, I couldn’t have a better teacher.

The Classroom

Cecelia has a great set up for teaching classes. To the side of her garage, she’s built a modest sized kitchen for her own baking and teaching classes. She limits the participants to 2-4 people. Her approach for this class was to explain and show in detail how she makes macarons. She provided a very rudimentary recipe – the ingredients, the temp and the cooking time. She stated, in her darling French accent, that she’s added some of her own personal touches, such as using buttercream filling vs. ganache. Her husband was on hand to translate the few times she was at a loss for the right French to English translation to explain the process. Her husband was also available for a much more important task -cleaning up after us as we went along, constantly washing, drying and whisking items in and out of their industrial grade dishwasher. He was at the ever ready, understanding all too well that time is of the essence when dealing with such temperamental pastries as these.There were 3 of us in the class. Cecelia first demonstrated as we took notes and asked countless questions. Then, she let us loose to make the first set of macarons as a group. We chose vanilla. I was impressed with how well we worked as a team. Cecelia explained that macarons aren’t hard to make, they’re just complicated. There are a lot of little steps that go into the finished product and they need a lot of attention. She confirmed my observation that there’s a lot of gray when making them…they are not black and white. Personally, I’m a black and white kind of girl, so it’s understandable how such a little cookie could make me so nervous!

For our first batch, I’d say we did a decent job. The precision that’s needed to perfect piping and “breaking” the tops of the cookies only comes with a lot of practice. We produced a fair amount of “Hershey’s kiss” appearing cookies, but with some vigorous tapping of the pan, most of them faded away, and into the oven they went.

Ready to put together

Our final assignment was to each make our own batch. I chose coffee and my classmates chose raspberry and almond. We all feverishly worked to crank out our first solo batches, referring to the scribbled notes we had just taken and asking for reassurance as we went. Cecelia was often looking over our shoulder to offer advice and make sure we were on the right track. Once our cookies had formed the perfect crust and began to bake, she walked us through the flavoring of the buttercream and showed us how to fill them. The first example was the batch she made…vanilla buttercream (flavored with vanilla beans – no extract here!) with a rum soaked cherry sandwiched between the 2 cookie layers. We couldn’t eat them fast enough …light, chewy cookie and velvety smooth filling. We thought that they were perfect. However, Cecelia quickly commented to her husband that next time she would add 2 cherries to intensify the flavor and ensure a bit of cherry in each bite.

Piping Buttercream

After making almond, coffee and raspberry buttercreams, Cecelia sent us off to our stations to finish our work. Again, once they were assembled, we couldn’t wait to try each flavor. The coffee, vanilla and almond flavors were intense. And good! The raspberry was certainly more subtle, flavored with several fresh raspberries.

In the end, we decided to share our creations amongst one another. Cecelia announced to the class that she better not see us buying macarons from her in the future because now we all know how to make them! We each went home with an assortment and being that class was from 6-9 pm, I ended up having macarons for dinner on the car ride home. I was on a bit of a sugar high, to say the least!

Assembling the Macarons

Overall, I was extremely impressed with this class. Am I the next Pierre Herme? Uh, no. However, I can say that we were all successful in creating these finicky little pastries and we gained a ton of insight from someone with real, in depth knowledge of the process. Not only were our creations edible, they looked and tasted good too! I served some at work the next day and everyone was impressed. Cecelia encouraged us to not rest on our laurels and to make sure we try them at home again as soon as possible. I have already purchased my almond flour and will be working on recreating them over the upcoming holiday day weekend.

Ann Arbor is a small foodie heaven. I’d highly encourage you to spend at least a day or two eating your way around the city, Then, take a pastry class from Cecelia. She doesn’t just teach macarons, although the classes are in high demand and just about always filled. Actually, Cecelia confessed to us that her true favorite dessert to make is éclairs and she feels that hers are some of the best around. I think I smell a birthday present for my husband and another trip to Ann Arbor…

Pavé Potatoes

These little suckers are absolutely awesome. Mashed potatoes are about as generic as it gets. You definitely need a fair amount of time to make these, but in the end the reaction you get from your guests is well worth the effort. This is a wonderful potato option that doesn't include the word "mashed".

Pavé Potatoes

Pavé Potato
from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home

• 1 cup heavy cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 pounds russet potatoes (3 1-pound potatoes if possible)
• 5 tablespoons (2 ½ oz.) unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon softened and 4 tablespoons (2 oz.) cut into ½" cubes
  

• Canola oil
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed, skin left on
• Minced chives

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

1. Pour the cream into a large bowl and season with 1 tablespoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Peel the potatoes. Cut a thin lengthwise slice off one side of a potato so it will rest flat on the mandoline. Lay a Japanese mandoline or other vegetable slicer over the bowl of cream and slice the potato lengthwise into very thin (about 1/16 inch) slices, letting them drop into the cream. (If you can’t lay your mandoline across the bowl, slice the potatoes, adding the slices to the cream as you go.) Stop from time to time to toss the slices in the cream to keep them coated and prevent them from oxidizing. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.

2. Brush a 10 x 6½ x 3 inch high pan with half the softened butter. (Don’t use a shallower pan – need the depth this size pan gives the pave.) Line with parchment paper, leaving a 5-inch overhang on the two long sides. These extensions will be used to cover the potatoes as they cook and later serve as handles when unmolding. Brush the parchment with the remaining softened butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Trim the potato slices to form a solid even layer in the bottom of the pan and lay them in the direction that works best to fill the pan. Repeat to from a second layer. Dot with a few cubes of butter and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Continue layering the potatoes, adding butter and seasonings after each two layers. Fold over the sides of the parchment to cover the potatoes. Cover tightly with a piece of aluminum foil (to allow the potatoes to steam as they bake).

4. Bake the potatoes for 1 hour and 50 minutes, or until completely tender when pierced with the tip of knife or a wire cake tester. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Put a weight on top of the potatoes (see note), cool to room temperature, wrap well, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or up to 2 days.

5. To serve run a palette knife around the two longer sides of the pavé to release it from the pan, and use the parchment handles to lift the potatoes from the pan, or invert onto a cutting surface. Trim all sides of the pavé. Cut the pavé into 12 equal pieces and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

6. Heat some canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes cut-side down, add the thyme and garlic, and cook, basting with the liquid in the pan, until browned on the first side, then turn carefully and brown the opposite side.

7. Arrange the potatoes on a serving platter, browned side up. Put a small piece of butter on each piece to melt, and sprinkle with chives.

Serves 6

Note: The easiest way to weight the pavé is to cut a piece of cardboard just smaller than the top of the pan, so that it will cover the top of the pavé without resting on the sides of the pan. Wrap the cardboard in aluminum foil, set it on top of the pavé, and place a few cans or other weights on the cardboard for even weight distribution.

Nantes Carrot Stew

What is it about getting your hands on some really good produce that makes you want to look extra hard for a good recipe? In the past we’ve gotten the Chef’s Garden Family Box and been really impressed with what was sent to us. Because the boxes vary from shipment to shipment, you’re never quite sure what’s inside until you open them. In a recent box we received some rather large carrots that required some breaking down into smaller chunks. The hunt was on for something that cooked utilize carrots in “chunky” form, but more importantly was really tasty.
Not to sound like a broken record here, but the Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home has some monstrously delicious recipes in it. I’ve done a number of his creations in the past and with the exception of one, they’ve all been above average in the visual appeal and taste categories.

For these carrots I chose the Nantes Carrot Stew recipe. The recipe is actually very easy to execute and one of the quicker ones from the book. One of the things I really like is that you can make it the day before and finish the last step right before you serve it. This would be great for a dinner party where you’re already stretched for time.

The Nantes Carrot Stew has definitely been added to my list of “go to” vegetable sides.

Nantes Carrot Stew

Nantes Carrot Stew
By Thomas Keller, Ad Hoc at Home

• 2 pounds sweet carrots, preferably Nantes
• 1 tspn coriander seeds
• 1 tspn caraway seeds
• 4-6 Tbsp (2-3 ounces) unsalted butter
• Kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp dry sherry or Madeira
• 1 cup fresh carrot juice
• Large pinch of Yellow Curry Powder or Madras curry powder

1. Peel the carrots and cut them into oblique shapes.

2. Make a sachet of the coriander and caraway seeds by wrapping them in a piece of cheesecloth and tying it with kitchen twine.

3. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the carrots, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until the carrots begin to give off their juices, about 7 minutes. Lower the heat as necessary to keep the carrots from browning. Add the sherry and cook for 2 minutes. Add the carrot juice, curry powder, and sachet and, and cook, swirling the pan, for 2 more minutes, or until the carrots are just tender. (The carrots can be cooled and refrigerated in the liquid overnight.) With a slotted spoon, transfer the carrots to a bowl. Discard the sachet.

4. Simmer the carrot juice until reduced to a light glaze. Whisk in the remaining 2 to 4 tablespoons of butter, depending on your preference, 1 tablespoon at a time. Season to taste with salt, add the carrots, and swirl to glaze the carrots. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Serves 6

Northeast Ohio Barbecue Classes

I love all things barbecue. I love reading about it. I love talking to others about it. I love cooking it. I love sharing it. Most of all, I love eating it.

I recently finished reading Mike Mills’ Peace, Love & Barbecue, and went to the KCBS website that was listed in the back of the book. While I was wandering around the site I noticed a link for classes. To my surprise The Heat Exchange Hearth and Patio Shoppe was holding a class taught by award winning pitmaster Chris Marks of Three Little Pigs in Kansas City, Missouri. I knew this was something I really wanted to do.

It’s been my experience that barbecue classes (like food) can range from the very expensive (Myron Mixon from Jack’s Old South offers a three day course for the low, low price of $750) to the extremely reasonable five hour course with Chris Marks for just $75. A cursory search through the KCBS website showed that classes offered by these experienced pitmasters hovered in the $200-$300 range.

If you haven’t been to Heat Exchange Hearth and Patio Shoppe in North Ridgeville, you’ve got to go. If there’s a store in northeast Ohio with a better selection of barbecue and grilling gear I’d like to know where it is. They sell an absolute ton of grills, smokers, tools, charcoal, and smoking wood. Most places carry either chips or chunks, but I was pretty stoked to find quartered logs of apple wood that measure roughly 6” in length.

Piece of Apple wood from a bag of Good One brand

The two main subjects covered for the class were ribs and chicken. We started the class off by prepping ribs the way Chris likes to do it. We removed the membrane, tenderized the meat with a fork, covered them with mustard, and then applied the rub. I personally had never used the mustard or the fork methods before, so I was interested to see how they worked.

Without giving the blow by blow of the entire class, all I can say is that there really wasn’t a point where you weren’t talking about barbecue with either Chris or your fellow classmates. In fact, I found the exchanges between some of the others at my table equally enlightening. A guy at my table, who also has a Big Green Egg, was telling me about how great the BBQ Guru works. The value of the class wasn’t just what the instructor was sharing, but also the exchange of information from the other attendees.

At the end of the class you took home the ribs that you prepped (that had been smoking during the entire instruction) to be finished in the oven. I can say that I walked away with a few more tricks than I had come with. I think what I liked most was that the lessons weren’t being delivered as the absolute right way or wrong way. Chris Mark does a great job of patiently answering every question that is asked of him. It was just a great experience.

So is all lost? Did you miss your opportunity? Well, yes and no. Chris will be coming back on Friday September 24th for a 3 hour grilling class that covers meat, fish, and vegetables. The next day he will be holding a Brisket and Pork Butt class that covers everything from marinades to rubs to injection to finishing techniques. If it’s anything like the Ribs and Chicken class, he will answer any and every question that relates to the subject.

I typically don’t post anything that I myself am not going to, but literally three days before this Brisket and Pork Butt class was scheduled we booked our vacation to San Francisco. My recommendation is that you sign up sooner rather than later (there’s only 30 seats). There were people who had come from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and even one from Canada who ended up not showing. I have no financial interest in any of this, but walked away so impressed with both the store and the class that I want people who truly love barbecue to know about this.

These are some other classes that are a little more expensive (Viking) and a little cheaper (OCBC) for those who might live on the east side or in Akron/Canton. If you haven’t been to Old Carolina you should try it.

Other barbecue classes currently available (Click class title for links to the class):

The Heat Exchange Hearth & Patio Shoppe - $75.00 Brisket and Pork Butt, $50.00 Grilling Class

Old Carolina Barbecue Co. (at Belden Village Store) - $29.95 Basic Barbecue, $19.95 Creative Grilling

Loretta Paganini - $55.00 How to make four different kinds of ribs (4 seats left)

Viking Cooking School - $135 Barbecue Basics

Asparagus Coins

In the next week or so asparagus should be making its grand entrance at most of the farmers markets here in northeast Ohio. Since we try to buy most of our vegetables from local producers we typically find ourselves scrambling to find good recipes as things come into season. On the whole, I think we’re actually ahead of the game a little bit since we have a couple of seasons under our belt. Always looking to add to the arsenal, this little recipe from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc is about as easy as they come.

I think on the whole the recipe is pretty good; it certainly has plenty of room for free styling if you so choose. I like the fact that there are roughly five ingredients that aren’t oil, salt, pepper, or water. Nothing sucks worse than skipping the mis en place and finding that you don’t have enough of something, (five ingredients make it that much easier to do). Note that the Chive Oil needs to be made the day before. I tried the mandolin on these suckers and found it a little difficult. (I am terrified of shaving off the top of my knuckles.) Make sure you get rid of the toughest parts of the asparagus. If you get thicker pieces they don’t cook up very well. Make sure your asparagus are thin pencil like stalks.

Asparagus Coins

Asparagus Coins
By Thomas Keller Ad Hoc

Chive Oil
1 cup ½ inch pieces chives
1 cup canola oil

Put the chives in a fine mesh basket strainer and run under hot tap water to soften them and remove any chlorophyll taste. Drain them and squeeze as dry as possible.

Put half the chives in a Vita-Mix, add oil just to cover, and blend for 2 minutes. Add half the remaining chives and oil to cover and blend for another 2 minutes. Add the remaining chives and oil and blend for another 2 minutes. Pour into a container and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Place a piece of cheesecloth over a bowl and secure with a rubber band to make a smooth, tight surface. Pour the chive oil onto the cheesecloth and let sit for an hour to allow the oil to drip through.

Remove and discard the cheesecloth; do not wring out the cheesecloth, or it may cloud the oil. Refrigerate the oil in a covered container for 2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.
Makes about ½ cup

Parsley Water
6 Tbs water
1 tsp canola oil
1 Tbs honey
3 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, washed and patted thoroughly dry

Pour the water into a small bowl and freeze until the water is ice-cold.

Heat a medium frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the honey and heat to melt and lightly caramelize it for a few seconds. Add the parsley with the honey and wilt it, about 30 seconds. Transfer the contents of the pan to the ice-cold water to chill the parsley leaves.

Transfer the parsley and liquid to a Vita-Mix and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh basket strainer into a storage container. The parsley water can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
Makes a scant ½ cup

Asparagus Coins
1 ½ lbs. pencil-thin asparagus
3 Tbs chive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup Parsley Water

Divide the asparagus in half and bundle each with a rubber band. Snap off the bottom of 1 stalk of asparagus to see where it breaks naturally. Cut across the bunches to trim all of the spears to the same length.

Slice on a Japanese mandolin. Alternatively, you can slice the asparagus with a sharp chef’s knife.

Put the tips in a large frying pan, add the chive oil, season with salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat, swirling the ingredients together, until the tips are coated with oil and begin to sizzle, 1 ½ - 2 minutes. Add the asparagus rounds and cook until the edges look cooked but the centers are still raw. Add 3 tablespoons of the parsley water, stir to coat, and cook until the asparagus is tender, 1 ½ - 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the remaining parsley water, and stir to coat.
Serves 6

Red Velvet Ice Cream

Hubby loves Red Velvet Cake. I love ice cream. We both love ice cream mixed with cake. Therefore, I decided to see if I could pull off a concoction that married the best of both worlds.

Red Velvet Cake recipes are everywhere…so much so that I was overwhelmed by the options I found on the Internet. Some call for butter, others use oil. Almost all call for a generous serving of red food coloring (Though, I did see at least one recipe that used beets to dye the cake).

I finally settled on a largely reviewed and positively received recipe for Red Velvet Cake from Epicurious.com. I can’t comment on the entire recipe because I stuck strictly to making the cake (sans berries and icing). The cake was surprisingly light and made waaaay more cake then I would ever need for this project. Next time, I’ll cut the recipe in half.

For the ice cream, I went to the source: Dave Lebovitz’ “The Perfect Scoop” and was delighted to find a recipe for Cheesecake Ice Cream. When I went to make the ice cream base I averted almost near disaster after opening the package of cream cheese at 10pm to find that 2 ounces were missing…I must have used some before and forgot about it! A wonderful resource that had I just discovered earlier that day helped me do some quick conversions to account for having less cream cheese than the recipe called for. I tasted the mix before chilling and it was perfect…tasted just like cheesecake.

When it came time to actually make the ice cream, I decided to briefly chill in the freezer the bite size pieces of red velvet cake that I wanted to mix in. I then added them as I transferred the finished ice cream into the container, finding that they broke apart pretty easily.

My husband, the Red velvet cake afficianado, declared that the finished product tasted just like a piece of red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, but colder. We augmented the final dish with some buttered pecans and extra pieces of cake. Revisions for the next batch will include adding larger pieces of cake, and possibly some of those yummy pecans.


Cheesecake Ice Cream - Adapted from “The Perfect Scoop” by Dave Lebovitz

6 ounces cream cheese – cut into small pieces
Zest of 1 lemon
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons half and half
½ cup sugar
Pinch of salt

Zest lemon directly into a blender; add sour cream, half and half, sugar, salt and cream cheese. Puree until smooth and chill in fridge at least 24 hours.

Churn mix in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Mix in chilled pieces of red velvet cake as you transfer ice cream from the machine to its container. Freeze, wait patiently and then enjoy!

AMP 150

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Over the years I’ve been to enough “in hotel” restaurants to know that unless you’re in the middle of nowhere or staying in luxury accommodations, the menu is going to be pretty pedestrian. In most cases the only thing blander than the food is the décor. When I look for a place to eat while traveling, the hotel restaurant is something I avoid like the plague.

You can imagine the lukewarm response I initially gave when a friend of mine suggested we go to AMP 150 on West 150th and I-71 in the *gulp* ….Marriott. Exciting buzz about a new chef in town putting out great food – yes. Dinner at a hotel in Cleveland not named Ritz Carlton or Baricelli Inn – no thanks.

As we walked through the lobby toward the restaurant it was fairly typical in terms of the open style of the layout. A stylish bar area with a well stocked bar packed with unwinding hotel patrons sits off to the left of the dining room. The seating is comprised of a spacious mixture of tables and booths. (The semi-circular booths in the center of the space are prime real estate.) The bones of the interior architecture still tell the story of a hotel restaurant, but the décor certainly has an updated feel to it.

Enter Chef Ellis Cooley.
This is where the idea of the chain hotel restaurant and the predictably bad menu diverge. If I had to sum up Cooley’s approach, it would be an undeniable commitment to using high quality ingredients while offering an affordable menu. His strategy is to keep the entrees under $20, while not cutting corners on the quality produce and proteins. . The greater vision is to appeal to both guests at the hotel, as well as the Cleveland dining scene.

The last time I was there Ellis was talking about putting in a garden in the back of the hotel. When I contacted him through Facebook asking him about the planned garden, this is what he had to say:

“The garden is underway it is going to be huge…about a 1/4 acre for the vegetable garden and the herb garden will consume our courtyard. KJ Greens’ owner Jeremey Lisey will be helping get everything started and teaching me as we go. Also Jorgensens Apiary will be donating some bee hives to put on the roof of the hotel to help with pollination.”

So what is the food like? My heart was won over when I ordered the Double Bacon Cheese Burger (complete with unbelievably awesome Benton’s Bacon, Ohio Cheddar, and house made pickles). Their unconventional Chicken Paprikash is really good. I actually think it would work well as an entrée (just a bigger portion size and price). I’m also a fan of the Sweet Soy & Peanut Chicken Wings with Kim Chee. Craft beer is the only thing you’ll find on tap here; a wide variety (and by that I mean over 100) of both imports and domestics are offered in a bottle.

Amp 150 is on OpenTable so make sure you get your 100 points. For parties of 4-6, I would highly recommend the aforementioned booths, (tables 31, 32, 33). One the amazing things I learned is that the kitchen is open every day until midnight! When I fly into Hopkins Airport my routine is usually picking up pizza from Donte’s in Berea. With these late night hours, though, I think the new routine is going to be a stop at AMP 150.

It would be very easy for Ellis to simply mail it in and run a typical hotel restaurant that offers up middling food and charging business travelers inflated prices. It would also be easy to qualify himself as using local by sprinkling a couple of local sourced ingredients on the menu and calling it a day. Cooley has made a tremendous amount of progress in a relatively short period of time of wiping away the stigma of the typical hotel restaurant. I look forward to watching AMP 150 grow as the seasons change in the upcoming year. Whatever you do, don’t let the hotel scare you off.

AMP 150
4277 W 150th St
Cleveland, OH 44135
(216) 916-0104

www.amp150.com