September 2012

the best French toast you’ve never had (surprise: it’s vegan)

INSIDE: our guide to drinking · vino nadoz breaks the chain · the fight over foie s t. l o2012 u is’ i n d e pe n d e nt cu l i n a ry au th o r it y September

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se p t em b e r 2 012 • VO LUM E 12, Issue 9 PUBLISHER MANAGING EDITOR ART DIRECTOR SENIOR STAFF WRITER CONTRIBUTING EDITOR SPECIAL SECTIONs EDITOR Fact checkers PROOFREADER PRODUCTION DESIGNER ONLINE EDITOR EDIBLE WEEKEND WRITER CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

RELATIONS DIRECTOR OFFICE MANAGER ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER SENIOR ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE ADVERTISING EXECUTIVES

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Allyson Mace Stacy Schultz Meera Nagarajan Ligaya Figueras Julie Cohen Stacy Schultz Kelsi Crow, Robert Severson Emily Lowery Michelle Volansky Stacy Schultz Byron Kerman Jonathan Gayman, Ashley Gieseking, Laura Miller, Greg Rannells, Kristi Schiffman, Carmen Troesser Glenn Bardgett, Matt Berkley, Julie Cohen, Ligaya Figueras, Kellie Hynes, Byron Kerman, Cory King, Meera Nagarajan, Michael Renner, Stacy Schultz Erin Keplinger Sharon Arnot Erin Keplinger Angie Rosenberg Rachel Gaertner, Jayson Gifford, Erin Keplinger, Allyson Mace, Angie Rosenberg Jill George Kelsi Crow

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St. Louis, MO 63103 editorial policies The Sauce Magazine mission is to provide St. Louis-area residents and visitors with unbiased, complete information on the area’s restaurant, bar and entertainment industry. Our editorial content is not influenced by who advertises with Sauce Magazine or saucemagazine.com.

Our reviewers are never provided with complimentary food or drinks from the restaurants in exchange for favorable reviews, nor are their identities as reviewers made known during their visits.

September 2012

contents September 2012

9 A La Carte

Reviews 15 new and notable: Vino Nadoz Off the Chain

38

15

44

by Michael Renner

19 Nightlife: Horizon Boutique Nightclub Expanding the Horizon at Harry’s

by Matt Berkley

21 Cook’s books: Vince Valenza’s Favorites

By Julie Cohen

Home cooking 23 What in the world: Rose hips

by Ligaya Figueras

24 Vegetize it: French Toast

23

by Kellie Hynes

26 One ingredient, 7 ways: Avocado Green Goddess

by Julie Cohen, Ligaya Figueras, Kellie Hynes and Stacy Schultz

28 The New Classics

features 31 Notes from home How one woman’s courage led

The Crow’s Nest’s Grilled Cheese

her to a life in food

By Stacy Schultz

By Julie Cohen

Last course 48 Stuff to do this month

by Byron Kerman

50 Five questions for: Carl Hazel

by Byron Kerman

cover details

38 Excusez-Foie A delicate conversation just got more complicated

BY Kellie Hynes

44 The Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich

vegan banana-almond French toast: p. 24

Photo by Carmen Troesser vino nadoz breaks the chain: p. 15 the fight over foie: p. 38

BY Meera Nagarajan and stacy schultz = recipe on this page

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Sanctuaria’s Joel Clarke sips the Sarrono Sling he created for the Disaronno 2012 Mixing Star Bartender Competition.

Just Pin It | Are you pinning yet? Pinterest.com is our favorite new way to let you know about the recipes we’ve created, the dishes we’ve devoured and the products we’re completely obsessed with. Find us on Pinterest @saucemagazine to see everything we can’t get enough of right now.

Stirring Up a Winner | In this year’s Guide to Drinking – neatly tucked inside this September issue – we tell you about five cocktails that have garnered attention at bartender battles this year (page 12).

Want to wow the guests at your next dinner party with your mad mixology skills? Find the recipes for these award-worthy tipplers at SauceMagazine.com/ recipes.php.

Photo by jonathan gayman

DIY or Die | So you’re not one of those people who learned to cook from Mom? Hey, some of us grew up on mac and cheese, alright? And that’s why we have Cook Wise – the column for people who want and like to cook but haven’t the foggiest idea where to start. Think you can’t master a perfect soufflé?

We’re here to prove you wrong.

Head to SauceMagazine. com/slide/ to learn how to make everything from a mean meringue to the cutest darn hand pies you’ve ever seen.

Tune in to St. Louis Public Radio 90.7 KWMU’s Cityscape on Friday, September 14 at 11 a.m. and 10 p.m., as we chat about the breweries and restaurants teaming up to create the unique brews we feature in our 2012 Guide to Drinking.

September 2012

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EAT THIS

It’s PIGS IN A BLANKET ... sort of. At BLOOD & SAND, this American cocktail app gets a Vietnamese makeover. The house-made sausage is laden with hints of ginger and chiles and swaddled in a crêpe that’s studded with poppy seeds and pepper flakes. A splash of sweet sauce made from local maple syrup, fish sauce and lime zest finishes things off with a flare that’s worthy of the members-only restaurant’s swanky space.

Photo by jonathan gayman

Blood & Sand • 1500 St. Charles St. • St. Louis • 314.241.7263 • bloodandsandstl.com

September 2012

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best seat in the house U r ban Ch estn ut B r ewi n g Co.

3229 Washington Ave., St. Louis, 314.222.0143, urbanchestnut.com

[beer] During no other part of the year are beer styles tailored more toward the seasons’ change than the fall and winter. This month, we savor malty, rich and often spicy harvest and pumpkin ales.

– Cory King, certified Cicerone and brewer at Perennial Artisan Ales

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Schlafly Pumpkin Ale Of all the pumpkin ales I’ve had from breweries around the country, this is easily one of the best. With a deep amber color, the candied cinnamon, fig and pumpkin-pie spices meld with a silky body and a touch of alcohol that’s perfect for the season.

Goose Island Harvest Ale This extra special bitter has a balance of American hops and English toffee that’s just right for fall. The easily noticeable aroma of floral Cascade hops is backed by a nutty, toasty, luscious malt backbone and a nice, clean finish.

Perennial Artisan Ales Heart of Gold Heart of Gold is known as a wheat wine, an Americanized style and hybrid of an English barley wine. The abundant wheat, warming alcohol and deep caramel malt additions provide a velvety, rich, fluffy body that pairs perfectly with dishes of the harvest season.

September 2012

photo by ashley gieseking

Can’t wait until Oktoberfest to enjoy a round of brews with a few hundred other likeminded drinkers? Every day feels like a beer festival when you head to Urban Chestnut’s new 400-seat Biergarten.

Order a cold one at the finely crafted beer pavilion, then grab a seat at one of the communal German tables. Let the prost-ing begin.

photo by greg rannells

It’s easy to lose your cool when you find yourself the host of an impromptu dinner party. When you need a 10-minute dish that will make your guests gasp with envy, make this poached salmon with mustard sauce – an entree so stress-free, you’ll still have time to comb your hair before the first drink is poured.

Combine 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise, ½ tablespoon each of plain yogurt and sour cream, 1 teaspoon of mustard, ½ teaspoon of freshly grated ginger and ¼ teaspoon of honey in a bowl. In a wok, bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Add four, 6-ounce salmon fillets and reduce the heat. Simmer until the fish is slightly translucent, about 8 minutes. Remove from the pan, drain and pat dry. Spoon the sauce over the salmon and garnish with freshly minced chives.

– Ligaya Figueras

September 2012

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tasty under ten greenwich veggie with avocado: $8.75

The Greenwich Veggie at Cafe Manhattan doesn’t fit the typical cult sandwich profile: The cheese isn’t melted. The bread isn’t toasted. The sauce doesn’t leave beads of sweat running down your forehead. And the meat? Well, it’s MIA. But make no mistake, I dream about this sandwich. How can I harbor this much love for a ‘wich that’s missing its main ingredient?

One word: balance. From the crunchy cucumber, juicy tomato and none-too-spicy slivers of red onion to the mellow Provel, buttery avocado and cold, creamy dill sauce, it’s garden freshness the way it was intended: smashed between two thick slices of wheat. The fact that you can get it for less than a Hamilton? Well, now you’ll be dreaming about it, too.

– Stacy Schultz

Cafe Manhattan, 505 S. Hanley Road, Clayton, 314.863.5695

Photo by kristi schiffman

[wine] Glenn Bardgett, Annie Gunn’s wine director and a member of the Missouri Wine and Grape Board, weighs in on which wines to drink this month. Check your favorite wine shop or liquor store for availability.

September 2012

Filus Torrontes 2010, Cafayate, Salta, Argentina Three different importers recently brought me samples of Torrontes – the floral, juicy and fruity white wine of Argentina. Within a three-hour period, I experienced three very exciting wines.

Each impressed me, but this $12 bottling was the one that led to the most notes – and the biggest smile.

Angel’s Secret Sauvignon Blanc 2010, High Valley, Calif. There are lots of reasons why I pick a wine each month, but this is a new one. Not only is this white – made by rock star winemaker Bob Pepi – totally delicious (Lots of wines are delicious.), it’s my first wine from the appellation of High Valley. It’s a $16 beauty from a new subregion of Lake County, just north of Napa Valley.

StoneCap Estate Grown Merlot 2010, Columbia Valley, Wash. It’s so exciting to discover not only good merlot, but exceptionally good merlot that’s also cheap. While we’re spotlighting the merlot here, this 1,300-acre Washington estate is producing numerous varietals, all with the same attitude of superb value for about $10. Fill your wine racks, folks!

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reviews In an asparagus salad, roasted green and white spears cradle a bed of peppery arugula that gets tossed with a lemon vinaigrette.

The egg perched on top appears to be poached but has actually been simmering away in an immersion circulator.

new and notable: vino nadoz p. 15 nightlife: horizon boutique nightclub p. 19 cook’s books: vince valenza’s favorites p. 21

Off the Chain

by Michael Renner • Photos by Jonathan Gayman

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he guy at the next table stares at the massive double pork chop presented to him on a slab of wood. Across the way, a couple digs into a ramekin of pork rillette, spreading the rich, rustic pâté on crostini. Me? I opted for the pasta of the day, the one with house-made Italian sausage. You have to love a restaurant that institutes its own pork week for no other reason than because it can. But with Chris DiMercurio designing the menu, it only makes sense. DiMercurio took over the kitchen at Vino Nadoz Wine Bar in May by way of the pork-centric Taste by Niche. Clearly, the porcine influence is still fresh in the young chef’s mind.

Vino Nadoz is the latest entry in Steve and Kathy Becker’s family of eateries.

Vino Nadoz Their business model includes a successful Wine Bar & Cafe, catering company and two bakery16 The Boulevard, cafes: one next door to the bistro in The Richmond Heights, Boulevard in Richmond Heights, and one 314.726.0400, in the Coronado Ballroom building they vinonadoz own, across from Saint Louis University. winebar.com (Nadoz, by the way, is pronounced NAHdoze, as in “CoroNADO’S.”) For such a young operation (It opened in March 2011.), Vino Nadoz has had a number of chefs cycle through the kitchen, including a brief stint by Amy Zupanci after she closed her fondly remembered restaurant Fond in Edwardsville, Ill. Outside, the patio looks onto The Boulevard, a short strip of upscale shops and chain restaurants so contrived that I halfway expected a floodlight to fall from the sky, à la The Truman Show, alerting me that it’s all a big movie set manufactured to feel like Main Street USA. Stay here long enough and you, too, will mindlessly hum the endless ’50s and ’60s pop songs emanating from the outdoor speakers hidden along the promenade. Inside, there is respite: coolly contemporary, almost Zen-like surroundings outfitted with bamboo panels, subtle lighting and sleek wine racks behind the long butcher-block bar.

As wine bars go, Vino Nadoz’s selection is thoughtful, affordable and varied enough to keep you interested in the 30 wines offered by the glass, bottle and, yes, September 2012

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review new and notable: vino nadoz

House-made Italian sausage joins sauteed Swiss chard and thin Braeburn apple slices in a light broth swaddling long strands of house-made fettuccine.

pasta water. Every flavor – tart, spicy, bitter, salty, even a bit of sweetness – married into a fragrant little mound of chewy happiness.

Come fall, I hope to find this dish again.

for purchase to take home at a reduced price.

A rotation of local brews is well represented on draft, ranging from 4 Hands, Urban Chestnut and Perennial to Schlafly and O’Fallon. And no bistro would survive today without a modern array of specialty cocktails. The ones here fit right into current trends: boozy and retro with a modern twist.

pizzas, entrees and desserts. Produce and meats are locally sourced as much as possible, with providing farms listed on the wall-sized chalkboard. That pasta of the day, the one with Italian sausage made in-house, consisted of slender strands of house-made fettuccine tossed with Swiss chard and thin slices of Braeburn apples.

The only binder came from the liquid rendered from sauteeing the greens, fruit and loose meat mixed with a bit of starchy

The menu is a compact and well-curated assortment of small plates, salads, focaccia

Where Vino Nadoz Wine Bar & Cafe, 16 The Boulevard, Richmond Heights, 314.726.0400, vinonadozwinebar.com

When Tue. To Thu. – 4 to 10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. – 4 p.m. to midnight

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There are other entrees, or Signature Plates as they’re listed on the menu. Roasted chicken is a bistro staple. Here, it’s a legthigh portion and half a breast dry-rubbed with herbs and salt and then pan-roasted, the skin crackling under the knife, the juicy meat yielding to the fork. Underneath is sauteed Swiss chard and sweet-and-savory corn bread to round out the dish. The horseradish-encrusted beef tenderloin was pan-seared to medium-rare but lacked even the slightest hint of the root’s kicky pungency. The accompanying potato-leek hash was flavorful but suffered from quite a few undercooked taters.

As a small plate, the cider-braised pork belly is a good starter, with its crispy edges and tangy flavor from the cider and preserved lemon.

A purée of English peas, field greens and goat cheese add another layer of texture

Don’t Miss Dishs House-made pastas, panroasted chicken, roasted asparagus salad

and sweetness. Salads are given special attention. For the roasted asparagus salad, white and green stalks are arranged boxlike, the middle area filled with peppery arugula, tossed with lemon vinaigrette, and topped with a poached egg and bits of crispy prosciutto. That farm egg provided the creamy, dense yellow richness that comes only from a slow simmer in an immersion circulator. The summer salad, one of the most satisfying I’ve encountered, combined tender greens with summer peaches, chopped dried cherries, fruity Sungold tomatoes and radishes tossed in a tart cherry vinaigrette.

The addition of Missouri black walnuts imparted the intense nuttiness that come only from our state’s variety. Pizzas, about a nine-inch round, are made on cushiony soft focaccia crust and served on bamboo cutting boards. The vegetarian Mediterranean was colorful and flavorful, topped with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, pepperoncini and feta.

The best part? Baba ghanoush was the sauce.

Desserts range from the elegant – Christopher Elbow chocolates with a glass of cabernet – to the whimsical – deconstructed s’mores with house-made marshmallow and graham cracker dust.

There’s local Serendipity ice cream, but the kitchen makes it own versions, including a delicious bourbon-and-pancetta ice cream made with pork fat-infused bourbon and topped with crispy pork bits.

Word has it that the double pork chop will reappear on the menu sometime later this month. After seeing how quickly that guy demolished his chop, I for one plan on reappearing, even if it’s not pork week.

Vibe Clean lines, subdued lighting, the quiet alternative to the nearby chain restaurants.

Entree Prices $11 to $17.50

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review nightlife: Horizon boutique nightclub

Expanding the Horizon at Harry’s

by Matt berkley • photo by kristi schiffman

F

or sheer density of carefully primped creeps, boozed-up gym rats, would-be power players and overdressed gold-diggers frantically texting the night away, few nightspots rival Harry’s for people watching during peak outdoor social season. During the weekend blitz, the patio teems with hordes that descend on the institution to troll for digits, stand in line for shots, and avoid making eye contact with and/or tipping the ubiquitous bathroom attendants. Ever the consummate after-hours destination, Harry’s has recently taken steps to avoid showing its age. Enter Horizon Boutique Nightclub – a slick little newcomer primed to keep Harry’s late-night scene active year-round. It would be easy to dismiss Horizon as little more than another readymade lounge. Like its big brother, the bar is hardly as exclusive as it portends to be. (Any self-proclaimed hot shot who can handle a $5 cover charge can count himself included in the social elite.) Plus, September 2012

ahem, sure it’s visible, but the actual view of the downtown horizon is fairly mediocre. Nonetheless, the new little club has its charms. Take, for instance:

The Space From the central spot behind Horizon’s new bar, the resident DJ holds reign over the dance floor – spinning great mixes of forgotten ’80s and ’90s tracks along with the standard top-40 hits. Formerly a dining room, the 3,000 square feet that now house the club is more classically dressed Horizon Boutique (Think fireplaces Nightclub at Harry’s and chandeliers 2144 Market St., St. instead of strobe Louis, 314.421.6969, lights.) than horizonatharrys.com the standard minimalist tones found in most upscale dance venues.

Compared to its contemporaries, Horizon (unlike its rowdy clientele) is tastefully understated. Deep purple and gold lights stream across the dance floor that’s encircled by the massive suede-covered bar and a handful of tall booths that hug the windows. These seats are snatched up quickly, not only because they offer a respite from the dancing, but also thanks to their view of the platforms where various leather- and lace-clad go-go dancers strut to the music above the crowd. Flanking the DJ and a few steps up is a private section with a row of VIP tables that look down on all the action. Here, reserve parties enjoy personal bottle service and their own private bathroom (nice touch). Stick around long enough after midnight and you will bear witness to certain special effects such as liquid nitrogen jets that release cold fumes into the crowd.

The Crowd Sure, maybe a few of the aforementioned regulars take themselves and their outfits seriously, but when it comes down to it, they’re the exception. Most people are there for the show. Train wrecks never get old. And Horizon (like Harry’s) has a way of drawing on one’s morbid fascination with “it’s so bad, it’s good” entertainment. Saturday night is no exception. An hour or so before midnight, the entrance starts to fill with random gaggles of 20-something ladies who strut their way onto the patio for a quick cigarette before ducking into the club to grab a cocktail. Before long, they’re on the dance floor and by 1:30 a.m., the small space (Capacity is 250 or so.) is nearly overflowing with fashionable types pushing their way to the center of the action.

The Booze isn’t bad. Get there before midnight, and you’ll enjoy the run of a fully stocked bar with all the high-end favorites you can imagine, including the ubiquitous lineup of flavored vodkas, which are ably mixed. There is a cocktail menu, but during high tide, if you can reach the bar at all, you’ll want to stick to the basics (domestic bottles and straight shots). For something more substantial (i.e. a well-crafted dry martini or an Old-Fashioned laced with rye), simply step outside to Harry’s main bar, where your money is still welcome and the bartenders are, as always, class acts.

reserve it: Horizon Boutique Nightclub

Wanna really get the Horizon experience? Reserve a VIP table, complete with personal bottle service and a bird’s eye view of the action.

The best part of that VIP table: You get your own private bathroom.

Ultimately, Horizon is an enjoyable add-on to a classic temple of upscale debauchery.

Though imaginative, the club, under its own steam, would likely run aground (as most upstart lounges do) within a year or two.

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review

4 Books for Upping the Ante on Family Dinner

Cook’s books: vince valenza’s favorites Home Style Italian Cookery by Pauline N. Barrese “She has recipes which are the closest to my mom’s, like her marinara sauce. My mom would just throw things in, though, and she [Barrese] has the quantities, so I can convert them over to larger batches for the deli.”

Barbecue America: America’s Greatest Barbecue Recipes by Rick Browne and Jack Bettridge “This book gives you rib rubs and chicken rubs. When I needed to come up with a pulled pork and pulled chicken recipe, this is where I went.”

Owner, drummer and blues-lover Vince Valenza is the man behind such swoon-worthy creations as The Carmelo, 7th Street Sicilian and the Wednesday special Aporkalypse Pretzelwich at Benton Park’s Blues City Deli. Hoping to pump up the flavor in your family dinners this school season?

Valenza recommended these reads for doing just that.

– Julie Cohen

Emeril’s New New Orleans Cooking by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch “I use this for some basic soup bases and seasoning mixes.”

The Gumbo Pages (gumbopages.com) by Chuck Taggart “This is my No. 1 go-to. Here, I learned to make things like a rémoulade and an olive salad for my muffaletta.”

photo by greg rannells

Once the soccer games and piano lessons pile up, cooking dinner for the family tends to fall by the wayside. From long meals that will gather the whole family to quick and easy dinners that won’t set you back more than a 10-spot, here are a few books to help you keep your back-to-school sanity. Every Tuesday on the blog at SauceMagazine.com, check out By the Book where we cook and share recipes from these books. Then, enter to win a copy to add to your collection. – Julie Cohen

Whatever Happened to Sunday Dinner?

A Year of Italian Menus with 250 Recipes That Celebrate Family by Lisa Caponigri As an Italian-American who grew up with Sunday dinners, Caponigri believes that a family who eats together stays together.

Here, she offers ways for you and yours to do just that.

September 2012

The Meat Free Monday Cookbook by Meat Free Monday Campaign, Annie Riggs and Paul, Stella and Mary McCartney These 52 meatless menus – created for every Monday of the year – will have you looking forward to Mondays for the first time since kindergarten.

Martha’s American Food: A Celebration of Our Nation’s Most Treasured Dishes, from Coast to Coast by Martha Stewart Stewart does it again. With food histories interspersed throughout beautiful photos of landscapes and ingredients, she provides 200 perfected recipes for the classics.

Ten Dollar Dinners: 140 Recipes & Tips to Elevate Simple, Fresh Meals Any Night of the Week by Melissa d’Arabian Food Network’s d’Arabian, host of Ten Dollar Dinners, offers a slew of recipes that will feed a family of four and impress even your foodie friends for under $10. saucemagazine.com I SAUCE MAGAZINE I 21

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what in the world: rose hips p. 23 vegetize it: french toast p. 24 one ingredient, 7 ways: avocado p. 26 the new classics: grilled cheese p. 28

what in the world are

rose hips?

Delicate rose petals

are a cook’s delight, but once that fragrant bloom dies, the berrylike portion that contains its seeds is ripe for culinary creations.

Typically reddish-orange in color, rose hips offer a fruity tang similar to that of cranberries, with hints of lemony citrus.

Use it: Rose hips are most often found in dried form.

Use them as part of an herbal tea mix. Stock your pantry with jars of rose hip syrup to add to beverages, savory sauces or even baked goods.

Find it: Cheryl’s Herbs, 7170 Suite A, Manchester Road, Maplewood, 314.645.2165, cherylsherbs.com. Sold dried.

Rose Hip Applesauce

photo by greg rannells

6 Servings

Fresh rose hips September 2012

8 Gala apples, peeled (optional), cored and coarsely chopped ½ cup (about 2 oz.) dried, cut rose hips ¼ cup Koval Rose Hip liqueur* ¼ cup Sandhill sorghum**

Juice of 1 lemon Up to 1 cup water or apple juice, divided Cinnamon stick (optional) Freshly ground cinnamon for garnish • In a large saucepan, combine the apples and rose hips.

• In a bowl, whisk together the liqueur, sorghum and lemon juice. Pour the mixture over the apples and rose hips. Add the cinnamon stick, if using.

Stir well to combine.

• Place over mediumlow heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add water or apple juice, ¼ cup at a time, so that the applesauce does not scorch. Cook until the apples and rose hips are tender, about 45 minutes.

• Remove the pan from the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick, if using. If a smoother consistency is desired, transfer to a food processor and purée.

• Garnish each serving with freshly ground cinnamon.

* Available at Randall’s in South City and North County, shoprandalls.com ** Available at Local Harvest Grocery, localharvestgrocery.com

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home cooking Vegetize it: french toast

Vegan French Toast

BY Kellie Hynes • Photo by Carmen Troesser

Want to take your French toast to the next level?

Top it with a dollop of vegan whipped cream. Get the recipe at SauceMagazine.com/recipes.php.

one meal at a time. Since breakfast is yummy for any meal, I tackled vegan French toast.

A quick Google search yielded multiple ideas for vegan egg substitutes. My grocery list is often limited to what I can grab at Target, so ground flaxseed wasn’t gonna happen. But other substitutes – bananas, tofu, applesauce – seemed totally doable.

My bananas were taking up valuable sprouter space. I threw them in the blender, along with coconut shavings and enough almond milk to make it as thin as a traditional egg-and-milk batter. Blend. Dip. Fry. Wow. Delicious vegan French toast that tasted like warm, sweet banana bread.

If there’s a way to sneak extra protein into a meal, I’m all for it. My second batter mixed silken tofu, coconut milk and ginger. Blend.

Dip. Fry. Meh. It was bland. I could do better.

Not giving up on the extra protein, I started over with soy yogurt and added applesauce, since fruit had made my first batter a hit. Blend. Dip. Fry. Home run.

This combination tasted like baked apples.

The soy wasn’t noticeable, but the yogurt added a tangy je ne sais quoi.

Vegan Banana-Almond French Toast

A

few months ago I felt overwhelmed, over tired and just flat-out over it. I flopped into a spa whose brochure promised Reiki and yoga and a fully stocked bar.

Three days later, I was twinkly again. But folks, it was the food that pulled me together. Some was vegan. Some was raw. All of it was fresh and light and full of “super food” ingredients.

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With a kale smoothie surging through my veins, I declared that my family would only eat spa food. We would throw away our microwave and stack wheat-grass sprouters on the countertop instead. Spirulina would be our new BFF. After my children rolled their eyes and tossed Doritos into each other’s mouths, I realized it’d be easier to overhaul our food

To make your vegan French toast look pretty, you could add fresh fruit slices or dollops of vegan whipped cream. But honestly, you can eat it plain and feel happy. These recipes aren’t just good for you; they’re actually really good.

Vegan Banana-Almond French Toast 12 to 14 slices 1½ cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 to 4 bananas)

1½ cups almond milk 1 tsp. raw cane sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 2 Tbsp. shredded unsweetened coconut 2 Tbsp. butter or canola or vegetable oil for frying 12 to 14 slices whole-wheat bread • Preheat a griddle to 325 degrees or set a frying pan over medium heat.

• Combine the first 6 ingredients in a blender. Blend until most of the lumps are gone. Pour the batter into a shallow bowl and set aside.

• Drizzle the oil on the hot griddle or pan.

Working in batches, lightly dip both sides of the bread slices in the batter and place on the hot cooking surface.

Cook until browned and crispy, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. (Add more oil between batches to prevent sticking.)

• Serve immediately.

Vegan Apple-Vanilla French Toast 8 slices 4 cups unsweetened applesauce 12 oz. vanilla soy yogurt 2 Tbsp. apple juice or water 2 Tbsp. raw cane sugar, optional 2 Tbsp. butter or canola or vegetable oil for frying 8 slices whole-wheat bread • Preheat the griddle to 325 degrees or set a frying pan over medium heat.

• Combine the first 3 ingredients and sugar (if using) in a blender. Blend until most of the lumps are gone. Pour the batter into a shallow bowl and set aside.

• Drizzle the oil on the hot griddle or pan.

Working in batches, lightly dip both sides of the bread slices in the batter and place on the hot cooking surface.

Cook until browned and crispy, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. (Add more oil between batches to prevent sticking.)

• Serve immediately.

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home cooking one ingredient, 7 ways: avocado

Green Goddess

By Julie Cohen, Ligaya Figueras, Kellie Hynes and Stacy Schultz

M

ove over, guacamole. This green-fleshed tropical fruit has so much more to offer.

Turn it into savory breakfast bites, creamy soups, filling entrees, tasty drinks, even dessert.

1. Pancakes In a bowl, combine until smooth: 1 cup whole milk, 2 mashed avocados, 1 egg, ¼ cup lime juice. In a separate bowl, sift together: 1¼ cup flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir together wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Preheat a skillet over medium heat and lightly coat with canola oil. Pour ¼ cup batter into the pan for each pancake. Cook until bubbly.

Flip and cook underside until golden. Top pancakes with smoked salmon, capers and horseradish cream sauce.

2. Smoothie In a blender, combine 2 frozen bananas, flesh of 1 avocado, ¼ cup plain yogurt, ½ cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon honey, juice of half a lime. Blend until smooth.

3. Enchiladas Simmer 2 dried ancho chiles in enough water to cover for 10 minutes.

Reserve liquid. Cool, de-stem and de-seed chiles. Purée in a food processor with 1½ cups simmering liquid until smooth. Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and set over medium heat. Saute half of a diced onion, 2 smashed garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons each brown sugar, ground cumin and dried oregano for 5 minutes. Add chile purée, 2 cups dry white wine, 2 cups vegetable stock, 1 can crushed San Marzano tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring frequently, until thick and stew-like. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a bowl: diced flesh of 4 avocados, ½ cup fresh lime juice, ½ cup freshly chopped cilantro, 1 diced and seeded jalapeño, salt and pepper to taste. Spread 1 cup enchilada sauce in bottom of large casserole dish. Fry a corn tortilla in hot oil for 3 seconds and then coat each side in enchilada sauce. Place 1 tablespoon avocado filling in center and sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese. Roll up and place seam-side down in dish. Repeat with 7 tortillas. Top with ladleful of sauce and sprinkling of cheese. Make second

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layer of 8 more tortillas and top with remaining sauce and more cheese. Bake at 400 until hot and bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes.

4. Soup Inspired by Deborah Madison’s Cold Tomato Soup with Avocado and Lime, our version amps up the avocado. Peel, seed, chop and reserve juice of 8 large tomatoes. In a food processor, purée until smooth: tomatoes and reserved juice, flesh of 4 avocados, 1 yellow onion, 2 garlic cloves, juice of 1 lime. For thinner consistency, add vegetable broth, ¼ cup at a time. Stir in 1 teaspoon green habañero sauce, ¼ teaspoon each ground chile powder and ground cumin, salt and pepper to taste.

Chill soup in refrigerator. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Garnish with diced, raw zucchini; sweet corn kernels; chopped cilantro; sour cream; and lime wedges.

5. Croutons To make the avocado crouton chef John Johnson bejewels his Caesar salad with at Lumiere Place and River City Casino restaurants, largely dice 2 avocados.

Squeeze half a lime over them and add a few pinches of salt. Dredge the avocado pieces in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Tap off excess flour. Dip into a bowl filled with 2 large or 3 medium beaten eggs and juice of half a lime. Remove and drain excess. Roll in Panko breadcrumbs. Coat evenly and place on sheet pan. Bake 10 minutes in 375-degree oven, until golden brown (or deep-fry or pan-fry in canola oil).

6. Milkshake Combine flesh of 1 avocado, 2 cups dark chocolate ice cream, 1 cup skim milk in a blender. Blend until smooth. Top with dollop of whipped cream and lemon zest.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

7. Mousse Peel, pit and dice 2 large ripe avocados and place in a large mixing bowl. Add ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons agave nectar and beat with a mixer on medium speed until there are no large lumps. Gently fold in ¹∕³ cup Nestle Toll House Cocoa.

Add 2 tablespoons chocolate almond milk and beat again until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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home cooking the new classics: Grilled cheese Let’s face it: We could all use a little more fruits and veggies in our diets. But there’s just something in our DNA that leads our brains to choose the fatty and filling over the clean and crisp. The good folks over at The Crow’s Nest are proving that bringing produce into the kitchen can be as easy as infusing the flavors of the season into one of life’s guiltiest pleasures. Here, fall apples are simmered in sugar and fresh herbs until soft and spreadable. Two slices of bread, a whole lotta cheese, a wee bit o’ honey and a hot pan later, and you’ve got a grilled cheese that’s salty, sweet and a helluva way to welcome cooler temperatures.

– Stacy Schultz

Grilled Cheese Courtesy of The Crow’s Nest 1 SERVING

• First, make the apple-rosemary compote: Combine the apples, sugar, rosemary and water in a medium saucepan and stir to combine. Set over medium heat, stirring frequently until the apples begin to fall apart. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or until the compote reaches a soft, chunky consistency.

• Once the compote is ready, assemble the sandwich: Place both cheeses on 1 slice of bread and smear the compote on the other slice. Drizzle honey over the compote.

• Combine the slices so that the cheese- and compote-covered sides are facing one another.

• Place the sandwich in a dry skillet over medium heat. Once the underside is nicely browned, flip and grill the other side until it is browned and the cheese has melted.

• Serve immediately.

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Photo by jonathan gayman

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped ¼ cup sugar 1 tsp. rosemary ¼ cup water 2 slices Pugliese bread 2 slices cheddar ¼ cup shredded smoked mozzarella Honey to taste

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Notes From Home How one woman’s courage led her to a life in food by julie cohen | photos by greg rannells

These tattered pages, filled with annotations about spices and flavor profiles in a Slavic language, just might need their own insurance policy.

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F

F a t i m a K u z e l j eyed her workstation and took a

deep breath. With the focus of a dancer moving her toe to the sound of that first note, she dove into a giant metal bowl of mushrooms with an eye on the clock. In the time it took her to inquire about a coworker’s new grandchild, she had finished slicing the mushrooms and was trotting to a seven-foot-tall wire-shelving unit. She pulled two paint-can-sized tubs of seasoning down from the Brobdingnagian spice rack and carried them back to her station where she fingered salt, Italian seasoning and oil through the slivered stems, spreading them on a tray that she lifted onto her shoulder and carried to the oven. The next bowl held five pounds of artichokes. As she seasoned and spread them on another tray, her forearms flexed, hinting at what could become a mean backhand if given a different arena. Replacing the mushrooms for the ’chokes in the oven, she headed back to her station, disappearing momentarily and returning with another metal bowl filled with bell peppers. She rinsed them, pulled out their ribs and seeds, and started slicing, her knife moving quickly and gracefully, like a conductor’s baton during an allegro movement.

Halfway through the bowl, she paused for the first time in what felt like hours but had only been the length of two pop songs blaring from Butler’s Pantry’s kitchen radio. She swished her fingers through the mound of sliced peppers, mixing the yellows with the reds and greens. Smiling for just a split second, she admired her work before heading back to the spice rack.

Kuzelj (pronounced coo-zhel) made her choreographed dance around the hot, busy kitchen appear effortless, but her first twirl in an industrial kitchen wasn’t quite so graceful. When Patty Long Catering Co. hired her 19 years ago, she had never stood before a stove other than her own. “When I see that whole wall of seasoning, I say, ‘Whoa. I will never remember that,’” Kuzelj recalled. Back in her native Bosnia, seasonings were minimal: “basically onion, garlic, salt, pepper and that special Vegeta.” So she tucked a small

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notebook and pen into the pocket of her apron and began scribbling English to Bosnian whenever she learned a spice’s job.

Soon, she knew that paprika could be used for flavor, for color or as garnish; that thyme’s herbal notes complemented tomato-based dishes. She was a quick learner. She had to be. After all, she was never supposed to create recipes for parties and galas.

“We hired her to clean, iron and do housework,” recalled Greg Ziegenfuss, now executive chef for Butler’s Pantry Catering, Café Madeleine and Bixby’s. One day when work got busy, Ziegenfuss called Kuzelj into the kitchen. “He wanted me to peel a carrot, an onion, just to help for one moment,” she remembered. “He asked me if I could do what he did, to … ,” she paused, searching for the right word; “to garnish.” After work that day, Ziegenfuss marched out to the car waiting to pick Kuzelj up. He told her 14-year-old son that his mother was no longer a cleaning lady; she was going to be a chef. He asked the boy to explain that to his mother because, well, he couldn’t.

“I couldn’t speak even one word [of English],” Kuzelj recalled, smiling. “I don’t know how I understood when he asked me to do what he did.

But I did it fast.”

When Kuzelj first arrived in the U.S., she knew she needed to find work. “It doesn’t matter what I do,” she remembered telling herself. “I can learn. I just don’t want to sit down and wait for someone to give me something. I don’t like that.” She’d only been in The States for 45 days when Ziegenfuss brought her on in 1993. “When they hired me for cleaning, I say, OK that is job. … My life totally changed.”

But a career change was mere trifle compared to the changes Kuzelj had endured over the last year. Following the fall of communism in Europe, Bosnia-Herzegovina – made up of Muslim Bosniaks, Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs – declared independence from the former Yugoslavia.

Some Bosnian Serb nationalists wished to stay

with Serb-dominated Yugoslavia, however. Backed and armed by Serbia, they embarked on an ethnic cleansing campaign across the Bosnia-Herzegovina countryside in 1992. Calling the war complex is an understatement, but its result was horrifically straightforward: Neighbors began killing neighbors seemingly overnight, as the three ethnic groups fought a civil war that would last almost four years and claim more than 100,000 lives.

In Prijedor, a city in the northwestern corner of the country, Kuzelj and her family were forced to wear white armbands and fly white flags to distinguish themselves as Bosniaks. One evening after dinner, Kuzelj’s husband left to share a cigarette with friends. “He never came home,” she said softly.

Both Kuzelj’s husband and brother had been taken to a Serb-run prison camp. “I not even know my husband was alive.” With her office job long gone and the fate of her husband uncertain, Kuzelj had few options. “Stay in house and wait for someone to come kill you,” she stated matter-of-factly; her voice quiet, her tone now sharply blunt.

Almost a year later, Kuzelj’s phone rang. “I get call from Red Cross that there was someone to talk to me. Then my husband get on phone.” She smiled, wistfully. Her husband, she was told, was resettled in St. Louis with a handful of other Bosnian refugees. When Kuzelj’s paperwork arrived, she and her children could join him.

Two and a half months had passed when a Serb soldier walked into Kuzelj’s home and claimed it as his own. He promised Kuzelj that, when he returned in two weeks, he would kill her children if so much as a spoon was missing from his new house. With Serbs patrolling the streets and nowhere for them to go, the only thing Kuzelj and her family could do was wait, hoping the necessary papers arrived before the soldier. But they didn’t.

When Kuzelj finally had the right papers in hand, which arrived right after the soldier, she followed her children out her front door; each child clutching a small plastic bag of clothes, the only September 2012

Fatima Kuzelj with her son, Dr. Denis Kuzelj.

When he was 14, Denis — with only minimal knowledge of the English language — helped his family navigate an international journey to St. Louis. Once there, it was his job to translate the message that would change his mother’s life.

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This tomato salad was the first dish Fatima Kuzelj brought into the American kitchen from her native Bosnia nearly 20 years ago. These days, hundreds of St. Louisans flock to her salads each week for Sunday brunch at The Palm House.

September 2012

things the soldier would allow. As Kuzelj walked out, she tossed her house key in the garbage, knowing she would never get to use it again. But the hardest part was leaving her mother, who, still hoping for news of her missing son, couldn’t bring herself to leave. As we sat on a couch inside Kuzelj’s South City home, Kuzelj closed her eyes and drifted back to that day. Now, with the knowledge that her brother had been killed in a prison camp, she whispered her mother’s words: “‘Don’t think about me. Save your kids.’”

Eleven packed buses were allowed out of Prijedor that day. Every time the buses stopped en route to the border between Bosnia and Croatia, Serbian soldiers pulled someone off. “They kill and they come back on with a bloody knife, asking who was next,” she recalled, shuddering at the memory.

Eventually, Kuzelj and her children made it to a friend’s home in Zagreb, Croatia, where they stayed for three months.

O

Once their flights were secured, Kuzelj and her children stepped onto a plane for the very first time. After flying from Croatia to Germany to New York, Kuzelj, with $5 in her pocket and no luggage to claim, walked through Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and saw her husband waiting.

It had been a long year.

O n c e s h e w a s p r o m o t e d to the Patty Long kitchen, Kuzelj knew she had one more hurdle to overcome if she were to succeed: She needed to learn English.

Most people would buy books or take classes. But Kuzelj is more of a visual learner. “I just watch everything. I listen to how people talk and try to remember.” She paused. “You know what I tell myself always? I can. I have to. I want.”

Oftentimes, I’ll ask her something I might have taught her 15 years ago, and she will then show me how to do it.”

She’s also the owner of one very prized possession: Her notebook, the same one she has carried for 19 years that is now the collective consciousness of both Patty Long and Butler’s Pantry. When Kuzelj’s car was stolen several years ago, Ziegenfuss – after affirming that Kuzelj wasn’t harmed – had just one question for her: “But did they take your notebook?”

On Sunday mornings, Kuzelj can be found in the kitchen at Café Madeleine, where she runs brunch in the oldest standing greenhouse west of the Mississippi. Nestled in Tower Grove Park, Sunday brunch in The Palm House rouses an ambiance of special. And as soon as I stepped into the room, it was clear why. It was also clear that those mushrooms and artichokes and rainbow of peppers she’d been slicing weren’t being baked down into a broth and puréed, or roasted to sit aside a juicy pork shoulder. They were being made into a salad – the kind Kuzelj has been making every week for devoted brunch-goers for the past 10 years. Salad was the first dish Kuzelj brought into the American kitchen – a simple combination of ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, crisp cucumbers, slivers of piquant red onion, and a little salt, pepper, olive oil and white vinegar.

Big, bright, colorful, it was an ode to the talent Kuzelj has for capturing the flavors and colors of the season. “She understands,” said Ziegenfuss, who quickly put her in charge of setup and display at the weekly brunches. “She has a real good feel for mixing colors, textures – figuring out orchestrations, just making things pop.”

Early one summer morning in the Butler’s Pantry break room, Kuzelj’s coworkers arrived one by one. The gardener. The interns. The president of the company. They all greeted Kuzelj warmly with an imperceptible bow of their heads. She has earned respect in the ranks of the kitchen, a place renowned for hard-knocks learning and little patience. Yet when it comes to titles, she refuses. “I am just employee,” she said, looking me square in the eye, challenging me to disagree.

“And I try and do best. When I do good job and make people happy, title doesn’t mean [anything] for me.”

And pop they did. Under The Palm House’s arched glass ceiling and marble pillars, sleepy-eyed diners completely bypassed the cakes and waffles and casseroles and meats to swarm Kuzelj’s salads. From the spicy (bok choy, snow peas and mushrooms) to the sweet (broccoli, ruby red cherries, wild rice, crisp apples and carrots) to the refreshing (cubes of juicy red and yellow watermelon, slivers of cucumber and a dusting of fresh mint), every dish – nine in total – sparkled both in appearance and flavor. Julia Child once famously claimed that the test of a good chef was a perfectly roasted chicken; but here, Kuzelj makes a strong case for the measure of a perfect salad. No vegetable was overcooked, no green overdressed.

But to Ziegenfuss, Kuzelj is his right hand. “She’s very good at seeing the vision,” he explained. “If I say, here’s what I’d like to do, it always looks better than what I had envisioned.” When Ziegenfuss moved from Patty Long Catering to Butler’s Pantry 11 years ago, he brought Kuzelj with him. “She is still such a sponge for knowledge.

During the week, Kuzelj’s responsibilities are hardly as precise. “Every day is different,” she explained, just the way she’d hoped it would be nearly two decades earlier. When I met up with her again, in the span of just a few minutes, she rolled and cut sushi, delicately plucked purple flowers from a bouquet and instructed a CIA

September 2012

intern on the proper way to garnish. “Greg put [them] next to me and say, ‘show.’ It make me kind of proud.” But learning from Kuzelj requires practice, for she teaches the same way she learned: through observation. “All my recipes are in here,” she said, gesturing to her head. “I never measure. What I make, it good. I look with my eyes. I say, honey, you just do everything. I do one thing for you and I say, you just follow that. If you don’t know, you just tell me; I show again.”

“All my recipes are in here,” she said, gesturing to her head. “I never measure. What I make, it good. I look with my eyes.”

Kuzelj is entrusted to do just about anything in the kitchen at Butler’s Pantry, but she draws the line at catering a Bosnian wedding. “No, no, there are too many foods!” she exclaimed. “American weddings, easy ... chicken, rice, veggies ... that can’t be dinner for Bosnian wedding. Bosnian weddings, there are big buffets, so many different foods – veal, beef, chicken, lamb ... it is tradition. It is just one time in life you marry,” she laughed. “OK, for some, few times.”

“But for me, one time,” she said, recalling the man she traveled here for all those years ago. When her husband passed seven years ago, they had spent more than three decades together. And while she has catered hundreds if not thousands of weddings during that time, when it was her time to say her vows, she eloped. And she encouraged her daughter to do the same. “It’s for yourself,” she said. “Not for people. Good barbecue, good friends; that is for me.”

Kuzelj doesn’t visit Bosnia anymore. “My family is here: my kids, my granddaughter and Butler’s Pantry. Believe me,” she reiterated. “If you love your job, you’re going to love all around you.”

Three years ago, she returned to Bosnia to bury her mother. On the flight back, she was sure the trip would be her last. “When I fly over the Arch, I say, ‘Thanks God, I’m home.’”

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e A delicate conversation just got more complicated by kellie hynes | photos by carmen troesser

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Foie pâté

Robust Wine Bar 227 W. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves, 314.963.0033, robustwinebar.com

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Justin Haifley, executive chef at The Tavern Kitchen and Bar in Valley Park. “Those ducks have a better life than a steer on a feed lot.”

Food is more than fuel. Food is comfort, adventure and, if properly prepared, responsible for five of the seven deadly sins.

At the tippy-top of the So Wrong But So Right list is foie gras.

Foie is the fatty liver of a duck or goose. It’s also a lightning rod for animal-rights activists.

The root of the controversy is gavage (guh-vazh), a cringeworthy process whereby the waterfowl are force fed to enlarge their livers. Recently, the debate over the ethics of this process has exploded, culminating, at least for now, in a law that banned California restaurants from selling foie beginning July 1.

So, has the harsh light the West Coast has shined on the issue caused chefs here in the Show-Me State to shy away from the crème de la crème of offal? Not quite. In fact, several area white hats are having more fun with foie than ever before – tucking it into nostalgic snacks and even stacking it atop what we typically consider dessert.

But that doesn’t mean they’re ambivalent to the issue. All of the local chefs I spoke with for this story source their foie from Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a New York farm that hand-feeds its ducks in a cage-free, stress-free environment. “I’ve been there.

I’ve seen the ducks. Everything is out in the open,” explained

It’s a comparison we hear from diners and chefs alike, one that’s voiced throughout the international culinary community and right here in local kitchens. “Any animal could be mistreated. So if you’re going to give up foie, you’ll have to give up beef and pork, too,” stated Joe Hemp, who has been working with the fawned-over delicacy at Robust Wine Bar since he took the exec chef spot back in February 2012. “That’s why you have to know and trust where your meat is coming from. When the animal is treated right, there isn’t any reason not to eat it.”

If foie is on your permanent So Wrong and Never Right list, this information probably won’t change your mind. But me? I’m relieved, because foie and I have been having an illicit relationship ever since I ate my way through the Loire Valley back in 1996, spending my paltry francs on fancy plates of foie instead of fancy glasses of vin. The taste and texture is absolutely transcendent – like the best creamy butter in the world, only creamier and butterier with the sinful decadence of duck fat.

A testament to the supreme powers foie possesses: the Citrus-Scented Foie at Truffles.

Here, executive chef Brandon Benack marinates a slab of foie in a sweet and citrusy marinade of Cointreau, vanilla bean, shards of mace and orange zest and then sears it atop a hot griddle. The now delicately crisp foie gets layered on slices of a candied-pecan pound cake amplified with Grand Marnier and orange zest (aka the Best French Toast Ever) that have been soaked in

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vanilla custard and then fried.

House-made apple butter and savory caramel sauce seal in this precise balance of savory and sweet. “I’ve cooked foie 1,000 different ways, and this is my favorite. It’s the pinnacle of years of foie experimentation,” Benack explained to me, as I pealed myself off the floor.

Foie Pockets

The Tavern Kitchen & Bar 2961 Dougherty Ferry Road Suite 101, Valley Park, 636.825.0600, tavernstl.com

Foie gets a more whimsical treatment at The Tavern, where chef Haifley offers a gourmand’s take on the Hot Pockets of afterschool snacking fame. For his Foie Pockets, he stuffs puff pastry with chunks of foie, mushrooms and food-lovers’ other soughtafter delicacy: truffles. The bundles are then fried, rolled in Parmesan and herbs, and served with a mild mushroom sauce and beurre blanc (That’s French for a dreamy butter, wine and cream sauce.). While foie purists might resent the mushroom intrusion, those who trust their taste buds will think these are the fanciest, tastiest little pockets they’ve ever tried.

But why did this unpretentious chef put such a fancy ingredient on his menu?

“As a chef, you want to give customers the experience of a food that you think is good,” explained Haifley. “People who have never heard of foie can try it and hopefully love it.”

For Hemp, his love of foie struck when he was in the kitchen at Annie Gunn’s preparing foie burgers that oozed with luscious duck fat. (People, I’m telling you: Duck fat is sublime.) Now that he’s at Robust, Hemp prepares

a foie pâté using the French torchon technique – French for “towel,” as it involves a fourday-long process during which Hemp soaks the liver in milk, rolls it in a cloth, poaches it, rolls it again and then chills it.

The now near-perfect foie later gets whipped into a lighterthan-air pâté that melts lazily and seductively with every bite. In a nod to tradition, Hemp caps it with duck fat and clarified butter, which you can eat if you’re feeling particularly decadent. (Extra calories, for sure. But at this point, what’s a few hundred more?) It’s a worthy preparation, and one that comes straight from the history books, not to mention the kitchens of The French Laundry.

As local chefs keep their finger on the pulse of ethical issues and their palate ever pressed for the Next Big Thing, should we expect

even more experimentation on the foie front – possibly something along the lines of the foie milkshake on the menu at Flip Burger Boutique in Atlanta? Not so fast. “Foie is so expensive, I don’t want to waste a piece, or waste the life that gave it, by messing around,” Hemp explained.

And there’s the rub. While these chefs may not be worried about a ban here in Missouri like the one that hit California this past summer, price may ultimately limit the amount of foie we see on menus. Since California foie producers closed their doors, the cost of Grade-A foie has increased 60 percent to approximately $50/ pound. At that price, chefs have to make hard choices about how, and how frequently, they offer the treat. Which means foie-lovers must pay for their affair, or end it.

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Citrus -Scented Foie Truffles 9202 Clayton Road, Ladue, 314.567.9100, todayattruffles.com

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A great breakfast sandwich is something to behold: crispy bacon, a blanket of molten cheese, the freshest produce and a bright orange yolk oozing from the bread’s toasty corners. It’s sandwich art at its best and the ideal way to treat your taste buds to all the food groups on a lazy weekend morning – er, afternoon. But don’t be fooled by its simplicity; this drippy mess is a carefully curated sum of many moving parts. Ruin just one, and that first bite will make you want to pull the covers right back over your head. Don’t have time to taste test ingredients? We did the legwork for you.

Here’s everything you need to make the ultimate breakfast sandwich. Step 1: Roll out of bed.

by meera nagarajan and stacy schultz | photo by carmen troesser

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1

THE EGGS

It all starts with the egg – the fresher, the better. If you’ve never worked with farmfresh eggs before, you’ll notice the difference as soon as you crack them open: that golden yolk glistening, the bright white forming just right.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a screaming hot pan. When it foams, crack the egg into the center and let it set. Turn the heat down to low and let it cook until the yolk is still quivering just a wee bit, about 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Remove to a plate and keep warm.

2

THE BACON

5

THE SAUCE

The Berkshire Cured Bacon from Salume Beddu has the perfect ratio of crispiness to chewiness, thanks to just enough fat and the thickest cut we’ve seen yet. Cured in a secret blend of spices – peppercorns and brown sugar among the only we’re allowed to talk about – this bacon is mildly sweet with a peppery kick that pushes all other strips of swine out of the running. The key to crispy, golden goodness: Cook ‘em low and slow, then drain on a paper towel-lined plate until ready to use. $8/12 oz.

Salume Beddu, 3467 Hampton Ave., St. Louis, 314.353.3100, salumebeddu.com

3

THE BREAD

6

THE GARNISH

Naan is the sandwich bread you’ve been searching for. When toasted, it gets flaky on the outside – crunching but not crumbling with each bite – and fluffy on the inside – like a soft pillow you can’t wait to seek your teeth into. And its neutral flavor doesn’t overpower the true star of the sandwich: the egg. We pick up a bag at House of India, but you can grab a stack at a local grocery store. $1.75/naan. House of India, 8501 Delmar Blvd., U. City, 314.567.6850, hoistl.com

For a sauce that’s creamy with a kick, spread a thin layer of Hellmann’s Mayonnaise on the side of the naan that has cheese melted atop it. Top the mayo with a thin stripe of Sriracha and spread it into the mayo. It will be just enough heat to wake you up without making you sweat.

4

THE CHEESE

A thick, juicy tomato slice adds a cold sweetness to the sandwich like only these summer jewels can. We fell in love with the Green Zebras from EarthDance Farms, but any farm-fresh heirloom variety will do. Price varies. EarthDance Farms, earthdancefarms. org, available at Ferguson and Schlafly Farmers Markets

egg Photo by CARMEN TROESSER

Cheddar may be a classic, but pick up a wedge of Marcoot Jersey Creamery’s Smoked Gouda and you’ll never go back. Even when melted, it boasts an intense smokiness that stands up to the heat of the sriracha-laden sauce.

Shred a little (or a lot) on the top of the naan.

Then place it under a hot broiler for about 30 seconds, or until it gets all hot and bubbly. Toast the underside in a hot, buttered pan for about 2 minutes, or until crisp. Then, cut the naan in half crosswise. $5/6 oz. Marcoot Jersey Creamery, marcootjerseycreamery.com, available at Schlafly and Tower Grove Farmers Markets

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stuff to do:

helped local farmers grow or raise more than 200 different heirloom varieties of produce and heritage breeds of animals.

this month

Cafeteria Man Sept. 24 – 7:30 p.m., Schlafly Bottleworks slowfoodstl.org

by Byron Kerman

Blueberry Hill’s 40th Anniversary Bash Sept. 8 – 8 p.m., Blueberry Hill · 314.727.4444 blueberryhill.com Owner Joe Edwards is pulling out all the stops for this one. Blueberry Hill, the nostalgic restaurant that kick-started the rejuvenation of The Loop, is turning 40, and it’s hard to imagine that the joint will be able to contain all the well-wishers expected to turn up for the party. The fun includes karaoke; crowning of the Blueberry Hill Baby (one man and one woman whose birthdays are closest to Sept. 8, 1972 at 8 p.m.); screening of opening night footage from 1972; a huge theme cake made by Moonrise Hotel pastry chef Claire Robberson; the Wheel of Prizes; a chance to win drinks and prizes for guests born on Sept. 8; and live music by the winners of the “I Found My Thrill” video contest. Check blueberryhill.com before the event; the restaurant is sponsoring a different contest each day for 40 days prior to the party.

Prizes include hotel stays at Moonrise and bowling parties at Pin-Up Bowl.

Chefs in a Garden Sept. 9 – 6 to 9 p.m., Palladium Saint Louis 314.588.9600 gatewaygreening.org

Gateway Greening, we love you. You lift up economically depressed areas with community gardens that yield low-cost, healthy food, bring the community together and beautify the area. The area chefs love you, too. That’s why the chefs behind Sqwires, Frazer’s, Pi Pizzeria, Nico, Vin de Set, Local Harvest, Lucas Park Grille, Onesto Pizza & Trattoria, Sage Urban American Grill, Mosaic, Duff’s, and Bixby’s will all be in the house whipping up small plates at your big annual fundraiser, Chefs in a Garden. It sounds delicious and delightful.

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Hudson Whiskey Dinner Sept. 11 – 6:30 p.m., Annie Gunn’s · 636.532.3314 smokehousemarket.com Whiskey is all the rage right now, and what with all the wine and beer dinners in these parts, it’s refreshing to see a whiskey dinner at one of our burg’s finest. Annie Gunn’s welcomes Gable Erenzo of New York’s Hudson Whiskey for an outdoor repast featuring a mouthwatering lineup of treats and liquors. We’re talking grilled rainbowtrout tacos, fried oysters, house-made USDA Prime corned-beef sandwiches, poached salmon with a pear-rosemary conserve, braised veal cheek on grits with a toasted pecan-soy-caramel gravy, New York cheesecake with smoked sea salt and toasted cinnamon caramel, and more.

Courses are paired with acclaimed corn whiskeys, rye whiskeys, whiskey cocktails, single-malt whiskeys and a four-grain bourbon. Call for reservations.

Art of Food Sept. 22 – 6 to 10 p.m.

Koken Art Factory slowfoodstl.org The big annual Slow Food St. Louis benefit Art of Food attracts a top-notch group of area restaurants for a one-nightonly bacchanal. Hors d’oeuvres made almost exclusively with locally sourced ingredients will be dished up by Niche, Sidney Street Cafe, Farmhaus, Kaldi’s Coffee, Local Harvest Café, Companion, The Crossing, Entre, Home Wine Kitchen, Kakao Chocolate, Mad Tomato, Salume Beddu, Sanctuaria, Pint Size Bakery and Kitchen Kulture. The gourmet snack-a-thon – complete with a food-themed silent auction and live music – funds the activities of Slow Food St. Louis, which advocates fresh, local and sustainably produced food. One of the group’s good works, the Small Farm Biodiversity Micro-Grant program, has

You may recall the uphill battle waged on the short-lived Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution TV show, in which the titular chef tried – and failed, mostly – to get the school lunches ladled out in a West Virginia town to become more nutritious. In much the same spirit, rebel chef Tony Geraci tried to change the school-lunch program in his native Baltimore. The documentary about his fight against the public school system, called Cafeteria Man, screens this month via Slow Food St. Louis’ Food on Film Series.

The film begins with graphic footage of the terrible school cafeteria food we all knew and loathed (which hasn’t really changed much over the years) and segues into one man’s struggle to get other adults on-board with his plan to bring locally grown, fresh produce into school kitchens. Look for a scene or two with Michael Pollan, also.

Taste of St. Louis Sept. 28 to 30 – Soldiers’ Memorial · 314.534.2100 x 22 tastestl.com The return of downtown’s Taste of St. Louis food-centric extravaganza promises fun in every direction. Sauce Magazine’s Restaurant Row features fare from great places like Bistro 1130, Bogart’s Smokehouse, Hank’s Cheesecakes, Harvest, Kakao Chocolate, Milagro Modern Mexican, Oceano Bistro, Waffle-licious and about two dozen more. Food celebrities like Tom Pizzica of Food Network’s Outrageous Foods, Marc Bynum of Food Network’s Chopped and Mark DeCarlo of Travel Channel’s Taste of America will offer demos and commentary, while the Chef Battle Royale will pit 7 of the area’s most accomplished culinary innovators against one another onstage. Don’t forget to check out the Art & Wine Walk, the Bunge Battle of the Food Trucks, a Grand Tasting Event, live performances by the All-American Rejects and other acts, and the expansive Kid City. Fun, fun, fun.

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sponsored events March of Dimes Signature Chef’s Auction

Sept. 6 – 6 p.m., The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis · 314.513.9955 marchofdimes.com/Missouri This year’s auction promises to wow guests with food from more than 25 area chefs and everything from trips and jewels to a lease for a brand new car up for bids.

More than 600 guests are expected to attend the annual event, which raises money for the Missouri Chapter of March of Dimes. Tickets are $200 while tables are $2,000. Each can be purchased by calling the number above.

Food Truck Friday

Sept. 14 – 5 to 8 p.m., Tower Grove Park · 314.772.8004 saucemagazine.com Join us as we celebrate the city’s mobile eateries with everything from tacos to sushi at this massive picnic in Tower Grove Park.

Form Contemporary Design Show Sept. 28: VIP preview – 7 to 11 p.m., Sept 29: open to the public – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., The Ely Walker Building brownpapertickets.com/event/262403

Celebrate The Luminary’s five-year anniversary at the third annual FORM Contemporary Design Show. The VIP Preview event will include a silent auction for exclusive items from the designers and local businesses with complimentary food and drinks. Once the show opens to the public, guests can watch free forums, participate in on-site consultations, purchase furniture and small wares, and more.

Taste of St. Louis

Sept. 28 to 30 – Soldiers’ Memorial · 314.534.2100 x 22 tastestl.com See details at left.

Denotes a Sauce sponsored event.

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5 Questions for Carl Hazel When chef Carl Hazel moved from The Scottish Arms to Eleven Eleven Mississippi earlier this year, he went from neeps and “tatties” to risotto and arancini. How is he acclimating to his new Mediterranean digs?

We clued in to find out.

What changes have you made at Eleven Eleven thus far? Taking the menu we had and tweaking some things. We do a porchetta every Friday and Saturday night: a whole, young, suckling pig, boned-out and cured and roasted whole. I slowed that down to take care during the curing process.

We’ve tweaked a few sauces to do them in a slower, more traditional, Old World fashion. We eliminated dried pasta – now we make all our own fresh pasta.

Eleven Eleven Mississippi 1111 Mississippi Ave., St. Louis, 314.241.9999, 1111-m.com

You grew up on a farm? Yes, in southeast Missouri.

We raised soybeans, and we had a couple of hogs, ducks and geese running around. The biggest thing I took away is that work ethic, to not be lazy. I didn’t have the conveniences a lot of my friends in town had. I learned the value of work and how to entertain myself. I could jump out in the creek and go fishing and canoeing. I’d go hunting.

Did hunting help you as a chef? You get a sense with game animals, which we’re doing a bit at Eleven Eleven, what the animal’s habitat is: its diet, its habits. And that gives you something to draw from when you’re doing recipes and pairings.

You know that venison was once eating berries, hanging out at the edge of the cornfield. You know what works regionally, too – the venison from Missouri and Arkansas [are] different from the venison of the Pacific Northwest, as far as what they eat and the marbling, for instance. It helps with flavor profiles.

Any quirky hobbies? I recently started collecting old copies of The Joy of Cooking. You find them at garage and estate sales. I just found one from 1968. You flip through them and find a little note that someone put beside a recipe, how a woman thought she could improve it – that’s cool.

– Byron Kerman

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Photo by carmen troesser

What was your favorite food growing up that Mom made? My great, great grandfather came west on a horse and buggy, and the family has an old photo of him, and on the back is a recipe for sausage gravy. My family has always eaten it over cantaloupe. I can’t get behind that combo, but at every major function in the Hazel family, there is fresh, sliced cantaloupe with sausage gravy. Now, melon and prosciutto works, but this is just the weirdest thing, and my whole family loves it.

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