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New England’s food and wine magazine
chowdah! New England, Manhattan & more p.30
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MICHAEL SYMON
Farm-to-Table in the Berkshires
on food, life & TV p.36
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Winter Entertaining at its Homey Best BY LISA GOELL SINICKI | PHOTOGRAPHS BY GLENN SCOTT
old days, colder nights. This time of year, New Englanders are long on time and short on daylight hours. What we need to break the drudgery is camaraderie. And when it comes to camaraderie, nothing brings people together in the winter like a gathering centered around a big wafting pot of chowder. Even better, throwing a chowder party might just be the easiest event you’ve ever hosted. Thick and hearty, it makes a satisfying onedish meal. The chowder itself can be made that morning or the day before — and all you need to go with it is some sort of bread or cracker. And possibly a green salad, but that’s entirely up to you. Chowder is, arguably, New England’s oldest and most traditional comfort food. Arguably, because everyone has their own definition of comfort food, and because everyone has a favorite take on chowder. Chowder is a subject that ignites passions and tempers. Many are willing to come to blows with neighbors to defend their personal favorite as the definitive version. (I’ve read that people in Louisiana feel the same way about their gumbos.)
C
Basic New England Chowder
) (recipe on p. 34
Chowder is derived not from the ingredients, but from the spirit of the dish.
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ersonally, I try to appreciate the good in all chowders, from clear, dairy-free Rhode Island versions to tomatoey Manhattan reds and to creamy New England whites, and even the farmhouse chowders that contain no seafood at all. I think this is because, despite having lived in Maine for a decade, by Down East standards I’m still “from away” — which means my opinion doesn’t hold much weight. Or maybe it’s because much of the chowder of my childhood, red or white, came from a can and I’m certainly not going to lobby for those. But, if you want to talk tradition, there are some versions of chowder that date back further than others. Of course, the exact history is open to some interpretation since, as food historian Sandy Oliver says, “There are no food artifacts.” You can’t unearth an old chowder and deconstruct it. Historians seem to agree that the first chowders were made by sailors about 400 years ago. The inspiration was need. As renowned Boston chef and restaurateur Jasper White puts it, “I’m out to sea, what do I have to make dinner with?” On ships, they had salt pork, water, fish, and hardtack (think long-lasting, nearly indestructible cracker). The sailors layered these ingredients in a caldron and simmered them into a thick and hearty meal, a process referred to as “building a chowder.” Notably, these early chowders were much thicker than today’s chowders and did not include milk or potatoes, both of which made their appearances further down the road. Early chowders had far more pork in them than modern chowders. “They believed that fish couldn’t sustain a working man, that he needed meat,” says White. The texture was thick and heavy, thanks to the hardtack, which absorbed the stock, transformed, and took on a dumpling-like texture. And likely there were bones, fins and fish heads in the pot as well, as they enriched the water into flavorful fish stock as the chowder cooked. White says that at one point in time, the word chowder itself was a verb, as in: “We chowdered a codfish today.” Chowder wasn’t fancy, but it was a treat compared to the alternative. “Plain, boiled fish really isn’t that interesting,” says Oliver. From there, chowder spread and evolved. “The story of chowder tells the story of American cuisine. As various ingredients came into being, they all made their way into chowder,” says White.
Potatoes made their way into the New England diet in the early 1700s and soon after became a chowder staple. It’s less clear when milk came into the picture. Oliver suspects it happened during the 19th century when the culinary trend was, as she says, “Bland was better.” The addition of milk was a tactic to temper the fishiness. Red chowders are probably a result of New England chowder marrying with immigrant tradition. Portuguese and other immigrants melded their tomato-based fish stews with local ingredients and techniques, giving birth to red chowder. As chowder moved west and the choices of ingredients grew, the rules of chowder continued to change. Bacon and other pork products stood in for the salt pork, corn and chicken made their way into the lexicon, and shellfish (especially clams) chowders became as popular as the original fish. In recent years, vegetarian chowder versions have emerged and a whole array of spices have elbowed their way into the pot. White’s own recipe for corn chowder includes cumin, which I suspect a traditionalist like Oliver would heartily object to. So what is chowder? I’ve decided that a traditional New England chowder is made entirely of ingredients found in New England in 1900 or earlier. This definition is, of course, completely arbitrary and has no scholarly basis. But, as I mentioned before, I’m from away. But when you take the next step toward defining chowder and leave tradition by the wayside, things get as murky as pond water. White would argue on behalf of the continual evolution of chowder. His book, 50 Chowders, is highly inclusive of all ends of the chowder world. He includes recipes that range from New England whites, bean, chicken, and even egg chowders. And there is the aforementioned use of cumin. Many people would look at White’s Pheasant and Cabbage Chowder and say, “That’s a soup, not a chowder.” But after speaking with White, I’ve come to understand that chowder is derived not from the ingredients, but from the spirit of the dish. Chowder isn’t intellectualized, the cooking technique is simple, and it never contains fancy or highly expensive ingredients, says White. For instance, there is no caviar in chowder. Ever. “Humble is a key word for chowder,” says White. I’ve decided that’s all the explanation I need. This brings us back to where we started. Wanna beat the winter doldrums? Build yourself a nice chowder and invite some friends over to share it. No matter what recipe you pick, it will be a bowlful of New England culture that is sure to warm you up, inside and out.
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Basic New England Chowder
Manhattan Clam Chowder
Smoked Haddock Chowder
This simple chowder packs a whole lot of options. Mix and match the fish to make it your own. Leave out the dairy to make a clear (Rhode Island) chowder. The recipe’s author, food historian Sandy Oliver, is working on a cookbook, Maine Home Cooking: 300 Recipes From Down East Kitchens, to be published by Down East Books in fall 2012. 1- to 2-inch square of salt pork, finely chopped (or a couple tablespoons of butter, vegetable oil, or bacon fat) 2 to 3 medium potatoes, diced 1 medium onion, chopped 1 pound shellfish, boneless fish filets or a combination Water or fish stock Optional: 14-ounce can of evaporated milk or up to 2 cups of light cream, half-and-half, or whole milk Oyster or Vermont common crackers
This tomato-based chowder was likely created by immigrants of Mediterranean descent. Garlic and herbs give it a distinct and delicious flavor, reminiscent of the classic seafood stew cioppino. The recipe is from Mystic Seafood by Jean Kerr and Spencer Smith. 2 slices pancetta, diced 1 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 stalks celery, chopped 2 cups chopped (1⁄2-inch dice) peeled potatoes 1 ⁄2 cup chopped carrots 3 tablespoons flour 2 cups clam broth 2 cups Clamato juice 2 cups tomato juice 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano 1 bay leaf 2 cups chopped clams 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley Olive oil, salt, black pepper, and hot sauce, to taste
We adapted this recipe by Nancy Harmon Jenkins to use Finnan haddie, or cold smoked haddock, which gives the chowder a rich, smoky flavor. You can ask your fishmonger to order some for you or order it frozen online. 2 ounces lean salt pork or slab bacon, diced 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or lard 2 medium yellow onions, chopped fine 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced Fish broth or water 2 cups whole milk 1 ⁄4 cup cream or 1⁄2 cup half-and-half 2 pounds Finnan haddie filets, cut into chunks Freshly ground black pepper
1. Brown the salt pork in a stockpot or Dutch oven until you have crispy bits. Either remove the browned bits in the pot or leave them in, as you prefer. 2. Add the onion, potatoes, and fish in layers. Add water or stock until you can barely see the liquid through the ingredients. 3. Heat until the liquid comes to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender then add milk or half-and-half. 4. Continue to heat until the milk is hot through, but do not allow it to boil. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Chowder is usually better if it stands overnight in the fridge and is eaten the next day. Serves 3
1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, fry the pancetta until it’s crisp and its fat is rendered. Remove from the pan, drain on paper towels, and crumble. 2. Add the onion, garlic, celery, potatoes, and carrots to the pot. Sauté for about 3 minutes. 3. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and add the broth, Clamato, and tomato juice. Bring to a boil, and continue boiling until the mixture begins to thicken. 4. Add the oregano and bay leaf and simmer over low heat until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. 5. Add the clams, parsley, and pancetta, and simmer for another 3 to 5 minutes. Drizzle with a little olive oil, season to taste with salt, pepper, and hot sauce, and serve with crusty bread. Serves 8
1. Add the salt pork and butter to a heavy soup kettle. Cook until pork is crisp and brown and has released most of its fat. Remove pork bits from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside. 2. Add the chopped onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 15 minutes. Do not brown. Add the diced potato and fish broth to cover. Cover the pot and raise the heat. Simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes. 3. In a second pot, heat the milk or cream until just below simmering. Do not boil. 4. Place fish chunks on top of the potatoes, return cover, and continue simmering, for 5 to 10 minutes. 5. Add the hot milk or cream to the soup, stirring gently. Simmer, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and leave the chowder sitting on the stove for an hour. 6. Turn the heat back on and bring the mixture just to a simmer again. Then cover, turn off the stove, and steep for another hour. (Steeping melds the smoky flavor of the fish into the stock.) Avoid stirring more than necessary. Pepper to taste. Add the browned pork. 7. Repeat the simmering/steeping step one more time, or refrigerate overnight. Bring the chowder back to a simmer and serve with crackers or warm bread. Serves 8
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Corn Chowder There are infinite varieties of farmhouse chowders but the most traditional of these is corn chowder. This recipe comes from Boston chef Jasper White’s chowder treatise, 50 Chowders. 3 medium ears fresh yellow or bicolor corn, husked and cut from cob (or substitute 2 cups frozen kernels) 4-ounce slab unsliced bacon, rind removed and cut into 1⁄3-inch dice 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 medium onion (7 to 8 ounces), cut into 1 ⁄2-inch dice 1 ⁄2 large red bell pepper (6 to 8 ounces) cut into 1⁄2-inch dice 1 or 2 springs fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped (about 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh or a scant 1⁄4 teaspoon dried) 1 ⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 ⁄8 teaspoon turmeric
1 pound Yukon gold, Maine, Prince Edward Island, or other all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into 1⁄2-inch dice 3 cups chicken stock Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons corn starch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water 1 cup cream 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives or thinly sliced scallions (for garnish)
1. Heat a 3- to 4-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the diced bacon. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the bacon is crisp and golden brown. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat, leaving the bacon in the pot. 2. Add butter, onion, bell pepper, thyme, cumin, and turmeric and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 8 minutes until the onion and pepper are tender but not browned.
3. Add the corn kernels, potatoes, and stock, turn up the heat, cover and boil vigorously for about 10 minutes. Some of the potatoes will have broken up, but most should retain their shape. Use the back of your spoon to smash a bit of the corn and potatoes against the side of the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and season the chowder with salt and pepper. 4. Stir the cornstarch mixture and slowly pour it into the pot, stirring constantly. As soon as the chowder has come back to a boil and thickened slightly, remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate. Cover the chowder after it has chilled completely. Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour, allowing the flavors to meld. 5. When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat. Don’t let it boil. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chopped chives. Makes 4 12-ounce bowls of chowder
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SymonSays BY MIKE MORIN
He’s not a New Englander, but we can’t get enough of his big personality. Chef Michael Symon’s bold approach to food and life has landed him a seat at the table of ABC’s, The Chew, the new TV chat fest that often starts with food yet can end up exploring entertaining, travel and other lifestyle subjects. But with Chefs Symon and Mario Batali wielding kitchen tongs, the panel of five celebrities keeps all things food front and center.
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Alexand er Lomb a
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other parts of the country to work for us, and we really pushed the limit. Fortunately, we were busy right out of the gate.” While casual food fans may have missed Symon’s first run of fame, devoted followers realize that he and other local chefs are far from overnight sensations. “You know, in Boston you have people like Chef Ming Tsai and all these fantastic chefs up there. Some are known more than others nationally but in the business they’re all known very, very well, so I think it takes time to grow, and TV helps you reach a larger audience,” he admits. Unlike Symon, Blue Ginger’s Tsai was not successful in his attempt at winning season 3 of The Next Iron Chef, in which Symon (season 1 winner) was a judge. “He’s a good man,” he says of Tsai. “I’ve known him for 15 years. I was actually on the Food Network at the same time he was, and there weren’t a lot of us around then and Ming was one of them. We’ve been friends for a long time, and I really wanted to see him go through, but the other guys really brought it,” Symon says of Tsai’s elimination from the competition in week seven. Compared to another famous TV Simon (Cowell), this Symon’s reality show judging style will never be confused with that of the X-Factor judge’s stinging critiques of contestants. “I’ve been there,” he says. “I know how hard it is to make a great meal consistently all the time in your restaurant, at home, for a cooking competition. I try not to judge them on my palate. I judge them if it’s right or wrong, if they achieve what they said they were going to achieve. I think it’s very easy Photogra ph by
E
ven though America fell in love with the 1990s Food Network version of the Ohio chef and restaurant owner, Symon left his rising TV star behind for several years to pursue his first love — cooking. Then, wife Liz suggested he try out for the popular The Next Iron Chef competition series, and he won. “You know, I was on the Food Network in ’97 and ’98, walked away from it to really focus on the restaurant and just do some specials and things like that,” the James Beard Award-winning chef recalls. “I remained friends with a lot of those people, and Bobby Flay and Mario Batali told me, ‘They’re doing this thing, you should really try to do it. We think you’d have a good chance to win,’ and Liz said, ‘It’s time to go back and give it a try and show America what you can do.’ Obviously, as most men know, your wife is always right so it worked out.” While Symon’s TV presence seemed effortless, the restaurant business in Cleveland was anything but. Symon opened his first restaurant, Lola, for $120,000. Instead of acquiring a bank loan, the chef turned to fans of his food for funding of Lola. “Yeah, we had some money and some family and friends kind of gave us the rest and we paid it back over time and it worked out. I wish I could continue to open restaurants for $120,000 though. Roast in Detroit was $5.5 million, I think,” says Symon. Reviews for Lola were good and business was good, but Symon was just $80 away from bankruptcy when he opened his Second Cleveland eatery. “We almost went under when we opened the second one,” he says. “It took us a year and a half longer to open the second one than we expected, but we wanted to keep all of our staff paid so we continued to pay them. A lot of them had moved from
...
“. . . we’re a society that has been very trapped in low-fat-is-better thinking, and most of that low fat food is heavily processed . . .”
(What else) Symon says . . . Yes, he was less than $100 away from bankruptcy . . . “. . . The restaurant business really is one of those businesses that the harder you work, the luckier you get and I just kind of keep my head down and keep cooking.”
Do his Greek and Sicilian relatives appreciate his cooking style? “I love doing brunch around the holidays ’cause a lot of times there are people staying at the house. It’s a great way to just hang out with family and friends and you can keep it really simple. Great ingredients make it really easy. My grandparents seem to love it. My grandfather’s 95. He still digs it.”
You even tweeted as much about him last April . . . @chefsymon: my 95-yr-old grandfather has been eating offal since childhood. If i called him a foodie he’d probably crack me!! . . . Lol
You love golf. Will you come back as Phil Mickelson in your next life? (Laughs) “I don’t know. I’m not a lefty. I’d rather come back as Tom Watson. But you know, in life you get to do all these things that you enjoy doing and I get to golf a little, I get to cook a little, and I get to do some television, but at the end it all comes down to family, to me.”
What you need to know to see The Chew in person: • The Chew is live Monday-Thursday from 1–2 p.m. An additional show is taped during the week that airs on Fridays. They operate on a first come, first served basis, as ticket distribution may be in excess of studio capacity. • Anyone looking for tickets on show day must pick up a standby number from a Chew audience associate between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon at their audience entrance, located at 30 W. 67th Street in New York City. • Get more details about seeing the show at ABC studios: http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/tickets
for a judge who’s not a chef to sit there and be very critical. But for me, I know how difficult it is and I’m a little bit more forgiving than most judges, and I think most chefs are that way, too.” Like Chew co-host Mario Batali, Symon’s time is now sliced even more thinly due to several restaurants, personal appearances, and TV commitments. So how does one keep all those plates spinning without losing track of what’s being plated back at his Midwest restaurants? “It’s like anything else; you have great people behind you. That’s what makes it successful or not successful. We have 400 employees and a lot of them have been with us for over 15 years. They’re very loyal. They know what we want to accomplish, and they go out and accomplish it with us and for us. That’s really the key,” Symon adds. He admits surrounding himself with good people makes it all possible. “We waited nine years before we opened our second restaurant and 25 of the original 30 people we hired are still with us today. It’s really made growth easy for us and has given me the opportunity to travel. That’s the reason I walked away
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from the Food Network the first time. I didn’t think I could run a great restaurant and be on television, and when I went back and did it again in 2006 and 2007, I was confident we had built a team to run great restaurants and do television also.” Simon’s upbeat style, smile, and approach to food are original and never apologetic, even when it comes to the “Got pork?” tattoo on his chest. Known for his love of meat, pork is at the top of his personal food chain, along with whole and real foods. “You know, we’re a society that has been very trapped in low-fat-is-better thinking, and most of that low fat food is heavily processed,” he says. “It has tons of sugar in it and tons of sodium and our bodies just don’t know how to handle it. If you eat pork chops and whole meats and natural fats, your body just knows how to handle it better and in the long run it’s much healthier. You go to Europe and you watch people eat everything that they tell us not to eat in America and they’re all thin and very healthy and it’s because they don’t eat all the processed junk.” Family has always mattered to Symon. Following his wife’s suggestion to try out
for The Next Iron Chef, Symon’s return to TV food stardom has been successful, while he has his personal compass pointed to family. “It’s given me the ability to reach a larger audience and teach people how important food is to me and what it means to sit at home and cook with your family and share that time together and that’s what it’s meant to me more than anything else.” The following recipes are from Michael Symon’s Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen (Clarkson Potter, $35).
Braised Swordfish Collar with Chorizo and Clams 2 tablespoons olive oil 6 6-ounce pieces swordfish from the collar or loin Kosher salt 1 yellow onion, minced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 fennel bulb, cut into medium dice 1 serrano chile, minced 1 carrot, cut into medium dice 1 ⁄2 pound smoked chorizo, cut into 1⁄4 inch pieces 1 ⁄2 cup sherry 1 small pinch saffron 1 cup chicken stock 1 12-ounce can crushed whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice 11⁄2 pounds middleneck clams (about 24), well washed 2 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves 3 tablespoons sliced fresh basil leaves
1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. 2. In a 7- or 8- quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the swordfish with salt, add it to the pan, and brown it, about 2 minutes per side. Add the onion, garlic, fennel, chili, and carrot; lower the heat to medium, and cook to sweat the vegetables, about 2 minutes. Add the chorizo and continue to sweat. Pour in the sherry and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the saffron, stock, tomatoes, and clams and bring to a simmer. 3. Cover the pot and place it in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the clams open. (Discard any clams that do not open.) Remove from the oven, add the olives, parsley and basil and serve. Serves 6
BONUS RECIPE: Visit northeastflavor.com for Symon’s Beef Cheek Pierogies with Wild Mushrooms and Horseradish Crème Fraiche.
Italian Braised Beef with Root Vegetables 3 pounds rump roast Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks 1 onion, coarsely chopped 1 small celery root, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup red wine 2 cups Yia Yia Sunday Sauce (recipe below) 2 bay leaves
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F 2. Season the meat liberally with salt and pepper, as much as a day in advance. (Cover and refrigerate it if doing so and take the meat out of the fridge 30 min. before cooking.) Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. When the oil is on the verge of smoking, sear the meat, about 2 min. on each side. Move the meat to the side (or remove it from the pot altogether if necessary), and add the carrot, onion, and celery root. Brown the vegetables, about 3 min., then add the garlic and cook for a minute or two longer. 3. Add the wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom. Add the tomato sauce, 1 cup water, and the bay leaves (and the pot roast if you removed it). Bring the liquid to a simmer and taste for seasoning. Add more salt if necessary. Cover the pot and place in the oven for three hours, basting the meat occasionally during this time. 4. Discard the bay leaves before serving. The meat can be removed to a cutting board and sliced if you're serving individual plates, or the meat can be pulled apart with a couple of forks right in the pot at the table and served with plenty of the sauce and vegetables. Serves 6 Yia Yia’s Sunday Sauce 1 ⁄4 cup olive oil 1 large Spanish onion, finely diced 6 garlic cloves, sliced 1 tablespoon kosher salt, or more to taste
Photograph by Donna Ruhlman
2 28-ounce cans San Marzano tomatoes, with their juice 1 cup dry white wine 2 pounds meaty beef bones 1 bay leaf 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves 1 ⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1. Heat the oil in a 4 quart saucepan or large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, 2 min. Add the garlic and salt and cook until everything is soft but not browned, about 3 min.
2. Squeeze the tomatoes one by one into the pan, pulverizing them by hand, and pour in their juice, too. Add the wine, beef bones, bay leaf, oregano, black pepper and red pepper flakes, if using. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat to its lowest possible setting, and continue to cook for eight hours. The sauce should reduce by about one third. 3. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Remove the bones and bay leaf. If not using right away, let the sauce cool, then cover, and refrigerate for up to one week or freeze for up to two months. Makes 2 quarts
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