Who's Hungry? Magazine | No 6

judith mara | Editor and Writer

Judith has worked with Stephen for almost seven years and helps to lead the editorial concept and execution of Who’s Hungry?™ magazine. An award-winning former creative director for major ad agencies such as Leo Burnett and J. Walter Thompson, Judith sweats the details, pens Weather Permitting and literally hand writes How We Did It.

ian law | Design

Ian designed every aspect of Who’s Hungry?™ magazine with meticulous attention to detail and typography, and helped turn static images into an interactive experience. His award-winning design work has been featured in the pages of Print, Creativity, How, PDN and Graphic Design USA.

Deirdre O’Shea | Production Director

If you have worked with Stephen Hamilton, you’ve worked with Deirdre. Drawing on 15 years of experience in managing photography studios, Deirdre has a hand in nearly every aspect of Stephen’s business. She’s been instrumental in organizing the magazine’s shoots, sourcing ingredients, and always keeping production on schedule.

steve dolinsky | Writer

Since 2003, Steve has been the recognizable face of ABC 7’s “The Hungry Hound,” filing reports on the best eats in Chicago. He has also appeared as a guest judge on “Iron Chef America,” as a contributor to “Unique Eats,” and serves as one of the Academy Judges for “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.” For Who’s Hungry?™ magazine, Steve tracked down the best winter dishes from cold climate cities.

kathryn o’malley | Associate Editor and Writer

Kathryn’s love of food is matched only by her passion for writing about it; as part of the Who’s Hungry?™ editorial team, she indulges in a bit of both. Her popular food blog, dramaticpancake. com, garners more than 40,000 unique viewers per month and highlights the people and stories behind great recipes.

geraldine campbell | Writer

Geraldine Campbell is a freelance writer, travel enthusiast, and ex-Southerner with a love of grits and all things deep fried. She has written about ev erything from love and sex to beauty and fashion, but her first loves are food and travel. When she’s not writing, she’s testing recipes in her itty-bitty kitchen or plotting her next adventure.

we are indebted to Lodge Cookware for gifting us with a host of beautiful cast iron pots for use in our Snow Day Supper (p. 36). We will undoubtedly use them time and time again.

a special thanks to: Gale Gand, Fabio Viviani, Paul Kahan and Eric Dresner, Ina Pinkney, Greg Biggers, Alexi Giannoulias, Tony Priolo, Vince Gerasole, Nick Cave, Giuseppe Tentori, Josephine Terlato, Sandro Miller, Geoff Binns-Calvey, Josephine Orba, JoAnn Witherall, CeCe Campise, Raymond Barrera, Tom Hamilton, Paula Walters, Ruth Siegel, Mark Kelly, John Cibak, Andrew Burkle, Justin Paris, David Raine, Kaitlyn McQuaid, Sara Cruz, Matt Savage, Juan Palomino, and Ruben Cantu

LETTER FROM STEVE

Or, invite a fun, creative group of people over for a potluck supper, as we did in our story “Snow Day Supper. Pot Lucky.” We invited a delicious mix of chefs, TV personalities, artists, professionals and a former politician and gave them a Lodge Dutch Oven to fill and sat back and watched a magical evening unfold.

One great thing about winter is there’s still plenty to do outdoors. Skating, snowball fights and sledding are cold weather activities many of us grew up with. Winter can bring the kid out in anyone, and in “Winter Wonderland” Geraldine Campbell reminisces about snow-filled days. Along with her story, we share cozy recipes including a kid favorite, Egg in a Basket.

These are the last days of winter. Most days the skies are grey and every time it warms up, before you know it, it’s frigid again. Cabin fever creeps up on us and we feel trapped indoors. As we wait out the next couple of months for spring, it’s the perfect time to turn “cooped up” into “cozying up” with enjoyable simple things like playing Yahtzee or cooking for others.

Mornings with frosted windows call for a tasty stack of hot waffles drizzled with real maple syrup. To learn all about this heavenly sap, we interviewed Tim Burton of Burton’s Maplewood Farm and three top chefs share their maple syrup infused-recipes. And if you wonder how we create the frosty effects in our warm studio, special-effect guru Geoff BinnsCalvey tells us how it’s done in “Tricks of the Trade”.

Who’s Hungry?™ for something warm and toasty?

STEPHEN HAMILTON

That stroganoff is the closest approximation to a wool sweater you’ll find on a plate

Steve Dolinsky, Food Reporter for ABC 7 News in Chicago, 12-time James Beard Award winner and a native Minnesotan, shares his five favorite winter dishes from restaurants in colder cities.

Portrait by Avery House

Short Rib Stroganoff ($18.50)

BAVETTE’S BAR & BOEUF 218 W. KINZIE ST., CHICAGO 312-624-8154

As the wind practically slaps you in the face, especially along the Chicago River near Lake Michigan, there is a constant yearning all winter long for a warm respite. Seek refuge in one of Brendan Sodikoff’s creations. Between the hearty cassoulet at Maude’s Liquor Bar, the dijonnaisedripping cheeseburger at his upscale diner, Au Cheval, and the fork-tender short rib stroganoff

at his latest project, Bavette’s Bar & Boeuf, the menus are almost always suited to cold weather comfort. That stroganoff is the closest approximation to a wool sweater you’ll find on a plate: caramelized cremini mushrooms and hand-cut fettuccine swaddle the tender braised beef, all of which gets a mild jolt in the form of a horseradish cream sauce.

You don’t have to be a fan of “Prairie Home Companion” or “Fargo” to know that the Twin Cities get downright cold in the winter.

Having grown up there, I still have memories of watching Vikings games in a snowmobile suit—covered head-to-toe—while thinking about what mom could possibly have up her sleeve for dinner. If we were going to a family gathering or a potluck, chances are you’d see hotdish: an all-in-one casserole featuring a

HauteDish in Minneapolis, the casserole is ditched, but the ingredients remain familiar: a large puck of braised short ribs is topped with baby green beans and sliced porcini mushrooms; a béchamel adds further richness, while a pair of “tots” (silky potato croquettes) are saddled up on the side. 119 WASHINGTON AVE. N., MINNEAPOLIS 612-338-8484 WWW.HAUTE-DISH.COM

starch, a meat and a canned or frozen vegetable, usually bound together by a canned soup, like cream of mushroom. At the tongue-in-cheek

Walking the streets of the East Village, you don’t have to look too far for a warm-up. There are dozens of affordable, interesting eats. Fans of Japanese food might forget that beyond the assorted maki roll and steaming (but hardly filling) miso soup, there is ramen. Ippudo is a successful chain in Japan, and their presence in New York comes as no surprise; the search for delicious, affordable food in Manhattan is practically blood sport.

The Shiromaru Hakata ramen is mainly about the broth —a heady, porky soup base perfumed with the umami of soy sauce and miso—jammed with toothsome egg noodles, then topped with architecturally precise knobs of mushrooms, red pickled ginger and scallions. A few tender slices of pork loin are draped across the top, and if you like, opt for some extra mustard leaves (extra $3) scattered across the fatty-rich surface.

With the wind whipping up off of Lake Ontario and temperatures routinely near sub-zero, the demand for hearty comfort food is especially strong in the depths of a season that typically sees the sun go down by 5 p.m. The focus at The Hoof is definitely on meat and offal. But after slogging around Kensington Market and window shopping at the funky shops along Queen Street, you need to dive into something substantial. The smoked mackerel chowder, one of the few dishes

non-meat eaters can enjoy, fits the bill. Mackerel is cured overnight then hot smoked; a fish stock is fortified with cream, onions and garlic, then simmered for hours. When an order comes in, the hearty broth is garnished with sliced fingerling potatoes and diced fennel, plus sautéed lobster mushrooms as well as earthy chanterelles. This is Canadian comfort that somehow makes poutine look downright pedestrian.

In a city that its baked beans the the Beantown among the city’s French bistros brasseries wintertime. Pigalle has been perched at the higher end Boston

for the past decade, but few dishes take away the East Coast chill of a January deep-freeze better than cassoulet. Chef Marc Orfaly slowly braises lamb shanks, combining the shredded meat an entire duck leg confit and house-

made garlic pork sausage. The protein-palooza is embedded in a sea of great Northern white beans; the heat, juice, fat and starch serve as a warm, familiar blanket (albeit more flannel than cotton) on a bitterly cold night.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY HAMILTON

FROST

The best food photography evokes a clear sense of atmosphere by KATHRYN O’MALLEY

Frost on the windowsill implies a chill in the air outside, making the scene inside that much warmer—and a hot bowl of oatmeal especially inviting. Of course, Mother Nature rarely gifts us the kind of weather we hope for, so Stephen must rely on the next best thing: the handiwork of special-effects

1. THE WINDOWS

Using a photo layout for reference, Geoff first constructs a wooden base for his faux windows and measures where each frame should be placed. Once the frames are nailed into the base, Geoff cuts glass panels to fit the frames exactly.

In what looks like a mad scientist experiment, Geoff whisks together a blend of magnesium sulfate, water, and alcohol, and then carefully applies it to the windowpanes with an airbrush to create small frost-like crystals. For the most realistic effect, Geoff says, the trick is not to overdo it. ART OF

pro Geoff Binns-Calvey. With some scientific know-how and the artistry of a master, there’s no need to wait for a snow day. Instead, Geoff creates a winter wonderland so beautiful it rivals the real thing. Click the bullets to the right for a peek into his process.

2. THE FROST

3. THE DUSTING OF SNOW

To imitate light, powdery snow, Geoff uses the airbrush to blow a flurry of powdered cellulose flocking (a plant fiber) blended with dry glue onto the frosty windowpanes, concentrating on the bottoms and corners where snow would naturally settle.

THE WINDOWS THE FROST DUSTING OF SNOW

Florence native Fabio Viviani won over millions of Americans while competing on Season 5 of Top Chef, where his gregarious personality and charming sense of humor made him an all-time fan favorite. Now, in partnership with DineAmic’s Lucas Stoioff and David Rekhson (the duo behind Public House and Bull & Bear), Viviani is about to launch his third restaurant thus far—and the first in Chicago.

Opening February 15, Siena Tavern will bring rustic Italian fare and sleek décor to a cool steel building in the heart of River North. Diners can look forward to Neapolitan pizzas, house-made pastas, and even some recipes from Viviani’s mom.

We recently sat down with the star chef to ask him a few questions posed by our previously featured chef, Gale Gand. And with his thick Italian accent and trademark wit, Viviani answered.

how did you end up in the kitchen when you could’ve ended up on TV (with those looks)?

Well, the reality is that the kitchen chose me way before TV did. I was eleven years old, I had to find a job to help my family bring the money in the household, and the restaurant business was the only business where I could find someone willing to employ me, as an eleven-year-old child. That’s how I ended up in the kitchen. And TV is not that glamorous, trust me! I’d rather be in the restaurant business.

if you weren’t a chef and could choose again, what would you do or be?

If I weren’t a chef, I would be something really badass. Like a jet fighter pilot or a veterinarian, which is really badass. It’s not like, manly, like a jet fighter pilot, but it’s a very nice, very cute profession. Or, I would be a brain surgeon; I like to mess with people’s brains a lot.

who are your biggest culinary influences?

No one knows about him, so this answer will be very short. His name is Simone Mugnaini, who was my business partner and the chef I worked for when I was a young kid. I spent about twelve years of my life listening to whatever he said on the restaurant business, and if I have a grain of success in that business today, it’s thanks to him.

what’s your favorite ingredient to work with?

Wow, that’s like picking your favorite child! We all know you have one, but you can’t say or your wife is gonna get pissed off. So the reality is that I have to say three, I can’t just pick one: Parmesan, balsamic vinegar, and pork. Anything pork.

what’s your favorite late-night snack?

Roasted chicken. I’m Italian! You always make more chicken than you need, you leave it in the freezer, and at nighttime you pop a piece in the microwave for thirty seconds, it gets hot, and you just peel it off the bone. I don’t have corn dogs, I don’t have those packaged snacks. Leftover food from dinner is my midnight snack. When I travel and I can’t eat leftovers because they go bad, I have a jar of Nutella always available. So I eat Nutella with my fingers. You know the whole concept of farm-to-table? For me, Nutella is finger-to-mouth.

what’s the story with the turtles?

The antidote to cold winter nights: Viviani’s Beef and Barley Soup

Here’s the deal. I am moving from Italy in 2006; I have no friends, I don’t speak English, I’m by myself. And I’m also busy during the day working at the restaurant. But I am a very caring person and I love animals. Can I get a dog? Not really, because you gotta take care of a dog as much as a child. Can I get a cat? Eh, that’s alright, I haven’t had great history with cats. So I said, you know, whatever—I ’m going to get something. Goldfish is not exciting. So I said you know what, I’ll get a turtle. I want a turtle. So what I did was get a little red-eared slider. And a turtle is more animated than a fish. She climbs on the rocks, she does a little sunbathing, she goes back in the water, she plays. And I love animals. So I got a turtle; that was my very first pet in the United States. She is still with me, now she’s 3½ pounds. She’s a big pet and she has a personality. People say ‘oh whatever, it’s a turtle.’ But she has a personality. And now I have a pond in my backyard with a bunch of turtles.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

When most of us think about maple syrup, certain images are likely to spring to mind almost immediately—visions of a lady Butterworth, snow-capped hills in Vermont, or perhaps the log cabin “sugar shacks” one finds scattered throughout Quebec. In all the familiar places, maple syrup season typically runs from mid-March to mid-April, when a pattern of cold nights and warm days sends sap coursing through the veins of the trees. But in Indiana, sugar season begins much earlier—earlier, in fact, than anywhere else in the world.

Depending on the weather, Tim Burton and his wife Angie will start tapping trees as early as late January. Together they own and operate Burton’s Maplewood Farm, a small farm of 700 maple trees tucked away in Medora, Indiana.

Tim is burly and bearded and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. In some ways, he’s exactly what you would expect of a maple syrup maker. In others, he could not be more unique.

Maple syrup isn’t just for pancakes anymore. There’s a sweet renaissance taking place, but not where you’d expect.

While modern tubing systems certainly exist, Tim prefers to collect sap the old-fashioned way: with tap and bucket. The taps are entered into the trees’ cambium layer, where the sap flows between the bark and the hardwood. Forty gallons of sap yield just one gallon of maple syrup. Sap itself is thin, watery, and only faintly sweet. To bring its sugar content up from around 2% to 67%, Tim reduces the sap in a three-bytwelve-foot pan in an evaporator machine called the Volcano 2000.

That’s a whole lot of sap for not a lot of syrup. But Tim is finding a way to put the evaporated sap to use, bottling the evaporation—with its lovely, subtle tannin flavor—and calling the water Maple Mist.

Here’s another thing that sets Tim apart: Whereas most maple-syrup makers rely on wood-burning fires to keep their evaporators going, Tim uses fuel oil which provides for greater control over heat. Right before he draws off the maple syrup, Tim runs the evaporator on low to allow the syrup to caramelize. The result is a richer, deeper, more nuanced flavor.

Sap from early in the season produces Grade A syrup, which comes in three subgrades: light amber, medium amber and dark amber. Sap from later in the season produces Grade B syrup. Grade A has a light, delicate taste—perfect for drizzling on pancakes or stirring into oatmeal— while Grade B has a depth and richness that holds up well to baking, braising, and roasting.

“One way of looking at it,” Tim says, “is that you have to boil off 39 gallons of water to produce one gallon of maple syrup.”

Lingonberry Waffles

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

Chef Greg Biggers slathers his waffles with lingonberry jam and honey whipped ricotta, then crowns them with fresh blueberries, pecan clusters, and a drizzle of Burton’s custom smoked syrup.

View Greg Biggers’ recipe on page 58 »

The Publican’s Braised Pork Belly with Maple-Sherry Calabrian Chile Glaze

View

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

With its bold and complex flavor, Tim’s Grade B is also the preferred syrup of nearly every chef in Chicago. At Paul Kahan’s The Publican, braised pork belly is simmered in a spicy-sweet mixture of Grade B syrup, sherry vinegar, Calabrian chiles and a healthy dollop of butter. At Café des Architectes, Chef Greg Biggers uses a custom smoked syrup to top off waffles with lingonberries and honeywhipped ricotta. And Ina Pinkney, of the iconic breakfast spot, Ina’s, bakes freshly sliced pears draped in a sweet amber ribbon.

Chefs are drawn to Tim’s syrups for their superb quality, but they also respond to his innovation. Like the talented group he works with, Tim is constantly pushing the envelope, asking: how can I make this product different, better, more interesting?

he says. “We see so much creativity in these chefs’ kitchens, and we are inspired to look at what we produce and how we can do something new with it.”

The options, it seems, are boundless. From collaborating with chefs to create exclusive barrel-aged syrups for their restaurants, to working with mixologist Adam Seger to create cocktails using his syrup, Tim is singlehandedly changing the way we think about nature’s candy. His line of boozy adult syrups is nothing short of spectacular, blending barrel-aged maple syrup with some of the rum, brandy or bourbon that originally occupied the barrels. He is also working with chef David Burke to start a new line of maple vinegars.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

“I’m trying to make maple syrup just a little bit sexier,”

Grade A maple syrup is broken into three subgrades which are measured by their translucence: light amber, medium amber and dark amber. Grade B syrup is the darkest of all with the richest and most robust flavor. SEASON: A GOLDEN ELIXIR, GROWN UP

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

Tim is no doubt a pioneer in the sap-happy world of maple syrup. But sometimes, blazing new trails means revisiting old ones. Sap from the very end of the season, beyond Grade B, has a “buddy” taste; if you reduce it to syrup, it’s distasteful and bitter, and you would never want to eat it.

However, in the early 1900’s people used to put that sap in old bourbon and whiskey barrels, throw in raisins and hops, and let it ferment. This, Tim says, results in a chilled concoction called maple sap beer. He is currently in talks with several different breweries to bring back the historic drink, and he will be doing some trial runs this season.

Burton’s syrups are available for purchase online and can be found at over two dozen grocery stores, markets, and restaurants all around Chicago. A complete list of retailers is coming soon to Burton’s website.

“It’s nothing cutting edge or brand new,” Tim explains, “but more of a throwback to another time.”

Ina Pinkney’s Maple Baked Pears are simple and fragrant, best topped off with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Grown beneath the earth in dark damp soil, splendid flavors, colors and textures develop. You can’t see their progress until they are pulled from the ground gnarly and dusty with roots that look like they need a shave. When scraped clean, gemlike colors emerge in garnet red, citrine yellow and diamond white. Root vegetables are oddly similar to jewels in that they also begin their lives underground.

Gems of cold climate farmer’s markets

All across our winter wonderland states, root vegetables are the gems of cold climate farmer’s markets. It’s lovely to see purpletipped white turnips, deep red, orange and gold beets, cream-colored parsnips and rutabagas, and blue, red, purple and gold potatoes piled high in bunches and baskets.

The most popular root vegetable today is the potato, including the sweet potato. Is there anyone who doesn’t know what a potato tastes like or the many ways to eat them?

The same is true for carrots, which have been popular much longer than potatoes—all the way back to the 900’s.

Then there are beets. While they have long been part of our diets, many people say they hated beets growing up. But a few years ago chefs started to glorify beets in salads, soups and roasted side dishes. Then beets began appearing as carpaccio, on pizza, in curries and in desserts. Never has a root vegetable been so fully explored. Or had so many new fans.

PHOTOGRAPHY STEPHEN HAMILTON

While a red potato tastes more or less like a gold potato and a purple carrot tastes almost exactly like an orange carrot, there are very distinct tastes between the various types of root vegetables.

A raw turnip tastes like a radish, but when cooked its flavor is closer to a potato. Rutabagas are described as tasting like a cross between a turnip and cabbage. Celeriac, unsurprisingly, tastes like celery. Parsnips are hard to describe; they look like a white carrot but they have their own distinct flavor that can be called nutty, sweet, oniony, and carroty all rolled into this wonderful gem.

This list goes beyond the usual choices of roots (potato, radish, carrot, beet) that are found at farmer’s markets. Here’s a cool tip: Most of these can be eaten raw or lightly cooked in salads; just shave or cut the roots into matchstick pieces to keep them tender.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

For those of us who were brought up believing that freshly brewed beer is best, hold on to your bottle—we’ve been proven wrong by a revolution. Revolution Brewing, Chicago’s new hometown craft brewery and brewpub which produces over ten styles of bourbon barrel-aged beers, has joined in the revolt that may have started right here.

Brewing beer in barrels is not new; however, the use of bourbon barrels to age beer is as recent as the early 1990’s when both Goose Island and Samuel Adams lay claim to be the first to brew bourbon barrel-aged beer and place it firmly in the hands of the craft beer movement.

“The barrels contribute a big bourbon nose and flavor, and the charred American oak imparts aromas and flavors of caramelized sugar, vanilla and sometimes toasted coconut. Similar to a crème brûlée,” says Revolution Brewing brewmaster, Jim Cibak. The beers can be aged as short as three months or as long as a year depending on the style and desired intensity of barrel character.

What to expect from a bourbon barrel-aged beer? The longer the beer is aged, the more you can expect an intense taste with more nuanced flavors and textures, hence all the wine speak used to describe a bourbon barrel-aged beer. Plus it typically has a higher alcohol content that helps the beer age better.

Pictured here is the recently released (fall 2012) Very Mad Cow Milk Stout from Revolution Brewing. “It is a huge milk stout, aged in Woodford Reserve Bourbon and Jack Daniels Whiskey barrels for six months,” says Cibak. “The resulting beer is a rich, roasty stout with a silky, smooth mouthfeel.” He also claims it has all the crème brûlée nuances. And does it really contain milk? Close, it’s actually lactose, a milk sugar that gives the beer a touch of sweetness––in its old age.

You can find a bourbon barrel-aged craft brew just about anywhere you live. Here are a few brewers and brewpubs to check out.

· Revolution Brewing Firestone/Walker 3 Floyds · Bell’s · Goose Island Fifty Fifty Founder’s

PHOTOGRAPHY STEPHEN HAMILTON

Snow Day Supper is part of our occasional Stone Soup series based on the iconic tale of villagers coming together to create a grand meal that fed the entire town. Working with this issue’s theme of Winter Wonderland, we chose to host a potluck supper with guests contributing nourishing onepot dishes that would warm a group of 18 Chicago villagers right down to their toes.

Chef Ina Pinkney Owner of Ina’s Moroccan Sweet Potato

Pastry

Chef Giuseppe

Chef Tony Priolo Piccolo Sogno, Piccolo Sogno Borlotti Beans with Venison Sausage

Steve Dolinksy Hound Georgian Pork JUDITH MARA

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON AND ANDREW BURKLE

Nick Cave, Visual Artist Chicken, Mushroom and Potato Casserole

Vince Gerasole, Reporter CBS 2

Vito Gerasole, Girasole, Pittsburgh PA Braised Chicken, Eggplant and Tomatoes

Sandro Miller, Photographer Szechwan Shrimp

Alexi Giannoulias, V.P. at BNY Mellon Josephine Terlato, Southern Wine and Spirits Lentil Soup

Steve Hamilton CeCe Campise Hosts

Ina Pinkney, Chicago’s legendary “Breakfast Queen” was the first to arrive at the Snow Day Supper. Her new Lodge Dutch Oven was gently simmering on the stove when the second guest arrived. Ina, spying the new guest, rushed to greet her, opening her arms to embrace friend and pastry chef Gale Gand. “Some days are just perfect,” Ina sighed. And with that, the party had begun.

So often the success of a party depends on the guest list. We developed ours by asking one simple question: Who would we like to spend time with if we were cooped up during a blizzard? After a bit of brainstorming, we came up with a delicious mix of chefs, food-focused TV personalities, artists, professionals and a former politician. Invitations arrived on guests’ doorsteps in the form of large cast iron pots, generously supplied by the wonderful folks at Lodge Cookware. What the guests made in those pots was up to them.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON AND ANDREW BURKLE

Ina Pinkney, Moroccan Sweet Potato Stew

Alexi Giannoulias & Josephine Terlato, Lentil Soup

There was no snow on the eve of the Snow Day party, but it was plenty frigid. Before a glass of wine was poured, the room filled with people, introductions and chatter. The stove was soon covered with Dutch ovens holding curious bubbling concoctions, the scent of garlic, onions, spices and herbs wafting throughout the kitchen.

While many guests knew one another through foodrelated work, there was no interest in shoptalk––topics of conversation ranged from historical to hysterical. Reporter Vince Gerasole and chef Gale Gand, bonded over spirited conversation about Downton Abbey. Hungry Hound’s Steve Dolinsky and his wife Amy readily listened to anyone who had tips on traveling to Japan. And former politician Alexi Giannoulias honestly admitted that he had initially been baffled by the 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven that arrived at his house. Luckily, his girlfriend Jo came to the rescue and suggested that he read the pre-invite email.

PHOTOGRAPHY STEPHEN HAMILTON ANDREW BURKLE

Everyone was curious about what the others had cooked and all had a story to tell about how they approached their dishes. Artist Nick Cave had the chefs laughing as he described the dish he brought as “chicken and some sort of sauce.” The chefs ticked off ingredients as if reciting dishes on a menu, and more than one guest gave their mother-father-aunt full credit for the recipe.

As the Dutch ovens were carried to a buffet table for the grand reveal, everyone crowded around with anticipation. In a cloud of steam and a burst of fragrance, supper was served. Most dramatic was the uncovering of Giuseppe Tentori’s sealed pot, which released a truly heavenly aroma. Inside was a cassoulet of smoked duck confit, flageolets and a generous shaving of truffles.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON AND ANDREW BURKLE

Gale Gand, Mom’s Braised Short Ribs with Winter Vegetables

Vince & Vito Gerasole, Braised Chicken, Eggplant and Tomatoes

All of it was delicious, from a hearty stew of handmade venison sausage and borlotti beans to a comforting braise of chicken, thick with eggplant and tomatoes. Most unusual was a Georgian (as in Russian, with Asian influences) pork stew that sported a lovely combination of spices such as fenugreek and dried marigold. The cinnamon scent that pierced the air was from a creamy Moroccan sweet potato stew, and the only soup of the evening was a peppery lentil family recipe.

When it was time to sit down to dinner, the room grew a little quieter as everyone enjoyed their meals. Those well versed in food swapped tasting notes as the happy feeling of sharing good food swelled throughout the night. Photos taken by Matt Savage’s Smilebooth captured the joyful mood of each guest.

On evenings like this one, with good food and a glass of wine in hand, everyone could just be themselves, making our Snow Day Supper more than a potluck—it was oh, so lucky.

Special thanks to Lodge Cookware for providing a bevy of gorgeous cast iron pots for use at our potluck.

by GERALDINE CAMPBELL GERALDINE

When you’re a kid, snow means snowmen and snow angels, snowball fights and snow forts, sledding and sleighing, and, most of all, snow days. It means getting all bundled up in puffy, dough boy-like snowsuits and, later, stripping off the cold weather gear and relishing that tingly feeling as your fingers and toes defrost. For me, coming in from the cold was as much a part of the magic of snow as the snow itself. Inside, I would thaw myself in front of the open oven and curl my hands around a mug of hot chocolate. It didn’t matter whether my mom made cocoa from a powdered mix or whether she melted down bars of Toblerone for a special winter treat: It was about comfort and warmth.

When you get older, snow loses some of its magic. There’s the driveway to shovel, the car to clear of snow and ice, treacherous roads and delayed trains, and the inevitability that, no matter how beautiful things look, snow eventually becomes wet, grey slush.

When I left New York for what would be a fiveyear hiatus in warm weather climes, I didn’t miss winter or snow. At least I didn’t think I did—until I moved back. That year, back-to-back storms kept the city wrapped in a downy white embrace. It was Narnia in the Hundred Years Winter and I remember taking my dogs, Charlie and Frankie, out in the snow for the first time. For them, snow meant the absence of boundaries. There were no sidewalks and no streets, no grassy patches or green parks, only towering mounds of cold powder. These Frankie insisted on summiting, daintily marking her territory at the top of the highest dune. Even when Charlie, catching me by surprise, gave chase to a snowplow, I recalled the wonder that I felt when I was younger.

In the city, those magical moments of childlike innocence are, at least for me, as rare as they are fleeting. So, I seek out my winter wonderlands elsewhere. In the Adirondacks, I trekked through snow-covered woods, skated on frozen ponds, and bobsledded with Olympic hopefuls. In Reykjavik, I made my way across the vast white countryside on an Icelandic horse and soaked in the Blue Lagoon in below-zero temperatures.

In Aspen, I practiced textbook ski turns, spotted a pine squirrel on a naturalist-guided snowshoeing tour and woke before sunrise to hike to the top of Smuggler Mountain—then zipped down on a bottom-size sled, grinning the entire way.

Lamb Rib Chops with Garlic and Rosemary

My outdoor romps were tempered by fireside warm-up sessions, hot tub soaks and simple but hearty meals that are the well-deserved reward for the caloric expenditure that results from doing anything in sub-zero temperatures. The

piling on—and stripping off—of multiple layers of clothing alone deserves a culinary prize. Anything meaty will do: grilled lamb chops rubbed with garlic and rosemary, perhaps, or a perfectly charred steak, finished with a slab of butter.

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Pappardelle Alfredo with Salmon

View recipe on page 63 » Porterhouse Steak

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

Even when I’m city-bound, blustery nor’easters are an excuse to huddle beneath down comforters and have a lie-in, watching back-to-back episodes of Foyle’s War and substituting my normal blueberry and almond milk smoothie for something more substantial, more, well, eggy. My boyfriend, a chef, is working on a book dedicated to eggs: scrambled eggs and béarnaise-slathered eggs, beet-pickled eggs and deviled eggs, egg custard and egg soufflé. Egg-in-a-basket is, for now, my favorite preparation, not least because of the legsquirming joy you get from buttery, salty toasted homemade bread with a yolky center.

Of course, I still enjoy a cup of cocoa—especially if it’s accompanied by a shot of Pappy—but I’ve graduated to more adult pleasures. Sometimes it’s good to be a grown-up.

HOW WE DID IT

Deconstructing a shot from Stephen Hamilton’s The Restaurant Project

by JUDITH MARA

favorite dish Roasted Bone Marrow with Herbs Restaurant

The Purple Pig, Chicago, IL

food stylist Josephine Orba

prop stylist Paula Walters

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN HAMILTON

ingredients: maple lingonberry Greg Biggers

Cook waffle batter in waffle maker for about 3 minutes. Place one waffle on plate and top with lingonberry jam. Top with next waffle, placing the waffle a little off center so that it is not completely covering the first waffle and jam. Place small amount of jam on second waffle, then a quenelle of ricotta cheese. Place blueberries, mircro mint, and praline clusters on and around the waffles.

Pour smoked maple syrup over waffles.

by Paul Kahan

Serves 4-6

ingredients:

5 pounds boneless Berkshire pork belly

ingredients for brine:

1 cup kosher salt

1 cup white sugar

1/4 teaspoon sodium nitrite/#1 cure (optional)

1 gallon water

ingredients for braising:

1/2 cup canola oil

2 onions, medium diced

· 2 carrots, medium chunks

4 stalks celery, medium chunks

2 cups white wine

· 1-2 quarts pork or chicken stock

cheese cloth & kitchen twine (optional)

1 bay leaf sprig of thyme

1 chile d’arbol

5 whole black peppercorns

3/4 cup Burton’s maple syrup (B-grade)

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

2 Calabrian chiles

2 tablespoons butter

day 1

Brine 5 pounds of boneless Berkshire pork belly. Dissolve kosher salt, sugar into 1 gallon of water. Submerge meat and allow it to brine for 48 hours. Make the Calabrian chile glaze by combining Burton’s maple syrup, sherry vinegar and Calabrian chiles in a blender. Pour through a strainer to remove the chile seeds. Store at room temperature.

day 3

Remove pork belly from the brine and pat dry with a towel. Heat oven to 350°F. In a hot sauté pan or large dutch oven, add canola oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Carefully place the pork belly skin-side down in the pan and brown the skin. Once the skin has a dark, brown crust to it, turn the belly over and sear for about 3 minutes on the other side. Remove the belly from the pan, add the mirepoix (onions, carrots & celery) and caramelize the vegetables over medium-high heat. Add 2 cups of white wine and reduce the liquid by half and scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Place the belly into a roasting pan or dutch oven skin-side up. Pour the vegetables and wine over the belly. (Optional: rub the skin-side of the belly with a garlic-rosemary herb rub, sambal or grainy mustard.) Add the hot pork or chicken stock. It should submerge the meat 3/4 of the way. Add the sachet of bay, thyme and chile d’arbol to the pot. Tightly cover the pan with foil or the lid to the dutch oven. Place in the oven and cook for 2 1/2 hours. Check the meat with a paring knife. If the knife easily pierces the meat, the pork belly is done. Allow meat to rest and cool at room temperature for at least one hour. Refrigerate overnight.

day 4

Place the pork belly on a cutting board and portion into 5” L X 1 1/4” W slabs. Heat the braising liquid. Strain and discard the vegetables, reserve the liquid. In a large sauté pan, add just enough canola oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Once the oil is smoking, carefully place the slabs of pork belly into the pan. Sear the meat for approximately 2 minutes or just until the meat is caramelized and brown. Turn the slabs of pork belly over and sear the other side. Once the meat is browned on both sides, carefully add the Calabrian chile glaze. Once the glaze is bubbling, reduce the heat down to medium and add 2 tablespoon of butter. Once the butter melts, baste the pork belly until it is well-glazed. Serve with your favorite accompaniment and the braising liquid.

ingredients for maple-sherry calabrian chile glaze:

braised pork belly with maplesherry calabrian chile glaze

ingredients:

4 medium pears

1/3 cup (75 mL) Burton’s Rum Infused Maple Syrup (B-Grade)

1/3 cup (75 mL) whipping cream

8-inch (2 L) square baking dish, ungreased

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Peel pears. Cut into thick slices and place in baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together maple syrup and whipped cream. Drizzle over pears. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until pears are tender and glazed with sauce.

Variation: You can replace the pears with peaches.

To Serve: Vanilla ice cream makes everything better.

Serves 8 maple baked pears by Ina Pinkney

ingredients: 8-ounce lamb few sprigs rosemary cloves garlic, lamb rib chops with garlic and rosemary

Sauté: Sprinkle lamb with minced rosemary and smear with mashed garlic. Season with salt and black pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1-2 teaspoons of butter and a splash of olive oil on medium-high. Sauté lamb 4-6 minutes per side or to desired internal temperature.

Broil or Grill: Preheat broiler to high or grill to medium-high. Lightly brush lamb with olive oil, sprinkle with minced rosemary, and smear with mashed garlic. Season with salt and black pepper. Broil 4-6 minutes each side, or cook to desired internal temperature.

ingredients:

8 to 9 ounces pappardelle pasta

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces salt

black pepper

1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano olive oil

1/2 red onion, diced

1 cup fresh peas

1/2 pound wild sockeye salmon, chopped

Cook pappardelle in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain pasta.

Meanwhile, bring cream and butter to a simmer in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-low heat, adding 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add pappardelle, 1/4 cup reserved water, and cheese to sauce and toss. Add more cooking water if necessary.

Heat a splash of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the red onion, fresh peas and salmon and cook and stir about 3-5 minutes until heated through. Add to the pasta and cream mixture and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4 pappardelle alfredo with salmon

sear and roast:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Season steaks with salt and pepper. In skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high heat until almost smoking. Sear steaks 1 minute on each side. Roast in oven 6-8 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Please adjust time if your steak is bigger or smaller, or if you like it more or less done.

grill:

Heat grill to medium-high. Lightly brush steaks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill 6 - 8 minutes on each side for medium-rare.

broil:

Preheat broiler to high. Lightly brush steaks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil 6 - 8 minutes on each side for medium-rare.

ingredients:

4 12-ounce Porterhouse steaks, trimmed salt black pepper olive oil

Serves 8 porterhouse steak

ingredients: of bread a

Heat a small skillet on medium-high heat.

With a small biscuit cutter (or simply a knife) remove center from bread. Butter the bread on one side only. Grill bread, butter side down, until lightly toasted. Crack an egg into the bread hole, being careful not to break the yolk. Cook until egg has reached desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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