Posts filed under 'Food & Recipes'
Having attended the 8th anniversary celebration last night for Kyma restaurant, it makes me grateful for mainstay restaurants in this fast-evolving, ever-growing foodie town. All of the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group’s fabulous restaurants are, to me, the “anchors” in Atlanta, and I occupy a seat in one of them three or four times a week. Last night’s gathering of hundreds of loyal Kyma fans made me realize that I am not the only one who feels this way. Hors d’oeuvres were passed all night…dishes I love from the same menu offered the very first time I stepped in the place eight years ago. Building a menu that people love and sticking with it for the most part (other Atlanta restaurants, take note) is called building regular customers. I know exactly what I want and exactly what I’m going to get. Every time.
January 29th, 2010
A portrait of author, chef and television personality Julia Child taken for our 1998 book
When my cousin Nora Feller and I were writing and shooting the photography for our breast cancer book, Portraits of Hope: Conquering Breast Cancer: 52 Inspirational Stories of Strength, we of course used every contact at our disposal to get to Mrs. Julia Child. We landed a contact at Food & Wine magazine who did the necessaries and we were soon booked to land in Boston. Grabbing an assistant almost on arrival, we made for the Child residence and, once there—despite the slow march into late afternoon—Julia (as we must call her) insisted that she cook for us at once—as we must be “starving from our journey.” As she chopped and whisked she talked candidly about her cancer and her great love for her husband, whose presence could be felt in the homey, traditional home she still presided over. Every room was utterly unpretentious and strewn with family photos, books and the detritus of two long and happy lives. Julia continued to cook away while charming me (alone while cousin Nora set up the photo shoot in the living room) and regaled me with her self-deprecation and down-home wit.
A far cry from her Junior League beginnings, she had amazed herself (and me) with the voyage of her life and the tap, tap of fame that came unexpectedly and without seeking. As she finished preparing my meal she set the dishes upon the table and turned away. But some sixth sense told her not to march off from the kitchen to where the cameraman was waiting. She turned and said, “Marcia, you aren’t eating?” And I replied, “Oh, I am so sorry; I don’t eat eggs. I have about a zillion food aversions.” She turned in mock imperiousness and said, “Marcia, I don’t think anyone has turned down food in my kitchen… I’ll make you bacon.” The eggs slid into the garbage. We laughed as her assistant raced in and said, “They just called from a magazine and need a new head shot,” to which she responded gleefully, “Tell them we have a world-class photographer here and that she will shoot me.” Nora, it seemed, would be getting that payment and it was sorely needed as we had poured much of our own money into the project. With that, Julia turned to go to the living room and winked.
August 11th, 2009
Today’s challenge is convincing my 5-year-old, Jonah, to try eggplant. He has been keeping careful watch on the purple jewel growing in our front yard all week, and today, he proudly proclaimed it was time to pick it. But harvesting and eating are two different things, and for Jonah—who truly believes that a red gummy bear has tomato in it—this will be a toughie!
Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, but it’s true that it’s a veggie that must be prepared thoughtfully. I love a summer ratatouille with eggplant, squash and zucchini, all of which can be grown in your back yard; but making the veggie kid-friendly takes some serious experimentation and exercises in child psychology!
I went with a French fry theme—knowing that Jonah thinks I consider French fries junk food—and it worked like a charm! He took the bait and was willing to try French-fried anything!
Yes, this particular recipe calls for canola oil, but remember you aren’t eating a big bag of them. I find that they make a perfect side dish to a simple filet of grilled fish or chicken, and I plan to try them out as an appetizer at my next get-together.
Enjoy!
Eggplant fries with Garlic Aioli
1 large eggplant, peeled and cut lengthwise into long slices
2 eggs
½ cup milk
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons Italian or Creole seasoning
6 cups canola oil
1 cup low-fat mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Beat eggs and milk together in one bowl. Mix flour and seasoning in another bowl. Heat the oil in a heavy-duty, tall pot for about 5 minutes. Dip eggplant slices in flour, shake off excess, and dip in egg mixture. Dip once more in flour and fry until golden brown on all sides. Drain on paper towels. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep fries warm in a 250-degree oven until you’re ready to serve.
To make the garlic aioli, blend mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper in a food processor. Serve with eggplant fries to dip.
July 6th, 2009
Holy Guacamole! Is that an actual eggplant growing in my front yard?
I woke up today and went for my regular walk through “the farm,” as I affectionately call my four raised boxes, and it was like everything changed overnight!
The beautiful purple flower I admired a couple days prior has turned into a baby eggplant, the squash plant has produced gorgeous yellow blossoms, the eight tomato plants are going nuts, the watermelon vines are practically snaking into the street, and there are enough herbs to supply my restaurant salad dressings for weeks.
But the best part of all is watching my neighbors’ smiling responses as they walk their dogs in the evening. People are so happy as they pass by, and as soon as things ripen, I plan to leave a little table with a basket for neighbors to help themselves to what I have left for them! I can’t wait!
July 1st, 2009
Editor’s note: There’s an increasing awareness of the power of locally-grown foods—even the White House has launched its own organic garden. In turn, the slow food and the farm-to-table movements have gained momentum in recent years. As a result, we’ve asked Jenny Levison, a star on the local culinary scene with her restaurant, Souper Jenny, to keep a journal of her seasonal garden. Throughout the summer, she’ll be sharing her triumphs and tribulations of home gardening. We hope it inspires you to partake of summer’s organic bounty…or try your hand at growing your own
Oy, I am three weeks into my new 100 percent organic vegetable garden and my five-year-old and I are on the same page. What are we doing?! I am a first-time, novice gardener and laugh every day when I walk around my newly raised beds, wondering if I have killed anything yet! Lo and behold, Farmer D, the local organic farming expert who stopped by to help me on my quest, was right! All it takes is water and a snip here and there and these things actually grow!
Farmer D gives me the rundown on what it takes to grow a successful organic garden.
I allowed Farmer D to choose what would grow best so we have three plots full of all different kinds of tomatoes, zucchini, squash, eggplant, beans, watermelon, peppers from poblano to Jalapeno, radishes, beets and a huge variety of herbs. After three weeks and all this rain it’s been a snap!
The two of us get to work, surrounding each small planting with soft earth.
Me getting the hang of it. It's easy!
The crops from seeds are sprouting and starting to look like something and the tomato plants are growing on their trellis. I do confess that I have called Farmer D and bribed him with dinner if he will come by and make sure everything looks OK and give us a little gardening 101. I think he is wondering why I don’t know anything about this, but then again, can he make My Dad’s Turkey Chili?
June 1st, 2009
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