Who Would Have Thought....

            … A restaurant with a chain name to it could be any more than an average restaurant with average ambiance and food; and yet last night I visited just such a place.  Romano’s Macaroni Grill in North Olmstead, OH.  I would like to apologize before I go further; I only know the name of one managing partner; his name is Dewayne Sims; but I do believe that a restaurant that is that beautifully maintained must be a total group effort and a true act of love. 

            Now some might say that because I am speaking of a chain restaurant; that I might not exactly know what I am talking about; that I am probably someone who might never have even left their home town; but I am far from that.  Living in and visiting such places as Rome, Paris, London and Phuket had opened my very senses to a great abundance of aromas and flavors much beyond anything I would have had if I had stayed in my safe world I knew as my childhood. I will grant that many chain restaurants do indeed leave you with an average night out; ambiance pleasant but regular; food nice yet boring; no creativity in anything about the places at all; not Romano’s Macaroni Grill. 

From the moment you step into the place you get a feeling that you are visiting a small village in Italy; the hostess is completely welcoming; and our waiter Jay was very attentive to whatever needs we had during the meal.  Sharing with us his own personal preferences and opinions on the menu as well; we found Jay to be perfectly amiable and someone we would love to return to every time we visited the restaurant.  Our first dish; an appetizer that Jay had said was not yet on the menu; was a shrimp flatbread that looked to us much like pizza from central Italy.  Cooked to tender perfection; the flatbread crust was wonderfully crisp and light; the sauce flavorful; and the shrimp lightly seasoned; yet flavor filled with each bite.  For our next courses my husband ordered the Steak Calabrese with Roasted, Rosemary Red Potatoes and I had the Penne Rustica which had a delightful balance of Penne cooked exactly to Al Dente; shrimp again  bursting with flavor; and chicken roasted to a smoky goodness; and all blended so beautifully with the creamy sauce; the vibrant peppers; and the soft; sweet onions; that it was as festive as a dance in my mouth.  Just as curious about my husband’s steak; I could not let him finish it without begging a bite of my own.  I watched as he sliced a thin piece and it seemed to cut as easily as a hot knife through butter.  I know this might sound a bit cliché, but that is how easily the knife slipped through the tender beef.  Once it was in my mouth; it nearly melted into fond memories of simple seasonings and thoughts of childhood bbq’s.

Our dinner was finally capped by our introduction to heaven on earth when we were quickly brought both our cappuccinos and our desserts we had chosen.  Mark choosing the Ricotta Cheesecake and I the Lemon Passion Cake; we had each taken a taste of our respective desserts then traded tastes of each other’s.  Feeling as if we were floating on clouds of pure confectionary bliss; we had both made Jay laugh as we voted unanimously for the Lemon Passion Cake as being the better of the two desserts; to which he himself had declared it to be his favorite as well.  Asking him to let the Chefs know of our total pleasure; I was happily surprised as Dewayne Sims himself came to our table with the most down to earth smile asking in a quite joking manner; “Ok what did I do now?”  Joining in on the joke I told him I would “shoot” anyone who said they did anything wrong…After another ten minutes of sheer amusement as Dewayne explained all the love and care that went behind each little detail; he gave us his business card as he asked us to let him know the next time we were in the neighborhood.  I believe anyone who would like a meal quite beyond any normal expectations should also go there as well…

Chicken Soup; A Most International "Feel Good" Food...

Growing up in my family; my parents have always; (and still do to this day); taught us to learn and appreciate other cultures as much as possible; whether it be through arts and literature; history; or even food…That is why whenever my father traveled; he would come home not only with presents from those countries; but with stories about the culture; and especially about their cultural take on foods… That is how I actually know that no matter the country; whether it be from China; Israel; Germany; France; Poland or even the US; many countries have their own take on Chicken Soup, and the extra ingredients within it. 

          My own memories of the Chicken Soup my mom made most often was of a rich; hot; flavorful broth made simply by boiling a chicken in water; extra chicken bouillon; sautéed onions, celery, parsley and carrots, and salt and pepper…When the chicken was done; she would remove it from the pot; strain out the vegetables; let the chicken chill in the fridge and then; when cool enough; she would remove all the meat; separating it from the cartilage and skin; and she would tear up one fourth of the meat and put it back in the broth.  (She would save the rest of the meat in as big portions as possible so she could also later make her most delicious breaded and pan fried chicken.)  She would then make some of the simplest; yet tastiest dumplings I had ever had; but out of something no one outside our family ever expected would work well in a soup; Cream of Wheat… To make the dumplings she would mix 1 stick of softened butter with enough Cream of Wheat and egg to make a thick paste; adding in salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley to taste…Making sure the broth was back to a gently rolling boil; and using a teaspoon she would then spoon the mixture in a little at a time and cook for ten or so minutes till the dumplings were done.  As a family we always looked forward to my mom making both her Chicken and Cream of Wheat Dumpling Soup and her Pan Fried Breaded Chicken.  It was our own personal reassurance of the power of  “feel good food”, and as we sat together at the dinner table; laughing and conversing; we definitely knew that all was right with the world.

Should Cooking Intimidate?

Even though such chefs as Julia Child; Robert Irvine; Bobby Flay; and Jonathon Davies have come into this world and have done well to show most people that no matter how sofisticated a dish might look once plated; cooking in and of itself is not something to be affraid of; there are still numerous people in this world that do not have enough confidence in themselves to even try to cook.  They look at such dishes as Croque Monsieur; Coq Au Vin; or Boeuf Bourguignon and the immediately think to themselves; "Oh Hell No; I could NEVER be good enough to do something like this and make it taste good! I am just not that good!"  What they don't ever realize is that the only thing that really makes these dishes "fancy" is their French names.  Croque Monsieur is simply; (as stated on the simplyrecipes.com website); a French version of a Toasted Ham and Cheese Sandwich...In turn Coq Au Vin is simply a rooster; (or in most American's cases a hen); in a red wine sauce.  Not many even know that this dish can indeed be made with the cheaper parts of the chicken like the thighs and drumbsticks.  They even freak at the possible thought of needing to purchase an expensive wine to make the sauce well; but don't stop to think that the best wine they could chose could be as easy as knowing what they might enjoy drinking themselves.  As long as they don't use Boone Farm or 20/20 Purple Flavor; they will probably do quite well with a good $7 bottle of Pinot Noir. 
     The saddest part is that because they don't "dare" to give themselves enough credit; they tend to struggle with each dinner meal; affraid of the cost; affraid of being boring; and most especially affraid of having to repeat the same process they go through over and over again...  I think that is why I appreciate Chef Flay's show "Grilling With Bobby Flay" so much.  He doesn't care if his next guest is some fabulous chef as good or famous as him; he just cares that the people he invites onto the show are as passionate about cooking as he is.  I think that is why I am appreciating Chef Davies as well.  I will grant I have not known him or even of him for long; but one thing I've immediately learned as soon as I read the first blog he posted that; like Chef Flay; Chef Davies only cares that a person CARE about what they are trying to prepare; that they care about the ingredients used; from the meat all the way through the herbs and spices; and that each person who tries knows that everyone can make mistakes when they cook; the key is not to be perfect right from the start; only the exceptionally gifted are that successful; but for us ordinary people the key is to not be intimidated by the recipes and to keep trying and not give up...Hey even Julia Child made mistakes...

As Jonathon Says...

    For a long time I had been thinking that I was one of a dying breed; people who still cared about the quality of meat they purchased more than just buying it from a Walmart or a Chief's grocery store.  Believing that butcher shops were becoming as extinct as the Dodo or the Caspian tiger; reluctantly I had learned to try and match the quality of the meats I bought to the products available in the local grocery stores.  Once or twice I tried buying meat from the local Walmart though; and after trying to eat it I just could not do it anymore.  I had learned from an old news broadcast that Walmart had taken to injecting the packaging with extra Nitrogen in order to extend the shelf life of the meat products.  When my family and I tried the meat; the taste and texture were just not good.  The bite of the meat was a bit on the rubbery side; and there was a strange aftertaste to the meat as well; not just with the beef but with the chicken too.  When I tried to complain to the corporate offices; instead of listening to what I hoped at the time was the voice of reason; they had instead redirected my call to my local Walmart; at which time the Assistant Manager tried to make me believe that all would be right with the meat if I just left it open on the counter for about a half hour to allow the oxygen in the air to hit it before I either froze or cooked it.  It was then I vowed that no matter what our income would be in the future; I would always buy the best ingredients I could; that was how important cooking was to me; that was how important it was to make a GOOD meal for my husband and son. 
     Unlike in many cities and towns in Britain though; it is not as easy to walk a few blocks to a local butcher.  In most cases in the US; a butcher can be as far as a 1/2 hour drive; and heaven help you if you are looking for a good ETHNIC butcher but don't live in a city where there might actually be a community of people from that same ethnic group.  For example; from where I live in Bryan, OH; the closest cities that might have any semblence of a Polish Butcher or deli are Toledo; which is a drive anywhere from one hour to one and a half hours; or Cleveland or Cincinnati which both are about a three hour drive from Bryan.  There are also some in places like Troy, MI. which granted is a bit closer than either Cleveland or Cincinnati; but there is no telling if they are any good.  So with lots of recommendations from family and friends; and a lot of hunt and peck searching over the internet; the only other possible option is to order off recommended sites over the internet.  I was quite grateful though to learn that there was a regular butcher that was not only good; but had been around for so long that it was a popular place to shop; and the quality of meat was better than I could expect; Jacob's Meats in Defiance, OH; and we have been shopping from there for three years now.            
          With plans in the works for my husband; our son; and myself to move to Britain in the near future; I had already begun to do all I could to learn about British culture; realtors, churches, restaurants, salaries, taxes, and yes; food blogs.  My intention for that last one was mainly to learn about holiday cooking and the culture of food there in general.  It had been while I had been searching for various recipes of characteristic British foods that I had most happily stumbled upon "The UK Food Bloggers Association" web site and the wonderfully descriptive people who post there.  Noting the fact that they welcome "friends" of the UK; I immediately requested to be a member.  As soon as my membership was approved; I had begun to peruse the site and stumbled upon a posting on this very subject.  Someone had posted on how important it was to make sure even your meat is of the best quality because if you don't; it could make or break the very dish you might want to impress someone with.  His name; Chef Jonathon Davies... Please don't misunderstand; most chefs you might watch or listen to will more than likely say the same thing; but for some reason when the others say it; they do so from the persepctive of a successful restaurant.  Not all chefs are good at explaining that what is important in a restaurant; is as equally important in a kitchen inside a home.  Once I read Chef Davies' blog though I felt in anyone really understood; then he did.  Others seem to just show you how they do whatever dish, and then expect you to automatically get over whatever fears you might have and Voi La you now cook like any four star restaurant chef.  Chef Davies seems to be able to speak to us on our level.  That is one reason why I hope; that when my husband, my son and I DO move to Britain; that we will be able to visit Chef Davies' restaurant; maybe try some of the wonderful foods he shows on his blog; and then maybe some day meet the chef who gave me back my courage and desire to cook to my best ability!