The CulinaryWoman Newsletter, 3/27/02

The people who taught me to cook

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My Culinary Inspirations

The dedication to Satisfaction Guaranteed reads, “To everyone who taught me to cook.” So, I was delighted this week when my friend, Chef Virginia Willis, crafted an entire menu based on the people who taught her to cook.

It got me thinking about the recipes we make all the time, and the inspirations for them. Many of them are things we learned when we were young. Others are dishes we read about in cookbooks, or come from our own experiments.

I’ve cobbled together my own menu, and I have included links to recipes where they exist. I also would love to hear your go-to recipes and their sources, whether for meals or entertaining, and the stories behind them.

(PS: I’ll be a guest on Cookbooks With Virginia on Facebook Live on April 8. Meanwhile, watch her weekly show.)

The Menu

Zingerman’s Deli Marinated Fruit and Goat Cheese Salad is not on their menu. My recipe resulted from a class I took there at which I discovered agrodolce, the white fruit vinegar.

Grace Singleton, the Deli’s managing partner, suggested using the vinegar to marinate fruit. I found that in adding goat cheese to the salad, the fruit and cheese produced their own creamy dressing.

The fruit can be prepared about 30 minutes in advance and the salad tossed before serving. I’ve watched in amazement as an entire bowl disappeared in about two minutes at a potluck. Few things are more gratifying than hearing someone ask, “Is there more salad?”

Patricia Wells’ Broccoli, Avocado and Pistachios is a starter or salad that we learned to make in her Paris cooking class.

At the time, Patricia was working on her cookbook, Vegetable Harvest, and we all loved this refreshing dish.

It’s topped with pistachio oil, but I have also used sesame oil and it’s just as delicious. You can plate it a little before serving, because it is delicious as the oil melds with the veggies.

Julia Child’s Herb Roasted Turkey Breast is both a dish and a method. On one of her 1980s cooking programs, Julia talked about the perennial problem of dry turkey.

She said one way to avoid it was to set the oven very high - 500F - and roast the bird for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350F for the remaining time. Her recipe is in The Way To Cook.

I’ve never been brave enough to roast at 500F, but I do set the oven first at 425F. My addition is to baste the turkey with tarragon tea.

That’s actually chicken broth steeped with any herbs I want to stir in, both fresh and dried. Meanwhile, I insert fresh herbs under the turkey skin, and toss them into the roasting pan.

Any leftover juices are turned into a delicious sauce or gravy. I am not a gravy fan, so I will often strain and then reduce the juices with a little cornstarch carefully stirred in.

Remember to first make a slurry with juices and cornstarch, then add it to the pan. Stir, stir, stir to combine.

Micki’s Glazed Root Vegetables are a recipe I originally learned from my mother to amp up roasted veggies. She used it for carrots but it works well with others, too. Read more at The Takeout.

I would definitely experiment with different sweeteners in the glaze. I love them with Poirier’s Cane Syrup, but you can use honey, and maple syrup works nice for our vegans.

Sweets to end the meal

I’m a believer in serving multiple desserts, so these two recipes are both tributes - and delicious.

Betty Ford’s Double Chocolate Cookies. Betty Ford was the coolest First Lady when I was growing up. You might know her for her activism in addition, transparency on breast cancer or campaign for the equal rights amendment.

She also was a great baker. Her daughter Susan sent me her recipe for the double chocolate cookies the Fords served at Thanksgiving. They’re really triple chocolate and a time-consuming bake, but the effort is worth it.

Dorie Greenspan’s Pavlova. Dorie Greenspan needs no introduction, but not everyone is familiar with Pavlova.

It’s a baked meringue that is quite easy to make, and a way to incorporate fruit into a dessert course. You can also use nuts, chocolate and of course, cover it in lots of whipped topping. Dorie’s recipe walks you through it.

This would be a wonderful dessert for Easter dinner or a fun treat at a spring brunch or shower. You can make individual ones, too.

There are many inspirations for our cooking, and I would love to hear about yours. What would your menu include?

Michelin’s Unexpected Awards

Chefs in Chicago woke up last week to a surprise. Guide Michelin disclosed the names of a group of restaurants that will be getting awards when it’s rankings come out in April.

I know several of the chefs, particularly Zach Engel. I met him in New Orleans five years ago when he was the executive chef at Shaya, the restaurant founded by Alon Shaya.

Zach was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in food and beverage, and subsequently won the James Beard Award as the country’s rising star chef. I’m pretty sure we hit it off because he has a business degree, which is useful for anyone in culinary. Plus, he has a quirky sense of humor, and is a fine chef.

He then moved to Chicago, where he opened Galit. It’s named for his daughter, Margalit, and it serves imaginative Middle Eastern inspired food (the hummus, pictured above, is otherworldly).

Galit underwent lots of the same challenges that restaurants have faced during the pandemic, due to Chicago’s restrictions, but it survived and now has Michelin recognition.

Zach says, “We had no clue. It’s nice for our team to get any sort of recognition for their dedication and consistency. They’re rockstars every day.”

The Guide isn’t saying whether Galit received stars (I’m betting it has) or a Bib award as a good value. But, I love its food, and my goal is to dine there again this spring.

What Is Your Fantasy Meal?

If money was no object, what would be your dream food destination? Writer Lillian Stone is figuring out a place to go for her 30th birthday and talked about it here.

I’ve been lucky enough to have some memorable meals in restaurants around the world. Although I am tempted to repeat one of them, I’d like to go to a city or country where I haven’t been.

So, my list would include Singapore, to eat at the famous hawker markets; Morocco, to browse for spices, and South Korea, to eat seafood, visit artisanal producers and sample some of the world’s finest cuisine at Ojina on Jeju Island, shown above. I want to see Sicily, the Greek Islands and South Africa.

Here in North America, I would travel to Atlantic Canada, and Oaxaca, Mexico. I’ve never been to Hawaii, and everyone’s vacation photos always look stunning.

Where would you head? What would you eat?

Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman

My Satisfaction Guaranteed book “tour” is humming right along. Last week, I got to visit with two wonderful Michigan independent book stores - a virtual presentation at Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor and an in-person event at 2 Dandelions, the charming female-owned store in Brighton. Thanks for having me!

A reminder of my next big virtual event on April 6, a week from Tuesday. I’ll be interviewed by author John U. Bacon in a conversation sponsored by the University of Michigan Alumni Association.

Even if you are not a member, you can join us: simply register here.

Please contact me if you would like to arrange an event with your organization. I can be reached st CulinaryWoman at gmail dot com. I am especially interested in speaking with business audiences, so share my info if you are a member of a community network.

You can purchase copies of Satisfaction Guaranteed at many Zingerman’s businesses and fine book sellers everywhere. You also can order a copy through Bookshop.org, which distributes sales to indie booksellers.

Follow me on Twitter and Tik Tok @culinarywoman. I’m @michelinemaynard on Instagram and Micheline Maynard on LinkedIn.

People are still testing positive for Covid. Watch your health, stay safe, and see you next week.