|
COOKING WITH MOM,
A HOLIDAY TRADITION
Michael Reich, Executive Chef, JW Marriott, Chicago
My mom is a really good cook. When I was growing up she was always taking cooking lessons—Asian, German, Korean—all these diff erent things she would try on us. Th ere were a few mishaps over the years—we would end up going to the local deli because nobody would eat it.
When I was very little I sat around on a step stool in the kitchen and I would watch her cook all the time. I think I picked up on simple things and I’m just kind of taking it to a diff erent level. I still have my mom’s lamb chop recipe that she used to do with bread crumbs and some kind of fruit. So when plums are in season I cook them down with shallots and brandy then puree it, marinate the lamb, sear it off , kind of put that schmutz as I call it, rub that all over the lamb, put some seasoned panko bread crumbs around. It gets away from mustard, everyone does mustard crust.
Thanksgiving Dinner
She converts the kitchen to a huge buffet for 30-35 people. She has two ovens. I’m always cooking one turkey there and one turkey in the neighbor’s house—whoever is going out for Thanksgiving, I use their oven—and then heat everything else in her second oven. I’m cooking side by side with Mom…then she goes and takes a nap.
Below is her holiday recipe for one of my favorites, Mom’s Beef Brisket.
JW Marriott Chicago, 151 West Adams St. Chicago, IL 60603 312-660-8200 for more information: www.marriott.com/chicago
|
At the JW Marriott Chicago, a landmark Daniel Burnham designed hotel, as many as 1,800 meals a day are turned out of the hotel’s kitchen, including staff meals, according to Executive Chef Michael Reich. His menu is based on sustainable sources, which is “a little bit more expensive proposition,” he explains, but he says corporate decision makers have made the commitment to source food locally in the JW Marriott venues worldwide.
|
|
RECIPE
Mom’s Brisket Recipe |
COMING TO AMERICA,
A NEW FAMILY CUSTOM
Baasim Zafar, Executive Chef, The Drake Hotel
When I moved from England 10 years ago to Chicago, my parents would visit every Thanksgiving, for their “new” holiday. In my house at Thanksgiving we don’t have much use for the turkey, most Indians believe that it does not have any taste. Despite my years of trying to “convert” the parents to the turkey, chicken with spices is what it is. I have included this recipe for our alternative bird at Thanksgiving. I have perfected it over the years and on my recent month long trip in India added to the recipe. I have the pleasure of making at least 10 birds for family and friends. That’s what makes America great, the blend of tradition with flavors from our past.
For the recipe I recommend using a free-range chicken that is no bigger than 2 pounds, this should feed about 2-3 people.
The Drake Hotel, 140 East Walton Place, Chicago, IL 60611 312-787-2200 for more information: www.thedrakehotel.co
|
Chef Zafar knew at an early age that he didn’t want to follow the traditional career path already forged within his family: doctors or engineers. He wanted to become a chef, which he says, was a clear deviation from the stereotypical expectations for someone of Indian heritage. When he started his first job in the kitchen, washing dishes, he knew it would take his parents awhile to come around to his chosen field. Working his way up, achieving a world-class culinary education and experience, Chef Zafar has made his parents proud with his success.
During a month-long business trip to India, including a stop in his ancestral home, in the Uttar Pradesh province, Chef Zafar discovered new recipes and techniques, which included recipes prepared in a traditional Tandoori oven, an appliance now installed in The Drake Hotel’s kitchen. Because of this inspired initiative and the business plan behind the project, The Drake is now the first hotel in Chicago to prepare authentic in-house Indian cuisine for social events; yet another milestone in the storied history of the Drake.
|
|
RECIPE
Thanksgiving Tandoori Chicken
|
|
