Stuff About Drew & his Life...

June 9-15 2008 was the annual 7 DAYS FOR SIDS fundraiser for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). I had the honor of serving on the Planning Committee for my second year.

7 Days for SIDS raises money for awareness and research towards the eradication of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), the number one cause of death of children from birth to one year, through the Sudden Infant Death Network of Ohio. And to sustain the Tatiana de Cavel Scholarship Fund at the Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College.

While we’re still sorting through everything, it looks as though Sunday’s Father’s Day Brunch (we’re still adding up the rest of the week’s donations)may put this year in line to be a record-setting year for this event!

I worked the Brunch on Sunday. My responsibilities included assisting chefs with load-in of their food (I worked at the dock to get the chef’s equipment and supplies onto rolling carts, which were delivered to the chef’s table by Erin and Melissa, two students), directing chefs on where to go, solving problems (like getting Jean-Francois’ (Taste from Belgium) power back on when the circuits kept blowing!), general cleanup, mingling with the guests, and announcing various things (for some reason, no one knew how to access the Public Address system in the building, so we resorted to, well, shouting).

Jean-Robert & Annette de Cavel (of Jean-Robert at Pigall’s) were busy most of the day greeting guests as they arrived to the event. While I’m sure being busy didn’t completely quiet their minds, I hope the positive nature of the busy-ness was a relief from the sadness associated with the timing of this event – it falls near the anniversary of the loss of their baby daughter, Tatiana.

During this year’s event, I learned a bit about the history of 7 DAYS FOR SIDS… After Tatiana’s death in 2002, Jean-Robert (“JR”) and Annette wanted to host a one-night memorial/fundraiser event in March of 2003. As word of the event spread throughout the Cincinnati restaurant community, offers of support and participation flooded in from chefs, restaurants, and other businesses to help out in any way they could. With such an outpouring of love and support, the event envisioned by JR & Annette, which was intend to be one-night-only, quickly expanded into a week’s worth of activities

Now, the week includes golf outings, special donations from restaurants (for example, proceeds from the sale of certain menu items during the week), cooking demonstrations (including live cooking demos from 10 chefs at the wonderful kitchens of Homearama), art shows, brunches, bowling, a silent auction, and new this year, a live auction event. Also new this year is a commemorative CD with recipes, chef bios, a video, and SIDS information.

Now in it’s 5th year, 7 DAYS FOR SIDS…

* has raised nearly $400,000 for SIDS research

* is the largest supporter of the Sudden Infant Death Network of Ohio

* is the second largest SIDS fundraiser in the country

It is our hope to eradicate SIDS so no family has to experience the heartache of losing a child to SIDS.

Because when we put an end to SIDS, we all sleep better at night.

On Saturday, April 5, 2008, Wendy & I dined at The Palace Restaurant in the Cincinnatian Hotel in downtown Cincinnati.

We were greeted warmly at the door by Maitre D’ John McLean who walked us to our table and helped us settle in for a multi-course menu prepared for us by Chef Romuald “Romy” Jung from the restaurant’s menu. It was exciting not to know what was coming out course-by-course, and we enjoyed the surprise when each dish was revealed as the cloche was lifted.

The first course was Chestnut Soup with Granny Smith Apples, which, before we tasted it, put us in the mind of my own Apple and Chestnut Soup, but upon tasting was entirely different. Romy’s soup was based on beef or veal stock, so the flavor was full and hearty with highlights of sweetness from the perfectly-cut batonnet of granny smith apple. Warming and satisfying, this was a very nice first course. This was beautifully paired with Perrier Jouet.

(I must, sadly, note that the server did not keep track of our wine and food pairings as requested. She provided us a menu of what we ate, and the wines are listed on the receipt but not in order. We enjoyed wines from the following distributors: Perrier Jouet, Irony, J. Lohr, Giesen, and Bridlewood.)

The second course was Risotto with Black Truffle Butter and Black Truffle Butter, Parmesan Cheese, and Mascarpone Cheese. Holy smoke was this delicious! Upon service, a wonderful waft of truffle essense delighted us (and the table next to ours). The risotto was cooked perfectly, and the starch made a wonderfully heady sauce, complimented by the cheeses (and, of course, the truffles!). It was truly a truffle overload… No small flavors here!

Third course was a real standout of the entire meal. It was Oxtail Ravioli with Foie Gras Sauce and a Port Reduction. This was truly spectacular, and the pairing with the J. Lohr Chardonnay (I remember that one!) was outstanding. We experienced richness on multiple levels with the oxtail and foie sauce, accented by the sweetness of the port reduction. It was so good, in fact, that we suggested to Chef Romy that it always be served with spoons for getting every last drop of that delicious sauce (they brought us spoons right away). It is truly an expression of the skill of the chef when he can transform humble ingredients like oxtail into something so delicious (throwing some foie gras in there doesn’t hurt!). It is worth the trip to the restaurant just for this dish, though if you eat only this dish, you will miss out on other delights, like…

The fourth course was an unexpected surprise (even our server was expecting halibut). This was French White Asparagus (lovely fat spears) seared with tomato confit, goat cheese, and balsamic reduction.
When the cloches were removed, Wendy & I both chuckled out loud at the novelty of a simple vegetable course like this — just two beautifully-cooked spears of asparagus, their white color tinged slightly brown from the cooking, and topped with the confit, reduction, and goat cheese. Chef Romy has a light hand with seasonings, so the fresh flavor of the asparagus really shone through.

Our fifth course was a seared Diver Scallop served with organic wild mushroom ragut and dry sherry. Beautifully cooked (ever so slightly translucent in the middle), the scallops were sweet with an accent of earthiness from the mushrooms and sherry.

The sixth course was a beautiful Duck Breast with braised endive (which I adore) and an orange demi-glace. Oh, how I enjoy duck, and this one was excellent. Dotted around the plate were little potato dauphinoise, perfect for stabbing with your fork and chasing around every bit of the demi-glace.

Finally, desserts were presented. We very much enjoyed our Pistachio Creme Brulee (I love pistachios and creme brulee, so this was a real treat for me). Wendy’s dessert (they pegged her perfectly) was their “Inside Out Fondue” with chocolate sorbet and a spicy orange sauce, which looked like beignets until cut with a fork, when they oozed warm chocolate ganache from within the crust.

An exceptional meal! Thanks Chef Romy & John!

About mid-way through the meal, the couple seated next to us leaned over and said, “Okay… Who are you two and why are you surprised at every dish? Didn’t you ORDER your food?”. I explained that I am a culinary instructor, and told them that they, too, could call ahead and ask the chef to select their menu. They were pleasantly surprised at this idea; apparently, they hadn’t thought before of this approach. I really enjoy doing this — calling ahead and asking the chef to show me the scope of his menu through a tasting. Chefs seem to enjoy this as well, especially if you go on a non-weekend night (Wednesday is a good choice) and give them plenty of advanced notice. Plus, it’s a great way to see, well, the scope of their menu. Of course, if you have any food aversions or allergies, make sure you inform the restaurant a> at the time of reservation and b> before your meal begins.

I earned my Certified Culinarian!

Some days, big things change in the blink of an eye.

Your direction is modified. Your course, previously charted, requires attention anew.

This is one of those days.

This is very exciting.

During the early part of September each year, the Bethesda Foundation hosts GOURMET SENSATION, one of their signature fund-raising events. Since 1988, chefs from all around the world as well as local chefs have shared their culinary creations with an ever-growing and appreciative crowd to raise funds for Hospice of Cincinnati. This year’s event was on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

My involvment with GOURMET SENSATION is as an appreciative guest, but I am involved with an event that occurs before GOURMET SENSATION — that is the chefs’ appreciation dinner the night before. For more than 12 years, Michael & Kathy Brown have prepared a multi-course meal for the chefs and their guests. For two of the last three years, Michael & Kathy have allowed me to assist them with preparations and service of this meal (I missed helping in 2006 because I was on vacation). This grand meal is presented in the beautiful dining room of the Cincinnatian Hotel, in their Palace restaurant which closes for the evening to allow Michael and his crew to move in and work in the hotel’s kitchens. This year, we served over 70 people.

On Thursday and Friday September 6 & 7, I went to the Brown’s house to assist with preparation of the meal. Several other professional cooks and enthusiastic amateurs show up to work for short or long shifts at the Brown’s house, so their large kitchen is crowded and bustling with activity.

The menu Michael & Kathy designed was as follows:

• Home Cured Wild Coho Salmon and Gazpacho
  2006 Gunderloch “Redstone” Riesling (Rheinhessen, Germany)
• Medallion of Foie Gras, Viognier Gelee and Fig Compote
  2003 Gregory Graham Viognier (Napa Valley)
• Walleye with Braised Artichokes, Artichoke Puree and Lobster Mushrooms
  2006 Four Sisters Sauvignon Blanc (South Eastern Australia)
• Loin of Veal, Sweetbread, Corn and Apple Ravioli, Honey Crisp Apples and Calvados Sauce
  2004 Four Sisters Shiraz (South Eastern Australia)
• Epí
• Couronne Lochoise, Roasted Beets and Pistachios
  2005 Chateau Calabre (Montravel, France)
  2004 Domaine de Pallus Chinon (Loire, France)
• Chocolate Caramel Walnut Tart
  2003 Gregory Graham “Red Hills” Syrah (Lake County)

The gazpacho was novel — Michael used gelatin filtration (as discussed in McGee’s column in the New York Times (registration required)) so the resulting liquid was intensely flavorful and crystal clear with a reddish tint. The home cured salmon was very tasty (though I only had a nibble).

I prefer seared foie gras to cold, but this preparation of the foie in a tourchon was quite nice (when isn’t foie gras nice?!) and very simple to serve, though I didn’t love the plating — I thought it looked a little crowded. Still, the plates were virtually licked clean when they came back, so the crowd must have been happy. The Viognier gelee was tasty and attractive.

The walleye was cooked very well (Keith has been cooking at the Palace for longer than he cares to admit, and he’s got a real master’s touch with fish and meats), and the lobster mushrooms were a very nice compliment to the flavor of the fish.

A personal favorite dish was the veal — it was beautifully prepared and cooked — very tender, and the sweetbread, corn, and apple ravioli were quite tasty.

The cheese in the cheese course — the Couronne Lochoise, a soft and creamy raw goat’s milk cheese from the Loire valley — was absolutely delicious, though before we portioned them, the individual cheeses looked like glazed yeast doughnuts! We cut each “doughnut” (actually, the word “Couronne” means “crown”) into four wedge-shaped pieces, which was a generous cheese course. The roasted beets & pistachios were wonderful together (very earthy) and complimented the cheese very well. This was one of my favorite elements of the meal.

After the cheese course came Kathy’s delicious Chocolate Caramel Walnut Tart, a beauty for the eyes and a delight on the tongue. Even though I am not a “chocolate person”, I certainly appreciated the rich flavors of this dessert. We served it with a squiggle of Syrah reduction to decorate the plate.

Service of the meal went very quickly and smoothly — Gina, Jody, Tarrick, and others made light work of the plating and service. The menu was well planned and well prepped, so there was very little that needed to be done a la minute. Once service was done, we were taken out into the restaurant and presented to the appreciative crowd.

It was nice to recognize many faces from my previous GOURMET SENSATION experience — good to see Juho and othersm and it was nice to connect with new faces like Nancy & Steve from Baltimore! A few drinks were poured, a lot of conversation, and then I went home and sacked out! I heard reports that lots of the guest chefs went out and painted the town red — some reported getting back to their hotel rooms at 4:30am!

The next evening, Wendy & I attended the GOURMET SENSATION and were very impressed with the dishes prepared by the chefs. While every dish was tasty (and we tried them all), standouts included the bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with bleu cheese, the venison burgers, the sticky toffee pudding, the short ribs, the soft-shell crab, and the fish-in-coconut-milk-broth. A nice upgrade this year was the keepsake wine glass and plastic plate (with wine glass holder). It made juggling food, forks, and wine much easier than before.

Wendy & I were invited to go out with the chefs after GOURMET SENSATION and we intended to… We really did! We went home for a bit of downtime between the event and the partying, and never managed to get back up again to go out. So we missed a good time with the chefs, but I’ve made a promise to myself that next year we will make it!

From this site comes this week’s “10 on Tuesday” question… “What are 10 interesting websites you’d like to share?”. Here are mine, in alphabetical order:

1. AbeBooks — amazing prices on hard-to-find books. I get lots of vintage cookbooks through AbeBooks.
2. Audible — I love audiobooks, and this is where I get them. If you sign up, mention that “vogelap” sent you!
3. Blender.ORG — I am not a graphic/3D artist, but if I was, I would use Blender. I support and follow Blender development.
4. Blue’s News — I am an avid gamer (time permitting). Blue’s site keeps me up-to-date on what’s happing in the gaming world.
5. eGullet & forum – this is the best food-related site & forum on the web, and is where the pros hang out. So much culinary information it will fry your brain.
6. EverNote & forum – simply the best note-management (and much more) software for the PC. Check this out — it will revolutionize your information-management tasks. There are both free and paid versions of the software — most users can be happy with just the free version.
7. I Can Has Cheezburger — LOLcats make me LOL.
8. Lifehacker — constantly informative, constantly interesting. Great resource for GTD tips & tools.
9. Over The Rhine.COM & the Orchard – the official website and forum for a wonderful Cincinnati-based band. I run their forums. Songs available here.
10. SnapStream — home of the Personal Video Recorder (PVR) software that I use. Amazing stuff — throw away your TiVO!

Enjoy these sites! Let me know of your favorite sites in comments…