Spago's - Canadian Restaurant

This was really fun- we drove to Canada to get some mussels from this restaurant, all the while Anna kept telling us that it was the chicken that she liked the best. The mussels were fabulous....especially the ones in the red sauce but Anna said that the sauce wasn't right; just a little too thick. The flavor was fabulous though!
But the chicken was a whole 'nother story!! I never order chicken in a restaurant. It just never works because most chefs over cook chicken....it's just the way of the world. But Anna was insistent that we try it. When we arrived at the restaurant Marc discreetly pointed out the head chef. A red-headed woman with a slight build running the coal-fired stove in the back of the dining area. After the mussels, bread and pizza - all of which was very good, the chicken arrived. It looked like a good chicken Parmesan with mushrooms to the untrained eye but it was so much more! We took one bite and Gary and I began to moan! It was incredible. Probably the best chicken I've very eaten out!! About half way through I talked Gary into going to talk to the chef to see if he could get any information out of her.... He got the technique for cooking the chicken but not the sauce. Marc talked me into going up there with Anna to see if we could get any information about the sauce. We took pictures with her Anna spoke Italian with her the whole time. She found out that Chet's husband was from the same area in Italy as where Anna was born. Chef never gave out the recipe for the sauce. In fact she didn't tell the whole truth about it in the midst of the conversation- it was obviously a guarded secret. Anna and Marc explained that this was a common occurrence within the Italian community. Many people don't share their recipes, even with close relatives. They told us a story about a good friend whose mother never gave her own daughter a recipe and for years the daughter kept trying to make the product without success. She finally realized years late that the mother had withheld some ingredients ON PURPOSE!! Wow!! The mother was scamming her own daughter for years so that her version of the recipe tasted better. So the red-headed chef lied to us to protect her incredible chicken recipe....I can totally understand why!
Anna gave me some Panna (cooked cream) and I'm going to attempt to make it when I get home.

Maybe I'm just a little too cocky but I just dont think the recipe was that difficult. Until I get home here is the Red-headed Chef's chicken recipe without tweaking:

8 oz.Panna
3 T. Butter
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. tomato paste
2 chicken breasts
Italian bread crumbs
Flour
2 Eggs, beaten
1 cup fresh, sliced button mushrooms
Mix the bread crumbs and flour together. Dip the chicken breasts in the egg wash and then the bread crumbs. Fry quickly in heated EVOO on both sides and finish cooking in the oven. Meanwhile, make the sauce by melting the butter and spooning in the tomatoe sauce (I may need to use a little flour at this point- whisked in and cooked for just a minute or two). Pou in the chicken broth, stir and cook the sauce until thickened. Add in the mushrooms and allow them to cook but not too long. (You don't want the moisture from the mushrooms to make the sauce too thin.) Pour the Panna into the sauce and stir until warm. Plate the chicken and pour the sauce on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately. We'll see if this doesn't work but I think I'm close!

Sights and Rhythms of Detroit - Vito's Bakery

Vito's Bakery- a neighborhood wonderland

Banana's Foster

1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
3 bananas, cut into3" slices
1/3 c. Banana Liquor
1/2 cup rum

Melt the butter in a skillet and add the brown sugar. Stir until blended. Add the bananas and allow them to cook down a bit. Stir in the banana liquor and cook a minute more. Pour in the rum and flame. Pour the sauce and bananas over a scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve immediately.

Chicken and Sausage Jambayala

1 whole, cooked chicken, deboned and cut into 1" pieces
1 lb. beef smoked sausage, cut into 1" slices
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 large bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
3 pods garlic, minced
3 T. Corn oil
3 T. Flour
2 T. Tomato paste
5 cups chicken broth
2 c. Long grain rice
Salt, black pepper, dried thyme, cayenne and TABASCO Louisiana hot sauce (5 shake minimum)

Sauté the onion, bell pepper,celery and garlic in the oil until the onion becomes translucent. Stir in the flour and cook for about 1-2 minutes, browning slightly. Add in the tomato paste and whisk. Cook for ~3 min on medium low heat. Turn the heat up and add the chicken broth until it comes to a boil. Stir in the rice,chicken and sausage and all the seasonings. Stir to combine and place a lid on the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes and then stir, scrapping up anything that is on the bottom of the pot. Cover and cook for about 10 min and stir again, adjusting the water if necessary. Cover for another 5 min, turn the heat off and let the jambayala rest for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Our Dinner to Anna and Marc

On our last night with Anna and Marc, Gary and I made dinner for them. Of course they asked us for a real Cajun dinner and we were happy to oblige. Marc called last night and asked for help with the fried green tomatoes before I could post this so I'm thinking they enjoyed our dinner!

The menu included:
BBQ Shrimp
Fried Green Tomato Salad
Stewed Chicken
Chicken and Sausage Jambayala
Banana's Foster  

BBQ Shrimp

2-3 lbs extra large shrimp, heads on preferably
1 1/2 - 2 sticks butter
Salt and black pepper
Cayenne pepper
Garlic powder
Line a jelly roll pan with foil or parchment paper making sure that the foil/ paper goes up the sides of the pan. Place the shrimp on the pan in a single layer and divide the butter into small cuts. Sprinkle the seasonings on top- as much/little as you want. Broil in the oven on the top rack for 3-4 min depending on the size of the shrimp. The meat of the shrimp will pull away slightly and the shrimp will turn pink when they are cooked. Try to pull them out 30 seconds before you think they are completely cooked so that they don't over cook. Serve immediately by pouring the butter juices over the top of the shrimp. Serve with warm or toasted bread.


Fried Green Tomatoes

3-4 green tomatoes
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow corn meal
Salt, black pepper, garlic powder and dried parsley to taste
Slice the tomatoes in 1/4" slices. Set aside. Mix the flour and corn meal with the seasonings and set aside. Com oil the eggs with the buttermilk in a bowl and whisk together. Just before serving dip the tomatoes in the egg/buttermilk mixture then pat them in the cornmeal/ flour mixture. Finish breading all of the tomatoes before frying. ( at this point the tomatoes can be refrigerated for up to an hour before serving.) Heat some corn oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet until the oil begins to "dance". Test the oil to make sure it's hot enough by sprinkling a pinch of flour in the oil - if it sizzles its hot enough to fry. Fry the tomatoes on one side until you see the bottom edges of the tomatoes turning brown. Flip the tomatoes and brown on the other side. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

We served this on some of Marc's soft lettuce freshly picked from his garden with a homemade buttermilk dressing.

Ranch Dressing

1 cup buttermilk
2 green onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 c. Real mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Blend the buttermilk,onions and garlic in a on high speed until the onions and garlic are completely blended into the buttermilk. Add the mayo and seasonings and blend only until the dressing comes together. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Raspberry Vinaigrette

Here's one that we didn't get a chance to try but the way Anna described it I can't wait to try it when I get home! She serves it with field greens, thin red onion (cut on a mandolin) bacon bits, blue cheese, candied walnuts and fresh raspberries. She uses ONLY real maple syrup. She makes only one recipe at a time- you can't double this!!

Raspberry Vinaigrette

1/2 c. Raspberry vinegar
1/2 c. EVOO
1/2 c. Corn oil
1/2 c. Maple syrup
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. Tarragon leaves
1 tsp. salt
Mix all ingredients and whisk until well blended.

The Bread

Gary made bread with Anna. I know of no one who makes bread like Anna. Most people follow a recipe first of all and Anna would have none of that. She feels her way through the bread! So once again the measurements aren't exact....but Gary did a good job of getting close. I really think he'll be able to duplicate this. I really want to because it's such a versatile bread! We used it for the rest of our meals with Marc and Anna. It freezes well and it has a great flavor and perfect texture!

Anna's bread

2 packs of yeast
1/2 cup warm water

6 cups water
2/3 c. Corn oil
3 T. Sugar
2 T. Salt
10-12 c. Flour
Allow the yeast to bloom while your gathering the other ingredients. Add all of the other ingredients in a very large bowl using your hands to mix. Continue mixing and kneading, adding any extra water or flour for the right consistency. She divides the dough into small batches and then cuts it in a food processor. It looks grainy at this point but its still holding the ball shape. She places those small grainy balls back in the bowl and allows the dough to rise for about an hour or until doubled.
After the rising has finished she makes rolls by cutting "fist-sized" balls and placing them on oiled heavy baking sheets allowing them to rise for another 30-45 min. She then bakes them at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
Now the absolutely cool thing about this recipe is that she freezes the rolls and pulls them out a few minutes before  using them for the next meal. She warms them in the oven for a couple of minutes and then serves them warm. We did this and served them the very next night and they were wonderful!!! This is a must-have recipe for anyone who likes bread with their meals! It's easy as bread goes....if you can get the dough to the rt consistency!