In the heart of downtown Minneapolis you'll discover Hell's Kitchen; named after the New York neighborhood, and also because of the charged atmosphere of the restaurant's kitchen! This indulgent breakfast, or any time recipe, was stolen with permission from Mitch Omer, joint owner and chef with partner Steve Meyer. Hell's Kitchen serves 'real food, carefully prepared from scratch' which has been described as "unique but not fancy; interesting but not fussy". Some of the enticing dishes on the menu are: Toasted Sausage Bread, Jamaican Jerk Burger, Megu BBQ Beef Ribs and Charred Sea Bass with jerk seasoning and pineapple jalapeno salsa. With Gospel Sunday brunches, served by pajama clad waitresses, the ambiance at Hell's Kitchen reflects the owners' unique, yet easy going style of cooking and about this recipe, Mitch says "You can adjust the quantities and ingredients to better suit your personal tastes. That's what good cooking is all about."
The food at Hell's Kitchen is unapologetically not health food, which fits Mitch's tendency to favor the extreme in all aspects of his life.
Lemon-Ricotta Hotcakes are served at Hell's Kitchen for $10.50.
This recipe makes 16 hotcakes.
Lemon-Ricotta Hotcakes Ingredients:
- 6 egg whites
- 9 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 4 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3cup all-purpose flour
- Unsalted butter, melted (for the skillet)
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In Chicago they're ordering pizza sunny side up these days, since Chef Massimo Salatino of Mia Francesca Restaurant has presented the original recipe from founder and owner, Scott Harris of Pizza Quattro Stagioni, or "Four Seasons", which brings together the flavors from each season of year. The Quattro Stagioni is a combination of mushrooms and olives representing fall, prosciutto for winter, artichokes for spring and an egg in the center of the pizza as the heat of summer. The soft-cooked egg is swirled together and delicately distributed around the entire pizza for the perfect combination of texture and savory flavors on the thin crispy crust. Mia Francesca's Chef Massimo says, "Each ingredient on our Pizza Quattro Stagioni is married together by the soft cooked egg for an extremely elegant pizza experience."
Mia Francesca features the cuisine of Rome, Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio in a casually sophisticated trattoria ambiance with simple, rustic cooking, friendly service and fair prices. In the restaurant's interior sleek lines are softened by warm woods and striking black and white photographs of rural Italian life line the walls. Mia Francesca also features an antique bar, an upstairs dining room and lounge, and a more intimate coach house tucked away behind the restaurant which is the is the perfect place to sit down with some friends and a bottle of wine while waiting for your table. In the summer, al fresco dining is also available on a charming cobblestone terrace. Mia Francesca is the original of 19 Francesca restaurants in the Chicago area.
Pizza Quattro Stagioni is served at Mia Francesca for $8.99.
This recipe makes 4 individual pizzas.
Pizza Quattro Stagioni Ingredients for the Dough:
- 1 Teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Cups All-purpose flour
- 1 Teaspoon dry yeast
- 1 Teaspoon sugar
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 oz. milk
- 5 oz. lukewarm water
Pizza Quattro Stagioni Ingredients for the Topping:
- 12 oz. Shredded mozzarella
- 6 oz. Crushed tomato
- 4 Small mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 20-24 Pitted black olives, sliced
- 4 Whole eggs
- 4 oz. Imported Prosciutto di Parma (thinly sliced)
- 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 oz. Artichokes (fresh or canned), cut into quarters
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Even the design of the restaurant itself incorporates this outlook, the restaurant's atmosphere shifts from sleek and sophisticated to rustic and homey. The entry features a wine bar made from 145 pounds of compressed sea salt and communal banquet tables with coordinating salt inlays, while individually carved wood tables, exposed brick, and a rustic wooden ceiling can be found in the back, bringing together Giano's two functions of restaurant and wine bar.
The menu, driven by seasonal ingredients is divided into columns, one half features traditional Italian dishes while the other is more contemporary. Traditional appetizers include Insalata di Polipo alla Genovese, a warm octopus and potato salad served with tomatoes, black olives and arugula, dressed with a delicate and aromatic lemon vinaigrette. A modern example would be Fagottini di Manzo Farciti, a trio of domes made from filet mignon carpaccio stuffed with parmesan, goat cheese, and gorgonzola mousses, garnished with candied orange zest for the goat cheese, a balsamic reduction for the gorgonzola and a tuft of arugula for the parmesan.
Contemporary pastas include Maltagliati alla Carbonara di Pescatrice e Fave, which consists of wide homemade noodles lightly tossed in a creamy carbonara sauce with monkfish and fava beans, while a seasonal entrees for fall is a Braised Pork Shank marinated with red wine and topped in a sweet and savory sauce of cinnamon, coriander, and star anise.
Pumpkin and Gorgonzola Risotto with Amaretto Powder is served at Giano for $14.
This recipe makes 4 restaurant servings.
Pumpkin and Gorgonzola Risotto with Amaretto Powder Ingredients:
- 1 onion
- 10 oz Arborio rice
- 8 oz pumpkin pulp
- 3.5 oz gorgonzola
- 1 glass white wine
- 1 pint vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 Amaretto cookies
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With a fundamental interest in public advocacy, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) just reported on the top ten riskiest foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The ten "featured" foods, many popular and healthy staples of the American diet, according to the report, accounted for nearly 40% of all foodborne illness outbreaks from 1990 to 2006. It is important to note that although not contained in most of the headlines or television reports, the foods reviewed were only those under the FDA's jurisdiction; foods like meat and poultry (which have had huge food safety product recalls due to E.coli and Salmonella) were not considered. The reason? The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for records associated with these products. Hardly bulletproof substance for a "top ten" list.
CSPI's list in descending order: leafy greens, eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts and berries.
We at The Lempert Report and SupermarketGuru.com are convinced that consumers will change or rethink their eating habits based on the media frenzy now surrounding these foods. Which is unfortunate. This information has already and will cause great confusion to the general population. Looking back to the 2006 E.coli contaminated bagged spinach outbreaks, sales dropped by five percent and a staggering twenty five percent the following year; and have never rebounded fully.
We are betting this report will have a similar affect on the foods listed in the misleading CSPI report and it is irresponsible both to the consumer and to the food industry. Remember, this report reviewed data dating back to 1990; over the past 20 years there has been much improvement in food safety science and manufacturing and clearly those improvements must be considered and applauded.
Another problem: some data used focused on single outbreaks not primarily linked to the food in question. For example, most of the ice cream illnesses were due to homemade ice cream made with raw eggs, rather than ice cream sold in a supermarket.. Caroline Smith DeWaal, the food safety director for CSPI commented that this was the cause for 75 percent of the ice cream illnesses reported. Clearly singling out ice cream as the culprit doesn't seem fair, and causes unnecessary consumer confusion. The National Milk Producers Federation, and the US Potato Board (potato illnesses were linked to potato salad, therefore cross contamination and improper at-home food safety practices most likely culprit) felt the data was at the very least misleading (and we must agree).
It is a shame this report has warranted some variation of the headline "Healthy Foods Unsafe" as most consumers don't have nor take the time to explore articles beyond basic browsing.
CSPI says that this report was intended as a review of our food safety system, not exactly for 'consumer use.' Smith DeWaal commented on ABC News, "this list is most important to scientist and the regulators and policy experts that work on food safety, CSPI is not advising consumers to make any changes in eating habits." So why then did CSPI release it to the general consumer press? Or giving interviews on consumer media?
So, once again the bailout falls to the supermarket to explain, keep shoppers from panicking and to encourage them to continue to consume many of these healthy foods:
Post prominent signs in store outlining clear at home food safety instructions Reinforce proper in store or manufacturing safety procedures and relate these efforts to your customers. Include extra safety and handling instructions on labels or update signs in store to help draw attention to food safety issues. Encourage customers to continue to practice proper food safety at home. Frequent hand washing with soap and water, and careful handling of raw meat, poultry, eggs, etc. should be reinforced.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CSPI's primary data source, estimates that foodborne illness affects 76 million Americans each year. Illnesses range from temporary gastrointestinal distress to long-term disability and even death. Over 1,500 separate, definable outbreaks were linked to the top ten foods highlighted in the report, with almost 50,000 illnesses reported. CDC's data represents the best available, but the majority of people rarely see a doctor to treat foodborne illnesses, thus a substantial number of cases fall under the radar.
CSPI's Full Study: http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/cspi_top_10_fda.pdf
Stolen 'con permesso' from Chef and Owner Tony Fantastico of Ancora Ristorante this impressive dish is deceptively simple to prepare. Opened in 2004 in the heart of New York City's financial district, Ancora Ristorante features classic Northern Italian cuisine. From the appetizing antipasti, daily fresh seafood and finest cuts of meat, to the complimentary glass of Grappa at the end of the meal, no detail has been overlooked to offer patrons the best in fine dining and impeccable service. In fact the name of the restaurant itself means "I am back again" in Italian, and that is exactly what Tony and his partner hope their customers will say each time they walk through the door as they return again and again to the warm and inviting ambiance of Ancora.
Double-cut Veal Chop in Cherry Pepper Sauce is served at Ancora Ristorante for $43.95 and is often shared.
This recipe makes 1 or 2 restaurant servings.
Double-cut Veal Chop in Cherry Pepper Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 Double-cut veal chops from a rack of veal - 19 oz.
- 2 Cloves of fresh garlic, chopped or sliced
- 4 Cherry peppers, sliced
- 1 Holland (red) bell pepper, roasted & sliced
- Olive oil - enough to drizzle
- 1 Cup balsamic vinegard
- ¼ Cup beef stock
- Salt & pepper
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Americans struggle to understand (or continue to blatantly ignore) the nutrition facts labels on the foods in our stores. That's the reality.
Clearly, we didn't get to be a fat nation riddled with diabetes, clogged arteries and heart disease by making a high proportion of smart eating decisions. We got this way because taste, price and dozens of other marketing messages, rather than nutrition, have been foremost in our purchase decisions at the shelf. As the food industry looked around and noticed that our pre-teens, teens, young adults and even we ourselves needed to buy larger size pants, the marketing pundits decided it was time. Time to create yet another marketing system that could differentiate their brand, and hopefully enhance sales. But sadly the result was little more than consumer confusion.
Then came the coalitions which were designed to replace each brands' own systems. The concept was good: develop an objective nutrition ratings standard so the public would have a fairer shot at making the right choices that could enhance their lives. But a "standard" evolved into more competition: NuVal, the GoodGuide web measurement tool, Healthy Ideas, Smart Choices, Guiding Stars, Healthy Elements, Nutritional Spotlight, nutritionIQ, TAG Nutrition Labeling, but our bet at The Lempert Report is that shoppers see only a scramble and don't know which of these nutrition ratings to trust.
Which is why the burden falls back on the shoulders of our grocers to endorse a single standard with an open algorithm that shoppers, brands and retailers can all understand and agree on. The selection process and the eventual selected program require transparency. The standard must come from a third-party group backed by food and public health science (no need to recreate here) rather than from manufacturers who may be trying to promote healthy aspects of foods that aren't really that nutritious. Nor should the program become a manipulated tool to make money. The final representations of nutritional value on product packages will need to be clear, unequivocal and simple for the public to understand.
There's much more at stake here than the competitiveness of CPG brands and the retailers that sell them. If industry members purport to elevate their companies to a level of objectivity that serves the best interests of consumers and shoppers, that's exactly what they must do. Nutritional ratings cannot become a stealth path to winning share. This has the potential, in our view, to be a momentous turning point in the nation's distribution of food and could well be the magic bullet for our nation's ailing health care crisis.
