• 3 tablespoons of local clarified butter or canola oil
• 3 large local eggs, beaten
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 1/4 cup local sharp cheddar, grated
• 4 thin spears of local asparagus, cleaned and blanched
• 1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms, sautéed golden brown and lightly seasoned

Heat an 8 inch nonstick skillet over high heat. Add butter or oil to the pan and heat until the oil shimmers. Add the eggs and season to taste with salt. Working quickly and using a heat resistant rubber spatula, stir the eggs constantly and vigorously over the heat until they are 80 percent cooked. Remove from heat and continue stirring until 95 percent cooked (about 15 seconds). Use your spatula to spread the eggs evenly over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the cheese over the entire egg surface. Place the asparagus off center (close to the pan handle). Sprinkle mushrooms over asparagus. Using the spatula to help you, roll the omelette away from you to form a roll and continue to roll directly onto a warm 10 inch or 12 inch plate. Serve with crispy potatoes or a simple salad.

This post was sponsored by Heinen’s. Laurie, one of the Heinen’s wine specialists, suggests Grunüer Veltliner (nicknamed GruVe) with this recipe.  She says the dry, medium bodied Austrian grape is perfect with the eggs, mushrooms and the hard-to-pair asparagus. She adds that it has acidity, minerality and would be beautiful with this lighter dish.

I’m a fan of Fire for dinner and really like chef Doug Katz’s commitment to local and overall approach to his menu. But I’ve never been for brunch and in fact, my husband has never been period.

So the three of us headed there around 10:30 a.m. and snagged a great table right near the open kitchen, which is ideal because our toddler likes to pretend she’s cooking alongside the chefs (she’s even been known to shout some tips from her highchair – mix it, flip it, yea chef!).  While she studied the kitchen, we people watched everyone alongside the square walking, mingling and checking out their recent market purchases. What a great view.

For brunch, Natalie had the lemon soufflé pancakes with blueberry compote; egg sandwich in clay bread, with local egg, bacon, lettuce and tomato with homefries for Jamie; and house-cured smoked salmon, Bialy’s bagel (the best bagels in town!) and egg salad for me.

Smiles all around. For his inaugural visit, Jamie was quite impressed and I think somewhat confused why I haven’t suggested Fire for brunch sooner (no good reason, I just tend to forget… but not anymore). He even declared these as the best homefries in town. Natalie, a pancake aficionado, was so smitten with her fluffy goodness that she was on her best dining behavior in hopes that she could come back soon. As for me, smoked salmon in general is my breakfast of choice, and Fire’s house-cured version was simply perfect – and pairing it with a Bialy’s will always win me over.

Fire is open both Saturday and Sunday for brunch. They also offer free valet parking – another plus, especially on market days.

And if you’re like us and excited for the opening of all the farmers’ markets, here’s a list to get you going: North Union, Tremont, Kamm’s Corners, Peninsula.

Last week, I had the privilege and honor of judging the 2010 Culinary Challenge to benefit the  Tri-C Hospitality Management Program with Michael Ruhlman and Doug Trattner. I honestly don’t know who was more excited – all the young chefs or myself, sitting between these two!

The event was held in the new Tri-C Hospitality Center at Public Square which took over the first floor of the May Co. building. If you have the opportunity, do yourself a favor and go tour the center. This is truly an impressive space, complete with state-of-the-art kitchens (even chef Karen Small oohed and aahed over the appliances and other offerings), classrooms and more. I was inspired walking around and even joked that I wanted to enroll tomorrow (only to learn later that you can actually just take a variety of cooking classes versus earning a degree).

Obviously, there’s a lot happening within our city and the food scene continues to explode. Chefs and others in the food scene want to be a part of the excitement and this center right in the heart of downtown is exactly what Cleveland needs. And as I walked around and talked to these incredibly enthusiastic chefs, it was clear that they had no intentions of leaving Cleveland post graduation.

And helping them stay here is chef Brandt Evans who is opening Pura Vida directly next store. Though his restaurant is not part of Tri-C, there are a lot of synergies that he explained to me as he gave us a tour of the future space (more on this in a later post). But Evans did say (with a lot of passion and determination) that we need to work with and turn them over to other area restaurants and grow these students to ultimately keep them local because, as he explained, that is half the battle

While I was impressed with many items throughout the evening, of course it was the actual judging that was my favorite part (minus eating in front of a crowd). And can you think of better company to spend an evening noshing with than my two fellow judges? The 45-minute culinary challenge paired student chefs with area mentors, including chefs Doug Katz, Karen Small, Andy Dombrowski and Jonathan Bennett, who shared that he’s in the process of opening another restaurant, conveniently located next to Moxie and Red – and unAmericanized Italian eatery to be called Rosso (red in Italian). The four teams each had to prepare a dish where the feature ingredient was duck. We judged each dish on a variety of things, most importantly being taste, presentation and use of local ingredients.

In all honestly, I would have gladly paid money for any of these dishes. And am actually a bit sad that I can’t. Talk about future talent. We all thoroughly enjoyed each team’s dish – a very impressive group indeed. I realize it sounds cliché, but every team deserved to win. These were some seriously good eats we were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to sample. The future chefs behind these savory duck dishes were:

Amanda Siegfried / Krista Gagyi / A.J. Kosik / Jonathon Bennett, mentor chef

James Williams / Kelly Sparks / Steven Kubit / Andy Dombrowski, mentor chef

Kelly Wilcox-Baird / Victoria Grace Bigler / Maryanne Hagans / Doug Katz, mentor chef

Tracy Sullivan / Peggy Cruz / Thomas Hathaway / Karen Small, mentor chef

.

The winning menu (Team Katz): Two-Buck Chuck Duck- Crispy duck breast stuffed with Chevre, Spinach and Cream Cheese. Resting on a bed of oven roasted seasoned Parsnips and Carrots, browned Thyme Gnocchi and topped with Spinach sautéed with Duck Fat and Shallots. Accented with Charles Shaw Shiraz Wine and Cranberry reduction sauce.

The challenge itself was hosted by Positively Cleveland in an effort to generate financial support for its Spirit of Cleveland, which engages in the creation, coordination, development and operation of a job service training curriculum and program for the hospitality and tourism industries.

For a second year, Positively Cleveland partnered with Cuyahoga Community College to host The Cleveland Culinary Challenge.  Created in 2009, the proceeds help support a paid work experience program for Tri-C’s Hospitality Management students.

Once again, a mighty congratulations future chefs! You have a hungry city awaiting your graduation and future employment at one of our many wonderful local restaurants.

(Thanks to Positively Cleveland for sharing images and especially chef Doug Katz for inviting me to judge.)

If you can’t make it to the wineries this summer, the wineries will come to you. The Ohio Grape Industries in conjunction with many local eateries throughout Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati are working to  showcase Ohio wines June through November, both by the glass or bottle. Additionally, many restaurants will offer special five-course dinners as well as winemaker dinners. Locally, participating restaurants include Fire Food & Drink, Grovewood Tavern, Light Bistro, Molinari’s, Sara’s Place and Vine & Bean Café.

One of the winemakers featured at Fire is Ferrante. Chef Doug Katz and his staff sampled several Ferrante wines before selecting the 2008 Ferrante Signature Series Riesling and the 2008 Ferrante Signature Series Cabernet Franc to share at his restaurant. Below the chef shares a recipe for one of the dishes he’s pairing with the wine.

According to Jim Arbaczewski of Ferrante, these two wines are great examples of the wines Ferrante grows and produces. “Both of these wines are found in our Signature Series,” he says. “The Riesling has aromas and flavors of apple, peach and lime lending to a honeyed finish; the Cabernet Franc has aromas and flavors of fresh blackberry and raspberry with a hint of spice leading to a harmonious finish. Both of these wines are quite food-friendly and after tasting for yourself, you can see why they were chosen by Doug and his staff. Also, these wines carry the Quality Wine Label given out by the Department of Agriculture.”

Chef Doug Katz: Fried green tomatoes w/ sautéed sweet corn, lucky penny goat cheese & jalapeno jelly

Fried Green Tomatoes (serves 2)

Submerge tomato slices in buttermilk and allow to rest 10-15 mins. Using a pie plate or shallow baking dish, combine the cornmeal with cayenne and salt to taste. Heat the canola oil to 325 degrees in a 10 inch skillet (the oil should fill the skillet by about 1/2 inch). Shake off excess buttermilk from the tomatoes. Dredge the tomatoes in the cornmeal mixture to coat completely, shaking off excess cornmeal. When all tomatoes are dredged, place in the skillet, making sure to drop the tomatoes away from you so you do not get burned. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Flip the tomatoes and continue cooking until golden. remove the tomatoes and drain on paper towels

Sautéed Sweet Corn (serves 2)

Heat the canola oil until it shimmers or ripples. Using a 10 inch skillet, sauté the onion and garlic for 30 seconds, stirring or shaking the pan; season with salt and pepper. Add the corn and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes (turn down heat to medium to avoid browning). Remove the pan from the heat and add the whole butter and basil. Stir to combine and set aside

Jalapeno Jelly (can be made 1 week ahead; makes 2 cups)

In a small saucepot, combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer. Allow to cook for 1 minute more. Transfer and allow to cool completely before using.

To assemble: Shingle the tomatoes on a square or rectangle plate; top with the corn sauté. Sprinkle large chunks of Lucky Penny Farm goat cheese on the tomatoes and drizzle with jalapeno jelly. Serve with a knife and fork and enjoy!

This post was sponsored by the Ohio Grape Industries Committee.

But then something changed. I got pregnant and actually started to crave (and enjoy) spicy food. And meat – I wanted all sorts of meat and poultry. I was a never a vegetarian (veal and short ribs are two long-time favorites), but just never liked chicken, steak and really only occasionally would want a burger. I thought this would surely pass once my daughter was born but it didn’t. Now I find myself ordering and cooking spicy food (nothing along the 911 lines, but spicy enough) as well as steak and burgers – on a regular basis. Before this, I can honestly say I can’t ever recall ordering steak out. I knew I was in for a lot of changes when I found out I was first pregnant, but wasn’t expecting this. But, along with Natalie, this is one change I’m happy about. I still don’t like pepper, though.

Here are a couple dishes I recently tried that I never would have thunk to order two years ago. On Groundhog’s Day, we headed to The Greenhouse Tavern to celebrate the release of their new beer with the Buckeye Brewing Co.: Saison de Maison (it’s brewed exclusively for GHT). I’m not a beer drinker, but I easily enjoyed two glasses and almost went for a third (and I love the logo, too – based on Amelia). What I really enjoyed was our dinner: we shared the wings (almost went for the super spicy but our server scared us!), braised lamb shank ravioli, devils on horseback (dates wrapped with bacon, almonds, bitter chocolate) and the Groundhog burger with sausage, fresno chilis, onions, aged cheddar and a spicy mustard.

I loved the ravioli and would want two dishes next time, but the burger was most impressive. And again – not something I would normally like. It was different – but in a good, unexpected way. I liked the sausage and chilis and how everything worked together. I hope it shows up on the menu more than once a year.

Another perfect example of my post-pregnancy eating was at Fire. I met my friend Heidi for dinner one night and was so happy she suggested Fire. I just love this place – the location, décor, chef, but admittedly don’t go nearly as often as I’d like (and really need to make a point to go for brunch). They even offer free valet, too – how great is that?

I ordered a half portion of the tandoor roasted hanger steak with Killbuck mushroom ragout atop truffled French toast. What a surprise this dish was. It was even better than it sounded and even as a half order (which I think is just great that it’s offered this way), was more than enough food for me. I’m planning to go back soon because this is a dish Jamie has to try, too. It’s something I know he’d thoroughly enjoy. And if I would have tried this pre pregnancy, I probably would have sampled a bite and thought it was nice – but never would have actually ordered it and enjoyed as much as I did

Funny story about Fire – and meeting friends in general. If you’re meeting someone out, be sure to describe them to the hostess or make a point to walk the restaurant if you believe someone is really late. We both arrived within 10 minutes of each other, but didn’t sit together for over an hour. I came in, didn’t see Heidi and got a table at the window; Heidi arrived first and sat at the bar (she was in the restroom when I came in). We were separated by a wall and after an hour, realized we were both there (thank you, Twitter). Luckily for me, I had great wine and cheese to keep me company!

Doug Katz’s Thanksgiving Turkey // This is a favorite family method that keeps the dark meat fall-off-the-bone tender and the white meat moist and juicy. It also allows the host to enjoy their meal as there is no last minute carving. Enjoy!

First, you will brine the turkey. In a large tote, plastic container (one that will fit in your refrigerator) or cooler, combine the kosher salt, granulated sugar, apple juice and water and stir until salt and sugar is dissolved.

Add turkey to container and make sure you have enough liquid to cover the turkey.  You can use a napkin to keep the turkey moistened with liquid. Allow the turkey to brine for 12-24 hours.

Cook the turkey. Remove the turkey from the brine (discard) and allow to drain in a clean sink for 15 minutes.  Place the turkey on a cookie sheet and pat dry.  Allow to drain for 15 more minutes as this helps to create a crispy skin. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a large heavy bottomed roasting pan or pot (large enough to hold the turkey and all of the liquid-but small enough to fit in your oven), add canola oil and heat to smoke point. Add the onions, celery, parsnips, rutabagas and carrots and allow to brown over high heat (about 10 minutes).  After 5 minutes, add the garlic.  Only stir occasionally as you want the vegetables to brown evenly. Add tomato paste and stir to coat all vegetables.  Continue to cook for 3 minutes or until the paste looks oily and browned.  Add the grapes, thyme, bay leaf and peppercorn and continue cooking for 1 minute. Add the red wine and allow to reduce by 3/4′s (about 5 or 10 minutes). Add the chicken stock, bring to a simmer and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Season the turkey with salt and pepper to taste (inside and outside) and coat evenly with olive oil. Place the turkey in the roasting pan (breast side up) and carefully place the turkey into the oven. Roast the turkey, evenly basting every 1/2 hour.  Cook the turkey until the center of the breast reaches 165 degrees. (about 2 1/2 to 3 hours).

Carve the turkey. Carefully remove the turkey from the oven and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes.

Place the turkey onto a large cutting board (preferably one designed for meat and poultry). All of the meat will be placed in one or two casseroles that can be served at the dinner table or on your buffet.  Place the white meat and dark meat in separate casseroles to make it easier for your guests. Start by cutting away the two legs using a kitchen shears to cut through the leg/thigh joint.  Next, carve the breast meat to desired thickness (try to slice across the grain). Turn the turkey on one side and cut away the thigh meat and do the same to the other side.  When all meat is removed, save the carcass for a great turkey rice soup. Strain all of the cooking liquid into a sauce pot and reduce to sauce consistency.  If preferred, you can dissolve 2-3 tbs of cornstarch in 1/2 cup of cold water and add to the liquid to create a pan gravy (creamier texture). When sauce is reduced to desired consistency, ladle over the sliced turkey.  Reserve enough gravy to serve in a sauce-boat at your holiday table.

Serve the turkey. Cover the casseroles with aluminum foil and heat the turkey until steaming hot.  Garnish the turkey with freshly chopped herbs.  My favorite accompaniments include my mom’s challah stuffing, sweet potatoes with toasted meringue, sautéed Brussels sprouts, shallots and bacon and cranberry-orange compote.  Happy Holidays!

Note: The turkey can be prepared the day before or in the morning and then reheated.

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This post was sponsored by Heinen’s. What are you contributing this Thanksgiving? Share your favorite recipe for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Heinen’s (the winning recipe will also be features on  Heinens.com). You have until November 16 to enter.

Now that you have a wonderfully impressive and delicious Thanksgiving feast, how about serving your guests the right wine to compliment the meal? Ed Thompkins, the wine expert for Heinen’s, suggests two new Vin Hunter releases, a pinot noir and a chardonnay to accompany Doug’s dish. According to Heinen’s, you won’t find this pinot noir with this pedigree and deliciousness at this price again ($14.99 a bottle/$161.89 a case). Complex flavors of dried cherry, earth and spice are packed on a juicy and lingering frame. As for the chardonnay, they say what’s most impressive about this vibrant white is that while there was fermentation and aging of a portion of the wine in oak, the wine still retains zippy acidity. The oak contributes flavor, not heaviness, and marries perfectly with ripe apple and tropical notes. This wine is $12.99 per bottle/$140.29 a case.