A new president, my newTV show and a new gourmet market.
By Judi Gallagher
In what proved to be a historic week of monumental proportions, so proved the same impact in my kitchen. While preparing at home for my new daily cooking segments on ABC 7 (Chef Judi’s Dish at 12:40 p.m.) I found myself overwhelmed with hams, turkeys and side dishes, not to mention a whole lotta sweet and sour meatballs.
You see, when you shoot many segments in one day, you need to be extremely organized. Every shoot day is like Thanksgiving. You must have double of each dish, so there is a finished product, and extra ingredients for when I stumble or spill. I am a bit of a hero on the cul de sac on these days, running between a few of our neighbors’ homes to pass out Glad containers with leftovers. The team from ABC gets a well-deserved sample but sometimes there is just so much.
Our election night “eat the cooking show leftovers” party proved to be a huge success. Matt Orr dove into one of two hams, while chef Jeremy Hammond Chambers and ad whiz Sam Stearn took a hearty liking to my Nana’s recipe for meatballs. Al Roach brought his political score card and immersed himself in ham, seafood pasta (thanks to chef Tom Harvey’s leftovers from the shoot) and pumpkin Napoleons in between marking the electoral map. Guess I will be scheduling another shoot for the inauguration- just no more ham and meatballs, please!
The boys from Morton's cook up great-tasting fare, above; below, happy brunchers say cheese.
It has also been a hefty eating week and if I do not watch it, I am apt to gain back the 13 pounds I lost this fall. Brunch on the Bay was a delicious hit, packed to the rim. Even during this recession people know a hundred bucks is well worth all the fabulous food. Morton’s Market was the rave with pulled pork flat bread, and people are still licking their chops over Fleming’s sweet corn succotash. My personal favorite is always a banana Foster crepe from Mattison’s and a slice of flanks steak from Michael’s, but the real winner at our table was the pumpkin spice cupcake from Cakes by Ron. Had I known I had to share, I might have made hubby grab three more!
Fresh Market just opened this past week on University, so of course I had to make a dash on day two! Ya hooo!!!! I am a big fan, preferring many of their items and produce to Whole Foods. While the shopping carts were causing more back ups than U..S. 41 in the height of season, most people were thrilled with the freshness, bakery and from the looks of mini plastic cups in so many carts, the free samples as well. Foodie and style writer Marsha Fottler and I tried the brie en croute with apricot. ($10.99), which we really enjoyed; however their baking instructions were a bit off, and the bottom burned while the top was not fully browned. Worth trying again though and readjusting the oven temp.