Posts Tagged ‘Inn at Little Washington’
Posted by Warren Rojas / Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
Manor House chef/founder Howard Foer wants to let us in on a little secret:
The restaurant biz is hard work. After a long, arduous day of catering to everyone’s gustatory wants, just about the last thing a working chef wants to do is head home and beeline for the kitchen. But this chef cum inn operator soldiers forward, keeping his Casanova retreat front and center while also developing a line of signature preserves and a pending cookbook.
WR: Salt. Pepper. What other spices/herbs could you not live without?
HF: I love fresh marjoram. It reminds me of great memories (that I can’t discuus[sic]) when I was young.
WR: What’s the very first dish you ever mastered? How long did it take? Do you still make it today?
HF: Mastering the use of the egg. Poached, scrambled, Hollandaise. Of course the egg is an integral part of the classical kitchen and mine as well.
WR: What seasonal ingredient(s) get your creative juices flowing?
HF: Fresh vegetables and tomatoes!! If that was all I could eat all summer, I would every day and enjoy!
WR: My latest cookbook obsession is …
HF: I do not have much time for cookbooks. I work very hard to keep up on products and trends that are available to chefs and are ever changing every day.
WR: What’s the most challenging dish you’ve ever attempted? Would you make it again?
HF: I make great soups and bisques, but I am not a big soup eater. But making a great consomme is a challenge and a great accomplishment when done correctly … and so elegant to boot!
WR: If I could the spend the day working alongside any local chef, I’d love to collaborate with …
HF: I would like to spend the day with Patrick O’Connell. We are both in the business in the same region local to each other. And a glass of nice white burgundy and the end of the day with a chat would be great!
WR: What’s the easiest/quickest–but still wholly satisfying–meal you make for yourself?
HF: Working long hours always makes it very difficult for some chefs to be overly creative at home on a day to day basis. My wife and the kids love to make a great salad sometime with protein and sometimes without. The key is to have great vinegar and olive oils. I do not like the packaged dressings.
WR: In the next six months you won’t want to miss my …
HF: Two things I have been working on is compiling recipes for a cookbook; maybe this will happen in the next 6-8 months. The other is I have been working on a few products that I like to package: lobster butter, apple honey and foie gras butter. They are great and I would like to expand this line!
WR: It’s quitting time. I’m pouring myself …
HF: After long hot shifts in the kitchen I like to have a glass of a nice chablis. Like an old wine making couple in France told me, making a good bottle of white wine is like making a perfectly fitted dress. I agree!!
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Chilled chablis and lobster butter sound like ideal summer splurges. Appreciate the inspiration, chef.
Come back next Tuesday for another helping of Red Meat.
–Warren
Posted by Warren Rojas / Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
Can chefs make it today WITHOUT a reality cooking show? John MacPherson certainly did:
But figures he’d cover all his bases and go the epicurean travelogue/educational cooking route as well. A self-taught chef, MacPherson has been delighting guests at the Foster Harris House with his culinary styles for several years now. He penned his first cookbook in 2009 and is poised to take to the airwaves with a new PBS series next fall.
WR: Salt. Pepper What other culinary elements could you not live without?
JM: Olive oil and butter. Olive oil finds its way into so many dishes…sautéed, baked, broiled, braised, grilled, raw, dressings. Bold and fruity or mild and clean tasting it is a must have for my cooking. And butter, there’s really no replacing its rich flavor and ability to make silky sauces, moist perfect baked goods and that perfect finish to a piece of fish or meat.
WR: What’s the very first dish you ever mastered? How long did it take? Do you still make it today?
JM: The omelet. I’m not talking about the mushroom, pepper, onion and cheese omelet you get at your local greasy spoon. I’m talking about the classic French omelet…a fresh egg, tablespoon of water, buttered omelet pan and low heat. I made hundreds before it was perfect. It’s still surprises me how delicious a simple omelet can be when prepared well.
WR: What seasonal ingredient(s) get your creative juices flowing?
JM: At the moment I’m enamored with beets. Colorful, sweet, earthy beets. Raw and julienned in a salad or slaw is quick and easy and adds so much flavor and texture. And then to roast them transforms them into these magical jewels that I can’t seem to get enough of.
WR: My latest cookbook obsession is …
JM: Pintxos: Small Plates in the Basque Tradition by Gerald Hirigoyen. Exciting flavors and combinations all wrapped up in little bites. Perfect for entertaining.
WR: What’s the most challenging dish you’ve ever attempted? Would you make it again?
JM: Not that preparing it is particularly challenging, but very early on at the Foster Harris House I made individual Gruyere soufflés for 12 guests as part of a four-course breakfast. As I watched my soufflé’s rising in the oven and still waited for guests to come down to breakfast, I swore I’d never do it again. Now we do it regularly, but I only make soufflés on our guests second day with us, once I know they are punctual!
WR: If I could the spend the day working alongside any local chef, I’d love to collaborate with …
JM: Chef Patrick O’Connell at the Inn at Little Washington. What Chef O’Connell and his team do at the inn is an inspiration and the fact that its two blocks away from us makes us very happy and proud.
WR: What’s the easiest/quickest–but still wholly satisfying–meal you make for yourself?
JM: Roast chicken and veggies. Can’t beat the aroma of a roasting chicken and you have leftovers for the next day:
Lemon herb garlic roast chicken – serves 6
1 roasting chicken, 3–4 pounds
6 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
1 cup chopped fresh herbs, plus a handful of whole herbs
1 lemon, quartered
1 head of garlic
2 bay leaves
Olive oil
Heat the oven to 400°.
Thoroughly wash chicken inside and out and pat dry. Season the inside of the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
Blend the butter with a pinch of salt and pepper and the chopped herbs into a paste. Set aside.
With your fingers, carefully separate the skin from the breast meat, taking care not to tear the skin. You want to form 2 pockets as far towards the legs and thighs as possible. Carefully push the herb butter into the pockets, spreading it evenly under the skin.
Smash the garlic with your hand to break up the cloves and stuff it all inside the cavity, along with all the lemon, whole herbs and bay leaves.
Place chicken in a roasting pan, brush with oil and roast in the center of the oven for about 1 hour or until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork. If the skin starts to brown too much, tent the chicken loosely with foil.
WR: In the next six months you won’t want to miss my …
JM: Our new PBS series, In Season!
WR: It’s quitting time. I’m pouring myself …
JM: A glass of wine, Pinot preferably!
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Best of luck with your forthcoming TV show, Chef. We just might have to tune in…
Come back next Tuesday for another helping of Red Meat.
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
The first family of hospitality crowd-sourcing, Nina and Tim Zagat, have released the results of their 2011 Washington D.C./Baltimore survey, an all-too-familiar litany–the Inn at Little Washington continues its decade-long streak of ping-ponging back and forth between the #1 and #2 spots for food; Restaurant Eve remains firmly entrenched in the food top 10–which I highly doubt will surprise any fine dining aficionados or even casual gourmands.
I was, however, interested to see how the D.C./Charm City surveyors stack up against other markets and how often they hit the streets in search of a good meal.
According to Zagat’s, there are roughly 6,500 surveyors actively evaluating 2,400 meals per day across the D.C./Baltimore corridor. While that sounds like a whole lot of eating, our area ranks second-to-last in surveyor meals per week (2.6).
Texans, on the other hand, have gorged themselves into four of the top five spots (Houston – 4 meals per week, Austin/Hill Country – 3.8, Dallas/Forth Worth – 3.6, San Antonio – 3.5).
The economy, of course, is partly to blame.
Approximately 40 percent of local surveyors admitted to eating out less because of forced belt-tightening, while another third of those surveyed copped to more carefully eyeing menu prices when they do step out.
On the upside, over half of the surveyors said lean times have prompted restaurants to beef up their dining deals while approaching 45 percent said the downturn has rekindled a passion for home cooking.
Amateur food sleuths might also be interested to know that Zagat’s stable of local food spies skews female (51 percent) and relies heavily on retirees (60+ year olds comprise 25 percent of their core constituency)–though Gen Xers (30-year olds) and late Boomers (50s and up) account for 23 and 22 percent (respectively) of the roving reporting crew.
Rankings-wise, NoVA restaurants seemed to do pretty well.
We claimed six of the top 20 food slots:
* Inn at Little Washington (2)
* Restaurant Eve (7)
* L’Auberge Provencale (10)
* L’Auberge Chez Francois (15)
* 2941 (16)
* GoolDaeGee (19)
Seven of the top 24 cuisine categories:
* New American: Inn at Little Washington
* Chinese: Peking Gourmet
* Classic French: L’Auberge Provencale
* South American: El Pollo Rico
* Southwest/Tex-Mex: Sweetwater Tavern
* Thai: Thai Square
* Vietnamese: Four Sisters
And scored a handful of entries in the 20 “Key Newcomers” list:
Would love to hear what you all think of the current crop of popularly appointed dining champs AND/OR the Zagat’s scouts among us.
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
On the off chance anybody is still watching season 7, tonight’s Top Chef episode (9 p.m. on Bravo) appears to be NoVA’s opportunity to shine–with the cheftestants busting their humps to impress guest judge Patrick O’Connell during a Maryland blue crab Quickfire challenge:
(Video: Bravo)
And later face elimination after orchestrating a multi course feast at Ayrshire Farm:
(Video: Bravo TV)
May god/Padma/Tom/Eric/Patrick have mercy on your souls (that goes for remaining cheftestants AND TC viewers).
–Warren
